The Presidency / The First Year

Gold plate on back of chair that says "the president"

Joe Biden at one year

Presidential experts evaluate the 46th president's first year in office

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Donald Trump at one year

White House veterans and Miller Center scholars evaluate the 45th president's first 365 days

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Featured Video

First Year Project Introduction

Watch this overview of the First Year Project

US and Soviet Flag

Foreign Affairs

The vision thing

Presidents always have to adapt to crises as they arise. But success in times of crisis often depends upon having a few clear, guiding ideas that can help presidents set their administration’s course, and navigate through the inevitable trouble. 
Hal Brands
Duke University
Painted Wall

Foreign Affairs

Hippocratic diplomacy

The first year of the first Bush administration demonstrates that less can be more. More happened on the international stage during those first 12 months than for any other president in American history.
Jeffrey A. Engel
Southern Methodist University
9/11 memorial

Foreign Affairs

Trust but clarify

While ambiguity and uncertainty are not uncommon in newly installed presidencies, the first year of the Bush administration illustrates how important it is for a president to impose his own imprimatur on the nation’s foreign policy goals and priorities, and how essential it is to bring together a team of advisors who embrace those goals, trust one another, and share confidence in their own decision-making machinery.
Melvyn Leffler
Miller Center
Human rights illustration

Human Rights and Civil Rights

Human rights as an essential element for national security

Beyond addressing specific threats to national security and the promotion of broad national interests, American foreign policy defines for the world, and its own citizens, the values the United States hopes to embody as a nation.
Vanessa Walker
Amherst College
Woodrow Wilson

Race and Racism

The debate over Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson is a hot topic of debate for his support of segregation in the federal government during his first year
Nicole Hemmer
Miller Center