as america prepares to elect its 45th
president this is epic history TVs guide
to the first 44 presidents George
Washington hero of the Revolutionary War
and America's first president twice
elected unanimously by the electoral
college
he steered America on a course of
neutrality and stepped down after two
terms John Adams lawyer diplomat and
intellectual he'd been one of the
leading voices in the call for American
independence he avoided all-out war with
France was the first president to live
in the White House and the first to lose
an election Thomas Jefferson chief
author of the Declaration of
Independence he was a fierce defender of
individual liberty though like several
early presidents himself owned slaves he
opposed federalism and strong central
government but doubled America's size by
buying 800,000 square miles of territory
from France
James Madison at five-foot-four
America's shortest president but a
towering figure in the fight to pass the
US Constitution and Bill of Rights as
president he was forced to fight another
war against Great Britain to uphold
America's rights at sea James Monroe the
last president who was also a founding
father he warned Europe not to meddle in
American affairs while promising the US
would not interfere in Europe's affairs
he passed legislation to restrict
slavery to existing slave states and new
territories south of the Missouri
Compromise line he also supported the
colonisation of Liberia by free
african-americans which is why its
capital Monrovia is named after him John
Quincy Adams son of John Adams America's
second president a brilliant diplomat
who prioritized economic development
while paying off most of America's
national debt
Andrew Jackson a no-nonsense soldier
hero of the war of 1812 and founder of
the Democratic Party once wounded in a
duel his authoritarian style caused his
opponents the Whigs to brand him a
dictator he began a policy of forced
relocation of Native American tribes to
west of the Mississippi River martin van
buren the first president born in an
independent united states son of an
innkeeper
he spoke Dutch at home his presidency
was dominated by America's first major
financial crash he served one term then
lost three subsequent bids for
reelection William Henry Harrison a
soldier who spent most of his career
fighting Native Americans he gave the
longest inaugural speech in history but
served the shortest time in office 30
days after his speech he died of
pneumonia the first president to die in
office john tyler the first vice
president to become president following
the death of his predecessor expelled
from his own party the Whigs for vetoing
their bills which he believed to
contravene states rights
James K Polk a firm believer in westward
expansion
he signed the law admitting Texas to the
Union and provoked a war with Mexico
resulting in the acquisition of half a
million square miles of North America
including California Nevada and Utah he
also negotiated the division of Oregon
with the British Zachary Taylor
career soldier hero of the Mexican War
had never voted before and held no firm
political beliefs with tensions rising
between slave owning and free states
he threatened to hang southern
secessionists but died suddenly of a
stomach illness Millard Fillmore born in
a log cabin
the last Whig president he supported an
uneasy compromise between free and slave
states which was to prove short-lived
Franklin Pierce took office shortly
after he and his wife witnessed the
violent death of their 11 year old son a
trauma that likely left them both
suffering from depression he hastened
the slide towards civil war by allowing
brutal violence to engulf Kansas were
Pro and anti-slavery settlers fought for
control of the territory James Buchanan
his attempts to mediate between northern
free states and southern slave states
failed abject ly leading the Democratic
Party to split and the southern states
to leave the Union
Abraham Lincoln America's first
Republican president he led the north to
victory in the Civil War and freed all
southern slaves by executive order he
was the first president to be
assassinated shot and killed by John
Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in
Washington DC
Andrew Johnson a southerner born into
poverty he sided with the Union during
the Civil War but after the war he
blocked Congress's attempts to impose
reforms on the south this led to his
impeachment though he was acquitted in
the Senate
by one vote
ulysses s grant union hero of the civil
war he used the military to enforce
reconstruction of former slave states
and protect those targeted by white
supremacist violence in the south his
presidency also saw war against Native
Americans in the Great Plains
Rutherford V Hayes one the most disputed
corrupt and violent presidential
election in US history
he sought to heal the wounds left by the
Civil War and reconstruction but by
withdrawing federal troops from the
south
allowed white supremacist to regain
power James Garfield
took on corruption in the Senate and
civil service with some success but was
shot by an embittered lawyer just four
months into his first term and died of
his wounds Chester Arthur son of an
Irish Baptist preacher against
expectation he proved above political
faction and continued Garfield's work of
reforming government bureaucracy Grover
Cleveland the first Democrat president
since the Civil War and the only
President to serve two non-consecutive
terms he used the presidential veto with
gusto blocking measures he thought were
beyond the remit of federal government
even pensions for Civil War veterans and
subsidies for destitute farmers
look out for part two of US presidents
where we continue with America's 23rd
President
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