So here is something a little bit different for the blog: ranking America's presidents.
A couple notes: three presidents will not be included in this ranking: Garfield, William Harrison and George W. Bush. Harrison and Garfield died before the conclusion of their first years in office and it is too soon to judge Bush, no matter what liberals say. Come back in 10 years on Dubya.
These are my rankings. In some instances, I will add a paragraph description on why I ranked him higher or lower than many historians do.
The Disastrous Presidents: These presidents will probably never be matched in terms of stupidity and bad leadership. Not even Dubya or Jimmy Carter can sink to this level.
39. James Buchanan: This guy pretty much allowed the Civil War to occur. He also did not come out strongly against the Dred Scott Case, which was one of the worst decisions in American court history.
38. Franklin Pierce: Pierce probably did as much to maintain slavery than any president in history. He also betrayed the union and sided with the confederates during the Civil War.
37. Andrew Johnson: Probably the biggest lame duck president in history and did very little to build on the leadership of Lincoln. Reconstruction was a failure on his watch, as he supported the South a little too much.
36. Millard Fillmore: Signing the Fugitive Slave Act, he is also in the debate for being the worst president regarding slavery.
Bad Presidents: These presidents can be classified as being bad presidents and not getting much done. However, unlike the previous level, the country survived and did not end up in a Civil War. These rankings could probably be shuffled in any way and it would be alright.
35. William G. Harding
34. Jimmy Carter
33. Lyndon B. Johnson: While he gets some points for signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, most of his administration was a disaster. The screw-ups in Vietnam – how that gets blamed on Nixon is beyond me – along with the Great Society defined his bad presidency. Many rank Johnson in the upper half; I do not. The Great Society set the tone for big government in the latter half of the century, which failed in most instances, most notably the "War on Poverty." A bad president who does not get enough blame for it.
32. Herbert Hover
31. Zachary Taylor
30. John Tyler
29. Benjamin Harrison
28. John Quincy Adams
27. Rutherford B. Hayes
26. Martin Van Buren
Average Presidents: Not great leaders, but not horrible leaders either. Like the previous category, these could be shuffled in any fashion.
25. Gerald Ford: I believe his decision to commit political suicide by pardoning Nixon was important for this nation. He also was the first president who was big on disabilities and began funding special education programs. A little underrated, in my opinion.
24. Chester Arthur
23. Ulysses Grant: I think he is very underrated. While he was probably America's greatest general, he is not too well-liked among historians. It is definitely true his administration was corrupt, but at the end of the day, how different is it than today? He also did a lot in eliminating the first wave of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups. He deserves a second look.
22. George Bush
21. Calvin Coolidge
20. William Taft
The Mixed Bag Presidents: These presidents had a lot of great successes, but a lot of failures, hence the mixed bag term.
19. Woodrow Wilson: Arguably the most overrated president ever. Previewing the liberals late in the 20th century, Wilson bowed down to Europe at Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles would help encourage the rise of one Adolf Hitler, as Germany took it on the chin. Had Wilson taken command of the negotiations (we did win the war for them after all) and not punished the Germans too bad, there would have been no Hitler. Unfortunately, Wilson did not – making it arguably the greatest foreign policy failure in American history. On the home front, he was big on racism.
18. Bill Clinton: Conservatives, he was not too bad. We got welfare reform under his presidency and the budget was balanced. After Newt dragged him towards the center, he was not that bad. Fiscal policy was conservative. He loses points for China-gate and not responding after the U.S.S. Cole attack from Osama bin Laden.
17. Grover Cleveland
16. John F. Kennedy: I feel this may be a bit unfair considering he was assassinated. However, while his leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis was good, it could be argued he was the reason why it happened. He bowed down to Khrushchev at Vienna and basically let the Berlin Wall be built. He is also overrated in terms of Civil Rights. However, if he was not assassinated, I believe he could have wound up higher on my list. Definitely a good fiscal conservative, however.
15. Richard Nixon: Probably the biggest stunner. However, if you take Watergate away, was he really a bad president? Nixon concluded our disastrous war in Vietnam, he opened China and turned them on the Soviet Union and negotiated reduction in arms. He was an absolute brilliant foreign policy president. However, as brilliant as he was, he was also paranoid and that brought down his presidency. He also led the integration of the schools down South.
14. John Adams: The first president to prepare America for international diplomacy (and possible war), he also passed the alien and sedition acts, two of the biggest abuses of power in history.
13. James Madison
12. William McKinley
Solid presidents: These presidents, for the most part, did a pretty good job as president. Unfortunately, there were some who were just better.
11. James Monroe: The first president who wanted to eliminate Europe's presence in our foreign policy, his doctrine was applied by future presidents. He set a trend for foreign policy and many of our greatest leaders used the Monroe Doctrine years later.
10. Andrew Jackson: Opened up democracy to all men, not just property owners. He also was the first president to veto a number of items and was against the centralization of banking power in the United States. While his Indian policy was cruel, it opened up the American frontier.
9. Ronald Reagan: The Derek Jeter of presidents. He is constantly underrated by his political rivals (non-Yankee fans) and is incredibly overrated by his fans (Yankee fans). I do not buy the fact he was the sole winner of the Cold War. Many presidents did a significant amount of damage to the Soviet Union before Reagan came to power. But he did transform government, as he was the first aggressively anti-New Deal president in years. He reversed the New Deal, or said he would. He significantly lowered taxes and did help deliver the knockout punch to the Soviet Union. But, and this is a big but, he did not win the Cold War by himself. He adopted many of JFK's arm race policies as well. Still a good president, though.
8. Dwight D. Eisenhower: Is there any larger thing we take for granted than the highway sometimes? Ike's highway/freeway policy changed American domestic policy forever and its culture. We became a drive-first country because of Ike. His term as presidency was dominated by peace and prosperity, something many considered opposite of what a war general would do. His involvement in the Little Rock school saga was important for Civil Rights.
Great presidents: The cream of the crop – these guys shaped America for years to come.
7. James Polk: In just one presidential term, something he promised, he secured America's dominance in North America. He negotiated Oregon and Washington into the union and he won California and the southwest after we defeated Mexico in the Mexican-American War. America became a big power under Polk and he did it in just four years. Before Polk, there could be debate who the power was in North America. But after Polk, there was no doubt.
6. Franklin Roosevelt: This is pretty low compared to most other lists. However, FDR was still a great president. But the New Deal was a bit overrated and World War II was really the remedy for our economy. He also loses some points with me for stacking the Supreme Court with his puppet judges. But in the end, he still led us into World War II and his desire to crush Nazism and tyranny was important. As part of that war, he did institute policy that was unfriendly to our Japanese-Americans and German-Americans.
5. George Washington: Just because he was first does not make him the best. While I think he should go down as the Greatest American of all time, which includes his time as a war general, he is a tad overrated as a president. But his decision to retire on Mount Vernon instead of remaining president was a true sign the United States would be a successful Republic. It was not always easy but Washington's retirement instead of remaining the de facto king was important for our nation's history.
4. Harry Truman: Kansas City's own makes it into the Final Four on my list. As president, he made the tough decision to drop the atomic bombs, which definitely tipped the scales and led to Japan's surrender. He also stood up to communism following World War II. The Marshall Plan was instrumental in limiting the spread of communism into Western Europe. By aiding Europe, they looked at the United States and capitalism as opposed to communism as the answer. Truman again defended freedom in the Berlin Airlift, as he fed the Berliners Stalin was trying to starve as he blockaded the German capital. Truman refused to breath the same air as Stalin. As I mentioned here before, he was really the first president who "got it" regarding Civil Rights. He realized that the evil America defeated in Europe and Japan existed here in the form of segregation and racism.The Medalists – The three greatest presidents ever
3. Teddy Roosevelt: Up front – the man is my political hero, so I may have some bias here. But his record as a reformer, a strong leader of foreign policy and his restoration of the confidence of Americans was critical for his presidency. On foreign policy, he believed in using the "big stick," but at the same time, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. TR made America global, not just a regional power. He successful negotiated the conclusion of the war between Russia and Japan. He also may have prevented World War I by negotiating a settlement between German and France over Morocco. On the home front, he was a big conservationist of the beauty of nature. He was also not afraid to go against the big millionaires in his own party, but also did not overwhelmingly favor Big Labor. He was went after the large trusts in this nation and was instrumental in establishing a number of government agencies that improved the United States. He transformed the presidency and most importantly he transformed America.
2. Thomas Jefferson: Among his first acts as president was to remove the alien and sedition acts passed by his predecessor. This restored the constitutional rights of Americans. His election was a revolution in itself, as it was the first that involved political parties. It was an important moment in history as it demonstrated America could have a peaceful transition of power. Jefferson also offered an olive branch to bury the hatchet with his political rivals. As president, Jefferson doubled the size of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase. Once occurring, Jefferson opened the west with the Lewis and Clark exhibition. His ideals of freedom from government and the individual having more liberty than government live today.
1. Abraham Lincoln: The boring selection – I know. But as president, he did a somewhat important thing: hold the union together and win the Civil War. He also was the great emancipator and ended the evil system of slavery. He also made history as the first Republican Party president, which was formed in part as an anti-slavery party. On the domestic side of issues, he also created the Homestead Act, which helped populate several states within the "Great Plains." It is interesting to think if Lincoln had another fours years. Reconstruction could have went smoother with a genius operating it instead of Andrew Johnson.To set a ceiling and floor for Dubya – if Iraq is stabilized over time and he was proven right, he will fit in the mixed bag category. His epic failure of a domestic policy, along with his betrayal of fiscal conservatism, is unforgivable for me.
Oh, and yes, I am a dork on history.
1 comments:
Love the respect for Polk.
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