Encyclopaedia Britannica - What You Should Know About The U.S. Presidents

Today, the president of the United States is arguably the most powerful elected official in the world.

The founders of the United States originally intended the presidency to be a narrowly restricted office. Newly independent of Great Britain, they distrusted executive authority because of their experience with King George III and his governors in the American Colonies.

Yet from the start, the office of the presidentas defined through the practice of George Washington and his successorswas vested with great authority.

This guide brings together in digest form the best content thats available from Britannica. Each president is described in a profile that identifies, in an easy-to-access format, when he served, what political party he belonged to, where he was born, who his first lady was, and much more.

Every profile also includes incisive insights into what each president accomplished and how history views him, drawn from multiple articles created by Britannicas content experts.

Several notable and sometimes unexpected facts, also taken from Britannicas content, are part of every profile. Links to Britannica articles, videos, and multimedia will satisfy readers curiosity by enabling them to dive deeper into every aspect of these presidents lives and decide for themselves how well each man rose to the challenge of facing the competing interests and needs of his fellow citizens.

Together, these profiles provide a rich and nuanced history of the United States itself, from its founding more than 200 years ago to today, in a way that only Britannica can: objectively, accurately, and with authoritative insight and perspective.

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Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gift of Jean McGinley Draper, 1954.9.2

George Washington

1st President of the U.S.
Federalist Party
Served 1789-97
Elected 1789 and 1792
State of birth: Virginia

SIGNIFICANCE

George Washington is known as the Father of His Country for transforming the United States from a British colony into a self-governing nation. He was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, chairman of the convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution, and the first president of the United States. He had tremendous influence over the future of not only the office of the presidency but of the United States as a whole. The U.S. capital and a U.S. state are named for him, as are numerous other places from neighborhood parks to cities and counties

DID YOU KNOW?

George Washington is one of only two presidents whose face appears on a U.S. bill and coin.

At 6 feet, 2 inches (1.87 meters), Washington was much taller than most men of his time.

During his first inauguration, Washington wore a brown suit made in the United States and white stockings and a sword that followed the fashion of European courts.

At the time of Washingtons death, more than 300 enslaved people were living at his estate, Mount Vernon. He said that he disapproved of slavery, and his wife freed them after his death.

FORMER POSTS: commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution; chairman of the Constitutional Convention

VICE PRESIDENT: John Adams

FIRST LADY: Martha Washington

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1979.4.1

John Adams

2nd President of the U.S.
Federalist Party
Served 1797-1801
Elected 1796
State of birth: Massachusetts

SIGNIFICANCE

John Adams was the first vice president and second president of the United States. He was an early advocate of American independence, the author of Massachusettss constitution, and an ambassador to France and England. He used his skills in foreign policy to secure diplomacy with Great Britain after the American Revolution and to avoid a war with France during his presidency. He was noted for his bluntness and honesty. He and his influential wife, Abigail, whose letters vividly captured what it meant to live in the United States during its early years, gave rise to one of the most prominent families in American history.

DID YOU KNOW?

John Adams is one of only two presidents whose signature appears on the Declaration of Independence.

Adams correctly foresaw that the French Revolution would lead to the Reign of Terror and the rise of a military dictator (Napoleon).

Benjamin Franklin considered Adams deranged because of his confrontational style of negotiation.

As vice president, Adams called the office the most insignificant office that ever the Invention of man contrived or his Imagination conceived.

FORMER OFFICE: vice president

VICE PRESIDENT: Thomas Jefferson

FIRST LADY: Abigail Adams

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gift of Thomas Jefferson Coolidge IV in memory of his great-grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, his grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge II, and his father, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge III, 1986.71.

Thomas Jefferson

3rd President of the U.S.
Democratic-Republican Party
Served 1801-09
Elected 1800 and 1804
State of birth: Virginia

SIGNIFICANCE

Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence. As the third president of the United States, he doubled the size of the country through the Louisiana Purchase. He was an advocate of the separation of church and state, and he was the most eloquent proponent of individual freedom as the core message of the American Revolution.

As a slaveholder and someone who, after his presidency, endorsed the westward expansion of slavery, Jefferson is one of Americas most problematic and paradoxical heroes.

DID YOU KNOW?

Thomas Jefferson was the founder and architect of the University of Virginia.

Jefferson deployed troops to fight in the first overseas war in U.S. history.

Jefferson died on July 4, 1826the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the same day that his predecessor as president, John Adams, died.

Apart from his two inaugural addresses, there is no public record of Jefferson delivering any public speech as president.

FORMER OFFICES: vice president; secretary of state; ambassador to France; governor of Virginia

VICE PRESIDENTS: Aaron Burr and George Clinton

FIRST LADY: Martha Jefferson