From Hearth to Helm: America’s Homeschooled Presidents

16 of 45 (35.55% or over 35%) U.S. presidents have been homeschooled

NOTE: “Homeschooled and home education” encompasses informal learning, tutoring, being self-taught, or apprenticeship.

George Washington (1789–1797)

  • 1st U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled by family and private tutors, primarily in mathematics and surveying.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Founding Father
    • Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
    • Signed the Judiciary Act of 1789 into law
    • Enacted the first Copyright Act of 1790
    • Enacted the Naturalization Act of 1790 into law
  • Quote: “Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.” -First Annual Message, 1790
  • Fact: Bred the first American mules and kept over a dozen dog breeds at Mount Vernon.

John Adams (1797–1801)

  • 2nd U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled by his father in reading and writing before attending formal schooling and Harvard College.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Founding Father
    • First vice president of the United States
    • Helped draft the Declaration of Independence
    • First president to reside in the White House
    • Championed colonial rights in Parliament
    • Established the Library of Congress
    • Renowned for political writings and contributions to philosophy
  • Quote: “Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.” —Letter to John Quincy Adams, 1816
  • Fact: Wrote over 1,100 letters to wife Abigail, leaving a rich historical correspondence.

Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809)

  • 3rd U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled by tutors in Latin, Greek, and French until age 9, then continued advanced studies at home.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Principal author of the Declaration of Independence
    • Authorized the Louisiana Purchase
    • First U.S. secretary of state
    • Championed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves
    • Authored the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
    • Supported the Lewis and Clark expedition
    • Founded the University of Virginia
  • Quote: “I look to the diffusion of light and education as the resource most to be relied on.” —Letter to P. Dupont de Nemours, 1816
  • Fact: Fluent in four languages and could read two more.

James Madison (1809–1817)

  • 4th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled in Virginia before attending the College of New Jersey (Princeton University).
  • Notable Achievements:
    • “Father of the Constitution”
    • Co-authored the Federalist Papers
    • Authored the Virginia Plan
    • Championed the Bill of Rights
    • Led the nation through the War of 1812
    • Co-founded the Democratic-Republican Party
    • Served as secretary of state
    • Oversaw Senate approval of the Louisiana Treaty
  • Quote: “What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty and Learning, each leaning on the other for their mutual and surest support?” —Letter to W.T. Barry, 1822
  • Fact: Smallest president at 5′ 4″ and about 100 lbs.

James Monroe (1817–1825)

  • 5th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled by his mother until age 11, before attending Campbellton Academy and later the College of William & Mary.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Author of the Monroe Doctrine
    • Acquired Florida via the Adams-Onís Treaty
    • Helped shape the Louisiana Purchase
    • Brokered the Missouri Compromise
    • Negotiated the Treaty of 1818
    • Reestablished the Second Bank of the United States
    • Served as U.S. Minister to France and Britain
  • Quote: “Let us by all wise and constitutional measures promote intelligence among the people as the best means of preserving our liberties.” —First Inaugural Address, 1817
  • Fact: Personally designed and landscaped the Oak Hill gardens.

John Quincy Adams (1825–1829)

  • 6th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled by his parents, including Abigail Adams, before attending formal education and later Harvard College.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Co-architect of the Monroe Doctrine
    • Negotiated the Adams-Onís Treaty (Florida Purchase)
    • Helped end the War of 1812 with the Treaty of Ghent
    • Secured U.S.-Canada border and joint Oregon occupation through the Convention of 1818
    • Served as U.S. minister to Russia and Britain
    • Gave thousands of speeches over seventeen years in Congress
    • Defended the Amistad captives before the Supreme Court
    • Fought against slavery
    • Championed federal roads, canals, and a national university
    • Shaped debates around the Missouri Compromise
    • Kept extensive diaries and correspondence on diplomacy
    • Backed scientific surveys and the arts for national growth
  • Quote: “To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is . . . the greatest benefit that can be conferred upon mankind.” —Annual Message to Congress, 1825
  • Fact: Began each morning with a cold bath and six-mile walk.

Andrew Jackson (1829–1837)

  • 7th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Received informal education at home, primarily self-taught in reading and writing, especially after being orphaned.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Military hero at the Battle of New Orleans
    • Commander of U.S. forces in the Creek War and First Seminole War
    • Co-founder of the Democratic Party
    • Eliminated the national debt during his administration
    • Served as territorial governor of Florida
    • Served as U.S. Senator and U.S. Congressman
  • Quote: “The memory of my mother and her teachings were, after all, the only capital I had to start life with.” —Attributed via family recollection; Bassett 1926
  • Fact: Skilled dancer known to spring into jigs at frontier socials.

William Henry Harrison (1841)

  • 9th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled by tutors until the age of 14, focusing on Latin, Greek, and classical subjects before attending Hampden-Sydney College.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Led U.S. forces to victory at the Battle of the Thames
    • Awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for his military leadership
    • Pioneered modern presidential campaign tactics
    • Served as Governor of the Indiana Territory
    • Negotiated pivotal land treaties with Native American tribes
    • Served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate
  • Quote: “Sound morals, religious liberty, and a just sense of religious responsibility are essentially connected with all true and lasting happiness.” —Inaugural Address, 1841
  • Fact: Curated a personal library of over 300 volumes on classics, agriculture, and natural science.

James K. Polk (1845–1849)

  • 11th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled by his mother and private tutors before attending a Presbyterian academy and the University of North Carolina.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Expanded U.S. territory via the Mexican American War
    • Annexed Texas
    • Acquired the Oregon Territory
    • Established the Independent Treasury System (banking reform)
    • Reduced tariffs through the Walker Tariff
    • Speaker of the House of Representatives
    • Governor of Tennessee
  • Quote: “The gratitude of the nation . . . should be commensurate with the boundless blessings which we enjoy.” —Fourth Annual Message to Congress, 1848
  • Fact: Avid horticulturist who introduced roses and magnolias to Tennessee soil.

Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865)

  • 16th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Largely self-taught at home with limited formal education, dedicating himself to learning through extensive reading.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Preserved the Union during the Civil War
    • Issued the Emancipation Proclamation
    • Advocated for the Thirteenth Amendment (abolishing slavery)
    • Signed the National Banking Act of 1863, creating a network of national banks and a uniform currency
    • Sponsored the Homestead Act
    • Established the Department of Agriculture
    • Passed the Pacific Railway Act
    • Served as a U.S. Congressman
    • Served in the Illinois state legislature and practiced law
  • Quote: “Upon the subject of education, . . . I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.” —Address to the people of Sangamon County, 1832
  • Fact: Renowned wrestler in his youth, reportedly losing only one of roughly 300 matches.

Andrew Johnson (1865–1869)

  • 17th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Did not receive traditional schooling but was largely self-taught, learning to read and write at home later in life.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Succeeded Abraham Lincoln after his assassination
    • Approved the Alaska Purchase, doubling U.S. territory
    • Served as governor and military governor of Tennessee
    • State Senator before and after his presidency
    • Backed the Homestead Act
    • Advocated land reform
    • Only U.S. president without any formal schooling
  • Quote: “If you always support the correct principles then you will never get the wrong results!” —The Papers of Andrew Johnson: September 1865–January 1866, p. 478
  • Fact: Hosted marathon checkers duels at the White House with Greeneville friends and artisans until dawn.

James A. Garfield (1881)

  • 20th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled before attending higher education, later becoming a teacher and college president.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Long-serving U.S. Congressman
    • Major General during the Civil War
    • Hero at the Battle of Middle Creek
    • Pushed for civil service reform
    • Championed civil rights and education
    • Exposed postal corruption (Star Route scandal)
    • Supported the gold standard
    • First to run a “whistle-stop” campaign by rail
    • Served as president of Hiram College
    • Published his own proof of the Pythagorean theorem
  • Quote: “Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither can be permanently maintained.” —Letter to the National Teachers Association, 1871
  • Fact: Said to have written Greek with one hand and Latin with the other at the same time.

William McKinley (1897–1901)

  • 25th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled during early years before attending public school and college.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Led the U.S. to victory in the Spanish-American War
    • Annexed Hawaii
    • Expanded the U.S. Navy
    • Authored the McKinley Tariff Act
    • Promoted economic growth (“McKinley Prosperity”)
    • Supported the Gold Standard Act
    • Served as a congressman and tariff expert
    • Served as governor of Ohio
    • Civil War veteran (last president to have served)
    • Practiced law and defended laborers
  • Quote: “Our forefathers builded better than they knew, and left us an inheritance to cherish and preserve.” —Speech at Buffalo, 1897
  • Fact: Avid stamp collector, amassing a portfolio of U.S. and international postage stamps.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909)

  • 26th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled due to health issues, focusing on natural sciences, history, and literature.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Built the Panama Canal
    • First American Nobel Peace Prize winner
    • Youngest person to assume the presidency (42 years old)
    • Led Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War
    • Founder of the modern conservation movement
    • Expanded national parks and forests
    • Founded the Boone and Crockett Club
    • Assistant secretary of the navy
    • NYC police commissioner
    • Authored dozens of books
  • Quote: “Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.” —Citizenship in a Republic, 1910
  • Fact: Kept more than forty pets at the White House, including a bear and a hyena.

Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921)

  • 28th U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Informally homeschooled by his parents until age 10, with an emphasis on reading and religious studies before attending formal schools.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Led World War I diplomacy
    • Proposed the League of Nations
    • Won the Nobel Peace Prize
    • Established the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission
    • Championed the Nineteenth Amendment, securing women’s voting rights
    • Served as governor of New Jersey
    • Served as president of Princeton University
    • Authored influential political science text
  • Quote: "The personal factor in education is the chief factor. For the young it is necessary, in order that they may get the real zest of learning into their hearts . . ." —Speech on Education, 1920
  • Fact: Only president to hold a PhD (political science, Johns Hopkins).

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945)

  • 32nd U.S. President
  • Level of Homeschooling: Homeschooled by private tutors until age 14, then attended Groton School.
  • Notable Achievements:
    • Led the nation through the Great Depression and World War II
    • Longest-serving U.S. president (elected to four terms)
    • Hosted weekly radio “Fireside Chats”
    • Created Social Security
    • Founded the Civilian Conservation Corps
    • Signed the Fair Labor Standards Act
    • Led World War II diplomacy
    • Helped found the United Nations
    • Served as governor of New York
    • Served as assistant secretary of the navy
    • Planted 500,000 trees at Hyde Park
  • Quote: “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” —Address at University of Pennsylvania, 1940
  • Fact: Accomplished watercolor painter, producing over a thousand landscapes and still-life studies.

Homeschooling and Leadership: A Presidential Legacy

Classical Foundations

  • Over 60 percent of homeschooled presidents received a classical education focused on Latin, rhetoric, and philosophy.
  • More than half later attended college or studied law independently.
  • At least five were self-taught in subjects such as surveying, law, or foreign languages.

Family-Led Learning

  • Nearly all sixteen received early instruction from parents, tutors, or clergy rather than from formal schools.
  • Four were taught primarily by their mothers, including Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln.
  • Homeschooling was the norm for early presidents born before 1800—applying to ten of the first twelve.

Leadership & Legacy

  • Nine of the sixteen served in the military.
  • Six held the rank of major or higher.
  • Over 80 percent held multiple public offices before the presidency (governor, senator, diplomat).
  • Five founded or led major educational institutions (e.g., Jefferson with UVA, Wilson with Princeton).

Historical Context

  • Homeschooling dominated for presidents born before 1850.
  • The last homeschooled president was Franklin D. Roosevelt (born 1882).
  • Homeschooled presidents span every major American war era, from the Revolutionary War to WWII.

Reflections on Education

  • Over half made public statements affirming the value of education, character, or parental influence.
  • Three directly credited their mothers or tutors for shaping their early learning.

Sources

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