Talk:List of presidents of the United States

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Frequently asked questions

This section is here to provide answers to some questions that have been previously discussed on this talk page.
Note: This FAQ is only here to let people know that these points have previously been addressed, not to prevent any further discussion of these issues.

To view an explanation to the answer, click the [show] link to the right of the question.

General Concerns and Questions

Q1: John Hanson was actually the first president.

A1: John Hanson was the first President of the Continental Congress to serve a term under the Articles of Confederation. This office is different from President of the United States, which was only created after the US Constitution took effect in 1789.

Related Talk discussions: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Q2: __________ was acting president for a short time, why isn't he on the list?

A2: A period during which a vice-president or other person temporarily becomes Acting President under the Twenty-fifth Amendment is not a presidency, because the president remains in office during such a period.

Related Talk discussions: [6], [7], [8]

Q3: Grover Cleveland is listed twice, William McKinley was actually the 24th president.

A3: Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms, so while McKinley was in fact the 24th person to serve as president, Cleveland was both the 22nd and 24th president. Or another way: the next president after Benjamin Harrison was the 24th president. It should also be noted that almost all reference materials enumerate Cleveland in this way.

Related Talk discussions: [9], [10], [11], [12]

Q4: Harry Truman's middle name was "S". Since it's not an initial, it should not have the period after it.

A4: Harry Truman's middle name was in fact S; however, most reference materials still use the period. Truman himself signed his own name as "Harry S. Truman". Both with or without the period may be regarded as correct.

Related Talk discussions: [13], [14], [15], [16]

Q5: Democratic is an adjective. Presidents of this party should be listed as the noun, "Democrat".

A5: The correct name of the political party is the Democratic Party. In this case, the adjective is used to describe the party, which is what the list is showing. Note that Democrat Party can be seen as an epithet - see Democrat Party (epithet).

Related Talk discussions: [17]

Q6: Please add another column to the list for ___________.

A6: Every effort was made to show the most sought-after information in a concise table. Those interested in president lists based on other criteria should see Template:Lists of US Presidents and Vice Presidents.

Related Talk discussions: [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24]

Q7: I have an issue with one of the pictures used.

A7: It is recommended that the same picture from the president's individual article infobox be used on this list by default. However, any clear view of the face will work since the pictures are so small. Keep in mind that some images on external sites may be subject to copyright, and therefore difficult to bring into Wikipedia. If you have a specific concern about an image, feel free to discuss it here.

Related Talk discussions: [25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31], [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37]

List of presidents of the United States is a featured list, which means it has been identified as one of the best lists produced by the Wikipedia community. If you can update or improve it, please do so.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
June 15, 2005	Featured list candidate	Promoted
October 30, 2008	Featured list removal candidate	Demoted
June 26, 2009	Featured list candidate	Not promoted
March 3, 2021	Peer review	Reviewed
September 9, 2022	Featured list candidate	Promoted
Current status: Featured list

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This article has previously been nominated to be moved. Please review the prior discussions if you are considering re-nomination.

Move logs: List of presidents of the United States
List of Presidents of the United States

Discussions:

RM, List of Presidents of the United States → List of presidents of the United States, No move, 23 July 2012, discussion
RM, List of Presidents of the United States → List of presidents of the United States, No consensus, 20 May 2018, discussion
- MRV, Overturn and relist, 10 June 2018, discussion
RM, List of Presidents of the United States → List of presidents of the United States, Moved, 27 July 2019, discussion

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Using two images for Grover Cleveland

I find it a bit odd that the same image used for Cleveland's non-consecutive terms. Surely we can find one image from his first term and another image from his second and use both respectively instead of just one image. I expect this to be the case in the scenario if Trump is re-elected in 2024 as well.

Maybe use this for the first term and the current for the second term?

HadesTTW (he/him • talk) 18:59, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Oppose Strongly disagree. If Donald Trump wins the 2024 presidential election, he will continue to use his 2017 official portrait for all Wikipedia articles about Donald Trump. Just like George W. Bush continued to use his 2003 official portrait even though he won a second term. Also like Grover Cleveland who used the same official portrait even though he served 2 non-consecutive terms. Teknologi Positif (talk) 14:52, 18 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Oppose - Using different images might confuse folks. GoodDay (talk) 14:53, 18 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Gallery in the lead

Per List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom, I've added this gallery of four notable presidents to the lead of the article, which fits this article better than an image of the White House. I am establishing a consensus here to see what others think, but the gallery option seems to be preferred elsewhere (e.g. the list of UK PMs article). ThingsCanOnlyGetWetter (talk) 14:53, 7 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Whether to include such a gallery requires consensus here first, as would a consensus concerning which presidents to include in it. Drdpw (talk) 18:52, 7 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I agree that would be the best thing to do, which is why I took it to the talk page as well. So to begin, if a consensus is reached, which presidents should be used? --ThingsCanOnlyGetWetter (talk) 19:05, 7 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

First, how about we answer the question, Do we wish to change from a single article-top image, currently the north side of the White House, to a gallery of multiple U.S. presidents? Drdpw (talk) 19:56, 7 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 5 August 2024

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Hoffmand002 (talk) 16:49, 5 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. EvergreenFir (talk) 17:00, 5 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Woodrow Wilson has an RfC

Woodrow Wilson has an RfC for possible consensus. A discussion is taking place. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments on the discussion page. Thank you. Emiya1980 (talk) 03:10, 18 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Image of Martin Van Buren

I changed the image of Martin Van Buren to a cropped version of an 1860 photograph. Though not made when he was president, I believe it is better because it gives an accurate depiction of him. The photograph is also used as his main image on Van Buren's page Wcamp9 (talk) 16:16, 19 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Image of William Taft

I believe we should change the image of Taft to his main image (which is featured) from his Wikipedia page. Wcamp9 (talk) 16:16, 19 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]