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The U.S. Presidents

The United States of America has a rich, diverse political history and at the very core of that history is the office of President of the United States. The office of the President is the most important and influential position in our country and perhaps the entire world. The President of the United States serves as the chief of the Executive Branch of Government, as the Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces and is the highest political office in the United States in actuality, influence and recognition. On January 20, 2009 Barack Obama was inaugurated the 44^th President of the United States. Obama is the first African-American to be elected as President and is the first President born outside of the continental United States (Hawaii). Obama was the fifth youngest (John Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Theodore Roosevelt and Ulysses Grant were all younger) to be elected President and was only the third sitting U.S. Senator (Warren Harding and John Kennedy were the other two) to be elected President. In addition to the historical significance of the Obama election, he became just the 43^rd man (Cleveland was both the 22^nd and 24^th President) throughout the long history of our nation to hold the office of President of the United States.

The men who preceded President Obama were all great Americans and each very much a part of our nation’s history. There were great ones (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt’s faces are carved in stone on Mount Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota); there were good ones and not so good ones; there were Republicans, Democrats, Federalists, Whigs, Progressives and almost one from the “Bull Moose” Party. There was a president who was inaugurated an unprecedented four times (Franklin Roosevelt), there was a president who held office for just thirty days (William Harrison). Two father and son combinations have served as President (John Adams as the 2^nd President followed by his son, John Quincy Adams as the 6^th President, and then George H. Bush as the 41^st President and George W. Bush as the 43^rd President). William Harrison was the 9^th President and his grandson, Benjamin Harrison was the 23^rd President.

Thirteen of these men were elected to office twice. Grover Cleveland was the only one of those thirteen elected twice, but for non-consecutive terms. Franklin Roosevelt spent the longest time in the office, the only person to be elected to four consecutive terms, but died in office at the beginning of his fourth term in 1945. Since 1951 no person can be elected as U.S. President for more than two terms following the ratification of the 22^nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

John Kennedy, age 43 when he took the oath, was the youngest to be elected as President, although Theodore Roosevelt was younger (42) when inaugurated following the assassination of William McKinley. Ronald Reagan was the oldest President to be elected into office just short of his 70^th birthday. For 175 years John Adams had been the oldest living former President, having survived to 90 years and 247 days. That record was surpassed first by Ronald Reagan and then again by Gerald Ford, who passed away in 2006 at 93 years and 165 days. John Kennedy, assassinated at age 46, was the shortest lived President. The tallest President was Abraham Lincoln at 6’4”; James Madison was the shortest President at 5’4”. William Taft was the heaviest U.S. President, weighing in somewhere between 300 and 350 pounds. He is also the only President to have been both President and Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Eight Presidents died while serving in office. Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John Kennedy were each victims of an assassination. William Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Warren Harding and Franklin Roosevelt died from various health problems. Richard Nixon was the only President forced to resign from office. In each of these nine situations the sitting Vice President was inaugurated as President. In five of those instances the new President did not win reelection on his own right. The other four, Calvin Coolidge, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson, each won a full term on their own right, but each declined to seek a full second term.

George Washington, the Nation’s first President was inaugurated on April 30, 1789. By the time of Washington’s second inauguration in 1793 the inauguration date was officially held on March 4, but in 1937 the date of the inauguration was finally changed to Noon, January 20^th. Washington had the shortest inauguration speech (second term), comprised of just 135 words. William Harrison gave the longest inauguration speech, speaking for over 100 minutes in the cold and snow without a hat or overcoat. He died of pneumonia after just 30 days in office, the shortest term in Presidential history.

A total of fourteen Presidents also served as Vice Presidents. For two years the Nation was run by both a President and Vice President who were not elected to office (Ford and Rockefeller). The U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach both Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, but in both cases their impeachment did not garner enough votes in the U.S. Senate to convict. Richard Nixon, facing probable impeachment, was the only U.S. President to resign from office.

James Buchanan was the only U.S. President to have never married. Grover Cleveland was single when elected, but married in a White House wedding after becoming President. Chester Arthur was single when he became President, his wife having died before he entered office. Ronald Reagan was the only U.S. President to have divorced (and then subsequently married before being elected to office). History tells us that George Washington, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, James Polk and James Buchanan were the only Presidents to not have children. William Harding had no legitimate children, but reportedly had a daughter out of wedlock.

Eight Presidents were born in Virginia, seven in Ohio, four in both Massachusetts and New York, and two 2 each from North Carolina, Texas and Vermont. Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Carolina each produced one President, while the other 29 states have not produced a President.

Seven Presidents are pictured on U.S. coins - Lincoln on the penny, Jefferson on the nickel, Franklin Roosevelt on the dime, Washington on the quarter, Kennedy on the half dollar and Eisenhower on the one dollar coin. Nine Presidents are represented on U.S. bills – Washington on the $1 bill, Jefferson on the $2 bill, Lincoln on the $5 bill, Jackson on the $20 bill, Grant on the $50 bill, McKinley on the $500 bill, Cleveland on the $1,000 bill, Madison on the $5,000 bill and Wilson on the $100,000 bill.

There are numerous books, autobiographies, biographies and other writings by and about our Presidents. In the early years of our education, most of us had some exposure to U.S. history and the study of our presidents. Most of us, if pressed, could name the most famous presidents and probably the most recent presidents. All too often however, we know way too little about our Presidents and make little effort to change that shortcoming. This compilation is intended to provide a short, concise and easy to read one page biography of each president so that you can know more about these 43 influential Americans. The book will not take long to read and hopefully you may find yourself picking the book up from time to time to refresh your memory about a certain president or presidents. You may even be motivated to learn more in depth information about one or more of these men. After all, a summary of each president side by side, page after page provides a glimpse at the overall history of this great nation. From Founding Fathers to Civil War heroes, from … and Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Presidential oath of office, Article II, Section 1, United States Constitution

U.S. Presidents

# 1

George Washington

George Washington was born in Virginia on February 22, 1732 and was inaugurated President of the United States in 1789 at age 57, serving two terms. Despite his overwhelming popularity and great leadership, Washington also set the practice of being referred to as “Mr. President”, rather than adopting any reference to royalty as was common in Europe at the time. John Adams, Washington’s Vice President and the second President of the United States, had favored the title like His Majesty the President or something similar, but Washington’s influence won out. Washington was never officially associated with any political party, but came to office after serving as Commander in Chief of the American Revolutionary Army. He wanted to serve with no pay, but reluctantly accepted an annual wage of $25,000 so as to avoid a perception that only wealthy citizens would be able to serve as President.

Washington had hoped political parties would not be formed, but two of his closest advisors formed two opposing political camps that set the stage for our two party political systems. Thomas Jefferson (Washington’s Secretary of State) founded the Jeffersonian Republicans, which was based on the philosophy that promoted state rights and identified more with the farmer than with bankers and merchants. Alexander Hamilton (Washington’s Secretary of Treasury) founded the Federalists Party, built on the need to establish a strong Federal government, especially a financially strong nation with a central bank.