Many people wonder who the most recent president was who didn’t go to college. There are many answers to this question, but we will focus on the most famous and the most successful. In this article, we will be looking at Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, James Monroe, and Harry Truman.
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is one of the few presidents in American history to have never attended college. He was a former tailor who was elected as governor of Tennessee. His term in office was not without controversy.
While he never went to school, he did learn to read, write, and calculate. In his early twenties, he moved to Greeneville, Tennessee, and opened his own tailor shop.
When he first entered politics, Andrew Johnson was a staunch advocate for the rights of the common man over the aristocracy. For example, he pushed for the passage of the Homestead Act.
Andrew Johnson is also credited with launching the first national speaking tour in 1866. This tour sparked a political power struggle between Republicans and Radical Republicans.
Despite this, Johnson’s policies did not gain much support from Reconstruction leaders. Consequently, Johnson’s tenure in office began to deteriorate quickly.
After the end of the Civil War, the South began to adopt black codes and enact black codes in the rebel states. President Andrew Johnson tried to convince the Southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment, which would give citizenship to blacks, but this did not work.
During his presidency, Johnson vetoed a number of bills addressing civil rights, including the Freedmen’s Bureau bill and the Civil Rights bill. The 25th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1967.
Andrew Johnson died in July 1875. His body was wrapped in an American flag. His grave is located on a hilltop site in the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery.
In fact, the only president to be sworn in by the same Senate that almost impeached him a few years earlier is Andrew Johnson.
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was born in January 1800 in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. He was the son of tenant farmers. At fifteen, he became an apprentice to a cloth maker, and at twenty-three, he opened his own law firm.
Initially, Fillmore belonged to the Anti-Masonic Party. When the Whigs gained control of the chamber of the House of Representatives in 1841, Fillmore was unsuccessful in his bid for speaker.
After the death of Taylor in 1850, Fillmore was elected president. However, Fillmore’s position as the country’s leader was not well-received by many. Many considered Fillmore’s actions to be harmful to the United States. During the Civil War, Fillmore opposed President Abraham Lincoln.
Millard Fillmore died on March 8, 1874. His grave is located in Buffalo, NY. A pink obelisk marks his grave. Students and faculty gather at the gravesite to honor his memory. The University of Buffalo is one of several institutions that recognize Fillmore.
Despite his lack of formal education, Fillmore was a successful attorney who later served as the thirteenth president of the United States. He was the last member of the Whig Party to serve in this office.
Millard Fillmore was born in a log cabin in Locke township, New York. As a child, he attended a one-room schoolhouse. In 1823, he joined the New York Bar and became a lawyer. He eventually moved to Buffalo, where he studied law.
Millard Fillmore was also a leading figure in the cultural life of Buffalo. He was a founding member of the University of New York at Buffalo and served as its first chancellor.
Fillmore’s greatest accomplishment is his support for the Compromise of 1850. This agreement settled the debate over slavery in newly acquired territories. It also led to a brief truce between the North and the South.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous presidents in American history. He was a staunch abolitionist and served as the 16th president of the United States. His leadership of the country’s emancipation efforts and his speech at Gettysburg are considered among the most significant speeches in the nation’s history.
As a young boy, Lincoln was not a bookworm. He read Aesop’s Fables and Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. In his spare time, he studied law. Eventually, he passed the Illinois bar exam and became a lawyer.
When he was seventeen, Abe Lincoln found work on a ferryboat. He worked for $55 a year. The family lived on a farm. They had four boys. However, only one of the boys survived to adulthood.
By the age of 18, Lincoln had learned how to write and read. In addition to reading, he also learned how to cipher.
During the Black Hawk War, he enlisted as a volunteer. Lincoln was a savvy military strategist. He was assigned to the Independent Spy Corps. It was here that he developed his survival skills.
Having never attended a college or university, Abraham Lincoln didn’t have much education beyond what he received from his parents. Nevertheless, he studied enough to be a knowledgeable, honest and practical politician.
Eventually, Lincoln became a member of the Illinois state legislature. He was also elected the first postmaster of New Salem, Illinois. During his tenure in the legislature, he gained the respect of his fellow Democrats.
After the Civil War, Lincoln was a prominent lawyer in Illinois. He also ran for governor of Illinois. Despite his political leanings, Lincoln avoided partisan posturing.
He was a popular leader and was a staunch abolitionist. In fact, he was a major factor in convincing northern Democrats to support the Union cause.
Harry Truman
Truman’s political career began in 1922 when he was elected to Jackson County Court. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was a lawyer.
He served two four-year terms in the county court. In 1928, he ran for governor of Missouri, but was defeated. He then became a Senator.
A few years after the election, he was appointed to the Senate Special Committee on Investigations of the National Defense Program. This committee strove to ensure that the government was paying fair prices for defense contractors.
As a result of this investigation, Truman gained national recognition. He was also responsible for passing the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, which made the United States the world’s first country to develop an airplane.
After his return from Europe, Truman opened a haberdashery with his friend, Edward Jacobson. They took out loans and saw initial success. However, their business faltered during the Great Depression of the early 1920s.
Truman’s second term as president was a failure. His administration was hit hard by corruption charges. It was also accused of being too soft on communism.
The postwar economy was characterized by high inflation and consumer shortages. This contributed to Democrats losing control of Congress in the 1946 midterm elections. Although Truman’s popularity began to decline, he still was able to get important liberal legislation passed.
Truman’s administration also pushed for legislation to establish more community colleges. These colleges would provide education to people who could not afford to attend a regular college.
Truman had an impressive legacy. Although he was unable to complete his college degree, he did have a strong education. Not only did he have the skills needed to be a successful president, but he also paved the way for future public service leaders.
James Monroe
James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, was a prominent figure during the American Revolution. He served in Congress, as an army officer, and as a diplomat.
During his presidency, five new states entered the Union, and Monroe worked to expand the country westward. His foreign policy was marked by the Monroe Doctrine, which emphasized the need for free governments in the Americas.
James Monroe was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party. He was opposed to the Federalist Party, which wanted to increase federal government and take away state rights.
Monroe’s tenure as president began in 1817. In 1825, his term ended, and he was succeeded by Andrew Jackson. At the time, Monroe remained the last President from the Founding Fathers.
Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. His parents were prosperous planters. A few years after his birth, he became involved in the revolutionary activities at the College of William and Mary.
After studying law under Thomas Jefferson, Monroe returned to public service as a Senator from Virginia. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and the Virginia State Convention.
During the Revolutionary War, Monroe fought in the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown. In 1776, he was seriously wounded in the Battle of Trenton.
When he returned to the United States, Monroe was elected to the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. As a senator, he became the leader of the Democratic-Republican Party. During his time in the Senate, he worked closely with James Madison.
Monroe’s presidency was a period of great growth for the U.S., and the nation’s infrastructure was built. However, Monroe also had to face the challenge of slavery. The issue was a contentious one during his administration.
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