Talk:List of presidents of the United States by other offices held

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Untitled[edit]

This might be better entitled "List of U.S. Presidents by other political office held" -- Jmabel 22:21, Jun 8, 2004 (UTC)

I agree with Jmabel that this is not the correct title. Also, there are lot's of other possible "political" offices, like vice-president, supreme court justice, various cabinet appointments, various other types of appointments, as well as state offices besides governor. older≠wiser 00:58, 9 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Yeah, but now that we're doing it, we need to include a list of presidents who were judges, like Taft (U.S. appeals, then Supreme Court), and Truman (County Court of Jackson Co., Mo.) Ellsworth 00:28, 28 Jan 2005 (UTC)

We need Members of the cabinet. Secretary of State used to be a stepping stone to President. Ambassadorships also. Also Political Party chairmanships. NoSeptember (talk) 00:55, 13 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Concur; do you feel like doing this, or are you asking someone else to? -- Jmabel | Talk 00:57, Jun 18, 2005 (UTC)
I may get around to it eventually but had no immediate plans, so anyone who would like to do it is encouraged to do so. This would be the place to start: United States Secretary of State. NoSeptember 01:09, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)

George W. Bush was governer of Texas before becoming president, but is not included in the list. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.220.15.71 (talk • contribs) 22 Nov 2005.

Done. -- Jmabel | Talk 07:10, 23 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

To Do List[edit]

Things to add to the article as time permits:

(See note below by Mark Adler (Markles))
  • Chairman of Political Party (GHW Bush, others?)
  • GHW Bush (Ambassador (China) before formal resumption of diplomatic relations)
  • statewide offices (I have reviewed Wilson through Bush)
  • state legislative office (Senate, House) - new category

Also GHW was Cia director and UN ambassor 168.7.229.178 (talk) 01:28, 27 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Anyone feel free to add to the list if you can't pull together the information adequately to add properly to the article. NoSeptember talk 14:14, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

John Tyler and the Confederacy[edit]

Tyler was a member of the Confederate Provisional Congress and a member elect of the House of Representatives when he died. Is this list restricted to US political offices or would it be appropriate to include the CS ones? --Gary J 16:32, 25 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Good point, should certainly be mentioned. - Jmabel | Talk 06:40, 28 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Occupation When Elected[edit]

I compiled a list of what offices the Presidents were holding at the time they were elected President (I counted an office if he resigned it after the campaign had begun):

Number President Occupation When Elected
1 George Washington private citizen
2 John Adams Vice President of the United States
3 Thomas Jefferson Vice President of the United States
4 James Madison Secretary of State
5 James Monroe Secretary of State
6 John Quincy Adams Secretary of State
7 Andrew Jackson private citizen
8 Martin Van Buren Vice President of the United States
9 William Henry Harrison private citizen
10 John Tyler succeeded
11 James K. Polk private citizen
12 Zachary Taylor Army General
13 Millard Fillmore succeeded
14 Franklin Pierce private citizen
15 James Buchanan Ambassador to Great Britain
16 Abraham Lincoln private citizen
17 Andrew Johnson succeeded
18 Ulysses S. Grant Army General
19 Rutherford B. Hayes Governor of Ohio
20 James A. Garfield Representative from Ohio
21 Chester Alan Arthur succeeded
22 Grover Cleveland Governor of New York
23 Benjamin Harrison private citizen
24 Grover Cleveland private citizen
25 William McKinley private citizen
26 Theodore Roosevelt succeeded
27 William Howard Taft Secretary of War
28 Woodrow Wilson Governor of New Jersey
29 Warren G. Harding Senator from Ohio
30 Calvin Coolidge succeeded
31 Herbert Hoover Secretary of Commerce
32 Franklin D. Roosevelt Governor of New York
33 Harry S Truman succeeded
34 Dwight D. Eisenhower Army General
35 John F. Kennedy Senator from Massachusetts
36 Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded
37 Richard M. Nixon private citizen
38 Gerald R. Ford succeeded
39 Jimmy Carter Governor of Georgia
40 Ronald Reagan private citizen
41 George Bush Vice President of the United States
42 Bill Clinton Governor of Arkansas
43 George W. Bush Governor of Texas
44 John McCain
Barack Obama
 Senator from Arizona
Senator from Illinois

So including McCain/Obama (since they all hold the same office), that's:

Office Number
Not in office 10
Succession 9
Governor 7
Cabinet 5
Vice President 4
Congress (Senate) 3
Military 3
Congress (House) 1
Ambassador 1
  • Carter was not governor when he was elected president. His term expired in January 1975 and Georgia law did not allow him to serve consecutive terms. So he spent most of 1975 and 1976 as a private citizen who was running for president full-time. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 05:50, 3 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Government offices after presidency[edit]

Taft was notable for being the only president to have an important government job, after he was president. Were there any others ? I had a look through the list and didn't see any.Eregli bob (talk) 07:24, 16 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

  • The presidents who served in elective office after being president were John Quincy Adams, who served for almost 17 years as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and Andrew Johnson, who was a U.S. Senator from Tennessee for a few months (he died shortly after being elected). John Tyler was a delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress and was elected to the First Confederate Congress, but he died before his term began for the latter. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 05:35, 3 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Why Lt. Governor?[edit]

The lead currently states:

Every President of the United States has served as either:

Why is lieutenant governor listed here? According to another section of the article, the only presidents to serve as lieutenant governors were Harding and Coolidge -- but Harding also served as a U.S. senator before being president, and Coolidge served as a governor before being president. So the list would still be accurate if lieutenant governor were omitted. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 05:38, 3 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

County Government?[edit]

Harry Truman was a county judge and then presiding judge of Jackson county. You ought to include presidents who may have held county offices.

Hoover[edit]

Herbert Hoover is incorrectly listed twice on this list. He's under Cabinet secretaries, as well as no previous political office. However, his entry under "Presidents with no prior political office" lists his tenure as Secretary of Commerce as a note. Shouldn't this second entry be removed? Jionunez (talk) 14:40, 11 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I think what was meant by "political" was "elected." These categories could have been made with the thought that the Cabinet isn't political, but it often is. I think calling it "elected" instead will be clearer, so I have made that change. Earthscent (talk) 14:47, 11 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Former Senators who became President without ever becoming Vice President[edit]

There have been sixteen Senators who went on to become President. Three were elected whilst still a Senator. Six were elected after serving as Vice President, in fact three of these six, Nixon, Truman and Johnson had to resign from the Senate in order to become Vice President.

This therefore leaves seven former Senators who were elected President without ever serving as Vice President in between their departure from the Senate and the beginning of their presidency.

Vice Presidents are often speculated of whether they will become President one day and this rather makes a former Senator who has never been Vice President who went on to win the presidency a noteworthy distinction to make. 122.108.156.100 (talk) 14:56, 9 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Move discussion in progress[edit]

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:List of Vice Presidents of the United States which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 23:02, 21 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

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