How many secretary of states became president

After Buchanan, the only president to be elected with substantial diplomatic credentials was George H. Bush, a former U. Secretaries of State, for that matter, were often selected from outside the legislature; prior to Clinton, the last senator to take on the cabinet role was Edmund Muskie in It used to be in the early republic that having your time in Paris was a big credential for president.

Indeed, the White House cabinet room may be one of the worst springboards to the presidency overall. Besides the six diplomats, only former secretary of war William Howard Taft and former commerce secretary Herbert Hoover have made the jump to the Oval Office. Taft would also be confirmed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after his presidency.

However, losing a presidential campaign-- or two or three -- is a time-tested route to the secretariat. In the late 19th century, Maine Republican James Blaine would intersperse two separate terms as secretary of state with three failed runs for president. As several Cabinet members resigned, he appointed northerners, and sent the Star of the West to carry reinforcements to Fort Sumter. On January 9, , the vessel was far away. Buchanan reverted to a policy of inactivity that continued until he left office.

In March he retired to his Pennsylvania home Wheatland—where he died seven years later—leaving his successor to resolve the frightful issue facing the Nation. The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse. Copyright by the White House Historical Association. We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better.

You have JavaScript disabled. Please enable JavaScript to use this feature. Toggle High Contrast. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James Garfield Chester A. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights.

Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Robert McNamara. History Expert. Robert J. McNamara is a history expert and former magazine journalist. He was Amazon. Updated January 23, On the other hand, it would probably be easier for Clinton to extricate herself from an un popular Obama had she avoided serving in his Cabinet. Nate Silver is the founder and editor in chief of FiveThirtyEight.

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