43 presidents

Originally published February 17, 2005; update accordingly

The fact that the american presidents come from a variety of social classes and professions is no small pride to americans, who enjoy repeating the «anyone can become president» mantra. But if it's true that there has been about six or seven presidents who originated from modest or impoverished backgrounds, at least a dozen come from rich families if not outright aristocracy; in fact, 11 of them had another president somewhere in their family tree.

There are acquaintances that certainly don't harm: 15 had been card-carrying members of the Order of Freemasons, and 6 others are considered supporters. 2 were anti-masons (John Adams senior and junior), but that was almost two centuries ago.

And some prerequisites are mandatory: amongst the 43 presidents that the United States have had during its history, there had been

43 men

43 heterosexuals; no rumors of closet exists as far as I know.

43 whites, but there could have been some skeletons in the closet: according to some historians, 5 presidents had some black ancestry.

43 christians (42 protestants and 1 catholic)

0 atheists, or at least none have admitted so; but again, there could be some closet cases.


As for the governors, from a total of 1051, including colonies and territories:

29 women

4 asians, 3 blacks, 9 latinos, 0 native, 5 others/unknown

1051 christians, including 114 catholics; 0 self-declared atheists; in five states, it is still forbidden by law for an atheist to hold office.

And as you guess, 0 homosexuals.

3 out of 1051. Considering that african-americans account for 12% of the population, we come way short of representivity; as for catholics, they constitutes 23%. Christians total 86% of the population.

Fiction goes farther than reality, but timidly: of all the fictive presidents that Hollywood ever invented, only one to my knowledge has been portrayed by a black actor (Morgan Freeman in Deep Impact)*


And what about here in Canada? From 21 prime ministers, 15 were anglophones and 6 francophones.

In Quebec, 31 prime ministers: 2 anglophones and 29 francophones.

French speakers represent 20% of the canadian population, and 80% of the Quebec population. There is not a lot of countries where an oppressed minority has been so well represented in politics.


* Yes, I know now, there's also Dennis Haysbert in 24

Heptune: presidents list
National Governor Association
Premier ministre du Québec, site officiel
Teaching and learning about Canada
Adherents.com