Seventeen US presidents were previously governors, including some who governed territories. The first presidents to serve as governors were Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and John Tyler of Virginia. Other presidents who served as governors include Martin Van Buren, James Polk, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford Hayes, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.
Many US presidents have previously served as governors, perhaps representing the faith of the people in the office of governor. If one person can successfully lead a state in the United States, voters might think, then they might as well be able to lead the country. Several presidents have served as governor and then held various political offices, including representative positions in the Senate and the House, and/or the vice presidency.
In all, 17 presidents have been governors before. Some of them were not governors in the modern sense of the word; that is, they ruled territories rather than states. Andrew Jackson acted as military governor of Florida Territory and as governor of the Northwest Territory in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. William Harrison governed the Indiana Territory for 18 years in the early 19th century. William Taft served as governor general of the Philippines in the early 20th century.
In the early years of the United States, the following presidents served as its first governors:
Thomas Jefferson: The first president to hold the office of governor, served as governor of Virginia from 1779 to 1781.
James Monroe: Served as governor of Virginia from 1799-1802, and again served briefly as the 16th governor of Virginia from January to April 1811.
John Tyler: Another governor of Virginia, in office from 1825 to 1827.
These presidents were governors of a variety of other states:
Martin Van Buren: Governor of New York in 1829.
James Polk: Governor of Tennessee, in office 1839-1841.
Andrew Johnson: governor of Tennessee from 1853 to 1857 and then appointed by Lincoln as military governor of Tennessee from 1862 to 1864.
Rutherford Hayes: Governor of Ohio from 1868-1872 and again from 1876-1877.
Grover Cleveland: governor of New York from 1883 to 1885.
William McKinley: governor of Ohio from 1892 to 1896.
Numerous presidents served as first-time governors in the 20th century. The list begins with Theodore Roosevelt, the first governor of New York from 20 to 1899. Others on this list include the following:
Woodrow Wilson: Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913.
Calvin Coolidge: Governor of Massachusetts from 1919 to 1921.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: governor of New York from 1929 to 1933.
Ronald Reagan: governor of California from 1967 to 1975.
Jimmy Carter: Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and the first governor elected from the South since the Civil War.
Bill Clinton: Governor of Arkansas for two separate terms, 1979-1981 and 1983-1992.
George W. Bush: governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.
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