1. Made by: Benedict S. Gombocz
10 BEST AMERICAN PRESIDENTS

2. #1. Abraham Lincoln (Republican)
 Born February 12, 1809.
 Died April 15, 1865.
 16th President (March 4, 1861-April
15, 1865).
 First Republican president.
 Led United States through
American Civil War of 1861-1865.
 Was country lawyer, Illinois state
legislator, and one-term member
of U.S. House of Representatives
prior to his election as president in
1860.
 First president to be assassinated.
 Regarded as greatest U.S.
president by historians and
scholars.

3. #2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Democratic)
 Born January 30, 1882.
 Died April 12, 1945.
 32nd President (March 4, 1933-April 12,
1945).
 Spoke German and French.
 First Democrat since 1912 to be
elected (and re-elected).
 Led United States through Great
Depression from 1929-1941 and World
War II from 1941-1945.
 Also instituted New Deal to provide
for three Rs: relief, recovery, reform.
 Only president to serve more than two
terms.
 Ranked as one of the top three U.S.
presidents.

4. #3. George Washington (No party)
 Born February 22, 1732.
 Died December 14, 1799.
 1st President (April 30, 1789-March 4,
1797).
 Only president not to be affiliated with
a political party; set precedent for his
successors by warning against
creating political parties.
 Was dominant military and political
leader of United States from 1775-
1799.
 Led victory over Great Britain in
American Revolutionary War as
commander-in-chief of Continental
Army from 1775-1783 and headed
writing of Constitution in 1787.

5. #4. Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-
Republican)
 Born April 13, 1743.
 Died July 4, 1826.
 3rd President (March 4, 1801-March 4, 1809).
 2nd Vice President (March 4, 1797-March 4,
1801).
 1st U.S. Secretary of State (March 22, 1790-
December 31, 1793).
 In addition to English, he claimed ability to
read and write in five languages: Greek, Latin,
French, Italian, Spanish.
 Was president during Louisiana Purchase
(1803) and Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-
1806).
 Principal author of United States Declaration
of Independence (1776) and served in
Continental Congress where he represented
Virginia.
 Served as a diplomat from mid-1784; was
stationed in Paris, originally as commissioner
to aid in negotiating commercial treaties, and
became U.S. Minister to France in May 1785.

6. #5. Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)
 Born October 27, 1858.
 Died January 6, 1919.
 26th President (September 14, 1901-
March 4, 1909).
 25th Vice President (March 4, 1901-
September 14, 1901).
 Read and spoke French; could read
German.
 First of three Progressive presidents; was
youngest man, at 42, to become
President (was not elected because he
succeeded William McKinley after
McKinley’s death).
 First president to receive Nobel Peace
Prize, in 1906; received it for negotiating
end to Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).
 Founded short-lived Progressive (“Bull
Moose”) Party after being denied
Republican nomination in 1912.

7. #6. Harry S Truman (Democratic)
 Born May 8, 1884.
 Died December 26, 1972.
 33rd President (April 12, 1945-January 20,
1953).
 34th Vice President (January 20, 1945-
April 12, 1945).
 Served remainder of Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s fourth term; led United
States through end of WWII (1945) with
fall of Nazi Germany and decision to
drop atomic bomb on Japan,
establishment of United Nations,
Marshall Plan to rebuild post-war
Europe, Truman Doctrine to prevent
spread of communism, onset of Cold
War, Berlin Airlift, founding of NATO,
Chinese Civil War, and Korean War.
 Popularized phrases like “The buck stops
here” and “If you can’t stand the heat,
you better get out of the kitchen”.

8. #7. James Madison (Democratic-
Republican)
 Born March 16, 1751.
 Died June 28, 1836.
 4th President (March 4, 1809-March 4,
1817).
 5th U.S. Secretary of State (May 2,
1801-March 3, 1809).
 Is saluted as “Father of the
Constitution” and prominent
champion and author of U.S. Bill of
Rights.
 Started his studies of Latin at only age
of 12; already been fluent in both
Greek and Latin by the time he
attended College of New Jersey, later
renamed Princeton University.
 Became one of the proponents of
ratifying the constitution after it was
drafted.

9. #8. James Knox Polk (Democratic)
 Born November 2, 1795.
 Died June 15, 1849.
 11th President (March 4, 1845-March 4, 1849).
 17th Speaker of U.S. House of Representatives
(December 7, 1835-March 4, 1839).
 Governor of Tennessee (October 14, 1839-
October 15, 1841).
 Negotiated annexation of Texas in 1844
election and defeated rival Whig candidate
Henry Clay.
 Last strong pre-Civil War president; led United
States to victory through Mexican-American
War (1846-1848) after Mexico rejected U.S.
annexation of Texas.
 Despite being unpopular upon leaving office,
Polk has been ranked favorably among U.S.
presidents because he achieved his entire
agenda; he is known as the “least
consequential president”.

10. #9. Thomas Woodrow Wilson (Democratic)
 Born December 28, 1856.
 Died February 3, 1924.
 28th President (March 4, 1913-March 4,
1921).
 34th Governor of New Jersey (January 17,
1911-March 1, 1913).
 13th President of Princeton University
(1902-1910).
 Learned German as part of receiving his
Ph.D. in history and political science
from Johns Hopkins University, but never
claimed fluency in the language.
 Last of three Progressive presidents.
 Led United States during World War I
(1914-1918) and second President to be
awarded Nobel Peace Prize, in 1919.

11. #10. Ronald Wilson Reagan (Republican)
 Born February 6, 1911.
 Died June 5, 2004.
 40th President (January 20, 1981-January 20,
1989).
 33rd Governor of California (January 2, 1967-
January 6, 1975).
 Started career as an actor in 1937, first in movies
and later on television; starred in Knute Rockne, All
American (1940), Kings Row (1942), and Bedtime
for Bonzo (1951).
 Was originally a Democrat; his political positions
began changing rightward late in the 1950s, and
he became a Republican in 1962.
 Lost Republican nomination in 1968 (to Richard
Nixon) and in 1976 (to Gerald Ford), but won both
nomination and election in 1980, defeating
Democrat Jimmy Carter.
 In foreign policy, he worked closely with Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev, West German
Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and British PM Margaret
Thatcher throughout his (Reagan’s) second term ,
which resulted in INF Treaty and foundation for
closer ties and reforms in the Soviet Union.