American presidents hold the most powerful office on earth and occupy a unique place at the center of national and world events. At once chief executive, head of state, commander-in-chief, and leader ...

James K. Polk was born on November 2, 1795, in a log cabin in Mecklenburg, North Carolina, the oldest of 10 children. He ...

Foreword / President George W. Bush -- George Washington / portrait by Gilbert Stuart -- John Adams / portrait by John Trumbull -- Thomas Jefferson / portrait by Rembrandt Peale -- James Madison / ...

Donald J. Trump took the oath of office on Monday, Jan. 20, during the 60th Presidential Inauguration, marking the beginning of his second presidential term and formally admitting him as the 47th ...

This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's ...

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States and a former peanut farmer whose vision of a "competent and compassionate" government propelled him into the White House, died at his home in ...