For only the second time in our country's history, the son of a former president has himself been elected president. Is there something in the presidential gene pool that propels the sons of chief executives into the political fray? Or is it just the learning experiences, connections, and family name that give them an advantage? More of the latter than the former, probably, but surprisingly few presidential "sons of fortune" toss their hat into the political ring. Of almost 90 boys born to presidents, we've found only 18 that have held political office.
(The list below may not be complete, but should be pretty close! Feel free to send in additions, corrections, or updates.)
John Quincy Adams
son of President
John Adams |
1794-1797: minister to the Netherlands
1797-1801: minister to Prussia
1802: MA Senate
1803-1808: US Senate (MA)
1809-1814: minister to Russia
1815-1817: minister to Great Britain
1817-1825: US Secretary of State
1825-1829: US President
1831-1848: US House (MA)
1834: candidate MA Governor |
Charles Francis Adams
son of President
John Quincy Adams |
1831: MA House
1834-1840: MA Senate
1848: candidate US Vice President (Free Soil)
1859-1861: US House (MA)
1861-1868: minister to Great Britain
1876: candidate MA Governor
|
John Van Buren
son of President
Martin Van Buren |
1845-1847: NY Attorney General
1848: proposed candidate US President (Free Soil)
------(declined in favor of his father's nomination) |
John Scott Harrison
son of President
William Henry Harrison |
1853-1857: US House (OH)
1856: proposed candidate US President (Whig)
------(declined to run) |
David Gardiner Tyler
son of President
John Tyler |
1891-1892: VA Senate
1893-1897: US House (VA)
1900-1904: VA Senate
1904-1927: VA state court judge
|
Robert Todd Lincoln
son of President
Abraham Lincoln |
1881-1885: US Secretary of War
1884, 1888: candidate for nominataion US President (Republican)
1889-1893: minister to Great Britain |
Frederick Dent Grant
son of President
Ulysses S. Grant |
1887: candidate IL Secretary of State
1889-1893: minister to Austria-Hungary |
James Webb Cook Hayes
son of President
Rutherford B. Hayes |
?: OH Legislature |
James Rudolph Garfield
son of President
James Garfield |
1896-1899: OH Senate
1907-1909: US Secretary of the Interior |
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
son of President
Theodore Roosevelt |
1920-1921: NY Legislature
1924: candidate NY Governor |
Robert Alphonso Taft
son of President
William Howard Taft |
1921-1926: OH House (1926-Speaker)
1931-1932: OH Senate
1939-1953: US Senate (OH)
1940, 1944, 1952:candidate for nominataion US President (Republican) |
Charles Phelps Taft II
son of President
William Howard Taft |
1952: candidate OH Governor
1955-1957: Cincinnati OH Mayor |
Herbert Clark Hoover, Jr.
son of President
Herbert Hoover |
mid-late 1950's?: Undersecretary of State |
James Roosevelt
son of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
1950: candidate CA Governor
1955-1965: US House (CA)
1965: candidate for nominataion Los Angeles CA Mayor (Democratic) |
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr.
son of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
1949-1955: US House (NY)
1954: candidate NY Attorney General
1963-1965: Undersecretary of Commerce
1966: candidate NY Governor |
John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower
son of President
Dwight D. Eisenhower |
1969-1971: ambassador to Belgium |
George Walker Bush
son of President
George Bush |
1995-2000: TX Governor
2001-present: US President |
John Ellis Bush
son of President
George Bush |
1994: candidate FL Governor
1999-present: FL Governor |
