Born: 1946, New Haven CT

George W. Bush is the second President, after John Quincy Adams, to follow his father to the White House. The first child of 41st President George H.W. Bush, “George W” grew up in Texas, then went to Andover and Yale before earning a Harvard MBA. Returning home to the oil business, he married teacher Laura Welch, and lost a 1978 race for Congress. In 1988, he joined his father’s Presidential campaign. In 1989, the lifelong baseball fan formed a group to buy the Texas Rangers and became the team’s managing partner. After his father’s 1992 loss to Bill Clinton, George W gave politics another try, twice winning the Texas Governorship. There, he championed crime and tax reduction and education and tort reform. In 2000, he defeated Democrat Al Gore in one of the closest and most contested elections in history-one which took five weeks and a Supreme Court ruling to sort out.

The partisan rancor that followed the 2000 election was erased, temporarily, by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Galvanized by the event, George W declared a “war on terror.” He sent troops to destroy their operating base in Afghanistan, stepped up domestic law enforcement, and in 2003, invaded Iraq. Though U.S. forces quickly ousted Saddam Hussein, they’ve labored to create peace and order. The war became a key issue in the 2004 election, when George W narrowly defeated Democrat John Kerry.

Forty-Third President
Republican

Born: 1924, Milton, MA

A product of the Eastern establishment, George Bush attended Andover and Yale and served as a Navy pilot in World War II before starting a successful oil business in Texas. Twice elected to Congress, he was U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., then headed the Republican National Committee, the U.S. Liaison Office in Peking, and the CIA. In 1980, he sought the Republican Presidential nomination, but became Ronald Reagan’s running mate instead. A loyal and competent Vice-President, Bush won the White House in 1988, promising better education, a cleaner environment and no new taxes.

Bush’s Presidency was marked by historic events in world affairs. Emboldened by glasnost and perestroika, Eastern bloc nations renounced communist rule; Germany united; and the Soviet Union disintegrated. The Cold War ended, but other wars began. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Bush assembled an international coalition to reverse the aggression, culminating in the successful military operation, “Desert Storm.” But chaos and brutality reigned elsewhere in the world and nearly every nation battled recession. At home, the sour economy took its toll and, after 12 years of Republican administrations, Americans voted for change.

Forty-First President
Republican

Born: 1911, Tampico, IL
Died: 2004

A champion of individual freedom, Ronald Reagan presented a sharp contrast to his predecessor, Jimmy Carter. While the thrifty and analytical Carter pored over details, Regan was a generalist who preferred to delegate problem-solving. Having worked in broadcasting and feature films, Reagan excelled at communicating his views directly to the people. Hollywood also grounded him in politics. As president of the Screen Actors Guild, he opposed communist influence in the entertainment industry and later switched from a liberal to a conservative philosophy, fiercely opposed to big government.

Governor of California from 1966 to 1974, Reagan won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980. He trounced Jimmy Carter at the polls, becoming the nation’s oldest President. After surviving an early assassination attempt, Reagan deregulated industry and cut taxes and non-military spending, fueling the “go-go” economy of the 1980s. He took a hard line against the Soviets, increasing America’s military capability and backing the costly “Star Wars” missile program. But he also nurtured a growing relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. His support for anti-communist rebels in Central America led staff members to become embroiled in the Iran-Contra scandal. But the President, with his great personal charm, remained popular throughout his two terms.

Fortieth President
Republican

Born: 1913, Omaha, NE
Died: 2006

Gerald Ford was raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A talented athlete, Ford attended the University of Michigan on a football scholarship, then earned a law degree at Yale. After naval combat duty in World War II, the likable attorney returned to Grand Rapids. He was elected to Congress in 1948, becoming House Minority Leader in 1965. In 1973, when Nixon’s Vice-President, Spiro T. Agnew, was forced to resign over a tax scandal, Nixon picked Ford as the new Vice-President. The following year Nixon resigned over Watergate and Ford became President. shortly thereafter, Ford granted Nixon a “full, free and absolute pardon.” He explained his decision as a way to bring the country together and move beyond the turmoil of Watergate. Though few questioned Ford’s integrity, many at the time were angered by his action.

President Ford presided over a period of steadily improving relations with the Soviet Union, reaching agreement on limiting nuclear arms. But troubles appeared on other fronts; the last American advisers in Vietnam were forced into a desperate and chaotic evacuation; the Middle East oil crisis created an energy shortage; and at home the fight against inflation led to recession. Ford gained the Republican nomination in 1976 but lost the election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Thirty-Eighth President
Republican

Born: 1913, Yorba Linda, CA
Died: 1994

Reared in poverty, Richard Nixon showed his tenacity early on, working his way through Whittier College and Duke Law School. After naval service in World War II, he returned to California and was elected to the U.S. House and then the Senate. In 1952 Eisenhower picked the 39-year-old Senator to be his Vice-President — a job Nixon held for eight years. Nixon was narrowly defeated by John F. Kennedy in the 1960 Presidential race, but in 1968 he ran again and won.

As President, Nixon made great strides in foreign affairs. He visited China and the USSR and initiated Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) with the Soviets. In 1973, Nixon signed a peace accord with North Vietnam, finally extricating the nation from a conflict that had cost 58,000 American lives. But these achievements were overshadowed by a constitutional crisis at home. In June, 1972, a break-in was discovered at the Democrats’ National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building. The President denied knowledge of the incident, and went on to a landslide re-election victory in November. Slowly, however, evidence was amassed that implicated the White House. Senior Administration officials were caught in a cover-up that unraveled under mounting investigation. Threatened with impeachment, President Nixon resigned in 1974.

Thirty-Seventh President
Republican

Born: 1890, Denison, TX
Died: 1969

Dwight Eisenhower was a fine athlete at West Point who went on to a distinguished military career. When America entered World War II, he joined General George Marshall’s staff, commanding the 1942 Allied invasion of North Africa. Appointed Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, he orchestrated the 1944 D-Day landings in France. Returning a national hero, “Ike” became President of Columbia University and then Supreme Commander of NATO. Both parties sought him as a Presidential candidate in 1948, but he refused. In 1952 he headed the Republican ticket, and twice led it to victory.

When Ike took office, America was in the grip of the Cold War. In South Korea, U.S. forces were fighting a communist invasion from the North. At home, Senator McCarthy had incited anti-communist hysteria with witch hunts and blacklists (before his 1954 censure by the Senate). Ike reduced tensions with the Soviets, negotiated a truce in Korea, proposed a nuclear test ban, and pressured America’s allies to withdraw from the Suez Canal in 1956. He also improved the nation’s highways, supported the space program, and sent troops into Little Rock to enforce court-ordered school desegregation. When he left office the former soldier warned against the acquisition of unwarranted influence by “the military-industrial complex.”

Thirty-Fourth President
Republican

Born: 1874, West Branch, IA
Died: 1964

An austere childhood demanded self-reliance and discipline of Herbert Hoover, values he championed throughout his life. A son of Iowa Quakers, he was orphaned at nine, joined relatives in Oregon, and eventually put himself through Stanford University, becoming a mining engineer. He earned a fortune working around the world, and also earned a reputation as a humanitarian for directing American relief efforts in Europe during World War I. After serving as Commerce Secretary under Harding and Coolidge, he became the 1928 Republican Presidential nominee. Aided by the nation’s prosperity, plus anti-Catholic sentiment against Democrat Al Smith, Hoover swept to victory.

On October 29, 1929, “Black Tuesday,” the stock-market crash plunged thousands of businesses and individuals into bankruptcy, ushering in the most protracted economic downturn in American history, the Great Depression. Hoover cut taxes, increased public works and created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to make government loans. But he drew the line at direct loans to individuals, even though 12 million Americans were unemployed. Shanty towns of homeless families became known as “Hoovervilles,” and the beleaguered President was turned out of office in the 1932 election. Fifteen years later, President Truman appointed him to head the European food program after World War II.

Thirty-First President
Republican

Born: 1872, Plymouth, VT
Died: 1933

John Calvin Coolidge, the son of a Vermont storekeeper, earned a law degree and moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, where a casual interest in politics soon turned into a career. He was serving as Governor when Harding asked him to be his running mate in 1920. Harding died two years later and Coolidge’s father, a notary public, swore him in as President.

“Silent Cal” had a reputation for honesty that served him well when the Harding scandals came to light. He moved swiftly to restore confidence in the White House, and otherwise followed his conviction that “the business of America is business.” The country was enjoying high productivity and low unemployment when he faced the electorate in 1924, with the slogan “Keep cool with Coolidge.” He won handily, but the dour and frugal tee-totaler from New England was utterly out of step with the Jazz Age. As bootlegging, corruption, and stock-market speculating became rampant, Coolidge, who preferred to lead by example, tended to administrative affairs and quietly trimmed $2 billion from the national debt. He did not seek re-election. On leaving office Coolidge said, “one of the most important accomplishments of my Administration has been minding my own business.”

Thirtieth President
Republican

Born: 1865, Marion, OH
Died: 1923

Warren Harding gained popularity and political savvy as the publisher of an Ohio newspaper. In 1914, after serving as a State Senator and Lieutenant Governor, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. A deadlocked Republican nominating convention finally settled on the likeable and attractive Harding as its Presidential candidate in 1920. He promised a “return to normalcy” in the aftermath of World War I, and his champion, Harry Daugherty, proclaimed that indeed the candidate “looked like a President.” He won 60 percent of the popular vote.

President Harding followed the Congressional Republicans’ lead, approving bills that cut taxes, raised tariffs, ended wartime controls and restricted immigration. In the two years following his election, America seemed to be on the road to prosperity. Then, in 1923, during a campaign visit to San Francisco, Harding died suddenly of a heart attack and the nation was stunned by revelations of widespread corruption in his Administration. Several Harding appointees had been taking bribes and stealing millions in public funds. It was now all too evident that the President had been in earnest when he remarked that his enemies were no bother, but his friends kept him awake at night.

Twenty-Ninth President
Republican

Born: 1857, Cincinnati, OH
Died: 1930

William Howard Taft, the son of a distinguished judge, became a lawyer after graduating from Yale, his goal one day to sit on the Supreme Court. He was appointed a federal judge at 34, but left the law for politics when President McKinley named him Governor of the Philippines. Taft then served as Secretary of War under President Roosevelt. With Teddy’s support, “Big Bill” Taft won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1908.

Roosevelt quickly discovered that although he could influence the affable Taft, he could not mold him in his own image. While Roosevelt had been a dynamic, vigorous and visible President, his protege was more restrained. Taft admitted the job intimidated him. Even so, he introduced budgetary controls, an eight-hour work day for government employees, and a campaign-spending disclosure bill. His Administration prosecuted numerous companies under the anti-trust laws. All the while, Taft drew mounting criticism from Roosevelt, who branded Taft an ineffectual puppet of big business. Teddy bolted from the Republican Party in 1912 to oppose Taft on the Bull Moose ticket, splitting the Republican vote. Democrat Woodrow Wilson won easily, and Taft was released from the office he loathed. In 1921, President Harding appointed him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Years later Taft commented, “I don’t remember that I ever was President.”

Twenty-Seventh President
Republican