Presidents From Lincoln to William McKinley

Abraham Lincoln 1860 to April 15, 1865 # 1863 * President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, freeing all slaves in the states that had seceded and that were not yet under Northern control.

Andrew Johnson April 15, 1865 to March 3, 1869 Johnson's administration was one of the most controversial in American history because of his Reconstruction policies aimed at restoring the Union after the Civil War. As a result, he became the first president ever to be impeached, although he was subsequently acquitted.

Ulysses Simpson Grant The American people hoped for an end to turmoil. Grant provided neither vigor nor reform. Looking to Congress for direction, he seemed bewildered. Although a man of scrupulous honesty, his administration was plagued by scandal.

Rutherford Birchard Hayes Beneficiary of the most fiercely disputed election in American history The popular vote apparently was 4,300,000 for Tilden to 4,036,000 for Hayes. Commission, made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, determined all the contests in favor of Hayes by eight to seven. The final electoral vote: 185 to 184.

James Abram Garfield 20th President On July 2, 1881, in a Washington railroad station, an embittered attorney who had sought a consular post shot the President.

Chester Alan Arthur The Arthur Administration enacted the first general Federal immigration law. Arthur approved a measure in 1882 excluding paupers, criminals, and lunatics.

Grover Cleveland 1884 to 1889 The First Democrat elected after the Civil.

Benjamin Harrison 1888 to 1893 The most perplexing domestic problem Harrison faced was the tariff issue. The high tariff rates in effect had created a surplus of money in the Treasury. Low-tariff advocates argued that the surplus was hurting business.

Grover Cleveland 1892 to 1897 Panic of 1893, Although thousands of businesses were ruined and more than four million were left unemployed, Cleveland did little. He believed, like most people of both major parties, that the business cycle was a natural occurrence and should not be tampered with by politicians.

William McKinley 1897 to September 14, 1901 Not prosperity, but foreign policy, dominated McKinley's Administration. War against Spain In the 100-day war, the United States destroyed the Spanish fleet outside Santiago harbor in Cuba, seized Manila in the Philippines, and occupied Puerto Rico.

Theodore Roosevelt September 14, 1901 to 1909 Roosevelt conceived of himself as the representative of all the people—farmers, laborers, and white collar workers no less than businessmen—and he strove to balance their interests. He made the United States a world naval power.