President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of the executive branch of the United States federal government. His power is described by Article II of the United States Constitution. The president is elected by an Electoral College, made up of electors in each state based on state population, every four years.

The Constitution and the presidency

The powers of the presidency are described in Article II of the United States Constitution. Among the enumerated powers are:

• Act as commander in chief of the army and navy, and the militia when called up
• Issue pardons for crimes against the United States
• Make treaties (with the consent of the Senate)
• Appoint ambassadors, public ministers, and judges (with the consent of the Senate)

• Make appointments of the same during Senate recesses

• Receive ambassadors
• Enforce laws
• Commission officers of the United States

In addition, the 12th amendment changes the method of elections, the 20th amendment defines the date of changeover for presidential terms, the 22nd amendment establishes term limits, and the 25th amendment clarifies various issues related to succession.

List of Presidents

Presidency	President	Took office	Left office	Party	Vice President
1	George Washington	April 30, 1789	March 4, 1797	no party	John Adams
2	John Adams	March 4, 1797	March 4, 1801	Federalist	Thomas Jefferson
3	Thomas Jefferson	March 4, 1801	March 4, 1809	Democratic- Republican	Aaron Burr
					George Clinton
4	James Madison	March 4, 1809	March 4, 1817	Democratic- Republican	George Clinton March 4, 1809 – April 20, 1812
					vacant April 20, 1812 – March 4, 1813
					Elbridge Gerry March 4, 1813 – November 23, 1814
					vacant November 23, 1814 – March 4, 1817
5	James Monroe	March 4, 1817	March 4, 1825	Democratic- Republican	Daniel D. Tompkins
6	John Quincy Adams	March 4, 1825	March 4, 1829	Democratic- Republican National Republican	John C. Calhoun
7	Andrew Jackson	March 4, 1829	March 4, 1837	Democratic	John C. Calhoun March 4, 1829 – December 28, 1832
					vacant December 28, 1832 – March 4, 1833
					Martin Van Buren
8	Martin Van Buren	March 4, 1837	March 4, 1841	Democratic	Richard Mentor Johnson
9	William Henry Harrison	March 4, 1841	April 4, 1841	Whig	John Tyler
10	John Tyler	April 4, 1841	March 4, 1845	Whig April 4, 1841 – September 13, 1841	vacant
				no party September 13, 1841 – March 4, 1845
11	James K. Polk	March 4, 1845	March 4, 1849	Democratic	George M. Dallas
12	Zachary Taylor	March 4, 1849	July 9, 1850	Whig	Millard Fillmore
13	Millard Fillmore	July 9, 1850	March 4, 1853	Whig	vacant
14	Franklin Pierce	March 4, 1853	March 4, 1857	Democratic	William R. King March 4, 1853 – April 18, 1853
					vacant April 18, 1853 – March 4, 1857
15	James Buchanan	March 4, 1857	March 4, 1861	Democratic	John C. Breckinridge
16	Abraham Lincoln	March 4, 1861	April 15, 1865	Republican National Union	Hannibal Hamlin
					Andrew Johnson
17	Andrew Johnson	April 15, 1865	March 4, 1869	Democratic National Union	vacant
				National Union no party
18	Ulysses S. Grant	March 4, 1869	March 4, 1877	Republican	Schuyler Colfax
					Henry Wilson March 4, 1873 – November 22, 1875
					vacant November 22, 1875 – March 4, 1877
19	Rutherford B. Hayes	March 4, 1877	March 4, 1881	Republican	William A. Wheeler
20	James A. Garfield	March 4, 1881	September 19, 1881	Republican	Chester A. Arthur
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 March 4, 1885 – November 25, 1885
					vacant November 25, 1885 – March 4, 1889
23	Benjamin Harrison	March 4, 1889	March 4, 1893	Republican	Levi P. Morton
24	Grover Cleveland (second term)	March 4, 1893	March 4, 1897	Democratic	Adlai E. Stevenson I
25	William McKinley	March 4, 1897	September 14, 1901	Republican	Garret Hobart March 4, 1897 – November 21, 1899
					vacant November 21, 1899 – March 4, 1901
					Theodore Roosevelt
26	Theodore Roosevelt	September 14, 1901	March 4, 1909	Republican	vacant
					Charles W. Fairbanks
27	William Howard Taft	March 4, 1909	March 4, 1913	Republican	James S. Sherman March 4, 1909 – October 30, 1912
					vacant October 30, 1912 – March 4, 1913
28	Woodrow Wilson	March 4, 1913	March 4, 1921	Democratic	Thomas R. Marshall
29	Warren G. Harding	March 4, 1921	August 2, 1923	Republican	Calvin Coolidge
30	Calvin Coolidge	August 2, 1923	March 4, 1929	Republican	vacant
					Charles G. Dawes
31	Herbert Hoover	March 4, 1929	March 4, 1933	Republican	Charles Curtis
32	Franklin D. Roosevelt	March 4, 1933	April 12, 1945	Democratic	John Nance Garner
					Henry A. Wallace
					Harry S. Truman
33	Harry S. Truman	April 12, 1945	January 20, 1953	Democratic	vacant
					Alben W. Barkley
34	Dwight D. Eisenhower	January 20, 1953	January 20, 1961	Republican	Richard Nixon
35	John F. Kennedy	January 20, 1961	November 22, 1963	Democratic	Lyndon B. Johnson
36	Lyndon B. Johnson	November 22, 1963	January 20, 1969	Democratic	vacant
					Hubert Humphrey
37	Richard Nixon	January 20, 1969	August 9, 1974	Republican	Spiro Agnew January 20, 1969 – October 10, 1973
					vacant October 10, 1973 – December 6, 1973
					Gerald Ford December 6, 1973 – August 9, 1974
38	Gerald Ford	August 9, 1974	January 20, 1977	Republican	vacant August 9, 1974 – December 19, 1974
					Nelson Rockefeller December 19, 1974 – January 20, 1977
39	Jimmy Carter	January 20, 1977	January 20, 1981	Democratic	Walter Mondale
40	Ronald Reagan	January 20, 1981	January 20, 1989	Republican	George H. W. Bush
41	George H. W. Bush	January 20, 1989	January 20, 1993	Republican	Dan Quayle
42	Bill Clinton	January 20, 1993	January 20, 2001	Democratic	Al Gore
43	George W. Bush	January 20, 2001	January 20, 2009	Republican	Dick Cheney
44	Barack Obama	January 20, 2009	Incumbent	Democratic	Joe Biden

Further reading

• Denson, John V., ed. Reassessing the Presidency (2001). Mises Store.

Links

• WhiteHouse.gov
• President of the United States at Wikipedia