Brief Presidential Resumes

1.) Washington: Commander-in-Chief Continental Army; “Founding Father”

2.) J. Adams: Delegate to 1st, 2nd, Continental Congress; Ambassador to Great Britain and the Netherlands; Vice President (Washington); “Founding Father”

3.) Jefferson: Delegate to 2nd Continental Congress; Governor of Virginia; Ambassador to France; Secretary of State (Washington); Vice President (Adams); “Founding Father”

4.) Madison: Delegate to 2nd Continental Congress; Secretary of State (Jefferson); “Founding Father”

5.) Monroe: Adjutant General, Continental Army; U.S. Senator (4 years); Minister to France; Governor of Virginia; Secretary of War (Madison); Secretary of State (Madison)

6.) J.Q. Adams: Ambassador to the Netherlands, Prussia, Russia, United Kingdom; U.S. Senator (5 years); U.S. Representative (17 years); Secretary of State (Monroe)

7.) A. Jackson: Major-General Tennessee Militia/U.S. Army; U.S. Representative (1 year); U.S. Senator (3 years); Governor of Florida

8.) Van Buren: U.S. Senator (7 years); Governor of New York; Secretary of State (A. Jackson); Vice President (A. Jackson)

9.) Harrison: Brigadier General U.S. Army; Governor Indiana Territory (12 years); U.S. Representative (3 years); U.S. Senator (3 years); Minister to Columbia (1 year)

10.) Tyler: U.S. Representative (4 years); Governor of Virginia; U.S. Senator (9 years); Vice President (Harrison)

11.) Polk: U.S. Representative (14 years, served as Speaker of the House); Governor of Tennessee

12.) Taylor: Major General U.S. Army (served 40 years)

13.) Fillmore: U.S. Representative (8 years); Vice President (Taylor)

14.) Pierce: Brigadier General U.S. Army; U.S. Representative (4 years); U.S. Senator (5 years)

15.) Buchanan: U.S. Representative (10 years); Minister to St. Petersburg; U.S. Senator (11 years); U.S. Secretary of State (Polk)

16.) Lincoln: Captain in Illinois militia; Four-term member Illinois House of Representatives; U.S. Representative (2 years)

17.) A. Johnson: U.S. Representative (10 years); Governor of Tennessee; U.S. Senator (5 years); Vice President (Lincoln)

18.) Grant: General of U.S. Army (4 star, served 23 years)

19.) Hayes: Major General U.S. Army (wounded 4 times during Civil War); Governor of Ohio

20.) Garfield: Major General U.S. Army; U.S. Representative (18 years); U.S. Senator (1 year)

21.) Arthur: Brigadier General U.S. Army; Vice President (Garfield)

22.) Cleveland (2 terms): Mayor of Buffalo; Governor of New York

23.) Harrison: Brigadier General U.S. Army; U.S. Senator (6 years)

24.) McKinley: Brevet Major U.S. Army; U.S. Representative (11 years); Governor of Ohio

25.) T. Roosevelt: Colonel U.S. Army; Assistant Secretary of the Navy; Governor of New York; Vice President (McKinley)

26.) Taft: Judge, U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals; U.S. Solicitor General; Civil Governor of the Philippines; U.S. Secretary of War; Provisional Governor of Cuba

27.) Wilson: Governor of New Jersey

28.) Harding: Lt. Governor of Ohio; U.S. Senator (6 years)

29.) Coolidge: Lt. Governor of Massachusetts; Governor of Massachusetts; Vice President (Harding)

30.) Hoover: Head of American Food Administration; U.S. Secretary of Commerce (7 years, two Presidents)

31.) F.D. Roosevelt: Secretary of the Navy; Governor of New York

32.) Truman: Colonel U.S. Army Missouri National Guard; U.S. Senator (10 years); Vice President (F.D.R.)

33.) Eisenhower: U.S. Army General (5 star, Supreme Allied Commander, 46 years)

34.) Kennedy: Lieutenant U.S. Navy; U.S. Representative (6 years); U.S. Senator (7 years)

35.) Johnson: Commissioned Officer (Lieutenant) U.S. Navy Reserves; U.S. Representative (12 years); U.S. Senator (12 years, Minority Leader, Majority Leader); Vice President (Kennedy)

36.) Nixon: Lieutenant Commander U.S. Navy; U.S. Representative (4 years); U.S. Senator (2 years); Vice President (Eisenhower)

37.) Ford: Lieutenant Commander U.S. Navy; U.S. Representative (24 years, Minority Leader 9 years); Vice President (Nixon)

38.) Carter: Lieutenant U.S. Navy; Governor of Georgia

39.) Reagan: Captain Army Air Corps; Governor of California

40.) G.H.W. Bush: Lieutenant U.S. Navy; U.S. Representative (4 years); Ambassador to the United Nations; Director of CIA; Vice President (Reagan)

41.) Clinton: Governor of Arkansas (4 terms)

42.) G.W. Bush: First Lieutenant Texas Air National Guard; Governor of Texas


Notice that practically every U.S. President has been a Governor, served in the military (usually with significant experience), been a Vice President, or been a Founding Father. Most satisfy more than one of the aforementioned experiences. The ones that don’t (J.Q. Adams, Buchanan, Taft, Harding, Hoover) have significant U.S. congressional or cabinet experience. Barack Obama served barely two years as a U.S. Senator before announcing his candidacy for President. Were he to be elected President, he would be, by far, the most inexperienced Commander-in-Chief the United States has ever known.

Copyright 2008, Trevor Grant Thomas

At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com