Have you ever wondered who is the most recent president in the United States that has never had a college degree? There are a few different answers to this question. In fact, there are three different people that have served as the president of the U.S. who did not have a college degree, and they are George Washington, Millard Fillmore, and Grover Cleveland. These men all had important jobs and their accomplishments are well known throughout the country.
Grover Cleveland
When Grover Cleveland was president, he was the only man in history to serve two non-consecutive terms. He is also the only person in history to marry while in the White House. His wife, Frances Folsom, was the youngest first lady in U.S. history, at twenty-one years old.
He also was the only presidential candidate who did not win the nomination of his party. However, he did make a memorable speech in support of the tariff reform bill, which won him many votes.
After he lost the election in 1888, he did not deny paternity. Instead, he hired a substitute. This made him vulnerable to future political attacks.
When Grover Cleveland ran for re-election in 1892, he campaigned on sound money. It also helped that he had the support of reform-minded Republicans.
But when the McKinley Tariff passed in 1891, it forced him to speak out against protectionism. In addition, Cleveland vetoed a large number of civil service reform bills.
Although he was not the most popular politician of his time, Grover Cleveland possessed a level of moral courage that few politicians can match. And he was a devoted husband and father.
As a law clerk, Cleveland worked for a Buffalo law firm and later served as sheriff of Erie County. By 1863, he had become an assistant district attorney.
While he did not complete a college education, he did receive a state bar exam. Later, he became a member of the Democratic Party.
Although he was known as a “political reformer,” he was also accused of being corrupt. During his tenure, Cleveland vetoed 228 Civil War pensions.
Harry Truman
Harry Truman was born in 1884 and was the 33rd president of the United States. He served two terms, and his leadership was characterized by some notable domestic and foreign successes.
Truman was born into a poor family that could not afford to send his son to college. His parents moved their family from a small village to a farm in Missouri. As a child, Harry had a fascination with history and literature. He also enjoyed musicals and plays.
Despite his lack of a college education, Harry Truman was an extremely intelligent man. His down-to-earth personality helped him to develop a reputation for being one of the best presidents in recent history. Throughout his life, he offered encouragement to others.
While he was in office, Truman played a key role in the passing of two major laws: the National Security Act of 1947, which merged the Department of War and the Department of Navy into the Department of Defense, and the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild Europe after World War II.
Truman also took an interest in history. He wanted to understand why historical figures achieved their achievements. After he was elected to the Senate, he became the chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Investigating the National Defense Program.
In addition, he played a leading role in the passage of the North Atlantic Treaty, which formally constituted a defensive alliance between the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe against the Soviet Union.
He was also instrumental in the formation of the United Nations, the precursor to the UN today. During his first year in office, he successfully managed the war in Europe.
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is the only president in US history to never have graduated from a formal educational institution. He was born in a log cabin in North Carolina, to an illiterate family. His father worked as a porter at an inn, and his mother was a seamstress.
Andrew Johnson did not earn a college degree, but he was able to achieve a successful political career despite his limited education. He became the only Southern senator to be loyal to the Union during the Civil War, and he was the only sitting senator from a Confederate state to not resign when the South seceded.
As a child, Andrew Johnson began an apprenticeship to tailor. Later, he started his own tailoring business in Greeneville, Tennessee. He taught himself reading and writing and also tutored math. The tailoring business eventually evolved into a local debate club.
In 1835, he was elected to the Tennessee Legislature. After the Civil War, he was elected to Congress. During his time in Congress, he served five two-year terms.
Johnson was appointed as Military Governor of Tennessee in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. He later served as vice president during Lincoln’s second term. When Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, Johnson became the seventeenth president of the United States.
Andrew Johnson was a controversial president, and many historians consider him the worst in American history. He was impeached in 1868, and he narrowly avoided conviction in the Senate.
After his impeachment, Andrew Johnson’s political career did not revive. He was forced to retire from office in 1869. He died of a stroke in 1875.
In 1868, he attempted to fire Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, but he was acquitted by one vote in the Senate. Several Southern states sent reports to Washington about unusual outbreaks of violence.
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was born into an impoverished farming family in the Finger Lakes region of New York. He had to work from an early age and his education was very sporadic. His parents were tenant farmers. However, Fillmore obtained a law degree and became a successful attorney.
Millard Fillmore, a member of the Whig Party, was the 13th president of the United States. He served from 1850 to 1853. During his term in office, he opposed Lincoln during the Civil War and supported Johnson during Reconstruction.
In 1832, Millard Fillmore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. A year later, he became a prominent lawyer in Buffalo.
Millard Fillmore was one of the founders of the University of Buffalo. He was also a major supporter of Henry Clay of Kentucky. During his presidency, Fillmore helped to pass the Compromise of 1850. This was an attempt to maintain peace between the North and the South. It included the admission of California as a free state, the abolition of the fugitive slave trade, and the passage of a protective tariff.
In his later years, Fillmore was a Unitarian. In addition, he was an active member of the Natural Science Society and the Buffalo Historical Society.
Although he ran for vice president in 1844, Fillmore was unsuccessful. During his time in the House, he also served as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
After his defeat in the 1856 election, Fillmore withdrew from politics. He remained a member of the Whig Party, but refused to join the Republican Party.
Millard Fillmore’s rise from poverty to success demonstrates the American dream of hard work and determination. His refusal to be re-nominated for another term in 1852 was a huge mistake. As a result, his popularity was damaged.
George Washington
Most United States presidents have earned college degrees, but there are a few who did not. One of those is George Washington, who served two terms as the first president.
Washington’s father owned a plantation in Colonial Virginia. He was an avid landowner. At sixteen years old, Washington was employed as a surveyor, mapping out new lands. In the early years of the Revolution, Washington helped lead the Continental Army in the victory over the British.
His father died when he was eleven, and George was left without a role model. His older brother took over George’s education. Lawrence taught him the fundamentals, such as how to behave as a gentleman.
When Lawrence died, George was left with his mother, Martha Dandridge Custis, and a large estate in Mount Vernon. He also became a member of the Virginia legislature and the governor’s cabinet. During his time in the office, Washington fought for the rights of landowners against the British.
While George Washington never attended college, he was fairly well educated in practical mathematics. Although he may have read The Spectator, his formal education was not extensive.
Other US presidents who have been elected without a college degree include Andrew Johnson, Millard Fillmore, and Zachary Taylor. However, it is rare to find such a person.
Of the nine presidents who were elected without a college degree, only Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Zachary Taylor went to college. Others studied by reading books and working on their own.
In the modern day, most presidents have graduated from college or law school. Some of them have gone on to earn PhDs. Despite this, there are no guarantees that a bachelor’s degree will ensure a better performance as a president.
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