The National tribune., 1904-06-16
PREVIOUS osecus1rY OF PRESIDENTS.

i
distinguished careers of some of the pres
ent candidates for nomination for the Pres
idency. Most Of the Presidents of the
United States have not been particularly
distinguished before they entered upon that
| high office.
Washington was. of course, the foremost
man in the country at the time Of his cleo
ton. and John Adams, confessedly the
| leading man of the .Federals. as Jefferson
was of the Republicans. prior to nomina
| ton and election. Both had been very
| prominent in the public service for many
years. and had been sent abroad. besides
holding important Offices at home. The
Monroe had been much less conspicuous.
He was Colonel in the Revolutionary
| War. but it was felt that there was con-
siderable lowering in grade from his prede
| cessors when he was elected
John Quicy Adams. whose election came
about by scratch, was very brilliant
| man of the highest talents for making enc
mics. His competitors, who had been sup
posed to have better chances than he, were
not at the time men Of much distinction.
Gen. Jackson. while he had much local
reputation in the Southwest. was regarded
| by many of the ablest men in the country
as wholly untitled for the Presidency by
| character and previous training. He was
generally thought to be rude, unlettered,
hot-tempered, rough-and-ready fighter, who
| would carry into the Presidential chair the
manners and methods of the racetracks> and
militia camps of the Southwest. He be-
came one of the most distinguished Of our
Presidents
Van Buren, had great National promi
nence before he was elected, but his success
sor, William III. Harrison, was a clerk of
| a County Court, and owed all his reputa-
| ton to the winning of couple of small
battles.
His successor. John Tyler, was quite OBJ
scure.
Capt. Polk, his successor, was so un-
| known that his nomina ton was regarded
as a great joke for a while.
Zachary Taylor had spent his life in the
| Regular Army, but was not at all well
known to the country until his victories
at Buena Vista and Monterey gave him a
National reputation.
Fillmore had been an Industrious and
faithful Representative in Congress and
had made sufficient reputati ton to make him
available as candidate for Vice-President.
Franklin Pierce was the most obscure
of all. He had attracted the notice of
previous Democratic Administrations by
his Southern views" in opposition to the
majority of New England Democrats, and
this had brought to him the offer of several
minor positions., AZ last he accepted the
Colonelcy of one Of the regiments for the
Mexican war, but the most notable thing
about his military career was the falling
from his horse in the two battles in which
he participated, Yet in the Democratic
Convention of 1852 he easily beat such
distinguished politicians as James Buchan-
an, Lewis Cass, W., L. Marcy, and Stephen
A. Douglas, and was elected by 254 votes to
AZ for Winfield Scott.
James Buchanan had brilliant public
career before he finally succeeded in gain
ing the nomination for President.
Abraham Lincoln had been Represen-
tative in Congress, and gained the reputa-
ton which gave him the nomination, by
his electrifying speeches in the joint debate
with Stephen A. Douglas.
Gen.. Grant, Of course was the foremost
| soldier in the country, but his selection was
as strongly opposed as Lincoln's had been
! by the supporters Of such statesmen as
Seward. Chase and others, who insisted
that experience in political life was essen
tial to Presidential candidate.
r. B. Hayes had been member of Con-
gress, and Governor Of Ohio, when he beat
| for the nomination q galaxy of distin-
guished men.
James A. Garfield, while very able and
eloquent man, was hardly regarded as a
Presidential possibility when he entered the
Convention.
| Chester A. Arthur was estimated as
| New York politician, merely, and received
the nomination for vice-President Oh ac-
count of his carrying New York.
| Grover Cleveland had been one of the
most obscure of politicians and owed his
nomination to the fact that the disgruntle-
ment of the Republicans Of New York had
given him phenomenal majority for Gov
ernOr.
Benjamin Harrison had had service in
the United States Senate, and had been a
good brigade commander in the army His
nomination was the result Of an irrepress-
ible conflict between more distinguished
candidates.
Maj. William Mckinley owed his nom
ination to his thorough, effective work as
Chairman of the House Ways and Means
Committee. in the interests of Protection
Theodore Roosevelt had been consider
ably in the public eye as Civil Service Com
missioner. Police Commissioner of New
York, Assistant Secretary of the Navy,
Colonel Of a regiment, and Governor Of
New York, none Of which, however, seemed
to lead in the direction Of the White House
| William J. Bryan was the most obscure
man that was ever seriously thought of for
the Presidency. Prior to his nomination
he had been mediocre lawyer in Nebraska
and an inconspicuous member Of the House
of Representatives. Z,