5 Inexperienced U.S. Presidents

1. Abraham Lincoln—Lincoln spent eight years in the Illinois Legislature but only one term in the House of Representatives and lost his U.S. Senate campaign in 1858.

2. Woodrow Wilson—He had served as New Jersey's governor for two years when he was elected president in 1912.

3. George W. Bush—He served as governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being sworn in as president in January of 2001.

4. Theodore Roosevelt—Roosevelt was governor of New York from 1898 to 1900 and served six months as vice president before becoming president after William McKinley was shot.

5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt—His political experience prior to the presidency included one term as a state senator and a stint as governor of New York from 1929 to 1932.

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