The United States of America has had 47 presidents, but only a handful truly changed its course. One doubled the country’s size, another ended slavery…
1/101. George Washington | 1789–1797 | Turned a brand-new Constitution into a working government, created the first Cabinet, and stepped down after two terms — setting a precedent that held for over 150 years. (Image: The White House Historical Association)
2/102. Thomas Jefferson | 1801–1809 | Bought the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million in 1803, instantly doubling the size of the young republic and turning it into a continental power. (Image: The White House Historical Association)
3/103. Abraham Lincoln | 1861–1865 | Led the US through the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation; the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, days before his assassination. (Image: The White House Historical Association)
4/104. Theodore Roosevelt | 1901–1909 | Took on powerful business monopolies, strengthened consumer protections and vastly expanded national parks, while overseeing construction of the Panama Canal. (Image: Theodore Roosevelt Centre)
5/105. Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1933–1945 | Launched the New Deal to pull America out of the Great Depression, then led the country through most of World War II — the only president elected four times. (Image: The White House Historical Association)
6/106. Harry S. Truman | 1945–1953 | Authorised the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end WWII, then shaped the postwar world through the Marshall Plan and NATO. (Image: The White House Historical Association)
7/107. Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963–1969 | Pushed through the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act despite fierce opposition, dismantling legal segregation and expanding voting rights for Black Americans. (Image: LBJ Presidential Library)
8/108. Ronald Reagan | 1981–1989 | Cut taxes, deregulated industry and took a tougher Cold War stance, redefining the Republican Party around smaller government and market-driven growth. (Image: Reagan Foundation)
9/109. George W. Bush | 2001–2009 | Launched the War on Terror after 9/11, invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, and created the Department of Homeland Security — reshaping national security policy for good. (Image: The White House Historical Association)
10/1010. Donald Trump | 2017–2021, 2025–present | Reshaped US trade and immigration policy with sweeping tariffs and executive orders in his second term; supporters call it a reset of America’s economic and border policy, critics call it executive overreach — its full impact is still unfolding. (Image: The White House)
