The men who led America: Presidents throughout history

Chester Alan Arthur

21st President of the United States (1881 – 1885)

⁃ “Men may die, but the fabrics of free institutions remains unshaken.”

⁃ Oversaw the largest expansion of the U.S. Navy.

⁃ Vetoed the first version of the Chinese Exclusion Act, but signed the second.

⁃ Enforced the Immigration Act of 1882, imposing more restriction on immigrants.

⁃ Enforced the Tariff of 1883 in an attempt to reduce tariffs.

Stephen Grover Cleveland

22nd President of the United States (1885 – 1889)

⁃ “It is better to be defeated standing for a high principle than to run by committing subterfuge.”

⁃ Signed the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887.

⁃ Signed the Dawes Act, leading to Native Americans ceding control of roughly two-thirds of their land.

⁃ The first Democrat elected president after the Civil War.

⁃ Did not subscribe to the spoils system.

Benjamin Harrison

23rd President of the United States (1889 – 1893)

⁃ “Great lives never go out; they go on.”

⁃ Grandson of ninth President William Henry Harrison.

⁃ Six western states were admitted to the Union under his administration: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming.

⁃ Signed the Sherman Antitrust Act.

⁃ Facilitated the creation of the national forest reserves.

Grover Cleveland

24th President of the United States (1893 – 1897)

⁃ “Unswerving loyalty to duty, constant devotion to truth, and a clear conscience will overcome discouragement and surely lead the way to usefulness and high achievement.”

⁃ The first president to serve two non-consecutive terms.

⁃ Opposed the annexation of Hawaii.

⁃ Supported the gold standard and opposed free silver.

⁃ Highly unpopular, even among Democrats, by end of his second term.

William McKinley

25th President of the United States (1897 – 1901)

⁃ “In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest.”

⁃ The last president who served in the Civil War.

⁃ Won the Spanish-American War.

⁃ Annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines and American Samoa.

⁃ Was assassinated in 1902 by anarchist Leon Czolgosz.

Theodore Roosevelt

26th President of the United States (1901 – 1909)

⁃ “If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”

⁃ The youngest president in history, taking office at 42.

⁃ Prioritized conservation establishing national parks, forests and monuments.

⁃ Began construction of the Panama Canal.

⁃ The first non-European to win a Nobel Prize.

William Howard Taft

27th President of the United States (1909 – 1913)

⁃ “No tendency is quite so strong in human nature as the desire to lay down rules of conduct for other people.”

⁃ Focused on East Asia more than European affairs.

⁃ Sympathy for conservative wing of Republican Party led to split with Theodore Roosevelt.

⁃ Sought to reduce tariffs.

⁃ Repeatedly intervened to prop up Latin American governments.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson

28th President of the United States (1913 – 1921)

⁃ “The object of love is to serve, not to win.”

⁃ The only Democrat to serve during the Progressive Era.

⁃ Led the United States through World War I.

⁃ Authorized racial segregation and opposed women’s suffrage.

⁃ Founding father of the field of public administration.

Warren Gamaliel Harding

29th President of the United States (1921 – 1923)

⁃ “There’s good in everybody. Boost. Don’t knock.”

⁃ The first sitting senator to be elected President.

⁃ Released political prisoners who had been arrested for their opposition to World War I.

⁃ Died of a heart attack in San Francisco, Calif., while in office.

Calvin Coolidge

30th President of the United States (1923 – 1929)

⁃ “If you see 10 troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.”

⁃ Nicknamed “Silent Cal.”

⁃ Signed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.

⁃ Signed the Immigration Act of 1924 and established the United States Border Patrol.

⁃ Oversaw the “Roaring Twenties.”