Every person who has served as commander in chief since President Harry S. Truman earned a college degree before entering politics.
Since President Truman served two terms from 1945 to 1953, the United States has not had a head of state who did not attend college. President Truman was the eldest son of a Missouri family and was raised by livestock traders and farmers. After graduating from Independence High School in 1901, he briefly attended Spalding Commercial College, a business school in Kansas City, for one year before dropping out.
World War I broke out when Truman was 33 years old. Truman joined the Army more than a decade ago, in 1905, after enlisting in the Missouri National Guard. After the war, Truman used his military and local Missouri connections to launch a political career. Truman represented his home state in the Senate from 1935 to 1945 before being appointed vice president by President Franklin Delors Roosevelt.
Which universities did the past five US presidents attend?
President Joe Biden is the first president in decades to earn a degree in history and political science from the University of Delaware without attending an Ivy League university.
Both Donald Trump and Barack Obama were transfer students during their undergraduate years. Mr. Trump spent two years at Fordham University before transferring to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, while Mr. Obama studied at Occidental College and then transferred to Columbia University. Mr. Obama later attended Harvard Law School and was a member of the Harvard Law Review.
Under President Biden, we’re seeing historic growth, including investment in high-paying jobs that don’t require a college degree. pic.twitter.com/UjK9D5zwww
— CAP Action (@CAPAction) April 8, 2024
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George W. Bush received a BA in Art History from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
After completing his studies at Georgetown University, Bill Clinton pursued a J.D. from Yale Law School.
