Some scholars challenge the statement that there were only 43 United States Presidents. They would insist that the proper statement is that there have been only 43 United States Presidents under the Constitution. Actually several other men served as leaders of the country before George Washington. Prior to the adoption of the Constitution in 1787, the states operated under the direction of the Continental Congress, although they remained in principle a confederation of independent states. There were seven Presidents of Congress – Peyton Randolph, Henry Middleton, John Hancock, Henry Laurens, John Jay, Samuel Huntington and Thomas McKean. In addition there were eight Presidents of the United States under the Articles of Confederation – John Hanson, Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, John Hancock, Nathaniel Gorham, Arthur St. Clair and Cyrus Griffin.
The first seven served prior to the establishment the country of the United States on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of The Articles of Confederation, which would be superseded by the Constitution. Even after the adoption of the Articles of Confederation, there was no executive branch. The President of the Continental Congress was a position similar to that of a prime minister. The eight men beginning with Hanson were given the title President of the United States in Congress Assembled, and only had the very limited authority delegated to Congress and its president by the states. Each of these eight men served a one-year term, prior to Washington being elected President of a federal government with a separate executive branch by a unanimous vote of the 69 electors of the Electoral College. To give credit where it’s due, Hanson had some critical influence on the new nation. Among other things in his year (1781-82) in office, he passed legislation for the Bank of North America, the first central bank; granted General George Washington broad powers to negotiate prisoner exchanges with Great Britain; established the United States Mint; established the predecessor agency of the State Department; proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving holiday, negotiated a peace treaty with Great Britain and called for the first national census.
Claims have also been made that David Rice Atchison, the junior senator from Missouri, served as President of the United States for one day – Sunday, March 4, 1849. President Polk’s term expired at noon on that date. His successor Taylor refused to be sworn in on the Sabbath, as did his running mate Fillmore. The argument goes that as President Pro Tempore, and therefore Atchison as Acting Vice President, under the presidential succession law of the time, was technically the Acting President. The flaws in the argument are these. Although allegedly the offices of President and Vice President were vacant, Atchison’s tenure as President Pro Tempore expired with the terms of Polk and his Vice President, George Mifflin Dallas.
The succession law’s requirement of disability or lack of qualification to take office was not present in the cases of Taylor and his running mate; they had been dully certified to take office and even though they had not yet been sworn-in, so their was no need for an Acting President. Some proponents of considering Atchison as President of the United States, even if they conceded the above, still argued that because on Monday he was sworn in as President Pro Tempore prior to the swearing-in of the Vice-President and President, then he was at least President for a few moments. If this were so, then every Vice President who is sworn in before the President takes the oath of office, a common occurrence, would be the de facto Acting President.
The arguments that there have been more than 43 “official” Presidents of the United States seem to depend upon a much stretched interpretation of the Presidential Succession Law, which accounts for what shall take place if the President elect cannot serve. If the President-elect should die or be incapacitated after Election Day, but before the Electoral College meets, the electors to the college can vote for whomever they wish. Likewise, if both the President-elect and the Vice-President- elect should die or be unable to serve, the electors can vote for any person at all and are not bound to their party.
If the President-elect should die after the Electoral College certifies their votes, the Vice-President-elect would be sworn in as president. If the Vice-President-elect is also unable to serve the normal succession order mandated by the Succession Law would take effect, which would then make the Speaker of the House President. The remaining order in the succession list are: the President Pro Temp of the Senate, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Education and Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Eight presidents – George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison – were born before the
The most presidents, eight – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson – were born in Virginia, while the runner-up state is Ohio with seven – Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft and Warren G. Harding.
Most presidents identified themselves as having a religious affiliation, with Episcopalian claiming 11 presidents – George Washington, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, Chester A. Arthur, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. The other representative religions are Presbyterian (8), Methodist (4), Baptists (4), Unitarian (4), Disciples of Christ (3), Dutch Reform (2), Quaker (2), Congregational (1), Roman Catholic (1) United Church of Christ (1) and Deist (1). Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson had no church affiliation.
Pre-Presidential Jobs: The 42 presidents had a variety careers or jobs before assuming office. Most were governmental or law related, but many consisted of menial work.
22 had been lawyers – John Adams, Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Tyler, James K. Polk, Millard Fillmore, Pierce, James Buchanan, Hayes, Arthur, Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, McKinley, Taft, Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Bill Clinton.
18 served as governors of a state: Jefferson, Monroe, Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Andrew Johnson, Hayes, Cleveland, McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson, Coolidge, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush.
18 had been members of the House of Representatives: Madison, Jackson, W.H. Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, A. Johnson, Hayes, Garfield, McKinley, John F. Kennedy, L.B. Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and G.H.W. Bush.
16 have been
14 had been Vice-Presidents: J. Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore, A. Johnson, Arthur, T. Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, L.B. Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and G.H.W. Bush.
11 worked on farms or ranches: Fillmore,
11 had been teachers or professors: Fillmore, Pierce, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, McKinley, Wilson, Harding, Clinton and Obama.
Eight were Cabinet Members:
Seven were former diplomats: J. Adams, Jefferson, Monroe, J.Q. Adams, W.H. Harrison, Buchanan, and G.H.W. Bush.
Six were career military leaders: Washington, Jackson, W.H. Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Four were businessmen: Truman, Carter, G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush.
Three were editors: Cleveland, Wilson, and Harding.
Three served as city mayors: A. Johnson, Cleveland and Coolidge.
Two had terms as lieutenant governors: Harding and Coolidge.
Two were University Presidents: Wilson and Eisenhower.
Two had been judges: Jackson and Truman.
Two were oilmen: G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush.
One was a surveyor:
One was a cloth maker: Fillmore.
One was the Speaker of the House of Representatives: Polk.
One was a tailor: A. Johnson.
One was a toymaker: Coolidge.
One was a CIA director: G.H.W. Bush.
One owned a major league baseball team: George W. Bush (Texas Rangers).
One was a Community Organizer: Barack Obama
Martin Van Buren was a delivery boy and a tavern worker.
Abraham Lincoln was a ferryboat operator, postmaster, rail splitter, and store clerk.
James A. Garfield was a canal boat laborer, carpenter and janitor.
Theodore Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, deputy sheriff, and cattle rancher.
Warren G. Harding was an insurance salesman, newspaper publisher, printer’s devil, and reporter.
Herbert Hoover was a geologist, launderer and mining engineer.
Harry S. Truman was a bank clerk, bookkeeper, mail room clerk, and railroad timekeeper.
Lyndon B. Johnson was a dishwasher, elevator operator, fruit picker, janitor, printer’s devil, road construction laborer, shoeshine boy, trapper and trash collector.
Gerald Ford was a coach (football & boxing), cook, dishwasher, busboy, male model, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and park ranger.
Ronald Reagan was an actor, coach (swimming), construction worker, dishwasher, circus roustabout, lifeguard, and radio announcer.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment