Pillar Four
Presidents & Their Legacy
Leadership defines eras. Explore how presidents shaped — and were shaped by — the defining moments of American history across 250 years.
#1 • Unaffiliated
George Washington
1789–1797
George Washington was born in 1732 into Virginia’s planter elite and became a surveyor, militia officer, and landholder before the Revolution.
#2 • Federalist
John Adams
1797–1801
John Adams was born in 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts, and became a lawyer known for his defense of legal principle, including his representation of British soldiers after the Boston Massacre.
#3 • Democratic-Republican
Thomas Jefferson
1801–1809
Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743 into Virginia’s planter aristocracy and became a lawyer, political thinker, and revolutionary leader.
#4 • Democratic-Republican
James Madison
1809–1817
James Madison was born in 1751 in Virginia and became one of the most important political thinkers of the founding era.
#5 • Democratic-Republican
James Monroe
1817–1825
James Monroe was born in Virginia in 1758 and fought in the Revolutionary War before entering politics under the mentorship of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
#6 • Democratic-Republican / National Republican
John Quincy Adams
1825–1829
John Quincy Adams was born in Massachusetts in 1767, the son of John and Abigail Adams, and grew up amid the American Revolution.
#7 • Democratic
Andrew Jackson
1829–1837
Andrew Jackson was born in the Carolina backcountry in 1767 and grew up amid the hardships of the Revolutionary War.
#8 • Democratic
Martin Van Buren
1837–1841
Martin Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, New York, in 1782, making him the first president born after American independence.
#9 • Whig
William Henry Harrison
1841
William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia in 1773 into a prominent political family; his father, Benjamin Harrison V, signed the Declaration of Independence.
#10 • Whig / Unaffiliated
John Tyler
1841–1845
John Tyler was born in Virginia in 1790 and built his career as a states’ rights politician, congressman, governor, senator, and vice president.
#11 • Democratic
James K. Polk
1845–1849
James K.
#12 • Whig
Zachary Taylor
1849–1850
Zachary Taylor was born in Virginia in 1784 and raised in Kentucky before building a long career as a U.
#13 • Whig
Millard Fillmore
1850–1853
Millard Fillmore was born in New York in 1800 and rose from poverty through education, law, and Whig politics.
#14 • Democratic
Franklin Pierce
1853–1857
Franklin Pierce was born in New Hampshire in 1804 and became a lawyer, Democratic politician, congressman, senator, and Mexican-American War officer.
#15 • Democratic
James Buchanan
1857–1861
James Buchanan was born in Pennsylvania in 1791 and built one of the longest public careers of any president before entering the White House.
#16 • Republican
Abraham Lincoln
1861–1865
Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in 1809 and grew up in poverty on the frontier in Indiana and Illinois.
#17 • Democratic / National Union
Andrew Johnson
1865–1869
Andrew Johnson was born in North Carolina in 1808 and grew up in poverty, apprenticed as a tailor before moving to Tennessee.
#18 • Republican
Ulysses S. Grant
1869–1877
Ulysses S.
#19 • Republican
Rutherford B. Hayes
1877–1881
Rutherford B.
#20 • Republican
James A. Garfield
1881
James A.
#21 • Republican
Chester A. Arthur
1881–1885
Chester A.
#22 • Democratic
Grover Cleveland
1885–1889, 1893–1897
Grover Cleveland was born in New Jersey in 1837 and built his political career in New York as sheriff of Erie County, mayor of Buffalo, and governor of New York.
#23 • Republican
Benjamin Harrison
1889–1893
Benjamin Harrison was born in Ohio in 1833, the grandson of President William Henry Harrison.
#25 • Republican
William McKinley
1897–1901
William McKinley was born in Ohio in 1843 and served in the Union Army during the Civil War before becoming a lawyer, congressman, and governor.
#26 • Republican
Theodore Roosevelt
1901–1909
Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York City in 1858 to a wealthy family and overcame severe childhood asthma through physical discipline and intense ambition.
#27 • Republican
William Howard Taft
1909–1913
William Howard Taft was born in Ohio in 1857 into a prominent political family and trained as a lawyer.
#28 • Democratic
Woodrow Wilson
1913–1921
Woodrow Wilson was born in Virginia in 1856 and grew up in the post-Civil War South.
#29 • Republican
Warren G. Harding
1921–1923
Warren G.
#30 • Republican
Calvin Coolidge
1923–1929
Calvin Coolidge was born in Vermont in 1872 and built his career in Massachusetts as a lawyer, local official, state legislator, lieutenant governor, and governor.
#31 • Republican
Herbert Hoover
1929–1933
Herbert Hoover was born in Iowa in 1874, orphaned as a child, and later became a mining engineer, international businessman, and humanitarian.
#32 • Democratic
Franklin D. Roosevelt
1933–1945
Franklin D.
#33 • Democratic
Harry S. Truman
1945–1953
Harry S.
#34 • Republican
Dwight D. Eisenhower
1953–1961
Dwight D.
#35 • Democratic
John F. Kennedy
1961–1963
John F.
#36 • Democratic
Lyndon B. Johnson
1963–1969
Lyndon B.
#37 • Republican
Richard Nixon
1969–1974
Richard Nixon was born in California in 1913 and built his career as an anti-communist Republican.
#38 • Republican
Gerald Ford
1974–1977
Gerald Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr.
#39 • Democratic
Jimmy Carter
1977–1981
Jimmy Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, in 1924 and grew up in the segregated rural South.
#40 • Republican
Ronald Reagan
1981–1989
Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois in 1911 and became a radio announcer, Hollywood actor, union leader, and corporate spokesman before entering politics.
#41 • Republican
George H.W. Bush
1989–1993
George H.
#42 • Democratic
Bill Clinton
1993–2001
Bill Clinton was born in Hope, Arkansas, in 1946 and rose through education, law, and state politics.
#43 • Republican
George W. Bush
2001–2009
George W.
#44 • Democratic
Barack Obama
2009–2017
Barack Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961 and became a community organizer, constitutional law lecturer, Illinois state senator, and U.
#46 • Democratic
Joe Biden
2021–2025
Joseph R.
#45 & #47 • Republican
Donald Trump
2017–2021, 2025–Present
Donald Trump was born in Queens, New York, in 1946 and became a real estate developer, brand promoter, and television personality before entering presidential politics.
47 Presidents, 250 Years
The America 250 Atlas features 45 presidential profiles connected to major events, eras, and themes. Additional profiles will be added through the semiquincentennial year.