List of presidents of the United States by previous experience
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Although many paths may lead to the presidency of the United States, the most common job experience, occupation or profession of U.S. presidents has been that of a lawyer.[1] This sortable table enumerates all holders of that office, along with major elective or appointive offices or periods of military service prior to election to the presidency. The column immediately to the right of the presidents' names shows the position or office held just before the presidency. The next column to the right lists the next previous position held, and so on. Note that the total number of previous positions held by an individual may exceed four; the number of columns was limited to what would fit within the page width. The last two columns on the right list the home state (at the time of election to the presidency) and primary occupation of each future president, prior to beginning a political career.
Contents
By the numbers
There have been 46 presidencies (including the current president, Joe Biden, whose term began in 2021), and 45 people have served as president. Grover Cleveland was elected to two nonconsecutive terms, and as such is considered the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Of the 45 different people who have been or are currently serving as president:
- 32 presidents had previous military experience; 9 were generals in the US Army.[lower-alpha 1]
- 27 presidents were previously lawyers.
- 20 presidents previously served as governors; 17 presidents were state governors;[2] 9 were governors immediately before election as presidents. Two, William Henry Harrison and William Howard Taft, served as territorial governors. One, Andrew Jackson, served as a military governor of a territory (Florida) before it became a state. Andrew Johnson served in Tennessee during the Civil War.
- 18 presidents previously served as U.S. representatives; 6 of 18 held this office prior to the four 'previous positions' shown in this table. Only one – James A. Garfield – was a representative immediately before election as president. Only Garfield and Abraham Lincoln had served in no higher office than representative when elected president. Only John Quincy Adams served as a U.S. representative after being president. Additionally, after being president, John Tyler served in the Provisional Confederate Congress and was later elected to the Confederate House of Representatives, but he died before taking his seat.[3]
- 17 presidents previously served as U.S. senators; only 3 immediately before election as president. Only one president, Andrew Johnson, served as a U.S. senator after his presidency.
- 15 presidents previously served as vice presidents. All except Richard Nixon and Joe Biden were vice presidents immediately before becoming president; 9 of the 15 succeeded to the presidency upon the death or (in one case) resignation of the elected president; 5 of those 9 were not later elected.
- 9 presidents were out of office (for at least one year) immediately before election as president.
- 8 presidents previously served as Cabinet secretaries; 6 as secretary of state; 5 of the 8 served immediately before election as president.
- 7 presidents had previous experience in foreign service.[lower-alpha 2]
- 5 presidents had never been elected to public office before becoming president: Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Donald Trump. Most of these had, however, been appointed to several prominent offices. Hoover's contributions toward the Treaty of Versailles preceded his appointment as United States Secretary of Commerce. Taylor, Grant, and Eisenhower led U.S. forces to victory in the Mexican–American War, American Civil War, and World War II, respectively – each occupying the highest-ranking command post of their time. Trump is the group's sole exception, having never held any public office nor any military position.
- 5 presidents taught at a university: James A. Garfield, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
- 2 presidents served as party leaders of the House of Representatives, James A. Garfield and Gerald Ford.
- 1 president served as an ordained minister, serving as a pastor in the Disciples of Christ (Christian) Church, James A. Garfield.[4][5]
- 1 president served as speaker of the House of Representatives, James K. Polk.
- 1 president served as president pro tempore of the United States Senate, John Tyler.
- 1 president served as party leader of the United States Senate, Lyndon B. Johnson.
- 1 president served as president of the United States for two non-consecutive terms, Grover Cleveland.
- 1 president had a PhD, Woodrow Wilson.
- 1 president had neither prior government nor military experience before becoming president, Donald Trump.
List
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| President | Previous 1 | Previous 2 | Previous 3 | Previous 4 | Occupation | State[lower-alpha 3] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100px | George Washington | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | Constitutional Convention[lower-alpha 5] | Out of office | Military[lower-alpha 6] | Planter, land surveyor | Virginia |
| 2 | 100px | John Adams | Vice President | Foreign service[lower-alpha 7] | Continental Congress | State legislator[lower-alpha 8] | Lawyer, farmer | Massachusetts |
| 3 | 100px | Thomas Jefferson | Vice President | Secretary of State | Foreign service[lower-alpha 7] | Congressman | Planter, lawyer, land surveyor, architect | Virginia |
| 4 |  |
James Madison | Secretary of State | U.S. representative | Constitutional Convention | State legislator[lower-alpha 8] | Planter | Virginia |
| 5 | 100px | James Monroe | Secretary of State | Foreign service[lower-alpha 7] | State governor | U.S. senator | Planter, lawyer | Virginia |
| 6 | 100px | John Quincy Adams | Secretary of State | Foreign service[lower-alpha 7] | U.S. senator | State legislator[lower-alpha 8] | Lawyer | Massachusetts |
| 7 |  |
Andrew Jackson | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | U.S. senator | Military | U.S. senator | Lawyer, military officer | Tennessee |
| 8 | 100px | Martin Van Buren | Vice President | Secretary of State | State governor[lower-alpha 9] | U.S. senator | Lawyer | New York |
| 9 |  |
William Henry Harrison | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | Foreign service[lower-alpha 7] | U.S. senator / U.S. representative | Territorial governor | Military | Ohio |
| 10 |  |
John Tyler | Vice President[lower-alpha 10] | U.S. senator | State governor | U.S. representative | Lawyer | Virginia |
| 11 | 100px | James K. Polk | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | State governor | Speaker of the House | U.S. representative | Lawyer, planter | Tennessee |
| 12 | 100px | Zachary Taylor | Military | — | — | — | Military | Kentucky |
| 13 |  |
Millard Fillmore | Vice President[lower-alpha 11] | State office | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | U.S. representative | Lawyer | New York |
| 14 |  |
Franklin Pierce | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | Military | U.S. senator | U.S. representative | Lawyer | New Hampshire |
| 15 |  |
James Buchanan | Foreign service[lower-alpha 7] | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | Secretary of State | U.S. senator | Lawyer | Pennsylvania |
| 16 |  |
Abraham Lincoln | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | U.S. representative | State legislator[lower-alpha 8] | Military | Lawyer, land surveyor | Illinois[lower-alpha 12] |
| 17 |  |
Andrew Johnson | Vice President[lower-alpha 13] | Military governor[lower-alpha 14] | U.S. senator | State governor | Tailor | Tennessee |
| 18 |  |
Ulysses S. Grant | Military | — | — | — | Military | Illinois[lower-alpha 15] |
| 19 |  |
Rutherford B. Hayes | State governor | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | State governor | U.S. representative | Lawyer | Ohio |
| 20 |  |
James A. Garfield | U.S. representative | Military | State legislator[lower-alpha 8] | — | Ordained minister, lawyer, teacher | Ohio |
| 21 | 100px | Chester A. Arthur | Vice President[lower-alpha 16] | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | Federal office[lower-alpha 17] | Out of office | Lawyer, teacher, tariff collector | New York |
| 22 | 100px | Grover Cleveland | State governor | Local office[lower-alpha 18] | — | — | Lawyer | New York |
| 23 | 100px | Benjamin Harrison | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | U.S. senator | Out of office | Military | Court reporter | Indiana |
| 24 |  |
Grover Cleveland | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | President of the U.S. | State governor | Local office[lower-alpha 18] | Lawyer | New York |
| 25 |  |
William McKinley | State governor | U.S. representative | Military | — | Lawyer | Ohio |
| 26 |  |
Theodore Roosevelt | Vice President[lower-alpha 19] | State governor | Military | Federal office[lower-alpha 17][lower-alpha 20] | Historian, public servant, naturalist, military officer, policeman, rancher | New York |
| 27 |  |
William Howard Taft | Secretary of War | Territorial governor[lower-alpha 21] | Judicial[lower-alpha 22] | Federal office[lower-alpha 17][lower-alpha 23] | Lawyer, dean | Ohio |
| 28 |  |
Woodrow Wilson | State governor | — | — | — | Academic[lower-alpha 24] | New Jersey |
| 29 |  |
Warren G. Harding | U.S. senator | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | State legislator[lower-alpha 8] | — | Journalist, publisher | Ohio |
| 30 | 100px | Calvin Coolidge | Vice President[lower-alpha 25] | State governor | State office | State legislator[lower-alpha 8] | Lawyer | Massachusetts[lower-alpha 26] |
| 31 | 100px | Herbert Hoover | Secretary of Commerce | Out of office[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 27] | Federal office[lower-alpha 17][lower-alpha 28] | — | Businessman, mining engineer | California |
| 32 |  |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | State governor | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | Federal office[lower-alpha 17][lower-alpha 20] | State legislator[lower-alpha 8] | Lawyer | New York |
| 33 |  |
Harry S. Truman | Vice President[lower-alpha 29] | U.S. senator | County commissioner (County court) | Military | Farmer | Missouri |
| 34 |  |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | Military | — | — | — | Military officer, President of Columbia University | Kansas |
| 35 |  |
John F. Kennedy | U.S. senator | U.S. representative | Military | — | Journalist, military officer | Massachusetts |
| 36 |  |
Lyndon B. Johnson | Vice President[lower-alpha 30] | U.S. senator | U.S. representative | Federal office[lower-alpha 17][lower-alpha 31] | Teacher, military officer, rancher | Texas |
| 37 | 100px | Richard Nixon | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | Vice President | U.S. senator | U.S. representative | Lawyer, naval officer | California |
| 38 | 100px | Gerald Ford | Vice President[lower-alpha 32] | U.S. representative | Military | — | Lawyer, naval officer | Michigan[lower-alpha 33] |
| 39 |  |
Jimmy Carter | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | State governor | State legislator[lower-alpha 8] | Military | Farmer, naval officer | Georgia |
| 40 |  |
Ronald Reagan | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | State governor | — | Military | Actor, Screen Actors Guild president |
California[lower-alpha 34] |
| 41 | 100px | George H. W. Bush | Vice President | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | Federal office[lower-alpha 17][lower-alpha 35] | Foreign service[lower-alpha 7] | Businessman, naval aviator | Texas[lower-alpha 36] |
| 42 |  |
Bill Clinton | State governor | State attorney general | — | — | Lawyer, law professor at the University of Arkansas | Arkansas |
| 43 |  |
George W. Bush | State governor | Out of office[lower-alpha 4][8] | Military[9] | — | Businessman, Air National Guard pilot | Texas |
| 44 |  |
Barack Obama | U.S. senator | State legislator[lower-alpha 8] | — | — | Lawyer, law professor at the University of Chicago[lower-alpha 37] | Illinois[lower-alpha 38] |
| 45 |
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|
Donald Trump | — | — | — | — | Businessman, real estate developer, reality television personality | New York[lower-alpha 39] |
| 46 | 100px | Joe Biden | Out of office[lower-alpha 4] | Vice President | U.S. senator | Local office[lower-alpha 18] | Lawyer | Delaware |
See also
Notes
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<references />, or <references group="..." />- ↑ International Law, US Power: The United States' Quest for Legal Security, p 10, Shirley V. Scott - 2012
- ↑ Christensen, Tricia (January 5, 2023). "How Many United States Presidents Were Governors First?" www.unitedstatesnow.org. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The Preacher President http://punditwire.com/2012/03/03/the-preacher-president/
- ↑ The Singular Humility of America's Only Ordained President https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2016/april-web-exclusives/singular-humility-of-americas-only-ordained-president.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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