Average:
#24 Millard Fillmore – What a perfect way to begin the “average” Presidents as Fillmore is often cited as the most unknown President. He was the VP when President Zachary Taylor died, thus beginning his own shortened term. He spearheaded the Compromise of 1850 which held off the Civil War for another 10 years. It was a bandaid though, not a solution. Fillmore naively called it the “final settlement” of the slavery issue. The rest of his presidency was fairly uneventful. The best that can be said is that he did nothing to trample the Constitution or set long lasting precedents. Sometimes simply not sucking should be commended.
#23 Benjamin Harrison – The grandson of President William Henry Harrison was also the President in between Grover Cleveland’s non-successive two terms. Harrison ran on imposing tariffs to protect US industry. This popular stance likely won him the election. The Harrison presidency had great intentions to help blacks, disabled veterans, and workers’ rights. However, none of the promised solutions ever passed. This may not have been Harrison’s fault as he faced a Congress that wasn’t all that cooperative. As many campaign promises never came to pass and inflation began to rise, Harrison lost reelection. Like Fillmore, he didn’t accomplish a lot, but he also didn’t do any real damage.
#22 John Quincy Adams – Adams had the potential to be a great President, but his effectiveness was crippled from the start by his questionable victory in the election. Since none of the candidates held the needed number of electoral votes, the President was determined in Congress. Charges of corrupt bargains and deals haunted Adams for his next four years. As President, Adams improved relations with Indians through a series of fair treaties. Like the Presidents above, Adams had many food intentions. However, he was constantly fighting against a hostile Congress and even administration at times. Not much was accomplished, but no harm was done.
#21 Zachary Taylor – The hero of the Mexican War had no experience in elected office. Not only that, he had never even voted for President before! Despite being a slaveholder, Taylor stood up against the Southern Whigs who wanted to pass laws beneficial to them but not the country. By doing so, Taylor took a stand against his own financial interests for the better of the country. This instigated some of the earliest talks of southern secession. About a year into his term, Taylor fell ill and died. Rumors circulated that defenders of slavery had poisoned him. His body was actually exhumed in 1991. Tests put to rest the rumor. He had not been poisoned. Unlike the remainder of Presidents who preceded Lincoln, Taylor appeared to be a strong and decisive leader. His is another “what if” had he not died. He had the potential to be a very good President.
#20 James Polk – Polk is most remembered (when he is remembered) for bringing Texas into the Union. This is often cited for ranking him high amongst Presidents. That isn’t really the whole story though. His predecessor, John Tyler, is who did all the work to bring Texas in. Polk was simply the closer. More on that later. Polk oversaw the Mexican War and expanded the country’s border in the northwest. In doing so, Polk was quite belligerent toward Mexico and Great Britain. A war with Great Britain nearly began (again) due to Polk’s insistence that the US own Oregon, Washington, AND British Columbia. Polk gets a lot of credit for expanding the country, but at what cost? Later Presidents Grant and Lincoln were horrified by the Mexican War that the US instigated, both calling it “the most wicked” of wars. Polk is really a divisive figure, a President some would argue as great, others as poor.
#19 William Howard Taft – Taft was pretty much anointed by Teddy Roosevelt as his successor. As a result, Taft felt beholden to Roosevelt’s progressive wing of the party. The problem was that Taft did not really share Teddy’s progressive tax and spend attitude. He gave the progressives their corporate income tax but in turn pissed off the progressives by refusing to support reducing tariffs. Taft correctly saw that as an attack on American industry and workers. Taft also modernized the State Department to account for the expanding US influence in the world. That is not to say Taft expanded American influence—this had already been done. But Taft made sure the State Department was equipped to handle new and future threats/issues. It was needed. In the end, Taft was a victim of playing the middle and pleasing neither side. Had he given Teddy and the progressives both middle fingers, he could have been great. Instead, he only gave one middle finger here and there. Teddy, being the petulant man-child that he was, decided to run 3rd party to keep Taft from winning a 2nd term…which paved the way for the worst President of all time. Thanks, Teddy.
#18 James Madison – Madison, like John Adams, was a much better Founding Father than President. But his presidency was certainly more successful than that of Adams. The War of 1812 broke out on his watch. The young country was really not equipped for another war. Madison tried to avoid war, but he was walking a nearly impossible fine line. The British insisted American ship cease any trade with France. Whichever path Madison chose seemed likely to result in war with either France or England. He chose war with England, which given British arrogance and instigation, was the correct choice. The final straw was when British began arming Indians to attack western American settlements. One interesting note is that Madison, a slave owner, supported the bill that ended the slave trade. He also began to hint at a policy of returning slaves back to their African roots. The worldwide demand for cotton put an immediate stop to that idea. The country wasn’t quite ready, but Madison recognized even back then that a Civil War might be inevitable.
Net Positive:
#17 William McKinley – One of our often forgotten assassinated Presidents, McKinley certainly had some positive moments. By imposing tariffs, he protected US industry and the economy soon boomed during his term. McKinley was reelected for a 2nd term easily due to the economic boom and his insistence to sticking to the gold standard. The Spanish American War was waged (at the giddy encouragement of his VP Teddy) which may be seen as beginning the US role as the world’s policeman. McKinley further set bad precedent by sending US troops to China during the Boxer Rebellion without Congressional approval. Domestically, McKinley would be a top 5 President. Those who don’t mind war hawk policies and executive overreach would keep him at the top. However, these are precedents that still linger today. His presidency and life were ended when an anarchist shot him.
#16 John F Kennedy – Where do you put JFK? He is a true enigma. Even heading into the 1960’s, black voting rights in the South were dubious at best. Kennedy rightfully sought to fix that issue. Many believe JFK screwed up the Bay of Pigs invasion, costing hundreds of Cuban exile lives. But Kennedy had inherited this CIA plan that had been approved by Eisenhower. Kennedy took full responsibility for the fiasco, but there was more behind the scenes than anyone knew. The new president was dealing with a hostile CIA and war hawk generals who were pushing for an all out war with the Soviet Union. In 1963, Kennedy proposed lowering federal income taxes and corporate tax rates, believing it would spur economic growth. He was correct. After his death, unemployment fell sharply and economic growth boomed as a result of his tax plan. Democrats were not always economic idiots! Kennedy was eventually killed as a result of his pushing back against the CIA, military industrial complex, and his own VP. Whether is was big balls or simply hubris, JFK was killed because he wasn’t going to be a puppet. That is admirable.
#15 Martin Van Buren – VP Van Buren easily won his election due to the popularity of President Andrew Jackson. It doesn’t age well today, but Van Buren continued Jackson’s Indian removal policies which were extremely popular. He also continued Jackson’s opposition to a central bank. Though controversial, he refused to annex Texas as he did not think a war with Mexico was in the country’s best interests, and he did not want the problem of such a large slave state joining the Union. Free state/slave state dynamics and a future war were always on the minds of the intelligent politicians of the day. Van Buren’s fate for reelection was sealed when the Panic of 1837 hit early in his term. Opponents called for him to use public funds for relief and to revive the Bank of the United States. Van Buren refused these panic moves as he considered them outside the scope of constitutional powers. Instead, he relaxed regulations on businesses so they could rebound and let the economy right itself. This worked. The economy rebounded just after the election. What could have been as lengthy as the Great Depression only lasted 2+ years. At the expense of reelection, Van Buren chose the right path rather than panicked spending which only ends up lengthening the economic turmoil (see FDR).
#14 Harry S Truman – Truman was a welcome change once FDR kicked the bucket. He made the difficult decision to drop two bombs on Japan. Whether one thinks it was the right decision (it was, there is no doubt it was an extremely difficult decision. Harry was not a full-blown liberal like FDR, nor was he a racist Dixiecrat like most of the Dems in Congress. As a result, he faced attacks from two sides of his own party. The progressives (like FDR) didn’t think Truman was nice enough to the Soviets and didn’t exert enough government control at home. Southern Dems were angry at Truman for integrating the armed forces. Truman also fought to reform the voting rights for blacks in the South. On the downside, Truman promptly led us into the Korean War. Worse yet, he created the CIA. Hindsight shows this is a catastrophic error. In fairness to Truman, the need for intelligence was needed as the Cold War began. Before he died, Truman said his biggest regret was creating the CIA. He knew what was sprung upon America.
#13 Grover Cleveland – Cleveland is most famous for being the only President (until Trump) to have two non-consecutive terms. He continued the much needed civil service reform of the previous President. Government jobs were assigned on merit more than ever before. He stuck to the Constitution as his guide for limitations on the government becoming a welfare state. It’s hard to imagine a Democrat doing such a thing. His decision to lower tariffs, however, led to an economic downturn and a reelection defeat. When he returned to office four years later, he continued the questionable tactic of lowering tariffs. Inflation soared as a result. Despite this, Cleveland was remarkably responsible fiscally. Live Van Buren many years before, Cleveland did not try to spend his way out of an economic panic. He stayed the course and controlled spending, never giving in to unconstitutional spending especially. The economy rebounded as he was leaving office as a result.
#12 Dwight Eisenhower – The WWII hero had previously been mostly apolitical, and both parties courted him to run for President. His first order of business was ending the Korean War, a war not as infamous as Vietnam but just as pointless. He also established the interstate highway system, enabling long distance travel. It was badly needed. Eisenhower was a man of convictions. When the Secretary of Navy asked him not to continue Truman’s integration of the military, Eisenhower angrily scolded the Secretary. There would be no appeasing the racist South on this matter or many other matters. In his farewell address, he famously warned the nation (and JFK privately) about the military industrial complex and the CIA. It makes me wonder why he didn’t have the backbone to fight back against it while President. Maybe JFK’s fate provides the answer. So why isn’t Ike a top 10 President? He continued FDR’s disastrous New Deal policies and even expanded some. Like so many Republicans who came after him, Eisenhower spent and spent not living up to the conservative moniker.
#11 James Monroe – Monroe was barely 18 years old when he crossed the Delaware with George Washington, one of the youngest of the Founding Fathers. His presidency attempted to be one that put an end to partisan politics. Monroe hated the party system writing, “the existence of parties is not necessary to free government.” He passed the Missouri Compromise to solve (for the time) the looming tension over having the same number of free states as slave states. When Missouri petitioned to become a slave state, Maine was separated from Massachusetts to become a new free state. It was truly just another bandaid for the brewing slavery issue. As a slaveholder himself, Monroe showed little desire to address the evils of slavery. In his message to Congress, Monroe introduced what became the Monroe Doctrine which basically told European powers that America wouldn’t meddle in European matters, but they must refrain from meddling in our affairs in the Western Hemisphere. This is often cited as a brilliant Doctrine. However, in reality it lacked any teeth because the country was not militarily ready to back it up if pushed. And some have argued it gave birth to international interventionism. Finally, a treaty with Britain negotiated by Monroe demilitarized the US/Canada border and began a centuries long friendship between the two nations. Another war with Britain would have been disastrous.
#24 Millard Fillmore – What a perfect way to begin the “average” Presidents as Fillmore is often cited as the most unknown President. He was the VP when President Zachary Taylor died, thus beginning his own shortened term. He spearheaded the Compromise of 1850 which held off the Civil War for another 10 years. It was a bandaid though, not a solution. Fillmore naively called it the “final settlement” of the slavery issue. The rest of his presidency was fairly uneventful. The best that can be said is that he did nothing to trample the Constitution or set long lasting precedents. Sometimes simply not sucking should be commended.
#23 Benjamin Harrison – The grandson of President William Henry Harrison was also the President in between Grover Cleveland’s non-successive two terms. Harrison ran on imposing tariffs to protect US industry. This popular stance likely won him the election. The Harrison presidency had great intentions to help blacks, disabled veterans, and workers’ rights. However, none of the promised solutions ever passed. This may not have been Harrison’s fault as he faced a Congress that wasn’t all that cooperative. As many campaign promises never came to pass and inflation began to rise, Harrison lost reelection. Like Fillmore, he didn’t accomplish a lot, but he also didn’t do any real damage.
#22 John Quincy Adams – Adams had the potential to be a great President, but his effectiveness was crippled from the start by his questionable victory in the election. Since none of the candidates held the needed number of electoral votes, the President was determined in Congress. Charges of corrupt bargains and deals haunted Adams for his next four years. As President, Adams improved relations with Indians through a series of fair treaties. Like the Presidents above, Adams had many food intentions. However, he was constantly fighting against a hostile Congress and even administration at times. Not much was accomplished, but no harm was done.
#21 Zachary Taylor – The hero of the Mexican War had no experience in elected office. Not only that, he had never even voted for President before! Despite being a slaveholder, Taylor stood up against the Southern Whigs who wanted to pass laws beneficial to them but not the country. By doing so, Taylor took a stand against his own financial interests for the better of the country. This instigated some of the earliest talks of southern secession. About a year into his term, Taylor fell ill and died. Rumors circulated that defenders of slavery had poisoned him. His body was actually exhumed in 1991. Tests put to rest the rumor. He had not been poisoned. Unlike the remainder of Presidents who preceded Lincoln, Taylor appeared to be a strong and decisive leader. His is another “what if” had he not died. He had the potential to be a very good President.
#20 James Polk – Polk is most remembered (when he is remembered) for bringing Texas into the Union. This is often cited for ranking him high amongst Presidents. That isn’t really the whole story though. His predecessor, John Tyler, is who did all the work to bring Texas in. Polk was simply the closer. More on that later. Polk oversaw the Mexican War and expanded the country’s border in the northwest. In doing so, Polk was quite belligerent toward Mexico and Great Britain. A war with Great Britain nearly began (again) due to Polk’s insistence that the US own Oregon, Washington, AND British Columbia. Polk gets a lot of credit for expanding the country, but at what cost? Later Presidents Grant and Lincoln were horrified by the Mexican War that the US instigated, both calling it “the most wicked” of wars. Polk is really a divisive figure, a President some would argue as great, others as poor.
#19 William Howard Taft – Taft was pretty much anointed by Teddy Roosevelt as his successor. As a result, Taft felt beholden to Roosevelt’s progressive wing of the party. The problem was that Taft did not really share Teddy’s progressive tax and spend attitude. He gave the progressives their corporate income tax but in turn pissed off the progressives by refusing to support reducing tariffs. Taft correctly saw that as an attack on American industry and workers. Taft also modernized the State Department to account for the expanding US influence in the world. That is not to say Taft expanded American influence—this had already been done. But Taft made sure the State Department was equipped to handle new and future threats/issues. It was needed. In the end, Taft was a victim of playing the middle and pleasing neither side. Had he given Teddy and the progressives both middle fingers, he could have been great. Instead, he only gave one middle finger here and there. Teddy, being the petulant man-child that he was, decided to run 3rd party to keep Taft from winning a 2nd term…which paved the way for the worst President of all time. Thanks, Teddy.
#18 James Madison – Madison, like John Adams, was a much better Founding Father than President. But his presidency was certainly more successful than that of Adams. The War of 1812 broke out on his watch. The young country was really not equipped for another war. Madison tried to avoid war, but he was walking a nearly impossible fine line. The British insisted American ship cease any trade with France. Whichever path Madison chose seemed likely to result in war with either France or England. He chose war with England, which given British arrogance and instigation, was the correct choice. The final straw was when British began arming Indians to attack western American settlements. One interesting note is that Madison, a slave owner, supported the bill that ended the slave trade. He also began to hint at a policy of returning slaves back to their African roots. The worldwide demand for cotton put an immediate stop to that idea. The country wasn’t quite ready, but Madison recognized even back then that a Civil War might be inevitable.
Net Positive:
#17 William McKinley – One of our often forgotten assassinated Presidents, McKinley certainly had some positive moments. By imposing tariffs, he protected US industry and the economy soon boomed during his term. McKinley was reelected for a 2nd term easily due to the economic boom and his insistence to sticking to the gold standard. The Spanish American War was waged (at the giddy encouragement of his VP Teddy) which may be seen as beginning the US role as the world’s policeman. McKinley further set bad precedent by sending US troops to China during the Boxer Rebellion without Congressional approval. Domestically, McKinley would be a top 5 President. Those who don’t mind war hawk policies and executive overreach would keep him at the top. However, these are precedents that still linger today. His presidency and life were ended when an anarchist shot him.
#16 John F Kennedy – Where do you put JFK? He is a true enigma. Even heading into the 1960’s, black voting rights in the South were dubious at best. Kennedy rightfully sought to fix that issue. Many believe JFK screwed up the Bay of Pigs invasion, costing hundreds of Cuban exile lives. But Kennedy had inherited this CIA plan that had been approved by Eisenhower. Kennedy took full responsibility for the fiasco, but there was more behind the scenes than anyone knew. The new president was dealing with a hostile CIA and war hawk generals who were pushing for an all out war with the Soviet Union. In 1963, Kennedy proposed lowering federal income taxes and corporate tax rates, believing it would spur economic growth. He was correct. After his death, unemployment fell sharply and economic growth boomed as a result of his tax plan. Democrats were not always economic idiots! Kennedy was eventually killed as a result of his pushing back against the CIA, military industrial complex, and his own VP. Whether is was big balls or simply hubris, JFK was killed because he wasn’t going to be a puppet. That is admirable.
#15 Martin Van Buren – VP Van Buren easily won his election due to the popularity of President Andrew Jackson. It doesn’t age well today, but Van Buren continued Jackson’s Indian removal policies which were extremely popular. He also continued Jackson’s opposition to a central bank. Though controversial, he refused to annex Texas as he did not think a war with Mexico was in the country’s best interests, and he did not want the problem of such a large slave state joining the Union. Free state/slave state dynamics and a future war were always on the minds of the intelligent politicians of the day. Van Buren’s fate for reelection was sealed when the Panic of 1837 hit early in his term. Opponents called for him to use public funds for relief and to revive the Bank of the United States. Van Buren refused these panic moves as he considered them outside the scope of constitutional powers. Instead, he relaxed regulations on businesses so they could rebound and let the economy right itself. This worked. The economy rebounded just after the election. What could have been as lengthy as the Great Depression only lasted 2+ years. At the expense of reelection, Van Buren chose the right path rather than panicked spending which only ends up lengthening the economic turmoil (see FDR).
#14 Harry S Truman – Truman was a welcome change once FDR kicked the bucket. He made the difficult decision to drop two bombs on Japan. Whether one thinks it was the right decision (it was, there is no doubt it was an extremely difficult decision. Harry was not a full-blown liberal like FDR, nor was he a racist Dixiecrat like most of the Dems in Congress. As a result, he faced attacks from two sides of his own party. The progressives (like FDR) didn’t think Truman was nice enough to the Soviets and didn’t exert enough government control at home. Southern Dems were angry at Truman for integrating the armed forces. Truman also fought to reform the voting rights for blacks in the South. On the downside, Truman promptly led us into the Korean War. Worse yet, he created the CIA. Hindsight shows this is a catastrophic error. In fairness to Truman, the need for intelligence was needed as the Cold War began. Before he died, Truman said his biggest regret was creating the CIA. He knew what was sprung upon America.
#13 Grover Cleveland – Cleveland is most famous for being the only President (until Trump) to have two non-consecutive terms. He continued the much needed civil service reform of the previous President. Government jobs were assigned on merit more than ever before. He stuck to the Constitution as his guide for limitations on the government becoming a welfare state. It’s hard to imagine a Democrat doing such a thing. His decision to lower tariffs, however, led to an economic downturn and a reelection defeat. When he returned to office four years later, he continued the questionable tactic of lowering tariffs. Inflation soared as a result. Despite this, Cleveland was remarkably responsible fiscally. Live Van Buren many years before, Cleveland did not try to spend his way out of an economic panic. He stayed the course and controlled spending, never giving in to unconstitutional spending especially. The economy rebounded as he was leaving office as a result.
#12 Dwight Eisenhower – The WWII hero had previously been mostly apolitical, and both parties courted him to run for President. His first order of business was ending the Korean War, a war not as infamous as Vietnam but just as pointless. He also established the interstate highway system, enabling long distance travel. It was badly needed. Eisenhower was a man of convictions. When the Secretary of Navy asked him not to continue Truman’s integration of the military, Eisenhower angrily scolded the Secretary. There would be no appeasing the racist South on this matter or many other matters. In his farewell address, he famously warned the nation (and JFK privately) about the military industrial complex and the CIA. It makes me wonder why he didn’t have the backbone to fight back against it while President. Maybe JFK’s fate provides the answer. So why isn’t Ike a top 10 President? He continued FDR’s disastrous New Deal policies and even expanded some. Like so many Republicans who came after him, Eisenhower spent and spent not living up to the conservative moniker.
#11 James Monroe – Monroe was barely 18 years old when he crossed the Delaware with George Washington, one of the youngest of the Founding Fathers. His presidency attempted to be one that put an end to partisan politics. Monroe hated the party system writing, “the existence of parties is not necessary to free government.” He passed the Missouri Compromise to solve (for the time) the looming tension over having the same number of free states as slave states. When Missouri petitioned to become a slave state, Maine was separated from Massachusetts to become a new free state. It was truly just another bandaid for the brewing slavery issue. As a slaveholder himself, Monroe showed little desire to address the evils of slavery. In his message to Congress, Monroe introduced what became the Monroe Doctrine which basically told European powers that America wouldn’t meddle in European matters, but they must refrain from meddling in our affairs in the Western Hemisphere. This is often cited as a brilliant Doctrine. However, in reality it lacked any teeth because the country was not militarily ready to back it up if pushed. And some have argued it gave birth to international interventionism. Finally, a treaty with Britain negotiated by Monroe demilitarized the US/Canada border and began a centuries long friendship between the two nations. Another war with Britain would have been disastrous.
