The President of the United States, or (POTUS) for short, also known as The Commander in Chief or even The Leader of the Free World, is the head of government and state for the United States of America. The country's first president was George Washington, who served from 1789 to 1797. Washington was originally offered a monarchical title, but instead determined the country should have a president, duly elected by the people.
About
Josiah Bartlet is the President of the United States for the entire series. His successor, Matthew Santos, is inaugurated in the series finale, Tomorrow. For a short time in Season Five, House Speaker Glen Allen Walken becomes acting president.
Below is a list of Presidents of the United States. Obviously, at some point the history and the fiction become entangled as President Josiah Bartlet was elected in 1998, which was not a year in which the quadrennial presidential election would have taken place in real life. Additionally, the identification of at least two known predecessors to President Bartlet (D. Wire Newman and Owen Lassiter), further blurs the office holders. Richard Nixon is the last real-life President to have been mentioned on the show. Visit the Timeline for more information.
List of Presidents
This chart lists known individuals who served as President of the United States.
| Presidency | President | Party | Election | Vice President | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797 |
|
Unaffiliated | John Adams | |||
|
March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801 |
|
Federalist | Thomas Jefferson | |||
|
March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809 |
|
Democratic-Republican | Aaron Burr | |||
| George Clinton | ||||||
|
March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817 |
|
Democratic-Republican |
(died in office) | |||
| Vacant after April 20, 1812 | ||||||
|
(died in office) | ||||||
| Vacant after November 23, 1814 | ||||||
|
March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825 |
|
Democratic-Republican | Daniel D. Tompkins | |||
|
March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829 |
|
Democratic-Republican | John C. Calhoun | |||
|
March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1837 |
|
Democratic |
(resigned from office) | |||
| Vacant after December 28, 1832 | ||||||
| Martin Van Buren | ||||||
|
March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1841 |
|
Democratic | Richard Mentor Johnson | |||
|
March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841 (died in office) |
|
Whig | ||||
|
April 4, 1841 – March 4, 1845 |
|
Whig (1841) Unaffiliated (1841 - 1845) |
Vacant throughout presidency | |||
|
March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849 |
|
Democratic | George M. Dallas | |||
|
March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850 (died in office) |
|
Whig | ||||
|
July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853 |
|
Whig | Vacant throughout presidency | |||
|
March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857 |
|
Democratic |
(died in office) | |||
| Vacant after April 18, 1853 | ||||||
|
March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861 |
|
Democratic | John C. Breckinridge | |||
|
March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865 (died in office) |
|
Republican | Hannibal Hamlin | |||
| National Union | ||||||
|
April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869 |
|
National Union | Vacant throughout presidency | |||
|
March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877 |
|
Republican | Schuyler Colfax | |||
| Henry Wilson
(died in office) | ||||||
| Vacant after November 22, 1875 | ||||||
|
March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881 |
|
Republican | William A. Wheeler | |||
|
March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881 (died in office) |
|
Republican | Chester A. Arthur | |||
|
September 19, 1881 – March 4, 1885 |
|
Republican | Vacant throughout presidency | |||
|
March 4, 1885 – March 4, 1889 |
|
Democratic |
(died in office) | |||
| Vacant after November 25, 1885 | ||||||
|
March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1893 |
|
Republican | Levi P. Morton | |||
|
March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1897 |
|
- | Democratic | Adlai Stevenson | ||
|
March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901 (died in office) |
|
William McKinley | Republican |
(died in office) | ||
| Vacant after November 21, 1899 | ||||||
|
September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909 |
|
Theodore Roosevelt | Republican | Vacant through March 4, 1905 | ||
| Charles W. Fairbanks | ||||||
|
March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913 |
|
William Howard Taft | Republican | James S. Sherman
(died in office) | ||
| Vacant after October 30, 1912 | ||||||
|
March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921 |
|
Woodrow Wilson | Democratic | Thomas R. Marshall | ||
|
March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923 (died in office) |
|
Warren G. Harding | Republican | |||
|
August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929 |
|
Calvin Coolidge | Republican | Vacant through March 4, 1925 | ||
| Charles G. Dawes | ||||||
|
March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933 |
|
Herbert Hoover | Republican | Charles Curtis | ||
|
March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945 (died in office) |
|
Franklin D. Roosevelt | Democratic | John Nance Garner | ||
| Henry A. Wallace | ||||||
|
April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953 |
|
Harry S. Truman | Democratic | Vacant through January 20, 1949 | ||
| Alben W. Barkley | ||||||
|
January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961 |
|
Dwight D. Eisenhower | Republican | Richard Nixon | ||
|
January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963 (died in office) |
|
John F. Kennedy | Democratic | |||
|
November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969 |
|
Lyndon B. Johnson | Democratic | Vacant through January 20, 1965 | ||
| Hubert Humphrey | ||||||
|
January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974 (resigned from office) |
|
Richard Nixon | Republican |
(resigned from office) | ||
| Vacant, Oct. 10 – Dec. 6, 1973 | ||||||
| Unknown[1] | ||||||
|
??? – ??? |
|
Republican |
|
|||
|
January 20, 1987 – January 20, 1991 |
|
Democratic | 1986
|
|||
|
January 20, 1991 – January 20, 1999 |
|
Unknown | Republican | 1990
|
||
| 1994 | ||||||
|
January 20, 1999 – January 20, 2007 |
|
Josiah Bartlet | Democratic |
(resigned from office) | ||
| Vacant, May – July 2003 | ||||||
|
January 20, 2007 – ??? |
|
Matthew Santos | Democratic | 2006
|
Vacant | |
Referenced in series
This chart lists episodes where each president is most prominently referenced or mentioned in the series. Some presidents have never been mentioned.
References
- ↑ Richard Nixon is the last real-life president to be directly referenced in the series. After his presidency, the timeline becomes ambiguous. At some point, the election cycle is offset by two years in comparison to real-life.
- ↑ The date of Owen Lassiter's presidency is unknown. He could've served prior to 1987, or he may be Bartlet's unnamed predecessor who served from 1991-1999.
- ↑ Bartlet's predecessor was never mentioned by name, but multiple statements made throughout the show indicate that he was a two-term Republican.
- ↑ Glen Allen Walken briefly served as Acting President in 2003.