I want you to understand that this series of articles is about all forty-five presidents and not just the two who have birthdays in February. You know some, and others are a mystery to us. We need to learn about all these men before Presidents’ Day.

We all know our first president, who was elected from 1789 to 1797. He had been the Commander-in-Chief of the Patriot forces from the beginning of the war. This position was also given to the president by the newly ratified constitution. George Washington was not affiliated with a political party, even though he seemed to agree with most of the Federalists.

John Adams was Washington’s Vice President for his two terms. He was a Federalist and was elected as the second President and served from 1797 to 1801, when he was defeated by his Vice President, Thomas Jefferson. His stance on the French and Indian War was supposedly the reason.

Jefferson served from 1801 to 1809 as our third President. Jefferson is best known as a Federalist, but his party was listed as Jeffersonian when he ran against Adams. He was the second choice, and that is why he became Vice President. During his terms, we purchased what is called the Louisiana Purchase. This land is now occupied by our Midwest states.

The fourth President elected was James Madison, who served from 1809 to 1817. He was a Democratic-Republican and instrumental in the creation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The War of 1812 began in his first term and ended after he was elected to a second term.

James Monroe took office in 1817 and served as our fifth President until 1825. Monroe was also a Democratic-Republican. The Monroe Doctrine limited European colonialism in the Americas. It is said that he wished to continue pushing across our continent.

In 1824, the election was split between four candidates. No one had an electoral majority. As per the Constitution, the House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams as the next President. He had served under the first five previous Presidents and was the oldest son of John Adams. He served from 1825 to 1829. John Clay, one of his opponents, was chosen as Secretary of State.

In the next election in 1828, another of his opponents defeated him. Andrew Jackson was a hero of the War of 1812. The deciding factor in defeating Adams was that Clay had been appointed to a high office, which was pointed out as an attempt to deceive the voters. Jackson was our first Democrat President. He served as seventh in line until 1837.

Martin Van Buren ran as Vice President in 1932 with Jackson. After four years as second in command, the Democrats nominated him, and he won the election and became the eighth President in 1837. Van Buren’s bid for his second term resulted in defeat due to the recession that began after he took office, and he was defeated by William Henry Harrison. We will continue next time with him.

©Copyright 2026 by Charles Kensinger