List Of Presidents

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition.

The President leads the executive branch of the federal government; his role is to execute the law as created by the Congress, in accordance with the Constitution of the United States.

Article II of the Constitution establishes the President as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and enumerates powers specifically granted to the President, including the power to sign into law or veto bills passed by both houses of the Congress.

The President also has the power to create a cabinet of advisers and to grant pardons or reprieves.

Finally, with the "advice and consent" of the Senate, the President is empowered to make treaties and appoint federal officers, ambassadors and federal judges, including Justices of the Supreme Court.

As with officials in the other branches of the federal government, the Constitution restrains the President with a set of checks and balances designed to prevent any individual or group from taking absolute power.

1 George Washington (1789-97)
2 John Adams, 1797-1801 (Federalist)
3 Thomas Jefferson, 1801-9 (Democratic-Republican)
4 James Madison, 1809-17 (Democratic-Republican)
5 James Monroe, 1817-25 (Democratic-Republican)
6 John Quincy Adams, 1825-29 (Democratic-Republican)
7 Andrew Jackson, 1829-37 (Democrat)
8 Martin Van Buren, 1837-41 (Democrat)
9 William Henry Harrison, 1841 (Whig)
10 John Tyler, 1841-45 (Whig)
11 James Knox Polk, 1845-49 (Democrat)
12 Zachary Taylor, 1849-50 (Whig)
13 Millard Fillmore, 1850-53 (Whig)
14 Franklin Pierce, 1853-57 (Democrat)
15 James Buchanan, 1857-61 (Democrat)
16 Abraham Lincoln, 1861-65 (Republican)
17 Andrew Johnson, 1865-69 (Democrat/National Union)
18 Ulysses Simpson Grant, 1869-77 (Republican)
19 Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 1877-81 (Republican)
20 James Abram Garfield, 1881 (Republican)
21 Chester Alan Arthur, 1881-85 (Republican)
22 Grover Cleveland, 1885-89 (Democrat)
23 Benjamin Harrison, 1889-93 (Republican)
24 Grover Cleveland, 1893-97 (Democrat)
25 William McKinley, 1897-1901 (Republican)
26 Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-9 (Republican)
27 William Howard Taft, 1909-13 (Republican)
28 Woodrow Wilson, 1913-21 (Democrat)
29 Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1921-23 (Republican)
30 Calvin Coolidge, 1923-29 (Republican)
31 Herbert Clark Hoover, 1929-33 (Republican)
32 Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933-45 (Democrat)
33 Harry S Truman, 1945-53 (Democrat)
34 Dwight David Eisenhower, 1953-61 (Republican)
35 John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961-63 (Democrat)
36 Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963-69 (Democrat)
37 Richard Milhous Nixon, 1969-74 (Republican)
38 Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr , 1974-77 (Republican)
39 James Earl Carter, 1977-81 (Democrat)
40 Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1981-89 (Republican)
41 George Herbert Walker Bush, 1989-1993 (Republican)
42 William Jefferson Clinton, 1993- 2001(Democrat)
43 George W. Bush, 2001- 2009 (Republican)
44 Barack Husein Obama, 2009- (Democrat)

The Treaty of Paris in 1783 left the United States independent and at peace but with an unsettled governmental structure. The Second Continental Congress had drawn up Articles of Confederation in 1777, describing a permanent confederation, but granting to the Congress-the only federal institution-little power to finance itself or to ensure that its resolutions were enforced. In part, this reflected the anti-monarchy view of the Revolutionary period, and the new American system was explicitly designed to prevent the rise of an American tyrant to replace the British King.

However, during the economic depression due to the collapse of the continental dollar following the Revolution, the viability of the American government was threatened by political unrest in several states, efforts by debtors to use popular government to erase their debts, and the apparent inability of the Continental Congress to redeem the public obligations incurred during the war. The Congress also appeared unable to become a forum for productive cooperation among the States encouraging commerce and economic development. In response a Constitutional Convention was convened, ostensibly to reform the Articles of Confederation, but that subsequently began to draft a new system of government that would include greater executive power while retaining the checks and balances thought to be essential restraints on any imperial tendency in the office of the President.

Individuals who presided over the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary period and under the Articles of Confederation had the title "President of the United States in Congress Assembled," often shortened to "President of the United States". The office had little distinct executive power. With the 1788 ratification of the Constitution, a separate executive branch was created (President of the United States).

The President's executive authority under the Constitution, tempered by the checks and balances of the judicial and legislative branches of the federal government, was designed to solve several political problems faced by the young nation and to anticipate future challenges, while still preventing the rise of an autocrat over a nation wary of royal authority.

After World War II, the United States' status as a superpower transformed the President into one of the world's most well-known and influential public figures. The appellation "leader of the free world", frequently used in reference to Presidents since the Cold War, symbolizes the President's elevated role in world affairs. The official presidential anthem is "Hail to the Chief"; preceded by "ruffles and flourishes", it is primarily played to announce the President at state functions.

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution sets the principal qualifications to be eligible for election as President. A presidential candidate must:

* be a natural born citizen of the United States;
* be at least thirty-five years old;
* have been a permanent resident in the United States for at least fourteen years.

Additionally, the Constitution disqualifies some people from the Presidency. Under Article I, Section 3, Clause 7, the Senate has the option, upon conviction, of disqualifying impeached individuals from holding other federal offices, including the Presidency.

Under the Twenty-second Amendment, no one can be elected President more than twice. The Twenty-second Amendment also specifies that anyone who serves more than two years as President or Acting President, of a term for which someone else was elected President, can only be elected President once. Scholars disagree whether a person no longer eligible to be elected President could be elected Vice President, pursuant to the qualifications set out under the Twelfth Amendment.

Foreign-born Americans at the time the Constitution was adopted were also eligible to become President, provided they met the age and residency requirements.

The United States government was non-partisan prior to 1792, so the Constitution says nothing about political parties. From 1796 to the Civil War, it was common for political parties to fracture and put forward more than one candidate. The classic example is the 1824 election, in which political parties officially played no role because all of the candidates were from the same party. This also was the only election in which the recipient of the most Electoral College votes (Andrew Jackson) did not become President (as he did not have a majority). The election was then decided by the House of Representatives, which elected John Quincy Adams instead.

The Civil War brought home how dangerous political fracture could be for the nation, with the result that the two largest parties at the time - Democratic and Republican - remade themselves into broad coalitions of liberals and conservatives. Consequently, all presidents since the Civil War have been nominees of one of these two major political parties.

Nevertheless, there have been seven important third-party candidates since the Civil War:

* In the 1892 election, James Weaver (Populist Party) won four states, taking twenty-two electoral votes
* In the 1912 election, third-party candidate, former Republican and former President Theodore Roosevelt (Progressive Party a.k.a. "Bull Moose Party") actually bested the losing major party candidate, taking six states and eighty-eight electoral votes, while sitting President William Howard Taft (Republican) took two states and eight electoral votes-and Democrat Woodrow Wilson took the White House.
* In the 1924 election, Robert M. La Follette, Sr. (Progressive) took one state, with thirteen electoral votes.
* In the 1948 election, Strom Thurmond (States Rights) won four states, taking thirty-nine electoral votes
* In the 1960 election, Harry F. Byrd (Democrat) did not run for President but received fifteen electoral votes from three states. All eight of Mississippi's electors voted for Byrd as President and Strom Thurmond as Vice President; six of Alabama's electors did likewise, while one Republican faithless elector from Oklahoma cast his votes for Byrd as President and for Barry Goldwater as Vice President.
* In the 1968 election, former Alabama Governor George Wallace (American Independent Party) won five states, taking forty-six electoral votes.
* In the 1992 election, Independent candidate Ross Perot took nearly 19% of the popular vote at the national level, but he won no states and thus received no electoral votes.

Finally, while they are not in any way requirements:

* Thirty-one of forty-three Presidents had military service records; all but one of them (James Buchanan) served as an officer.
* Every President has had prior experience as a Congressman, Senator, Cabinet Secretary, Governor, General in the United States Army or as Vice President of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America

Although the Presidency entails numerous foreign obligations and policy issues, many Presidents have had limited or no understanding of a language other than English. Early 19th century Presidents such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Quincy Adams were fluent in French, the diplomatic language of the time (John Quincy Adams spoke Dutch and German as well). However, since the 1840 defeat of Martin Van Buren (whose first language was actually Dutch), few Presidents have had the ability to speak a second language fluently; one notable exception, Theodore Roosevelt, spoke French and German. Written Latin and Greek were once commonly known to Presidents as hallmarks of a Classical education, but their influence has declined over time.

The president's term of office begins at noon on January 20 of the year following the election. This date, known as Inauguration Day, marks the beginning of the president's and vice president's four-year terms. Before assuming office, the president-elect is constitutionally required to take the presidential oath:
" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) 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. "

Although it is not required, presidents have traditionally used a Bible to take oath of office (some exceptions: Chester A. Arthur in 1881 and Theodore Roosevelt in 1901 did not use a Bible, while Lyndon B. Johnson in 1963 used a Roman Catholic missal, because there were no Bibles aboard Air Force One). George Washington began this practice, borrowing a Bible from St. John's Lodge No. 1.

Although no law requires that the oath of office be administered by someone, new presidents are traditionally sworn-in by the Chief Justice of the United States. Washington was sworn-in by Chancellor of New York Robert Livingston, there being no federal judges before Washington took office and appointed the first of them. The oath of office was administered upon John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson by lesser-capacity judges, and Calvin Coolidge by his own father who was a notary public.

Another tradition is to finish the oath of office with the words, "so help me God." It is commonly believed that George Washington began this practice at his first inauguration, though evidence for this is circumstantial at best. While this phrase is not an official part of the oath, many presidents have finished the oath with those words.

George Washington, the first president, set an unofficial term limit of two terms, a precedent that subsequent presidents followed until 1940. After the twelve-year presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected four times, but died shortly after beginning his fourth term, the Twenty-second Amendment was ratified, barring presidents from being elected more than twice, or once if they served more than half of another president's term. Prior to Roosevelt, several presidents had campaigned for a third term, but none had been elected. Harry S. Truman, who was president at the time of the amendment's ratification and thus not subject to its terms, also briefly sought a third term before withdrawing from the 1952 race, although it would have been only his second full term as president.

Since the amendment's ratification, four presidents have served two full terms: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. Jimmy Carter and George H W Bush sought a second term but were defeated. Gerald R Ford sought a term after serving three years of Nixon's but was not elected, and therefore became the 5th person to never have been elected. Richard Nixon was elected to a second term, but resigned before completing it; George W. Bush became the fourth upon completion of his second term on January 20, 2009. Lyndon B. Johnson was the only president under the amendment to be eligible to serve more than two terms in total, having served for only 14 months following John F. Kennedy's assassination. However, he chose not to run in the 1968 election.

The president is the chief executive of the United States, putting him at the head of the executive branch of the government, whose responsibility is to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed". To carry out this duty, he is given control of the four million employees of the federal executive branch, including one million active duty personnel in the military. Both the legislative and judicial branches maintain checks and balances on the powers of the president, and vice versa.

Various executive and judicial branch appointments are made by presidents, including Presidents-elect. Up to 6,000 appointments may be made by an incoming president before he takes office, and 8,000 more may be made while in office. Ambassadors, judges of the federal court system, members of the Cabinet, and other federal officers are all appointed by the president, with the "advice and consent" of the Senate, granted by a simple majority. Appointments made while the Senate is in recess are temporary and expire at the end of the next session of the Senate. He may also grant pardons, as is often done just before the end of a presidential term.

In addition, while the president cannot directly introduce legislation, he can play an important role in shaping it, especially if the president's political party has a majority in one or both houses of Congress. While members of the executive branch are prohibited from simultaneously holding seats in Congress, they often write legislation and allow a member of Congress to introduce it for them. The president can further influence the legislative branch through the annual constitutionally-mandated report to Congress, which may be written or oral but in modern times is the State of the Union Address, which often outlines the president's legislative proposals for the coming year. If Congress passes a bill that the president disapproves of, he may veto it; the veto can be overridden only by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, making it substantially more difficult to enact the law.

Perhaps the most important of all presidential powers is command of the armed forces as commander-in-chief. The framers of the Constitution took care to limit the president's powers regarding the military; Alexander Hamilton explains this in Federalist No. 69:
" The President is to be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States. [...] It would amount to nothing more than the supreme command and direction of the military and naval forces [...] while that [the power] of the British king extends to the DECLARING of war and to the RAISING and REGULATING of fleets and armies, all [of] which [...] would appertain to the legislature.[6] "

While the power to declare war is constitutionally vested in Congress, the president commands and directs the military and is responsible for planning military strategy. Congress, pursuant the War Powers Act, must authorize any troop deployments more than 60 days in length. Military spending and regulations are also governed by Congress, providing a check to presidential power. Along with the armed forces, foreign policy is also directed by the president, including the ability to negotiate treaties, which are ratified with the consent by two-thirds of the Senate.

Since Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fireside chats, the President has given a weekly Presidential radio address usually every Saturday.