AH Challange: More Presidents serve Elected Office after Presidency

IOTL I can think of only 2 US presidents that served elected office after their term as president. John Quincy Adams served in the House of Representatives after his presidency, and Andrew Johnson served in the Senate after his presidency.

Are there more that we don't hear about?

The only connection I can make about these two is that they only served one term in the Presidency. So is that the key to having a president serve other elected offices after their term is to have them win only 1 term?
 
In John Quincy Adams' case, he probably needed something to do, and perhaps had a sense of unifished business.

I think John Adams might have considered it if one son hadn't died. But, JQA was early enough in U.S. history that you'd think it might hve set a precedent, too; so, I don't think jsut the dad doing it as well would do it.

Having time would help, too. Four of our first six had at least 17 years from the end of their Presidencies till their death, so if 2-3 can start a precedent, maybe others would follow. A Van Buren in the Senate alerting people of the dangers of the slavocracy would be interesting, and he could be said to follow in John Quincy Adams' footsteps, if he runs for that instead of the Presidency in 1844 (or instead of witht he Free Soilers in 1848.0 Which would also fall into the "unfinished business" area.
 
IOTL I can think of only 2 US presidents that served elected office after their term as president. John Quincy Adams served in the House of Representatives after his presidency, and Andrew Johnson served in the Senate after his presidency.

Are there more that we don't hear about?

The only connection I can make about these two is that they only served one term in the Presidency. So is that the key to having a president serve other elected offices after their term is to have them win only 1 term?
One termer John Tyler was elected, but died before he could serve, to the Confederate House of Representatives. He was a delegate to the provisional Congress, tho.
 
I think one issue is that in the Pre-Roosevelt years parties were willing to sacrifice their nominees more often. So guys like Pierce, Hayes and Arthur won't have the prestige to run for major office again. Add in the guys that are really old and there is a very small number of possibilities.

While in the post-TR years the problem is the fact that major office is sort of a letdown after being President of the United States.
 
Perhaps if something had made George Washington to run for senate after his two terms, others would have followed in suit. Maybe he felt like he still needed to help shape the country. For a while the only thing stopping presidents from going for more terms was the fact that Washington only did two.
 
Something would really need Washington change his mind and come back to politics from a quiet and happy retirement as gentleman farmer. He barely wanted to serve a second term.
 
Something would really need Washington change his mind and come back to politics from a quiet and happy retirement as gentleman farmer. He barely wanted to serve a second term.

Whether or not he wanted to, he might just have a sense of duty to the country he helped create and wanted to make sure it turns out alright.
 
The one term thing is probably because one term is about all a person can bear. More than that is likely to burn you out, or at the least make you awfully tired of politics.

There is also the age factor. US presidents tend to be quite old when they get elected. Everyone has to retire at some point (or die, I suppose).
 
If Washington serves one term as President and then bows out, taking up as a Senator would start an interesting precedent.
 
What about something way smaller? There was that Gene Hackman and Ray Romano movie where ex-president retired to a small town and ran for mayor.
 
What about something way smaller? There was that Gene Hackman and Ray Romano movie where ex-president retired to a small town and ran for mayor.
How about Jerry Brown? Say Ford wins in 1976, and Jerry Brown beats him in 1980, then after serving two terms goes on to become Mayor of Oakland like OTL(and perhaps Governor of California again after that). He'd have Reagan-like levels of prestige so they'd be his for the taking upon request. Though I do wonder if such prestige would be an advantage(due to experience and respect) or a disadvantage(due to politicians whose cooperation he required resenting his stealing the limelight from a new generation).
 
I think it is much easier to be a career politician these days than in the 19th and early 20th century. Most of the men of the earlier generations consider it their duty to serve and represent. Now it is practically a job that provides little retirement skills other than being a lobbyist for a special interest group.
 
Taft/Nixon in '52, I could see Nixon doing a lot of things after '60.

Chief Justice Truman :cool: is the only thing I could see him doing, but that's not elected office

I could see Mario Cuomo running for Senate or something when he's done, just avoid Clinton (Bill doesn't seem the Senate type). Same with Ted Kennedy, though RFK seems more of a Governor type.

The two Roosevelts could always become President again, and TR nearly did. I can see FDR as an influential party elder who becomes Governor of New York again perhaps.
 
Why not build it into the Constitution? You could have a system where ex-Presidents (barring those removed due to impeachment) are made senators for life - not representing any particular state, but instead representing the national interest as statesmen. I'm almost positive I've heard of this system somewhere, but I'm not sure where.
To be fair, that's technically not elected office, but hey.
 
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