One thing I noticed is that the horizontal timeline is quite broad which doesn't give the viewer much information, outside of the last dots in each row. Why couldn't this graph have been made interactive? Does it include the presidents who assumed office after the death fo their predecessors? possible title could be Past vs Present: How does experience affect elect-ability?
I noticed that I've never seen this graph, as it is a modified bar graph. I see that a lot of people noticed that no mayors have been elected president, and I can only wonder why.
I noticed that there hasn't been a mayor to become president which gets me thinking why that is. Do they tend to not run for office very often?
The graph shows presidents with no government or military experience and there is only one. Why is militrary experience important.
@JAOSN ROYO I too, wonder why military experience is important, maybe so as president you know what it feels like to be a member of the military so you make the choices that will benefit them in all ways.
1) One thing I noticed is that the horizontal timeline is quite broad which doesn't give the viewer much information, outside of the last dots in each row.
2) Why couldn't this graph have been made interactive? Does it include the presidents who assumed office after the death fo their predecessors?
3) possible title: Past vs Present: How does experience affect electability?
1
Why are there more people with no political experience running than before?
That puts two more dots on the "no political experience" line, while there hasn't been a single Mayor or a Military/General officer in recent years? Those seem like more qualifying jobs so it's interesting to see the US's interests shift.
This graph points out the lack of experience Donald Trump has. In my opinion this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Yes, the experience helps with understanding how things go in the office, but the fresh eyes could be a good thing. There is a lot of corruption in the political world that can cause presidents to be afraid of offending anyone and sugar coat things. In life sugarcoating can only lead to false hope. There have been many successful presidents that have had years of experience in different positions but the economic stance that Trump has these have lacked. He was able to beat out a women with years of experience, even being the first lady. It will be interesting to see what more comes from this lack of experience with Trump's next term.
Donald Trump is a maverick among presidents. This is a fact. Regardless of their political beliefs, everyone can agree that the country has never seen anyone like him before. He is a businessman at trade who’s net worth exceeds $3 billion. He made his fortune in real estate and the television industry. Politically, he is a moderately extreme Republican who wants to put guns in American’s hands and jobs on American soil. His goal of his presidency is to install The Wall on the United States-Mexico border and put an end to illegal immigration.
The graph shows he hasn’t had any political or militaristic background before his presidency. He is a rookie in the political field but still managed to earn the presidency upon his first attempt at the job. He beat out Hillary Clinton who held many credentials: the former Secretary of State, former Senator of New York, and First Lady of the United States. Donald Trump is opening the way for a new generation of presidents, celebrities with followers to attest to their ‘greatness.’ Is the love from their fans enough to secure many more similar presidencies in the future? It is only a matter of time before we find out if lightning will strike twice on the White House.
I notice that the graph shows how many years that the president's were re-elected to become presidents again. The graph shows how many times, that the presidents would be electe again. I wonder why we had a lot of presidents in the past. ''Presidents We're Elected."
@Jared R. I think you chose a really interesting graph... It's a little confusing to interpret though... I don't think it's showing re-election to president, but rather what their highest position was before they were elected president. Nice job on the title. It capture the main message.
Donald Trump’s presidency has been unique in many ways. This graph brings attention specifically to his very commonly acknowledged lack of experience. America wanted someone different, and we got them. Trump was appealing to many ‘16 voters just for this reason. He was different and was ‘uncorrupted’ and hadn't had political journey’s and like the standard candidate would have had. This was viewed as a huge positive for many, and a major downfall for others.
I am wondering what will happen this election. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, if elected, will be the only president to hold a mayoral position before taking office. Andrew Yang, who is simply an entrepreneur, also has a chance at becoming the second president ever without any military or political experience.
Politics and the media change with society. Maybe our nation was looking for a clean slate, with Trump. But, will we desire the same thing in the next election? It will be interesting to see.
I noticed that usually governors and senators are elected for president. And I wonder why no mayors have been elected for president
I wonder why the mayor the mayor has never been elected
i notice that the Govenor has the most dots
I see that there are more governors and senators that other parts.
General officers are less likely to become president
I do think it is interesting about how trump our current president to have no experience in any thing. But there is always a first to have or do something.
I notice the names of the presidents on the right and the yellow dot is stop when they be a presidents. I wonder what is the other yellow dot. The graph show us the highest position. My headline is: Are tou wonder about highest position check this graph.
I notice that Trump is the only president without military . Also no govoners have been president.
I noticed that governor had the most dots. This shows that if you are running for president and have been a governor you extremely qualified and are likely to be elected.
@Sydney S. @Sydney S. I am afraid you may be reading this graph a little differently than it is intended. Just because the Governor tab has the most dots does not mean governors are extremely qualified to be the President of the United States of America. This chart only says that the most presidents held the political position of governor before they were elected into their presidency. Also, a job title does not make someone an extremely qualified presidential candidate. It is more a mindset and character that confirm a candidate is qualified.
I wonder if people will trust people who have a
Ready been in power more than people who haven’t and that’s why there’s only been one instance of a person becoming president without and government or military expertise.
I noticed that President a Trump is the first president with no military or government past, and found that really interesting. I began thinking that could be a reason why a lot of the things he is doing are questioned and the impeachment inquiries started. Just a thought, though.
I noticed that no mayors have ever been elected as president
I noticed that president bush has the most dots for governor. I also noticed that trump did not have any government or military experience and I think that is because he is a business man. I wonder why bush has the most dots.
I notice is that Obama is the most recent senator that has been elected. Also, why aren’t women apart of this, while men are. There are various categories that explain whom the last elected person was in each group/ category.
@Zoey
While your first fact is good the rest of your response is a little confusing. There are no women because its a list of presidents and the roles they have been in before taking office. There have been no female presidents in the past, while Hilary Clinton attempted there was no success. This graph I feel is more trying to point out the lack of experience president Trump has in his pocket.
WHAT DO I ____________ABOUT THIS GRAPH
NOTICE: I noticed that President Bush ran for President and Governer and he has the most dots for Governer.
WONDER: I wonder why there are multiple dots on Bush but not any other President. Why would this be?
I noticed that Bush ran for President and Governer and he has the most dots. I wonder what those dots mean or if they are the number of votes.
I see that President Bush has the most amount of dots and I want to know why that is. Also I flowed that most of them have some kind of time in office or military background before they are in office.
As you can see in this graph, trump is the only president that was not previously involved in the government he was only a business man.
@Sydney s Why would this be? Is there a reason for this or does he not want to help? This is just my opinion.
I notice that trump has the highest position, is it because he has experience, or a majority of people agree and support him. I think it’s because of the money. I wonder if there will be more high ranking positions as the years progress. This graph is showing who has the highest position in the U.S and U.S history. The headline should be, “ More Positions!”
@Evan I agree, I think that your headline idea would make people intrigued.
I see that governor has the most presidents, a question I have, is why does governor have more than senator.
I’ve that no mayor has continued to become president. I wonder why that is.
I wonder why no mayors have been elected for president.
I also see that there hasn’t been a house member as president in a while and it has very few dots.
Why were more people governor before becoming president than senator when senator is a higher position?
I see that the least popular category is mayor, but there is also only one person in the ‘no experience’ category which shows that we as a people prefer more experienced presidents. I wonder why there is also so few in the House member category.
According to the first graph, the time difference between the three presidents who started off as general officers are spaced apart. It seems as though previously politically involved candidates are more likely to assume the role of presidency than those who have more experience in the military.
I notice in this graph that Trump is the only president that didn’t serve in the government or the military before he became president. I wonder why he hasn’t been in the government or military and why none of the other presidents have ever been mayors. This graph is showing the presidents that have not been in the government or military, have been senator, been governor, have been Vice President, have been general officer, have been cabinet, house members, or mayors.
In this graph, it is showing how much political experience previous presidents have had in order to become president. The title gives it away. It shows that, for example, Obama has been a Senator for many years before coming president. Where as Trump has had no experience in government or military before becoming president of the United States. I wonder how accurate this graph is. The graph only shows one president per line, so does it mean that Eisenhower has been the only General Officer? This is just showing that President Trump has had no experience in government nor military before he became leader of the United States of America.
How well do you know your leader?
@Megan Comet
I really like your headline because it makes me think of another question, "Is knowing their leader well important to the American people?"
As far as general officers and the accuracy of the graph, look closely at the timeline across the top of the first graph. The first yellow dot of Eisenhower's line lines up with 1789. I bet you know the general officer that was president then.
I see that most of the presidents have been a governor. I wonder why none of them have been mayor.
I believe it is important to start from below, closer to the population before trying to rise to a higher position in government. The more experience and direct contact with the population the better the politician will be. I wonder if politicians who start high are less humble than those who start low, and end up being the worst people in power.
More experience, better chances?
My headline for this graph would be:
"Previous Occupations of US Presidents: Mayors Should Give Up Now"
From the 2 graphs, you can infer that there is no mayor. Also, Governor has the highest amount of the U.S President’s position
I see Bush (2000) has the most amount of orange dots. I wonder what the orange dots represent.
@Sam G I was wondering the same thing. I assume that they mean that many presidents before Bush had held that same title. The graph only shows the most recent president with that former occupation. This is an inference, though, and I don't know for sure if it's true or not.
As you can see, President Trump is the only president of our nation that had no prior military or government experience before entering office. He was simply a businessman.
I noticed that there are many presidents who throughout the years have been Governors and Senators, but why are presidents nowadays not house members before getting into presidency?
One thing I notice is that Donald Trump is the only president with no government or military experience prior to becoming president. I also notice, based on the graph, that most of the presidents were governors prior to becoming president. One thing I wonder is why hasn’t a mayor ever one the election, or has a mayor ever ran for president? I also wonder why the presidents who were general officers mainly spread out over time.
The graph shows previous experiences of presidents. The names you see are the most recent presidents with that specified experience. One thing I noticed is that it is quite rare for a president to have no political of military experience. Also, if you consider the fact that the last president to have experience being a Cabinet was a long time ago. It is also very common for a president to have been a governor if you look at how many dots are placed on that line.
The graph displays the current and previous presidents’ highest
position that involves the government. As you can see the President Donald J. Trump does not have any previous positions in the government considering he was a business man.
I noticed that none of the last 7 presidents were a mayor before they were elected for office, yet Donald Trump, with no experience in politics whatsoever, was elected president in 2016. What’s really worse, being a mayor, or having no experience. I wonder why no mayors have ever been elected.
I noticed that Trump was the only president with no political or military experience. I also noticed that two of the candidates for 2020 don’t have any political or military experiences. I wonder if having political or military experience have stopped affecting candidates over the years.
I noticed that Trump is the only president with no previous military or political experience, but two of the candidates for 2020 have no political or military experience. I noticed that no president has been a Mayor yet, but there are 3 candidates who are mayors running for the 2020 election. I also noticed that out of all previous jobs of presidents, most have been mayors.
I noticed that Trump has no military or government experience. There have been a lot of presidents who have been governer, and very few presidents have previously been house members. Many 2020 candidates have been senators. Also, no president had ever been mayor before. I wonder why not many presidents have been general officers and why there are no 2020 candidates that were general officers. I also wonder how Trump was elected if he has had no government or military experience. A title I would choose is Political Power!
I noticed that recently, no one had been a general officer before becoming president. Also, I noticed that there was a very short period in time where being a house member gave a good chance of being voted into office. I think it's odd that no former mayors have become presidents. I would have thought the opposite.
I was wondering what the other yellow dots were, and I'm pretty sure that they mean other candidates with those qualifications. Some more clarity would be appreciated.
I had noticed that trump has no experience in military or government, which is very strange since he is the president. somehow. It means he went from no government experience to being the president, seems very unlikely to me.
I noticed that President Trump is the only that has no government experience but bush in 1988 and 2000 combined he has 15 points witch is the most over the presidents that have been listed
I have noticed that Donald Trump is the only one of those Presidents that has no government or military knowledge, or experience. I really would have thought that one of those presidents was a Mayor before their Presidency.
What I noticed -
I noticed that our current president, Donald Trump, is the only president who has no previous government or military experience before becoming the president. I also noticed there is a great amount of presidents who were first governors. The second greatest amount of presidents were first either cabinet members or senators. I also noticed how there has been no president that was first a mayor which I though was very odd.
@Brigid
I also noticed the same thing about Donald Trump, I wonder why he was elected if he didn't have any experience. I also find it weird that no president was ever mayor first. Maybe it is possible that there was a president that had mayoral experience but gained presidency after the death or resignation of the former president.
While reading and understanding the graph I realized that if you are a senator you have the highest chance of becoming a president, though if you have experience of being a mayor, it is very likely that you won’t become a president. I believe this graph is very useful to those who would ever consider becoming a president because it presents jobs that will make their journey easier and possibly quicker.
I think that trump doesn’t need military experience, in my opinion,he needs to run the country good and that’s all that matters. Anyone , really can be president if you really use your brain,
I have noticed that you have a greater chance of becoming president if you were previously a senator or governor.
@Michael
I very much agree with what you said, but Donald Trump has still become President with no experience whatsoever.
@Michael
I noticed that as well, and it makes me wonder how that will play into the 2020 elections. Out of some of the candidates, 7 are senators and 3 are governers. I wonder if more people will vote for a senator or a governer.
There is a big gap in Vice Presidents who became presidents because many governors became presidents. This happened until a Vice President a couple years before Bush in 1952 became presidents.
I notice that Trump is the only person so far who hasn’t had any political or military experience before becoming president.
@Eli I had noticed that as well and I am very confused on that, you would think he at least has some political experience, but I guess not.
The presidential candidates were mostly senators or governors. 10 candidates were governors and 7 candidates were senators. Also most presidents had a military background. Since they have a political they make a good president. Only one of the presidents on the graph didn’t have any military background. President trump was the only president who didn’t participate in politics before he was president.
The graph is about what government or military positions the presidents held before the took office as president.
I notice that candidates are more likely to become president when they were previously or are governors or senators. I know this because 10 candidates were elected as presidents who previously were governors, and 7 were elected when they had been senators. I wonder why so many more senate members were elected versus House of Representatives members. I also wonder if the candidates’ past experiences influences people’s opinions and votes. This graph is showing the candidates for 2020’s past positions in the government and how this might help or hurt them in the election. Will the candidates of 2020 be affected by their past decisions for the spot of president?
@Sera W. I noticed and wondered about the same points that you mentioned. Great facts and great question!
I noticed that in this graph most presidents had some kind of government or military background. Since they have a lot of political experience, they make a good president. I have observed that only one president had no military or government background. President Trump is the only one that didn’t participate in politics before being elected president.
I have also noticed that not a single president has been mayor.
Why was Trump the only president to not have any government or military position before presidency?
I noticed that many presidents did political experience then become president. In this graph, I can see half of presidents were from senate or house member. So I guess political experience has affected to become president. I wonder, is political experience has an effect on how long they do president?
In this graph it is showing us that the experience of a president is showing that it’s not as important as we might think. Back in the day you could see how much experience a lot of the people had like Hoover had a lot of experience with being a cabinet for many different years. A lot more of the newer president have had a ton of experience. Like Bush was a governor for many different years. Obama was a senator for many different years. But Trump had no real experience in anything but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about because he’s done a great job in his years as president.
I notice that in the graphs a majority of the presidents have had some type of government or military experience, but there has only been one president elected that had no experience. The most common experienced person to run for president is a senator, and governors are most commonly elected. I wonder why someone with no experience would run for president and try to run an entire country. I know that they might have experience with money and be good at business but there are more issues to cover besides money and trade.
"No experience, No problem..."
It looks like it takes a lot of political experience in order to be a president. To me, I noticed that most previous presidents served as a governor before they were elected, and President trump was the first president to be elected without any political experience. Obama has been a senator and all but one of the presidents has worked and had political experience. So I think you will have a higher chance of being elected if you have this experience rather than not having it.
In this graph I notice how President Trump has no government or military experience when being elected as president. Also all presidents listed on this graph have had not had the experience of being a mayor. Throughout the graph shows all the experience that the past president have had in certain government roles.
What I have noticed about this graph is that as the years progressed the amount of government experience was less. President Trump has had no government or even military experience yet he’s the president of the United States. But there are a lot that do have a good amount of government experiences like senators or house members.
This past presidential election was highly criticized in many different ways. But one of the most popular ways was by commenting on the fact that Donald Trump had no past experience in the government at all. “How can he serve, he has no idea what he’s doing!” was a commonly heard debate question before and after his election.
This graph comments on the same thing. He has no previous experience in the government, while every other president has had some kind of involvment with it prior to election. It truly reveals how different this presidency is from any one that America has undergone before. Seven presidents were governors and ten were senators before filling the role of president, but voters broke that pattern in the recent election. Overall, this graph provides commentary on the difference in qualifications between our current president and previous presidents.
One thing I notice about this graph is that it is a scatter plot and there are dots around the entire graph. I wonder what all these people did to get to these positions. A lot of the points are in the same distance everywhere on the graph. It says Trump has no military background and that's all it says about him which is sorta strange.
Hi, @Joe Comet --
You say that this is a scatter plot. Search online for the definition of a scatter plot. Or, look at the Stat Nuggets for last week's ride-hailing graph. Then, rethink -- is this a scatter plot?
Now, what do you notice and wonder?
(Late this afternoon, in the Reveal at the bottom of this release, we'll have the type of graph this is, its definition, and where you see it in the graph. )
The article is wondering how much political experience is required to be presidents so the graph presented shows the ranking of present and past presidents of America from Garfield in the year 1880 all the way to trump in the year 2016. A lot of the presidents had political experience majority of them from being Governors, but Trump has no political experience he was simply a good businessman so I’m curious as to why it takes not much political experience to be president of the United States. Catchy headline: “Why does President Trump's inexperience with politics, trump those with political experience?”
HI, @Corbin Comet --
Take another look. Does this graph only have data from 1880 to the present? What do you notice? You also have a clue in the title.
Now, what do you notice?
I notice that in the first graph, President Trump did not have any government or military experience prior to becoming president. I also notice that no president has been mayor prior to becoming president. I also notice that President Bush (2000) has had the most government experience of all the presidents on this list. I wonder why and how there has not been a president that was mayor prior to becoming President of the United States.
Headline: Graph of President’s Pasts
HI, @Rebecca Comet --
Thank you for your noticings? What evidence in the graph makes you think that "President Bush (2000) has had the most government experience of all the presidents on this list?" Looking again at the x-axis may help you see it differently.
Now, what do you notice?
@Rebecca Comet ya i also saw that and i did not think any one could run for President of the United States if they did not have any experience prior to becoming president
I notice that most of the canidates have been apart of something, whether it was as senator or vice president. Except for Trump. He just went straight to president. I wonder if the graphs are acurate. Also, is there a graph showing all of the presidents?
Our Countries’ future depends on it.
1
After Trump gained presidency, I believe he has prompted democrats with no political expirence to run. The most commonly elected possison is governer but, from my knowledge, they are not the frontrunners. Trump opened door for others who have no political or military expirence. In order to avoid expressing any views I’ll just ask, does that sound like a good thing?
Opening Doors for Others
I noticed that no mayors were ever elected president and that there are no general officers running in this year’s election.
I wonder why people with a certain type of experience are more likely to be elected than others.
A catchy headline would be “2020 presidential candidates and their previous experience.”
In this graph, from 1789-2016, it shows the highest previous position of each U.S. president by date of election, the yellow dots representing presidents & their past jobs before stepping into office. The president’s name on the right & the year next to them is the most recent president who had the job & the time they served as president. I noticed Bush was both a Governor & Vice President in his past life before taking his terms in presidency. I wonder why a Mayor never stepped into office. A headline could be “44 Presidents, Different Backgrounds”
I notice that President Trump is the only president that has been elected with no political or military experience. I wonder why a mayor has never been elected president. I also notice mostly governors have been elected. A member of the House of Representatives has not been elected since 1880. My headline is “POTUS of the Past”.
I noticed that most previous presidents served as a governor before they were elected, and President trump was the first president to be elected without any political experience.
I wonder why there hasn’t been a president with past experience of being a house member elected since 1880, or why there has never been someone elected with the experience of being a mayor.
The headline I came up with was, “Presidents’ Political Past”.
Thanks to all students who responded. Love the catchy headlines that capture the main ideas of the graph: “The Presidents’ Resumes” by Kingsbury 1st period of Minnesota, and “Previous Positions for POTUS” by Benzito of Hillsboro, New Hampshire, and “What Does It Take To Be President?” by Lauren of Academy of Saint Elizabeth, Morristown, New Jersey.
You can continue to post responses. Please check back tomorrow -- Thursday afternoon, November 14 to see the Reveal with a link to the original New York Times article, some questions about the graphs, and a few Stat Nuggets.
The next graph will be released tomorrow – Thursday, November 14, with moderation on Wednesday, November 20. You may respond before, during, or after the live moderation by going to ““What's Going On In This Graph?” The topic -- greenhouse gas emissions. (How does this relate to Thanksgiving?)
You can see all of the released graphs on the “What’s Going On In This Graph?” homepage. Or, go to our post “Looking for Graphs to Use in the Classroom? Here Are 34.” for an index by context and an index by graph type.
Signing off – Sharon Hessney of Boston, who thinks the more experience the better for any position, and Greg Yarnall of the Academy of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown, New Jersey, who has thoroughly enjoyed the experience of moderating this week's "What's Going On in This Graph."
I notice that no president has ever been a mayor prior to becoming president. I notice that President Trump has had no previous experience in government and also has not been in the military. I notice that Obama has been a senator, Bush has been a governor, Eisenhower has been a general officer, Hoover has had a position in the cabinet, and Garfield has been a member of the House. I wonder why no president has been a mayor before. I also wonder why there are multiple dots on each line. I also wonder if there was a specific reason that these presidents have been represented in this graph. In this graph it shows the highest previous position of each US president by date of first election. This graph includes Trump, Obama, Bush, Eisenhower, Hoover, and Garfield. A catchy headline for this graph could be "What position have our presidents held?"
I noticed that President Trump had no experience in government or military. Also that no mayor ever became high in presidency. I wonder if President Trump has a reason why he was never in the military or in government.
@Julianne A
Good afternoon @Julianne A. You've noticed that the most prominent data point here is that the winner of the 2016 election was the first president where we can not graph his political or military experience. Do you think President Trump was elected in spite of his lack of experience or because of it?
@Julianne A
Can you think of a catchy headline for this week's graph?
This graph shows the previous positions of some of the recent presidents. I notice that no one that was in a mayoral position has become president. I wonder how Donald Trump was able to become President with no government or military background. I think this graph is easy to read and to understand and gives a great amount of interesting information. I also notice that President Bush had the most experience in a previous government position out of the presidents shown on this graph.
Title: "Previous Positions for POTUS"
@Benzito Ketterer I very much agree with you, Great Observations!!
@Benzito Ketterer
That's a solid headline. Who doesn't appreciate alliteration?
Several people have mentioned that they noticed President Bush (41) had the most experience of the presidents mentioned in graph #1, but I notice that the line that ends with President Bush is a straight line.
Consider the information listed in the far left column. I wonder if this graph was charting all the previous political positions of a president [there's some more alliteration for you], rather than just the highest position achieved by a president, would that line be straight?
Check out graph #1 again. What might the dots (previous to the end point in 2000) represent?
Graph #1 notices: there are yellow dots on lines; there are high U.S. positions of the president; there are years; there is are current president Trump. The graph has some questionings: why does the graph have mayor and never put together; why is there no title for the graph; why is the graph like this? the title for the graph should be Dates of U.S. President Elections.
Graph #2 notices: there is no Trump; there is no Hillary; there is a never for mayor candidates; the people are 2020 candidates for president. The graph has some questions: why is Hillary not a candidate; why is Trump not a candidate; why is mayor never a candidate for 2020? The title of the graph should be 2020 Candidates Ranking of No. Elected President over Recent Elected In Years.
@Owl
Thank you for participating today. You have noticed some key points from each graph. The yellow dots go across the lines in the center of the graph in the same manner the years go across the top of the graph. Is there a way to make a relationship between where the dot is and the year?
For instance, President Obama has a yellow dot next to the year he was elected (2008) but his line also has a dot that would correspond to a date in the late 1800s. I wonder if there is a way to make sense of those two points plotted so many years apart?
This graph illustrates the highest previous position of each US president by the date of their first election. I noticed that Clinton is not listed on the graph, and I wonder why that is so. I also noticed that no Mayor has ever become president. I also noticed that Bush (2000) has had the most experience in politics before getting elected into the presidency than any of the other presidents listed. A possible title for the graph could be “Who Has History?”
@Devyn D
I really like your headline!
You mention that President Bush (41) has the most experience. You also mention that President Clinton is not listed on the first graph, and that is true. But neither are Presidents Reagan, Carter, or Kennedy. Why do you think that is so?
Try plotting out each yellow dot against the timeline that runs across graph #1. I think it will answer a few of your questions (and perhaps make you wonder even more...)
This graph shows the highest government positions that U.S. presidents have had prior to office. Most presidents were governors or senators before entering office. Others were vice presidents, general officers, cabinet members, or house members. No presidents have ever had mayor as their highest office before becoming president. Our current president, Donald Trump, has had no military or government positions before entering office, and he is the first president to do so. I wonder if other presidents have had different high positions before entering office, and what those positions are. One possible title for this graph could be "Predisents' Previous Positions."
@Grace R
You've noticed some important information from the first graph, specifically how frequently U.S. senator or governor was the highest position a person held before becoming president.
I wonder in what ways you might think the two graphs are correlated? Do you think the graph is good news for current senators and governors running and no so good for the mayors or house members?
@Moderator Greg I think that the reason so many presidents have been senators or governors and not mayors and house members is that after holding these lower positions they may progress in their career. Current mayors and house members can still prgress to higher positions, including the presidency.
Headline: President's Past
I notice that in order to be a president, the candidate must have political experience. In addition,6 of 7 of the candidates have served in the field of politics at least once. This graph also shows that Trump did not have much experience in politics. Does this suggest that Trump is not qualified for his job? In a way, this is similar to incumbency advantage because when one is already in office or politics, it can benefit them by giving them a step up in the election. Not only are they more known, but they also have experience.
I wonder if one serves if it helps in being a president and how you run the country. Also, does it help someone if they are a governor or Senate first when running for the presidency?
@Abby AOSE
Thank you for your comments. You are one of a few participants who mentioned the incumbency advantage which is very much a statistical truth in American government and politics.
I notice the graph references the highest position each person achieved before becoming president yet it doesn't reference if that person was actually in that position when he was elected president. It would be interesting to see how many of these people went directly from one position to the presidency.
Part of the advantage for the incumbent is that it places value on the experience garnered in the position. Yet our graph clearly shows that the experiences of some offices are valued more than other offices (it is clearly better to be a senator or governor than it it a House member or a mayor). I wonder why that is?
Most of the candidates that became president were former governors, senators, or cabinet members. This may be due to the incumbency advantage, as candidates have a better chance of being elected if they are already in office, because people know them and will endorse/support them.
@Lauren B Wow great comment! Super original :)
The graph is giving information relating to the previous positions held by U.S. presidents from 1789 to 2016. The yellow dots represent the presidents, and the yellow dots with the black lining represent most recent president with that previous position. Most of the candidates that became president were former governors, senators, or cabinet members. This may be due to the incumbency advantage, as candidates have a better chance of being elected if they are already in office, because people know them and will endorse/support them. That is why there has only been one president, Trump, who has had no government or military experience. I do wonder why house members are not a popular previous position of presidents, but as far as the lack of Vice Presidents becoming president, this is probably because history has proven that VPs are not successful when they attempt to run for president.
1
Welcome, @Graceanna --
Thank you for your noticings and wonderings, all tied with what you know about the U.S. presidency.
Would you share with us the vice presidents who were not successful in their attempt to run for president? Do you think they outnumber the vice presidents who successfully ran and won the presidency?
@Sharon The only Vice Presidents that were elected to the presidency are Martin van Buren and George H. W. Bush, and all other VPS became president due to assassination or death of the president. The Vice Presidents that were not successful include Breckenridge, Garner, and Wallace to name a few. Because there were more VPS that were not successful than VPS that were, I believe they do outnumber them.
Our snappy headline is "Congressmen are Concurrent Candidates for Presidency." Our wonder is why it says that house member haven't been elected since 1880. Also our notice was Governor have a high chance to become president
HI, @Luke Harris --
You “wonder is why it says that house member haven't been elected since 1880.” Which Post-1880 president’s highest prior position was the House of Representatives?
Sometimes the title gives you the limits of the data.
We noticed that there's only one president that didn't come from a government or military background. We wonder if it's more advantageous to have been a governor or a Senator previous to becoming the president.
Headline: Presidential Experiences Through the Year
HI, @Team Delta --
Interesting wonder: “If it's more advantageous to have been a governor or a Senator previous to becoming the president.”
What data would you need to collect to answer your wonder and what would be the statistic that you would calculate to determine “more advantageous?”
This is a great project!
We noticed that no president has ever been a mayor prior to becoming president. We wonder if this year more people with no experience will also become president or if the typical Senator or house member will return to being the president each election. "Presidential backgrounds and experience"
@Team TMR Do you think the fact that Donald Trump has had no prior experiene is significant?
Seems like governors and Senator's are more likely to be Presidents. There are more yellow dots in those two positions than the other positions. How did trump become president with no experience when all the other presidents has experience.
What it takes to become president?
@Team Table Group Do you think that people with a background in government have a higher chance of being elected?
"Political Positions of the 2020 Candidates"
We noticed that most candidates were senators. Theres only two candidates with no political experience. Theres a VP running. Are Senators most likely to be the top candidates than other political positions? We wonder who will win in this next election.
@Team Team
Interesting title, do you think that the graph displays the 2020 candidates or previous presidents?
Title: Who is best for President
We noticed that most of the canidates that get elected have experience in either being a senator or Governer. We also noticed that President Trump has no experience in Government or Military. We wonder why a house member hasn't been elected sense 1880.
HI, @Team Fred & carter
With your classmates, you may want to search online to answer these questions:
Which past presidential candidates from Minnesota can you name?
What was their highest prior position in government or the military?
Which ones won the election?
What conjectures can you make from this?
We named this graph "The Mission to get the Position." We noticed that a lot of presidents were governors and senators but there was never one that was a Mayor. A question we have is why the least common positions are Mayor and military positions.
HI, @Team Vanilla --
A great rhyming headline: "The Mission to get the Position." What to add a word or two to tie it to the ideas in the graph?
@Team Vanilla Catchy title! Do you think the time of service in those positions might play a role as to"why the least common positions are Mayor and military positions?"
Hi, @Renata AOSE --
You ask "Do you think the time of service in those positions might play a role as to “why the least common positions are Mayor and military positions?” Are you referring to when they held the position (recently or in the past) or how long they held the position?
We noticed that in the earlier stages of the democracy, more presidents that had previously held the role of general officer or vice president were elected, but more recently more governors have been elected, which we can see due to the cluster of yellow dots at the end of the line. We wonder how the graph would look different if it also included all of the positions a president has ever held, not just their highest title. Our catchy headline is "Previous Political Experience Preceding Presidency."
1
HI, @Sophie and Mady -
Interesting notice that “in the earlier stages of the democracy, more presidents that had previously held the role of general officer or vice president were elected.” What can you find out about how vice presidents were elected that may have resulted in this result?
We noticed that the highest position previously held is a Senator, we wonder what effect time has in comparison to number of presidents elected?
Title: 2020 Candidates
@KILO
Does it help when one has political experience when running for office?
We noticed that with these people, there were more who were governors and senators than military and house members. We wonder if a person's party has correlation with their past political involvement? Our headline is "Previous Presidential Positions".
Good morning, @Hannah & Noah --
What an interesting wonder. You “wonder if a person's party has correlation with their past political involvement?” I wonder the same thing, but would change the word “correlate” to “associate.” Statisticians reserve the word correlated for relationships involving two quantitative variables that have a linear relationship. Here’s there is a categorical variable – highest previous position.
So, is there an association between a candidate’s party and their highest previous position? I wonder! How could you determine the answer? This could be a great project.
@Hannah & Noah
A person's previous position in politics definitely benefits them. Would you agree?
Many of you have noticed about the experience of presidents. That’s not exactly what the graph shows.
Re-read the title. What is included in this graph? What is excluded?
I wonder which presidents have the most political and military experience prior to their first election.
It seems that the lack of success of Governors in this primary cycle is a departure from historical trends. Is this just a coincidence, or is there a reason why Democrats are rejecting governors? My guesses as to why this is occurring is that Trump's controversial presidency has placed congresspeople in the limelight at a higher rate, making them popular within the Democratic base. My other theory is that because 3 out of the 4 governors elected have been Republicans, and Republicans that were highly unpopular with Democrats (Reagan and Bush), Democrats are now less willing to nominate a governor.
Good morning, @Annika --
These are thoughtful notices and wonders about why governors have been elected president but currently they are not in favor.
Do you think the type of experience that a candidate has had as governor has any play in their appeal? Or, even avoidance?
You have many interesting ideas.
How about a headline that captures the graph’s main idea?
It seems that the lack of success of Governors in this primary cycle is a departure from historical trends. Is this just a coincidence, or is there a reason why Democrats are rejecting governors? My guesses as to why this is occurring is that Trump's controversial presidency has placed congresspeople in the limelight at a higher rate, making them popular within the Democratic base. My other theory is that because 3 out of the 4 governors elected have been Republicans, and Republicans that were highly unpopular with Democrats (Reagan and Bush), Democrats are now less willing to nominate a governor.
1
@Annika We also noticed the lack of Governors becoming president.
@Annika We like that you had a really thought out response to this article, good job!
@Annika Interesting take, what makes you say that there is a lack of success among governors from the information on the graph?
This graph is about how much political experience does it take to be elected president. I noticed that President Donald Trump had no experience in government or military at all. He has seemed to do a very good job of knowing what to do without having any previous experience. Obama had senator experience before being president. Bush Jr. was governor before being president. Bush Sr. had to experience because he was Vice President before being President. Eisenhower was the General office. Hoover was in the Cabinet. Garfield was a House Member before coming into Presidency. I wonder does it take that much experience to be president? It was rumored that Kanye was running for president and he definitely does not have any experience in government. President Trump never previously had experience in government, but he was always involved in the business. In the second graph, all of the 2020 democratic candidates have some sort of government experience.
1
HI, @Lauren T --
Thank you for your historical perspective of prior presidents’ experience.
Remember that this is the experience just prior to becoming president. Many of these presidents had experience in other positions. It would be interesting to note which presidents had the most varied experience.
How about a headline that captures your historical perspective?
This graph shows the previous positions of some of the recent presidents. I notice that no one that was in a mayoral position has become president. I wonder how Donald Trump was able to become President with no government or military background. I think this graph is easy to read and to understand and gives a great amount of interesting information. I also notice that President Bush had the most experience in a previous government position out of the presidents shown on this graph.
Title: "Previous Positions for POTUS"
HI, @Brianna C --
Like the headline’s alliteration!
You say “most recent” presidents. Take another look.
President Trump has had no former expirience in politics until his presidency.
@Jordan Well, that explains a lot.
@Jordan What do you think about the other levels of political experience?
I noticed Trump had no government experience prior to his presidency.
@Monica P we also noticed that he has had no experience. We wonder if he has had expeirence in anything else but the graph doesnt show it.
I noticed that Trump had no government experience prior to his presidency.
@Monica P
Great observation. Do you think that previous political experience influences current (or previous depending on the person of the graph you are analyzing) decisions and the style of their presidency?
1. Governors and senators are most likely to become president, where cabinet and house members rarely become president.
2. I wonder if this trend is changing recently, especially with the recent president having no background in government or the military.
3. "Governors gone to President"
@Lainey Hornig Why do you think cabinet and house members rarely become president?
Good morning, @Lainey Hornig --
You are right that “Governors and senators are most likely to become president, where cabinet and house members rarely become president.” But, the title of this graph says that this graph shows just the highest previous position of each president. What other positions did these presidents hold?
Pick a president and list all of the positions they had held prior to being president. George H. W. Bush may be an interesting one to research.
This graph shows the previous government experience (if any) by US presidents, excluding those who assumed the presidency as displayed by the title and the asterisk at the bottom. I notice that most presidents on the graph have had previous government experience and the trend seems to be that if they did hold office in a government position, the timeframe between their service as one and as president is not too spread out, as demonstrated by the yellow dots on the graph and the labeling of the years served as an official and president at the top and on the right side. Voters are more likely to support a candidate who has had previous experience in the field of government and politics. In addition to experience, the familiarity and quality of one's performance also plays a role. This would explain why most of the presidents, except for Eisenhower and Trump, served as president not long after serving in another government position. I wonder how much of a role one's experience in the government plays in a candidate's election? If presidents like Donald Trump can be elected despite government experience, could there be other factors that come into play? Possible title for the graph: "Previous Presidents and their Past Positions"
Welcome, @Renata AOSE --
An alliterated headline -- "Previous Presidents and their Past Positions"!
You’ve made several observations of presidents’ prior experiences. Do you see any trend since George Washington (General Officer) of the type of experience?
@Sharon The dots on the graph represent different presidents, and I realize that a common trend is that many governors were elected since Washington. I have also realized that usually the position most valued or most well-known at the time bolsters one's candidacy for the President. For instance, Washington, the first dot, was elected during the late 1700s, probably based upon his notoriety gained from the Revolutionary War and the fact that this was before a formal US government was created. To answer a question I brought up in my response, even though Donald Trump did not serve in the public office, he did obtain familiarity among voters through his television show. In other words, the trend is that the more notoriety a candidate has gained throughout the years, the more likely they are to be elected to the presidency.
This graph shows the previous government experience (if any) by US presidents, excluding those who assumed the presidency as displayed by the title and the asterisk at the bottom. I notice that most presidents on the graph have had previous government experience and the trend seems to be that if they did hold office in a government position, the time frame between their service as one and as president is not too spread out, as demonstrated by the yellow dots on the graph and the labeling of the years served as an official and president at the top and on the right side. Voters are more likely to support a candidate who has had previous experience in the field of government and politics. In addition to experience, the familiarity and quality of one's performance also plays a role. This would explain why most of the presidents, except for Eisenhower and Trump, served as president not long after serving in another government position. I wonder how much of a role one's experience in the government plays in a candidate's election? If presidents like Donald Trump can be elected despite government experience, could there be other factors that come into play? Possible title for the graph: "Previous Presidents and their Past Positions"
I noticed that a lot of the presidents held a previous position in government.
I wonder why a mayor never became president.
Position of power before election
Good morning, @Will, miles --
That is a great question: Why has a mayor never become president? What do you think? We have two mayors who are now running for the Democratic Party. What do you think of their experience?
PS What's the temperature in Eden Prairie? And, have you had snow yet?
We notice that more Governors have been elected as President than any other previous position.
We wonder if Democrats specifically have won more elections in Senator seats.
The President's resumes.
Welcome, @Kingsbury 1st period --
Thank you for the notice, wonder, and great headline. I'm not sure if your wonder is about how experience may differ for the Democratic and Republican presidents. But, that is an interesting wonder. Maybe you could figure this out.
Headline: Political experience of candidates
We notice that both the graphs use the same data, but display it different.
We wonder why there isn't any general officers.
1. we noticed that most of our presidents have governor or senate experience before being president.
2. we wonder why Trump had gotten elected with no experience
3. Presidents Lineup
We notice that in order to become president it takes previous political experience
We wonder how President Trump got elected with no political experience
A catchy headline: The United States Has Lowered Their Expectations for a President
We noticed that 6 of 7 of the candidates have served in the field of politics at least once, and we wonder if you do serve if it helps in being a president and how you run the country. Our catchy headline is Presidents Pasts
@Matthew and Emma Good observations! Do you think that having government/ military background gives an advantage to knowing how to run a country like the US?
title: Is trump truly qualified for his spot in office (compared to presidents from America's past)
We noticed that Trump is the only president to date with no military or government background.
we wonder who has been the most QUALIFIED president.
The graph shows what kind of background each president has had.
I wonder why there were more people who were governor than Vice President prior to become the president. Vice President is a higher ranked job than a governor so that is why I question this.
n this graph, I notice that President Bush (younger Bush) is the president with the most political experience. He has held 9 government positions before he held the President position. The President with the least political experience in this graph is President Trump. I also notice, as the years go on, Presidents have more experience until the year 2016. I wonder how long each president held their position before being elected president. I also wonder if past political experience has any effect on people becoming elected president.
HEADLINE: Past Political Experience of Presidents
HI, @Ava AOSE --
Thank you for your noticings and wonderings.
I will ask you to look again at the horizontal x-axis. What values does it have? Now, reconsider what the nine yellow points on the George Bush Jr. line imply.
Let us know what you notice and wonder. Thank you.
@Sharon
The value of the horizontal x-axis shows how much experience each president had prior to becoming a president. It shows that George Bush Jr. had lots of prior experience as a governor.
Graph 1: I notice that there are dots everywhere but mayor (Highest positions of presidents), and wonder why they chose those dates in time.
Graph 2: I notice there are 17 men, compared to 6 women on this graph, which is over double. I wonder why there was so many Senators and no General Officers.
Good morning, @Piper J. [Martins Class] --
Thank you for your notices and wonders.
The answer to your wonder about the dates of the dots is in the graph’s title. It’s like a treasure hunt to uncover all of the clues in a graph.
Regarding no General Officers in the 2020 presidential candidates chart, there actually are candidates with military experience. But, why is this not shown on the chart. Here, too, check the clues in the titles.
I found this graph to be very interesting however I was a little confused at what the yellow dots are signifying. I noticed that no president has been a mayor and that President Trump is the only president to have no government or military experience. Governor also has the most yellow dots.
Headline: What does it take to be President?
HI, @Lauren AOSE --
What could the yellow dots mean? Use the title, labels, and dates to give you clues.
@Sharon My guess is that they might signify the number of terms served in accordance with the year on the number line.
@Sharon My guess is that they might signify the number of Presidents who served the position in accordance with the year on the number line.
Most of the candidates in the upcoming election were at one time senators. I wonder why there aren't more former vice presidents that didn't run for office. Headline: Senators are taking the lead
Good morning, @Charlie, Matt --
You notice that many presidents had been senators but few had been vice presidents. What could be the reason for this? There may be more than one reason that seems very possible. Please report back to us.
Welcome to Wednesday's moderation of “What’s Going On in This Graph?”
Today’s graph shows the highest previous political or military position of each U.S. president, by date of their first election.
From 9 am – 2 pm E.T. today, share with us your responses online to these three questions -- "What do you notice?", "What do you wonder?", and "What's going on in this graph?"
Plus, please share with us a catchy headline that captures the ideas about the graph.
By Friday morning, we’ll reveal the article that included this graph and much more. We look forward to reading your discoveries.
The next “What’s Going On in This Graph?” will be released tomorrow -- Thursday, November 14 with moderation on Wednesday, November 20. The topic – greenhouse gas emissions. (How does this relate to Thanksgiving???)
I notice on the first graph they have dates going back to the 1880 and have different political positions.
1. I wonder what the yellow dots are for
1. I notice governor has more yellow dots
HI, @olivia --
What do the yellow dots mean? What do they imply about the experience of our presidents before they took office? How are they prepared for the responsibilities of being president?
@olivia we think the yellow dots are past presidents elected
GRAPH 1: I notice that the graph looks like a timeline? I wonder why a person in the mayor position never then went directly into being president? A catchy title is Presidents' Previous Positions.
GRAPH 2: I notice that there is more people who work in congress than any other position on the graph. I wonder why there is no people for general officer? A catchy title is Candidates Careers.
HI, @Kaya Badger --
You have a catchy headline “Candidates’ Careers” for the chart of the 2020 Democratic candidates. This chart shows only their highest previous position. How could you make a chart that shows all of the positions they have held? What could it look like? This would help you determine which candidate has the most experience.
why have there no mayors been elected.
@mason
Do you think that mayors think they don't have enough experience or aren't qualified enough to become president?
@mason because maybe they are not qualified enough
i wonder what the dots represent on the first graph and i noticed that there is only one vice president on the second graph
What do the dots represent?
why are no mayors ever elected for office
I see that trump had no military or government experience before being president. I see that bush had experience being a Vice President before becoming president. Also no one was a mayor before becoming president.
I wonder why so many governors were elected to be president? I wonder if them being elected and previously being a governor?
Graph 1: I wonder why the 2000 bush has so many governors and 2016 trump does not have any government or military?
Graph 1: I noticed Trump has no government or military experience. I wonder why he has no government or military experience. The title could be U.S Presidents elections and experiences.
@Jadan Springer Most likely the American people looked over him having no political experience because of the excitement of having a businessman in office and hopes of change in America.
graph 1
wonders: what do the yellow dots mean? what is Y and X axis
notice : no mayors, Bush has more dots, no clustering.
I notice 6 out of the 7 presidents had a experience in the field at least once. trump also had no experience with government so will that affect him in the future or affect us in the future?
graph 2 Voting Time ! notice : only one vice president, candidates, senator has one more person than the house members. most the senators are woman.
wonder: Hillary ? why are the senators mostly woman,
I've notice that most the senators are woman and in the house members there is only one woman. the woman must think they have higher chance to become president.
@nia The yellow dots represent each year there was a president, put on a line that represents their former jobs.
HI, @nia --
That is a great notice and wonder: “Why are the senators mostly woman? I've notice that most the senators are woman and in the house members there is only one woman.”
Anyone have any conjectures why so many of the 2020 Democratic candidates are women from the Senate?
(Graph 1)
Noticing: Donald Trump has no experience in his chosen field yet he had been elected anyway.
Wondering: Why does Governor have the most marks?
(Graph 2)
Noticing: Governor and Mayor are the only positions with three candidates each.
Wondering: Why does General Officer have no candidates but is still on the graph?
@Riley Reynolds
I think it is interesting that in the first graph it is shown that there has not been a president with a mayoral background but in the second graph, there are three candidates. I also notice that there are no candidates in a General Officer position and that there are two without any political or military position.
Graph 1: I wonder what do the yellow dots represent and why does Trump not have any?
Graph 2: I notice that there are a lot of senators running for president I wonder why it´s been so long since a house member has become president .
@James the yellow dots are how many president(s) have come from or been elected from that category of government background. Trump has no govern,ent background, making him the first president to do so.
i notice that there is the same amount of mayors and govenors what i wonder is why there isnt a general officer
graph #2:
notice: there are only 6 girls and 17 guys, there are 23 candidates in 2020
wonder: why did nobody try to be the general officer
HI, @bri --
You wonder “why did nobody try to be the general officer.” There have been general officers, but this was not their “highest previous position.” Can you name Democratic candidates that have been general officers?
in graph 1 there is dots next to everything except for mayor which means no mayor has ever been elected
Graph 2: Number of Presidents Elected
the first thing i took notice of, is that 6 presidents have an experience field.
Graph 1 Title: political experience of a president
Graph #1:
Notice: Donald Trump has had no prior government or military experience.
Wondering: Why has nobody been a mayor before presidency?
Title: Highest Prior Position by Date of First Election.
Graph #2:
Notice: This graph only consists of Democratic candidates.
Wondering: Why does this graph only consist of Democratic candidates?
Title: Highest Previous Position of 2020 Candidates.
@Milana We like your headlines.
tittle: graph 1
In the graph i notice that there are yellow dots to show the data, and that they don't have the same amount of dots for each pf the lines.
wonder: what does the yellow dots they used mean, what is the y and x-axis for this graph and why did they represent the graph this way
graph:1 political experience of a president
Graph 1 is going to be the title. for the dotted graph and the second graph is going to be graph 2.
i noticed that donald trump is the only person without military experience
AMOS Carson6802
I have noticed that 6 out of 7 president's have had a experience in the field at least once. I wonder if having experience affects your work ethic or improves your skills as a president?
@Hurrem
Do you think since President Trump did not have any previous government experience it affects his work ethic?
@Hurrem
I think you bring up a good point about having experience affects your work ethic or improves your skills as a president. I think that having experience could be a good and bad thing. Having experience will help you understand the way things work a little bit better, but all of these other roles that are presented are very different than being a president. I think no matter how much experience you have, unless you have been a president, your past experience really doesn't matter because being a president and being a governor or senator are two very different things.
I noticed that Donald Trump had no previous political or military experience, yet he was elected because of his popularity and controversial statements that lead to major publicity. Does this mean that you can become president by being popular? Does it also mean that all publicity is good publicity.
@Lanca
Do you think that most presidents get voted in because of their popularity?
Does having a role in government improve your chances of becoming president?
@Autumn T In most cases I would say yes because government officials already have a platform to start on. For example, people already know their names and policies. They most likely have more financial backing as well.
I noticed Donald Trump had no prior experience in government. I wonder if this will effect later candidates or if this just affected him.
I realized that every single president had a very important position before becoming elected except for President trump. He has no role in the government or military before becoming elected. Also, every single president has had some sort of position that was important to our society.
Did the fact that Trump had no prior government experience or service effect his presidential campaign?
The graph is giving information relating to the previous positions held by U.S. presidents from 1789 to 2016. The yellow dots represent the presidents, and the yellow dots with the black lining represent most recent president with that previous position. Most of the candidates that became president were former governors, senators, or cabinet members. This may be due to the incumbency advantage, as candidates have a better chance of being elected if they are already in office, because people know them and will endorse/support them. That is why there has only been one president, Trump, who has had no government or military experience. I do wonder why house members are not a popular previous position of presidents, but as far as the lack of Vice Presidents becoming president, this is probably because history has proven that VPs are not successful when they attempt to run for president.
I noticed the frequency of electing President's who's highest prior title was at the executive level (Governor, VP) has increased over time while the frequency of those with a highest level of legislative experience (Senator, Rep) has decreased over time.
I wonder if similar patterns would hold up for presidential nominees and presidential primary participants.
Title: "Unpresidented: Mayor to President is Unprecedented"
I don’t think you need to have tons and tons of political experience to be elected president. Considering Trump does not have that much experience in politics. I am wondering if in the future there will be more candidates like Trump.
1
@Sam D the problem with that is someone who has no background could have the nuclear launch codes, and personally, I don’t think trump or anyone like him should. Just my opinion though.
I noticed that there were two 2020 candidates with no government or military experience. Could this have been influenced by trump? Were there many past candidates with no government or military experience?
This is more confusing than the Australian election procces
I’ve noticed that trump is the only one without certain capabilities to make him worthy of president
1
@Oliver We noticed that too! do you think you need to have some sort of background in politics to become president?
I didn't know Garfield the cat was president.
In the graph, I notice that Trump held no prior positions that would deem him capable of becoming President. Therefore, the United States of America currently does not have a President.
1
@Smith my hero
Since Trump has been the only one elected with no government or military experience, I wonder does this mean it might happen more frequently or is Trump an outlier?
@Alanna S good question
I’ve noticed that Donald Trump is the only president to have no previous government or military experience prior to joining the presidency. I’m curious as to whatever this this is a new wave in politics or if it’s just an outlier.
In the graph, I notice that the only president that had no government/political experience is Trump. I also noticed that only two house members have been elected president since the 1800s and that the most governors were elected president. The last thing I noticed was that a mayor was never elected as president. I wonder how this will change over the years, if more president without experience will be elected
@HaramA Do you think that mayors are not typically elected because it is a local government position unlike senate and house members?
There are the most dots next to governor, therefore most presidents were governors before stepping into office.
Few presidents were house members before becoming president.
Donald trump was the first president brought into office with no government experience.
Why did society elect Trump if he had no history of government or military? If it won’t benefit or country.
@Marianna Merino Interesting question. Do you think that having military or government experience is vital to a successful president? In both graphs the most preisdents have been elected from having backround in some area of government or military experience.
@Marianna Merino Interesting question. Do you think that having military or government experience is vital to a successful president? In both graphs, most presidents have been elected from having a background in some area of government or military experience.
In the graph I see they there is only one dot next to a president who has been elected and has no government experience. This means trump is the only president to ever be elected without any government experience. I wonder why he was elected even though he has no government experience?
In the graph, I see that governors have the most amount of people elected for president. What is the reason why they have more people elected?
Seeing as Trump was the only president ever with absolutely no political or military experience has his term been more beneficial? Is there a large difference between presidents who were senators or presidents who were vice presidents. Is there a difference between how each president governs based on previous experience?
I wonder if the presidents act different if they have had more or less government experience.
I wonder why President Trump was elected even though he had no previous work in the government or military.
I wonder why a mayor has never become president.
In the graph, I noticed that previous presidents have been elected from the mayor position.
I wonder why we haven’t elected a president that has been a mayor.
I wonder why there hasn’t been a house member elected in so long. Will it ever happen again?
I wonder why we elected President Trump because he had no military or governmental experience previous to being our president.
In the graph, I noticed that each president had some type of government/political experience before being elected, except Trump. I wonder what kind of affects that would have on his political role
I see orange dots next to every position except mayor. This means that all positions had become president except a mayor.
I see that only one dot is next to “No government or military”, it is next to president Trump. This means that Trump is the only president to be elected with no experience.
I see that the highest number of dots is next to “Governor”. This means that most elected presidents were governors
While looking at the graph, I noticed the different amounts of government or political experience each of the few presidents listed has. Each yellow dot represents political experience. When looking at this graph, I also saw that the only president without political experience before becoming president is Trump. Presidents like Obama or Bush had at least a few political experiences before becoming president. Something I wonder about is whether there is a difference between having a previous political experience or not. I also wonder if there was any president other then President Trump that didn’t have any political experience before becoming president.
I notice that Trump is the only President to have no other previous government or military experience prior to becoming President. I wonder if this is a new trend happening in politics and what are the consequences (positive and negative)