These beloved US presidents left a lasting mark on their nation!

In its over two centuries of history, the United States has had some of the bravest and most innovative men sit in the Oval Office as President of the United States.

Since its independence from Britain in 1776, it took our nation more than ten years to elect its first President, when George Washington took his presidential oath into office on April 30th, 1789. And to this date, the US has witnessed the tenure of 45 presidents. But the reality is that only a few can be ranked among the best.

Some were tested by the domestic crisis, others by international conflict, but all left their impression on the people of this beautiful country. So, on that note, check out this list of the 7 beloved US presidents who transformed America and, in some cases, the entire world!

Abraham Lincoln

A myriad of reasons can be given for placing President Abraham Lincoln at the top of the list of most beloved US presidents. First of all, “Honest Abe” freed the enslaved people in America by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation back in 1863. There are obviously many more reasons, and I could go on and on.

But the bottom line is that he stood for freedom and democracy in the face of extreme hardships, which speaks volumes of this beloved US president’s courage and leadership skills. Many historians maintain that America would most likely have disintegrated without Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, which was between March 4th, 1861, and April 15th, 1865.

And even as the four-year vicious Civil War raged on, our country’s 16th President had the forethought to put in place Reconstruction policies that he reasoned would mend the animosity between the North and South. Therefore, President Abraham Lincoln is revered as one of the most beloved US presidents ever.

George Washington

Famous as being the father of our nation, this beloved US president who served from April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797, acted as the first president of the United States of America. He was the commander-in-chief during the American Revolution and headed the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

With no precedent for choosing a president, it fell to the members of the Electoral College to select the nation’s first leader two years later. Over two terms, George Washington launched many traditions the office still observes to this day.

Deeply concerned that the president’s office not be viewed as that of a monarch but as one of the people, President Washington insisted that he be called “Mr. President” instead of “Your Excellency.”

During his term, the United States established rules for normalized relations with its former enemy, federal spending, Great Britain, and laid the groundwork for the future capital, Washington, D.C.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, the third US president, also played an important role in America’s birth. He phrased the Declaration of Independence and served as the country’s first secretary of state.

As president, this beloved US president organized the Louisiana Purchase, which pretty much doubled the size of the United States of America and set the scene for the nation’s westward expansion.

While Thomas Jefferson was in office, the United States also battled its first foreign war, the First Barbary War in the Mediterranean, when we briefly invaded what we know today as Libya. During his second term, Thomas Jefferson’s vice president, Aaron Burr, was on trial for treason.

Of all his considerable achievements during his lifetime and presidency, which he served from March 4th, 1801, to March 4th, 1809, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 stands as the most important. This purchase agreement doubled the size of the US and set it on a path of political, global, and economic dominance.

Dwight Eisenhower

During Dwight Eisenhower’s, which was between January 20th, 1953, and January 20th, 1961, term, the conflict in Korea ended while the United States experienced massive economic growth.

Several milestones in the civil rights movement happened during Eisenhower’s time, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56, the Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, and obviously the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

While he was in office, this beloved US president signed legislation that constructed the interstate highway system and NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

As far as foreign policy goes, Eisenhower held a strong anti-Communist stance in Asia and Europe, expanding Asia’s nuclear arsenal and supporting the government of South Vietnam.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

The threat of Nazi Germany, the Great Depression, and the Pearl Harbor attack in 1940… These were just a few of the challenges Franklin D. Roosevelt had to deal with during his record-breaking 12-year stay in the White House, which was between 1932 and 1945.

Besides this, he had to compete with quite a few personal issues, including his battle against polio. In almost all those cases, though, this beloved US president remained calm and composed, facing the problems head-on. His inauguration ceremony happened when the United States was neck-deep in the Great Depression.

Yet quickly, he rolled out his New Deal, which was a comprehensive set of social and economic policies to shift the nation to safe economic conditions. It was during his term that the US became the undisputed leader of democracy.

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson, also known as “Old Hickory,” is considered the country’s first populist president. As a self-styled man of the people, this beloved US president earned notoriety for his actions at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 and after against Seminole Indigenous people in the state of Florida.

His first run for the presidency back in 1824 ended in a defeat to John Quincy Adams, but just four years later, Jackson won the presidency by a landslide. While serving his term, Jackson and his Democratic allies successfully disassembled the Second Bank of the United States, terminating federal efforts at regulating the economy.

An avowed supporter of westward expansion, Andrew Jackson had long championed the forced removal of Indigenous peoples east of the Mississippi.

Thousands died along the so-called Trail of Tears under the relocation programs that Jackson implemented. So, even though many might not condone his actions, the fact remains that he is still considered a beloved US president.

Ronald Reagan

Born in a small town in Illinois, on February 6th, 1911, Reagan was a thriving Hollywood actor who became the country’s 40th commander-in-chief. He’s best remembered for revitalizing the US economy, which had been ruined by unemployment and inflation.

Expertly good at communication, this beloved US president put tremendous pressure on the Soviet Union to relinquish its grip on Germany. Historians claim that President Reagan’s brilliant foreign policy was a big help in bringing down the Berlin Wall in November 1989.

Reagan’s term of office, which took place from 1981 to 1989, was also very significant because of the Strategic Defense Initiative deal he made with the Soviet Union. He’s widely seen as the US president who hit the final proverbial nail in the coffin of the USSR, resulting in its defeat in the early 90s.

What are your thoughts on these beloved US presidents? Would you agree? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Meanwhile, Today On Politics has many more incredible reads I think you’ll enjoy. For example, I highly recommend checking out: 11 Influential First Ladies Who Shaped American History