presidents

Question 1

George Washington

Answer 1

1789-1797
no party
-sent federal troops to crush Whiskey Rebellion

Question 2

John Adams

Answer 2

1797-1801
federalist
-XYZ Affair took place, in which American diplomats to France were told to pay a substantial bribe to meet the foreign minister, angering the American public and resulting in a quasi war between the US and France

Question 3

Thomas Jefferson

Answer 3

1801-1809
democratic-republican
-secured the Louisiana Purchase from France (Napoleon), effectively doubling the size of the US

Question 4

James Madison

Answer 4

1809-1817
democratic-republican
-the US declared war on GB, starting the War of 1812, over British impressment of sailors, and British arming of Native Americans

Question 5

James Monroe

Answer 5

1817-1825
democratic-republican
-the Missouri Compromise admitted MO as a slave state and prohibited slavery in all future states north of 3630

Question 6

John Quincy Adams

Answer 6

1825-1829
democratic-republican
-elected as a result of the “corrupt bargain,” the Erie Canal was completed under his presidency, which transformed NY into a major port

Question 7

Andrew Jackson

Answer 7

1829-1837
democratic
-started the Bank War with the veto of renewal of Bank charter bill; investment in wildcat banks resulted in the Specie Circular and economic panic

Question 8

Martin Van Buren

Answer 8

1837-1841
democratic
-the Panic of 1837 resulted in an economic crisis due to overspeculation, inflation due to Specie Circular

Question 9

William Harrison

Answer 9

1841-1841
whig
-war hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe against Native Americans (Tecumseh and the Prophet), died of pneumonia after 31 days in office

Question 10

John Tyler

Answer 10

1841-1845
whig, then no party
-signed Webster-Ashburton treaty with GB to settle US-Canadian border disputes in the NE

Question 11

James Polk

Answer 11

1845-1849
democratic
-victory in the Mexican American War with Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo granted US all Mexican territory from CA to TX (Mexican Cession territories) and renewed debate over expansion of slavery

Question 12

Zachary Taylor

Answer 12

1849-1850
whig
-Gold Rush caused many 49ers to move to CA in hopes of striking it rich, leading to CA’s application for statehood as a free state, leading to much debate over slavery

Question 13

Millard Fillmore

Answer 13

1850-1853
whig
-approved the Compromise of 1850 in which CA admitted as free state, slavery determined by popular sovereignty in MCession lands, created new Fugitive Slave Law

Question 14

Franklin Pierce

Answer 14

1853-1857
democratic
-Kansas Nebraska Act, in which slavery in Kansas and Nebraska would be decided through popular sovereignty, repealing the MO compromise

Question 15

James Buchanan

Answer 15

1857-1861
democratic
-Dred Scott case determined that slaves are not citizens and that Congress could not outlaw slavery, since slaves were property (5th amendment), therefore MO compromise was unconstitutional

Question 16

Abraham Lincoln

Answer 16

1861-1865
republican
-led the US during Civil War to preserve Union and end slavery, passed Emancipation Proclamation to free slaves in seceded states, assassinated

Question 17

Andrew Johnson

Answer 17

1865-1869
democratic
-oversaw Reconstruction with conciliatory policies toward the South, passage of 14th and 15th amendments, black codes in South limited rights of freedmen; impeached