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Military services was never required for Congress or the President of the US: "No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of tw
by DougWebb 14y ago
Military services was never required for Congress or the President of the US:
"No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen."
"No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen."
"No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."
Besides, as soon as the President is sworn into office, he's the Commander In Chief of the armed forces, so if he wasn't already in the military he is at that point.
- stephengillie 14y agoMilitary services was never required for Congress or the President of the US It was an unwritten requirement because nobody took non-veterans seriously as presidential candidates.
- DougWebb 14y agoSource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States_by_military_service http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_Unite... According to the table on that page, 11 US Presidents had no prior military service. This goes all the way back to John Adams, President #2 and our first Vice President. That's a full 25% that were not in the military. Many of the others were in the militia or national guard, which until fairly recently was not the same thing.