Before They Were Presidents Series
The Quarter Roll Financial
Entertainment Magazine is happy to bring you our Before They
Were Presidents Series. This page will take you to lots of stories and
facts about the Presidents before they went to the White House. You will
learn that it is very true that in America anyone can become President.
Our Presidents have been homeless, sickly, and jobless. Our Presidents
have been wealthy, connected, and held prestigious jobs. Some had no
children. One had 15 children. Some died in office. Some lived into
their 90s. Some taught themselves a trade. Some future Presidents went
to Ivy League colleges. They all had interesting stories to tell and you
will find many of them right here. |
 Can
I Borrow Money?
President-elect Washington was the
wealthiest man in America when he was elected, but he had to borrow
money from a neighbor in order to travel to his own inauguration. |
 Sportscaster
Reagan was a sports broadcaster at the
University of Iowa, where he was paid $10 per game. |
 Bar
Fight
A
drunk bar patron armed with two pistols once called Theodore Roosevelt
"4 Eyes". Find out why this was a big mistake. |
 Inventor
Abraham Lincoln is the only president to
receive a patent. He also received a saloon license to dispense liquor
in Springfield, Illinois, but he never used it. |
 Accomplished
Musician
Find out what musical instruments John Tyler
played, but gave up to pursue his new passion. |
 Behind
the pulpit?
No, James Madison gave up on his ideas of becoming
a preacher and aggressively pursued politics as a young man.
|
 Sports
Team Owner
Was it George Bush's time as a stickball champ and
cheerleader that prepped him for sport team ownership? |
 Need
A New Suit?
At the age of 14 Johnson started training as a
tailor, a skill he continued to use even as
a politician. |
|
 The Looker
Franklin Pierce may have been known for good
looks, but here is why he was a "town meeting moderator". |
 Football Scholarship
National Signing Day
happens in February, and here is another college student who used
football to pay for college. |
 Rare Club
Martin Van Buren is in a rare sub group of
Presidents who did not go to college. So, how did he become an
attorney? |
 Prisoner
of War
Want to guess how young Andrew Jackson was when he was held as a
prisoner of war? Hint: guess low! |
|
 Salesman
In 1925 Truman lost his reelection bid and
took a job selling AAA automobile club memberships for $15.00
each. |
 Electric
Bills
Not only was the Carter family fortunate enough to
have one light bulb in their home, but their electricity bill was
$10.00! |
 Budgeting
“I came to Congress with $10,000.00 in assets and
a law firm worth $10,000.00. Now I have neither.” |
 Newspaper
Writer
This hardworking newspaper man went to the
inventor of corn flakes for relaxation and health maintenance. |
 Will
You Marry Me?
Johnson and his wife, Claudia "Lady Bird" Alta Taylor, were married
with a $2.50 wedding ring bought at Sears Roebuck. |
 Canal
Boy
Garfield's first job lasted six weeks on the Ohio canal boats,
during which time he fell overboard 14 times, finally catching such a
fever that he had to return home. |
 Gambler
Nixon won around $6,000.00 in poker games, which he used to fund
his first congressional campaign. |
 Paying
Rent
Adams agreed to pay his boss
$100.00 per month plus a fee for his room and board. |
 Reporter
William Taft was so good at reporting the news
from the courts that he was offered the large sum of $25 a week to
keep doing it. |
 Read
Your Palm?
During his second honeymoon with Eleanor, a
French fortune teller told him he would become President some day! |
 Grades
Why would a nun give this incredibly bright student a "D" on his
report card? |
 Searching For Gold
This geologist was searching for gold when
Hoover was promoted to mining manager at the age of 23. |
 Lieutenant
After 6 stellar years of military service
during the Revolution, this solider received perhaps the best
letter of recommendation from a boss in history! |
 Apprentice
At the age of 14, Fillmore’s dad “apprenticed” him (it was
indentured servitude) to a cloth maker in New Hope, NY. |
 Negotiator
Ulysses Grant's first lesson in business negotiations didn't go
exactly as planned. |
 Ice
Cream
Vanilla, mint chip and rocky road! These may
have been some of Barack Obama's favorite flavors when he was
making ice cream cones at his summer job! |
 Tuition
Bill
Since Calvin Coolidge was from out of town, guess
how many quarters he had to pay for his high school tuition? |
 Debtor
In March of 1786
Jefferson was struggling to pay his personal debts and the debts he
inherited when his father in law died. |
 Shuffling
Paperwork
Ever feel like the amount of paperwork at your job
is overwhelming? Paperwork is what got James Polk involved in stellar
political career. |
 Translator
There were very few translators
who spoke French when John Quincy Adams was a teen so guess what he got
to do! |
 Working
With Mud
John Kennedy's first job was far from glamorous and he certainly
didn't clean up with a large paycheck either! |
 Estate
Planning
William Harrison's father's will left his entire estate to
William's older brother. With no inheritance Harrison joined the
military. |
 Bachelor
In
1819 his fiancée died. That trauma made Buchanan vow he would never
marry. |
 Public
Defender
Using his natural charm and his elite training, he
defended society's outcasts, often managing to save them
from the gallows. |
 Elegant
Arthur
Chester Arthur was nicknamed "Elegant Arthur" for
his fashion sense. He had quite a wardrobe: 80 pairs of pants. |
 Highly
Paid Hangman
In 1863 Cleveland was 32 years old and received a
well paying sheriff's position in Buffalo County, where he personally
hanged two convicted murderers. |
 Second
Job
During tough times
Benjamin Harrison took
a
second job as the town's court crier for $2.50 a
day. |
 College
Professor
Many considered Woodrow Wilson to be an
intellectual, however, most didn't realize he was dyslexic and didn't
learn the alphabet until he was 9 and couldn't read until he was 11.
|
 Military
Scholarship
Unable to pay for college, Eisenhower
applied to West
Point because he was told military colleges were free. |
 Poor
Student
One of 6 Presidents born in a log cabin, Taylor's
writing, spelling, and grammar were crude and unrefined throughout his
life, but he had a stellar military career. |
 Oil
Executive
After being turned down by Proctor and
Gamble Bush got a entry level clerking job at a oil drilling company
based in Texas and was paid $375.00 per month. |
-Rich Presidents
-History of Presidential cars
-44 facts you didn't know about the
Presidents |
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