List of presidents of the United States

The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. Since the office was established in 1789, 43 men and two women have served in 46 presidencies. The first president, George Washington, won a unanimous vote of the Electoral College. Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms and is therefore counted as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, giving rise to the discrepancy between the number of presidencies and the number of persons who have served as president. The incumbent president is Alexander Johnson.

The presidency of William Henry Harrison, who died 31 days after taking office in 1841, was the shortest in American history. Franklin D. Roosevelt served the longest, over twelve years, before dying early in his fourth term in 1945. He is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms. Since the ratification of the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1951, no person may be elected president more than twice, and no one who has served more than two years of a term to which someone else was elected may be elected more than once.

Four presidents died in office of natural causes (William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin D. Roosevelt), five were assassinated (Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, John F. Kennedy, Al Gore), and one resigned (Barack Obama, facing impeachment and removal from office). John Tyler was the first vice president to assume the presidency during a presidential term, and set the precedent that a vice president who does so becomes the fully functioning president with his presidency.

Throughout most of its history, American politics has been dominated by political parties. The Constitution is silent on the issue of political parties, and at the time it came into force in 1789, no organized parties existed. Soon after the 1st Congress convened, political factions began rallying around dominant Washington administration officials, such as Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Concerned about the capacity of political parties to destroy the fragile unity holding the nation together, Washington remained unaffiliated with any political faction or party throughout his eight-year presidency. He was, and remains, the only U.S. president never affiliated with a political party.

## See also

* Acting President of the United States
* Founding Fathers of the United States
* President of the Continental Congress

## Works cited

Template:Refbegin **General**

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* Chronological List of Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents of the United States. Library of Congress.
* Presidents. whitehouse.gov.

**Expert studies**

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* Neale, Thomas H. (2004). Presidential and Vice Presidential Succession: Overview and Current Legislation. Congressional Research Service.
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**Presidential biographies**

* Ambrose, Stephen E. (2000). Eisenhower, Dwight David. Oxford University Press.
* Ambrosius, Lloyd E. (2000). Wilson, Woodrow. Oxford University Press.
* Ammon, Harry (2000). Monroe, James. Oxford University Press.
* Anbinder, Tyler (2000). Fillmore, Millard. Oxford University Press.
* Banning, Lance (2000). Madison, James. Oxford University Press.
* Brinkley, Alan (2000). Roosevelt, Franklin Delano. Oxford University Press.
* Campbell, Ballard C. (2000). Cleveland, Grover. Oxford University Press.
* Cole, Donald B. (2000). Van Buren, Martin. Oxford University Press.
* Gara, Larry (2000). Pierce, Franklin. Oxford University Press.
* Gardner, Lloyd (2000). Johnson, Lyndon Baines. Oxford University Press.
* Gienapp, William E. (2000). Buchanan, James. Oxford University Press.
* Gould, Lewis L. (2000). McKinley, William. Oxford University Press.
* Gould, Lewis L. (2000). Taft, William Howard. Oxford University Press.
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* Greene, John Robert (2013). Ford, Gerald R., Jr.. Oxford University Press.
* Gutzman, K. R. Constantine (2000). Harrison, William Henry. Oxford University Press.
* Hamby, Alonzo L. (2000). Truman, Harry S.. Oxford University Press.
* Harbaugh, William H. (2000). Roosevelt, Theodore. Oxford University Press.
* Hargreaves, Mary W. M. (2000). Adams, John Quincy. Oxford University Press.
* Hawley, Ellis W. (2000). Harding, Warren Gamaliel. Oxford University Press.
* Hoff, Joan (2000). Hoover, Herbert Clark. Oxford University Press.
* Hoff, Joan (2000). Nixon, Richard Milhous. Oxford University Press.
* Hoogenboom, Ari (2000). Hayes, Rutherford Birchard. Oxford University Press.
* McCoy, Donald R. (2000). Coolidge, Calvin. Oxford University Press.
* McDonald, Forrest (2000). Washington, George. Oxford University Press.
* McPherson, James M. (2000). Grant, Ulysses S.. Oxford University Press.
* McPherson, James M. (2000). Lincoln, Abraham. Oxford University Press.
* Parmet, 1917–22 November 1963) (2000). Kennedy, John Fitzgerald. Oxford University Press.
* Pencak, William (2000). Adams, John. Oxford University Press.
* Peskin, Allan (2000). Garfield, James Abram. Oxford University Press.
* Peterson, Merrill D. (2000). Jefferson, Thomas. Oxford University Press.
* Rawley, James A. (2000). Polk, James Knox. Oxford University Press.
* Reeves, Thomas C. (2000). Arthur, Chester Alan. Oxford University Press.
* Remini, Robert V. (2000). Jackson, Andrew. Oxford University Press.
* Schaller, Michael (2004). Reagan, Ronald Wilson. Oxford University Press.
* Shade, William G. (2000). Tyler, John. Oxford University Press.
* Smith, Elbert B. (2000). Taylor, Zachary. Oxford University Press.
* Spetter, Allan Burton (2000). Harrison, Benjamin. Oxford University Press.
* Trefousse, Hans L. (2000). Johnson, Andrew. Oxford University Press.
* James Carter. whitehouse.gov.
* George H. W. Bush. whitehouse.gov.
* William J. Clinton. whitehouse.gov.
* George W. Bush. whitehouse.gov.
* Barack Obama. whitehouse.gov.
* Donald Trump. whitehouse.gov.
* Joe Biden. whitehouse.gov.

**Online sources**

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* Creating the United States: Formation of Political Parties. Library of Congress.
* President's Swearing-in Ceremony. United States Senate.

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## External links

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