President's Day, A Day Late
Our Celebration and Ranking of the 45 Different People Who Held The Office, Sort of.
The Hall of the Presidents at Disney World may be the best representation of all the American Presidents in one place. It really does reproduce them in their natural manner; stiff, unfunny, not very lively. Nonetheless, it’s not often we get to contemplate all the Presidents together collectively, as a nod to their eras in American history. In that, the Hall of the Presidents does a great job, although it’s still a lot more fun to go to the Pirates of the Caribbean.
But getting back the Presidents, these 45 different people played (and continue to play) a huge role in shaping our history, society and culture. Going back to George Washington who basically set the standard, and every President since breaking that standard in sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle ways, our country is often defined by those who held the seat at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
More recently, there has been a lot of recalculation as to who made a good President and reassessment as to where the individual Presidents rank amongst one another. It goes without saying this should always be considered, but it’s far more important to understand each within the times they inhabited. Is it justified to condemn Lincoln as a horrible President because he used the “n” word? Not really, that was the norm of his times; if anything, it demonstrates how far as a society we have come as a consequence of everything else Lincoln did in his short time in office.
Now, ranking Presidents always comes with it’s quibbles. People thinking so and so should be ranked above this other guy (and it has been all guys to this point). That’s fair, but in truth, the ranges of a few places means very little. As such, PurpleAmerica is going to basically rank the Presidents in tiers. Hopefully, this will lower the tempers of those upset where some are in relation to one another.
And without further ado, PurpleAmerica’s ranking of the Presidents.
Tier: Too Recent (Biden, Trump2)
A President’s legacy starts during their years in office, but really takes shape long after they’ve left the Oval Office. Biden, as the last President to complete a term, and his legacy are slowly being formed in retrospect. Usually after a Presidents successor has completed their term, you can start to see where they begin to fit in with one another. In that, Biden’s presidency is starting to be defined, and from what most historians are implying, would fit somewhere in the middle. That’s too impatient for us here at PurpleAmerica, where we prefer to wait and see how the long term analysis starts to solidify. The same for Trump2, who just got into office, and has the potential to redefine his whole legacy (early returns on that are not for the better).
Tier 9: Dead Last (Trump1)
Trump’s first term was the worst of the worst. In every conceivable way, but one (we’ll get to that in a minute), Trump demonstrated the worst capacities of a leader in defining the Presidency downward. American influence and standing in the world shrank under him. America’s response to the COVID epidemic was one of the worst in the world, and easily the worst among large economic countries. It’s difficult to come up with one good thing he did while in office.1 Trump gave voice to the worst people and groups, and as if to top it all off, refused to cede the office on January 6, 2021 by inciting a violent insurrection to stop the Electoral College vote. Abyssmal in every way. And for that, he is in a tier all his own. About the only thing he didn’t do was start a war, but now that he’s President again, who knows.
Tier 8: The Rest of the Worst (Harding, Hoover, Pierce, Johnson, Buchanan, George W. Bush)
America is a very strong country and pretty resilient. What the six in this tier all have in common is that they affirmatively did active harm to the well-being of the nation. The long term issues resulting from their presidencies had severe lasting effects. Warren G. Harding is largely seen as having the most corrupt administration (until Trump came along), and Hoover’s actions precipitated and legthened the Great Depression. Pierce and Buchanan’s actions (and inactions) directly resulted on the course to Civil War. Andrew Johnson, the person closest to being kicked out of office,2 following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, decided to slow roll Union enforcement following the Civil War, leading to Reconstruction and Jim Crow. In George W. Bush’s case, he seized an incredible amount of power following 9/11 only to turn around and invade the wrong country causing turmoil in the region that persists to this day. Not to mention his horrible management of Hurricane Katrina is still the poster child for inept basic government services, resulting in thousands dead.
Tier 7: The Dividing Line Between Good and Bad (Wm Harrison, Millard Fillmore)
These are the Presidents who in their time in office managed to achieve an impressive feat; absolutely nothing of consequence is associated with them. In William Henry Harrison’s case, he died 30 days into his term. That’s why he’s the dividing line, because those below him actually did worse than a guy who did practically nothing. With Millard Fillmore, he actually did do nothing. In his political career he was involved with the collapse of not one, but TWO parties (The Whigs and the Know Nothings) but did it matter? Not really. He’s the epitome of ineffectual and a punchline for ineptness.
Tier 6: The Mediocre Presidents (Garfield, Ford, Carter, Cleveland, Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, Hayes, Tyler, Van Buren, Taylor, Taft, Polk, J.Q. Adams, McKinley)
These are the Presidents who weren’t bad per se, but either presided over uneventful periods and really failed to stand out in most ways, or presided over eventful periods pretty much beyond their control. They might have been hamstrung by opposition Congresses or recessions, or circumstances for which they couldn’t meet the challenge. For the most part, they were administrative caretakers of the office, managing what is occuring but not really improving on their situations. They’re more noteworthy as the answer to trivial questions rather than their stamp on the Presidency.
Tier 5: Consequential, but not great (Nixon, Obama, Clinton, Coolidge, George H.W. Bush)
What all of these Presidents have in common is that they had the natural gifts to excel in the office, and do great things. In fact, they did great things in their time at the White House. However, they also presided over catastrophic failures that taint their legacies. Nixon and Clinton both were impeached for their errors in judgment, Nixon for Watergate and Clinton for the Lewinsky scandal. Obama, the first African-American President, passed the Affordable Care Act, which then resulted in the biggest electoral collapse in American history, in the Tea Party wave of 2010. The gerrymandering and poltical fallout of that event we are still living with, including the election of Donald Trump as Obama’s successor. Coolidge righted the ship after Harding’s Presidency during the roaring ‘20s, and was paid back for it by being kicked off the ticket in place of Herbert Hoover. In George H.W. Bush’s case, he presided over the fall of the Berlin Wall and Collapse of the Soviet Union, but also the S&L scandal, growing racial animosity and the crack epidemic, and a deep recession that ruined his re-election chances. All of these Presidents, despite the changing political atmospheres they lived in, still managed to do great things, but they couldn’t quite overcome the aftereffects.
Tier 4: The “Where do they fit?” Tier (Woodrow Wilson, Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Jackson
What all of these Presidents have in common is that they all did very important consequential things in their presidency, for the good of the country. They all put their stamp on the office that every President since has followed in some way. Unfortunately, they also had events in their Presidency that were outright crimes. Wilson helped win “The Great War/World War I” with the U.S. entry into it, and established the new world order with his Fourteen Points. He was also an unapologetic racist who invited the KKK to watch “Birth of a Nation” at the White House, and was fine with Jim Crow ravaging the South. Grant began the hard work of bringing the South back into the fold with Reconstruction, but neglected the early signs of Jim Crow and harsh racial crackdowns by southerners; nobody wanted another war, least of all Grant. He also presided over a corrupt administration he had no intention of reining in. Andrew Jackson may be the most consequential; before him there was a bipartisan attitude to put good qualified people in important posts. Jackson said “f**k that” and instead padded it with lackeys and patronage starting the spoils system we have today. He killed the establishment of a national bank and currency, and the Trail of Tears is as atrocious a crime outside of war in American history. But his impact on the office and the job can’t be denied. I can honestly look at these three and understand a high rating, and can completely understand a low rating as well. In light of that, they are in a tier all their own.
Tier 3: The Good Cold War Presidents (Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan, Truman and Eisenhower)
These 20th Century Presidents presided over great changes in society, and employed the powers of government and the Presidency to shape the world we live in. Truman and Eisenhower are responsible for defining our post-World War II world and laying the groundwork for the next 40 years of economic success that would follow. Kennedy inspired great changes in American society and inspired a new generation of leaders. Johnson, probably accomplished more legislatively than any President other than FDR. Reagan, changed the American economy and was so effective a President in dealing with our post-war adversary, the Soviets, that it eventually collapsed. During their caretaking of the office, the United States had never been more powerful, wealthy and inspiring to the rest of the world.
Tier 2: The Revolutionaries Who Defined the Presidency Early Years (Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe)
Those early Presidencies still had the benefit of most still being on the same side, but none of them really knew what they were doing; this was still unknown territory we were treading as a nation. They were always cognizant that this experiment called “democracy” may not last and worked hard to maintain it. They established the rules of the game, kept the powers of government within various parameters, acknowledged and accepted the powers of the other branches, and were united in their opposition to foreign powers’ influence in the western hemisphere. If they hadn’t built a solid foundation, our nation would not have lasted as long as it has. To that end, we are eternally indebted to their intelligence, principle and goodwill in helping set the standards of the office.
Tier 1. The Best of the Best (Washington, Lincoln, FDR and Teddy Roosevelt)
Washington, as the first, set the standard. Everything he did was precedential, and he basically became the measurement with which we compare all subsequent Presidents. Needless to say, they almost never measure up. What Teddy Roosevelt did was command the public view of the Presidency. He changed how the power of the Presidency was perceived and expanded the narrow view of the White House from just the country and it’s territorial waters, to a global scope. Lincoln, perhaps our greatest President, shepherded us through our nation’s worst period. And FDR, a physically weak man, guided us out of depression and through WWII with unmatched strength. These four men, are the ones that every President aspires to be, and are easily our best four Presidents.
PurpleAmerica’s Presidential Trivia (answers in footnotes)
Who is the only President to serve on the Supreme Court?3
Who is the oldest President with a still living grandson? 4
Who was the first President born in the United States? 5
Who was the only President to attain the office, while never being on a national ticket?6
How many future Presidents signed The Declaration of Independence?7
Who was the first president to go to another nation while serving as President?8
What President had the greatest electoral margin of victory by percentage?9
Who was the only president to be a bachelor throughout his term? 10
Abraham Lincoln shares a birthdate with what other famous historical person? 11
What do John Adams, John Quincy Adams, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Calvin Coolidge, James Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, FDR, Zachary Taylor and Barack Obama all have in common other than being President?12
PurpleAmerica’s Obscure Fact of the Day
Left handedness is a genetic trait seen in one of ten people. However, of the 45 different people to be President, nine have been left handed, making it twice the average rate. Five of those have come within the last 80 years, meaning other traits associated with left handedness/right brained people (creativity, speech and vocabulary, sociability) are valued more at this time. That makes sense as television and mass media have made a bigger impact on becoming President.
PurpleAmerica’s Final Word on the Subject
One of the best depictions of our earlier politics and presidents was in the Broadway masterpiece Hamilton. But the one who stole the show was Jonathan Groff as King George III not understanding the new power structure the colonists were creating. Here are all three songs. Enjoy. Happy Belated Presidents Day.
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? MAKE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE!!!
Footnotes and Fun Stuff
The one thing I could come up with was “Operation Warp Speed” in order to get a vaccine on the market as soon as possible. That was good. Since then, he’s completely disowned it and tried to put all the blame of everything done with COVID on his successor.
It should be noted too that of those presidents impeached, Johnson’s was for an infraction of the Tenure of Office Act. You see, as Lincoln was Republican, and Johnson was a Democrat on a Unity ticket, with Lincoln’s death the White House switched parties. That scared the now powerful Republican Party. They immediately passed the Tenure of Office Act to prevent Johnson from firing any of Lincolns appointees. Johnson fired Edwin Stanton, the hardline Republican Secretary of War who wanted to see the South suffer for putting the country through hell for four years. In the end, Johnson was saved by a single vote in the Senate. Nixon resigned rather than face the indignation of being removed, and what Trump did to deserve his impeachments were worse than Johnson and should’ve resulted in removal. Despite the scandal fishing Republicans did with Clinton, in the end Clinton did clearly perjure himself regarding a personal matter, deserving of the slap on the wrist but not removal from office.
William Howard Taft. He was more interested in being a judge than a President anyway.
John Tyler. Our 10th President, who was born in Washington’s first term (1790), had a son when he was 63 (he had 15 children total). That son, when he was 75, married a much younger woman at 39 and gave birth to Harrison Ruffin Tyler. Tyler was a chemical engineer, and is currently in his 90s at a Virginia nursing home.
Martin Van Buren, born in 1782 in Kinderhook, NY. Every President before him was born a colonist of the British Empire.
Gerald Ford. He became Vice President after Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace, and then became President under similar circumstances when Nixon resigned.
Only two; Adams and Jefferson. The both died on the same day, July 4, 1826, fifty years after the Declaration’s signing.
Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, to visit and inspect progress on the Panama Canal.
George Washington. He received 100% of the electoral college vote not once, but twice.
James Buchanan never married.
Charles Darwin, both born February 12, 1809.
They are all descended from pilgrims that took part in the Mayflower voyage. Now, in Obama’s case, his ancestor, Thomas Blossom, was on another ship on the same voyage “The Speedwell” that had to turn around because of a leak. Blossom came to the new world 9 years later. All of the others are direct descendants of someone who made the trip on the Mayflower.