The men who led America: Presidents throughout history

­James Knox Polk

11th President of the United States (1845 – 1849)

• “The gratitude of the nation to the Sovereign Arbiter of all human events should be commensurate with the boundless blessing which we enjoy.”
• Saw Texas join the Union in his first year of office.
• Settled the dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States over the Oregon Territory creating the present U.S. - Canadian boundary.
• Pledged to only serve one-term.
• Oversaw the victory of the Mexican-American War.

Zachary Taylor

12th President of the United States (1849 – 1850)

• “I have always done my duty. I am ready to die. My only regret is for the friends I leave behind me.”
• Had the third-shortest presidential term in U.S. history.
• The last president born before the Constitution of the United States was adopted.
• The first president to be elected without having previously held political office.
• Only served 16-months before dying of a stomach disease.

Millard Fillmore

13th President of the United States (1850 – 1853)

• “An honorable defeat is better than a dishonorable victory.”
• The last president to be neither Democrat or Republican, part of the whig party
• Instrumental in passing the Compromise of 1850.
• The only president who succeeded by death or resignation that did not retain his predecessor’s cabinet initially.
• Supported expeditions to open trade in Japan.

Franklin Pierce

14th President of the United States (1853 – 1857)

• “While men inhabiting different parts of this vast continent cannot be expected to hold the same opinions, they can unite in a common objective and sustain common principles.”
• Signed the Gadsden Purchase of land from Mexico.
• Signed trade treaties with Britain and Japan.
• Supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
• Led a failed attempt to acquire Cuba.

James Buchanan

15th President of the United States (1857 – 1861)

• “The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among free men.”
• Intervened in Dred Scott V. Sanford to secure pro-slavery ruling.
• Supported efforts to admit Kansas Territory into the union as a slave state.
• Honored his pledge to only serve one term.
• Served as President Polk’s Secretary of State.

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States (1861 – 1865)

• “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”
• The first Republican president.
• Issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared slaves in states in rebellion free.
• Promoted the 13th Amendment abolishing chattel slavery.
• First president to be assassinated.

Andrew Johnson

17th President of the United States (1865 – 1869)

• “If you always support the correct principles, then you will never get the wrong results.”
• Succeeded Abraham Lincoln after his assassination.
• Opposed the 14th amendment.
• Impeached by the House of Representatives and avoided conviction by one vote.
• The only president to serve in the Senate after serving as President.

Ulysses Simpson Grant

18th President of the United States (1869 – 1877)

• “In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.”
• Lead the Union Army to victory during the Civil War as Commanding General.
• Created the United States Department of Justice.
• Supported the 15th amendment and prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan.
• The first president to circumnavigate the world.

Rutherford Birchard Hayes

19th President of the United States (1877 – 1881)

• “Every expert was once a beginner.”
• Believed in meritocratic government and equal treatment.
• Resolved the deadliest conflict between workers and strikebreakers, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
• Staunch abolitionist.
• Kept his promise not to run for reelection.

James Abram Garfield

20th President of the United States (1881 – 1881)

• “Right reason is stronger than force.”
• Purged corruption in the Post Office.
• Advocated for agricultural technology, educated electorate and civil rights for African Americans.
•  Was shot by assassin Charles J. Guiteau and later died from the gunshot wound.
• One of the shortest serving Presidents in history.