Talk:List of presidents of the United States/FAQ
 | Below are answers to frequently asked questions about the corresponding page List of presidents of the United States. They address concerns, questions, and misconceptions which have repeatedly arisen on the talk page. Please update this material when needed. |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 ___________.
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.