See also
- List of former presidents of the United States who ran for office
- List of vice presidents of the United States by other offices held
| Presidents | |||||
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| Vice presidents | |||||
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This is a list of presidents of the United States by other offices (either elected or appointed) held. Every president of the United States except Donald Trump has served as at least one of the following:
| Vice President | President served under | Year(s) served | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Adams | George Washington | 1789–1797 | Incumbent vice president succeeded Washington after winning the 1796 election |
| Thomas Jefferson | John Adams | 1797–1801 | Incumbent vice president succeeded Adams after winning the 1800 election |
| Martin Van Buren | Andrew Jackson | 1833–1837 | Incumbent vice president succeeded Jackson after winning the 1836 election |
| John Tyler | William Henry Harrison | 1841 | Became president after Harrison's death, ran for election in 1844 as nominee of Democratic Party before dropping out and endorsing Polk, the eventual winner |
| Millard Fillmore | Zachary Taylor | 1849–1850 | Became president after Taylor's death, lost nomination for Whig Party in 1852 election bid, later also ran unsuccessfully in the 1856 election |
| Andrew Johnson | Abraham Lincoln | 1865 | Became president after Lincoln's assassination, lost nomination for Democratic Party in 1868 election bid |
| Chester A. Arthur | James A. Garfield | 1881 | Became president after Garfield's assassination, failed to secure Republican Party nomination in 1884 election bid |
| Theodore Roosevelt | William McKinley | 1901 | Became president after McKinley's assassination, later elected to own term in 1904. |
| Calvin Coolidge | Warren G. Harding | 1921–1923 | Became president after Harding's death, later elected to own term in 1924. |
| Harry S. Truman | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1945 | Became president after Roosevelt's death, later elected to own term in 1948. |
| Richard Nixon | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1953–1961 | Lost as incumbent vice president in the 1960 election, later ran and won the 1968 election becoming the first former vice president to win the presidency. |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | John F. Kennedy | 1961–1963 | Became president after Kennedy's assassination, later elected to own term in 1964. |
| Gerald Ford | Richard Nixon | 1973–1974 | Became president after Nixon's resignation, lost 1976 election in bid for own term. |
| George H. W. Bush | Ronald Reagan | 1981–1989 | Incumbent vice president succeeded Reagan after winning the 1988 election |
| Joe Biden | Barack Obama | 2009–2017 | Did not run as incumbent vice president in the 2016 election, later ran and won the 2020 election becoming the second former vice president to win the presidency. |
Fourteen former vice presidents (R. Johnson, Breckinridge, Morton, Stevenson, Fairbanks, Garner, Wallace, Barkley, Nixon, Humphrey, Mondale, Quayle, Gore, and Pence) all made failed runs for the presidency. Breckinridge was nominated by the Southern Democratic Party in 1860 but came in second in the Electoral College. Humphrey, Mondale, and Gore received their party's nominations and Nixon received his party's nomination. Nixon would later be elected in a second run for the presidency becoming the first former vice president to try and win the presidency post-vice presidency. In 1984, Mondale would be the second former vice president to try for the presidency. In 1988, Vice President George H. W. Bush would be elected president. In 2020, Biden was the third former vice president to try for the presidency, and the second to win the presidency post-vice presidency. Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson would become president after a presidential death in office and go onto win their own subsequent elections.
| Secretary | Office | President served under | Year(s) served |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Jefferson | Secretary of State | George Washington | 1790–1793 |
| James Madison | Secretary of State | Thomas Jefferson | 1801–1809 |
| James Monroe | Secretary of State | James Madison | 1811–1817 |
| Secretary of War | 1814–1815 | ||
| John Quincy Adams | Secretary of State | James Monroe | 1817–1825 |
| Martin Van Buren | Secretary of State | Andrew Jackson | 1829–1831 |
| James Buchanan | Secretary of State | James K. Polk | 1845–1849 |
| Ulysses S. Grant | Acting Secretary of War | Andrew Johnson | 1867–1868 |
| William Howard Taft | Secretary of War | Theodore Roosevelt | 1904–1908 |
| Herbert Hoover | Secretary of Commerce | Warren G. Harding | 1921–1928 |
| Calvin Coolidge |
Calvin Coolidge (as the vice president) and Herbert Hoover both served in the Cabinet of Warren G. Harding.
| President | Position | President served under | Year(s) served |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Adams | Minister to Britain | Congress of the Confederation | 1785–1788 |
| Thomas Jefferson | Minister Plenipotentiary to France | Congress of the Confederation | 1785–1789 |
| James Monroe | Minister Plenipotentiary to France | George Washington | 1794–1796 |
| Minister to Britain | Thomas Jefferson | 1803–1807 | |
| John Quincy Adams | Minister to the Netherlands | George Washington John Adams | 1794–1797 |
| Minister to Germany | John Adams | 1797–1801 | |
| Minister to Russia | James Madison | 1809–1814 | |
| Minister to Britain | James Madison | 1815–1817 | |
| Martin Van Buren | Minister to Britain | Andrew Jackson | 1831–1832 |
| William Henry Harrison | Minister to Gran Colombia | John Quincy Adams | 1828–1829 |
| James Buchanan | Minister to Britain | Franklin Pierce | 1853–1856 |
| George H. W. Bush | Ambassador to the United Nations | Richard Nixon | 1971–1973 |
| Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing | Gerald Ford | 1974–1975 |
| President | Office | President appointed by | Year(s) served |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Pierce | United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire | James K. Polk | 1845–1847 |
| Chester A. Arthur | Collector of the Port of New York | Ulysses S. Grant | 1871–1878 |
| Theodore Roosevelt | Member, United States Civil Service Commission | Benjamin Harrison | 1889–1895 |
| Assistant Secretary of the Navy | William McKinley | 1897–1898 | |
| William Howard Taft | Solicitor General | Benjamin Harrison | 1890–1892 |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | Assistant Secretary of the Navy | Woodrow Wilson | 1913–1920 |
| George H. W. Bush | Director of Central Intelligence | Gerald Ford | 1976–1977 |
| President | President nominated by | Year(s) served | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Howard Taft | Warren G. Harding | 1921–1930 | Only president to serve on the Supreme Court. |
| President | Court | President nominated by | Year(s) served |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Howard Taft | United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | Benjamin Harrison | 1892–1900 |
| State | President | Year(s) served | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Richard Nixon | 1950–1953 | Resigned to become vice president |
| Delaware | Joe Biden | 1973–2009 | Resigned to become vice president |
| Indiana | Benjamin Harrison | 1881–1887 | |
| Illinois | Barack Obama | 2005–2008 | Third sitting senator elected to the presidency |
| Massachusetts | John Quincy Adams | 1803–1808 | |
| John F. Kennedy | 1953–1960 | Second sitting senator elected to the presidency | |
| Missouri | Harry S. Truman | 1935–1945 | Resigned to become vice president |
| New Hampshire | Franklin Pierce | 1837–1842 | |
| New York | Martin Van Buren | 1821–1828 | |
| Ohio | William Henry Harrison | 1825–1828 | |
| Warren G. Harding | 1915–1921 | First sitting senator elected to the presidency | |
| Pennsylvania | James Buchanan | 1834–1845 | |
| Tennessee | Andrew Jackson | 1797–1798 | |
| 1823–1825 | |||
| Andrew Johnson | 1857–1862 | ||
| 1875 | Only former president in the Senate | ||
| Texas | Lyndon B. Johnson | 1949–1961 | Senate minority leader 1953–1955 Senate majority leader 1955–1961 Resigned to become vice president |
| Virginia | James Monroe | 1790–1794 | First former senator to become president |
| John Tyler | 1827–1836 | Only former president pro tempore to become president |
A number of future presidents served together while in the Senate:
James A. Garfield was elected senator for Ohio in 1880, but he did not take up the office due to being elected president later that year.
Seven former senators (Monroe, Adams, Jackson, W.H. Harrison, Pierce, Buchanan, and B. Harrison) were elected to the presidency without ever serving as the vice president between their departure from the Senate and the beginning of their presidencies.
| State | President | Year(s) served | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Richard Nixon | 1947–1950 | |
| Illinois | Abraham Lincoln | 1847–1849 | |
| Massachusetts | John Quincy Adams | 1831–1848 | Only former president in the House of Representatives |
| John F. Kennedy | 1947–1953 | ||
| Michigan | Gerald Ford | 1949–1973 | House minority leader 1965–1973 Resigned to become vice president |
| New Hampshire | Franklin Pierce | 1833–1837 | |
| New York | Millard Fillmore | 1833–1835 | |
| 1837–1843 | |||
| Northwest Territory | William Henry Harrison | 1799–1800 | Served as a non-voting delegate |
| Ohio | William Henry Harrison | 1816–1819 | |
| Rutherford B. Hayes | 1865–1867 | ||
| James A. Garfield | 1863–1880 | Republican floor leader 1877–1880 Only sitting representative elected to the presidency | |
| William McKinley | 1877–1883 | ||
| 1885–1891 | |||
| Pennsylvania | James Buchanan | 1821–1831 | |
| Tennessee | Andrew Jackson | 1796–1797 | |
| James K. Polk | 1825–1839 | Only former speaker to become president | |
| Andrew Johnson | 1843–1853 | ||
| Texas | Lyndon B. Johnson | 1937–1949 | |
| George H. W. Bush | 1967–1971 | ||
| Virginia | James Madison | 1789–1797 | First former representative to become president |
| John Tyler | 1816–1821 |
A number of future and former presidents served in the House together:
1835 was the year in which the most former and future presidents served together in Congress: six presidents (Representatives J.Q. Adams, Pierce, Fillmore, and Polk, and Senators Buchanan and Tyler), who all served under vice president (and future president) Martin Van Buren.
The time period between 1891 and 1915 (24 years) was the longest time period with no former or future presidents serving in Congress. In total, there were 65 years in which no former or future president was serving in Congress.
As of 2024, there were 10 presidents who served in both chambers of congress (J.Q. Adams, Jackson, Pierce, Buchanan, A. Johnson, Kennedy, L.B. Johnson, and Nixon), 2 presidents who served in both the Continental Congress and the Congress of the United States (Madison and Monroe), and 1 president who served in both the Congress of the United States and the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States (President John Tyler).
| President | State | Year(s) served | Body served |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington | Virginia | 1774–1775 | First Continental Congress |
| John Adams | Massachusetts | 1774–1777 | First Continental Congress, Second Continental Congress |
| Thomas Jefferson | Virginia | 1775–1776 1783–1784 | Second Continental Congress Congress of the Confederation |
| James Madison | Virginia | 1780–1783 1787–1788 | Second Continental Congress, Congress of the Confederation |
| James Monroe | Virginia | 1783–1786 | Congress of the Confederation |
| President | Office and jurisdiction | Year(s) served |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Jackson | Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court | 1798–1804 |
| Martin Van Buren | Attorney General of New York | 1815–1819 |
| Millard Fillmore | New York State Comptroller | 1847–1849 |
| Warren G. Harding | Lieutenant Governor of Ohio | 1904–1906 |
| Calvin Coolidge | Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts | 1916–1919 |
| Bill Clinton | Attorney General of Arkansas | 1977–1979 |
| President | Office and jurisdiction | Year(s) served |
|---|---|---|
| George Washington | County surveyor in Mount Vernon | 1749–1751 |
| Martin Van Buren | Surrogate of Columbia County, New York | 1808–1812 |
| Abraham Lincoln | Postmaster of New Salem, Illinois | 1832–1833 |
| County Surveyor for Sangamon County, Illinois | 1833–1834 | |
| Andrew Johnson | Alderman, Greeneville, Tennessee | 1828–1830 |
| Mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee | 1834–1835 | |
| Grover Cleveland | Sheriff of Erie County, New York | 1871–1873 |
| Mayor of Buffalo, New York | 1882–1883 | |
| William Howard Taft | Judge on the Superior Court of Cincinnati | 1887–1890 |
| Theodore Roosevelt | Superintendent of the New York Board of Police Commissioners | 1895–1897 |
| Calvin Coolidge | Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts | 1910–1911 |
| Harry S. Truman | Judge of Jackson County, Missouri's Eastern District | 1923–1925 |
| Presiding Judge of Jackson County, Missouri | 1927–1935 | |
| Joe Biden | Member of the New Castle County, Delaware County Council | 1970–1972 |
| President | Term of office | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ulysses S. Grant | 1867–1868 | Acting Secretary of War |
| Herbert Hoover | 1929–1933 | Secretary of Commerce |
| Dwight Eisenhower | 1945 | Military Governor of American-occupied zone of Germany |
| President | Term of office | Position(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Major General Zachary Taylor | 1849–1850 | Major general in the United States Army |
| General of the Army of the United States Ulysses S. Grant | 1869–1877 | Commanding General of the United States Army (1864–1869) |
| General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1953–1961 | Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1951–1952) |
| President | Term of office | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump | 2017–2021 | Chairman of The Trump Organization |
| Legislature | President | Year(s) served | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confederate Congress | John Tyler | 1861–1862 | Delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress and elected to the House of Representatives of the Confederate Congress of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, but died before entering office |
| Massachusetts House of Representatives | John Adams | 1768–1774 | All served as regular members of their colonial legislature under the Kingdom of Great Britain before 1776. |
| Virginia House of Burgesses | George Washington | 1758–1774 | |
| Thomas Jefferson | 1769–1774 |
| Presidents | |||||
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| Vice presidents | |||||
| Succession | |||||
| Elections | |||||
| Candidates |
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James Knox Polk was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He also served as the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives from 1835 to 1839 and the ninth governor of Tennessee from 1839 to 1841. A protégé of Andrew Jackson, he was a member of the Democratic Party and an advocate of Jacksonian democracy. Polk is known for extending the territory of the United States through the Mexican–American War during his presidency, annexing the Republic of Texas, the Oregon Territory, and the Mexican Cession after winning the Mexican–American War.
Martin Van Buren was an American lawyer, diplomat, and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he served as New York's attorney general and U.S. senator, then briefly as the ninth governor of New York before joining Andrew Jackson's administration as the tenth United States secretary of state, minister to Great Britain, and ultimately the eighth vice president from 1833 to 1837, after being elected on Jackson's ticket in 1832. Van Buren won the presidency in 1836 against divided Whig opponents. Van Buren lost re-election in 1840, and failed to win the Democratic nomination in 1844. Later in his life, Van Buren emerged as an elder statesman and an anti-slavery leader who led the Free Soil Party ticket in the 1848 presidential election.
The Whig Party was a mid-19th century political party in the United States. Alongside the Democratic Party, it was one of two major parties between the late 1830s and the early 1850s and part of the Second Party System. As well as four Whig presidents, other prominent members included Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Rufus Choate, William Seward, John J. Crittenden, and John Quincy Adams. The Whig base of support was amongst entrepreneurs, professionals, Protestants, and the urban middle class. It had much less backing from poor farmers and unskilled workers.
The 1836 United States presidential election was the 13th quadrennial presidential election, held from Thursday, November 3 to Wednesday, December 7, 1836. In the third consecutive election victory for the Democratic Party, incumbent Vice President Martin Van Buren defeated four candidates fielded by the nascent Whig Party.
This section of the timeline of United States history concerns events from 1820 to 1859.
Party divisions of United States Congresses have played a central role on the organization and operations of both chambers of the United States Congress—the Senate and the House of Representatives—since its establishment as the bicameral legislature of the Federal government of the United States in 1789. Political parties had not been anticipated when the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787, nor did they exist at the time the first Senate elections and House elections occurred in 1788 and 1789. Organized political parties developed in the U.S. in the 1790s, but political factions—from which organized parties evolved—began to appear almost immediately after the 1st Congress convened. Those who supported the Washington administration were referred to as "pro-administration" and would eventually form the Federalist Party, while those in opposition joined the emerging Democratic-Republican Party.
John Tyler was the 10th president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig ticket with President William Henry Harrison, succeeding to the presidency following Harrison's death 31 days after assuming office. Tyler was a stalwart supporter and advocate of states' rights, including regarding slavery, and he adopted nationalistic policies as president only when they did not infringe on the states' powers. His unexpected rise to the presidency posed a threat to the presidential ambitions of Henry Clay and other Whig politicians and left Tyler estranged from both of the nation's major political parties at the time.
The 1844 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held in Baltimore, Maryland from May 27 through 30. The convention nominated former Governor James K. Polk of Tennessee for president and former Senator George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania for vice president.
The history of U.S. foreign policy from 1829 to 1861 concerns the foreign policy of the United States during the presidential administrations of Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan. During this era, the United States annexed the Republic of Texas, acquired the Mexican Cession by defeating Mexico in the Mexican–American War and partitioned Oregon Country with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The period began with the inauguration of Jackson in 1829, while the onset of the American Civil War in 1861 marked the start of the next period in U.S. foreign policy.
The history of the United States Whig Party lasted from the establishment of the Whig Party early in President Andrew Jackson's second term (1833–1837) to the collapse of the party during the term of President Franklin Pierce (1853–1857). This article covers the party in national politics. For state politics see Whig Party.
