American Presidents and Their Contributions

Introduction 

Since its inception, the United States of America has had 45 presidents with George Washington being the first president in 1789 and also one of its founding fathers. With every presidency, there has been achievements, failures disappointments as well as challenges. However, each of the presidents leaves behind a contribution whether positive or negative that characterizes their legacy. Below are the first 8 US presidents and the contributions they made in their nation. 

George Washington 

He was the first US president elected in January 1789 at 57. Upon assuming office, Washington was considerate of how the actions he took as the first president would determine the future presidents’ governance. He was, therefore, determined to be an example of a leader characterized by integrity, fairness and prudence. He carefully attended to the duties and responsibilities of the office and remained vigilante to avoid emulating the European royal courts, and it was to this effect he preferred the name “Mr President as opposed to numerous imposing names that were being suggested. He had also initially declined the congress salary to create the image of a selfless leader. He led the country as an able administrator and surrounded himself with capable people such as Alexander Hamilton as the Secretary of the Treasury and Thomas Jefferson as the Secretary of State. He established a culture of transactional and participative leadership. He established a wide range of presidential authority with high integrity and exercised power with utmost honesty and restraint. He shaped the future powers and roles of the presidency and set formal and informal precedents for his successors 1 . While the standard set by George Washington were merely met by his successors, it established an ideal by which all these successors are judged. 

John Adams 

As the second US president who assumed office in 1797, President Adam’s greatest contribution was in the form rallying Americans around the cause and concept of independence. At the Second Continental Congress held in 1776 urged delegates to act and declare war against the government of Britain. Being true to his principles saw him through the years of the War of Independence. Adams believed in the rule of law, masses were not trustworthy and that the new government had to be divided into three branches to check and balance the others. He was a factionalism and was sceptical of federalists 2 . He believed in government decentralized thus leaving the state with more power. 

Thomas Jefferson 

Since he assumed office in 1801 as the third president of the US, Jefferson made significant contributions to the welfare of the nations; in 1803, he made Louisiana Purchase from France at about $15 million and doubled the size of the US. In 1804, he launched the Lewis and Clark Expedition and embarked on exploring the newly bought part of his country and the entire continent. These key among other contributions improved the nation’s welfare. His performance justified divergent opinions of executive power and is known for being hostile to the strong central government and Supreme Court’ judicial overact 3 . He is remembered for articulating the US national creed, the universal and fundamental principles of self-government. 

James Madison 

As the fourth US president (1809-1817), Madison built relationships attributed to the laying of a foundation for the current modern America. He led America into the 1812-1815 controversial war against the Great Britain. During the first years of his administration, trade was prohibited between France and Britain. Following the 1812 war, he supported a stronger national military and government as well as the national bank which he had previously opposed 4 . Historians have ranked Madison as the ninth most successful president. 

James Monroe 

He was the fifth US president serving from 1817-1825 and represented Democratic-Republican in his office. He contributed to the US foreign policy of Monroe Doctrine which was a warning to the European nations against interfering with the Western Hemisphere. His administration period is commonly referred to as the Era of Good Feelings. The key events and contributions of his tenure in power that saw a successful administration include Seminole War I (1817-180, Florida’s acquisition from Spain (1819-21 and the 1820 Missouri Compromise that saw the first constitution conflict resolution of slavery, recognition of Latin America states, former Spanish colonies and connection with the name Monroe in his message of the Monroe has since influenced the US foreign policy 5 . 

John Quincy Adams 

The sixth president of the US served from 1825 to 1829. He is said to have assumed office with a series of debilitating political liabilities one of them being the temperaments he possessed similar to those of his father. He was stubborn aloof and ferociously independent, especially in his convictions. He did not develop the necessary political relationships to generate any significant change even among his party members. He had several admirable goals but were considered unrealistic and overambitious for the US in the 1820s 6 . These goals included surveying the US coast while building astronomical observatories, setting public lands aside for conservation and building canals and highways that would link the country’s sections. 

Andrew Jackson 

As the seventh US president, he served from 1829-1837. He made significant contributions in strengthening the power of the American presidency, achieving success in both democracy and foreign affairs as well as defending the union. Within the eight years of his presidency, Jackson melded the amorphous coalition of the people who elected him into the most successful party which served as discipline model for all the others. He additionally had a controversial conduct in his office also galvanized his opponents to organizing the Whig party 7 . Democratic Party was Jackson’s child the national two-party system his legacy. 

Martin Van Buren 

He was the 8 th US president serving from 1837-1841 as a Democrat. While he has not been judged as either good or bad president, he faced a key challenge of the country’s economic depression. His popularity eroded following the long, costly war with Seminole Indians in Florida as well his inability to endorse annexation of the independent state of Texas 8 . 

Conclusion 

Having had a significant number of presidents, the political history of the US is a rich one. Each president leaves behind a legacy and contributions that their successors may emulate or learn from. With the first eight, a majority of them set a good example to their successors and even if they may not have emulated them, they left behind a legacy. 

Bibliography 

Beschloss, M. R., Sidey, H., & White House Historical Association. (2009). The Presidents of the United States of America. Washington, DC: White House Historical Association. 

Nowlan, R. A. (2012). The American Presidents, Washington to Tyler: What They Did, What They Said, What Was Said About Them, with Full Source Notes . Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers 

1 Beschloss, M. R., Sidey, H., & White House Historical Association. (2009). The Presidents of the United States of America. Washington, DC: White House Historical Association. 

2 Ibid 

3 Ibid 

4 Nowlan, R. A. (2012). The American Presidents, Washington to Tyler: What They Did, What They Said, What Was Said About Them, with Full Source Notes . Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers 

5 Beschloss, M. R., Sidey, H., & White House Historical Association. (2009). The Presidents of the United States of America. 

6 Nowlan, R. A. (2012). The American Presidents, Washington to Tyler: What They Did, What They Said, What Was Said About Them, with Full Source Notes . 

7 Ibid. 

8 Ibid.