By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - General - Historians Release New Ranking of Presidents

elprincipe on 16 February 2009

George Washington should be #1. How many other presidents could easily have been crowned king yet resisted the temptation? That alone allowed our country as we know it to even come into being.

Anyway, I think the worst mistake on the list is FDR. He should be in the bottom 10 for sure. Credit for not losing World War II, but the rest of his policies were disastrous, Constitution-undermining (such as his attempt to pack the Supreme Court) or even anti-American.



In Memoriam RVW Jr.

SSBB Friend Code = 5455-9050-8670 (PM me if you add so I can add you!) 

Tetris Party Friend Code = 116129046416 (ditto)

Around the Network
quarashi on 16 February 2009

James K Polk should be #1.



Hi, this is Vince with Shamwow.

Broncos724 on 17 February 2009

I'm curious where they put William Henry Harrison, he who was president for all of 32 days. On the one hand, he didn't really get anything done, but on the other he couldn't have screwed anything up. I guess the best ranking for him would be 22.

I tend to be conservative and as such think FDR is terribly overrated. A lot of what he did caused the central government to grow more powerful than it needs to be. This is another topic altogether, but the downfall of many past civilizations is due to too much power being put in a centralized government.



RCTjunkie on 17 February 2009

Ha, I did a report on Buchanan. I thought he was crummy, too.



WHO IS JESUS REALLY?

makingmusic476 on 17 February 2009

Ooh, I would so start a Civil War debate if I didn't need sleep.

Let's just say I have quite the dissenting opinion. ;)

Edit:

lulz.  I just realized, kasz, akuma, etc. are already offline.



Around the Network
makingmusic476 on 17 February 2009
Broncos724 said:
I'm curious where they put William Henry Harrison, he who was president for all of 32 days. On the one hand, he didn't really get anything done, but on the other he couldn't have screwed anything up. I guess the best ranking for him would be 22.

I tend to be conservative and as such think FDR is terribly overrated. A lot of what he did caused the central government to grow more powerful than it needs to be. This is another topic altogether, but the downfall of many past civilizations is due to too much power being put in a centralized government.

I agree. 

I more of a propent of a weaker federal government and stronger state and local governments.

Really, I take heavily after Jefferson in my ideals.

 



steven787 on 17 February 2009

2009 C-Span President Survery

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt
4. Theodore Roosevelt
5. Harry S. Truman
6. John F. Kennedy
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. Dwight D. Eisenhower
9. Woodrow Wilson
10. Ronald Reagan
11. Lyndon B. Johnson
12. James K. Polk
13. Andrew Jackson
14. James Monroe
15. Bill Clinton
16. William McKinley
17. John Adams
18. George H. W. Bush
19. John Quincy Adams
20. James Madison
21. Grover Cleveland
22. Gerald R. Ford
23. Ulysses S. Grant
24. William Howard Taft
25. Jimmy Carter
26. Calvin Coolidge
27. Richard M. Nixon
28. James A. Garfield
29. Zachary Taylor
30. Benjamin Harrison
31. Martin Van Buren
32. Chester A. Arthur
33. Rutherford B. Hayes
34. Herbert Hoover
35. John Tyler
36. George W. Bush
37. Millard Fillmore
38. Warren G. Harding
39. William Henry Harrison
40. Franklin D. Pierce
41. Andrew Johnson
42. James Buchanan



I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it.

highwaystar101 on 17 February 2009

Richard Nixon at 27? WTF!!! Also, well done Pres. Clinton sir, coming in at 15, you are the greatest recent president.



Kasz216 on 17 February 2009
highwaystar101 said:
Richard Nixon at 27? WTF!!! Also, well done Pres. Clinton sir, coming in at 15, you are the greatest recent president.

Nixon follows the same route as Lincoln and FDR.  

What Nixon did compared to FDR was comparativly tame.

He just decided to do it at a point to where the press was tired of just "going along" with the presidents and decided to start breaking their balls.

 



Kasz216 on 17 February 2009
steven787 said:
akuma587 said:
Dude, Lincoln kicked the South's ass. That alone is enough in my book to put him in the Top 5.

 

 

I agree, which is especially hilarious because we're both Southerners.  I don't think he should be #1, I understand that he did the best he could with the situation but he still did it.  As far as leadership he was really good; but not as an alliance builder... instead he just pissed off everyone equally (the American way mind you).

Washington is the most impressive politician to me.  He kept himself so high above earthly matters that Hamilton gets all the blame for the partisan and jack-assish things Washington did.  Genius.

Aren't you a law student too?

What's with you law students and your love of presidents who tried to get rid of the Supreme Court?