This article provides an overview of the President’s Responsibilities and a list of Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States.
Roles & Responsibilities of the American President
The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The office of the Presidency is the highest political office in the United States in terms of influence and recognition.
A person who serves as President leads the federal government’s executive branch and is one of only two nationally elected federal officers (the other being the vice president).
Official Powers
Among other powers and responsibilities, Article II of the United States Constitution charges the president with the following responsibilities:
- To “faithfully execute” federal law
- Be the president and the commander-in-chief of the United States armed forces.
- Nominate executive and judicial officers with the advice and consent of the Senate
- To grant pardons and reprieves
Due to the United State’s status as the only true remaining superpower, the president of the United States is generally regarded as the most powerful person in the world.
How is the U.S. President Elected?
The country’s people indirectly elect the president of the USA through the Electoral College to serve a four-year term in office.
Length of Service / Term Limits
Since 1951, all presidents have been limited to two terms by the Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution. Learn more about Constitutional Amendments.
As you can see from the list in the next section, there have been 46 U.S. American presidents. American presidents are elected to a term of four years and may serve a maximum of two terms (a total of eight years).
However, some U.S. American presidents on the list served a more extended period before the term limitation was implemented. Also, some of the Presidents on the list only served a year or two of their term due to death in office.
List of Presidents
Following is a list of Presidents of the United States of America. The following is a list of all United States Presidents’ names in order of service. The list shows the President’s name, the years they served in office, and the presidential party they belonged to.
# | Name | Years in Office | Party |
1 | George Washington | 1789 – 1797 | |
2 | John Adams | 1797 – 1801 | Federalist Party |
3 | Thomas Jefferson | 1801 – 1809 | Democratic-Republican |
4 | James Madison | 1809 – 1817 | Democratic-Republican |
5 | James Monroe | 1817 – 1825 | Democratic-Republican |
6 | John Quincy Adams | 1825 – 1829 | Democratic-Republican |
7 | Andrew Jackson | 1829 – 1837 | Democrat |
8 | Martin Van Buren | 1837 – 1841 | Democrat |
9 | William Henry Harrison | 1841 – 1841 | Whig |
10 | John Tyler | 1841 – 1845 | Whig |
11 | James K. Polk | 1845 – 1849 | Democrat |
12 | Zachary Taylor | 1849 – 1850 | Whig |
13 | Millard Fillmore | 1850 – 1853 | Whig |
14 | Franklin Pierce | 1853 – 1857 | Democrat |
15 | James Buchanan | 1857 – 1861 | Democrat |
16 | Abraham Lincoln | 1861 – 1865 | Republican |
17 | Andrew Johnson | 1865 – 1869 | Democrat / National Union |
18 | Ulysses S. Grant | 1869 – 1877 | Republican |
19 | Rutherford B. Hayes | 1877 – 1881 | Republican |
20 | James A. Garfield | 1881 (died in office) | Republican |
21 | Chester A. Arthur | 1881 – 1885 | Republican |
22 | Grover Cleveland | 1885 – 1889 | Democrat |
23 | Benjamin Harrison | 1889 – 1893 | Republican |
24 | Grover Cleveland | 1893 – 1897 | Democrat |
25 | William McKinley | 1897 – 1901 | Republican |
26 | Theodore Roosevelt | 1901 – 1909 | Republican |
27 | William Howard Taft | 1909 – 1913 | Republican |
28 | Woodrow Wilson | 1913 – 1921 | Democrat |
29 | Warren G. Harding | 1921 – 1923 | Republican |
30 | Calvin Coolidge | 1923 – 1929 | Republican |
31 | Herbert Hoover | 1929 – 1933 | Republican |
32 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1933 – 1945 | Democrat |
33 | Harry S. Truman | 1945 – 1953 | Democrat |
34 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1953 – 1961 | Republican |
35 | John F. Kennedy | 1961 – 1963 | Democrat |
36 | Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963 – 1969 | Democrat |
37 | Richard M. Nixon | 1969 – 1974 | Republican |
38 | Gerald R. Ford | 1974 – 1977 | Republican |
39 | Jimmy Carter | 1977 – 1981 | Democrat |
40 | Ronald Reagan | 1981 – 1989 | Republican |
41 | George Bush | 1989 – 1993 | Republican |
42 | Bill Clinton | 1993 – 2001 | Democrat |
43 | George W. Bush | 2001 – 2009 | Republican |
44 | Barack H. Obama | 2009 – 2017 | Democrat |
45 | Donald Trump | 2017 – 2021 | Republican |
46 | Joe R. Biden | 2021 – Present | Democrat |
Note: William Henry Harrison, the 8th President, died after only 31 days in office. Harrison had the shortest presidency in U.S. history.
If you have any questions regarding this List of Presidents of the United States, please leave a comment below.
List of Assassinated U.S. American Presidents
Throughout history, the President of the United States has been one of the world’s most sought-after targets for assassination. With the heightened state of terrorism and tense foreign relations, many politicians are under constant threat of being assassinated. Most attempts fail altogether, primarily due to the protective work of the United States Secret Service, responsible for protecting the first family 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and three hundred and sixty-five days a year.
- 1865: Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865.
- 1881: James A. Garfield. Charles J. Guiteau shot and killed James A. Garfield on July 2, 1881
- 1901: William McKinley. Leon Czolgosz assassinated William McKinley on September 6, 1901, in Buffalo, New York.
- 1963: John F. Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated JFK in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.
To date, there have been 13 failed assassination attempts:
- Andrew Jackson
- Abraham Lincoln
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Harry S. Truman
- John F. Kennedy
- Richard Nixon
- Gerald Ford
- Jimmy Carter
- Ronald Reagan
- George H. W. Bush
- Bill Clinton
- George W. Bush
List of U.S. Vice Presidents (in Chronological Order)
- John Adams (1789-1797)
- Thomas Jefferson (1797-1801)
- Aaron Burr (1801-1805)
- George Clinton (1805-1809)
- George Clinton (1809-1812)
- None (1812-1813)
- Elbridge Gerry (1813-1814)
- None (1814-1817)
- Daniel D. Tompkins (1817-1825)
- John C. Calhoun (1825-1829)
- John C. Calhoun (1829-1832)
- None (1832-1833)
- Martin Van Buren (1833-1837)
- Richard M. Johnson (1837-1841)
- John Tyler (1841)
- None (1841-1845)
- George M. Dallas (1845-1849)
- Millard Fillmore (1849-1850)
- No Vice President served during the period from 1850 to 1853.
- William King (1853)
- None (1853-1857)
- John C. Breckinridge (1857-1861)
- Hannibal Hamlin (1861-1865)
- Andrew Johnson (1865)
- None (1865-1869)
- Schuyler Colfax (1869-1873)
- Henry Wilson (1873-1875)
- No Vice President served during the period 1875 to 1877
- William Wheeler (1877-1881)
- Chester Arthur (1881)
- None (1881-1885)
- Thomas Hendricks (1885)
- None (1885-1889)
- Levi P. Morton (1889-1893)
- Adlai E. Stevenson (1893-1897)
- Garret Hobart (1897-1899)
- None (1899-1901)
- Theodore Roosevelt (1901)
- None (1901-1905)
- Charles Fairbanks (1905-1909)
- James S. Sherman (1909-1912)
- None (1912-1913)
- Thomas R. Marshall (1913-1921)
- Calvin Coolidge (1921-1923)
- None (1923-1925)
- Charles Dawes (1925-1929)
- Charles Curtis (1929-1933)
- John Nance Garner (1933-1941)
- Henry A. Wallace (1941-1945)
- Harry S. Truman (1945)
- None (1945-1949)
- Alben Barkley (1949-1953)
- Richard Nixon (1953-1961)
- Lyndon B. Johnson (1961-1963)
- None (1963-1965)
- Hubert Humphrey (1965-1969)
- Spiro Agnew (1969-1973)
- None (1973)
- Gerald Ford (1973-1974)
- None (1974)
- Nelson Rockefeller (1974-1977)
- Walter Mondale (1977-1981)
- George Bush (1981-1989)
- Dan Quayle (1989-1993)
- Al Gore (1993-2001)
- Dick Cheney (2001-2009)
- Joe Biden (2009-2017)
- Mike Pence (2017-2021)
- Kamala Harris (2021-present)
Other Presidential Facts and Information
There have been 46 U.S. American Presidents to date.
Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest president to take office at age 42. Joe Biden was the oldest at 78.
The average age of a president at the inauguration is 55.
Three presidents were impeached while in office. However, the Senate acquitted all three. They are Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump (twice). The House of Representatives performed the impeachment.
Many people believe that Richard Nixon was impeached, which is incorrect. In reality, the impeachment process against Nixon was initiated, but he resigned from office before its completion. He was the only president in U.S. history to resign from office.
Questions and Comments
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