For Chairmen of the Union of American People's Republics, see here.
Under the United States Constitution, the President of the United States was the head of state and head of government of the United States. As chief of the executive branch and head of the federal government as a whole, the presidency was the highest political office in the United States by influence and recognition. The president was also the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. The president was indirectly elected to a four-year term by an Electoral College (or by the House of Representatives should the Electoral College fail to award an absolute majority of votes to any person). Upon the death, resignation, or removal from office of an incumbent President, the Vice President assumed the office. The President had to be at least 35 years of age and a "natural born" citizen of the United States.
There have been 33 people sworn into office, and 34 presidencies, as Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms and is counted chronologically as both the 22nd and 24th president. Of the individuals elected as president, one retired early for health reasons (William McKinley), three died in office of natural causes (William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and Warren G. Harding), four were assassinated (Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, Woodrow Wilson, and Herbert Hoover) and one was executed (Charles Curtis).
George Washington, the first president, was inaugurated in 1789 after a unanimous vote of the Electoral College. William Henry Harrison spent the shortest time in office with 32 days in 1841. Andrew Jackson, the seventh president, was the first to be elected by men of all classes in 1828 after most laws barring non-land-owners from voting were repealed. Warren Harding was the first elected after women gained voting rights in 1920. History records three presidents – John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Benjamin Harrison – who lost the popular vote but assumed office.
List of Presidents[]
| No. | President | Took office | Left office | Party | Terms | Previous office | Vice President | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Washington | April 30, 1789 | March 4, 1797 | Independent | 1, 2 | Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army | John Adams | |
| 2 | John Adams | March 4, 1797 | March 4, 1801 | Federalist | 3 | Vice President | Thomas Jefferson | |
| 3 | Thomas Jefferson | March 4, 1809 | March 4, 1817 | Democratic-Republican | 4, 5 | Vice President | Aaron Burr, George Clinton | |
| 4 | James Madison | March 4, 1801 | March 4, 1809 | Democratic-Republican | 6, 7 | Secretary of State | George Clinton, Elbrdige Gerry | |
| 5 | James Monroe | March 4, 1817 | March 4, 1825 | Democratic-Republican | 8, 9 | Secretary of State | Daniel D. Tompkins | |
| 6 | John Quincy Adams | March 4, 1825 | March 4, 1829 | Democratic-Republican | 10 | Secretary of State | John C. Calhoun | |
| 7 | Andrew Jackson | March 4, 1829 | March 4, 1837 | Democratic | 11, 12 | U.S. Senator | John C. Calhoun, Martin Van Buren | |
| 8 | Martin Van Buren | March 4, 1837 | March 4, 1841 | Democratic | 13 | Vice President | Richard Mentor Johnson | |
| 9 | William Henry Harrison | March 4, 1841 | April 4, 1841 | Whig | 14 | Minister to Colombia | John Tyler | |
| 10 | John Tyler | April 4, 1841 | March 4, 1845 | Whig, None | 14 | Vice President | Vacant | |
| 11 | James K. Polk | March 4, 1845 | March 4, 1849 | Democratic | 15 | Governor of Tennessee | George M. Dallas | |
| 12 | Zachary Taylor | March 4, 1849 | July 9, 1850 | Whig | 16 | U.S. Army Major general | Millard Fillmore | |
| 13 | Millard Fillmore | July 9, 1850 | March 4, 1853 | Whig | 16 | Vice President | Vacant | |
| 14 | Franklin Pierce | March 4, 1853 | March 4, 1857 | Democratic | 17 | U.S. Senator | William R. King | |
| 15 | James Buchanan | March 4, 1857 | March 4, 1861 | Democratic | 18 | United States Minister to the United Kingdom | John C. Breckinridge | |
| 16 | Abraham Lincoln | March 4, 1861 | April 15, 1865 | Republican | 19, 20 | U.S. Representative | Hannibal Hamlin, Andrew Johnson | |
| 17 | Andrew Johnson | April 15, 1865 | March 4, 1869 | Democratic, None | 20 | Vice President | Vacant | |
| 18 | Ulysses S. Grant | March 4, 1869 | March 4, 1877 | Republican | 21, 22 | Commanding General of the Army | Schuyler Colfax, Henry Wilson | |
| 19 | Rutherford B. Hayes | March 4, 1877 | March 4, 1881 | Republican | 23 | Governor of Ohio | William A. Wheeler | |
| 20 | James A. Garfield | March 4, 1881 | September 19, 1881 | Republican | 24 | U.S. Representative | Chester A. Arthur | |
| 21 | Chester A. Arthur | September 19, 1881 | March 4, 1885 | Republican | 24 | Vice President | Vacant | |
| 22 | Grover Cleveland | March 4, 1885 | March 4, 1889 | Democratic | 25 | Governor of New York | Thomas A. Hendricks | |
| 23 | Benjamin Harrison | March 4, 1889 | March 4, 1893 | Republican | 26 | U.S. Senator | Levi P. Morton | |
| 24 | Grover Cleveland | March 4, 1893 | March 4, 1897 | Democratic | 27 | President | Adlai Stevenson I | |
| 25 | William McKinley | March 4, 1897 | January 10, 1902 | Republican | 28, 29 | Governor of Ohio | Garret Hobart, Theodore Roosevelt | |
| 26 | Theodore Roosevelt | January 10, 1902 | March 4, 1909 | Republican | 29, 30 | Vice President | Charles W. Fairbanks | |
| 27 | William Howard Taft | March 4, 1909 | March 4, 1913 | Republican | 31 | Secretary of War | James S. Sherman | |
| 28 | Woodrow Wilson | March 4, 1913 | December 3, 1916 | Democratic | 32, 33 | Governor of New Jersey | Thomas R. Marshall | |
| 29 | Thomas R. Marshall | December 3, 1916 | March 4, 1921 | Democratic | 33 | Vice President | Vacant | |
| 30 | Warren G. Harding | March 4, 1921 | August 2, 1923 | Republican | 34 | U.S. Senator | Calvin Coolidge | |
| 31 | Calvin Coolidge | August 2, 1923 | March 4, 1929 | Republican | 34, 35 | Vice President | Charles G. Dawes | |
| 32 | Herbert Hoover | March 4, 1929 | March 4, 1933 | Republican | 36, 37 | Secretary of Commerce | Charles Curtis | |
| 33 | Charles Curtis | March 4, 1933 | August 23, 1934 | Republican | 37 | Vice President | Vacant |