{"id":10414,"date":"2023-11-14T11:50:10","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T10:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/?p=10414"},"modified":"2023-11-14T11:50:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T10:50:10","slug":"how-many-presidents-were-born-west-of-the-mississippi-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/how-many-presidents-were-born-west-of-the-mississippi-river\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many Presidents Were Born West Of The Mississippi River"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There have been a total of 44 US Presidents since the office was established in 1789. Of these 44 presidents, only four have been born west of the Mississippi River. Those include, of course, the most famous of them all – Abraham Lincoln – as well as Ulysses S Grant, Jimmy Carter and most recently, Barack Obama. <\/p>\n

Background <\/h2>\n

The Mississippi River is one of North America’s grandest and most iconic rivers, running from north to south and acting as a defining boundary for the United States. It acts as the largest tributary of the Gulf of Mexico and is the fourth longest river system in the world. The original boundaries of the United States would not have included land west of the Mississippi, and so historically, the majority of presidents before Lincoln were born on the east side of the Mississippi. It wasn’t until the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 that the US established official claims to the land west of the Mississippi.<\/p>\n

US Presidents Born West of the Mississippi <\/h2>\n

Abraham Lincoln was the first US president to be born west of the Mississippi. He was born in 1809 in present-day Ector County, Texas, and is perhaps the most famous US president of all time. His legacy lies in his work to end slavery in the United States and for preserving the Union during the American Civil War. <\/p>\n

Ulysses S Grant was the next president to be born west of the Mississippi. He was born in 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio, and was a distinguished Union Army General during the Civil War. His two terms as president saw the first use of federal troops to protect African American voting rights and the establishment of the first Civil Rights Bill. He remains the only president to date to be born in the state of Ohio. <\/p>\n