Who Was the First President To Use a Car?
Today, it’s hard to imagine a president traveling without a motorcade. But when automobiles first appeared in the late 19th century, many Americans considered them loud, dangerous contraptions that frightened horses, terrified pedestrians, and seemed unlikely to replace the trusty carriage.
So it makes sense that the White House didn’t embrace the automobile overnight. Instead, several presidents each claimed a different automotive “first,” reflecting America’s gradual transition from the horse-and-buggy days to the automobile era.
The First President To Ride in a Car
The earliest presidential automotive milestone belongs to William McKinley. During his presidency, McKinley became the first U.S. president to ride in an automobile, traveling briefly in a steam-powered vehicle in 1899 at a time when autos were still rare curiosities.
This wasn’t an official presidential vehicle, however — it was more of a demo, and the car was driven by its co-inventor, F.O. Stanley. The ride reflected the novelty of a technology that was just beginning to attract public attention. Later in his life, McKinley was known to take at least two other car rides.
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The First Public Presidential Appearance in a Car
In August 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt achieved another milestone when he became the first sitting president to make a public appearance in an automobile. While touring Connecticut, he rode through cheering crowds in an electric motorcar driven by two professional chauffeurs. Newspapers noted that the vehicle allowed more people to catch a glimpse of the president than would have been possible from a traditional carriage, making the automobile an unexpectedly effective political tool.
Roosevelt’s public embrace of the automobile may have helped legitimize a technology that many Americans still viewed with suspicion. But Roosevelt wasn’t necessarily a fan of cars personally. Three years later, he wrote to a friend: “Motor cars are a trial, aren’t they? I suppose that ultimately we will get them into their proper place in the scheme of nature, and when by law and custom their use is regulated in proper fashion their objectionable features will probably be eliminated; but just at present I regard them as distinct additions to the discomfort of living.”
The President Who Brought Cars to the White House
If Roosevelt introduced the automobile to the presidency, William Howard Taft made it part of the institution. When Taft took office in 1909, Congress appropriated $12,000 to purchase the first official White House automobiles — a controversial decision at the time. Critics argued that automobiles were nuisances and questioned whether taxpayer money should be spent on such extravagant machines. Nevertheless, the purchase went forward, marking the beginning of the presidential motor fleet.
Taft’s own vehicle was a White Model M, a seven-passenger, 40-horsepower touring car built in his home state of Ohio. It featured the Great Seal of the United States painted on its doors. Meanwhile, First Lady Helen Herron Taft received a blue Pierce-Arrow Suburban car, from a different company but also adorned with the national seal.
Perhaps Taft’s most symbolic act, however, was clearing out the White House’s federal horse stables and converting them into a garage. It was a practical decision, but it also marked the end of an era.
Taft Also Championed the Automobile
Taft didn’t merely ride in automobiles — he also became one of the country’s most influential advocates for them. He attended automobile shows, welcomed endurance motorists to the White House, praised the rapid progress of the industry, and publicly argued for better roads. At a time when much of America’s road network remained little more than muddy tracks, improved highways were essential if automobiles were ever going to become practical for ordinary Americans.
The prestige of the presidency added weight to Taft’s endorsements. Historians credit his administration with helping to accelerate both the acceptance of automobiles and the growing movement for a national system of improved roads. His successor, Woodrow Wilson, continued that momentum by supporting highway improvements and signing the 1916 Federal Aid Road Act, which provided the first major federal funding for rural roads.
The First President Who Could Drive
By the early 1920s, automobiles had become a familiar part of American life, and the presidency reflected that change. When Warren G. Harding was elected in 1920, he became the first president who actually knew how to drive. Harding rode to his inauguration in a Packard Twin-Six, a sign of just how quickly the automobile had become woven into American culture. It was the first time a president had ridden to and from his inauguration in a car.
In the space of just two decades, the presidency had traveled an extraordinary distance. What began with McKinley taking a curious ride in an experimental machine evolved into Roosevelt publicly embracing the automobile, Taft making it the official vehicle of the White House, and Harding representing the first generation of presidents who grew up alongside the car.
