Presidential States

If someone were to ask "Which president was born in Illinois?" most people would answer, "Abraham Lincoln."  Illinois is known as the Land of Lincoln, after all.  Wrong.  The correct answer is Ronald Reagan.  Often times, the state where the president rose to political prominence is not the state in which they were born.  Interestingly, some states have produced a lot more presidents than others.  With only 13 states in the beginning, the selection was limited, but even with 50, fewer than half have produced a president.

Virginia tops the list in producing presidents.  Eight presidents were born in this state: George Washington (1), Thomas Jefferson (3), James Madison (4), James Monroe (5), William Henry Harrison (9), John Tyler (10), Zachary Taylor (12), and Woodrow Wilson (28).  William Henry Harrison rose to prominence in the west - which was Indiana Territory - before being elected president.  Zachary Taylor's family moved to Kentucky in his childhood, but he spent his life along the frontiers in the Army.  Woodrow Wilson's political career was in New Jersey though he sympathized with the South.

Ohio is the second ranked state for presidents.  Seven presidents were born in Ohio: Ulysses S Grant (18), Rutherford B Hayes (19), James Garfield (20), Benjamin Harrison (23), William McKinley (25), William Howard Taft (27), and Warren G Harding (29).  Of particular note, every president elected from 1868 to 1900 was from Ohio, with the sole exception being Cleveland.

New York rounds out the top three for presidential birth states: Martin Van Buren (8), Millard Filmore (13), Theodore Roosevelt (26), Franklin Delano Roosevelt (32), and Donald Trump (45).  Each of these men made it there so they could make it anywhere.

Massachusetts is fourth with four: John Adams (2), John Quincy Adams (6), John F Kennedy (35), and George HW Bush (41) were born in the Bay State.  It looks like John is the name to have if you want to be president from here.  Seeing the John pattern, George moved to Texas and started his political career there.

North Carolina produced three presidents.  Probably.  Andrew Jackson (7) was born somewhere along the border of North Carolina and South Carolina, so perhaps North Carolina should only get a half credit for him.  James Knox Polk (11) and Andrew Johnson (17) were born in North Carolina.  It is noteworthy that all three of these men rose to prominence in Tennessee, two of them serving as governors of the state.

There is a 3-way tie next: Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Texas

Pennsylvania is the birthplace of both James Buchanan (15) and Joseph Biden (46).  Buchanan began politicking in the state and served as a Representative and a Senator from Pennsylvania before becoming Secretary of State for Polk.  Joseph Biden was born in the state but his family relocated to Delaware when he was 10.  His political career has ever since been tied to the First State.

Vermont may have been the birthplace, but neither made a name for himself as Bernie Sanders has.  Chester Arthur (21) was born in Vermont but rose to prominence in New York.  Calvin "Silent Cal" Coolidge (30) was also born in Vermont, but his political career is all Massachusetts.

Texas has produced two presidents, and one is not who you might think.  Dwight Eisenhower (34) was born in Texas but his family moved to Kansas when he was 2 years old.  Eisenhower considered himself to be a Kansan, not a Texan.  Lyndon Johnson (36) was elected to the House of Representatives in 1936 and became a senator in 1949.  He was Texas through and through.

The remaining states all produced only one president each.

New Hampshire: Franklin Pierce (14)

Kentucky: Abraham Lincoln (16) was born here but his family moved to Indiana while he was a boy.  He moved to the Land of Lincoln as an adult.

New Jersey: Grover Cleveland (22 & 24) was 13 when the family moved to New York, where he eventually entered politics.

Iowa: Herbert Hoover (31) was a mining engineer who earned several appointive offices during World War I and its aftermath.  His first elective office was the presidency.

Missouri: Harry Truman (33) is just the kind of man who would come from the Show Me State.

California: Richard Nixon (37)

Nebraska: Gerald Ford (38) was born in Omaha but relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, as an infant.

Georgia: Jimmy Carter (39)

Illinois: Ronald Reagan (40) grew up in Illinois before moving to Iowa to do radio.  While on the road in California, he got an acting contract.  From Bedtime for Bonzo to California Governor and then the White House.

Arkansas: Bill Clinton (42)

Connecticut: George W Bush (43) moved to Texas as a boy, but was educated in New England.  After Yale and Harvard, he returned to Texas and eventually politics.

Hawaii: Barack Obama (44) was born in Hawaii?  Well, that's what the birth certificate shows.  :)

Just 20 states have produced the 45 presidents.  Of course, many of these had little to do with their state of birth, building careers elsewhere.  Both Lincoln and Obama should be counted for Illinois, the Bushes for Texas, Reagan for California, and so on.  I may just do that in another blog.