America, where any boy can grow up to become president...
So you're probably wondering "what can i be when I grow up? Can I be President of the United States of America?" Not without a lot of fighting for democracy.
Here are the economic conditions of every US president. Note that once elected they live in the White House, a mansion which quickly makes any
non-upper-class person quickly forget what it's like for the average citizen.
- Washington: Great Grandfather was in Virginia's Royal Council. Father owned 10,000 acres and 49 slaves.
- Adams: Mother was a Boylston. Father practically owned the town of braintree.
- Jefferson: Descendant of a speaker of the house of Burgesses. Father owned thousands of acres of Virginia and was a member of the colonial legislature.
- Madison: Father owned 5000 acres and 100+ slaves.
- Monroe: Ancestor a member of the house of burgesses, raised by uncle, who served as the King's attorney and was a member of the state legislature.
- Adams: Family as powerful as the Kennedies.
- Jackson: inherited 300 pounds at age 15.
- Buren: Father owned 5 slaves and a tavern.
- Harrison: Father was a member of the First Families of Virginia, and a legislator in the house of burgesses, and inherited six plantations.
- Tyler: Another FFV member, he was raised on a 40 slave, 1200 acre plantation. Father was governor of Virginia.
- Polk: Father invested 40,000 dollars in a steamboat, and was a prosperous planter.
- Taylor: Mayflower descendant. Raised on a ~24 slave, 10,000 acre plantation.
- Pierce: Father was a revolutionary war general and governor of New Hampsire.
- Buchanan: raised on 300 acre estate.
- Lincoln: Father was among the richest 15% of taxpayers in his community.
- Johnson: Born poor - once in the White house he would forget fast enough
- Grant: Father was the richest man in his town
- Haynes: Uncle was a partner in the largest merchandising house in Cleveland
- Garfield: Family claimed to be poor, yet was always well fed and never took charity
- Arthur: Father graduated from college (At that time, a rare thing)
- Cleveland: Father graduated from Yale. Raised by uncle, among the richest men in Buffalo.
- Harrison: Grandson of the previous Harrison - whos father inherited 6 plantations etc.
- McKinley: Father was a successful manufacturer
- Roosevelt: Father inherited a million dollars. Member of New York aristocracy for simply being born.
- Taft: Father inherited 100,000 dollars, became attorney general.
- Wilson: Father a Princeton graduate. Raised in a brick house with stables and a garden.
- Harding: Grandfather built the largest house in his community
- Coolidge: Father was on the board of directors of a bank
- Hoover: Brought up by uncle, head of an academy.
- Roosevelt: Descendant of above Roosevelt.
- Truman: Mother inherited a 150,000 dollar farm
- Eisenhower: Father got a 160 acre farm as a wedding gift.
- Kennedy: Father was worth ~200,000$
- Johnson: Father a state legislature
- Nixon: father owned a gas station
- Ford: stepfather owned a successful paint business
- Carter: Father ran a successful farm and was a member of the state legislature. [Edward Pessen The log cabin myth (1984)]
- Reagen: Famous Hollywood Actor
- Clinton: Single mother in poverty. Pulled himself up by his bootstraps, which republicans will never forgive. Never before has so great a man been hated so much by so few.
- King George the Second: never worked a day in his life, got to go Absent With-Out Leave from the National Guard. Inherited presidency without needing to even win an election.
And for runner ups, let's not forget Forbes, who got so much money from his daddy he pays for his own election campaigns!
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