I'ts a Tough Job

Being the President of the United States is not for sissies. It's a demanding and aging job, as each president knows better than anyone else could even imagine. Let the 43 men who have held this job tell about it.

George Washington:

If I should conceive myself in a manner constrained to accept [The Presidency] … This very act would be the greatest sacrifice of my personal feelings and wishes that ever I have been called upon to make.

I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent.


John Adams:

No man who ever held the office of President would congratulate a friend on obtaining it. [In a letter following the election of John Quincy Adams]


Thomas Jefferson:

No man will ever bring out of that office the reputation which carries him into it. The honeymoon would be as short in that case as in any other, and its moments of ecstasy would be ransomed by years of torment and hatred.


James Madison:

The great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed and in the next place oblige it to control itself.


James Monroe:

Attacks on me will do me no harm, and silent contempt is the best answer to them.


John Quincy Adams:

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.


Andrew Jackson:

I know what I am fit for. I can command a body of men in a rough way; but I am not fit to be President.


Martin Van Buren:

As to the Presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it.


William Henry Harrison:

Some folks are silly enough as to have formed a plan to make a President of the United States out of this Clerk and Clodhopper.


John Tyler:

By abhorrent events I was unexpectedly elevated to the presidency. For the first time in our history the person elected to the Vice Presidency had had developed upon him the office of the Presidency.


James Knox Polk:

With me it is exceptionally true that the Presidency is no bed of roses.

I am heartily rejoiced that my term is near its close. I will soon cease to be a servant and will become a sovereign.


Zachary Taylor:

The idea that I should become President seems to me too visionary to require a serious answer. It has never entered my head, not is it likely to enter the head of any other person.


Millard Fillmore:

It is a national disgrace that our Presidents, after having occupied the highest position in the country, should be cast adrift, and, perhaps be compelled to keep a corner grocery for substance.


Franklin Pierce:

You have summoned me in my weakness. You must sustain me by your strength.


James Buchanan:

If you [Abraham Lincoln] are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland, you are a happy man indeed.


Abraham Lincoln:

The power confided in me will be used to hold, occupy and possess the property and places belonging to the government, and to collect the duties and imposts.

Only events and not a man’s exertions in his own behalf can make a president.


Andrew Johnson:

This is a country for the white man and by God, as long as I am President; it shall remain a government of the white man.


Ulysses S. Grant:

I have acted in every instance from a conscientious desire to do what was right, constitutional, within the law, and for the very best interests of the whole people.


Rutherford B. Hayes:

No person connected with me by blood or marriage will be appointed to office.


James A. Garfield:

The President is the last person in the world to know what the people really want and think.


Chester A. Arthur:

I may be president of the United States, but my private life is nobody’s damned business. – Chester A. Arthur

Well, there doesn’t seen anything else for an ex-President to do but go into the country and raise bib pumpkins.


Grover Cleveland:

And still the question, “What shall be done with our ex-Presidents? Is not laid to rest; and I sometimes think [one] solution of it, “Take them out and shoot them,” is worthy of attention.


Benjamin Harrison:

I have often thought that the life of the President is like that of the policeman in the opera, not a happy one.


William McKinley:

I have never been in doubt since I was old enough to think intelligently that I would someday be made president.


Theodore Roosevelt:

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.

While President I have been President, emphatically; I have used every ounce of power there was in the office and I have not cared a rap for the criticisms of those who spoke of my “usurpation of power”; for I knew the talk was all nonsense and there was no usurpation.


William Howard Taft:

Anyone who has taken the oath I have just taken must feel a heavy weight of responsibility.


Woodrow Wilson:

The President is at liberty, both in law and in conscience, to be as big a man as he can be.


Warren Harding:

I expect it is very possible that I would make as good a President as a great many men who are talked out of that position.

I am a man of limited talents from a small town. I don’t seem to grasp that I am President.


Calvin Coolidge:

I think the American public wants a solemn ass as a President. And I think I’ll go along with them.

Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been minding my own business.

One of the first things a President learns is that everything he says weighs a ton.


Herbert Hoover:

In the end the President has become increasingly the depository of all national ills, especially if things go wrong.


Franklin D. Roosevelt:

The Presidency is not merely an administrative office…. It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership. All our great Presidents were leaders of thought at times when certain historic ideas in the life of the nation had to be clarified.


Harry S. Truman:

When you get to be President, there are all those things, the honors, the twenty-one gun salutes, all those things. You have to remember it isn’t for you. It’s for the Presidency.

Most of the problems a President has to face have their roots in the past.

In my opinion eight years as President is enough and sometimes too much for any man to serve in that capacity.


Dwight D. Eisenhower:

This desk of mine is one at which a man may die, but from which he cannot resign.

Oh, that lovely title, ex-president.


John F. Kennedy:

If this election is decided on the basis that 40 million Americans lose their chance to be president on the day they were baptized then it is the whole nation that will be the loser.

When we got into office, the thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we’ve been saying they were.

I could not realize, nor could any man realize who does not bear the burdens of this office, how heavy and constant would be those burdens.


Lyndon B. Johnson:

A president’s hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right.

The Presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands.


Richard M. Nixon:

The presidency has many problems, but boredom is the least of them.

When the President does it that means it is not illegal.

Why would anyone want to be President today? The answer is not one of glory, or fame; today the burdens of office outweigh its privileges. It is not because the Presidency offers a chance to be somebody, but because it offers a chance to do something.


Gerald Ford:

The Constitution is the bedrock of all our freedoms; guard and cherish it; keep honor and order in your house, and the republic will endure.


Jimmy Carter:

I think the President is the only person who can change the direction or attitude of our nation.


Ronald Reagan:

How can a president not be an actor? – Ronald Reagan

I think the presidency is an institution over which you have temporary custody.


George H.W. Bush:

To those who supported me, I will try to be worthy of your trust and to those who did not, I will try to earn it, and my hand is out to you, and I want to be your President too.


Bill Clinton:

Being president is like running a cemetery, you’ve got a lot of people under you and nobody’s listening.


George W. Bush:

To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say: You too, can be president of the United States.


Barack Obama:

I don’t want to pit red America against Blue America. I want to be President of the United States of America.

The Club

As of 2009 there have been 44 United States Presidencies, although only 43 Presidents, since Grover Cleveland served two nonconsecutive terms and is thus both the 22nd and 24th U.S. President. Until 2009 all the presidents have been white men, with ancestries limited to some combination of seven heritages: Dutch, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Swiss, or German.


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 United States became a country.

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 U.S. Senators: Monroe, J.Q. Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, W.H. Harrison, Tyler, Pierce, Buchanan, A. Johnson, B. Harrison, Harding, Harry S Truman, Kennedy, L.B. Johnson, Nixon, and Obama.

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, Lincoln, Grant, B. Harrison, T. Roosevelt, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Truman, LB Johnson and Carter.

11 had been teachers or professors: Fillmore, Pierce, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, McKinley, Wilson, Harding, Clinton and Obama.

Eight were Cabinet Members: Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J.Q. Adams, Van Buren, Buchanan, Taft and Hoover.

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: Washington.

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.