The Political Experience of the Presidents: Pre-Presidential life

With the lone exception of some of America's most famous military heroes, like George Washington, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, presidents have been involved with politics for much of their careers. There have been career politicians, such as James Buchanan, Lyndon Johnson, and to some extent George H.W. Bush, and then there have been presidents who served very minor state government roles, leading to a governorship, like Calvin Coolidge, and then ultimately the presidency upon the death of Warren Harding. Some presidents were almost completely caught off guard and were highly unprepared for the most prestigious and demanding job in the nation, such as Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur, and Harry Truman. Truman, for example, was largely kept in the dark about war strategy and post war plans, but managed to learn quickly and was elected in his own right a few years later. For the most part, the president has been a tool of political parties, especially in the post Civil War era, when Congress dominated the scene. With a string of weak presidents, Congress was able to dictate policy and weaken the power of the presidency. In the beginning of our nation, being Secretary of State was seen as the next step to the presidency, with men like Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John Q. Adams, and Martin Van Buren following that role. Then, state positions seemed to be a way to lead to the presidency, especially men who had served as Governor, such as Polk, Hayes, Cleveland, McKinley, and many presidents in the 20th century. All the men who have served as president or who ran for president were politicians in some way, having to work with Congress to get things done. Some have been very successful in working with opposition parties, and some have failed. Some of the most highly collectible campaign items are from presidents and candidates who ran for president when they were young or running for offices like governor, senator, representative, judges, and state offices. There are many examples of buttons, posters, and 3-D objects promoting future presidents for these lesser political roles. It is always interesting to look at these objects and picturing a middle aged California governor named Ronald Reagan not having a clue what the future would hold, or a former vice president named Richard Nixon who ran for governor of California in 1962 and lost. These items give a more common touch between the common man and the high office of president, since it is much easier to be elected to something like state senate than it is to be elected president, it gives us all hope that maybe one day we could be in the same position. I have pictured a few of my favorite items I have relating to presidents and presidential candidates before they made the run for the high office. For information sake and so you can see some of the best examples of pre-presidential items, I have included some items I do not own. The ones I personally own are the Reagan items, the Nixon for Governor pin, the Bush for Congress bumper sticker, and the Charles Hughes button. The rest are rare items I have included for a better understanding of pre presidential items.