“How many presidents have we had?” (Depends on how you count Cleveland and Trump)

So who is "Grover Cleveland," and why does he complicate this answer?

In the presidential elections of 1888, the incumbent president Grover Cleveland actually won the popular vote; but he lost the election anyway that year, because Benjamin Harrison won the electoral vote. Four years later, Cleveland won his rematch with Harrison by both measures, and was thus elected to a second term in 1892. Grover Cleveland is thus the only president ever to serve two non-consecutive terms. Thus, this distinction makes him the 22nd and 24th Presidents of the United States.

Grover Cleveland

So how many presidents have we had in this country?

So how many "Presidents of the United States" have actually held office in this country? The answer is: "Depends on how you count Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump." If you count each of them as two separate presidents, the answer is that Trump will soon be our 47th President. But technically, only 45 individuals have actually served as president at the time that I write this; so the question is not as straightforward as it seems.

Grover Cleveland

Some of these presidents have been the subject of movies, such as:

However you answer it, I've blogged about 20 or so of these individuals. While I'm not a professional historian, I have as much right to an opinion as anyone else; and so I offer these posts to the world for anyone who is interested.

George Washington

George Washington (1789-1797)

Information about these George Washington movies

A review of the "Founding Brothers" documentary

John Adams (1797-1801)

A review of John Adams movies

Why John Adams is fascinating

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

A review of Ken Burns' "Thomas Jefferson" movie

James Madison (1809-1817)

James Madison: The most underrated Founder

A review of this docudrama about the Constitutional Convention

A review of PBS's "The War of 1812"

A review of PBS's "Dolley Madison" movie

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

John Quincy Adams: A great statesman in his own right

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

A review of "Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil, and the Presidency"

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

A review of "Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided"

A review of Ken Burns' "The Civil War"

A review of Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" movie

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

A review of "Reconstruction: The Second Civil War" (PBS)

The most fascinating man in American history

A review of "Ulysses S. Grant: Warrior President" (PBS)

James A. Garfield (1881 only)

A review of "Murder of a President" (James A. Garfield)

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

A review of "Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War"

A review of "TR: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt"

A review of Ken Burns' "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History"

A review of "The Panama Canal" (PBS)

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

A review of PBS's "Woodrow Wilson" movie

Yes, Woodrow Wilson predicted World War II - but so did John Maynard Keynes

A review of PBS's "The Great War" (American Experience)

A review of "The Great War" (1964 BBC miniseries)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)

A review of PBS's "FDR" movie

A review of "The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression"

A review of PBS's "Eleanor Roosevelt" movie

Harry Truman  (1945-1953)

A review of PBS's "Truman" movie

Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)

Eisenhower movies: A comparison of films about Ike's life

John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)

JFK and RFK: A few movies about their lives

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

A review of PBS's "LBJ" movie

Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

A review of PBS's "Nixon" movie

Nixon's visit to China

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

A review of PBS's "Jimmy Carter" movie

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

A review of PBS's "Ronald Reagan" movie

Reagan and "Star Wars"

George H. W. Bush (1989-1993)

A review of PBS's "George H. W. Bush" movie

Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

A review of PBS's "Bill Clinton" movie

A review of PBS's "George W. Bush" movie

An amusing poem about Obama