Presidents Quiz

Presidents of the United States

The United States has had 46 Presidents (as of 2024, with Joe Biden as the 46th, and Donald Trump elected as the 47th). The President serves as head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Presidential terms are four years, and since the 22nd Amendment (1951) no president may serve more than two terms. George Washington, the first president, voluntarily set the two-term precedent by stepping down in 1797 - A revolutionary act that established the peaceful transfer of power as a cornerstone of American democracy.

Some presidents are remembered for their leadership in times of crisis: Abraham Lincoln guided the nation through the Civil War; Franklin D. Roosevelt led the U.S. through the Great Depression and World War II; and John F. Kennedy navigated the Cuban Missile Crisis, the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war. Others are remembered for expanding the presidency's power, advancing civil rights, or transformative legislation. Try the American History Quiz for broader context, or test your constitutional knowledge with the Bill of Rights Quiz.

Presidential "firsts" include: George Washington (first president, 1789); John Adams (first to live in the White House, 1800); Abraham Lincoln (first to be assassinated, 1865); Theodore Roosevelt (first to win the Nobel Peace Prize, 1906); Franklin Roosevelt (first to appear on television, 1939, and only president to serve more than two terms); John F. Kennedy (first Catholic president and youngest elected); and Barack Obama (first African American president, 2009). The youngest person ever to hold the office was Theodore Roosevelt, who became president at 42 after McKinley's assassination.