For those who wanna see the specific President(s), here are the timestamps George Washington - 04:11 John Adams - 06:22 Thomas Jefferson - 08:01 James Madison - 09:38 James Monroe - 11:26 John Quincy Adams - 12:24 Andrew Jackson - 14:44 Martin Van Buren - 16:54 William Henry Harrison - 18:16 John Tyler - 18:54 James K Polk - 20:15 Zachary Taylor - 22:37 Millard Fillmore - 24:40 Franklin Pierce - 26:12 James Buchanan - 27:13 Abraham Lincoln - 28:25 Andrew Johnson - 30:54 Ulysses S. Grant - 32:56 Rutherford B. Hayes - 35:23
I’m so happy he avoided the controversy of ranking the last 4 presidents. Recency bias leads to very pulverizing opinions on them, they cannot be fairly ranked for the foreseeable future.
Zachary Taylor actually opposed the Compromise of 1850 , and threatened to veto it. Fillmore was it's proponent. He even told Taylor that if there was a tie in the Senate, he would vote for it. So knocking Taylor for the Compromise is simply wrong.
Taylor had a very interesting and unique approach to the annexed territories. Despite being a slave owner, he opposed any expansion of slavery out west because it was all desert, what were you going to farm cacti? But, in order to keep a balance in the senate, he wanted to divide all the annexed territory into just two free states, that way the free states wouldn't have that big of a lead over the slave states.
I think the reason that all of your Presidential history videos do so well, is not because WE love that content, but we see how much YOU love it. You are so engaged and passionate about presidential history that every one of these videos are absolute must-watch! Keep the great content coming VTH!
One thing I would love to see as kind of a super-series is for Chris to rank presidents as per the criteria set by the Siena College Research Institute. Have one series where he focuses on the presidents' backgrounds, then one on party leadership, and so on. Then he can tally it at the end and give an overall ranking based on the average of all the criteria.
Not many of these history channels exist in English unless the country they cover is English-speaking. I also suppose Americans have a greater interest in history due to how connected everything is. Its been a dense ~250 years, and the world-wide prominence/notoriety has only made more to talk about.
I'm Canadian but I do know the higher reputation/ history making presidents, however my knowledge is very general and surface level. But I watch your videos for your great insight and passion about all varieties of history. You've made me largely more interested in the history and lives of US presidents. Kudos to you and your amazing channel!
Hey VTH 🤜 been a subscriber since so long, this past year I had lost contact with this channel but since the start of 2023 I have been a regular viewer again and just wanted to say thanks for the amazing content 👍
I have a great suggestion for you brother, The channel "voices of the past" its the narrated true memoirs of soldiers from historical battles. its right up your street Chris! esp napoleons retreat from Russia told by a Russian soldier and what they saw. brutal
talking about Jackson I didn't really think too much of what he was doing policy wise seemed all that good when I listened to his biography... except one big one. how he handled the nullification crisis and the precedents he set that Lincoln was later able to utilize
Thanks to Mr Beat, I can never hear Compromise of 1850 without how he sings it... and slightly sad you didn't sing it at least once Chris. But seriously good video!! Can't wait for part 2!!!
I know it has been said many times but your ability to be non-partisan is fantastic. It feels almost refreshing. The U.S. is the most divided it's been in my lifetime I think. I just wanted to say I appreciated it
As a New Hampshirite I’m am so upset that Franklin Pierce was our only president when it could’ve been people like John Hale or Daniel Webster. It sucks when the only good thing a New Hampshire president has done in office was the Gadsden Purchase
Went to the Grant Mausoleum in NYC last month. A beautiful tribute to a wonderful man, I was extremely honoured to stand in his presence. Also visited the resting places of Polk in Nashville and Kennedy and Taft in Arlington on the same trip - both great experiences.
James K. Polk has to be the most underrated President in my eyes. The man laid out a plan, did everything he wanted to do, and didn't go for a second term since he didn't need it. If every President had that kind of attitude, this country would be a better place.
I just read Chernow's biography of Grant and totally agree. I told my friend that he was just too trusting and loyal to be president. I hate that that was the case because he was such an awesome guy. He just wanted to be a math professor and lived in San Francisco, but his sense of duty kept him from that life he wanted. Also, an unrelated fact...you mentioned the White House being burned down to the foundation. I've been in the basement/storage area of the White House (long story, but it's definitely not a stop on the tour and we definitely had permission to be there haha), and you can still see all the soot marks from the fire on the foundation. It's so cool.
Yup. Grant even created the Justice Department to take down the KKK specifically. He also made black people citizens. The History Channel did a 3 part series on him that was extremely well done (it was based on Chernows book and he produced it). One of the few well produced things that they have done recently that’s actually history based. They also did one around the same time of Washington (again, based on Chernows biography). It was one of the few that went into how integral the young guys were to him. Hamilton, Lafayette (my favorite historical figure next to Grant), John Laurens, but also Henry Knox and Nathaniel Greene. Knox was a 23 year old bookstore owner when the war started and taught himself to become in charge of the rebel artillery .. in fact after the capture of Ticonderoga by Benedict Arnold they had captured cannons but it was 300 miles away from Boston and no good to them. Til Knox made the trek and in the middle of winter loaded up all the artillery pieces and used oxen to make it back to Boston. Crossed the mountains, river, all in the snow. But he made it. Honestly he’s an amazing guy also who doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He was the one who got the artillery across the Delaware in the dead of winter . He was in charge of artillery at every major battle in the war.
For me, Adams is the most misunderstood/underrated Founding Father & one of the most underrated Presidents. It's been interesting seeing historians slowly being more kind to him over the years and it's not very difficult to understand why when one thinks of context. The one thing that always brings it down are the A&S acts. We all know they were wrong, but, once again, when you put in in some context you begin to see why Adams signed them at all. The United States was a new nation and very fragile at the time. Adams, being one of the most essential contributors to the formation of the US, was dead focused on preserving it. He was also led to believe that the majority were in favor of the acts (even his wife, Abigail, who is normally the more "level headed" of the two). There are people who believe that Adams signed them solely to spite Thomas Jefferson and that's simply not true. As far as not getting us into war with France/Britain, it's another aspect that people have come around to more nowadays. People do mention it more but still tend to downplay the importance of what Adams accomplished. Despite literal pressure from Hamilton (his own party) and Jefferson's nonstop bombardment of slander, Adams kept aiming for neutrality. It cost him politically and he knew it would but Adams was one who despised poltical games when it came to the protection of the country. Had Adams not secured peace between the US/Britain/France, the consequences would have been SEVERE. With the divide already existing in the country thanks to Hamilton and Jefferson's shenanigans, had we gone to war again, we would have been quite screwed. I understand how people simply can't shake the A&S acts from their ranking but when you dive deeper you somewhat understand it more. That being said, I personally would not rank Adams less than a "C" but would personally give him a B. One last thing to throw out there - it's really a shame that we have yet to have a memorial for John Adams. It was authorized (finally) in 2001 but has been in "limbo" ever since. Current POTUS Biden appointed two people to the Adams memorial commission but I really would like to see more progress on this soon. Cheers!
Great summary of the positives of Adams' presidency. His insistence on not going to war despite literally everyone being against him reminded me a lot of JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Finally, someone agrees with me on Adams! He suits very well as b. Yes he did have the Alien and Sedition Acts but he was arguably another underrated president along with Calvin Coolidge.
I agree with that. So I'm willing to cut Buchanan a little slack for his presidency, but not Pierce, because Pierce was president when that act was passed, and supported it.
@@otisdylan9532 Kansas-Nebraska ruined Pierce's presidency. Buchanan was awful even before states started seceding and he always took the South's side. His Secretary of War also aided the Confederacy after states started seceding from the Union.
@@kingrex1931 Yes, and to clarify, I'll cut Buchanan a little slack for inheriting a bad situation , but not very much. He may have inherited a bad situation, but could still have handled it far better than he did.
Nice perspective on President Grant. In another video I made the comment that he was a great general but not such a hot president. This video has elevated him in my esteem.
The one thing I will always remember about Van Buren is that he's the reason Davy Crockett left the United States for Texas* and that alone should knock him down a couple of notches (yes, I'm biased -- I grew up on Disney's Davy Crockett and still know all the lyrics to the theme song...). As Davy himself wrote, "I have almost given up the ship as lost, I have gone so far as to declare that if Martin Van Buren is elected that I will leave the United States for I never will live under his Kingdom. [B]efore I will submit to his government I will go to the Wilds of Texas." Remember the Alamo! Down with Van Buren! All kidding aside, Davy Crockett's biography of Van Buren is....well...a very interesting read that provides some insight into both Van Buren and Crockett himself. * (Note: It was more complicated than that, but it is the reason specifically cited by Davy)
Agreed! Bias has layers, too. If any organization OR individual says they are unbiased, you KNOW they are full of crap. Being open about that kind of thing would do better for credibility.
Hey VTH Im only 14 but I always enjoy watching your videos. It is safe to say that I have learned alot of History from you. Continue the awesome work you do. I always enjoy the tier list videos like this one or the WW1 countries one. Thanks for all the work you do.
I really enjoy all your content. Your Tragic Lives of Presidents series on your podcast is extremely interesting. As a history nerd myself it is nice to have this community to be part of.
I think it's been long enough to give GWB a fair shake. I've seen a LOT of people give him more credit in the years since his presidency. He does always gets an unfair shake regarding how his intelligence is portrayed, though. Yes, he had his speech gaffes, but he wasn't dumb. I'll always remember a friend of mine, who was a hardcore Democrat, went with family to the White House to meet Bush & others (his godfather was Alberto Gonzales). He came back saying "I still don't like him as president, but WOW, he shocked me with how smart he actually is!" Then went on to brag about telling Bush all the things he didn't like about him, but also said he had a completely new view on the guy
I've heard many of his political opponents say similar things about him. He's a great example of how as recency bias wears off, his standing improves. He'll end up mid 20's most likely. He's gone from 36 to 29 in C-Span's rankings thus far. Obama is at 10, he'll probably drop closer to 20 in the next 10 years.
It's really quite unfair how much people correlate the verbal abilities of a person with their intelligence when there is not a great deal of connection there. I have been lucky to know quite a few autistic people and gifted children in my life, and they prove time and time again that fancy speech and full-fledged thoughts aren't a package deal.
George Bush is a great example of someone whose presidency started out amazing (his reaction to 9/11) and then tanked when we all realized he was a war criminal lol
The Iraq War will always be a massive stain. I will say, it was not as much of a disaster as people think. The Lancet study used constantly is pretty flawed and has been criticized for a long time, but too many did die. The country was destabilized by the war too. And the justification included a web of lies.
@@hasafienda We essentially transformed Iraq from a brutal dictatorship into a group of warlords fighting over various regions. Mission NOT accomplished :/
26:59 Something I just learnt recently is that Franklin Pierce actually did some administrative reform and limited civil service reform, so he did some good
I remember as a child being so excited to have a president with the same name…nowadays it hurts to see such horrid men take office. Andrews we owe it to our ancestors and future generations to be better people!
I really appreciate the exclusion of more modern presidents from this list due to the full scope of their presidencies’ results/effects not being known until several years after their presidencies end. Just a very rational and analytical viewpoint to take.
Fairly new subscriber here, I’m interested to see where you are going to rank FDR. He’s always the president that I am most conflicted about. I can see where his policies helped the country during the era, but also see some of the negative effects that have carried on to today. Also Japanese internment camps…just awful, and something that is often overlooked in history.
I agree with your ranking them based upon the negative and positive aspects of their presidencies and only counting what they did as president. I also agree with you not ranking the most recent ones, which is why I was surprised to see you name the video "Ranking All the Presidents 1-45"
Not mentioning Indian Removal with Van Buren was disgusting! It totally baffles me that historians, knowing the spirit and intention of the Founders, rate the Presidents based on what they do instead of what they don't do. Restraint and principled is more admirable and more in line with the purpose of the US and the Constitution. It's so Anti-American to rank a President high for spending a ton of money on a noble cause, while the cause is unconstitutional and put us deeper in Debt. Most historians ranking Lincoln as 1 arr biased. Grover Cleveland should be top 10 for his principled stances and the fact that he vetoed hundreds of bills should be reason enough! Historians also rank presidents based on how many wars they start, expand, and the number of bombs they drop, instead of how they have made peace and diplomacy. The entire mainstream rankings are totally skewed and lopsided.
I assume this is another strict analysis of their time in office, but I’d like to see you (and maybe Mr Beat too) expand it out to rank their entire lives and careers instead of just when they were President one day. I’d be interested how things change and shift with so many other factors about them to take into account besides those 4-8 years.
I am officially requesting you react to Lazerpug, Mr Terry reacted to some of his videos and enjoyed it and I think you would too, especially his ocean liner dual video
Tier 1 1) George Washington 2) Abraham Lincoln 3) Thomas Jefferson 4) Teddy Roosevelt Tier 2 1) Franklin D Roosevelt 2) Dwight Eisenhower Tier 3 1) Ronald Reagan 2) John F Kennedy Tier 4 1) George Bush sr 2) Bill Clinton 3) George Bush jr 4) Barack Obama 5) Donald Trump 6) Joe Biden (May be) Tier 5 1) Richard Nixon 2) Lyndon B Johnson 3) Gerald Ford Tier 6 1) Woodrow Wilson 2) Harry S Truman 3) Jimmy Carter America has had the same policies since the end of the Cold War, there is very little difference between 1) George Bush sr and Bill Clinton 2) George Bush jr and Barack Obama 3) Donald Trump and Joe Biden
The fact that this man is wearing a Wrexham kit!!!! SIR!!!!!! YOU WIN PERIOD!!!!!!!! Take all the attention I can offer because you deserve it! Also a huge history buff as well so love you content!!!
I honestly think John Adams presidency is underrated, yes the Alien and Sedition acts are bad but he gets a bit too much blame for them, they didn’t impact many people and he didn’t actually enforce them when it became law, but he was wrong for signing them. That’s the only negative of his administration though, his neutrality was needed and the navy was obviously great. Just like Washington gets the credit for walking away, I feel Adams should get similar credit for establishing peaceful transition of power between parties when Jefferson came in, that could have been much worse for decades to come if it wasn’t for Adams transition, I’d probably put him in the top 20 maybe even top 15
I’d say thank you on explaingi why Adams is very underrated as president. Don’t forget to mention that he appointed Harrison as Governor of the Indiana Territory
Fingers crossed for top 5 Grant. Could not agree more about 'recentcy' bias. I hold the belief that the real scholarship on WWII is only beginning now that the people who were emotionally involved in the conflict are almost gone.
Hi, Chris, very interesting, I've put my comment on here even though I watched yesterday because I'm told comments help the YT algorithm. I enjoyed that and a few surprises as well.
The only thing I would change is putting Thomas Jefferson in the 1-5 category and James K. Polk in the 6-10 category, just because without the Louisiana Purchase and the land acquired during the Mexican American War, I think the United States would have had a very different history and probably would not have become the global power it is today.
I appreciate the way you qualified how you were ranking this. Most channels don't even try, some are vague and some are obvious. Been a subscriber for quite awhile. If I could afford it I would subscribe. Thanks for the channel
Assuming I know Chris well enough, I think this is how he will rank all the Presidents: 1. George Washington 2. Abe Lincoln 3. Calvin Coolidge 4. Dwight D. Eisenhower 5. Theodore Roosevelt 6. Franklin D. Roosevelt 7. John F. Kennedy 8. Harry S. Truman 9. Thomas Jefferson 10. Ronald Reagan 11. Groover Cleveland 12. Ulysses S. Grant 13. James A. Garfield 14. James K. Polk 15. George Herbert Walker Bush 16. James Monroe 17. James Madison 18. Bill Clinton 19. William McKinley 20. Gerald Ford 21. William Howard Taft 22. Barack Obama 23. Chester A. Arthur 24. Rutherford B. Hayes 25. John Quincy Adams 26. Millard Fillmore 27. John Adams 28. Lyndon B Johnson 29. George Walker Bush 30. Jimmy Carter 31. Joe Biden 32. Richard Nixon 33. Donald Trump 34. Andrew Jackson 35. Benjamin Harrison 36. William Henry Harrison 37. James Tyler 38. Zachary Taylor 39. Martin Van Buren 40. Warren G. Harding 41. Herbert Hoover 42. Franklin Pierce 43. James Buchanan 44. Andrew Johnson 45. He who shall not be named.
Trump and Nixon too high. The damage these 2 has done to the US and other countries has been rather large. In Trump 's case his lame response to COVID which was a bad as I had to put up here in the UK are the reason WHY so many innocent people died by not RESPECTING the science. Also his attitude to mild Conservatives will probably end the Republicans in due course.. Nixon was bad but not as BAD as Trump.
@Jay Jones agreed obama was just a letdown. He had a mandate from the public. Dems had a brief super majority, and Obama squandered it. He was way to hands off dealing with congress.
@@jayjones1649 True. However, this is how I think Chris would rank the Presidents. I based it on the idea that Biden hasn't been in office for that long, some of his policies are similar to what Trump was criticized for; Chris might not approve of some of Biden's policies, and Biden's exiting of Afghanistan wasn't the best. I could see Chris saying "Hey, just because I put Biden here, doesn't mean he will stay here. It is possible that he will move up or down the list as his Presidency goes along. However, for the time being, this is how I would rank Biden." In terms of Obama, I know that Chris was very disappointed with him. However, I also know that people who are able to communicate on the level of Ronald Reagan, make him bias towards them.
Always wondered if this part of the Constitution absolves Lincoln somewhat: "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." For some reason, I always liked Hayes' other nickname: "Old Eight to Seven," due to how the vote by the 15-man committee went for deciding the electoral votes in question.
I love seeing these kinds of videos from you! I think you can talk about your opinions more (if you want to obviously) and people won’t get mad, and if they do that’s honestly their problem!
I don’t always agree with you politically but the fact that you say that you have bias is so important. Love your videos they are so informational even though we might not agree on politics.
My personal top 5 in no particular order are Lincoln, Eisenhower, both Roosevelt’s and Washington. If I had to rank FDR would probably have to be 5 because of the internment camps. I can’t rank the others though, I think they were all equally as important one as the other.
I think FDR is very polarizing and would be ranked much lower if not for WW2. His first two terms were pretty bad. His policies did not stop are meaningfully slow down the great depression and it could be very well argued he does not get a 3rd term without WW2. He's also responsible for greatly increasing the federal gov't which is a huge negative for some. And all that's without even mentioning the internment camps...so while he used to be a darling of the left, he seems to be sliding downhill even among liberals because of the internment camps.
Abraham Lincoln is a great example of a president who's perception changed drastically over 100yrs. The way people spoke about Lincoln in the late 19th century versus 20th century is a fantastic example of these are always point in time rankings and things can change
Curious to see if Cleveland gets two rankings or just one as he served non-consecutive terms. If they get lumped into one ranking, then I believe the list will be 40 even.
Yes, that's right. The way presidents are numbered gives Cleveland two numbers. So the last president included in this is Clinton, considered the 42nd president if you count Cleveland twice. So if Cleveland isn't counted twice, and W.H. Harrison isn't included either, there will only be 40 presidents ranked.
@@otisdylan9532 Only 39 Presidents would be ranked if Garfield, who served only a few months, is not included, along with G.W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and of course, the present guy Biden.
Political leaders that serve under two years can't be properly judged because one needs minimum two years to make their mark(ie William Henry Harrison & PM Joe Clark)
Hey Chris. Since you love presidential history, have you considered discussing the various presidential elections? Who were involved, the big stories (or scandals) during the race, issues at the moment in the political sphere, and anything else you may find interesting... Considering we've had north of 50 in our history, it could be a large series that could make for some pretty interesting content. Just a thought.
My list in case anyone asked 45. Andrew Johnson 44. James Buchanan 43. Franklin Pierce 42. Warren G Harding 41. Herbert Hoover 40. George W Bush 39. Zachary Taylor 38. William Henry Harrison 37. Woodrow Wilson 36. John Tyler 35. Millard Fillmore 34. Martin Van Buren 33. Jimmy Carter 32. Benjamin Harrison 31. James Garfield 30. Chester Arthur 29. John Adams 28. Gerald Ford 27. Rutherford Hayes 26. William Howard Taft 25. John Quincy Adams 24. William McKinley 23. Donald Trump 22. Joe Biden 21. George HW Bush 20. Calvin Coolidge 19. Grover Cleveland 18. Ulysses S Grant 17. Andrew Jackson 16. Richard Nixon 15. Ronald Reagan 14. Bill Clinton 13. Lyndon B Johnson 12. James K Polk 11. Barack Obama 10. Harry Truman 9. James Monroe 8. John F Kennedy 7. James Madison 6. Dwight D Eisenhower 5. Franklin D Roosevelt 4. Theodore Roosevelt 3. Thomas Jefferson 2. George Washington 1. Abraham Lincoln
Curious how you ranked Biden and Trump right next to each other, same with Teddy and Delano. Also, Wilson above Dubyah is some real weird recency bias no matter how you justify it. If I had to guess your political persuasion at gunpoint, I would probably take too long and get shot. What is your metric for this list?
@@ArchSchizo the trump and Biden and teddy and fdr was honestly a coincidence, before watching this video I wanted to put my two cents into the comments (because ofc I did) and I wrote mine on a piece of paper that took about 20 minutes, what I did was I went from my worst 10 or so and my top 2 (which honestly I would probably put Washington above Lincoln) and I worked my way in, if you asked me before today I would’ve had Franklin as number 3 and Jefferson and teddy below him but I decided to move him to 5 and just bumped those two up one space, as for Donald and Joe, I honestly don’t like Trump or his policies but I put him high as an important characteristic about him is mostly everything he said he was gonna do he did, and with Joe he’s done some amazing things especially to me as my political bias kinda skews my perception of him but I understand why he shouldn’t be higher, I mostly just felt like he couldn’t be lower or higher. As for W and Wilson, I don’t hate Wilson as much as a lot of others do, he was president during the First World War and gave women the right to vote so I couldn’t put him lower as he has SOMETHING going for him that the lower ones don’t, W I agree is pretty politically biased of me but I just felt like he started so much war on terror that that’s the reason a lot of our country is divided today among immigration and security. Of course after I look at my list it isn’t perfect I know with my biggest mistake probably putting Monroe that high but I still stick to my guns about it and I acknowledge I have strong political beliefs and I tried to over compensate a little with Trump, Reagan, and Wilson especially. Thanks for the input tho
hey i've been a fan for about a year and a half now and recently i haven't been able to stop binging your videos lol. im heading down to cleveland this summer for the first time, as an ohioan do you have any suggestions on what to do/ where to eat?
I’m not much of a foodie so I can’t help on food but definitely check out Lake View Cemetery if you love history. President Garfield’s home is in Mentor nearby.
One of the fairest presidential rankings, I would have wanted to see where the recent presidents ended up but understand and agree with the 20 year rule. Great video as always!
i feel bad for zachary taylor here is a guy who did not only not want to become president but was also not really political but still becomes president and dies a year after taking office
I'm digging the stache my man! Also, I want to thank you for providing my hunger for history. I've never clicked off ANY of your videos. If I could collab with anyone, It'd be you!
For a second I thought you were going to start off the video by talking about your favorite president of all time Woodrow Wilson! Obviously the top pick for any list, can’t wait to see him in his very so deserved spot among the presidents here!!! Also for all those who don’t get sarcasm, SUCK IT, WILSON!!! All joking aside, love your channel! Was a bit of a history nut through much of school and university, so love the deep dives into all kinds of history! Keep up the great work!
I think a video you would enjoy is Exploring hitlers eagles nest by underground history! Id love to see your reaction and hear your insights. Awesome video man!
JD and I talk several times a week. In fact we were talking when he was over there last fall. You can always just assume I've already seen any video he puts out as his is my favorite channel on youtube.
@@VloggingThroughHistory that's awesome! Love your content sir! I listen to your commentary while I drive and all my coworkers get super annoyed but I just love it.
It would be interesting to rank presidents on specific issues. Ranked by civil rights, ranked by economic considerations, etc. Anyways, excellent and entertaining as always. Thumbs up.
For fun, set up the rankings like "March Madness", have Washington a #1 seed from the east, Lincoln a #1 seed midwest, FDR #1 Seed from the north, fill out the brackets and have at it :)
Lincoln is the greatest politician our country has ever had. Whatever people think of that statement, there is no doubt Lincoln was masterful at navigating the presidential politics of his time.
Say, Alternate History Hub had done two presidential videos on Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon. It would be interesting on your take on both presidents and what impact they had on the U.S. in our timeline compares to the Hub's take, especially Herbert Hoover since he's one of the lesser spoke about presidents.
I have a big soft sport for Zachary Taylor. He is the sole reason as to why California was admitted to the Union as a free state and skipped the territorial stage in its existence. Very overhated in my opinion
You know, I find myself well on the left side of the political spectrum, but I think our opinions on the presidents are very similar, so far. I suspect that will change around the Roosevelt party switch, and then even further again for the Nixon party switch, but I’m glad to see we can agree on some key views of the presidents. I love the opportunity to find common ground in this painfully polarized political climate. Argument can be fun and productive, but agreement has a pleasure all its own. I think the criticism i’d like to offer, if it would be listened to, would be that, while 1800s economics can feel opaque today, there are things to be said for how utterly awful the Democratic-Republicans and Democrats were on economics at the time, and how far better the Whigs and Republicans were in almost every issue. It may sound nice to have no national debt, but national debt is a very, very useful tool. It’s just that modern politics and American global power have removed the checks that normally prevent abuse of deficit spending. A categorical normative view of debt isn’t productive - it’s everywhere. I prefer to think pragmatically about it, if I can manage. But I think we could stand to be more skeptical of the financial positions taken by the Southerners of the day. As an example, they often had incentives to deliberately cause deflation - its catastrophic for an industrial economy, but it keeps down the price of feeding slaves.
Considering the amount of early presidents that get rated lower because of their successes being outside of their presidential term could you just do a tier list of the founding fathers consisting of their entire career?
I know you didn't want this to be a 3-4 hour video...but I'd watch every minute of it lol
I’d pay too watch it honestly
me too lol, please do it VTH
I second this
Yeah it's so easy to put on in the background
@@dr.aisaitl7439 agreed, he has that voice where its really niice to hear in the background... and the content of his makes it better, too...
For those who wanna see the specific President(s), here are the timestamps
George Washington - 04:11
John Adams - 06:22
Thomas Jefferson - 08:01
James Madison - 09:38
James Monroe - 11:26
John Quincy Adams - 12:24
Andrew Jackson - 14:44
Martin Van Buren - 16:54
William Henry Harrison - 18:16
John Tyler - 18:54
James K Polk - 20:15
Zachary Taylor - 22:37
Millard Fillmore - 24:40
Franklin Pierce - 26:12
James Buchanan - 27:13
Abraham Lincoln - 28:25
Andrew Johnson - 30:54
Ulysses S. Grant - 32:56
Rutherford B. Hayes - 35:23
Thank you sir!
THANK YOUUU
"... Bless you laddy"
Thanks
Thanks really helpful
Commentary was very good. Gave enough information without dragging on while being very fair. Love all your work Chris.
Much appreciated!
I’m so happy he avoided the controversy of ranking the last 4 presidents. Recency bias leads to very pulverizing opinions on them, they cannot be fairly ranked for the foreseeable future.
Trump is very easy to rank
@@evonneo Some would put him at 1 or 45 without thinking about it
@@evonneono he’s not , because opinion varies wildly
I find it interesting how the historians he cited ranked the last 4 presidents. Appears to have either a Democrat or social issues bias
Tbh I think bush and Clinton are good to rank. Just not Obama and trump. Clinton is an easy A- or B. Bush is a low D at best but I’d put him in the F.
Zachary Taylor actually opposed the Compromise of 1850 , and threatened to veto it. Fillmore was it's proponent. He even told Taylor that if there was a tie in the Senate, he would vote for it. So knocking Taylor for the Compromise is simply wrong.
Quite frankly he would veto it but there was huge divide amongst whigs themselves so it was inevitable anyways
tailor was politically isolated during this time, Henry Clay was doing most of the work
Taylor had a very interesting and unique approach to the annexed territories. Despite being a slave owner, he opposed any expansion of slavery out west because it was all desert, what were you going to farm cacti? But, in order to keep a balance in the senate, he wanted to divide all the annexed territory into just two free states, that way the free states wouldn't have that big of a lead over the slave states.
I think the reason that all of your Presidential history videos do so well, is not because WE love that content, but we see how much YOU love it. You are so engaged and passionate about presidential history that every one of these videos are absolute must-watch! Keep the great content coming VTH!
"People dont care how much you know until they know how much you care." -Teddy Roosevelt 😄
7:00 the scene in HBO John Adams between him and the king is my favorite of the entire series.
There was more to it than what they show but that’s pretty much how it happened and what was said.
Man I was like "wow, Chris is really gonna be playing with fire when he gets near 45" lol. Smart move and well-reasoned.
It makes sense honestly, things change a lot in retrospect.
One thing I would love to see as kind of a super-series is for Chris to rank presidents as per the criteria set by the Siena College Research Institute. Have one series where he focuses on the presidents' backgrounds, then one on party leadership, and so on. Then he can tally it at the end and give an overall ranking based on the average of all the criteria.
kinda crazy how I live on the other side of the world but I have such an interest in US presidential history
Same.
Same!
Same
Not many of these history channels exist in English unless the country they cover is English-speaking. I also suppose Americans have a greater interest in history due to how connected everything is. Its been a dense ~250 years, and the world-wide prominence/notoriety has only made more to talk about.
Well compared to European history US history is just incredible boring and insignificant
I'm Canadian but I do know the higher reputation/ history making presidents, however my knowledge is very general and surface level. But I watch your videos for your great insight and passion about all varieties of history. You've made me largely more interested in the history and lives of US presidents. Kudos to you and your amazing channel!
Man, this is slowly becoming my favorite channel on RUclips. I could listen to this stuff all day.
You know it's a good day when VTH releases a new video
Hey VTH 🤜 been a subscriber since so long, this past year I had lost contact with this channel but since the start of 2023 I have been a regular viewer again and just wanted to say thanks for the amazing content 👍
Welcome back!
I have a great suggestion for you brother, The channel "voices of the past"
its the narrated true memoirs of soldiers from historical battles. its right up your street Chris!
esp napoleons retreat from Russia told by a Russian soldier and what they saw. brutal
You should do a tier list ranking vice presidents
And the janitors too
Bro smart for not choosing to rate the recent presidents
That’s his whole thing, he does not like ranking about recent presidents which is smart because we don’t know the whole impact of their presidency
talking about Jackson I didn't really think too much of what he was doing policy wise seemed all that good when I listened to his biography... except one big one. how he handled the nullification crisis and the precedents he set that Lincoln was later able to utilize
I agree. I consider Jackson's handling of the Nullification Crisis the one major positive of his administration.
Woodrow Wilson better be #1
😂 that’s messed up
Thanks to Mr Beat, I can never hear Compromise of 1850 without how he sings it... and slightly sad you didn't sing it at least once Chris. But seriously good video!! Can't wait for part 2!!!
Seeing you rock all these soccer jerseys make my day!
I know it has been said many times but your ability to be non-partisan is fantastic. It feels almost refreshing. The U.S. is the most divided it's been in my lifetime I think.
I just wanted to say I appreciated it
I totally agree, I wish Grant had been Lincoln's successor.
have been watching your channel for around a year now, never thought i’d see you in a wrexham top, huge respect 🏴🇺🇸
As a New Hampshirite I’m am so upset that Franklin Pierce was our only president when it could’ve been people like John Hale or Daniel Webster. It sucks when the only good thing a New Hampshire president has done in office was the Gadsden Purchase
I wouldn't blame him as much since he did lose his son prior to taking office
Went to the Grant Mausoleum in NYC last month. A beautiful tribute to a wonderful man, I was extremely honoured to stand in his presence. Also visited the resting places of Polk in Nashville and Kennedy and Taft in Arlington on the same trip - both great experiences.
James K. Polk has to be the most underrated President in my eyes. The man laid out a plan, did everything he wanted to do, and didn't go for a second term since he didn't need it. If every President had that kind of attitude, this country would be a better place.
I just read Chernow's biography of Grant and totally agree. I told my friend that he was just too trusting and loyal to be president. I hate that that was the case because he was such an awesome guy. He just wanted to be a math professor and lived in San Francisco, but his sense of duty kept him from that life he wanted. Also, an unrelated fact...you mentioned the White House being burned down to the foundation. I've been in the basement/storage area of the White House (long story, but it's definitely not a stop on the tour and we definitely had permission to be there haha), and you can still see all the soot marks from the fire on the foundation. It's so cool.
Yup. Grant even created the Justice Department to take down the KKK specifically. He also made black people citizens. The History Channel did a 3 part series on him that was extremely well done (it was based on Chernows book and he produced it). One of the few well produced things that they have done recently that’s actually history based.
They also did one around the same time of Washington (again, based on Chernows biography). It was one of the few that went into how integral the young guys were to him. Hamilton, Lafayette (my favorite historical figure next to Grant), John Laurens, but also Henry Knox and Nathaniel Greene. Knox was a 23 year old bookstore owner when the war started and taught himself to become in charge of the rebel artillery .. in fact after the capture of Ticonderoga by Benedict Arnold they had captured cannons but it was 300 miles away from Boston and no good to them. Til Knox made the trek and in the middle of winter loaded up all the artillery pieces and used oxen to make it back to Boston. Crossed the mountains, river, all in the snow. But he made it. Honestly he’s an amazing guy also who doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He was the one who got the artillery across the Delaware in the dead of winter . He was in charge of artillery at every major battle in the war.
Interesting list! I like the way you structured the ranking with five presidents in each tier!
I’m here to ask for you to do a president tier list based on character one day! ✋🏻
Yes!
For me, Adams is the most misunderstood/underrated Founding Father & one of the most underrated Presidents. It's been interesting seeing historians slowly being more kind to him over the years and it's not very difficult to understand why when one thinks of context. The one thing that always brings it down are the A&S acts. We all know they were wrong, but, once again, when you put in in some context you begin to see why Adams signed them at all. The United States was a new nation and very fragile at the time. Adams, being one of the most essential contributors to the formation of the US, was dead focused on preserving it. He was also led to believe that the majority were in favor of the acts (even his wife, Abigail, who is normally the more "level headed" of the two). There are people who believe that Adams signed them solely to spite Thomas Jefferson and that's simply not true.
As far as not getting us into war with France/Britain, it's another aspect that people have come around to more nowadays. People do mention it more but still tend to downplay the importance of what Adams accomplished. Despite literal pressure from Hamilton (his own party) and Jefferson's nonstop bombardment of slander, Adams kept aiming for neutrality. It cost him politically and he knew it would but Adams was one who despised poltical games when it came to the protection of the country. Had Adams not secured peace between the US/Britain/France, the consequences would have been SEVERE. With the divide already existing in the country thanks to Hamilton and Jefferson's shenanigans, had we gone to war again, we would have been quite screwed.
I understand how people simply can't shake the A&S acts from their ranking but when you dive deeper you somewhat understand it more. That being said, I personally would not rank Adams less than a "C" but would personally give him a B.
One last thing to throw out there - it's really a shame that we have yet to have a memorial for John Adams. It was authorized (finally) in 2001 but has been in "limbo" ever since. Current POTUS Biden appointed two people to the Adams memorial commission but I really would like to see more progress on this soon.
Cheers!
Great summary of the positives of Adams' presidency. His insistence on not going to war despite literally everyone being against him reminded me a lot of JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Finally, someone agrees with me on Adams! He suits very well as b. Yes he did have the Alien and Sedition Acts but he was arguably another underrated president along with Calvin Coolidge.
I think the Kansas-Nebraska Act was the point of no return for the Civil War.
I agree with that. So I'm willing to cut Buchanan a little slack for his presidency, but not Pierce, because Pierce was president when that act was passed, and supported it.
@@otisdylan9532 Kansas-Nebraska ruined Pierce's presidency. Buchanan was awful even before states started seceding and he always took the South's side. His Secretary of War also aided the Confederacy after states started seceding from the Union.
@@kingrex1931 Yes, and to clarify, I'll cut Buchanan a little slack for inheriting a bad situation , but not very much. He may have inherited a bad situation, but could still have handled it far better than he did.
Nice perspective on President Grant. In another video I made the comment that he was a great general but not such a hot president. This video has elevated him in my esteem.
The one thing I will always remember about Van Buren is that he's the reason Davy Crockett left the United States for Texas* and that alone should knock him down a couple of notches (yes, I'm biased -- I grew up on Disney's Davy Crockett and still know all the lyrics to the theme song...). As Davy himself wrote, "I have almost given up the ship as lost, I have gone so far as to declare that if Martin Van Buren is elected that I will leave the United States for I never will live under his Kingdom. [B]efore I will submit to his government I will go to the Wilds of Texas." Remember the Alamo! Down with Van Buren! All kidding aside, Davy Crockett's biography of Van Buren is....well...a very interesting read that provides some insight into both Van Buren and Crockett himself. * (Note: It was more complicated than that, but it is the reason specifically cited by Davy)
You seem pretty fair with months of your assessments given your slight bias which everyone has. I can’t wait!
Agreed! Bias has layers, too. If any organization OR individual says they are unbiased, you KNOW they are full of crap. Being open about that kind of thing would do better for credibility.
@@ArchSchizo No one's fully unbiased, but it's good to try to be. Most people on the left and the right don't even attempt to be unbiased.
Hey VTH Im only 14 but I always enjoy watching your videos. It is safe to say that I have learned alot of History from you. Continue the awesome work you do. I always enjoy the tier list videos like this one or the WW1 countries one. Thanks for all the work you do.
I second this as another young VTH fan (I’m 16).
@@aarims9212 I think that more young people should learn about the past. So fascinating!
I’m 16 as well and I am fascinated by history, good to see some others in my generation interested as well.
The Fulham Kit is proof you have quality taste, love to see it!
Got it at Craven Cottage when I saw my first premier league game there.
I really enjoy all your content. Your Tragic Lives of Presidents series on your podcast is extremely interesting. As a history nerd myself it is nice to have this community to be part of.
I feel like we can definitely judge George Bush lmao it's been almost 20 years since the beginning of the Iraq War
That’s so crazy; over 2 decades since September 11th.
I love your channel Chris. You are very respectful with your viewpoints and that is a true sign of intelligence.
I think it's been long enough to give GWB a fair shake. I've seen a LOT of people give him more credit in the years since his presidency.
He does always gets an unfair shake regarding how his intelligence is portrayed, though. Yes, he had his speech gaffes, but he wasn't dumb.
I'll always remember a friend of mine, who was a hardcore Democrat, went with family to the White House to meet Bush & others (his godfather was Alberto Gonzales).
He came back saying "I still don't like him as president, but WOW, he shocked me with how smart he actually is!" Then went on to brag about telling Bush all the things he didn't like about him, but also said he had a completely new view on the guy
I've heard many of his political opponents say similar things about him. He's a great example of how as recency bias wears off, his standing improves. He'll end up mid 20's most likely. He's gone from 36 to 29 in C-Span's rankings thus far. Obama is at 10, he'll probably drop closer to 20 in the next 10 years.
It's really quite unfair how much people correlate the verbal abilities of a person with their intelligence when there is not a great deal of connection there. I have been lucky to know quite a few autistic people and gifted children in my life, and they prove time and time again that fancy speech and full-fledged thoughts aren't a package deal.
George Bush is a great example of someone whose presidency started out amazing (his reaction to 9/11) and then tanked when we all realized he was a war criminal lol
The Iraq War will always be a massive stain. I will say, it was not as much of a disaster as people think. The Lancet study used constantly is pretty flawed and has been criticized for a long time, but too many did die. The country was destabilized by the war too. And the justification included a web of lies.
@@hasafienda We essentially transformed Iraq from a brutal dictatorship into a group of warlords fighting over various regions. Mission NOT accomplished :/
I’m younger and just starting to really get into this kind of just, really enjoying the content
26:59 Something I just learnt recently is that Franklin Pierce actually did some administrative reform and limited civil service reform, so he did some good
I remember as a child being so excited to have a president with the same name…nowadays it hurts to see such horrid men take office. Andrews we owe it to our ancestors and future generations to be better people!
Am I the only who's drooling over when he gets to Wilson?
Thank you for putting it in order. Makes so much more sense.
That whistle at 21:04 was legendary
I really appreciate the exclusion of more modern presidents from this list due to the full scope of their presidencies’ results/effects not being known until several years after their presidencies end. Just a very rational and analytical viewpoint to take.
Fairly new subscriber here, I’m interested to see where you are going to rank FDR. He’s always the president that I am most conflicted about. I can see where his policies helped the country during the era, but also see some of the negative effects that have carried on to today. Also Japanese internment camps…just awful, and something that is often overlooked in history.
"I have Lincoln at 3rd"
Atun Shei "Checkmate Lincolnites!!"
I agree with your ranking them based upon the negative and positive aspects of their presidencies and only counting what they did as president. I also agree with you not ranking the most recent ones, which is why I was surprised to see you name the video "Ranking All the Presidents 1-45"
Not mentioning Indian Removal with Van Buren was disgusting! It totally baffles me that historians, knowing the spirit and intention of the Founders, rate the Presidents based on what they do instead of what they don't do. Restraint and principled is more admirable and more in line with the purpose of the US and the Constitution. It's so Anti-American to rank a President high for spending a ton of money on a noble cause, while the cause is unconstitutional and put us deeper in Debt. Most historians ranking Lincoln as 1 arr biased. Grover Cleveland should be top 10 for his principled stances and the fact that he vetoed hundreds of bills should be reason enough! Historians also rank presidents based on how many wars they start, expand, and the number of bombs they drop, instead of how they have made peace and diplomacy. The entire mainstream rankings are totally skewed and lopsided.
I assume this is another strict analysis of their time in office, but I’d like to see you (and maybe Mr Beat too) expand it out to rank their entire lives and careers instead of just when they were President one day.
I’d be interested how things change and shift with so many other factors about them to take into account besides those 4-8 years.
Love this idea!
Excited to watch part 2 . Love anything president related .
True adulthood is when you finally live through a presidency that Chris is comfortable ranking
Where is president Martinez from Cory in the house? Clearly a top 5 president ever
I am officially requesting you react to Lazerpug, Mr Terry reacted to some of his videos and enjoyed it and I think you would too, especially his ocean liner dual video
Your opinion in the first 2 minutes is beautiful, and directly reflects my own
Tier 1
1) George Washington
2) Abraham Lincoln
3) Thomas Jefferson
4) Teddy Roosevelt
Tier 2
1) Franklin D Roosevelt
2) Dwight Eisenhower
Tier 3
1) Ronald Reagan
2) John F Kennedy
Tier 4
1) George Bush sr
2) Bill Clinton
3) George Bush jr
4) Barack Obama
5) Donald Trump
6) Joe Biden (May be)
Tier 5
1) Richard Nixon
2) Lyndon B Johnson
3) Gerald Ford
Tier 6
1) Woodrow Wilson
2) Harry S Truman
3) Jimmy Carter
America has had the same policies since the end of the Cold War, there is very little difference between
1) George Bush sr and Bill Clinton
2) George Bush jr and Barack Obama
3) Donald Trump and Joe Biden
Love the early access and really enjoyed the video
The fact that this man is wearing a Wrexham kit!!!! SIR!!!!!! YOU WIN PERIOD!!!!!!!! Take all the attention I can offer because you deserve it! Also a huge history buff as well so love you content!!!
I honestly think John Adams presidency is underrated, yes the Alien and Sedition acts are bad but he gets a bit too much blame for them, they didn’t impact many people and he didn’t actually enforce them when it became law, but he was wrong for signing them.
That’s the only negative of his administration though, his neutrality was needed and the navy was obviously great. Just like Washington gets the credit for walking away, I feel Adams should get similar credit for establishing peaceful transition of power between parties when Jefferson came in, that could have been much worse for decades to come if it wasn’t for Adams transition, I’d probably put him in the top 20 maybe even top 15
I'd say 15-20 is fair.
I’d say thank you on explaingi why Adams is very underrated as president. Don’t forget to mention that he appointed Harrison as Governor of the Indiana Territory
Fingers crossed for top 5 Grant. Could not agree more about 'recentcy' bias. I hold the belief that the real scholarship on WWII is only beginning now that the people who were emotionally involved in the conflict are almost gone.
Hi, Chris, very interesting, I've put my comment on here even though I watched yesterday because I'm told comments help the YT algorithm. I enjoyed that and a few surprises as well.
The only thing I would change is putting Thomas Jefferson in the 1-5 category and James K. Polk in the 6-10 category, just because without the Louisiana Purchase and the land acquired during the Mexican American War, I think the United States would have had a very different history and probably would not have become the global power it is today.
I appreciate the way you qualified how you were ranking this. Most channels don't even try, some are vague and some are obvious. Been a subscriber for quite awhile. If I could afford it I would subscribe. Thanks for the channel
Assuming I know Chris well enough, I think this is how he will rank all the Presidents:
1. George Washington
2. Abe Lincoln
3. Calvin Coolidge
4. Dwight D. Eisenhower
5. Theodore Roosevelt
6. Franklin D. Roosevelt
7. John F. Kennedy
8. Harry S. Truman
9. Thomas Jefferson
10. Ronald Reagan
11. Groover Cleveland
12. Ulysses S. Grant
13. James A. Garfield
14. James K. Polk
15. George Herbert Walker Bush
16. James Monroe
17. James Madison
18. Bill Clinton
19. William McKinley
20. Gerald Ford
21. William Howard Taft
22. Barack Obama
23. Chester A. Arthur
24. Rutherford B. Hayes
25. John Quincy Adams
26. Millard Fillmore
27. John Adams
28. Lyndon B Johnson
29. George Walker Bush
30. Jimmy Carter
31. Joe Biden
32. Richard Nixon
33. Donald Trump
34. Andrew Jackson
35. Benjamin Harrison
36. William Henry Harrison
37. James Tyler
38. Zachary Taylor
39. Martin Van Buren
40. Warren G. Harding
41. Herbert Hoover
42. Franklin Pierce
43. James Buchanan
44. Andrew Johnson
45. He who shall not be named.
Trump and Nixon too high. The damage these 2 has done to the US and other countries has been rather large. In Trump 's case his lame response to COVID which was a bad as I had to put up here in the UK are the reason WHY so many innocent people died by not RESPECTING the science. Also his attitude to mild Conservatives will probably end the Republicans in due course.. Nixon was bad but not as BAD as Trump.
fair enough list. but i genuinely think Biden is a better president than Obama.
@Jay Jones agreed obama was just a letdown. He had a mandate from the public. Dems had a brief super majority, and Obama squandered it. He was way to hands off dealing with congress.
@@jayjones1649 True. However, this is how I think Chris would rank the Presidents. I based it on the idea that Biden hasn't been in office for that long, some of his policies are similar to what Trump was criticized for; Chris might not approve of some of Biden's policies, and Biden's exiting of Afghanistan wasn't the best. I could see Chris saying "Hey, just because I put Biden here, doesn't mean he will stay here. It is possible that he will move up or down the list as his Presidency goes along. However, for the time being, this is how I would rank Biden."
In terms of Obama, I know that Chris was very disappointed with him. However, I also know that people who are able to communicate on the level of Ronald Reagan, make him bias towards them.
@@Dragonite43 u forgot Woodrow Wilson
Always wondered if this part of the Constitution absolves Lincoln somewhat:
"The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."
For some reason, I always liked Hayes' other nickname: "Old Eight to Seven," due to how the vote by the 15-man committee went for deciding the electoral votes in question.
Late to watch this, but very interesting. I think I asked before but are you going to pick up on the podcast about the president's tragic lives?
Yep. Next episode will be exactly that.
@@VloggingThroughHistory Awesome! My husband and I really love that one.
I love seeing these kinds of videos from you! I think you can talk about your opinions more (if you want to obviously) and people won’t get mad, and if they do that’s honestly their problem!
How about tiering actors performances as presidents one for playing real presidents and one for fictitious ones?
I do love how John Adams and Jimmy Carter are often held in very similar regards - amazing men who tarnished their legacies by being President.
As with you, the presidents are also my favorite topic to cover in am history. Well done as always and looking forward to part two!
I don’t always agree with you politically but the fact that you say that you have bias is so important. Love your videos they are so informational even though we might not agree on politics.
If you ever see this “you probably wont” don’t take this as criticism i love you and the videos you make
My personal top 5 in no particular order are Lincoln, Eisenhower, both Roosevelt’s and Washington. If I had to rank FDR would probably have to be 5 because of the internment camps. I can’t rank the others though, I think they were all equally as important one as the other.
If that’s your top five, then you’re going to find my final top-five very interesting :-)
I think FDR is very polarizing and would be ranked much lower if not for WW2. His first two terms were pretty bad. His policies did not stop are meaningfully slow down the great depression and it could be very well argued he does not get a 3rd term without WW2.
He's also responsible for greatly increasing the federal gov't which is a huge negative for some.
And all that's without even mentioning the internment camps...so while he used to be a darling of the left, he seems to be sliding downhill even among liberals because of the internment camps.
Abraham Lincoln is a great example of a president who's perception changed drastically over 100yrs.
The way people spoke about Lincoln in the late 19th century versus 20th century is a fantastic example of these are always point in time rankings and things can change
Curious to see if Cleveland gets two rankings or just one as he served non-consecutive terms. If they get lumped into one ranking, then I believe the list will be 40 even.
Yes, that's right. The way presidents are numbered gives Cleveland two numbers. So the last president included in this is Clinton, considered the 42nd president if you count Cleveland twice. So if Cleveland isn't counted twice, and W.H. Harrison isn't included either, there will only be 40 presidents ranked.
@@otisdylan9532 Only 39 Presidents would be ranked if Garfield, who served only a few months, is not included, along with G.W. Bush, Obama, Trump, and of course, the present guy Biden.
Political leaders that serve under two years can't be properly judged because one needs minimum two years to make their mark(ie William Henry Harrison & PM Joe Clark)
Hey Chris. Since you love presidential history, have you considered discussing the various presidential elections? Who were involved, the big stories (or scandals) during the race, issues at the moment in the political sphere, and anything else you may find interesting...
Considering we've had north of 50 in our history, it could be a large series that could make for some pretty interesting content. Just a thought.
My list in case anyone asked
45. Andrew Johnson
44. James Buchanan
43. Franklin Pierce
42. Warren G Harding
41. Herbert Hoover
40. George W Bush
39. Zachary Taylor
38. William Henry Harrison
37. Woodrow Wilson
36. John Tyler
35. Millard Fillmore
34. Martin Van Buren
33. Jimmy Carter
32. Benjamin Harrison
31. James Garfield
30. Chester Arthur
29. John Adams
28. Gerald Ford
27. Rutherford Hayes
26. William Howard Taft
25. John Quincy Adams
24. William McKinley
23. Donald Trump
22. Joe Biden
21. George HW Bush
20. Calvin Coolidge
19. Grover Cleveland
18. Ulysses S Grant
17. Andrew Jackson
16. Richard Nixon
15. Ronald Reagan
14. Bill Clinton
13. Lyndon B Johnson
12. James K Polk
11. Barack Obama
10. Harry Truman
9. James Monroe
8. John F Kennedy
7. James Madison
6. Dwight D Eisenhower
5. Franklin D Roosevelt
4. Theodore Roosevelt
3. Thomas Jefferson
2. George Washington
1. Abraham Lincoln
Curious how you ranked Biden and Trump right next to each other, same with Teddy and Delano. Also, Wilson above Dubyah is some real weird recency bias no matter how you justify it. If I had to guess your political persuasion at gunpoint, I would probably take too long and get shot. What is your metric for this list?
@@ArchSchizo the trump and Biden and teddy and fdr was honestly a coincidence, before watching this video I wanted to put my two cents into the comments (because ofc I did) and I wrote mine on a piece of paper that took about 20 minutes, what I did was I went from my worst 10 or so and my top 2 (which honestly I would probably put Washington above Lincoln) and I worked my way in, if you asked me before today I would’ve had Franklin as number 3 and Jefferson and teddy below him but I decided to move him to 5 and just bumped those two up one space, as for Donald and Joe, I honestly don’t like Trump or his policies but I put him high as an important characteristic about him is mostly everything he said he was gonna do he did, and with Joe he’s done some amazing things especially to me as my political bias kinda skews my perception of him but I understand why he shouldn’t be higher, I mostly just felt like he couldn’t be lower or higher. As for W and Wilson, I don’t hate Wilson as much as a lot of others do, he was president during the First World War and gave women the right to vote so I couldn’t put him lower as he has SOMETHING going for him that the lower ones don’t, W I agree is pretty politically biased of me but I just felt like he started so much war on terror that that’s the reason a lot of our country is divided today among immigration and security. Of course after I look at my list it isn’t perfect I know with my biggest mistake probably putting Monroe that high but I still stick to my guns about it and I acknowledge I have strong political beliefs and I tried to over compensate a little with Trump, Reagan, and Wilson especially. Thanks for the input tho
I didn't ask, but I'm glad you provided it anyway!
Awkward to have Biden and Trump ranked next to each other. They seem to be diametrically opposed to each other.
hey i've been a fan for about a year and a half now and recently i haven't been able to stop binging your videos lol. im heading down to cleveland this summer for the first time, as an ohioan do you have any suggestions on what to do/ where to eat?
I’m not much of a foodie so I can’t help on food but definitely check out Lake View Cemetery if you love history. President Garfield’s home is in Mentor nearby.
haha got it, thank you very much!
One of the fairest presidential rankings, I would have wanted to see where the recent presidents ended up but understand and agree with the 20 year rule. Great video as always!
You don’t need 20 years to determine that Trump was a pathetic president.
You DEFINITELY don't need 20 years to determine that George W. Bush is a war criminal.
i feel bad for zachary taylor
here is a guy who did not only not want to become president but was also not really political
but still becomes president and dies a year after taking office
Great points on Jefferson, he had such high highs as president but his view on state rights was definitely too extreme
I'm digging the stache my man! Also, I want to thank you for providing my hunger for history. I've never clicked off ANY of your videos. If I could collab with anyone, It'd be you!
James Buchanan is an interesting fellow
For a second I thought you were going to start off the video by talking about your favorite president of all time Woodrow Wilson! Obviously the top pick for any list, can’t wait to see him in his very so deserved spot among the presidents here!!!
Also for all those who don’t get sarcasm, SUCK IT, WILSON!!!
All joking aside, love your channel! Was a bit of a history nut through much of school and university, so love the deep dives into all kinds of history! Keep up the great work!
I agree with you about Grant, he really was a bad judge of character.
in the thumbnail i saw a fulham shirt. thats pretty rad!
I think a video you would enjoy is Exploring hitlers eagles nest by underground history! Id love to see your reaction and hear your insights. Awesome video man!
JD and I talk several times a week. In fact we were talking when he was over there last fall. You can always just assume I've already seen any video he puts out as his is my favorite channel on youtube.
@@VloggingThroughHistory that's awesome! Love your content sir! I listen to your commentary while I drive and all my coworkers get super annoyed but I just love it.
It would be interesting to rank presidents on specific issues. Ranked by civil rights, ranked by economic considerations, etc. Anyways, excellent and entertaining as always. Thumbs up.
Been waiting for this one for a long time lol
For fun, set up the rankings like "March Madness", have Washington a #1 seed from the east, Lincoln a #1 seed midwest, FDR #1 Seed from the north, fill out the brackets and have at it :)
Lincoln is the greatest politician our country has ever had. Whatever people think of that statement, there is no doubt Lincoln was masterful at navigating the presidential politics of his time.
Had to give a shout-out to the wrexham kit
Say, Alternate History Hub had done two presidential videos on Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon. It would be interesting on your take on both presidents and what impact they had on the U.S. in our timeline compares to the Hub's take, especially Herbert Hoover since he's one of the lesser spoke about presidents.
I have a big soft sport for Zachary Taylor. He is the sole reason as to why California was admitted to the Union as a free state and skipped the territorial stage in its existence. Very overhated in my opinion
You know, I find myself well on the left side of the political spectrum, but I think our opinions on the presidents are very similar, so far. I suspect that will change around the Roosevelt party switch, and then even further again for the Nixon party switch, but I’m glad to see we can agree on some key views of the presidents. I love the opportunity to find common ground in this painfully polarized political climate. Argument can be fun and productive, but agreement has a pleasure all its own.
I think the criticism i’d like to offer, if it would be listened to, would be that, while 1800s economics can feel opaque today, there are things to be said for how utterly awful the Democratic-Republicans and Democrats were on economics at the time, and how far better the Whigs and Republicans were in almost every issue. It may sound nice to have no national debt, but national debt is a very, very useful tool. It’s just that modern politics and American global power have removed the checks that normally prevent abuse of deficit spending. A categorical normative view of debt isn’t productive - it’s everywhere. I prefer to think pragmatically about it, if I can manage.
But I think we could stand to be more skeptical of the financial positions taken by the Southerners of the day. As an example, they often had incentives to deliberately cause deflation - its catastrophic for an industrial economy, but it keeps down the price of feeding slaves.
Wow!
Wilson will not be ranked in last place?
I wonder why your opinion on Wilson has improved.
It hasn't improved. There's a difference between "least favorite" and "worst"
@@VloggingThroughHistory Ahhh...
And looking at it that way, he probably isn't worse than Johnson and is in second or at most third after Buchanan
Considering the amount of early presidents that get rated lower because of their successes being outside of their presidential term could you just do a tier list of the founding fathers consisting of their entire career?