Harry Truman started his official courtship of Bess Wallace in 1910, . In 1911 he proposed to her(by a letter), and she turned him down. Bess was a member of one of the most influential families in Independence, Missouri, while Harry was, at that time, just a "dirt farmer". But he pursued her with letters and trying all sorts of business schemes including a mining operation and oil wells. It wouldn't be until 1917 that they were engaged, but the marriage was postponed while Harry served his country in World War I.

Another future President who had to persue his future wife was Richard Nixon . Pat Ryan was teaching and for the first time in her life was independent and not interested in getting tied down. As a teenager she had assumed responsibility for her family when her mother died of cancer when Pat was 14 and then three years later her father died. But for two years, Dick would not give up and finally she accepted his proposal.