Although many paths may lead to the presidency of the United States, the most common job experience, occupation or profession of U.S. presidents has been that of a lawyer. [1] This sortable table enumerates all holders of that office, along with major elective or appointive offices or periods of military service prior to election to the presidency. The column immediately to the right of the presidents' names shows the position or office held just before the presidency. The next column to the right lists the next previous position held, and so on. Note that the total number of previous positions held by an individual may exceed four; the number of columns was limited to what would fit within the page width. The last two columns on the right list the home state (at the time of election to the presidency) and primary occupation of each future president, prior to beginning a political career.
Of the 45 [a] different people who have been or are currently serving as president:
President | Previous 1 | Previous 2 | Previous 3 | Previous 4 | Occupation | State [d] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | George Washington | Out of office [e] | Constitutional Convention [f] | Out of office | Military [g] | Planter, land surveyor | Virginia | |
2 | John Adams | Vice President | Foreign service [h] | Continental Congress | State legislator [i] | Lawyer, farmer | Massachusetts | |
3 | Thomas Jefferson | Vice President | Secretary of State | Foreign service [h] | Congressman | Planter, lawyer, land surveyor, architect | Virginia | |
4 | James Madison | Secretary of State | US Representative | Constitutional Convention | State legislator [i] | Planter | Virginia | |
5 | James Monroe | Secretary of State | Foreign service [h] | State governor | US Senator | Planter, lawyer | Virginia | |
6 | John Quincy Adams | Secretary of State | Foreign service [h] | US Senator | State legislator [i] | Lawyer | Massachusetts | |
7 | Andrew Jackson | Out of office [e] | US Senator | Military | US Senator | Lawyer, military officer | Tennessee | |
8 | Martin Van Buren | Vice President | Secretary of State | State governor [j] | US Senator | Lawyer | New York | |
9 | William Henry Harrison | Out of office [e] | Foreign service [h] | US Senator / US Representative | Territorial governor | Military | Ohio | |
10 | John Tyler | Vice President [k] | US Senator | State governor | US. Representative | Lawyer | Virginia | |
11 | James K. Polk | Out of office [e] | State governor | Speaker of the House | US Representative | Lawyer, planter | Tennessee | |
12 | Zachary Taylor | Military | — | — | — | Military | Kentucky | |
13 | Millard Fillmore | Vice President [l] | State office | Out of office [e] | US Representative | Lawyer | New York | |
14 | Franklin Pierce | Out of office [e] | Military | US Senator | U.S. representative | Lawyer | New Hampshire | |
15 | James Buchanan | Foreign service [h] | Out of office [e] | Secretary of State | US Senator | Lawyer | Pennsylvania | |
16 | Abraham Lincoln | Out of office [e] | US Representative | State legislator [i] | Military | Lawyer, land surveyor | Illinois [m] | |
17 | Andrew Johnson | Vice President [n] | Military governor [o] | US Senator | State governor | Tailor | Tennessee | |
18 | Ulysses S. Grant | Military | — | — | — | Military | Illinois [p] | |
19 | Rutherford B. Hayes | State governor | Out of office [e] | State governor | US Representative | Lawyer | Ohio | |
20 | James A. Garfield | US Representative | Military | State legislator [i] | — | Ordained minister, lawyer, teacher | Ohio | |
21 | Chester A. Arthur | Vice President [q] | Out of office [e] | Federal office [r] | Out of office | Lawyer, teacher, tariff collector | New York | |
22 | Grover Cleveland | State governor | Local office [s] | — | — | Lawyer | New York | |
23 | Benjamin Harrison | Out of office [e] | US Senator | Out of office | Military | Court reporter | Indiana | |
24 | Grover Cleveland | Out of office [e] | President of the U.S. | State governor | Local office [s] | Lawyer | New York | |
25 | William McKinley | State governor | US Representative | Military | — | Lawyer | Ohio | |
26 | Theodore Roosevelt | Vice President [t] | State governor | Military | Federal office [r] [u] | Historian, public servant, naturalist, military officer, policeman, rancher | New York | |
27 | William Howard Taft | Secretary of War | Territorial governor [v] | Judicial [w] | Federal office [r] [x] | Lawyer, dean | Ohio | |
28 | Woodrow Wilson | State governor | — | — | — | Academic [y] | New Jersey | |
29 | Warren G. Harding | US Senator | Out of office [e] | State legislator [i] | — | Journalist, publisher | Ohio | |
30 | Calvin Coolidge | Vice President [z] | State governor | State office | State legislator [i] | Lawyer | Massachusetts [aa] | |
31 | Herbert Hoover | Secretary of Commerce | Out of office [e] [ab] | Federal office [r] [ac] | — | Businessman, mining engineer | California | |
32 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | State governor | Out of office [e] | Federal office [r] [u] | State legislator [i] | Lawyer | New York | |
33 | Harry S. Truman | Vice President [ad] | US Senator | County commissioner (County court) | Military | Farmer | Missouri | |
34 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | Military | — | — | — | Military officer, President of Columbia University | Kansas | |
35 | John F. Kennedy | US Senator | US Representative | Military | — | Journalist, naval officer | Massachusetts | |
36 | Lyndon B. Johnson | Vice President [ae] | US Senator | US Representative | Federal office [r] [af] | Teacher, naval officer, rancher | Texas | |
37 | Richard Nixon | Out of office [e] | Vice President | US Senator | US Representative | Lawyer, naval officer | California | |
38 | Gerald Ford | Vice President [ag] | US Representative | Military | — | Lawyer, naval officer | Michigan [ah] | |
39 | Jimmy Carter | Out of office [e] | State governor | State legislator [i] | Military | Farmer, naval officer | Georgia | |
40 | Ronald Reagan | Out of office [e] | State governor | — | Military | Actor, Screen Actors Guild president | California [ai] | |
41 | George H. W. Bush | Vice President | Out of office [e] | Federal office [r] [aj] | Foreign service [h] | Businessman, naval aviator | Texas [ak] | |
42 | Bill Clinton | State governor | State attorney general | — | — | Lawyer, law professor at the University of Arkansas | Arkansas | |
43 | George W. Bush | State governor | Out of office [e] [8] | Military [9] | — | Businessman, Air National Guard pilot | Texas | |
44 | Barack Obama | US Senator | State legislator [i] | — | — | Lawyer, law professor at the University of Chicago [al] | Illinois [am] | |
45 | Donald Trump | — | — | — | — | Businessman, real estate developer, reality television personality | New York [an] | |
46 | Joe Biden | Out of office [e] | Vice President | US Senator | Local office [s] | Lawyer | Delaware |
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