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When you study influential presidents, you're really studying how executive power has evolved and how individual leaders have responded to the defining crises of their eras. The AP exam doesn't just want you to know what these presidents did—it wants you to understand why their decisions mattered and how they fit into broader themes like federalism vs. states' rights, expansion and its consequences, the growth of federal power, and America's changing role in the world.
Each president on this list represents a turning point or a transformation in American governance. Some expanded democracy while others restricted it. Some grew federal power dramatically; others tried to limit it. Don't just memorize names and dates—know what constitutional questions, economic philosophies, and foreign policy doctrines each president embodied. That's what separates a 3 from a 5.
The earliest presidents didn't just govern—they invented how to govern. Every decision set a precedent because there was no playbook. Their choices about executive power, foreign relations, and national expansion defined what the presidency could become.
Compare: Washington vs. Jefferson—both Founders, but Washington emphasized strong federal authority (crushing the Whiskey Rebellion) while Jefferson championed limited government and states' rights. If an FRQ asks about early debates over federal power, these two represent the key tension.
The mid-19th century saw presidents who aggressively expanded American territory, often at tremendous human cost. The ideology of Manifest Destiny—the belief that American expansion was divinely ordained—justified policies that displaced Indigenous peoples and provoked war with Mexico.
Compare: Jackson vs. Polk—both expanded American power and territory, but Jackson focused on removing obstacles to white settlement (Native removal) while Polk pursued international conquest (Mexican-American War). Both set the stage for the sectional crisis over slavery.
Abraham Lincoln's presidency represents the ultimate test of whether the American experiment could survive. His decisions about executive power during wartime—suspending habeas corpus, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation—permanently expanded presidential authority during national emergencies.
Compare: Lincoln vs. Jackson—both claimed to act for "the people," but Jackson's populism excluded racial minorities while Lincoln's wartime leadership ultimately expanded citizenship rights through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. This contrast is essential for understanding how "democracy" has meant different things in different eras.
The Progressive Era presidents responded to industrialization's problems—monopolies, unsafe products, environmental destruction—by dramatically expanding what the federal government could regulate. This represented a fundamental shift from 19th-century laissez-faire governance to active federal intervention in the economy.
Compare: Theodore Roosevelt vs. Wilson—both Progressives who expanded federal power, but TR emphasized executive action and conservation while Wilson focused on legislative reform and international institutions. TR was more willing to use military force; Wilson initially promoted neutrality. Both transformed the presidency into an activist office.
Franklin Roosevelt's response to the Great Depression created the modern welfare state and established expectations that the federal government would manage the economy and provide a social safety net. His presidency marks the clearest break between limited 19th-century government and the expansive federal role we know today.
Compare: FDR vs. Eisenhower—FDR created the modern federal government's role in the economy; Eisenhower consolidated it rather than dismantling it, proving New Deal programs had bipartisan staying power. Both expanded federal infrastructure investment. This continuity matters for understanding the post-WWII consensus.
Kennedy and Johnson navigated the civil rights movement, Cold War tensions, and social upheaval. Their presidencies show how domestic pressure movements can force federal action—and how foreign policy decisions can destroy a presidency.
Compare: Kennedy vs. Johnson—Kennedy inspired and symbolized change but accomplished relatively little legislatively; Johnson delivered landmark legislation but destroyed his presidency through Vietnam. This contrast illustrates how presidential legacy depends on both domestic achievement and foreign policy outcomes.
Ronald Reagan's presidency represented a deliberate effort to reverse the growth of federal power that had characterized governance since FDR. His success in shifting political discourse rightward—making "government" a negative word—reshaped both parties and defined debates that continue today.
Compare: FDR vs. Reagan—the two most transformative 20th-century presidents, but in opposite directions. FDR expanded federal power to address economic crisis; Reagan contracted it (rhetorically, if not always in practice). Understanding this pendulum swing is essential for any essay on the evolution of American government.
| Concept | Best Examples |
|---|---|
| Establishing Precedent | Washington, Jefferson |
| Territorial Expansion | Jefferson (Louisiana), Polk (Mexican Cession), Jackson (Indian Removal) |
| Executive Power in Crisis | Lincoln, FDR, LBJ |
| Progressive Reform | Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson |
| Civil Rights Advancement | Lincoln, LBJ, Eisenhower |
| Cold War Leadership | Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan |
| Economic Philosophy Shifts | FDR (New Deal liberalism), Reagan (supply-side conservatism) |
| Federal Power Expansion | FDR, LBJ, Wilson |
Compare and contrast how Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson approached Progressive reform. What did they share, and where did their methods or priorities differ?
Which two presidents would best illustrate the debate over federal power in an FRQ about the evolution of American government? What specific policies would you cite?
How did Jackson's Jacksonian Democracy and Lincoln's wartime leadership represent different answers to the question "Who counts as 'the people' in American democracy?"
If asked to trace the growth and contraction of the welfare state, which three presidents would you discuss, and what policies would you highlight for each?
Both Kennedy and Reagan are remembered for Cold War leadership. How did their strategies for managing Soviet relations differ, and what does this reveal about changing American approaches to containment?