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James Buchanan (1791-1868) -

James Buchanan came from a well-off family, but he never made much money of his own, since his entire career was in public service.

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James Buchanan (1791-1868) -

After getting a law degree, Buchanan joined the military and served during the War of 1812 before being elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

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James Buchanan (1791-1868) -

His political career included positions as a congressman, senator, and secretary of state. He was president from 1857 to 1861.

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Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) -

Born into a modest family in Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln made money in his early twenties doing manual labor, such as splitting wood.

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Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) -

After moving to New Salem, Illinois, in 1831, Lincoln worked as town postmaster, and he even owned a general store. Eventually, he found politics and won a seat in the Illinois state legislature.

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Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) -

It was only after his election that he decided to become a lawyer. He later became the 16th president of the US, from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.

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Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) -

Serving as the 17th president, from 1865 to 1869, Andrew Johnson began his work life as a tailor. However, he frequently advocated for the common man and railed against plantations.

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Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) -

Johnson gained support in his town of Greeneville, Tennessee, eventually becoming alderman and mayor of the town.

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Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) -

His political career continued, and he managed to be put on Abraham Lincoln's ticket for reelection in 1864. He took office after Lincoln's assassination.

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Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) -

Known for his leadership of Union forces during the Civil War, between that and his earlier service in the Mexican-American War, Ulysses S. Grant struggled to find work.

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Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) -

After resigning from the Army in 1854, Grant failed in his attempts to work in farming and real estate, so he went on to work for his father the in leather goods trade. He returned to the Army when the Civil War broke out.

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Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) -

Later a war hero, Grant was unanimously nominated by the Republican Party and then elected president in 1868.

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James A. Garfield (1831-1881) -

Born into poverty, James A. Garfield never had a lucrative career. Instead, he focused on service. After completing his education at the Eclectic Institute, he returned to his alma mater and became a Greek and Latin teacher. He was also an ordained minister.

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James A. Garfield (1831-1881) -

In 1859, Garfield was elected as a Republican member of the Ohio State Senate, serving until 1861. He opposed Confederate secession, and became a major general in the Union Army during the Civil War.

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James A. Garfield (1831-1881) -

Garfield was elected president in 1881, after nine terms in the US House of Representatives. He served from March 1881 until his death the following September after being shot in July.

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Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886) -

The man who succeeded Garfield after his assassination didn't come from money, either. Eventually graduating from Union College and becoming a schoolteacher, Chester A. Arthur was later admitted to the bar and worked as a lawyer in New York City. But during the Civil War, he served as a quartermaster.

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Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886) -

After the war, Arthur became collector of the New York Customs House. In 1880, James Garfield chose Arthur as his vice president, putting him in line for the presidency when Garfield was assassinated. Arthur served the remainder of Garfield's term until March 4, 1885.

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Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) -

Though never exactly "poor," the 28th president came from modest means and stayed there, spending much of his career in academia. Wilson would eventually go on to receive a PhD in political science from Johns Hopkins University, making him the only US president with a doctoral degree.

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Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) -

Afterward, Wilson taught at Princeton, where he actually earned the highest salary of anyone on its faculty. He would later serve as the prestigious university’s president from 1902 to 1910.

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Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) -

Wilson left his academic career to serve as the Democratic governor of New Jersey in 1910. Just two years later, he was elected president, serving from 1913 to 1921.

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Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) -

Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer who moved to Massachusetts. Climbing the ladder in local politics, he became the state's 48th governor in 1918.

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Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) -

A few years later, Coolidge was picked as Warren G. Harding's vice president, unexpectedly rising to the Oval Office in 1923 after Harding's sudden death.

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Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) -

After leaving office, Coolidge wrote his memoir and regular columns in various magazines. He became known as Silent Cal, as he rarely took part in casual conversation.

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Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) -

The 33rd president of the United States spent much of his life in financial turmoil. With a modest upbringing in Missouri, Truman didn't attend college. Instead, he started out working on his family farm before going out to work at a railroad construction company and later a bank. 

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Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) -

When he returned from military service after World War I, Truman opened a men's clothing store that he later had to close via bankruptcy. Truman spent the remainder of his career in the public sector, first as a county judge and later as a senator. He became Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice president in 1945, taking over leadership after Roosevelt's death just three months later.

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Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) -

After his presidency, Truman returned to Missouri, and for a short time his income came from a small pension of US$1,350 a year (roughly $13,800, adjusted for inflation). He also signed the rights to his memoir for $600,000 in the mid-1950s, more than $6 million in today's money, which was reportedly paid out over several years.

Sources: (History) (24/7 Wall St.)

See also: From alcoholism to assassination: How every US President died

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