Presidents Of The United States

by Demauro, Lisa

• ISBN13: 9780060815554
• ISBN10: 0060815558
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-01-01
• Publisher: Harpercollins

Summary

Our nation's leaders were at times both heroes and healers. Some Presidents were elected by a minority of American voters and some by wide margins of victory. Others moved to the highest office in the nation by an accident of history. The editors of the award-winning TIME For Kids magazine bring you new insights into the men who have held the office of President of the United States. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

The Story of the Presidency	p. 4
The Three Branches of Government	p. 6
George Washington	p. 8
John Adams	p. 10
Thomas Jefferson	p. 11
James Madison	p. 12
James Monroe	p. 13
John Quincy Adams	p. 14
Andrew Jackson	p. 15
Martin Van Buren	p. 16
William Henry Harrison	p. 17
John Tyler	p. 18
James K. Polk	p. 19
Zachary Taylor	p. 20
Millard Fillmore	p. 21
Franklin Pierce	p. 22
James Buchanan	p. 23
Abraham Lincoln	p. 24
Andrew Johnson	p. 26
Ulysses S. Grant	p. 27
Rutherford B. Hayes	p. 28
James Garfield	p. 29
Chester A. Arthur	p. 30
Grover Cleveland	p. 31
Benjamin Harrison	p. 32
William McKinley	p. 33
Theodore Roosevelt	p. 34
William H. Taft	p. 35
Woodrow Wilson	p. 36
Warren G. Harding	p. 37
Calvin Coolidge	p. 38
Herbert Hoover	p. 39
Franklin D. Roosevelt	p. 40
Harry S. Truman	p. 42
Dwight D. Eisenhower	p. 44
John F. Kennedy	p. 45
Lyndon B. Johnson	p. 46
Richard M. Nixon	p. 47
Gerald R. Ford	p. 48
Jimmy Carter	p. 49
Ronald W. Reagan	p. 50
George H. W. Bush	p. 51
William J. Clinton	p. 52
George W. Bush	p. 54
The Nation's First Ladies	p. 56
Presidents at a Glance	p. 58
Welcome to the White House	p. 62
Postcards from Washington, D.C.	p. 64
Presidents by the Numbers	p. 66
Index	p. 67
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Time for Kids: Presidents of the United States

Chapter One

The writers of the Constitution wanted to create a very strong national government. But they also wanted to make sure that one person or group did not have too much power. Their solution was to separate the government’s powers into three parts called the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Each branch of government can limit the powers of the others. This way no branch becomes too powerful.

Legislative

The legislative branch includes the two houses of Congress—the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 senators and 435 congressmen and congresswomen, the terms used to identify members of the House. They write bills and then vote on whether or not the bills should become laws. Other jobs include deciding how the federal budget will be spent. The legislative branch also must vote before the U.S. may go to war with another country. Senators serve in office for six-year terms. Members of the House of Representatives serve for two-year terms.

Executive

The President is head of the executive branch. This branch also includes the vice president and the cabinet, a group of the President’s close advisors. The President signs bills to turn them into laws. The President may also veto, or reject, bills. But Congress can take a vote to cancel a President’s veto. This is called an override. The President chooses cabinet members and Supreme Court judges, but the Senate must approve the President’s choices. The President is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Judicial

The Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch. It is the most powerful court in the country. Its nine justices, or judges, decide if laws agree with the Constitution. Once justices are approved to serve on the Supreme Court, they can stay on the court for the rest of their lives.

Time for Kids: Presidents of the United States. Copyright © by Robert Editors of TIME For Kids. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from Presidents of the United States by Time for Kids Magazine Staff
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.