-
Period: to
Presidents of Era 1860-1928
-
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy. He was President during the Civil War. -
Ulysses S. Grant
After being an aggressive and determined Civil War leader Grant was nominated by Republicans to become President. Grant wanted to Reconstruct the North and South after the Civil War. Grant tried to run the Government as he ran the army. -
Rutherford B. Hayes
Hayes feared that sweeping changes were often not lasting and was satisfied with smaller incremental gains. He had great faith in education as the keys to prosperity and harmonious relations among diverse racial and ethnic groups. He did not attempt to reform the entire civil service, but concentrated on one major office, demonstrating that open competitive examinations did, in fact, reap better workers. -
James A Garfield
Garfield attacked political corruption and won back for the Presidency a measure of prestige it had lost during the Reconstruction period. He strengthened Federal authority over the New York Customs House. Garfield is best remembered for his dramatic assassination 100 days after he assumed office. -
Benjamin Harrison
Harrison was the most active President since Lincoln. He called together the first Pan-American Conference in 1889. He negotiated an American protectorate over the Samoan Islands, attempted to annex Hawaii. He also continued the work of modernizing and expanding the United States Navy into a world-class fleet. -
William McKinley
McKinley was considered a mediocre President, a chief executive who was pressured into war with Spain by the press. Recent historians have been nicer to McKinley, saying he was a decisive President who put America on the road to world power. McKinley's difficult foreign policy decisions helped the U.S. enter the twentieth century. -
Theodore Roosevelt
Teddy is considered the first modern President because he significantly expanded the influence and power of the executive office. He used executive orders to accomplish his goals. He was also an extremely popular President and the first to use the media to appeal directly to the people. -
William Howard Taft
Taft faced the difficult task as President of living up to the legacy of Roosevelt. He came to the White House promising to continue Roosevelt's agenda, but he was more comfortable executing the existing law than demanding new legislation from Congress. His first effort as President was to lead Congress to lower tariffs. -
Woodrow Wilson
Wilson was one of the United States greatest Presidents. His domestic program expanded the role of the federal government in managing the economy and protecting the interests of citizens. His foreign policy established a new vision of America’s role in the world. -
Warren G. Harding
Known as a "good fellow," Harding enjoyed being liked more than he prized being a good leader. Harding favored pro-business government policies. He allowed Andrew Mellon to push through tax cuts for the rich, stopped antitrust actions, and opposed organized labor.
