So far, there have been 42 presidents of the United States. (43 if you count Grover Cleveland twice.) There have been some good ones and some bad ones, but which one was the absolute worst?
John Adams:
Imprisoned political opponents. His own Vice-President defeated him when he ran for reelection.
John Quincy Adams:
Remembered for a rather corrupt administration.
Andrew Jackson:
Sent the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears. Bypassed his confirmed cabinet with unofficial advisers. Used the power of the Federal Government to break the US Bank.
William Henry Harrison:
Died less than two months into office. (Maybe that makes him the best?)
James Buchanan:
Hoped that the slavery issue would just go away. Left the issue for his successor.
Abraham Lincoln:
Suspended habeas corpus during wartime. Launched a war against the southern states. Countermanded established case law with executive orders. Shot.
Andrew Johnson:
Only put on the ballot of 1964 to appeal to states on the edge of rebellion. Tried to forgive the southern states after the war. First president to be impeached.
Ulysses S. Grant:
Binged his way through the presidency. Died penniless.
Rutherford B. Hayes:
Stole the election of 1976 because of controversial electors from southern states. Ended Reconstruction as payback.
Chester Arthur:
Have you ever heard of him?
William McKinley:
Started a war of aggression against Spain based on faulty intelligence. Shot.
Woodrow Wilson:
Led the nation into war against countries that never overtly attacked us, breaking his campaign promise. Proclaimed a crusade to build democracy across the world.
Warren Harding:
Had the most corrupt cabinet until Nixon. Died in office while trying to get away from it all.
Herbert Hoover:
Failed to stop oncoming depression. Took the blame for it all.
Franklin Roosevelt:
Broke precedent and ran for a third term. Led nation into World War II. Turned the Federal Government into a safety net for all.
John F. Kennedy:
Sent troops to Vietnam in order to stop the spread of Communism. Attempted to overthrow the leader of Cuba in a top-secret military operation. Shot.
Lyndon Johnson:
Escalated the war in Vietnam. Expanded the welfare state. His own party abandoned him in 1968.
Richard Nixon:
Escalated fighting in Vietnam, but withdrew the troops. The most scandal-plagued administration in history. Resigned as impeachment articles were being drawn up. Pardoned.
Gerald Ford:
Pardoned President Nixon. Hung South Vietnam out to dry. Tripped.
Jimmy Carter:
Worst economy since the Depression. Oil crisis. Tried to talk to terrorists, got Marines killed and taken hostage.
Ronald Reagan:
Iran/Contra scandal. Expanded the military to counter Communism.
George Bush:
Broke campaign promise and raised taxes. Invaded Iraq but left Saddam Hussein in power, hanging the Kurds out to dry. Trounced in reelection campaign by two southerners.
Bill Clinton:
Administration plagued by scandals, most of them quite salacious. Spread troops around the globe to promote democracy but pulled out if the locals fought back. Pardoned a laundry list of criminals on his way out. Impeached.
George W. Bush:
Expansion of Federal Government powers relating to espionage and anti-terrorism. Launched Iraq War based on possibly faulty intelligence.
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I thought this would be an interesting thought experiment. I hear from many these days that our current president is the worst ever. I find this to be nonsense, for two reasons. One, those who say it probably cannot name more than five other presidents anyway, and are just caught up in the emotion of the moment. Second, historical perspective is always necessary to determine how a man affects history.
Also, I did not post all 42 presidents. However, notice that I ended up posting every president since 1960. This tells me that in the television era we are spectators to every foible, so much more than in the days of the newspaper.
So, looking at this list, who was the worst President of the United States?