Monkey, Rat, and Dragon elections

Because U.S. presidential elections are held on a four-year cycle, each takes place in one of only three Chinese zodiac years: the Monkey, the Rat, and the Dragon.

The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, a Year of the Monkey. The Constitution was ratified in 1788, another Year of the Monkey. The War of 1812, often considered a "second war of independence," began in yet another Year of the Monkey. 

Wikipedia's article on "Historical rankings of presidents of the United States" summarizes the results of 23 different surveys in which scholars ranked the presidents from best to worst. Only five presidents were ranked in the top quartile in every single survey and may thus be taken to be, by common consent, America's five greatest presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and the two Roosevelts. With the exception of Theodore Roosevelt, who assumed the presidency after McKinley's assassination rather than being elected, every one of these was elected in a Year of the Monkey.

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These 15 presidents came to power in Monkey elections: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump. Monkey presidents were reelected 11 times.

These 9 presidents came to power in Rat elections: James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, John Tyler, Franklin Pierce, Benjamin Harrison, Woodrow Wilson, John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Rat presidents were reelected 4 times.

These 11 presidents came to power in Dragon elections: John Adams, James Madison, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Ulysses S. Grant, Chester A. Arthur, Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. Dragon presidents were reelected 4 times.