The President of the United States is the head of state and the head of government of the United States. As chief of the executive branch and head of the federal government as a whole, the Presidency is the highest political official position in the United States by influence and recognition. The President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces. The President is indirectly elected to a four year term by an Electoral College. Since the ratification of the Twenty-second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1951, no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.^[1] This list includes only those persons who were sworn into office as President of the United States following the ratification of the United States Constitution, which took effect in 1789. For American leaders prior to this ratification, see President of the Continental Congress. The list does not include any Acting Presidents under the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the the U.S. Constitution.

There have been 42 people sworn into office, and 43 Presidencies, due to the fact that Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms and is counted chronologically as both the 22nd and the 24th President. Of the individuals elected as President, four have died in office of natural causes, one has resigned, and four were assassinated. The first President was George Washington, who was inaugurated unanimously in 1789. William Henry Harrison spent the shortest time in office at 32 days. At over twelve years, Franklin D. Roosevelt spent the longest time in office, and is the only President to serve more that two terms. The incumbent President is George W. Bush, who is serving his second term. His term is scheduled to end with Inauguration Day—when the next President is sworn in—on January 20, 2009.^[2]

Presidents

      Federalist       Democratic-Republican       Democratic       Whig       Republican

#[*]	President		Took office	Left office	Party	Vice President	Term[*]
1		George Washington	April 30, 1789	March 4, 1797	No party	John Adams	1
							2
2		John Adams	March 4, 1797	March 4, 1801	Federalist	Thomas Jefferson	3
3		Thomas Jefferson	March 4, 1801	March 4, 1809	Democratic-Republican	Aaron Burr	4
						George Clinton	5
4		James Madison	March 4, 1809	March 4, 1817	Democratic-Republican	George Clinton[D]	6
						vacant
						Elbridge Gerry[D]	7
						vacant
5		James Monroe	March 4, 1817	March 4, 1825	Democratic-Republican	Daniel D. Tompkins	8
							9
6		John Quincy Adams	March 4, 1825	March 4, 1829	Democratic-Republican National Republican	John C. Calhoun	10
7		Andrew Jackson	March 4, 1829	March 4, 1837	Democratic	John C. Calhoun[R]	11
						vacant
						Martin Van Buren	12
8		Martin Van Buren	March 4, 1837	March 4, 1841	Democratic	Richard Mentor Johnson	13
9		William Henry Harrison	March 4, 1841	April 4, 1841[D]	Whig	John Tyler	14
10		John Tyler	April 4, 1841	March 4, 1845	Whig No party[N]	vacant
11		James K. Polk	March 4, 1845	March 4, 1849	Democratic	George M. Dallas	15
12		Zachary Taylor	March 4, 1849	July 9, 1850[D]	Whig	Millard Fillmore	16
13		Millard Fillmore	July 9, 1850	March 4, 1853	Whig	vacant
14		Franklin Pierce	March 4, 1853	March 4, 1857	Democratic	William R. King[D]	17
						vacant
15		James Buchanan	March 4, 1857	March 4, 1861	Democratic	John C. Breckinridge	18
16		Abraham Lincoln	March 4, 1861	April 15, 1865[A]	Republican National Union[U]	Hannibal Hamlin	19
						Andrew Johnson	20
17		Andrew Johnson	April 15, 1865	March 4, 1869	Democratic National Union[U]	vacant
18		Ulysses S. Grant	March 4, 1869	March 4, 1877	Republican	Schuyler Colfax	21
						Henry Wilson[D]	22
						vacant
19		Rutherford B. Hayes	March 4, 1877	March 4, 1881	Republican	William A. Wheeler	23
20		James A. Garfield	March 4, 1881	September 19, 1881[A]	Republican	Chester A. Arthur	24
21		Chester A. Arthur	September 19, 1881	March 4, 1885	Republican	vacant
22		Grover Cleveland	March 4, 1885	March 4, 1889	Democratic	Thomas A. Hendricks[D]	25
						vacant
23		Benjamin Harrison	March 4, 1889	March 4, 1893	Republican	Levi P. Morton	26
24		Grover Cleveland (2nd term)	March 4, 1893	March 4, 1897	Democratic	Adlai E. Stevenson I	27
25		William McKinley	March 4, 1897	September 14, 1901[A]	Republican	Garret Hobart[D]	28
						vacant
						Theodore Roosevelt	29
26		Theodore Roosevelt	September 14, 1901	March 4, 1909	Republican	vacant
						Charles W. Fairbanks	30
27		William Howard Taft	March 4, 1909	March 4, 1913	Republican	James S. Sherman[D]	31
						vacant
28		Woodrow Wilson	March 4, 1913	March 4, 1921	Democratic	Thomas R. Marshall	32
							33
29		Warren G. Harding	March 4, 1921	August 2, 1923[D]	Republican	Calvin Coolidge	34
30		Calvin Coolidge	August 2, 1923	March 4, 1929	Republican	vacant
						Charles G. Dawes	35
31		Herbert Hoover	March 4, 1929	March 4, 1933	Republican	Charles Curtis	36
32		Franklin D. Roosevelt	March 4, 1933	April 12, 1945[D]	Democratic	John Nance Garner	37
							38
						Henry A. Wallace	39
						Harry S. Truman	40
33		Harry S. Truman	April 12, 1945	January 20, 1953	Democratic	vacant
						Alben W. Barkley	41
34		Dwight D. Eisenhower	January 20, 1953	January 20, 1961	Republican	Richard Nixon	42
							43
35		John F. Kennedy	January 20, 1961	November 22, 1963[A]	Democratic	Lyndon B. Johnson	44
36		Lyndon B. Johnson	November 22, 1963	January 20, 1969	Democratic	vacant
						Hubert Humphrey	45
37		Richard Nixon	January 20, 1969	August 9, 1974[R]	Republican	Spiro Agnew[R]	46
							47
						vacant
						Gerald Ford
38		Gerald Ford	August 9, 1974	January 20, 1977	Republican	vacant
						Nelson Rockefeller
39		Jimmy Carter	January 20, 1977	January 20, 1981	Democratic	Walter Mondale	48
40		Ronald Reagan	January 20, 1981	January 20, 1989	Republican	George H. W. Bush	49
							50
41		George H. W. Bush	January 20, 1989	January 20, 1993	Republican	Dan Quayle	51
42		Bill Clinton	January 20, 1993	January 20, 2001	Democratic	Al Gore	52
							53
43		George W. Bush	January 20, 2001	Incumbent (Term expires January 20, 2009)	Republican	Dick Cheney	54
							55

Notes

• ^*  The numerals indicate the consecutive time in office served by a single person. For example, George Washington served two consecutive terms and is counted as the first President (not the first and second). Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency after the resignation of Richard Nixon, serving out the remainder of what would have been Nixon's second term. The fact that Ford was not voted into office does not affect the numbering, which makes him the 38th President.
• ^D  Died in office of natural causes.
• ^R  Resigned.
• ^A  Assassinated.
• ^N  Former Democrat who ran for Vice President on Whig ticket. Clashed with Whig congressional leaders and was expelled from the Whig party in 1841.
• ^U  Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson were, respectively, a Republican and a Democrat who ran on the National Union ticket in 1864.

See also

• President of the United States
• Timeline of Presidents of the United States
• United States presidential inauguration
• List of educational institutions named after U.S. presidents
• Presidential $1 Coin Program

References

• Frank Freidel and Hugh S. Sidey, "The Presidents of the United States". The White House.
• Robert S. Summers, "POTUS: Presidents of the United States". Internet Public Library.

External links

• Biographical Facts on all United States Presidents
• Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

v • d • e Presidents of the United States George Washington · John Adams · Thomas Jefferson · James Madison · James Monroe · John Quincy Adams · Andrew Jackson · Martin Van Buren · William Henry Harrison · John Tyler · James K. Polk · Zachary Taylor · Millard Fillmore · Franklin Pierce · James Buchanan · Abraham Lincoln · Andrew Johnson · Ulysses S. Grant · Rutherford B. Hayes · James A. Garfield · Chester A. Arthur · Grover Cleveland · Benjamin Harrison · Grover Cleveland · William McKinley · Theodore Roosevelt · William Howard Taft · Woodrow Wilson · Warren G. Harding · Calvin Coolidge · Herbert Hoover · Franklin D. Roosevelt · Harry S. Truman · Dwight D. Eisenhower · John F. Kennedy · Lyndon B. Johnson · Richard Nixon · Gerald Ford · Jimmy Carter · Ronald Reagan · George H. W. Bush · Bill Clinton · George W. Bush

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