1933-1941: Franklin D. Roosevelt/John Nance Garner (Democratic) [1]
1932 def. Herbert Hoover/Charles Curtis (Republican)
1936 def. Alf Landon/Frank Knox (Republican)
1941-1942: Wendell Wilkie/Charles McNary (Republican) [2]
def. Cordell Hull/William Bankhead (Democratic)
1942-1943: Charles McNary/None (Republican) [3]
1943-1944: Arthur Vandenberg/None (Republican) [4]
1944-1947: Cordell Hull/Lyndon B. Johnson (Democratic) [5]
def. Arthur Vandenberg/John Bricker (Republican)
1947-1957: Lyndon B. Johnson/None [1947-1949] /Ernest McFarland [1949-1957] (Democratic) [6]
1948 def. Thomas Dewey/Harold Stassen (Republican)
1952 def. Robert Taft/Sherman Adams (Republican)
1957-1961: Ernest McFarland/John Kennedy (Democratic) [7]
def. Earl Warren/Wayne Morse (Republican)
[1] Roosevelt chose not to run for a third term, but he remains perhaps the only president who could have ever served for three complete terms. Today, for his role in bringing the US out of the Great Depression, he remains quite popular in the US and often ranks in the top ten in presidential rankings.
[2] The 1940 election, between the dynamic businessman Wendell Wilkie the popular Secretary of State Cordell Hull, proved to be extremely close. When the results came in, Wilkie had successfully won in the Electoral College while losing in the popular vote. It proved to be a result that deeply shocked many. Regardless, President Wilkie was quite confident he could make effective compromises with the Democratic Congress. The nation inched closer and closer to war, and the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbour proved to be the last straw. With all of the Axis powers declaring war on the US, the Allies now had a strong ally. However, Wilkie had health issues and he would not live for very long after the beginning of the war. His death was one that deeply shocked the nation.
[3] McNary was intent to serve as president till victory and accomplish his predecessor's dream despite his own failing health. Indeed, during his presidency, the tides had begun to turn and the spread of the Nazi machine was rapidly being destroyed both in Africa and in Russia. Intent on destroying the Nazi machine, McNary's advisors had planned an invasion of Calais known as Operation Olympic. Despite General Eisenhower warning that an invasion of Calais in the year of 1943 would be too early, McNary was intent on seeing it through. As such, beachheads were established in a very secretly planned invasion. However, this turned out to be as disastrous as Dieppe was a year prior. Upon receiving news of this failure, McNary's failing health gave through, and he died as well and for the first time in American history, a Secretary of State became POTUS.
[4] With the failure of Operation Olympic, Vandenberg was intent on pushing a far more moderate strategy. He was not one to try to tempt fate or reduce morale any more than it already had. And with the USSR progressing quite nicely and even entering Soviet territory, it surely wasn't really needed. Even as Churchill and de Gaulle pushed him to invade France, Vandenberg refused. No, he chose to focus on the Pacific front. There, Japan had gone so far as invading India, even raiding some parts of Assam. Vandenberg had seen the fruits of the island campaign ripen, as the Battle of Midway ended with an American victory, and by the end of his presidency, Japan was starving and ready for surrender. On this front, Vandenberg was a success. However, at home, this decision proved unpopular. It looked like the US was refusing to support its allies. As such, when the 1944 election came around, despite Vandenberg urging the American people not to change horses in the middle of a war, Cordell Hull, campaigning on "helping our allies", had narrowly beaten the incumbent. Remarkably, Vandenberg selected Hull as his Secretary of State before resigning to avoid a "sitting duck" period and the disaster he feared it would cause. A man of principle, unfortunately he proved not to be the best president.
[5] Intent on ending the war in Europe, Hull had brought up the old French invasion plan. With immense changes done by General Eisenhower, this plan, christened as Operation Downfall, was turned into action in the summer of 1945. This time, with a larger amphibious force, the beachheads established were permanent. This proved largely successful. By the spring of 1946, the last Nazis surrendered as the Western Allies and the Soviets met at the Rhine River. The war in Europe had finally been completed. A few days later, the Empire of Japan, now restricted to its home islands and more weakened than ever, had surrendered to the United States. Finally, the long, devastating war had come to an end. Now, it looked like Hull's new job was to create a land fit for heroes. However, his health had begun to fail as well, and fearing yet another death, he allowed his capable and young vice president to succeed him by resigning from office.
[6] As a Texan, many workers feared that President Johnson would be as hard on labour as many Southern Democrats were. However, Johnson would prove his New Deal bona fides by opposing the Taft-Hartley bill, and in reaction to the economic downturn, Johnson would add economic controls back on the economy. Although by 1947 he appeared to be vulnerable, by 1948 he was anything but. Not even Tom Dewey's hard campaigning could beat him. As such, Johnson would win the subsequent election by a comfortable margin. With a comfortably Democratic Congress, Johnson was intent on accomplishing the next item on his agenda: universal healthcare. Though nationalizing healthcare like in Britain went a bit too far for most Americans, national health insurance did not. Several fights in Congress as well as hand-wringing later, the Social Security Amendments of 1950 made healthcare a reality for every American. In addition, a Civil Rights Act of 1951 went through; though Johnson's support of civil rights surprised many, ultimately the Act was still gutted by the Southern Democrats that still controlled Congress. However, it still helped the lives of minorities slightly. By 1952, facing Bob Taft, who's dovishness led moderate Republicans to cross party lines, Johnson won a landslide victory. Johnson's third and final term would see fights over civil rights yet again as the empowered Democratic super majority sought to make it a reality, but again the Civil Rights Act of 1954 was gutted by Southern Democrats. The subsequent midterms would see very small Democratic losses and the passing of other laws. The Johnson presidency would see the successful transformation of the Democratic Party into a liberal-labour party; today, he is considered by most liberals to be a great president, just below Roosevelt. Today, his legacy remains strong.
[7] The McFarland presidency would see itself destroyed by the issue of civil rights. Senate Majority Leader Hubert Humphrey attempted to push civil rights; however, this led to the somewhat-weakened-but-still strong Southern Democrat bloc. These increasingly vicious battles, as well as dithering over civil rights on the part of McFarlane would lead to triple-digit losses in the subsequent midterms which would turn the supermajorities into comfortable Republican majorities. As of 1959, it appears that McFarlane will lose in a landslide to whoever he faces.