In American politics , " dynasty " is a dirty word . The Founding Fathers , after all , go away on record as wholeheartedly objecting to king flux through blood rather than ballot , declaring in theU.S. Constitutionthat " no title of nobility shall be grant by the United States . " The narrative of one of the country ’s most striking political families , the Kennedys , even avoid the dreaded d - word . Rather than have-to doe with to the New England clan as a dynasty , it ’s romantically painted as Camelot .
In world , however , it took just about as much time for the ink to dry out on the Declaration of Independence as it did for American politics to become another type of family business . In 1848 , for example , more than 16 percent of congressional buttocks were filled by someone whose congeneric had antecedently hold the position [ germ : Kieley ] . Moreover , a 2006 field of study found that Congress members who serve more than one terminal figure have a 40 percentage fortune of someone in their home later ending up in Congress [ source : Alexander ] . That does n’t inculpate that these family tree are full of rotten apples , but they may cultivate relationships and connections that can help sibling , cousins and in - laws win elections as with any successful business operation .
The comply American dynasty certainly infer how to pool their resources and convert their last figure into telling and prospicient - lastingpolitical brands .
10: Cuomo Dynasty
Technically , political business leader should run through a family for at least three generations to qualify as a dynasty , but New York ’s popular Cuomos get a pass since patriarch Mario was a first - propagation American [ source : Victor Hess ] . Son of an immigrant Italian grocer , Mario Cuomo grew up in Queens and finally became New Yorkgovernorin 1983 . His former son , Andrew , serve as Gov. Cuomo ’s political director until the senior politician was defeated at the poll in 1994 .
The experience likely came in handy when Andrew decided to ply for governor like his Father of the Church , especially view he won his 2010 election . And verbalise of dynasty , a few years prior in 2003 , Andrew lawfully cut tie beam with the Kennedy dynasty when his marriage to Kerry Kennedy dissolved . The immature Cuomo finally may replace his pappa ’s political bequest since he ’s considering making a run for theWhite Housein 2016 [ source : Hartmann ] . And who leak that possibility to the imperativeness ? Doting pop Mario , naturally .
9: Daley Dynasty
In December 2010 , Richard M. Daley became Chicago ’s longest - servingmayor , having led the city since 1989 . He claimed the title from his father , Richard J. Daley , who govern the Midwestern metropolis from 1955 to his 1976 death [ source : MSNBC ] . Although there were a handful of mayors elected to office between the father and Word , the Daleys ran Chicago for a total of 43 age , in many ways molding the Windy City into its modern , bustling status [ source : Reiss ] . Upon the vernal Daley ’s promulgation that he would n’t seek reelection for a 7th term , news headline hail the " end of a dynasty . "
The other Daley son , William M. Daley , is also instrumental in government . When formerWhite HouseChief of Staff Rahm Emanuel step down from the Obama presidency to snag the Chicago mayoral bottom vacated by Richard M. Daley , William headed to Washington , D.C. , to take his place .
8: Rockefeller Dynasty
The Rockefellers did n’t make their name in politics , but the huge fortune John D. Rockefeller pile up with his Standard Oil Company would help bankroll future family appendage ' elections [ source : Victor Hess ] . The elder Rockefeller , in fact , had no pastime in politics , and his only son , John D. Rockefeller Jr. , was far more concerned in investing wealth back into social club rather than influencing people through political berth . Nevertheless , Rockefeller ’s wedding to Abby Aldrich , daughter of a Rhode Island senator , was portray as a politically savvy marriage .
John and Abby ’s son , Nelson Rockefeller , share a birthday with his prestigious granddad and look to have inherit his ambition from an former age [ beginning : PBS ] . In 1959 , Nelson Rockefeller became the Republicangovernorof New York following a characteristically well - fund campaign . He would never reach his goal of climbing his means to the Oval Office , however . In 1974 , following the resignation of President Nixon , Gerald Ford appoint Rockefeller hisvice presidentbut abandoned Rockefeller when reelection roll around .
corking - grandson Jay Rockefeller served two term as governor of West Virginia . After that , he was elect to the U.S. Senate and , as of 2012 , has been reelected four times .
7: Taft Dynasty
Just because political ambition runs in a family does n’t mean those expected to campaign necessarily share common dream of electoral halo . Such was the case for President William Howard Taft , who came from a prominent Cincinnati phratry and later refer to his 1908White Houserace as " one of the most uncomfortable four month of my lifespan " [ source : Beschloss and Sidey ] . The stout lawyer - turn - Chief Executive service one term , lose reelection and was afterwards appointed Chief Justice of the United States by President Harding in 1920 .
Unlike his reluctantly political Fatherhood , Robert A. Taft was far more wrapped on reaching the Oval Office . The Ohio drawing card serve as a U.S. senator and unsuccessfully put his name in the lid for the Republican nominating address for president three freestanding clock time [ origin : U.S. Senate ] . Years later , third - generation Robert Taft Jr. also gain a seat in the Ohio state legislature before move on to Congress . Most lately in 2005 , however , former Ohio Governor Bob Taft – large - grandson of William Howard and son of Robert Taft Jr. – sullied the family line repute when he was criminally charged with failing to report gifts and pay outings he incur in business office [ source : Cole ] .
6: Frelinghuysen Dynasty
In 1720 , evangelist Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen arrived in colonial New Jersey from Germany , and his family would remain in the eventual Garden State for generations to total . The Frelinghuysen clan first became involved in U.S. politics way back in 1793 when Theordorus ' grandson Frederick won a Senate seat after leading American troops in theRevolutionary Warand serving in the 1779 Continental Congress [ source : Brown ] . Since then , seven generations of Frelinghuysens have represented New Jersey on the country and federal grade [ reservoir : Kitchin ] . The late Peter Frelinghuysen , for instance , completed 11 terms as a U.S. Congressman , legislating from 1953 to 1975 ; son Rodney Frelinghuysen has represent the same congressional district as his father since 1995 .
Although the Frelinghuysen line may not roll off the natural language or appeal as much nationwide prestige as the Bushes and Clintons , it ’s sure enough carry a cachet at home . school , streets , a township and multiple buildings around the land are list after the original New Jersey natives [ source : Kitchin ] .
5: Harrison Dynasty
Like the Frelinghuysens of New Jersey , the Harrison class got its start in American politics during the nation ’s babyhood . The first Harrison serve in Congress in 1793 , and six more would go on to claim seats in a total 20 congressional sessions [ informant : Bó , Bó and Snyder ] . The Harrisons also revel the rarified distinction of broadcast not one , but two , of its line to theWhite House . Former Virginia Governor William Henry Harrison became the ninthU.S. presidentin 1841 , but his incumbency lasted only 32 day since he drop dead from a cold that developed into fateful pneumonia .
After work as an Indiana senator , grandson Benjamin Harrison outsmart out incumbent Grover Cleveland in 1888 . eff as " Little Ben " for his myopic stature , the second Harrison presidency only lasted a single terminus , due in tumid part to athird - party challengefrom Theodore Roosevelt ’s Progressive Party . In the race for reelection , the formerly vote down Democrat Grover Cleveland come back around and repossess victory in 1892 [ author : Beschloss and Sidey ] .
4: Roosevelt Dynasty
Many political dynasties travel through contiguous families , often flowing from father to son to grandson , or from hubby to wife . The Roosevelt connection was much more diluted but nevertheless pivotal in the country ’s history . In 1900 , Theodore Roosevelt won thevice presidencyon William McKinley ’s presidential ticket , and took over administrator reins himself when McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist in September 1901 [ origin : Miller ] . Stepping down from part in 1909 , Roosevelt got the political itch once again and unprofitably ran once more in 1912 on thethird party Progressive ticketnicknamed the Bull Moose Party .
Meanwhile , Theodore Roosevelt ’s niece Eleanor get married his fifth cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1905 . After a terminus as governor of New York , FDR became president in 1932 and would return to bureau three more times , longer than anyone else in American chronicle . Not long into his 4th terminal figure , FDR died , leaving some to speculate that Eleanor Roosevelt would pick up the political torch , but she declined the popular nomination for Senate [ source : Hess ] . Two of the Roosevelt sons , James and Frank , later were elected to Congress stand for California and New York , respectively , but their political careers would n’t progress beyond the House of Representatives .
3: Adams Dynasty
The Adams have been called " America ’s first dynasty , " although the family ’s political ponderosity would peak and evanesce out prior to the 20th century . found Father John Adams work his way up from a humble fosterage and deftly wheel around and cope with France and England at the ending of the tumultuousAmerican Revolution . But John Adams’vice presidencywas considered a lackluster function , second only to his single full term aspresident[source : Shesol ] .
The New England family line had a chance to burnish its presidential legacy when the oldest boy , John Quincy Adams , took office in 1825 . But he seemed to have inherit his dad ’s poor leadership skills , and the sixth president ’s execution was considered as bad as that of the 2nd . after , however , the young Adams help admirably in Congress as a staunch emancipationist [ source : Shesol ] . Great - great - grandson Charles Francis Adams III cross out the last in the family pedigree to pursue public position , finally being select by President Herbert Hoover for Secretary of the Navy [ informant : Victor Franz Hess ] .
2: Kennedy Dynasty
Initially , John F. Kennedy was n’t presuppose to be the son destined to becomePresident . moneyed moneyman Joseph P. Kennedy had planned to bankroll the future campaign of Joe Kennedy , the older of his four boy , but those patriarchal designs were dash when the 29 - class - old pilot was belt down in a plane crash over the English Channel [ source : Reuters ] . In the face of that disaster , the political buck was kick the bucket down to the next - old boy , John , leaving U.S. Attorney General for Robert and a Massachusetts Senate seat for the youngest , Edward [ root : Romano ] .
With the assistant of the Kennedy fortune , John and Robert both live up to their sire ’s dreaming but did n’t survive long enough to fill out their fabled part . John was assassinate in 1963 while president , and Robert was assassinated in 1968 while seeking the Democraticpresidential nomination . Edward Kennedy unsuccessfully challenged Jimmy Carter for the popular tag in 1980 . spend the eternal sleep of his vocation in the U.S. Senate , the so - holler " Liberal Lion " nevertheless carved out a Congressional record as one of its most influential members and its fourth - longest serving legislator ( 1962 to 2009 ) [ informant : U.S. Senate ] .
In 2011 , when Edward Kennedy ’s boy Patrick retired from his billet as a U.S. Representative of Rhode Island , it signaled the end – or at least a trenchant lull – of the Kennedy political dynasty . For the first time since 1947 , no Kennedy hold out to work in the U.S. Capitol .
1: Bush Dynasty
Americans may not glamorize the Bush kinsfolk in the same legendary manner ascribed to the Kennedys , but they arguably are the most successful political dynasty of the 20th hundred . In 1952 , Prescott Bush was voted in as a senator from Connecticut , and his boy , George H.W. Bush moved down to Texas and follow in his don ’s footsteps winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives [ source : Beschloss and Sidey ] . In 1980 , new elected President Ronald Reagan kicked off the first of two terms with Bush as hisvice president . Boosted by the popularity of the Reagan organization , Republican Bush succeed the former Commander - in - honcho in 1988 , but lost to Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992 . Meanwhile , Prescott ’s grandsons George W. and Jeb were paving their own political inroad toward becoming governor of Texas and Florida , respectively .
In 2000 , in a historically closelipped election that hinge on fewer than 600 vote in Florida , George W. Bush reignited the dynasty with his narrow triumph . When George W. Bush strive his terminus limit in 2008 , he and his father had occupied the first or second most powerful positions in the U.S. government for 20 out of the former 28 years . Some suspect that younger chum Jeb might court the 2008Republican nomination , but he except . And with the 2016 elections and beyond already looming on the celestial horizon , another family member has surfaced as someone to keep an oculus on : George P. Bush , Jeb ’s son who reportedly has been train for the political microscope stage from a new age [ source : chunk ] .
Lots More Information
As much as America adheres to a no - royalty policy , it ’s mightily interesting to notice just how much force has tended to lam in families ( not to advert the stateside inflammation with William and Kate ’s royal wedding , but that ’s another article ) . From the get - go in the United States , political science has been treated like another business enterprise in many manner , and from that perspective it makes sense that sure families would take to it and work up their empires . Just as the retail industriousness has the Walton syndicate , for instance , Republican politics has the Bush family . Political dynasties also tend to follow vernacular patterns of stake out a geographic area ( Massachusetts for the Kennedys ; New York for the Cuomos ) and concentrate influence to lie a basis to try out the pivotal part – i.e. , governorships , Senate seats – that often pave the way to the White House .
Also , there are some family names that have been left off the list . That ’s correct ; the U.S. has so many political dynasty to take from , you ca n’t boil them all down to a 10 - point list .
