President of the United States Timeline of Events

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President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

Timeline of Events

1789

2.4.1789

George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.

4.30.1789

On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.

11.26.1789

A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as recommended by President George Washington and approved by Congress.

1792

2.20.1792

The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington.

4.5.1792

U.S. President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.

1793

2.25.1793

George Washington holds the first Cabinet meeting as President of the United States.

1797

3.4.1797

In the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, John Adams is sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington.

1800

4.24.1800

The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 USD to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress".

6.3.1800

U.S. President John Adams takes up residence in Washington, D.C. (in a tavern because the White House was not yet completed).

11.1.1800

US President John Adams becomes the first President of the United States to live in the Executive Mansion (later renamed the White House).

1801

2.17.1801

An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.

1807

12.22.1807

The Embargo Act, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, is passed by the U.S. Congress, at the urging of President Thomas Jefferson.

1812

6.1.1812

War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.

1825

2.9.1825

After no presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams President of the United States.

1828

5.19.1828

U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.

1830

5.26.1830

The Indian Removal Act is passed by the U.S. Congress; it is signed into law by President Andrew Jackson two days later.

1832

7.10.1832

U.S.President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.

1833

6.6.1833

U.S. President Andrew Jackson becomes the first President to ride on a train.

1834

3.28.1834

The United States Senate censures President Andrew Jackson for his actions in de-funding the Second Bank of the United States.

1835

1.30.1835

In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson, but fails and is subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen.

1841

4.4.1841

William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia becoming the first President of the United States to die in office and the one with the shortest term served.

1845

3.1.1845

President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.

1849

2.14.1849

In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.

1850

7.9.1850

U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies and Millard Fillmore becomes the 13th President of the United States.

7.10.1850

Millard Fillmore is inaugurated as the 13th President of the United States upon the death of President Zachary Taylor, 16 months into his term.

1856

2.18.1856

The ''Know-Nothings'' convene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate their first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore.

1860

2.27.1860

Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.

1861

2.23.1861

President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.

4.27.1861

President of the United States Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of ''habeas corpus''.

12.21.1861

Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.

1862

5.15.1862

President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture.

5.20.1862

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law.

9.2.1862

American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln reluctantly restores Union General George B. McClellan to full command after General John Pope's disastrous defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

11.14.1862

American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln approves General Ambrose Burnside's plan to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia, leading to the Battle of Fredericksburg.

1863

10.3.1863

The last Thursday in November is declared as Thanksgiving Day by President Abraham Lincoln as are Thursdays, November 30, 1865 and November 29, 1866.

11.19.1863

American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the military cemetery ceremony at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

1864

6.30.1864

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln grants Yosemite Valley to California for "public use, resort and recreation".

1865

4.11.1865

President Abraham Lincoln makes his last public speech.

4.14.1865

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth.

1868

2.24.1868

Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate.

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