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U. S. Presidents, Military Service, and the Electorate Table 1
U. S. Presidential Candidates Prior Military Service, 1789-1992
(Army Service Unless Noted Otherwise)
Presidents & Nominees 1 | Election Years | Veteran Yes / No | Highest Rank 2 | Period(s) of Active Duty |
---|---|---|---|---|
George Washington | 1789, 1792 | X | Gen. & Cmdr.-in-Chief 3 | 1752-59, 1775-83 |
John Adams | 1789, 1792,1796, 1800 | X | n/a | n/a |
George Clinton | 1792, 1808 | X | Brig. Gen | 1758, 1777 |
Thomas Jefferson | 1796, 1800, 1804 | X | n/a | n/a |
Thomas Pinckney | 1796 | X | Maj.Gen | 1775-82, 1812-14 |
Aaron Burr | 1796, 1800 | X | Lt. Col. | 1775-79 |
Charles C. Pinckney | 1804, 1808 | X | Brig. Gen. | 1775-83 |
James Madison | 1808, 1812 | X | n/a | n/a |
DeWitt Clinton | 1812 | X | n/a | n/a |
James Monroe | 1816, 1820 | X | Maj. | 1776-78 |
Rufus King | 1816 | X | Volunt. | 1778 |
John Q. Adams | 1820, 1824, 1828 | X | n/a | n/a |
Andrew Jackson | 1824, 1828, 1832 | X | Maj. Gen. | 1779, 1791 1802-1821 |
Henry Clay | 1824, 1832 | X | n/a | n/a |
William H. Crawford | 1824 | X | n/a | n/a |
William Wirt | 1832 | X | Capt. | 1814 |
Martin Van Buren | 1836, 1840, 1848 | X | n/a | n/a |
Hugh L. White | 1836 | X | Volunt. | 1793, 1813 |
Daniel Webster | 1836 | X | n/a | n/a |
William H. Harrison | 1836, 1840 | X | Brig. Gen. | 1791-98, 1811-14 |
Presidents & Nominees | Election Years | Veteran Yes / No | Highest Rank | Period(s) of Active Duty |
John Tyler | -- 4 | X | n/a | n/a |
James K. Polk | 1844 | X | n/a | n/a |
Zachary Taylor | 1848 | X | Maj. Gen. | 1808-15, 1816-48 |
Lewis Cass | 1848 | X | Maj. Gen. | 1812-13 |
Franklin Pierce | 1852 | X | n/a | n/a |
Winfield Scott | 1852 | X | Maj. Gen. 5 | 1807-48, 1861 |
James Buchanan | 1856 | X | Pvt. | 1814 |
John C. Fremont | 1856 | X | Lt. Col. 6 | 1833-48, 1861-62 |
Millard Fillmore 7 | 1856 | X | n/a | n/a |
Abraham Lincoln | 1860, 1864 | X | Capt. | 1832 |
Stephen A. Douglas | 1860 | X | n/a | n/a |
John C. Breckinridge | 1860 | X | Maj. 8 | 1847-48, 1861-65 |
John Bell | 1860 | X | n/a | n/a |
George B. McClellan | 1864 | X | Maj. Gen. | 1846-62 |
Andrew Johnson | -- 9 | X | Brig. Gen. | 1862-65 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 1868, 1872 | X | Lt. Gen. | 1843-54, 1861-68 |
Horatio Seymour | 1868 | X | n/a | n/a |
Horace Greeley | 1872 | X | n/a | n/a |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 1876 | X | Maj. Gen. | 1861-64 |
Samuel J. Tilden | 1876 | X | n/a | n/a |
James A. Garfield | 1880 | X | Maj. Gen. | 1861-65 |
Winfield S. Hancock | 1880 | X | Maj. Gen. | 1844-86 |
Chester A. Arthur | -- 10 | X | Qtr.Mstr.Gen. 11 | 1861-63 |
Grover Cleveland | 1884, 1888, 1892 | X | n/a | n/a |
James G. Blaine | 1884 | X | n/a | n/a |
Presidents & Nominees | Election Years | Veteran Yes / No | Highest Rank | Period(s) of Active Duty |
Benjamin Harrison | 1888, 1892 | X | Brig. Gen. | 1862-65 |
James B. Weaver | 1880, 1892 | X | Brig. Gen. | 1861-64 |
William McKinley | 1896, 1900 | X | Maj. | 1861-65 |
William J. Bryan | 1896, 1900, 1908 | X | Col. | 1898 |
Theodore Roosevelt 12 | 1904, 1912 | X | Col. | 1898 |
Alton B. Parker | 1904 | X | n/a | n/a |
William H. Taft | 1908, 1912 | X | n/a | n/a |
Woodrow Wilson | 1912, 1916 | X | n/a | n/a |
Eugene V. Debs | 1904, 1908, 1912, 1920 | X | n/a | n/a |
Charles E. Hughes | 1916 | X | n/a | n/a |
Warren G. Harding | 1920 | X | n/a | n/a |
James M. Cox | 1920 | X | n/a | n/a |
Calvin Coolidge 13 | 1924 | X | n/a | n/a |
John W. Davis | 1924 | X | n/a | n/a |
Robert M. La Follette | 1924 | X | n/a | n/a |
Herbert C. Hoover | 1928, 1932 | X | n/a | n/a |
Alfred E. Smith | 1928 | X | n/a | n/a |
Franklin D. Roosevelt 14 | 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944 | X | n/a | n/a |
Alfred M. Landon | 1936 | X | n/a | n/a |
Wendell L. Willkie | 1940 | X | 1st Lt. | 1917-18 |
Thomas E. Dewey | 1944, 1948 | X | n/a | n/a |
Harry S. Truman 15 | 1948 | X | Capt. | 1917-19 |
J. Strom Thurmond | 1948 | X | Lt. Col. 16 | 1942-46 |
Presidents & Nominees | Election Years | Veteran Yes / No | Highest Rank | Period(s) of Active Duty |
Henry A. Wallace | 1948 | X | Capt. | 1917-19 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1952, 1956 | X | Gen. of the Army | 1915-48, 1951-52 |
Adlai E. Stevenson | 1952, 1956 | X 17 | Capt. | 1917-19 |
John F. Kennedy | 1960 | X | Lt. (j.g.) (Navy) | 1941-45 |
Richard M. Nixon | 1960, 1968 | X | Lt. Cdr. (Navy) | 1942-46 |
Lyndon B. Johnson 18 | 1964 | X | Lt. Cdr. (Navy) | 1942 |
Barry M. Goldwater | 1964 | X | Lt. Col. 19 | 1941-45 |
Hubert H. Humphrey | 1968 | X | Capt. | 1917-19 |
George C. Wallace | 1968 | X | Sgt. 20 | 1942-45 |
George S. McGovern | 1972 | X | 1st Lt. 21 | 1943-45 |
Jimmy Carter | 1976, 1980 | X | Lt. (Navy) | 1946-53 |
Gerald R. Ford, Jr. 22 | 1976 | X | Lt.Cdr. (Navy) | 1942-46 |
John B. Anderson | 1980 | X | Capt. | 1917-19 |
Ronald W. Reagan | 1980, 1984 | X | Capt. 23 | 1942-45 |
Walter F. Mondale | 1984 | X | Cpl. | 1951-53 |
Michael S. Dukakis | 1988 | X | Spec. 3d | 1955-57 |
George H. W. Bush | 1988, 1992 | X | Lt. (j.g.) (Navy) | 1942-45 |
William J. Clinton | 1992 | X | Capt. | 1917-19 |
H. Ross Perot | 1992 | X | Lt. (Navy) | 1953-57 |
Endnotes
Note 1: The names of those who became President in italics. Back
Note 2: Including brevet, or temporary, ranks sometimes not awarded until completion of service. Back
Note 3: The First Continental Congress elected Washington "to command all the Continental forces. . ." without specifying his precise rank. Journals of the Continental Congress, II, 91. Back
Note 4: Elected Vice President 1840, assumed Presidency 1841 upon the death of William H. Harrison. Back
Note 5: In 1848, Congress voted Scott the rank of lieutenant general, but the promotion did not become effective until 1855, after his run for the Presidency. Back
Note 6: FremontÕs Civil War rank was major general. Back
Note 7: Elected Vice President 1848, assumed Presidency 1850 upon death of Zachary Taylor. Back
Note 8: Breckenridge's Civil War rank was major general. Back
Note 9: Elected Vice President 1864, assumed Presidency 1865 upon the death of Abraham Lincoln. Back
Note 10: Elected Vice President 1880, assumed Presidency 1881 upon the death of James A. Garfield. Back
Note 11: Arthur's functional title with the New York militia, not a military rank. Back
Note 12: Elected Vice President 1900, assumed Presidency 1901 upon the death of William McKinley; elected President 1904. Back
Note 13: Elected Vice President 1920, assumed Presidency 1923 upon the death of Warren G. Harding; elected President 1924. Back
Note 14: Held senior civilian position as assistant secretary of the Navy, 1913-1920. Back
Note 15: Elected Vice President 1944, assumed Presidency 1945 upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt; elected President 1948. Back
Note 16: Attained the rank of major general in the reserves after his run for the Presidency. Back
Note 17: Held civilian position in the Dept. of Navy during World War II. Back
Note 18: Elected Vice President 1960, assumed Presidency 1963 upon the death of John F. Kennedy; elected President 1964. Back
Note 19: Held the rank of Air Force brigadier general in the reserves when he ran for the Presidency in 1964; retired as a major general of reserves in 1967. Back
Note 20: U. S. Army Air Forces. Back
Note 21: U. S. Army Air Forces. Back
Note 22: Appointed Vice President 1973 upon resignation of Spiro T. Agnew, assumed Presidency 1974 upon resignation of Richard M. Nixon. Back
Note 23: U. S. Army Air Forces. Back