5.10 Life After the Presidency

​What is Life Like After the Presidency?

After This Lesson, Students Will Be Able To . . .

• Identify the post-presidency activities of former American Presidents

• Recognize some limitations or restrictions in everyday life that former American Presidents encounter after leaving the White House

Higher Ground Productions first acquired American Factory, a documentary about post-industrial Ohio, and Bloom, a drama series about the world of fashion in post-World War II New York City. Since then, they have produced several films and series, including Leave the World Behind and have many more lined up for production in the coming years.

Job he did after his presidency: Film producer

So what do presidents do after their term? They get creative, that’s what! Since leaving the White House in 2017, Barack Obama has traveled the globe and written a memoir (A Promised Land came out in November 2020), among other endeavors. He has also done something fairly unexpected: He signed a deal with Netflix.
In 2018, he and Michelle announced a multiyear deal with Netflix to produce content under their imprint, Higher Ground Productions. In a statement, Netflix said projects would include a range of scripted, unscripted and documentary series, as well as full-length features and documentaries.

Barack Obama

According to the National Park Service, Jefferson imagined that an “academical village clustered around a tree-lined lawn would provide an ideal setting in which to pursue higher education.” Turns out he was right. Today, the University of Virginia is regarded as one of the most beautiful campuses in the country.

Job he did after his presidency: University founder

As if being a Founding Father of the United States wasn’t enough, Thomas Jefferson went on to found something else: a university. In 1819, just 10 years after his presidency ended, Jefferson established the University of Virginia, which opened six years later in 1825.

Thomas Jefferson

However, the former president didn’t let those early criticisms get to him. In 2017, he released Portraits of Courage, a book of his paintings of members of the U.S. military. In 2021, he released Out of Many, One, which focuses on portraits of U.S. immigrants. Some proceeds from the book went toward organizations that help immigrants resettle in the United States. In March 2025, the former president opened a new exhibition, A Shining City on the Hilltop, at Dallas’s Southern Methodist University.

Job he did after his presidency: Painter

After completing two terms, President George W. Bush decided to lean into his creative side and become a painter. In 2012, he began taking classes with Dallas-based artist Gail Norfleet, and in 2013, his new hobby was revealed after a somewhat embarrassing email hack.

George W. Bush

Taft served as president from 1909 to 1913, and he was appointed to the highest court in the land in 1921 by president Warren Harding. He considered the appointment to be his greatest honor, and he once wrote, “I don’t remember that I ever was president.” Taft is the only president to have served the country in both capacities.

Job he did after his presidency: Supreme Court justice

The 27th president of the United States, William Howard Taft decided to serve his country in a different way after his stint in the White House—by becoming a Supreme Court justice.

William Howard Taft

Clinton won his first Grammy in 2004 for his narration of the children’s book Wolf Tracks. He won his second in 2005 for his narration of his autobiography, My Life. This is another incredible example of what presidents do after their term and what all they can go on to achieve.

And while Clinton was the first president to win a Grammy, he wasn’t the last. Barack Obama won the award in 2006 and 2008, and Jimmy Carter won it in 2007.

Job he did after his presidency: Recording artist

Did you know that Bill Clinton won two Grammy Awards after he left office? The 42nd president is known to be an impressive saxophone player—and one of the presidents with the highest IQ scores—but his Grammys are for something totally different: spoken-word albums.

Bill Clinton

Quincy Adams, who had spent so much time in the nation’s Capitol, died there as well. On Feb. 21, 1848, he cast a “no” vote related to the Mexican War, but when he stood to speak, he staggered and fell. Other members of the House moved him to a sofa and carried the sofa to Speaker Robert Winthrop’s office.

There, Quincy Adams fell into a coma and died two days later, on Feb. 23.

Job he did after his presidency: Nine-term congressman

John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, served his country in more ways than one. In 1830, just after he left the presidency, he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he served nine terms, until his death in 1848. At one point, he was even dubbed the “Father of the House.”

John Quincy Adams

“My life since the White House has been personally more gratifying, although the presidency was obviously the pinnacle of political success,” Carter, then 90 years old, said at a press conference in 2015, according to CNN. “If I had to choose between four more years and the Carter Center, I think I would choose the Carter Center.”

In 1999, President Bill Clinton awarded Jimmy Carter the Presidential Medal of Freedom; in 2002, he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Job he did after his presidency: Humanitarian

According to the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, “Jimmy Carter has provided Americans with an ideal model of post-presidential life.” In 1982, Carter founded the Carter Presidential Center, which is devoted to issues related to democracy and human rights. He has also worked with Habitat for Humanity International, building houses for those in need.

Jimmy Carter

Multiple Choice

Do former presidents still get paid?

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

Can former presidents hold other government positions?

• Yes

• No

​A perk of being president is that you will never have to deal with traffic. The Secret Service makes sure that your travels on the roadways is always as secure and safe as possible. Once a president takes office, they are never allowed to drive on a public road, they may, like George Bush drive on their own private land, but otherwise they have a specially trained secret service agent driving for them.

Former Presidents Are not Allowed to Drive

​Still Reading National Security Briefings

While in office, Presidents are given daily security briefings, addressing any potential threats to security of the United States and our allies throughout the world.

After leaving office, Presidents are still required to receive national security updates. They are not required to take any actions on the information they receive, but are given the opportunity to give advice to the current president or may be asked about it by the media.

​Building a Presidential Library

Every President gets a "library" named after them. In 1955 the Presidential Libraries Act established that each president would oversee a creation of a library in their name.

Presidential libraries are not like your neighborhood public library. They contain every word that a president has written in office (unless specifically classified). This includes information that a president may or may not want to be public. Anything created during a presidents term in office is considered public property. Even though these libraries contain EVERYTHING about a presidents term, they do get a say on how that information will be presented.

​Big Brother is ALWAYS Watching

Due to the knowledge that a president is exposed to during their tenure in office, their communication devices are continually monitored while in office and once they leave public service. Their mail and digital communications are monitored consistently by the Secret Service and other agencies to ensure the safety of the president and knowledge those president's hold.

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No Badmouthing the Current Commander In Chief

Though not a law of any kind, it is frowned upon for former Presidents to speak ill of the current sitting president. This tradition has not always held true, it is an expectation that former presidents keep their criticisms of the current president to their private circles.

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No Alone Time

Presidents are constantly monitored by the Secret service, because of that, they are NEVER alone. If a president wants to go for a jog, 2 secret service agents also go for a jog with him. This causes normal tasks to become major undertakings. Barack Obama has always enjoyed playing pick up basketball, but due to his status, the Secret Service requires prior notice in order for him to play. Every where a president goes, the Secret Service follows. This includes family gatherings and a quick trip to get coffee.

​Can a President Regain their Freedom?

If a president chooses, they can actually get their "private" lives back. They are legally allowed to decline a Secret Service detail.

Even the current first family can deny Secret Service protection, though for security reasons it is frowned upon to do so. Only Richard Nixon has decline services, quoted at "wanting to save the Government money"

​There are perks to being a president. Once they leave office, they are entitled to:

1. Annual Salary - this us upwards of $200k a year.

2. Security Detail - As stated before a president is never alone, always given the opportunity to receive Secret Service details for life.

3. Health Care - Presidents are offered the option to receive care at any military hospital in the country.

4. Moving Expenses and Personal Office - Presidents are given money to move and transition into "normal life".

• Woodrow Wilson

“A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about.”