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George Washington
George Washington was the first president of the United States. He set up the first court system. It was the Judiciary Act of 1789. He created a six person supreme court, one chief justice, and five associates. During his presidency, the French Revolution was going on. To end this conflict, he passed Jay's Treaty and Pinckney's Treaty. Washington did not seek a third term in 1796 so a new president was later elected. -
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John Adams
Adams wanted to improve the U.S. and France so he sent a delegation to France to negotiate a treaty, but the French refused and instead demanded a large bribe. This became known as the XYZ Affair. An undeclared naval war broke out in 1798 and lasted until 1800. Adams lost his popularity by signing the Alien and Sedition Act. This helped him lose the election. -
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Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson strengthened the powers of the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison. During his first administration, one of his major achievements was purchasing the Louisiana Purchase.This doubled the size of the United States. After this purchase was approved by Congress, Jefferson sent out many expeditions. The most famous one was the Lewis and Clark expedition. -
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James Madison
During Madion's presidency, the War of 1812 began. It was caused by the British seizing American ships. This war gained the U.S. foreign respect, increased American manufacturing, and American pride. Britain and the U.S. agreed to negotiate when the Treaty of Ghent was signed in December 1814. -
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James Monroe
During Monroe's presidency, the economy grew rapidly and a spirit of nationalism and optimism prevailed. Slavery was a problem so the situation was resolved in 1820 with the Missouri Compromise. In 1823, the Monroe Doctrine was passed. This stated that the U.S. was off-limits to European colonization. -
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John Quincy Adams
Adam's was not a popular president. He administration was weakened by scandal and criticism from Jackson's supporters. Jackson's political party was known as the Democratic Party. Adam's was known as the National Republicans. -
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James Buchanan
Buchanan did not want to interfere with slavery, but he only made tensions worse. Many felt like he more sympathetic to Southern interests. The first of this was the Dred Scott decision. The southerners applauded, but the Northerners protested. He also supported the Lecompton Constitution. -
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Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln sent a fleet of Union ships to Fort Sumter and the Confederates attacked. This started the Civil War. The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest day of the Civil War. On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. This freed all of the slaves in the rebellious states. Lincoln's victory finally enabled Congress to pass the Thirteenth Amendment, which ended slavery in the United States. Even though there were more than 600,000 deaths, the war reunited the nation. -
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Andrew Johnson
As president, Johnson wanted to restore southern states to the Union. when Johnson vetoed the Freedman's Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Bill, Congress was not too happy. Since hostilities between Johnson and Congress continued to grow, in February 1868, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson. -
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Rutherford B. Hayes
During Hayes' first year in office, he ended reconstruction. He also made federal dollars available in the south. Republicans were more frustrated with Haye's plans for civil service reform. He focused on ending patronage in favor of appointing civil servants based on merit. Western and southern states wanted to strengthen the dollar through the Bland-Allison Act. Hayes vetoed it, but it was still passed. -
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James A. Garfield
During his presidency, Garfield spent most of his time assembling his cabinet and making other appointments. Due to the split in the republican party, he had to appease the Stalwarts and Half-Breeds in his appointments. After about 4 months, Garfield finally wanted to move forward with his agenda for civil service reform. However, Charles Guiteau, an attorney who was refused a political appointment, fired two shots at Garfield while he was on his way to a Williams College Reunion. -
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Benjamin Harrison
Harrison supported the McKinley Tariff Act and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. Many Americans were angry because they saw the president and his republicans as too supportive of wealthy interests. He also passed the Sherman Antitrust Act. Harrison's administration displayed a growing American influence in world affairs. The First International Conference of American States was held in 1889. -
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William McKinley
McKinley passed the Dingley Tariff Act. This was the highest protective tariff in American history. McKinley's support for the Dingley Tariff strengthened his position with organized labor. After the sinking of the U.S. battleship, Maine, Americans went to war with Spain. U.S. forces defeated Spain near Santiago. The Treaty of Paris officially ended the Spanish-American War. This resulted in Spain ceding Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S. Also, Cuba gained its independence. -
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Theordore Roosevelt
The National Reclamation Act became the first major legislative achievement of Roosevelt's presidency. Roosevelt was the first president to win reelection after gaining the White House due to the death of his predecessor. He helped Panama secede from Colombia in 1903. This began the beginning of construction on the Panama Canal. Roosevelt claimed that as his greatest accomplishment. By the end of his presidency, he had transformed the U.S. Navy into a major international force at sea. -
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William Howard Taft
Taft created a Department of Labor to enforce labor laws and increase national forest reserves. His administration is also credited with passage of the Sixteenth Amendment. It was introduced during the Taft years, but ratified in 1913 after he left office. Taft signed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff into law and progressives were outraged. -
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Woodrow Wilson
Wilson achieved significant progressive reform. During his administration, Congress passed the Underwood-Simmons Act. They also passed the establishment of the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission. In Wilson's second administration, he asked Congress to declare war on Germany because of the unrestricted submarine attacks and the Zimmerman Telegram. America's participation helped achieve victory for the Allies. The Germans signed an armistice in 1918. -
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Warren G. Harding
Harding followed a pro-business, conservative Republican agenda. He wanted "less government in business and more business in government." He sought to cut the federal budget and to reduce taxes on the wealthiest Americans. He believed it was the wealthy who started and expanded businesses. By taxing them less, business would grow and pull the nation out of hard times. One of the worst scandals was the Teapot Dome. He promised normacly and was more of an inactive president. -
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Calvin Coolidge
Coolidge immediately got rid of officials suspected of corruption under Harding. Coolidge’s reputation for honesty and integrity helped him restore public faith in the government. Coolidge’s policies in office continued to be guided by his strong belief in private enterprise and small government. He cut taxes and limited government spending. Coolidge remained popular throughout his presidency.