Warren students had President’s Day off school on February 15, 2016. The first twenty presidents comprise roughly the first century of the existence of the United States, but many people forget the significance and existence of many of these presidents! Each president, one through twenty, has a sentence dedicated to him – here is a snapshot of the first twenty presidents.

George Washington disregarded Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton’s pressures to involve the US in the French Revolution.

John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which made it harder for new immigrants to vote and gave the federal government greater powers to deport foreigners.

Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory in 1803, which includes land from fifteen current states.

James Madison asked Congress to declare war on Great Britain (declared June 18, 1812) in part for the impressment of American seamen (forcing American servicemen into British government service).

James Monroe popularized the Monroe Doctrine, which sought to prevent imperialist European powers from encroaching on potential US territories or the freshly independent Latin American countries.

John Quincy Adams advocated for the construction of federally funded networks of canals and roads along with a national bank and national university.

Andrew Jackson was a dedicated populist, and when South Carolina nullified a federal tariff, he threatened to collect necessary funds at gunpoint.

Martin Van Buren deflated the US currency with his policies in response to the Panic of 1837, which only facilitated economic decline.

William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia in office after 32 days and served the shortest time of any president.

John Tyler vetoed bills to establish a National Bank on the grounds of states’ rights.

James K Polk expanded American land through the Mexican-American War and received California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.

Zachary Taylor served from 1849-1850 (died in office), and he met southern leaders threatening secession with the message that he would personally lead an army to enforce the law against a secession.

Millard Fillmore signed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which dealt harsher punishments than before to people who interfered with the capturing of slaves.

Franklin Pierce oversaw the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed the question of slavery to be determined by the settlers of a new state, and an uproar between northerners and southerners enveloped Kansas.

James Buchanan denied the right of states to secede, but he stated that the federal government could not prevent them.

Abraham Lincoln served from 1861-1865 (2 terms and died in office) and issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which declared slaves in the Confederacy to be free; however, Lincoln had no control of the Confederacy, and the slaves in places he did control were not freed.

Andrew Johnson was impeached and tried in the Senate in spring 1868, and he was acquitted by a single vote (he was one vote from being removed from office).

Ulysses S Grant was renowned for his corrupt administration, as his Treasury secretary collected illegal taxes, his vice president defrauded government contracts, and he himself appointed loyal friends to federal jobs even though many were unfit (patronage).

Rutherford B Hayes pledged to protect the rights of southern African-Americans, and his other efforts led to civil service reform that countered his predecessor’s practices of patronage.

James Garfield was shot by a mentally disturbed attorney who sought a consular post, and President Garfield died due to an infection after bullet removal surgery.