Under the U.S. Constitution, the President of the United States is the head of state and the head of government of the United States. As chief of the executive branch and head of the federal government as a whole, the presidency is the highest political office in the United States by influence and recognition. The president is also the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces. The president is 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). Since the ratification of the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1951, no person may be elected to the office of the president more than twice. Upon death, resignation, or removal from office of an incumbent president, the Vice President assumes the office. This list includes only those persons who were sworn into office as president following the ratification of the United States Constitution, which took effect on March 4, 1789. For American leaders before this ratification, see President of the Continental Congress. The list does not include any Acting Presidents under the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
There have been forty-three people sworn into office, and forty-four presidencies, due to the fact that Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms and is counted chronologically as both the twenty-second and the twenty-fourth president. Of the individuals elected as president, four died in office of natural causes (William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin D. Roosevelt), one resigned (Richard Nixon), and four were assassinated (Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy). The first president was George Washington, who was inaugurated in 1789 after a unanimous Electoral College vote. William Henry Harrison spent the shortest time in office at 31 days in 1841. At over twelve years, Franklin D. Roosevelt spent the longest time in office, and is the only president to serve more than two terms; he died shortly into his fourth term in 1945. The current president is Barack Obama; he assumed the office on January 20, 2009, and is the first African American president and the first president born outside the Contiguous United States, being born in Hawaii.
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A presidency is defined as consecutive time in office served by a single person. For example, George Washington served two consecutive terms and is counted as the first president (not the first and second). Gerald Ford assumed the presidency after the resignation of Richard Nixon, serving out the remainder of what would have been Nixon's second term. The fact that Ford was not voted into office does not affect the numbering, which makes him the 38th president. In addition, under this numbering, Grover Cleveland is counted as having two separate presidencies, having served two non-consecutive terms.
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Died in office of natural causes.
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Prior to ratification of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1967, there was no provision for filling a vacancy in the Vice Presidency. Richard Nixon was the first president to fill such a vacancy under the provisions of the Twenty-fifth Amendment when he appointed Gerald Ford. Ford later became the second president to fill a vice presidential vacancy when he appointed Nelson Rockefeller to succeed him.
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Resigned.
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Being the first vice president to assume the presidency, Tyler set a precedent that a vice president who assumes the office of president becomes a fully functioning president who has his own presidency, as opposed to just a caretaker president. His political opponents attempted to refer to him as "Acting President", but he refused to allow that. The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution put Tyler's precedent into the Constitution.
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Former Democrat who ran for Vice President on Whig ticket. Clashed with Whig congressional leaders and was expelled from the Whig party in 1841.
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Assassinated.
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Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson were, respectively, a Republican and a Democrat who ran on the National Union ticket in 1864.
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Andrew Johnson did not identify with the two main parties while president and tried and failed to build a party of loyalists under the National Union label. His failure to build a true National Union Party made Johnson without a party.
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This term was shortened by 43 days due to the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution going into effect, moving inauguration day from March 4 to January 20.
See also
Historical rankings of United States Presidents
List of educational institutions named after U.S. presidents
Presidential $1 Coin Program
References
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"The Constitution: Amendments 11–27". U.S. National Archives & Records Administration
. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html
. Retrieved 2008-10-01
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The White House (March 12, 2007). "Biography of George Washington". Whitehouse.gov
. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewashington/
. Retrieved January 12, 2009
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"The First President: 1789–1797 George Washington "Father of his Country"".
American Heritage
. Forbes
. http://www.americanheritage.com/people/presidents/washington_george.shtml
. Retrieved January 12, 2009
.
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"George Washington – Independent Party – 1st President – American Presidents". History
. http://www.history.com/presidents/washington
. Retrieved January 12 2009
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