Happy President’s Day, everybody. Today is a celebration of all President’s Past and Present, and to honor them, I have created this epic blog post, summarizing their entire life and accomplishments. But first, a video:
Now, let’s provide a list of the greatest accomplishments of all the presidents!
| # | President | Political Party | Accomplishments, & Things that Happened during his term |
| 1 | George Washington | NONE | Hamilton established BUS No foreign entanglements (no long term alliances in peacetime) Jay’s treaty (British leaves forts on US soil, British damages maritime US losses) Pinkney’s Treaty (Spanish clarifies south-western borders, free navigation of Mississippi) Whiskey Rebellion (force to maintain order) Disliked formation of parties 2 term “limit” Bill of Rights |
| 2 | John Adams | Federalist | Barbary pirates (marine/navy founded) French Revolution XYZ Affairs Convention of 1800, peace with France, alliance canceled, American to pay damages to American shippers Alien and Sedition act (muzzle law, increased naturalization period) [Virginia, Kentucky Resolutions in response] Cabinet worked against him and with Hamilton instead |
| 3 | Thomas Jefferson | Democratic-Republican | Embargo Act (forbidden exports, tried to get France/Britain to respect US) Eliminated whiskey tax Non-Intercourse Act – Embargo to France/Britain Louisiana Purchase Peace Treaty with Tripoli Chesapeake Affair Lewis and Clark Cumberland Road authorized Midnight judges (Marbury vs Madison, judicial review) |
| 4 | James Madison | Democratic-Republican | Macon’s Bill No2 – Lifts embargo for first country to repeal certain thingees Protectionist Tariff of 1816 – British goods start flooding US market, first protectionist tariff First Bank of United States’ charter ends, not renewed War of 1812 Treaty of Ghent – Ends War of 1812, “Not one inch of territory ceded or lost”, armistice, Russia needed help Battle of Tippecanoe (Tecumseh dies [Indians screwed], Harrison gets famous) Battle of Horseshoe Bend (Jackson gets famous) Battle of New Orleans (Jackson pop ^) Cumberland Road construction begins Vetoes Bonus Bill (Internal improvements should be done by state) Fletcher vs Peck (Legislatures could not mess with contracts) |
| 5 | James Monroe | Democratic-Republican | Second Bank of United States Panic of 1819 – Wildcat banks, too much land speculation Monroe Doctrine – Hands off American continent Russo-American Treaty of 1824 – Russia gets out of Oregon area Rush-Bagot agreement – stopped naval buildup on Great Lakes Treaty of 1818 – Fixed northern boundary of Louisiana Spain cedes Florida in exchange for Mexico Jackson invades Florida Missouri Compromise (slave below 36’30, admit Missouri/Maine) Gibbons v. Ogden – States couldn’t regulate interstate commerce Dartmouth College v. Woodward – states can’t mess with contracts |
| 6 | John Quincy Adams | Democratic-Republican | Tariff of Abominations Corrupt bargain, Clay becomes SecState Henry Clay throws election to Adams |
| 7 | Andrew Jackson | Democratic | Pet banks, pulls money out of BUS Vetoes vote to recharter BUS Tariff of 1832 – Lower than Abomination, but seemed more permanent Compromise Tariff of 1833 Texas wins independence Indian Removal Act Maysville Road veto – Strict construction Specie Circular – attempted to discourage land spec, paid hard money for hard land Calhoun (VP) writesSouth Carolina Exposition, in response to Tariff of Abomination Hayne/Webster Debate Spoils system |
| 8 | Martin Van Buren | Democratic | Panic of 1837 – screwed Buren over Independent Treasury Recognizes Republic of Texas, but doesn’t annex |
| 9 | William Henry Harrison | Whig | Personality campaign Longest speech, shortest term |
| 10 | John Tyler | Whig | Vetoed bank bills Vetoes a tariff bill Webster-Ashburton treaty – Maine border dispute Texas annexed The non-Whiggy Whig |
| 11 | James Polk | Democratic | Tariff-for-revenue Bill – lowered avg rates from 32% to 25% “Fifty-four forty or fight”, but didn’t fight. War with Mexico – Got disputed land of Texas and California CA, OR, Tariff, Independent Treasury California gold rush 1848 |
| 12 | Zachary Taylor | Whig | Doesn’t want Comp of 1850 |
| 13 | Millard Fillmore | Whig | Wants Comp of 1850 (CA free, Fugitive Slave Act) |
| 14 | Franklin Pierce | Democratic | Ostend Manifesto – Sent diplomats to try to get Cuba from Spain but Northerners found and failed Gadsden Purchase – create Pacific Railroad and bought land from Mexico Commodore Perry arrives in Japan Kansas-Nebraska Act – Nebraska: free, Kansas: slave but northerners came into Kansas (Caused formation of Republicans) |
| 15 | James Buchanan | Democratic | Financial crash of 1857 – North was hardest hit and south thought they could live without the north (King Cotton) Tariff of 1857 – lowest tariff since 1812 rate 20% Northerners complained, financial crisis stuck soon after John Brown – martyr for anti slavery forces. killed pro slavery person in Kansas Lincoln Douglas Debates – duking it out for senate of Illinois Douglas won but hurt his chances for Presidential election Dred Scott Decision – slaves were considered to be property and couldn’t sue in federal court |
| 16 | Abraham Lincoln | Republican | All other parties split (Republican – first sectional party) Civil War Emancipation Proclamation Crittenden compromise – 36 30 would be above would be free and territory below later acquired would be slave – Lincoln smacks it down Freedmen’s Bureau – Education, and land for blacks. suspend civil liberties during war |
| 17 | Andrew Johnson | War Union | National Labor Union appears (dies under Grant) Seward buys Alaska Midway Islands annexed 13th Amendment (free slaves) Civil Rights Act (Citizenship and no black codes) 14th Amendment (citizenship, roughly same as Civil Rights Act, but more permenent) Impeached but acquited in Senate (see Tenure of Office Act) |
| 18 | Ulysses S. Grant | Republican | Panic of 1873 – railroad overspeculation Tariff of 1870, ’72, ’75 – Lowered rates and expanded free list (’72 continued expansion, ’75 raises rates) Resumption Act – redeem government loans in hard currency (step away from bimetallism) Political corruption (Credit Mobilier scandal, Tweed Ring, Whiskey Ring) Freedmen’s Bureau expires 15th Amendment (voting) Force acts (guarantee voting for blacks) Civil Rights Act of 1875 (full and equal accomodations. ruled unconst by SC) |
| 19 | Rutherford Hayes | Republican | Bland-Allison Act – Treasury buys silver and makes silver dollars (continued bimetallism) Hayes-Tilden standoff -> Compromise of 1877, end of military reconstruction Desert Land Act – gave land to those who would irrigate for 3 years Timber and Stone Act – land unsuitable for farming sold for mining and logging |
| 20 | James Garfield | Republican | Assasinated by “deranged office seeker”, led to Pendleton Act |
| 21 | Chester A. Arthur | Republican | Tariff of 1875 – continued protectionist principles Chinese Exclusion Act Pendleton Act (led to downfall of patronage) Civil Rights Act of 1875 ruled unConst |
| 22 | Grover Cleveland | Democratic | Interstate Commerce Act – rein in railroads (but commisioners were all railroad people, so nothing happened) Knights of Labor dissolved Dawes Severalty Act – Largely destroys Indian governments Wabash case – defeat for populists who wanted to control railways |
| 23 | Benjamin Harrison | Republican | McKinley Tariff – Highest tariff in American history up till then (48%) Sherman Anti-Trust Act -Prohibited combinations in restraint of trade… would be used to target unions though Sherman Silver Purchase Act – bimetallism Pan-American conference – Worked with Latin-America to establish treaties on trade “Billion Dollar Congress” Frontier line disappears Pension Act 1980 – Give money to veterans (too much money coming in) Hull Houses – help immigrants US Forest Service established by Forest Reserve Act Populists organized |
| 24 | Grover Cleveland | Democratic | Panic of 1893 (blamed on Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which would be repealed) Wilson-Gorman Tariff – slightly lowers McKinley rates, first income tax (ruled unConst) Hawaii revolts, but Cleveland refuses to annex Venezulan border dispute with Britain – “pulling the lion’s tail” Labor unrest (Pullman strike, Coxey’s march on Washington Plessy v Ferguson – “Seperate but equal.” |
| 25 | William McKinley | Republican | Dingley Tariff – Highest of all time, McKinley says “greatest piece of republican legislation” (though he had campaigned on lower tariffs!) Gold Standard Act – Stopped bimetallism Maine sunk Imperialism – Spanish-Amer War (Teller Amendment), Hawaii Annexed, Dewey takes Manila (Phillippines), Foraker Act creates Puerto Rican gov’t Open Door Note Yellow Journalism (Hyped Maine) Elkins Act – no rebates |
| 26 | Theodore Roosevelt | Republican | Northern Securities case – he didn’t want trusts out of control Panic of 1907 (“Roosevelt Panic”) Aldrich-Vreeland Act – increased money supply (banks could issue notes) Panama Canal – Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, Brit agree, Panama revolt, Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty Expansionism – Platt Amendment (Cubans get independence in name only) Roosevelt Corrollary – Big Stick – Perdicaris Affair (person captured in Morocco, sent fleet for their release), Algeciras Conference (open door in Morocco) Russo-Japanese war – Portsmouth Peace Conference Great White Fleet Root-Takahira Agreement – Status quo in Pacific, open door in China 3 C’s (conservation, consumer, corporations) Hepburn – no free passes and strengthens Interstate Commerce Commission Regulations – Meat Inspection, Pure Food and Drug Act Racial tension – Brownsville Affair Lochner v New York – can’t limit number of working hours Gentlemen’s Agreemtn with Japan – limit Japanese immigrants, but Japanese get equal education Muller v Oregon – women’s working hours can’t be restricted, as it is discriminatory |
| 27 | William Howard Tarf | Republican | Payne-Aldrich Tariff – Taft had campaigned on lowering tariffs, but this tariff didn’t really lower them US Steel prosecution – made Roosevelt mad Dollar diplomacy – tried to buy Manchurian railroad from Jp (ignored) NAACP forms Ballinger-Pinchot Affair – Disagreement between Roosevelt and Taft |
| 28 | Woodrow Wilson | Democratic | Underwood Tariff – lowered tariff Federal Reserve Act – Glass-Owens Act Clayton Antitrust Act – interlocking directorates, price discrim, allowed labor unions FTC established LaFollete’s Seamen’s Act Worker’s Compensation Act Adamson’s Act – 8 hour workday for intersate railroad workers, same wage as 10 hour day Keating-Ownes Act – federal child labor law War Revenue Act – graduated income tax Merchant Marine Act – trade between US ports must be on US boats, sold US warfleet Esch-Cummings Transportation Act – solds railroads Tries to stay out of WWI – Lusitania, Sussex pledge (Germans won’t sink unarmed boats), Zimmerman note ABC Conference – stopped (undeclared) war with Mexico Latin America – Send marines to Tahaiti and Santo Domingo, bought Virgin Islands Russian Revolution – US doesn’t recognize for 16 years Treaty of Versailles – 14 pts (self-determination) League of Nation Red Scare – Sacco-Venzetti Triple Wall of Privledge (Tariff, Banks, Trusts) Federal Highway Act Farmers – Farm Loan Act (loans at lower rates), Warehouse Act (loans with crops as security) Selective Service Act – WWI draft War Industry Board – took control of war industries Harlem Rennaissance Solemn Referendum 16th Amendment – income tax 17th Amendment – direct election of senators Appoints Jew to Supreme Court Schenk v. US – 1st Amendment restricted during war 18th Amendment – Prohibition (Volstead Act would enforce it) Hammer v. Dagenhart – government can’t regulate child labor 19th Amendment – women sufferage |
| 29 | Warren Harding | Republican | Emergency Tariff 1921 – saved farmers Fordney-McCumber Tariff – Blatently protective tariff Capper-Volstead Act – Cooperative Marketing Act Separate peace w/ Germany Four, Five, Nine Power Treaties – status quo, 5:5:3, open door in China Veterans Bureau Emergency Quota Act Scandals: Teapot Dome (took bribes to sell mineral rights), Veteran Bureau, Alien Property Custodian, Justice Department KKK revived |
| 30 | Calvin Coolidge | Republican | Dawes Plan – reduce German reperations Withdraws from Dominican Republic Kellog-Briand Pact – Outlaws War Snyder Act of 1924 – American Indians get citizenship Immigration Act of 1924 – Similar to Emergency Quota Act, but different year Soldier’s Bonus Act – Bonus to soldiers Adkins v. Children’s Hospital – minimum wage illegal Scopes trial – evolution trial First female state governor |
| 31 | Herbert Hoover | Republican | Agricultural Marketing Act – created Federal Farm Board which helped farmers organize Stock-market crash Hawley-Smoot Tariff – Highest of all time Reconstruction Finance Corporation – gave loans to businesses (trickle-down) Norris-LaGuardia Anti-Injection Act – no yellow-dog contracts Glass-Steagall – created FDIC, insured deposits in banks London Naval Conference – Altered ratios of five power to 10:10:7 Appeasement – Japan invades Manchuria (US and League complained, but didn’t do anything), Germany takes over stuff Debt Moratorium – Slowed repayment on loans from European nations Stimson Doctrine – don’t recognize results of aggression (resulted from Japan’s expansion in Manchuria) Bonus Army – veterans march on Washington, dispersed by military force |
| 32 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Democratic | Hundred Days Congress – Lots of legislation to cure Depression (doesn’t work), and other related acts
Neutrality Acts – 1935 (no selling arms to countries at war, done over Italian invasion of Ethiopia), 1937 (couldn’t sell to sides in civil war, done because of Spanish CivWar), second act of 1937 (can’t travel on ships of belligerants)
Nazi-Soviet Pact
War Conferences
US becomes world power
GI Bill – gives GI’s education and ease them back into society (didn’t want alot of people coming back and then high unemployment) |
| 33 | Harry Truman | Democratic | Employment Act – gave federal government responsibility for maintaining economy Taft-Hartley Act – no closed shop (no longer forced to join unions) Fair Deal Potsdam Conference – Expanded on Yalta conference Nuremburg Trials – warcrime trial Atomic Energy Commission – created peacetime nuclear energy uses San Francisco Conference – security council for UN, and veto power finalized Phillippines Independence Churchill’s Iron Curtain Truman Doctrine – money to Greece and Turkey, US would fight spread of Commies Marshall Plan – money to Europe, fight commies Containment Policy – resist spread of Communist ideas Berlin Airlift – US will fight communism, Russians back down NATO – first binding treaty! China becomes Red China Korean War Presidential Succession Act – defines order of presidential succession National Security Act – coordinates wartime intelligence Civil Rights
Red Scare
22nd Amendment – 2 terms |
| 34 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Republican | Landrum-Griffin – limited the ways unions could boycott National highways Korean War armistance SEATO, CENTO Domino Theory (one falls, THEY ALL FALL!) Massive Retaliation – build SAC and nuclear bombs, thought to be cheaper Geneva Summit (called for open skies, ignored) Warsaw Pact
Suez Crisis
Alaska and Hawaii admitted as states |
| 35 | John F. Kennedy | Democratic | Cold War
Peace Corps founded
23rd Amendment – DC gets 3 electoral college votes |
| 36 | Lyndon Johnson | Democratic | Great Society – fought poverty and racial injustice War on Poverty, Social Security Act, creating Medicare and Medicaid Vietnam
Civil Rights Acts – protected black men from discrimination, government could force more desgregation in schools, women’s equality |
| 37 | Richard Nixon | Republican | OPEC embargo Alaskan Pipeline Detente
Moon landing |
| 38 | Gerard Ford | Republican | SVietnam falls Pardons Nixon |
| 39 | Jimmy Carter | Democratic | Energy Department (due to OPEC) Camp David between Egypt and Israel Panama Canal treaty – US will return it SALT II Iran Hostage Crisis USSR invades Afghanistan Pardons draft evaders in Vietnam War |
| 40 | Ronald Reagan | Republican | “Reaganomics” tax cut (tried to decrease size of gov’t) Stock Market plunge, 1987 Hostages released Marines killed in Lebanon SDI initiative – outspend USSR Meets with Gorbachev Intermediate Nuclear Force treaty – less nuclear weapons in Europe Iran-Contra scandal First woman justice |
| 41 | George H.W. Bush | Republican | Americans with Disabilities Act Gulf War Berlin Wall falls – Germans unified USSR initiates economic reforms Eastern European bloc falls (Solidarity wins in Poland) USSR disintegrates Environmental summit in Rio de Janero War on Drugs 27th Amendment – congressional pay raises take effect for next round of senators Webster v. Reproductive Health Services – neo-Con |
| 42 | Bill Clinton | Democratic | Welfare reform NAFTA signed EU created PLO-Israeli agreement Troops in Bosnia WTC bombed DADT |
| 43 | George W. Bush | Republican | No Child Left Behind BUSH Tax-Cuts 9/11 Patriot Act War in Iraq War in Afghanistan |
| 44 | Barack Obama | Democratic | 700 Billion Dollar Bailout DADT Repeal Increased troops in Afghanistan Reduced troops in Iraq (did not end war) Obamacare, Health-Care Bill |
