11. George Washington’s Adventurous Life
George Washington had the most interesting pre Oval Office (which didn’t exist in his day) life of any American president. Before he was anybody, Washington played a key role in the disastrous Braddock Expedition – an obscure engagement in the middle of nowhere that nonetheless helped spark off the Seven Years’ War. The man was personally involved in world changing events from early on. When the American Revolution began, he led rebel armies almost from start to finish. He was not a brilliant battlefield commander. Nonetheless, he took disorganized militia mobs, forged them into a disciplined national army, and kept that army as a going concern for almost a decade, until victory was won.
Washington pulled that off despite intrigues, backstabbing, and straight up treason, both within his army and among his political masters. America probably would have lost its bid for independence without Washington. It is also probable that any random month from that period of his life as commander of the Continental Army had more interesting stuff than the entire pre-POTUS life of any other American president. Only other chief executives who had anything comparable by way of an exciting life before they were elected to lead the country were probably Andrew Jackson and US Grant, both of whom led armies in momentous battles and campaigns.
