US Presidents: Do Politics Need Education?

In early November 2014, the US Republican Party triumphantly won the country's gubernatorial elections. One of the main triumphs was Republican Scott Kevin Walker, who became the 45th governor of Wisconsin. Moreover, today it is Walker who is considered one of the most likely applicants for participation in the US presidential election in 2016.

 Walker's personality is widely known in America today, and local journalists enthusiastically discuss not only the contradictory statements and political views of the governor, but also the details of his personal life. In particular, the fact that Walker does not have a higher education is being actively discussed.

 Since the beginning of 2015, several New York Times reporters have already dedicated their articles to this topic on the publication’s information portal. In connection with the possible nomination of Walker as the next president of America, the Americans began to wonder: “What kind of education should government managers have, and how much does it matter for a politician?” Who are the presidents of America?

 Some Americans believe that the political candidacy of Walker, who once left Marquette University, for this reason should be considered with great criticism. Others argue that education does not matter so much, you just remember the example of Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg and others. All of them at one time left colleges, which did not stop them from proving themselves and achieving extraordinary career heights.

 In response to public outcry, the American media seriously examined the academic statistics of US presidents and politicians. It turned out that in America, the question of the availability of education, especially earlier, did not have a strong influence on building a political career. Moreover, two of the four illustrious presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore had no higher education at all.

 The statistics turned out to be very curious: 8 out of 43 politicians who served as president of America never attended a higher education institution at all. Among them are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Grover Cleveland. At the same time, four of the former presidents, including James Monroe, William McKinley and Harry Truman, at one time voluntarily dropped out of university, and did not receive a degree.

 Although there are other examples: the highly educated Woodrow Wilson, who was President of Princeton University, Dwight Eisenhower, President of Columbia University, William Taft, Dean of the School of Law, University of Cincinnati, and Thomas Jefferson, founder of the University of Virginia.

 Speaking about politicians who did not hold the presidency, vice presidents who did not even have a bachelor's degree met in American history, Charles Curtis and John Nance Garner. Both of them had a minor formal education and became lawyers only thanks to the knowledge acquired in the process of self-education.

Actual Political Trends

 But, all this is history, so we turn to the personalities of the last presidents of America. Bill Clinton was a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, as well as University College at Oxford and Yale, George W. Bush studied at Phillips Academy, Yale University and Harvard Business School, and Barack Obama graduated from West College in Los Angeles, Columbia University and Harvard law school. Agree, the list is impressive.

 Evidence suggests that with the course of US history, education plays an increasingly important role for a career in politics and management. The process of popularization and development of higher education at the end of the 20th century forced voters to pay attention, among other things, to the academic past of politicians and their degree of education.

 By the way, Barack Obama recently reaffirmed the importance of education for citizens to build careers in all areas, including politics, and launched a unique initiative to introduce free higher education for successful high school graduates. And what do you think, is a higher education necessary for a successful government?