The President and Vice-President are elected every four years. They must be at least 35 years of age, they must be native-born citizens of the United States, and they must have been residents of the U.S. for at least 14 years. (Also, a person cannot be elected to a third term as President.)

Washington, George
George Washington (Feb. 22, 1732-December 14, 1799) was a Revolutionary War hero and the first President of the United States; he served two terms as President.  Early Life:George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Washington's father died when George was 11 years old. He had very little formal schooling, but taught himself to be an expert woodsman, surveyor (a person who determines the boundaries and area of tracts of land), and mapmaker. Washington grew to be over 6 feet tall -- this was very rare in Colonial times.

French and Indian War:
As a young man, Washington joined the Virginia militia. He and six men traveled 500 miles north to the shores of Lake Erie to deliver a message to the French -- the French were ordered to stop settling land that was claimed by the British. This land dispute led to a battle in which Washington and 160 men lost to the French; this was the beginning of the French and Indian War (the British and the Colonists fought the French and some Indian tribes). After many heroic battles, Washington became a colonel and the leader of Virginia's militia. The British eventually won the French and Indian War.
 
Marriage:
Washington married Martha Custis in 1759; she was a rich widow who had two children, Martha "Patsy" and John "Jacky." Their home in Virginia was called Mt. Vernon. George and Martha did not have children together.

A Start in Politics:
In 1758, Washington was elected to the House of Burgesses in Virginia (the local governing body of Virginia).

Revolutionary War:
In order to pay for the expensive French and Indian War, the British taxed the Colonists (the Stamp Tax), angering them. In Boston, the Colonists revolted, dumping precious tea into Boston Harbor (this event is called the Boston Tea Party).

In 1775, Washington was chosen as the Commander in Chief of the Colonial Army. In 1776, the Colonists declared their independence from the British. General Washington led ragtag Patriot troops who were poorly trained, barely paid, badly equipped, and outnumbered by the British. Patriot women, like Molly "Pitcher," often helped on the battlefields, carrying pitchers of water to cool down the cannons so they could be re-fired, and also nursing the wounded.
Due to the brilliant planning of George Washington and some help from the French late in the War, the British were defeated in 1781 after many bloody battles. The Americans were now independent of the British.

The US Constitution:
After independence, the Americans were governed under the Articles of Confederation (adopted by the Patriots in 1777), but the country struggled.
1787, Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during which the US Constitution was written.

The US Constitution outlined a representative government with checks and balances among three branches of government : the Executive (the President), the Legislative Branch (law makers), and the Judicial Branch (judges and courts). The Constitution was ratified in 1788 -- it went into effect in 1789. The next step was to set up this new, revolutionary form of government.

President of the US:Washington was unanimously elected President of the United States of America by electors in early 1789 and again in 1792. Both votes were unanimous. John Adams was his vice-president. Washington's first inauguration took place in New York City, New York (which was the first capital of the USA, from 1789 to 1790). Washington's second inauguration took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (it was the capital from 1790 to 1800). Washington refused a third Presidential term, saying in his farewell speech that a longer rule would give one man too much power.
 
During Washington's presidency, the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution) was adopted (in 1791). The Bill of Rights guarantees the rights of the American people. In Washington's cabinet were Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State), Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of Treasury), Henry Knox (Secretary of War), and Edmund Randolph (Attorney General).

Washington wore false teeth made from hippopotamus ivory.
Washington died on December 14, 1799, at his home, Mt. Vernon, located in Fairfax County, Virginia. After his death, the nation's capital was moved from Philadelphia to a location on the border of Virginia and Maryland near Washington's home, and was named Washington, District of Columbia in his honor.

Adams, John
John Adams (1735-1826) was the second President of the USA, serving from 1797 to 1801. His Vice-President was Thomas Jefferson. John Adams was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on October 30, 1735. His father was a farmer. Adams graduated from Harvard University in 1755, and went on to become a lawyer in Boston.

Adams was a delegate to both the First and Second Continental Congresses, and helped draft the Declaration of Independence. After the Revolution, in 1783, Adams went to France to sign the Treaty of Paris, and became the first US ambassador to Great Britain from 1785 to 1788 (this was a very difficult position, since the British were not pleased with the outcome of the war).

Adams died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson had died earlier that same day.

Jefferson, Thomas
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was a founding father of the US, the author of the draft of the Declaration of Independence, and the third President of the United States of America (serving from 1801 to 1809). This great man was a long-term legislator, lawyer, diplomat, architect, inventor, agriculturist, writer, and revolutionary thinker. Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to map the newly-acquired western US territory (they returned in 1806 with maps, newly-discovered animals, and information about Indian tribes).

Early Life:
Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, Goochland (now called Albemarle) County, Virginia. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a successful planter and surveyor in Virginia. His mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, was from a wealthy family.

Education and Marriage:
From 1760 to 1762, Jefferson attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He later studied law privately. He began practicing law in 1767.
 
Monticello was the Virginia house that Jefferson designed and lived in most of his life. It was built on land that he inherited from his family. Construction on Monticello began in 1769 but continued for decades as Jefferson added to the house.

In 1772, Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton (she died in 1782, after giving birth to their sixth child, Lucy Elizabeth). Only two of their children survived to adulthood.
Jefferson had, on average, about 200 slaves who ran his house and grew food on his large estate.

Revolutionary America:While a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1775, Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence (it was amended by Benjamin Franklin and other committee members).

In 1776, Jefferson was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, where he fought for the separation of church and state and other causes that were important to him. Jefferson became the Governor of Virginia in 1779, but resigned his second term in 1781 after the British (led by the turncoat Benedict Arnold) invaded Virginia. Jefferson had been unprepared for the attack and soon became very unpopular in Virginia.

In 1783, Jefferson was elected to Congress (from Virginia). Soon after, in 1785, President George Washington appointed Jefferson as the US Minister to France (replacing Benjamin Franklin). In 1789, Washington appointed him Secretary of State, but he resigned on Dec. 31, 1793 (after major differences with Alexander Hamilton).

In 1796, Jefferson ran for President of the USA, but lost. John Adams won, and Jefferson became Vice-President of the USA (it was an unusual administration since Adams and Jefferson had been opponents).

Serving as President:
Jefferson was elected President in 1800 (defeating Adams). He was re-elected to a second term in 1804. His Vice-Presidents were Aaron Burr and George Clinton. As President, Jefferson arranged the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803. The Louisiana Purchase increased the area of the United States tremendously (it had an area of 828,000 square miles (2,155,500 square kilometers). Soon after (in 1804), Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to map the newly-acquired western US territory (they returned in 1806 with maps, newly-discovered animals, and information about Indian tribes).

Late in Life:
Jefferson retired from elected office in 1809 and went to live at Monticello - he never again left the state of Virginia. In 1814, Thomas Jefferson sold his extensive personal library to government of the US to re-start the Library of Congress, which has been burned during the War of 1812; Jefferson was paid $23,950 for his 6,487 books. In 1819, Jefferson founded the University of Virginia.

Jefferson died at Monticello on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. John Adams died later that same day. They were the only two signers of the Declaration of Independence who were elected President of the USA.

Madison, James
James Madison (1751-1836) was the fourth President of the United States of America. He was President from 1809 until 1817. Madison belonged to the Democratic-Republican Party. Madison helped write the Virginia Constitution (1776), was a leader in the Virginia legislature (from 1776, where he worked diligently for religious freedom), and was elected to the Continental Congress (1779-1783). Madison and Thomas Jefferson became close friends, probably meeting in 1776 at the Virginia House of Delegates.

In 1787, Madison was the youngest member of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania(this was the meeting at which the US Constitution was written). Madison was an advocate for a stronger central government (years later, he later changed his position, calling for states' rights). Madison participated in editing the final draft of the US Constitution. He was the only person who kept extensive notes on this secret convention, and they are now the main record of this historic event.

Madison was elected President of the USA in 1808 and in 1812; he served from 1809 until 1817. George Clinton and Elbridge Gerry were his Vice-Presidents.
Late in life, he worked in the Virginia Constitutional Convention, helped Jefferson found the University of Virginia, and worked against slavery. Madison died on June 28, 1836 - he was 85 years old.

Monroe, James
James Monroe (1758-1831). The fifth president of the United States, James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia to James and Nelly Conway Madison. He was one of 10 children. Madison fought in the Continental Army and practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Monroe , an anti-Federalists, participated in the Virginia Convention that approved the Constitution of the United States. In 1817, his first term as president began. In 1819, the USA purchased Florida from Spain for $5,000,000. Madison was re-elected in 1820, serving until 1825. In 1823, he established the Monroe Doctrine, limiting European power and influence in the Americas. Monroe died on July 4, 1831, in New York City, New York. 

Adams, John Quincy
John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767-February 23, 1848) was the sixth President of the USA, serving from 1825 to 1829. His Vice-President was John Calhoun. As President, Adams' political party was "National Republican." John Quincy Adams' father, John Adams, was the second president of the United States. John Quincy Adams was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, on October 30, 1735. His father was a farmer. Adams graduated from Harvard University in 1787, and went on to become a lawyer in Boston and was elected senator from Massachesetts in 1803. President James Madison appointed Adams Minister to the Netherlands and later, Russia. Adams helped negotiate the treaty that ended the War of 1812 (which was fought with Britain). Adams then became Madison's Secretary of State. He later negotiated the treaty with Canada that placed the border west of the Great Lakes at the 49th parallel. He then negotiated with Spain, obtaining a treaty that returned Florida to the USA. Adams also helped draft the Monroe Doctrine, that ended European colonization of the Americas.

After winning the presidency in 1824 (beating Andrew Jackson), Adams' term included prosperity and road and canal building (including the Erie Canal, which connected New York City and the Great Lakes). Adams lost the next presidential election (Jackson won). Adams then served in the House of Representatives until his death (1831 until 1848).

Jackson, Andrew
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) was the seventh president of the United States. Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in Waxhaw Settlement, South Carolina. After law school, Jackson served in Congress and was a judge. He founded the modern day Democratic Party, campaigning under the slogan "Let the people rule". He was a major general in the War of 1812, became a national hero, and in 1828, was elected president (he served from 1829 until 1837). Jackson died on June 8, 1845, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Van Buren, Martin
Martin Van Buren (1782-1862) was the eighth president of the United States. Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782, in Kinderhook, New York. He studied law in New York City, was a lawyer, and then became senator from New York. He served as president of the USA from 1837 until 1841. During this time America entered a depression, many banks were forced to close, and legions of people lost their savings. Van Buren ran for president again in 1848, but lost to William Harrison. Van Buren died on July 24, 1862, in Kinderhook, New York.

Harrison, William H.
William H. Harrison (1773-1841) was the ninth president of the United States. Harrison was born on February 9, 1773, in Charles City County, Virginia. He was president for only 30 days in 1841. When he was delivering his inauguration, he caught a cold which turned into pneumonia and killed him in a month. Harrison had the shortest term of any U.S. president, and was the first president to die while in office. Harrison died in the White House on April 4, 1841.

Tyler, John
John Tyler (1790-1862) was the tenth president of the United States, Tyler was born on March 29, 1790, in Charles City County, Virginia. He was the first vice president to become the president after the current president (William Harrison's) died in office. Tyler served for one term, 1841 until 1845. His most important achievement was signing a joint resolution that annexed Texas as a US state; this happened three days before he left office.

Polk, James K.
James K. Polk (1795-1849) was the eleventh president of the United States. Polk was born on November 2, 1795, near Pineville, North Carolina. Serving as US President from 1845 until 1849, Polk was the first president who didn't seek a second term in office. In 1845, Polk convinced Congress to declare war on Mexico to continue the expansion of the US westward (the Mexican War lasted from 1846-1848). During his term, much of the Southwest and California became part of the United States. Polk died on June 15, 1849, in Nashville, Tennessee, only three months after leaving office.

Taylor, Zachary
Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) was the 12th president of the United States. Taylor was born on November 24, 1784, near Barboursville, Virginia. Taylor was a military hero in the War of 1812, the Indian Wars, and in the Mexican War. He served as US president from 1848 until 1850 (only 16 months). He died suddenly in office on July 6, 1850, in Washington, D.C.

Fillmore, Millard
Millard Fillmore (1800-1874) was the 13th president of the United States. Fillmore was born on January 7, 1800 in Locke, New York. Fillmore was Vice President under Zachary Taylor, but became president after Taylor died in office. Although Fillmore was against slavery, he approved of the Compromise of 1850, which allowed more new slave states to be entered into the Union and harshly penalized people who helped runaway slaves; because of this, Fillmore lost much of his support from the North. One of Fillmore's achievements was opening up trade with Japan (Fillmore sent Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan). Fillmore was president from 1850 until 1853, and died on March 8, 1874 in Buffalo, New York.

Pierce, Franklin
Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) was the 14th president of the United States. Pierce was born on November 23, 1804, in Hillsboro, New Hampshire. During his term (1853-1857) his greatest accomplishment was the Gadsden Purchase (1853), this added parts of northern of Mexico to the United States (now parts of southern Arizona and New Mexico). President Pierce supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which repealed the Missouri Compromise, creating two new teritories, Kansas and Nebraska, and let the new settlers decide whether they would have slavery in the new territories. Pierce died on October 8, 1869, in Concord, New Hampshire.

Buchanan, James
James Buchanan (April 23, 1791-June 1, 1868) was the 15th President of the USA (he was President from 1857-1861 and was a member of the Democratic party). Educated as a lawyer, Buchanan had worked as a Pennsylvania state legislator, Representative, minister to Russia, US Senator, Secretary of State (to President James K. Polk), and minister to Great Britain. After he was elected President, Buchanan fought to preserve the Union (the North and the South were heading towards war over the issue of slavery). Although he was against slavery, Buchanan let Kansas (a slave state) join the Union - this angered the anti-slavery North. Buchanan's support of the outcome of the Dred Scott court case (in which it was ruled that Scott, a black man could not obtain his freedom because he was not a US citizen) also decreased support in the North. Lincoln became President in 1861 after Buchanan left office.

Lincoln, Abraham
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States of America (February 12, 1809- April 15, 1865) and one of the greatest presidents. He was President during most of the Civil War; Lincoln helped abolish slavery in the United States. Lincoln was assassinated soon before the end of the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky. He had very little formal schooling and was mostly self-educated. He eventually became a lawyer and a Republican politician; he earned the nickname "Honest Abe." Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842; they had four sons; they had four sons, but only one survived childhood.

Lincoln was elected President in 1860 (defeating Democrat Stephen A. Douglas after a seried of famous debates). During Lincoln's presidency, the Southern states seceded from (left) the Union because Lincoln and the Northern states were against slavery. Six weeks after becoming President, the Civil War began. In this war, the Northern states (which stayed in the Union) fought the Southern states (called the Confederacy). The Civil War lasted from 1861 until 1865.

The Gettysburg Address
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met here on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But in a larger sense we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled, here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

On Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which eventually led to the freeing of all slaves in the USA. During the Civil War, Lincoln gave many speeches, including the Gettysburg Address (Nov. 1863), a short speech in which he stated how a country must be dedicated to human freedom in order to survive.

Lincoln was re-elected President in 1864 (defeating Democrat George B. McClellan).
General Robert E. Lee (from the Confederacy) surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant (from the Union) on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the Civil War.

President Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth (an actor). Lincoln had been attending a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. Lincoln died the next morning. He was the first US president ever assassinated. Andrew Johnson (Lincoln's Vice-President) became the next US President.

Johnson, Andrew
Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was the 17th president of the United States. Johnson was born on December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was Abraham Lincoln's vice-president, and became president after Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. Johnson was the only US president who never went to school; he was self-taught. During the Civil War, Andrew Johnson was the only Southern senator who remained loyal to the Union. During his presidency, Johnson authorized the purchase of Alaska from Russia. Johnson died on July 31, 1875, at Carter Station, Tennessee.

Grant, Ulysses S.
Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) was the 18th president of the United States. Grant was born on April 22, 1822 in Port Pleasant, Ohio. He was a popular commander of the Union Army in the Civil War. The transcontinental railroad (the east-west railroad across the USA) was completed during Grant's term. Grant's two terms (1869-1877) were littered with scandals that involved some of the under-qualified people that Grant had put in high offices; Grant declined to run for a third term. Grant died on July 23, 1885, in Mount McGregor, New York.

Hayes, Rutherford
Rutherford Hayes (1822-1893) was the 19th president of the United States. Hayes was born on October 4, 1822, in Delaware, Ohio. Hayes ended the Reconstruction of the South after the Civil War. During his term as president (1877-1881) the country became more prosperous, but Hayes did not run for a second term. He died on January 17, 1893, in Fremont, Ohio.

Garfield, James
James Garfield (1831-1881) was the 20th president of the United States. Garfield was born on November 19, 1831 in Orange, Ohio. In 1881, four months after becoming president, Garfield was shot and fatally wounded by a person who had wanted, but was not given, a government job by Garfield. Garfield died on September 19, 1881, in Elberon, New Jersey.

Arthur, Chester
Chester Arthur (Oct. 5, 1829-Nov. 18, 1886) was the 21st President of the USA (serving from 1881-1885). Before he was President, Arthur had been the Vice-President of the USA, serving under President James A. Garfield. After Garfield was assassinated, Arthur was elected President. During his term as President, tried to reform the civil service system. Early in his career, Arthur worked as a lawyer and as the customs collector for the Port of New York City (but arthur was ousted from that office for doing political favors for his party supporters).

Cleveland, Grover
Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) was both the 22nd and the 24th President of the United States. Cleveland was born on March 18, 1837, in Caldwell, New Jersey. In 1886, during Cleveland's first term as president, France gave the United States the Statue of Liberty. In 1888, Cleveland lost his bid for re-election to Benjamin Harrison but Clevelnd won the presidency back in 1892. Cleveland served as President from 1885 to 1889, and from 1893 to 1897. He died on June 24, 1908, in Princeton, New Jersey.

Harrison, Benjamin
Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) was the 23rd president of the United States. Harrison was born on August 20, 1833, in North Bend, Ohio. While running for presidency against current president Grover Cleveland, Cleveland got more popular votes, but Harrison won the election since he had received more electoral votes. Harrison's increased tariffs (taxes) on foreign goods and increased government spending caused him to lose the 1882 presidential election to Grover Cleveland. Harrison died on March 13, 1901, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

McKinley, William
William McKinley (1843-1901) was the 25th president of the United States. McKinley was born on January 28, 1843, in Niles, Ohio. McKinley was elected for two terms as president, but only served from 1897 to 1901. During his presidency, the U.S. started and quickly won the Spanish-American War in 1898; the US fought Spain in Cuba, resulting in the independence of Cuba from Spain. Also as a result of this war, the US took possession of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Later, the Hawaiian Islands were later. For the first time in history the United States became a world power. In 1900 McKinley easily won his second presidential election, but on September 6, 1901, he was shot by an anarchist (a person who hates all governments). McKinley died eight days later, on Sept. 14, 1901, in Buffalo, New York.

Roosevelt, Theodore
Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt (1858-1919) was the 26th president of the United States. Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City, New York. Roosevelt increased the size of the U.S. Navy and started construction of the Panama Canal (a canal across Panama to connect the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean). Roosevelt served from 1901 until 1909. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping end the Russo-Japanese War. Roosevelt died on January 6, 1919, in Oyster Bay, New York.

Taft, William
William Howard Taft (1857-1930) was the 27th president of the United States. Taft was born on September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft served as US president from 1909 to 1913. Taft ran for a second term, but was defeated by Woodrow Wilson. The flowering cherry trees in Washington, D.C. were given to the US from Japan during Taft's presideny. Eight years after leaving office, Taft was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court; he retired one month before he died. Taft died on March 8, 1930, in Washington, D.C.

Wilson, Woodrow
Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) was the 28th president of the United States. Wilson was born on December 29, 1856, in Staunton, Virginia. Wilson was a college professor, college president, and governor of New Jersey before becoming president. During Wilson's two presidential terms (he served from 1913-1921) he tried to keep America out of World War I, (Wilson was re-elected using the slogan "He kept us out of war") but he eventually declared war on Germany (which we eventaully won). Wilson founded the League of Nations (it was an organization that was devoted to maintaining world peace, but was proven to be a failure when World War II began in the 1930s). Wilson suffered a stroke in late 1919, and was an invalid for the rest of his term. Wilson died on February 3, 1924, in Washington, D.C.

Harding, Warren
Warren Gamaliel Harding (1865-1923) was the 29th president of the United States. Harding was born on November 2, 1865, near Corsica, Ohio. During his presidency (he served from 1921 until 1923), Harding hired some dishonest and unqualified people to his cabinet. This brought many scandals, including the Teapot Dome scandal (involving oil field leases), which tarnished Harding's reputation and overshadowed almost everything else he did in his term. Prohibition (the 18th Constitutional Amendment that made the use of alcohol illegal - it was later repealed) began during Harding's presidential term. Harding died in office on August 2, 1923, in San Francisco, California.

Coolidge, Calvin
Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) was the 30th president of the United States. Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872 in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. A popular president, Coolidge first served as Vice President under Warren Harding but took over the presidency in 1923 after Harding died in office. In 1924 Coolidge was re-elected for a second term. Known as 'Silent Cal,' Coolidge said very little. Coolidge reduced government spending and cut taxes during his administration (which lasted from 1923 until 1929). Coolidge died on January 5, 1933 in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Hoover, Herbert
Herbert C. Hoover (1874-1964) was the 31st president of the United States. Hoover was born on August 10, 1874, in West Branch, Iowa. Hoover served as president from 1929 until 1933, during the beginning and depths of the Great Depression (this was a time of economic collapse which started in October, 1929, after the New York Stock Exchange prices fell dramatically and many banks closed). By 1933, 13 million Americans were out of work and hd lost their savings. Although Hoover tried to help the economy, much of America thought that he wasn't doing enough. In 1932 he lost his re-election bid to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hoover died on October 20, 1964, in New York City, New York.

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) (1882-1945) was the 32nd president of the United States. FDR was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York. Roosevelt was elected to the US presidency for n unprecedented four terms, more then any other president. He helped lift America out of the Great Depression by establishing many government programs, including farm relief, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and work-relief program. Roosevelt also improved the U.S.'s relations with Latin America with the "Good Neighbor Policy." In World War II the United States tried to remain neutral, but after Pearl Harbor (when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii) America entered the war, helping defend the Allies (Great Britain, France, USSR, Australia, etc.) against Germany and Japan. Weakened by polio, which he contracted in 1921, Roosevelt died before the war ended, on April 12, 1945, in Warm Springs, Georgia (during his fourth term as president).

Truman, Harry S.
Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) was the 33rd president of the United States. Truman was born on May 8, 1884, in Lamar, Missouri. After FDR died in office (In 1945), Truman became presidency. He served from 1945 to 1953. In 1945 Truman authorized dropping two atomic bombs on Japan, ending World War II. Truman won the next election for office, although it had been widely predicted that he would lose. In 1950 he sent troops to South Korea (to help protect against invading communuist North Korean troops), starting the Korean War. Truman died on December 26, 1972, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Eisenhower, Dwight D.
Dwight David Eisenhower ("Ike") (1890-1969) was the 34th president of the United States. Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas. Eisenhower had been the Supreme Allied Commander in World War II. During his presidency, Eisenhower increased social welfare programs. Eisenhower worked to bring peace to the world; in 1953, he helped end the Korean War. He helped create the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in order to stop the spread of communism. In 1954, after the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was illegal, Eisenhower sent US troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to help integrate the public schools. Eisenhower was president from 1953 until 1961. He died on March 28, 1969, in Washington, D.C. 

Kennedy, John F.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) was the 35th president of the United States. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic to become president, and was also the youngest president. When he was 43 years old, Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon for the Presidency. Kennedy was a hero during World War II and was from a powerful family. Kennedy served as President from 1961 to 1963. During that time he advanced the U.S. space program and set the goal of putting Americans on the moon by the end of the decade (Americans eventually set foot on the the moon in 1969, meeting Kennedy's goal, but he did not live to see it). Kennedy also supported civil rights for African-Americans, and helped established the Peace Corps. On November 22, 1963, while visiting Dallas, Texas, Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald.

Johnson, Lyndon B.
Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973) was the 36th president of the United States. LBJ was born on August 27, 1908, in Stonewall, Texas. After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Vice-President Johnson became President. In 1964, Johnson was easily elected President. Johnson created a "war on poverty" and escalated the unpopular Vietnam War. Johnson did not run for a second term. Johnson served as President from 1963 until 1969. Johnson died on January 22, 1973, near Johnson City, Texas.

Nixon, Richard M.
Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994) was the 37th president of the United States. Nixon was born on January 9, 1913, in Yorba Linda, California. During his two partial terms as president (1969-1974) Nixon was the first president to visit China (In 1972); this began a process of developing crucial diplomatic ties with the Chinese Communist regime. He also strengthened ties with the Soviet communist regime (early in his pre-presidential career, Nixon gained popularity by persuing and harassing American communists). In 1972 Nixon was re-elected by a landslide (beating George McGovern). After escalating the US's involvement in the unpopular Vietnam War, Nixon ended it. In 1974, the Watergate scandal occurred in which illegal election campaign activities occured. In 1974 Congress began the process to try to impeach him, but instead, on August 9, 1974, Nixon became the first president to resign from office. Vice-president Gerald Ford then became president.

Ford, Gerald
Gerald R. Ford (1913- 2006) was the 38th president of the United States. Ford was born on July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska and grew up in Michigan. Ford is the only president who wasn't elected to the office of President or Vice-President. When Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned (after being involved in a scandal), Ford took his place. When Richard Nixon resigned the presidency (after the Watergate scandal), Ford became president (from 1974-1977). A month later, Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he might have committed while in office; many Americans were upset over this decision, but Ford wanted to help the country recover from the trauma of Nixon's Watergate scandal. Ford lost the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter.

Carter, Jimmy
James (Jimmy) Earl Carter, Jr. (1924- ) was the 39th president of the United States, serving from 1977-1981. Carter was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. Carter's achievements included creating a new Department of Energy, and issuing the 1979 Camp David Agreement. 63 Americans were taken hostage in Iran during Carter's term; this crisis together with inflation (rising prices) made Carter's popularity decline. Carter ran for president again in 1980, but Ronald Reagan was elected.

Reagan, Ronald Wilson
Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States of America (from 1981-1989); his Vice-President was George H. W. Bush. During Reagan's two terms as US President, the American hostages in Iran were freed, communism in the Soviet Union was defeated peacefully (this was symbolized by the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall separating communist East Berlin and democratic West Berlin), and US taxes were lowered

Bush, George H. W.
George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 - ) was the 41st President of the United States of America. Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, but spent much of his early life in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was President from 1989 until 1993; he lost his re-election bid to William (Bill) Clinton. Bush's Vice-President was James Danforth (Dan) Quayle.

Clinton, William J.
William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton (1946- ) was the 42nd President of the United States. William Jefferson Blythe IV was born on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas. Bill was born three months after his natural father died in a car accident; his mother wed Roger Clinton when Bill was four years old. A popular president, Clinton served during a time of peace and prosperity. Clinton was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to serve as president for two terms (Clinton served from 1993-2001). In 1998 a scandal involved Clinton and a young female White House intern that resulted in Clinton being the second president to be impeached by the House of Representatives; the Senate found him not guilty, and Clinton finished his second term.

Bush, George W.
George Walker Bush (July 6, 1946 - ) is the 43rd President of the United States of America. He became President on January 20, 2001. His Vice-President is Richard Cheney. George W. Bush was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but grew up in Texas. Before becoming President, Bush served as Governor of Texas.