Presidents' Day 2021 is on Monday, February 15, honoring in the United States all the past and present presidents who have served as president of America. Artist: ERIC STURDEVANTThe Presidents By Date Whitehouse.gov | Presidents |
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1. George Washington
George Washington, who led America through the Revolution and became its first president, might well have remained a Virginia farmer if the policies of King George III of England had not intervened.
2. John Adams
Adams becomes the first resident of the White House after the government moves from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. (1800). From the moment John Adams entered the presidency in 1797, the United States was in a state of undeclared war with France.
4. James Madison
James Madison, the fourth president, the "Father of the Constitution," co-authored The Federalist Papers, helped to establish a system of checks and balances for the federal government.
5. James Monroe
Upon his inauguration, Monroe chose to make a presidential tour of the states, the first such tour since Washington's.
6. John Quincy Adams
Quincy Adams, the first son of a president (John Adams) to be elected, was raised by his parents to attain the highest office in the land. As it turned out, the circumstances of his election created enemies that neutralized his presidency. Adams is now considered to have been one of America's greatest diplomats (before his presidency) and one of America's greatest congressmen (after his presidency) but not a particularly effective president.
9. William Henry Harrison
William Harrison, a frontier army general whose fame (and nickname) was assured at the battle of Tippecanoe, spent only 32 days in office before dying.
10. John Tyler
Following the sudden death of William Henry Harrison, Vice President John Tyler assumed the presidency.
11. James Knox Polk
Billed as the "Manifest Destiny" candidate, Polk negotiated the Oregon territory to the north.
12. Zachary Taylor
Seasoned war veteran Zachary Taylor emerged from the Mexican War a hero, and won election to the presidency. In a three-way race against the Democrat Lewis Cass and the Free Soil Party candidate Martin Van Buren, Taylor won a narrow victory over Cass.
14. Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was elected on a platform of maintaining the status quo in regards to the issue of slavery.
15. James Buchanan
Buchanan's faith that the legal system would resolve the slavery issue locked him into inaction.
16. Abraham Lincoln
He led his nation through the most difficult times it had known, restoring a shattered Union and ending slavery in America.
17. Andrew Johnson
After barely surviving his impeachment trial, Andrew Johnson served out the rest of the term without thought of reelection.
18. Ulysses S. Grant
As a general, he had fought to preserve the Union. As president, he helped to oversee the transformation from union to nation.
22/24. Grover Cleveland
The only president to serve two non-consecutive terms, Grover Cleveland's second term coincided with a financial depression, the Panic of 1893.
23. Benjamin Harrison
Grandson of William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison managed to unseat Grover Cleveland in the 1888 election.
25. William McKinley
Elected after the closing of the American frontier to the west, McKinley found new ways to expand in the Pacific and Caribbean following the Spanish American War.
26. Theodore Roosevelt
In 1912 Theodore Roosevelt came out for women's suffrage and became the great champion of women's rights.
28. Woodrow Wilson
When the Republican Party split, Wilson won the election in 1912.When Europe plunged into war in 1914, Wilson saw America's role as that of peace broker.
30. Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge's 1923 State of the Union address to Congress was the first ever to be broadcast via radio.
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
The majority of the country did not know President Roosevelt was handicapped.
35. John F. Kennedy
Despite years in Congress, Jack Kennedy was known more as a witty playboy than a political heavyweight.
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
President Johnson took on the economy by waging a "war on poverty." LBJ cites the covenant of justice, liberty and union that formed the nation and calls upon Americans to look to the future with hope.
37. Richard M. Nixon
For Richard Milhous Nixon, the trip to 1972 Beijing would be the journey of a lifetime. He would be the first U.S. president to go to China.
39. Jimmy Carter
President Jimmy Carter confronted one of the most significant challenges of his presidency during the Iran hostage crisis.
40. Ronald Reagan
Whether on the silver screen or the political stage, Reagan was durable, optimistic, American.
42. William Jefferson Clinton
Bill Clinton is considered one of the most talented politicians of our time, but one compromised by failure and redemption.
44. Barack H. Obama
Barack Obama was the first African-American to serve as President of the United States.Archived Sources: Orginal, PBS and theArchived PBS Presentation
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