On July 21 , 2024 , sitting U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he would abandon his reelection effort and , by doing so , forfeit his chance at attend to a 2nd terminus in office .
Biden ’s decision is far from unequalled . Although many previouspresidentshave follow in the step of doubly - elect George Washington , holding onto the White House for a sum of eight years , there is no famine of statesmen who were elect to and/or served just a single term . Some , like Biden , made a conscious decision to give up their reelection tender , while others died before finishing their term , fail to win reelection , or left on their own accordance .
Below , you ’ll find out who they were and why they did n’t puzzle around as long as their presidential peers .
Presidents Who Died in Office Before Completing Their First Term
1. William Henry Harrison // 1841
Serving the shortest presidential term in U.S. chronicle , the ninth commander - in - chief died just one month after his inauguration . Harrison ’s health had been reject long before he was swear in , and he spent most of his clock time in office in search of last - resortremediesfor what historians believe was probably pneumonia .
2. Zachary Taylor // 1849-1850
Taylorwas a vocation Army officer who won the White House by capitalizing on the report he earned as a general in the Mexican - American War . He was diagnosed with “ cholera morbus , ” potential intense gastroenteritis . After passing off at the age of 65 , his physical structure wasencased in icebefore being bury .
3. James A. Garfield // 1881
Garfield ’s first term in office ended with his dying on September 19 , 1881 , less than three months after he wasshotat the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington , D.C. The assassinator , Charles J. Guiteau , did not have a political motive . The mentally disturbed individual decide to murder Garfield after the latter refuse to namehim consul of Austria , a post Guiteau was in no agency certified for .
4. Warren G. Harding // 1921-1923
Warren Harding was in his suite at San Francisco ’s Palace Hotel listening to his married woman read an article from theSaturday Evening Postwhen he of a sudden dropped all in on his bottom . Although historian suspect that he break down of a tenderness onset , no one get it on because , as per his married woman ’s asking , there was no autopsy on the body .
5. John F. Kennedy // 1961-1963
Kennedy wasshot by Lee Harvey Oswaldwhile being driven through Dallas , Texas , in a convertible . Arguably the most notorious presidential character assassination in U.S. story , Kennedy was succeeded by his frailty president , Lyndon Johnson .
Vice Presidents Who Completed Their Predecessor’s Term But Were Not Elected to a Four-Year Term
6. John Tyler // 1841-1845
John Tylerassumed office after the death of William Henry Harrison , becoming the first vice president in U.S. chronicle to do so ( and gaining thenicknameHis Accidency ) . In the eld leading up to the Civil War , Tyler judge to broker a via media between the seceding states and the Union , butjoined the Confederacywhen this proved stillborn .
7. Millard Fillmore // 1850-1853
Fillmore , a appendage of the Whig Party , was sworn in as president after the death of Zachary Taylor . During his time in office , he worked to set apart the increasingly pro - Confederate John Tyler . Fillmore was not picked as his political party ’s nominee in the 1852 election . He lean an unsuccessful presidential campaign as part of the Know Nothing Party in 1856 beforedisappearingfrom public survey .
8. Andrew Johnson // 1865-1869
Johnson became president after the blackwash of Abraham Lincoln in his second terminus . A southern Democrat and unpopular leader , Johnson’sappointmentas vice president was envisioned as an attempt to move towards post - Civil War unity between North and South . Johnson ’s Reconstruction drive angered both sides of the state , dissuading him from seeking election .
9. Chester A. Arthur // 1881-1885
Arthur was swear in after the death of James A. Garfield . He did not attempt election due to complications from Bright ’s disease , a kidney stipulation . Although the public was not aware of hisillness , his symptom prevented him from insure the Republican Party nominating speech , which ended up going to James G. Blaine .
10. Gerald R. Ford // 1974-1977
Ford assume berth after PresidentRichard M. Nixonresigned to stave off impeachment following theWatergate scandal . Ford , who was appoint after the surrender of Nixon ’s first vice president , Spiro Agnew , became the first andonly personin U.S.historyto become President of the United States without being elected to either the presidency or vice presidency . Ford lost the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter , though .
Vice Presidents Who Completed Their Predecessor’s Term and Then Were Elected to a Four-Year Term
11. Theodore Roosevelt // 1901-1909
Rooseveltbecame Chief Executive after the death of William McKinley , who was assassinated shortly after the start of his second term in office . Popularamong Republicans and Democrats likewise , peculiarly for his preservation cause , TRdefeated Democratic nominee Alton Parker in 1904 , securing an additional four years in the White House . He convinced his protégé , William Howard Taft , to run for president in the 1908 election — but then challenged Taft , the Republican candidate , in the 1912 election as the nominee of the Progressive/“Bull Moose ” Party . Both Taft and Roosevelt lost to Democrat Woodrow Wilson .
12. Calvin Coolidge // 1923-1929
Stepping into the Oval Office watch over the death of Warren G. Harding in 1923,Coolidgegained popularity for his function inpunishingthe perpetrators of theTeapot Dome scandal , in which the Interior Department let federal oil color reserves behind the federal government ’s back . The former frailty president then secured his electoral triumph in 1924 .
13. Harry S. Truman // 1945-1953
TrumanfinishedFranklin D. Roosevelt ’s fourth full term after the latter passed away in Georgia . Although Truman wasnot expectedto continue in the White House — he was widely criticize for his domestic and foreign insurance , including the end of Hiroshima and Nagasaki byatomic dud — he ended up winning the 1948 presidential election by a hair ’s breadthagainst Thomas Dewey .
14. Lyndon B. Johnson // 1963-1969
After taking over the presidency in the aftermath of John F. Kennedy ’s character assassination , Johnsonachieved an electoral triumph of his own . Theunanimous supporthe receive from the Democratic Party contrasted with the fractured nation of the Republicans , many of whom did not suffer by their staunchly materialistic nominee , Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona . In 1968 , Johnson reject to seek reelection , opening up the door for a revived Richard Nixon .
Presidents Who Failed to Win Reelection
15. John Adams // 1797-1801
Adamswas elected chairperson after serving asGeorge Washington ’s veep ( and after Washington announced in his farewell address that he would not assay athird term ) . But Adams ’s approval military rating dwindled as a effect of signing the Alien and Sedition Acts , which limited Americans ’ exemption of apparent movement and speech . He lost his reelection bid to his own vice president and frenemy , Thomas Jefferson .
16. John Quincy Adams // 1825-1829
XTC ’s reelection loss toAndrew Jacksonis widely assign to Adams being a “ misfortunate political leader ” whose ethics were more in line of work with the Founding Fathers than the new era of two - company politics . Adam attempted to rise above the “ pestilent sens of company strife ” and advocated for federal mogul in an age when many of his peers , like Jackson , were campaigning for states ’ right .
17. Martin Van Buren // 1837-1841
The only President of the United States who spoke English as a 2d language ( his mother tongue was Dutch),Van Buren ’s failure to secure reelection can be attributed to thechanging natureof American politics . His adversary , William Henry Harrison , actively campaign for part and paint the already unpopular Van Buren as a wealthy elite who , unlike himself , was woefully out of touch with the vernacular man .
18. Franklin Pierce // 1853-1857
Unable to accord on a presidential candidate , delegate at the 1852 Democratic National Convention pick out the virtually unknownPierceas a dark horse nominee — a strategy they wouldnot repeatin 1856 , despite Pierce actively look for reelection . delegate at that rule would put their faith in next one - termer James Buchanan or else .
19. Benjamin Harrison // 1889-1893
AfterdefeatingDemocratic incumbentGrover Cleveland , Harrison ’s favorable reception ratings digest from his implementation of high tariffs and federal spending , allowing Cleveland to win their rematch in 1892 . Harrison returned to practicing law in Indianapolis , Indiana .
20. William Howard Taft // 1909-1913
Taft won the White House in 1908 after beinggroomedby Theodore Roosevelt as his replacement . The election of 1912 , however , saw the Republican Taft lose to Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson , who also beat up out Socialist Party nomineeEugene V. Debsand Roosevelt himself , who ran on behalf of his newly created Progressive/“Bull Moose ” Party .
21. Herbert Hoover // 1929-1933
WhenHerbert Hooverbecame president in 1929 , the saving was boom . By the time he left office , can Americans who had miss everything in theGreat Depressionwere living in shantytowns dub “ Hoovervilles . ” Hooverlostthe 1932 election to Franklin Delano Roosevelt , whose New Deal initiative promise to extenuate the effects of the Depression that the Republican incumbent had give way to call .
22. Jimmy Carter // 1977-1981
Georgia - carry PresidentJimmy Carterlost the 1980 election to actor - turn - politicianRonald Reagan — a loss usually attribute to hisinconsistentpolicy goals and an economic recession that led many voters to desire a modification in leaders .
23. George H.W. Bush // 1989-1993
Although the elderly President Bush enjoy high approval ratings during the beginning of his term , his popularity hadfallen sharplyby the time the next election season revved up . Divisive Supreme Court appointments , unsuccessful person to follow through on hope to curve taxes , and a interior recession contributed to the triumph of his antagonist , Bill Clinton .
24. Donald Trump // 2017-2021
Trump lose his reelection bid to Barack Obama ’s veep , Joe Biden , after a tumultuous four - twelvemonth full term that weakened the country ’s democratic establishment and end with a pack of his right - backstage supporters storming the Capitol .
Presidents Who Chose Not to Run for Reelection After One Term
25. James K. Polk // 1845-1849
Although he was a democratic and , by many historical accounts , successful President of the United States , Polkchose not to seek reelection because he felt he hadachievedhis basal policy goals in a single term , which included the acquisitions of California , New Mexico , and Oregon . He also attributed his decision to his deteriorating health .
26. James Buchanan // 1857-1861
A northern Democrat with southerly values , Buchananwas ab initio elect in the hope that he mightclosethe growing rift between detached and slave land . He failed to contain the engagement and decided not to look for reelection , though , considering that he ’s widely consider as one of theworst presidentsin U.S. history , it ’s improbable he would have been able to retain the White House either path .
27. Rutherford B. Hayes // 1877-1881
Hayes was named Chief Executive when , after an election where none of the candidates managed to stop up enough electoral votes to come in the White House , he was awarded 20 contested right to vote from Congress . Stepping into office on suchunprecedented and controversialgrounds , Hayes call from the offset that he ’d serve only one term — a promise he kept .
28. Joe Biden // 2021-2025
Biden choose to call back from the 2024 presidential election after his poor carrying into action in a public debate against Donald Trump pull up stakes many eminent - visibility Democrats — and voter — concerned about his ability to win . He endorsed Vice PresidentKamala Harrisin the race .
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