Someone on cable said 11 US presidents were Generals. Is that true?

[NNN0LHI]

Anyone know? I thought it was only a few?

Don

[ShimokitaJer]

1. Let's see...

Washington, Grant and Eisenhower are the only ones that spring to mind.

Let's try a quick web search...

[MrBenchley]

7. Also

Zachary Taylor, William Henry Harrison, Andrew Jackson, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield....

That's eight....

[Parche]

29. generals

George Washington
Andrew Jackson
William Henry Harrison
Franklin Pierce
US Grant
Benjamin Harrison

James A Garfield
Dwight Eisenhower
Rutherford B Hayes
Zachary Taylor



William Howard Taft was a Inspector General, does that count? haha

[jeter]

63. Taft was also Governor-General

Of our occupation in the Philipines, early 1900s.

[ShimokitaJer]

9. I found a site that listed eight

George Washington
Andrew Jackson
Zachary Taylor
Ulysses Simpson Grant
Rutherford Birchard Hayes
Chester Alan Arthur
Benjamin Harrison
Dwight David Eisenhower

It's far from a "definitive" site, though. I'll keep looking

[Nashyra]

2. I thought on CNN they had a crawler

that saud there were 10 past Presidents were Generals.

[NNN0LHI]

6. I think it was on MSRNC that I heard it? Not sure though? n/t

[Bluzmann57]

3. A few off the top of my head

George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses Grant, Dwight Eisenhower. I think Teddy Roosevelt was too.

[Don_G]

15. Not Teddy Rooseveldt

TR made it to Lt Col when he was in the military, although his son was a General and died of a heart attack during WWII. Zachary Taylor was a Major General.

[LTR]

31. FYI

Truman was also a Lt. Colonel.

[dofus]

39. I think Truman only made it

to Major.

[nostamj]

4. it was the quiz on CNN Daybreak

and there are 12 according to that quiz... (I ain't gonna try to name them all)

[Don_G]

5. I Can Only Think Of 4 Offhand

George Washington, Stonewall Jackson, Uslyess Grant and Dwight D Eisenhower.

[Seneca]

11. Andrew, not Stonewall

Plus, William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor. Someone told me yesterday that Garfield was also a general (makes the total 7), though I haven't looked it up. I posted a lengthy article about the various records of ex-generals in the White House, and that basically, it assures nothing in terms of success ir failure. About the same ratio as non-genreals in office.

[Yupster]

23. Oops Don

don't think you meant Stonewall Jackson.

[playahata1]

26. You mean ANDREW Jackson.

"Stonewall" was Thomas J. Jackson, who was a Confederate Army General.

[displacedvermoter]

8. Off the top of my head

Washington, Taylor, Jackson, Garfield, W.H. Harrison, Grant, Hayes, Eisenhower. I'm sure I can come up with a few more if I think about it.

[displacedvermoter]

16. Add Pierce, Arthur, B. Harrison, not T. Roosevelt.

n/t

[maha]

68. Taylor, Pierce, and Grant served together

... in the Mexican War. (Fun fact.)

[NNN0LHI]

10. Here it is. It was only 10. This site may have missed one though?

Ten presidents were generals: Washington, Jackson, W. Harrison, Taylor, Pierce, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, B. Harrison, and Eisenhower. At the end of the American Revolution, the suggestion that General Washington become king circulated in the Army's upper ranks. Washington reacted strongly against the idea, saying, "no occurrence in the course of the War has given me more painful sensations."

[DemNoir]

12. Very interesting

So, then if you say that "in general, presidents are Generals" that would not be a gross generalization.

[ShimokitaJer]

17. Not to mention...

that if the number of generals elected president has increased over time, you could say that there has been a general generalization of the white house.

[azrak]

13. There were 10 General's and 18 "outsiders" Food for thought

Ten presidents were generals: Washington, Jackson, W. Harrison, Taylor, Pierce, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, B. Harrison, and Eisenhower.


PRESIDENTS WHO would be considered "Washington outsiders" (i.e., the 18 presidents who never served in Congress) are: Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Taylor, Grant, Arthur, Cleveland, T. Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Coolidge, Hoover, F. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and G. W. Bush.

[Terran]

59. Teddy R.

was Secretary of the Navy (I think) and later Vice-President. I would think that qualifies him as a Washington insider, right?

[WoodrowFan]

60. Assist Sec Navy

Not eh actual Secretary, but his assistant, the same position FDR held under Woodrow Wilson (Joesphus Daniels was Sec Navy)

[tjdee]

64. I think azrak was talking about FDR, not Teddy....

but, I think FDR had been asst. sec. navy or something??

Even if neither Roosevelt applies, Teddy Roosevelt did become governor of NY with no political experience...

[T Roosevelt]

14. Great link (for cheaters)

http://www.americanpresidents.org/classroom/timeline_military.asp

[ShimokitaJer]

19. I don't know about that site...

They listed GW Bush under "Military servicemen who became president."

[WoodrowFan]

18. I count 10

I count 10 Presidents Who Were Generals

Geo. Washington
Andrew Jackson
William H. Harrison
Franklin Pierce
Zachary Taylor
US Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes
Benjamin Harrison
James Garfield
Dwight Eisenhower



McKinley was a Brevet Major, TR was a Colonel.

Don’t know how they got 11 out of that!!

(edited to correct errors)

[ShimokitaJer]

20. They got 11

by not knowing the difference between a general, a major, and a colonel.

[Yupster]

24. Reagan played Custer

or Jeb Stuart, I forget which in "Santa Fe Trails." Does that count?

[billhos]

21. I may have your 11th

Believe it or not Andrew Johnson. According to my book The Photographic History of the Civil War, Andrew Johnson is listed as haveing held the rank of General. Aparently it was an honorary title held when he was military gov of Tennesee. I suspect if he actually had to gointo batle he would have been too drunk though.

[WoodrowFan]

22. Jeeze

I didn't even LOOK at Johnson. Ok, that makes 11.

[amazona]

30. drunker than U.S. Grant?

That would be quite a challenge.

[chiburb]

43. Amazona, please read this:

Revisionist southern historians painted Grant as an ignorant drunk who imposed harsh military rule on the South during Reconstruction. Truth is, he wasn't ignorant, he wasn't a drunk, and he kept troops in the South mostly to prevent freed African Americans from being slaughtered by white mobs.

Grant was unusual for a white man of his day in that news of atrocities commited against former slaves actually bothered him. And, he thought he ought to do something to protect citizens from terrorists. He came down especially hard on the Ku Klux Klan, and whites north and south thought that Grant was going way too far to prevent those poor, oppressed, sheet-wearing white boys from exercising their traditional right to slaughter black people for fun.

Read more here, scroll down to yesterday:http://www.mahablog.com/

[NNN0LHI]

45. Boy do you know how to hurt a guy. The name of my town is Grant Park

I think I need a drink.

Don

[chiburb]

48. You should be proud to live in Grant Park:

More from Maha:

Most significantly, after the Civil War he befriended former enemies (notably Col. John Mosby, the infamous "Gray Ghost," whom General Grant had threatened to hang), prevented President Andrew Johnson from bringing Robert E. Lee to trial for treason, freed Confederate officers from prison, and worked quietly but tirelessly to cool the hatred still simmering between North and South.

http://www.mahablog.com/

[NewYorkerfromMass]

69. More: Visit Grant's Tomb here in NYC

It's an eye opener. Grant was an incredible man. He died penniless but still a hero in the eyes of the nation. The monument itself is testament to the esteem in which he was held by his countrymen.

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:KVCN7Q1b7-8C: http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:Yy0Sq-7yMy4C: http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:2c4vDiRKnMEC: Grant and wife laid to rest side by side. Website

[maha]

47. Grant was NOT a drunk

Really. The "Grant the drunk" is old spin from political enemies and military rivals.

[chiburb]

49. And YOU should see post #43...

In which YOU are given the credit for the debunk!!

:-)

[maha]

56. Thanks. U.S. Grant is Da Man

... who got me interested in American history, years ago. I found his life story absolutely fascinating. I believe I've read every biography of Grant still in print since 1950, plus his excellent memoirs.

One of my life's missions is to eradicate the old lie that he was a drunk, along with getting the world to spell "separate" instead of "seperate."

[Wickerman]

66. NIce work

I was glad to see someone had taken on the Grant myth. I think you will have better luck with that than your seperate battle.

[maha]

65. I don't think Andrew Johnson should count.

He was a "general" only in the same sense that Dubya was a "fighter pilot."

[eleny]

25. Which of these also held a political office prior to Pres?

And thanks to all who posted lists!

I'm keeping a file in my Treepad software that I can keep as a quick copy 'n paste reference. So, I've saved the list of presidents posted. This is a helpful thread!

[playahata1]

28. Let's see....

Both of the Roosevelts served as Governor of New York. TR was McKinley's VP. Both TR and FDR served as NY state representatives.

Jimmy Carter was Governor of Georgia.

Wilson was Governor of NJ.

* was Gov. of Tex-ass.

Nixon was Eisenhower's VP and a U.S. Congressman and Senator.

Ronnie was Gov. Of California

JFK -- Congressman and Senator

The Big Dog -- Gov. of Arkansas

Coolidge -- Gov. of Massachusetts and Harding's VP.

Poppy Bush -- Congressman, Ronnie's VP

LBJ -- Congressman, Senator, and VP

That's all I can think of for now. NEXT!...

[eleny]

32. thanks!

i was hoping to learn which ones who were generals also never held office prior to the presidency. washington, jackson and grant are probably three out of the 10.

[dfong63]

40. washington and jackson did have prior political experience

... before running for president.

if you're looking for generals who became president with no political track record, i think the answer is Taylor, Grant, and Eisenhower. the only one in the last 100 years is Eisenhower.

you can read short bios on all the presidents at the white house presidential history page.

[maha]

53. And only two were West Point graduates

-- Grant and Eisenhower.

You are correct that the three generals who went into the White House without having held prior elective office were Taylor, Grant, and Eisenhower.

Someone else already posted this link, but here's a little info on the three --

http://www.mahablog.com/2003.09.14_arch.html#1063725626338

[chiburb]

44. Your answers here:

There have been three presidents who went from a military career into the White House without having held any other elected office. They were Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight Eisenhower -- a mixed bag. But each man had some good qualities that we could use now.

Read more here (scroll down to yesterday):http://www.mahablog.com/

[SaintLouisBlues]

27. More than 20 percent of our Presidents have been Generals?

I did not know that.

[eleny]

34. makes a great talking point, huh?

[dfong63]

36. an even higher percentage were governors

... and if you add in senators, VP's, and other political offices, it is clear that the nation elects "politicians" a lot more often than "generals".

[SaintLouisBlues]

41. But that we all know

Great grasp of the obvious

[dfong63]

67. an obvious fact that a lot of people try to ignore

[dfong63]

33. only a few were generals who had NO prior political experience

in the case of Gen Washington, he did have a prior political track record. he had served in the VA house of burgesses, and was active in the continental congress politics of the day, BEFORE becoming commander in chief of the fledgeling revolutionary forces, and of course BEFORE becoming President. the Clarkies tend to overlook that. Washington didn't just take off his uniform and then announce he was running for president.

another case cited by Clark supporters is Gen Grant. Grant indeed came straight out of the military and into the white house. but Grant was one of the worst presidents in US history.

Clark's supporters also like to compare him to Ike. but Clark is not in Ike's league. Ike's war was a titanic worldwide struggle that lasted half a decade. people could genuinely feel that our survival was at risk. in contrast, Clark's war was a turkey shoot, against an enemy that was never a threat to our country.

[eleny]

35. Grant was a Republican, right?

Hee-hee! :kick:

[maha]

57. In those days, Republicans were the good guys.

Among other things, Grant supported and signed the 14th and 15th Amendments.

[SaintLouisBlues]

38. Obviously WWII not comparable to Serbia

So if Clark had fought WWIII, then Ike wouldn't be in Clark's league?

I'll evaluate the man, not the war, before deciding who's in who's league.

[dfong63]

46. there's not much else to evaluate

So if Clark had fought WWIII, then Ike wouldn't be in Clark's league? I'll evaluate the man, not the war, before deciding who's in who's league.

since the Clark supporters love to trot out Ike as their example of how a politically inexperienced general can win, it is perfectly appropriate to compare their respective military accomplishments as a way of "evaluating" the men. there's not much else to evaluate in Clark, after all. Clark is a career military man whose "greatest" accomplishment was his conduct of the NATO forces in the Kosovo war. Ike was a career military man whose greatest was his conduct of allied forces in WWII. the scale of Ike's accomplishment is orders of magnitude greater than Clark's.

[eleny]

50. Interesting that when we evaluate Clark...

we bring up Ike. But what about Bush? Who did he have to measure up to during his campaign? The Rove mystery magical machine was sure humming.

[dfong63]

55. clark is running for political office, with no political experience

Shrub did have at least some political experience. thin as it was, it was more than Clark has. and i don't think we should be competing with the repubs to see who can nominate the least-qualified candidate.

[SaintLouisBlues]

51. Yes, not much to evaluate yet

That's why I'll wait to make up my mind as the campaign unfolds. I won't make up my mind on who fought what war.

[chiburb]

54. "Grant was one of the worst presidents in US history."

? Please see posts 43 and 48 for partial debunking of Grant myths. See this for details:

(Scroll down to yesterday) http://www.mahablog.com/

[maha]

62. Grant was ahead of his time, actually.

Grant got a bad rap from late 19th and early 20th century historians because he actually supported civil rights for African Americans, to the point of sending troops to hunt down and eradicate the original Ku Klux Klan (it was resurrected from scratch later). He also did such outrageous things as send troops (often African American troops) to protect freedmen on election day so they could vote without getting killed. Other white people of his day thought he was going way too far with the Reconstruction thing, but the more you learn about it, the more you see that Grant was right.

Historians these days are re-evaluating Grant and have moved him from the bottom of "good Presidents" lists to somewhere in the middle.

[Hubert Flottz]

37. Add General GW Bushwaah!

He's a General F??? UP!

EDIT}}} Also a Major malfunction and Clusterflopp!

[DemNoir]

42. Well i never!

Have seen so many sweeping generalities in a single thread!

[tom_paine]

52. James Garfield, I believe was a Union General

Not a senior one, he was too young, but in the end I think he made Brigadier. Going right now to Google it...

Yep. Here's a link to the Imperial.bushevik website:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jg20.html

[Octafish]

58. Sure. General Motors. General Electric. General Dynamics...

System General Corporation
Intermagnetics General Corporation
American General Life
Dollar General Corporation
MicroVote General Corporation.
There are others...

[jeter]

61. All the Generals I can think of:

General George Washington, Revolutionary War.
Was Madison a General?
General Andrew Jackson, War of 1812.
General William "Old Tippecanoe" Harrison, War of 1812
General Ulysis S. Grant, Civil War.
General Rutherford B. Hayes, Civil War.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, World War II.

Who am I missing?

[chiburb]

70. If you read the thread...

You'd see the answer.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

71. must be derek

I understand he's not too swift. Of course, I'm a Red Sox fan. :)