216
ABRAHAM LINCOLN ▶
A passionate opponent of
slavery, Lincoln led the
Union States to victory
in the Civil War of
1860–65. His speech at
Gettysburg, on the
principles of human
equality, is one
of the greatest in
American history.BENJAMIN HARRISON ▼
Electricity was first installed in
the White House during the
Harrison presidency (1889–93) –
his wife would not touch the
switches, fearing electrocution.▲ GROVER
CLEVELAND
Grover Cleveland is
the only president
to have served two
non-consecutive terms
in office, 1885–89 and
1893–97. His second
term was plagued by
industrial strikes.◀ HERBERT
HOOVER
The Hoover presidency
saw the Great Depression
of 1929, and public
opposition to prohibition
(the banning of alcohol).
He did not win a
second term.▲ FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT
“FDR” served a record four terms in
office from 1933–1945. He brought an
end to the Depression with a “New
Deal” to bring relief to the
unemployed, and took the
USA into World War II.▲ GERALD FORD
Called to office after Nixon’s
resignation in 1974, Gerald Ford is
the only president not to have been
elected either president or
vice-president.▲ JIMMY CARTER
During Carter’s term of office, the
USA was beset by crises. At home,
there was recession. Abroad, US
citizens were taken hostage in Iran.HARRY TRUMAN ▲
Truman saw the USA through
a difficult postwar period. The
Cold War (period of tension
with communist Russia) began
and the country went to war
with Korea (1950–53).◀ RONALD
REAGAN
Shortly after taking
office in 1981, former
Hollywood actor
Ronald Reagan
survived an
assassination attempt.
He went on to cut
taxes, increase national
defence, and improve
relations with Russia.JAMES GARFIELD ▼
The twentieth US president was
James Garfield, an army general.
In 1881, he was assassinated after
less than four months in office.US presidents
The United States is a superpower, dominating
global affairs. The nation’s head of state, the
president, is regarded as one of the most powerful
people in the world. Presidential elections are
followed closely by other countries, as political
decisions made by the US president can impact the
rest of the world. The president serves a term of
four years, and today can hold office for a
maximum of two terms.216_217_Presidents.indd 216 03/01/19 12:11 PM