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The President of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The current president of the United States is Joe Biden. U.S. Presidents are frequently responsible for corruption, war, and repression[1] and effectively have unlimited power. They can invade countries, declare national emergencies, and imprison their enemies without due process.[2]
Slave owners won 12 of the first 16 U.S. presidential elections.[3] Even in 2023, five out of the six living presidents are descendants of slave owners.[4]
The President is selected by the electors within the Electoral College to serve a four-year term, and can serve a maximum of two terms as per the 22nd Amendment.[Note 1] In total, there have been forty-five officeholders. Twenty-one of those forty-five officeholders were elected more than once, and all Presidents (with the exception of Grover Greveland) served their term(s) consecutively.
Veto power[edit | edit source]
The president cannot directly pass laws but can veto a law passed by Congress.[1] Between 1789 and 2020, presidents vetoed 2,584 bills, and Congress only overturned 112 of these.[2]
List of Presidents[edit | edit source]
This list does not include Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy; nor does it include David Rice Atchison, who claimed to have served as Acting President of the United States from 4-5 March 1849.
| Number | Name | Party | Term began | Term ended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Washington | Unaffiliated | 30 April 1789 | 4 March 1797 |
| 2 | John Adams | Federalist Party | 4 March 1797 | 4 March 1801 |
| 3 | Thomas Jefferson | Democratic-Republican Party | 4 March 1801 | 4 March 1809 |
| 4 | James Madison | Democratic-Republican Party | 4 March 1809 | 4 March 1817 |
| 5 | James Monroe | Democratic-Republican Party | 4 March 1817 | 4 March 1825 |
| 6 | John Quincy Adams | Democratic-Republican Party | 4 March 1825 | 4 March 1829 |
| 7 | Andrew Jackson | Democratic Party | 4 March 1829 | 4 March 1837 |
| 8 | Martin Van Buren | Democratic Party | 4 March 1837 | 4 March 1841 |
| 9 | William Henry Harrison | Whig Party | 4 March 1841 | 4 April 1841[Note 2] |
| 10 | John Tyler | Whig Party
Unaffiliated |
4 April 1841 | 4 March 1845 |
| 11 | James K. Polk | Democratic Party | 4 March 1845 | 4 March 1849 |
| 12 | Zachary Taylor | Whig Party | 4 March 1849 | 9 July 1850[Note 2] |
| 13 | Millard Fillmore | Whig Party | 9 July 1850 | 4 March 1853 |
| 14 | Franklin Pierce | Democratic Party | 4 March 1853 | 4 March 1857 |
| 15 | James Buchanan | Democratic Party | 4 March 1857 | 4 March 1861 |
| 16 | Abraham Lincoln | Republican PartyNational Union Party | 4 March 1861 | 15 April 1865[Note 2] |
| 17 | Andrew Johnson | National Union Party
Democratic Party |
15 April 1865 | 4 March 1869 |
| 18 | Ulysses S. Grant | Republican Party | 4 March 1869 | 4 March 1877 |
| 19 | Rutherford B. Hayes | Republican Party | 4 March 1877 | 4 March 1881 |
| 20 | James A. Garfield | Republican Party | 4 March 1881 | 19 September 1881[Note 2] |
| 21 | Chester A. Arthur | Republican Party | 19 September 1881 | 4 March 1885 |
| 22 | Grover Cleveland | Democratic Party | 4 March 1885 | 4 March 1889 |
| 23 | Benjamin Harrison | Republican Party | 4 March 1889 | 4 March 1893 |
| 24 | Grover Cleveland (again) | Democratic Party | 4 March 1893 | 4 March 1897 |
| 25 | William McKinley | Republican Party | 4 March 1897 | 14 September 1901[Note 2] |
| 26 | Theodore Roosevelt | Republican Party | 14 September 1901 | 4 March 1909 |
| 27 | William Howard Taft | Republican Party | 4 March 1909 | 4 March 1913 |
| 28 | Woodrow Wilson | Democratic Party | 4 March 1913 | 4 March 1921 |
| 29 | Warren G. Harding | Republican Party | 4 March 1921 | 2 August 1923[Note 2] |
| 30 | Calvin Coolidge | Republican Party | 2 August 1923 | 4 March 1929 |
| 31 | Herbert Hoover | Republican Party | 4 March 1929 | 4 March 1933 |
| 32 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Democratic Party | 4 March 1933 | 12 April 1945[Note 2] |
| 33 | Harry S. Truman | Democratic Party | 12 April 1945 | 20 January 1953 |
| 34 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Republican Party | 20 January 1953 | 20 January 1961 |
| 35 | John F. Kennedy | Democratic Party | 20 January 1961 | 22 November 1963[Note 2] |
| 36 | Lyndon B. Johnson | Democratic Party | 22 November 1963 | 20 January 1969 |
| 37 | Richard Nixon | Republican Party | 20 January 1969 | 9 August 1974[Note 3] |
| 38 | Gerald Ford | Republican Party | 9 August 1974 | 20 January 1977 |
| 39 | Jimmy Carter | Democratic Party | 20 January 1977 | 20 January 1981 |
| 40 | Ronald Reagan | Republican Party | 20 January 1981 | 20 January 1989 |
| 41 | George H. W. Bush | Republican Party | 20 January 1989 | 20 January 1993 |
| 42 | Bill Clinton | Democratic Party | 20 January 1993 | 20 January 2001 |
| 43 | George W. Bush | Republican Party | 20 January 2001 | 20 January 2009 |
| 44 | Barack Obama | Democratic Party | 20 January 2009 | 20 January 2017 |
| 45 | Donald Trump | Republican Party | 20 January 2017 | 20 January 2021 |
| 46 | Joe Biden | Democratic Party | 20 January 2021 | Incumbent |
See also[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ There has been one exception to this rule: Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR was elected four times, in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944; he died less than half a year into his fourth term. The 22nd Amendment was passed two years after his death in 1947.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Died in office
- ↑ Resigned
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Walter Smolarek (2022-12-13). "Civics class for radicals: The presidency" Liberation News. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chad Pearson (2023-07-12). "Sober Up Liberals: The U.S. Constitution Sucks" MR Online. Archived from the original on 2023-07-12.
- ↑ Domenico Losurdo (2011). Liberalism: A Counter-History: 'What Is Liberalism?' (p. 12). [PDF] Verso. ISBN 9781844676934 [LG]
- ↑ "Several senior US officials descend from slave owner families: Reuters" (2023-07-27). Al Mayadeen. Archived from the original on 2023-06-27.