Ranking All the Presidents (Part Two)
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- See part 1 here - • Ranking All the Presid...
Join me as I rank every US President in order from best to worst!
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#history #presidents
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I have generally held the opinion that FDR and Reagan are somewhat overrated because they became the ideal figureheads for their respective parties. Democrats are always looking for the next FDR, Republicans the next Reagan, and they are willing to overlook the flaws both men had as a result.
I think that’s a very real possibility.
Reagan had a low IQ
@@BeshearIsDone
Reagan gave hope to millions....And through his leadership resurrected American pride AND ended the Soviet Empire.
As to FDR's "flawless" leadership...that has to be a joke right? He deepened and lengthened the Great Depression. He instigated a fight with Japan by embargoing oil and then didn't protect a very vulnerable Pearl Harbor (likely because he wanted a tragic event to get the nation into a war mentality). As the War was winding down he did his best impersonation of Neville Chamberlain by giving Stalin Eastern Europe. We're lucky Truman was president after the war because if not we would have just continued the Great Depression.
@@BeshearIsDone FDR was a good leader, but it was generally thrust upon him, and did some good back room deals to support the Allies before getting into it officially. His New Deal policies were atrocious and kept the American industrial movement knee-capped from true entrepreneurial growth. Reagan was a leader by getting in front of the issue and demanding change from a crumbling enemy while allowing some saving of face. His Iran-Contra cronies ruined a fairly clean sheet. I rank them similarly in the 5 to 7 range. But TOTALLY agree that is thr best way to determine bias in a presidential ranking group. Also suck it Wilson!
@@VloggingThroughHistory both were just really charismatic guys who essentially embodied what the majority thought they wanted at the time. You seem to be ignoring many of the destructive policies both had though, especially Reagan.
Born and raised in Truman's home town. After his presidency he moved back and would often walk around town, we actually have signs up indicating his old walking paths. When my grandpa was a teenager he delivered milk and Truman's house was on his route, said Truman would often sit on his porch in the morning and talk to anyone that wandered by. From my understanding he also gave the secret service fits due to him liking to wander around town and talk with people.
Also, I don't know if there are videos on it but I think you might have fun learning about Truman's entrance into politics. He was installed as a judge by some very corrupt people thinking he would do what they wanted and basically did the opposite. Also, I believe Roosevelt had zero interest in Truman and barely had a conversation with him before he was made the vice president.
I believe Biographics did a video on Truman
@Thomas Reynolds sorry but how is that any worse than the strategic bombing and firebombing used on Japan and Germany throughout the war which killed hundreds of thousands more than both of the nukes? why are we only horrified by the destruction of a city when it is caused by a particular weapon? had the US not dropped the atomic bombs and instead continued the campaign of firebombings while launching an amphibious invasion of the Japanese mainland, would you condemn Truman as a monster for the innumerable deaths that would have resulted from said strategy? this entire fixation on the nuclear bombs as some sort of uniquely evil crime is so weird to me.
@Thomas Reynolds Ending the deadliest war in human history, saving the lives of at least a million US servicemen and countless Japanese civilians.
The US military dropped pamphlets written in Japanese warning the civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the cities were to be bombed. They were ignored.
An invasion of mainland Japan would've seen the end of the Japanese people. They would've fought to the LAST MAN. As Chris said in this video, it would've been criminal to not use them.
@@reddeaddude2187 Not just US soldiers and Japanese civilians-- saving the lives of probably millions of victims of Japanese imperialism all across Asia. Look at the horrific crimes committed by Japanese soldiers against Chinese civilians during the occupation in the 30s and 40s. Those crimes would have continued every day that the war continued-- probably would have worsened as the Japanese military situation deteriorated. The victims of Japanese imperialism too often go forgotten when people rush to portray Japan as a victim of unwarranted violence.
Biographics did an EXCELLENT video on Truman
One really cool quote that I love comes from Cleveland's wife, Francis.
She said, upon leaving the White House when Cleveland lost the election to Harrison,
"I want you to take good care of all the furniture. I want to find everything just as it is
now when we come back."
Also, Edith Wilson should be on there for all intents and purposes. She'd probably be
pretty high; she seemed to do a very good job as acting President.
Nah she kept woodrow Wilson's health a secret. Which if you ask me that is fairly important I think the country had and has a right to know when its leader isnt doing so well. For that reason I have to say no trust me if Melania Trump did the same thing has Edith Wilson did my answer was still be the same nope because I believe the country has a right to know an not have secrets kept from us.
Well Wilson was a terrible President especially at the end so no she would be one of the worst.
@@scottbivins4758 Kind of like the entire democrat party keeps trying to make Biden look like he can run a country, the most powerful country in history nonetheless while I personally wouldn't trust him with a shift in McDonalds
If you remove the presidents unranked by VTH from the historians' rankings to make a direct comparison, here are the biggest differences in position:
VTH likes: Polk (8 vs 17), Garfield (18 vs 26), Coolidge (17 vs 23), Taylor (27 vs 33), Nixon (24 vs 29) plus Teddy as a bonus (1 vs 4)
VTH dislikes: Wilson (36 vs 12)! Also Adams (26 vs 14). These two differences are bigger than any on the positive side. Next up is Carter (30 vs 25).
Fully 1/4 of the 40 ranked Presidents are in the same position on both lists - Washington, Eisenhower, Reagan, HW Bush, Jackson, Taft, Van Buren, Hoover, Harding, and Pierce.
Thanks. Some differences, but as I said in the chat his rankings are very similar to CSPan's list which is a disappointment.
I love this kind of information, thanks!
@@JCH2768 i don't see that as bad,In general there is a good consensus among US presidents, there are exceptions like Andrew Jackson who is very controversial (in my opinion he is in my top 10) and Woodrow Wilson (Teddy but without the anchor to reality that he had)
@@segiraldovi interesting, whereas I grew up in an area that [anually] recalled the trail of tears and I wouldn't put Andrew Jackson above the bottom 10 -- what other president attempted genocide? [Give me Carter or Arthur over Jackson any day!] Otherwise I tend to agree with the VTH rankings. Wilson's high rankings could be explained by lasting anti-civil right's apologists in the field. Adams is hard to drop low because he otherwise s a noted founding father.
I can get behind Teddy and Coolidge. My views on Polk are somewhat mixed though.
I’m so far to the left that I’m not even on your map, but I really enjoyed this. You’re a great history buff, a good storyteller, and you own your biases up front. Kudos!
My step-grandmother Yuki, of Japanese descent, was a teenager when she and her family were sent into the camps in WW2. She was born in LA. We still have letters she wrote to penpals (returned to her afterward). One of her family members asked to be returned to Japan to care for elderly family members. He was separated from the rest and regarded an “enemy of the state.” It’s unclear what became of him.
Yuki went on to work at Disneyland for almost 30 years, met Walt a number of times. When talk of reparations came about, she wanted no part of it. Cultural pride? She didn’t want the money and was embarrassed by it.
Just a tiny correction. Truman had been vice president for almost three months when FDR died. The term started January 20th, 1945.
Great video 🙂
Yep! I forgot they made the change to January 20 starting with FDR’s 2nd term.
Nope, it was still March 4th for inauguration day. It wasn't until February 27, 1951 when the 22nd amendment was ratified that January 20 became the new day.
@@Rednecknerd_rob9634 Nope, the 20th Amendment made January 20 Inauguration Day (1933). The 22nd (1951) limited presidents to two terms.
@@kingMT514 lol, Forgotten that lol.
@@Rednecknerd_rob9634 False, it was the 20th Amendment.
In high school we interviewed our grandparents as part of a history project. One of the questions we asked them was who was their favorite president. The vast majority said Truman.
True, man.
Maybe I’m biased since I’m a Missourian, but Harry Truman is one of my favorites.
I think Calvin Coolidge should be ranked much higher. As you point out in your video, Coolidge presidency did not result in any major setbacks and had a definitive net positive impact on the country. One of the major criticisms of Coolidge is that he didn’t do a whole lot, but I would argue that makes him an even better president. Hands-off presidents have always been my favorite, and I think our leaders have a lot to learn from a guy like Coolidge.
It’s what the founders intended the executive to be. The weakest branch. Now it’s seen as the most important
Idk in very recent years the judicial brqnch is almost looked at as more important than the executive branch.
He dropped Harding's anti-lynching bill.
Racial immigration restrictions, lack of action on natural disasters like the Mississippi floods of '27, and, by far the worst, the failure to recognize and act on the initial indicators of a brewing depression, exacerbated by Coolidge's hollowing out of the regulatory framework and refusal to help ailing farmers in the runup to the crash of 1929. Hoover is often deemed culpable for the Great Depression and its effects, but if we're being realistic, we have to recognize that the depression didn't just come out of nowhere when Hoover took office. It had been fermenting throughout the 20s, and Coolidge has to bear some responsibility for failing to recognize it and take action.
I'm not a small-government so I don't care for his hands-off approach, but I do think Coolidge is to be commended for his ironclad personal integrity, his support for civil rights, and his actions as Governor of Massachusetts. And there's something a little melancholic about the fact that he was the last of a certain kind of president that you could see just walking around DC, that you could just walk up and talk to. I think this recent trend of putting Coolidge among the greats is overblown, though. There's a lot to hold him to account for.
@@alcostello6114
French political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville had predicted as early as 1835 that the executive branch had the potential to be the most powerful branch if the US decided to become more involved in foreign affairs. It was so prophetic that the executive branch now also has great influence over domestic policies.
Truman, I think, demonstrates why we have a civilian control of the military, during the Korean War. MacArthur openly defies him, even goes so far as to mock him. And was calling for the use of nuclear weapons on the Chinese/NK border. While a great leader, MacArthur overstepped, and Truman, rightfully, had to make the hard decision to fire him for it.
MacArthur overstepped his boundaries and did not respect the Commander in Chief so I believe he deserved to be fired. That being said MacArthur was correct in that fighting a limited war was a mistake. When you go into war, you have to go all-in to win. I think the reason why America hasn't had many successes in war since WWII is because we always go half-heartedly into "police actions"
@@jyu467 True. But, Korea was the first time. MacArthur was correct in that respect, but we didn't really apply the lessons learned later on.
Ngl thats kinda based. Using the nukes on the Chinese would have stamped out the communists and we wouldn’t have to deal with the current situation with the CCP. Taiwan wouldn’t have to worry about being invaded by the communists
@@jyu467 I have to disagree pretty strongly that MacArthur was right about Korea, using nukes would have been a massive escalation and the simple fact is The US military was not in a great place during Korea it was still trying to figure out how to operate in a world with nuclear weapons and had Korea escalated into another World War the Soviets would have most likely completely overrun us in Europe as nukes were primarily bomber based and less destructive and therefore easier to stop and the Soviets had an army that was highly experienced in fighting fast paced maneuver warfare. Even if the Soviets didn't get involved a full scale war with China would have run into the same problems the Japanese faced when they tried, we would have been up against a near bottomless pool of manpower that would be getting armed by the soviets and the campaign would inevitably get bogged down after capturing the coast line and the north as the infrastructure in the south and interior of China would not have been able to support armored warfare or heavy artillery, plus we would have been dedicating far more resources to a conflict where we did not need to win outright to fulfill our aims. The goal was to halt the spread of communism and to ensure that the Korean peninsula could not be used as a base to threaten Japan and a stalemate in the center of the peninsula was enough to fulfill these objectives.
@@jyu467 completely disagree. The main purpose of the war was to contain communism, not roll it back like MacArthur wanted. MacArthur’s decision to push the war to the Chinese border and threaten the CCP was completely misguided and cost additional lives.
Straight from the premiere to the 2nd part, man it feels good to be a supporter 🤣
One thing I give FDR a lot of credit for during the Depression years is his willingness to try different ideas in order to address problems. The times called for a certain level of pragmatic "throw mud at the wall and see what sticks," and he was willing to do that, instead of always trying to force his pet solutions if they weren't working. His administration would stand up some program to address an issue, and if it worked, it would stick around; if not, they'd drop it and try something else. In that way, similarly to Lincoln (albeit to a lesser degree), he seems to have been the right person at the right time.
Yea and those uncoordinated actions did lengthen the depression seven years.
You cant just try some things and drop it in the economy.
That's exactly what Hoover did. Both deserve absolute blame and scorn for the Great Depression. If we Calvin Coolidge had run again instead of Hoover we would have never had a Great Depression.
@@formsMostBeautiful wrong
@@formsMostBeautifulthe depression was inevitable. To say it wouldn’t happen under Coolidge is laughable
@@ianakamrsilly123
"laughable" is not a rational argument nor is it evidence to your claim.
There was a market crash in the early 20s under Harding that was bigger than the 1929 crash. In response Harding lowered government spending and we got the roaring 20s. Hoover on the other hand increased spending and began many of the programs that FDR would accelerate leading to the Great Depression. FDR's programs lengthened the Great Depression. It's lucky Truman was president after the war because Truman dismantled much of the New Deal and decreased government spending leading to one of the biggest booms in US history. If the imperial FDR were still alive post war the depression would have continued.
How painful was it for you to put Wilson ahead of four others? He's still the President you'd most like to punch in the face though, right?
Very painful. And yes.
I rather punch Trump and his 2 stooges Matt Gates and Tucker Carlson in the face.
Horrible man.
I understand the love for Reagan as a speaker and a leader during the Cold War, and his foreign policy was strong at a necessary time, but I feel like ranking him this high ignores one of the earlier criteria set in the video which is long term impact on the US - especially for his domestic policies.
His ramp up of the war on drugs, mishandling (or non-existent handling) of the AIDS Crisis, and the long term effects of trickle-down economics and deregulation are felt to this day. Paired with his huge increases in defense spending while also passing one of the largest tax cuts in US history, thus eliminating a big source of revenue to pay for his spending, and his domestic policies were a nightmare still seen and felt through today.
I see his domestic policies a lot like drugs actually, feels great in the moment - and most people who love him were alive in that moment and only remember that - but those policies carried out in the long term only become destructive.
Dont forget Iran-Contra, where he got off scot-free despite doing something that was technically high treason, as well as his racism in not only the phone calls, but his policy as well (like using the CIA to sell cocaine to poor black neighbourhoods). Reagan was a scumbag and is always idealised for his conservatism, but by all metrics other than rhetoric, people like Clinton were more conservative and anti-regulation than him.
I agree. I think Reagan's presidency will be looked at less and less favorably as time goes on just because a lot of the major problems the country faces right now are the after-effects and continuation of his policies.
Trickle-down economics and anti-union sentiment directly led to rising income inequality and erosion of the middle class. Deregulation and weakening of the federal government allowed powerful and influential monopolies to form. Escalation of the war on drugs and the start of a so-percieved "war on crime" led to mass incarceration and a shift in focus from the root causes of crime to policing. Even the current immigration crisis at the southern border is a direct result of Reagan's (and to be fair, other presidents' as well) foreign policy in Latin America which overthrew governments, destabilized an entire region, and created a power vacuum for drug cartels to thrive. I could go on and on but you get the idea.
I agree too. I was taught the postitives about Reagan, but then as I did more research, I felt more negatively about Reagan, because to me, as a liberal, I think he was good on Cold War stuff and a great speaker, but I feel people who love Reagan ignore the bad things he's done, that we're still feeling the negative impact, like the Iran Contra affair, the war on drugs, not handling the AIDs crisis well, and the trickle down economic system we're still having today. And to me, he's an extremely overrated president, like he's looked at positively, ignoring the negativity. To me, I look at him, like yeah he's a good speaker and leader, but not a great president. so I wouldn't have him in my top 10, he would be more like the 16-20 range for me.
@@willkomos9234In 50 years, Ronald Reagan’s ranking will fall below that of Jimmy Carter’s ranking, even though Reagan took 44 states from Carter in 1980. Mark my words.
@@ChristianSirianniIn 50 years, Jimmy Carter will surpass Ronald Reagan in the Presidential rankings, even though Carter lost 44 states to Reagan in the 1980 election. Mark my words.
One thing to note about Jimmy Carter's Presidency is that he appointed Paul Volcker to the FED. Now I know this is going to create some contention, but the FED is important in regulating an economy, all major economies have some version of it. When Paul Volcker was in charge he raised interest rates to record highs in order to cool the annual ~10% inflation that was occurring. Yes, these hikes caused damage in the short term, but in the long term it greatly helped the economy and set RR up for an economic boom. I think Carter needs to be put a little higher for this. It was something about a person to do something that is right in the long term, but will hurt them in the short term.
Honestly watching these has inspired me to take a look back at my Rankings from 2022 I did with a lot less knowledge than I have now and omg my 2022 list was awful so this has inspired me to redo my entire rankings this week. Thank you for this. Respect.
The Republican primary gave the nomination to Taft despite the fact that Taft got fewer primary votes than Roosevelt. Teddy is entirely justified to run as an independent in that situation.
Didn't the same thing happen to Bernie in 2016?
@@eduardobraga9137 nope
No hillary jusf cheated him out of the nomination @@eduardobraga9137
Nixons war on drugs may be the single most damaging policy shift this nation has had in the last century.
Not to mention all the innocent people languishing in prison for decades because they had a "controlled substance" on them.
Not only that, Nixon was anti-hippie, didn't care about the Kent State shootings, killed many civilians in Cambodia, and lied to our country. He was a disaster of a president.
Iraq? Noe-imperialism in general?
@@thunderzboltz6796 "may be"
*The federal reserve or possibly social security
Social security is set to become insolvent in about a decade, I don't think people will be very happy about that.
As for the federal reserve, that caused 100% of the us inflation.
I love the criteria and conditions to rank them almost accurately, thanks for putting out 4 recent presidents as it takes time to rank them for their accomplishments and some of their negatives, also i love your quality content and knowledge of history.
Really enjoy that you take “personal character” into account. Its nice to hear more about these men past what they did
Hello there, huge fan from India, I love your original content and had got myself back into reading history.
History not only tells us what not to do, but specifically tells us about human psychology and what worse can we expect and the ways to tackle it!
I hope you grow to new heights! Sky is the limit!
I'm assuming you came here for all of his Indian history.
Eisenhower got a LOT of 'political' experience dealing with Montgomery and others in WW2.
After dealing with Monty and De Gaulle, Congress was easy.
@@VloggingThroughHistory Heck even Churchill and Patton.
I think Coolidge’s work for Native American rights should bump him up higher.
Man I love this channel I was never into history before but you have made me obsessed with American history (and I’m Canadian 🇨🇦) !
Something I really like about these videos is that you judge with the context of the time in mind, instead of distorting it all by imposing 21st century values on past Presidents
I absolutely love your continuing refusal to rate recent presidents, and I completely agree with your reasoning. Just an idea, though..it might be interesting to, just as a little bonus at the end, not rate them yourself, but guess where you think historians overall might rate them in 30 or so years, regardless of your own thoughts; more just your perception of the way historians' views on something like that change over time. That would be really fascinating, and could be a nice middle ground for those requesting you to rank them
It is ok not to rate the recent presidents the academics do a great job at rating all the presidents unfortunately for 45
Those leftists historians suck.
I would pick FDR’s wife over him. She did a lot for civil rights and humanitarian efforts. She definitely wasn’t a First Lady that just sat on the side lines. One of my favorite First Ladies.
I like Cleveland also for supporting Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani in her efforts to maintain her independence.
Yep. That's why I placed McKinley lower, cause he basically destroyed Hawaii's independence.
Excellent rankings in Part & Part II. Appreciate that you gave Presidents Grover Cleveland and McKinley their due. My own rankings are largely within 5 points of your placements, but also agreeable with your rankings. Valid arguments across the board. Thanks for taking the time to do this! 🍻
My dear great grandmother called them Hoover Days. She blamed any economic situation on the person in charge. In our little Alabama town, any tax increase was called by her as (insert mayor's name) tax. Funny thing, she named her only son Grover Cleveland Bates. So thankful to have grown up with her. She died in my early twenties. Tough old English-American/Southern woman. She was born in 1906. She hated the Beatles. She hated politicians, and she disliked religious leaders. hahaha.
Yup! “I AM A STALWART AND ARTHUR IS PRESIDENT!” Is the quote. God, Guiteau is such a pain in the back.
I confess I am a little bit sad that McKinley was ranked high. That man is guilty of genocide in the Philippines, and the illegal annexation of Hawai’i. Maybe it’s because my sympathies do lie more with his slayer, but still. Genocide. But then again, a ranking based on war crimes would be a very different one
Another reason to hate Wilson that's still active law, the Jones act. A relic of a bygone era that only makes trade inefficient and cost more.
I've tried ranking presidents, and can say that my top 6 is Lincoln, Washington, both Roosevelts, Truman and Eisenhower, and my bottom 4 (stopping at the end of the 20th century) is Harding, Buchanan, Pierce, and Andrew Johnson. However, putting the other 30 in order is quite difficult.
Why Truman?
@@peenhead9938 Mostly for his promotion of civil rights and his usually effective countering of Soviet hegemony: the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the Berlin Airlift. Also, if not him, then whom? The most likely answer to that would be Jefferson, whom I consider a genius, but a little overrated as a president. His boycott of Britain was bad for America, and he largely got lucky with the Louisiana Purchase.
@@otisdylan9532 Im, not a big foreign affairs guy, and the use of the atomic bomb was too reckless imo. He kind of started the whole "America needs to be involved in foreign affairs thing" by signing the nato agreement which is good for Western Europe but bad for America.
@@peenhead9938 I think that almost any president would have used the atomic bomb in that situation. The bomb was being developed with the assumption that it would be used when it was ready. WW2 showed that isolationism isn't good for America.
@@otisdylan9532 Double disagree... especially on the second part... Hawaii will always be vulnerable because of its location. Hawaii shouldn't even be a state imo but thats another story.
As someone just getting into the history of American presidents I appreciate videos like yours! 🤘🏻
Harding technically played a part in allowing the situation with the south western West Virginia coal mines to even get to a point where the battle of Blair mountain ends up happening.
I’m astonished that our top five are almost identical except for one and the order of preference. I put Truman at 5 ahead of Jefferson and Ike, but some of that may be personal bias. Much like Ford, a very decent honest individual who did make impactful decision, seeing the war in Europe to its end, the painful decision to use the Gadget, desegregation of the Army (remember, from Missouri, so pretty forward thinking) and I think not just his leadership during Korea but his determination in firing McArthur to maintain discipline is underrated. Also worth remembering he was not favored for Re-election and he had a bear of a time with Congress in his second term as well. He’s fifth for me personally.
Washington is fourth, the model and standard for so much for so long. I don’t think I need to outline his credentials for the ranking, I just personally find him hard to read against the hagiography.
TR is third. Absolutely love him. The Square Deal, first real vision for environmentalism, protections for America’s working class, the absolute model of progressive politics. And yes, pretty damn awesome individual.
FDR is second. I will not minimize the mistakes - Hoover may have been right about dependence on the government dole established by the New Deal. Japanese internment is absolutely disgraceful. I wish to God he had done more prior to 1939 to evacuate Jews from Europe. The positives on the other hand are immense - Social Security, the TVA, being an absolute master of the political art when the man himself could not walk. And of course, World War 2. He is to me a giant standing in the shadow of one only.
Number one - Abraham Lincoln. He. Saved. The. Nation. Everything Washington built was saved by Lincoln. Everything progressive in civil rights done by Truman was potential brought about by Lincoln. Seeing the nation through a challenge like a depression and a world war done by FDR was small compared to what Lincoln did over five years. Perfect? No. Lionized? Of course. But we are the nation we are today because of Lincoln. That makes him number one to me.
My opinions only, but appreciate your views, respect them and largely agree.
Truman. Man. Starts his Presidency by genociding 200k people then is responsible for the doctrine bearing his name, which leads to the deaths of millions of people all over the world over the next 50 plus years, and still today. What a guy.
Totally agree on your Nixon ranking. Historians keep ignoring all the good he did. Good to see your more balanced approach.
After Roslynn went home to heaven, I really didn't expect Jimmy to stick around as long as he has.
It'll be a sad day in America when he passes on.
36:25 In the 1990s there was a lot of talk about Nixon being re-evaluated but I think what killed that is the steady drip of tapes being released with him saying all kinds of horrible things. The tapes that were suppose to secure his legacy have doomed him time and again.
I love the channel
Much appreciated!
@@VloggingThroughHistory do you have discord sever
Agree with you on T Roosevelt. He's the most American to ever American.
Fantastic list! I lean left but I agree where you ranked most of these presidents. Teddy is my personal favorite as well.
Garfield: three months is not a sufficient sample size. Garfield tempts historians to engage in trend extrapolation. History cannot be a what if enterprise but a what is discipline.
Drinking game: take a shot everytime Chris makes an Alec Baldwin/Millard Fillmore reference
Fun fact: unbeknownst to many, there actually has been another ordained minister elected President. Benjamin Harrison was for a time a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church.
Is that the same as being an ordained minister though? I've never seen any reference to him being ordained in that role.
As a former Presbyterian who served as a Ruling Elder, yes they are “ordained,” but not considered in the same tier as a minister.
@@brianellis15 Thanks for the correction!
Elder is different from Pastor
Fun Fact: At one point, John Adams was the concensus 2nd best and all-time worst by historians.
was surprised to hear someone from ohio praise reagan since he was the president that set in motion the final stages the collapse of american manufacturing (in fairness he was not the cause nor the final contributor to that). Reagan was charming and the great communicator. I think often if i were around then if i would have supported him because of his charm but, With that being said i think lots of his policy turned out to have corrosive effects on the United States Government and peoples trust in the office he held HIV crisis was a disaster war on drugs and just say no we have the data now on how ineffective and damaging some of those policies turned out to be. He also scape goated the poor for being lazy and not willing to work and wanting to live on food stamps
24:10 this is one of the reason of WW2. If the USA and the UK would have been agreed with what France wanted to prevent a new war, Hitler or not, there wouldn't be an other war. Helping Germany at that time is one of the worst mistakes of history
I think this list is the best I've seen on RUclips...I have a few minor disagreements, but overall really solid and well thought out.
I stand by Wilson being the worst, or 2nd worst beside Johnson, but Buchanan has an edge over Wilson due to the fact that Buchanan couldn’t have prevented the Civil War at that point, but he did do extremely poorly, just Wilson is worse.
I feel that overall, historians have the strongest regard for presidents who exercised power or were proactive even when doing something was ultimately a worse decision than doing nothing.
Since you weren't ranking recent presidents (justifiably so) I was wondering where you would rank Edith Wilson in her tenure as acting president?
Dead last since not a single vote was ever cast for her.
@@Rhbrehaut Nor for Ford
She wasn’t acting president. That’s a huge stretch. Wilson’s cabinet was doing a lot more than she was to make up for his absence. But just to entertain your idea, dead last.
@@MordechaiHershoffyoutube fair point but at least he was an elected official
I recommend to check out Feature History - Meiji Restoration.
It is really fascinating to see how Japan did 100 years of work in just 40 years.
I haven't read it, yet, but "Man of Iron" by Troy Senik is a biography about Grover Cleveland that came out just last year.
It's on my "to-read" list after I finish "The Impeachers" by Brenda Wineapple, which discusses the impeachment of Andrew Johnson.
I have written multiple papers defending Truman in high school and college. The man saved over 1-2 million predicted casualties on both sides and we had basically begged the Japanese government to surrender. He made the right call for the situation he was in. However, I think the bombs, atomic or nuclear, are horrible and should never see use again.
I ask, why couldn’t we have nuked some island and told Japan to watch said island come the detonation date? If they don’t wanna be that island, surrender? Just a question…
As a Korean, I will always, ALWAYS, have a huge soft spot for Truman. He’s the best democratic candidate to ever have the presidency
That whole narrative has been disproven for decades. Even if it WAS true, Truman is the only person in the history of the world who had thousands of little kids vaporized instantly. If you want more information, watch "Dropping the Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki" by Shaun here on RUclips. It's long but it's a great summary of events leading up to the bombings.
Here’s the real question. If the Rape of Nanking had ended the Second Sino-Japanese War (saving 10s of millions of lives) would it have been justified?
@@Byzant7 I’m asking if the Rape of Nanking itself would have been justified if it convinced the Chinese to capitulate in 1937 since it would have saved 10s of millions of lives.
I can't argue with your ranking because you motivate it very well. I still think I would put Grant higher, and that's based on the huge challenges he faced as president. We tend to trash the presidents leading up to the civil war for not handling the situation well and salute Lincoln for being firm and dealing with the situation, and honestly, I don't think Grant gets enough credit for rising to the challenge. And his predecessor certainly didn't set the table for him either.
I think George HW Bush does not get the credit he deserves. Yes, he broke his promise to raise taxes, but he also won significant cuts in spending. Those two items, along with further budget tightening by Clinton, lead to the US actually having a brief surplus. I also think he was wise not to get sucked into a broader conflict in the Middle East and did an excellent job to make certain that when the Soviet Union fell apart it didn't take down the entire world at the same time.
It was FDRs voice, folks trusted and felt comfort from his radio speeches...
This is the fairest and least partisan ranking I’ve seen not done by the scholarly surveys. Well done
Very surprised by your low ranking of Coolidge. Im a conservative and Ive always held that Coolidge is a top 10 (maybe top 5) president of all time. His conservative economic policies were a major success, while socially he was relatively progressive
great content as always. Love to see you wearing the jersey of the mighty Ipswich Town FC!
Having recently read Grant by Ron Chernow and knowing you're a fan, I feel like you undervalued the work Grant did to champion reconstruction and the fifteenth amendment, and in fighting the KKK. After the war and Andrew Johnson, he stabilized the country and the impact on the lives and future of African-Americans are a much greater impact than his unfortunate choices and faith in friends and appointees. What would the country look like today if a different president with different values and convictions had been in office for those two terms?
I like that you are able to keep your political opinions out of this for the most part. Great video today
Reagan is a scape goat and trickle down economics is not even a real term he used it was supply side. The reason he was a supply sider was inflation at the time when there is more dollars chasing fewer goods that causes inflation. His belief was to increase supply by cutting taxes. I think results were mixed however the story swindled by the left that he was a destroyer of the middle class does not hold up in reality. The middle class started losing percentage of overall wealth in the year 1969 and that trend was just continuing past Reagan he did not start it. Also most of the middle class losing percentage of wealth is because a majority of those people moved to the upper class meaning people moved up the ladder. Even leftist economists admit this. What he did oversee was the end to stagflation and massive economic growth. Yes the rich got a lot of it but the poor did not get poorer as some suggest. I believe the biggest reason that the middle class is not advancing however is lack of union membership. I think there should be more and that’s something I would disagree with Reagan on.
Great list and analysis, and I actually appreciate you being fair to presidents that don't share your same philosophy - we need more of that. I just wanted to add and it may have been said already- but the Bay of Pigs is largely due to Eisenhower because it happened less than 3 months into JFKs presidency but he, JFK, of course bears responsibility as well. I just feel people fail to mention this..
Reagan basically did good things at the expense of the long term. Like, extremely so. A ton of our modern problems were either created by or exascerbated by his policies to a degree that isn't true of most presidents. I'm hard pressed to find something from Reagan's presidency that resulted in a long term good for the country. He was massively impactful, but it was overwhelmingly in the wrong direction.
Right. For me Reagan and Andrew Johnson compete for the top spot of worst president because their policies have had such a lasting negative impact on our country. Like Reagan's presidency really set the tone for our modern day society. And it's like are we enjoying ourselves?
Thank you for putting me at number 1.
I agree with a lot of it, but LBJ should be a lot lower
Truman was also the last president who did not attend college.
Harding's administration gave us the Fall Guy designation for Sec. of Interior Albert Fall, who was neck deep in the Teapot Dome scandal.
I believe grant should be placed higher on the list. Him trying his best to help African Americans during the time of reconstruction CANT be overlooked.
Came across these videos for the first time today, and how can I not subscribe to a historian from my neck of the woods? Awesome content!
Just got further into the video only to find out you're also a fellow Cantonian? How did I not come across your channel sooner!
Good list common Chris w but I wouldn’t rank McKinley so high what happened in the Philippines is too much for me to rank him high
Respect all of these rankings! Personally the only president I can say I'd rank super different is Truman but that's only because I cannot stand by the decisions he made during the war. Even like you said during times of war some stuff can't be judged by today's standards but I don't know. I respect your opinion but I can't help but see that Stalin had just declared war and I know if we would've invaded possibly millions more would've died but that's Japan dealing with war from both sides so maybe they just surrender anyway. I'm not going to claim that the reason Japan surrendered was the USSR declaring war but one can't just ignore the timeline of when they did. I can't say 100% Truman did the right thing by dropping them, however, like you said given the circumstances and putting myself in his shoes I might very well have done the same thing.
My personal top 5 would probably go Lincoln, Washington, TR, FDR, and Eisenhower. I think Washington might have actually been our best president but I always remember how Lincoln might have literally been pre and succeeded by our 2 worst presidents ever! I tend to lean pretty liberal but I see a bunch of my biases and tend to try and point them out when I have a major difference from what I consider a normal opinion but the one thing I can't get over for Nixon and Reagan is the starting and expanding of the war on drugs. If Reagan hadn't expanded on it he might honestly be close to my top 5!
We often have a low perception of the Presidents that served in the 1840s and state that much of their challenge was due to the difficulty in resolving the issue of slavery. I would be interested in your perspective on how political instability in Europe impacted the policies and effectiveness of US Presidents during that time.
I have a soft spot for FDR just because of the time period that he was president. I'm a big social history and fashion history girlie, and I just associate him so strongly with such an interesting time for both of those fields of study. Plus, I really do admire most of his decisions, and his approach to the presidency.
If you love social history so much, just wait till you find out that he signed perhaps the most abusive and right endangering executive orders of all time. You know, that time when he rounded up ethnic minorities and put them in camps for nothing more than their ethnicity. Took them away from their businesses, their livelihoods, and most didn’t get it back when they were released. He also attempted to stack the court, did little for civil rights, and his policies extended the depression. I have no soft spot for him
Chris when will you do presidents ranked by hotness?
Polk, and Calvin Coolidge are the most underrated presidents imo
Huh, I would give Franklin Roosevelt a slightly more generous rank and I for one do think the New Deal was a good thing. I'm also strongly disagreeing with the A-bomb dropping.
But seeing this was still cool!
Hey! Big fan of your videos. Most people my age don't care about history like they should, but I absolutely love the way you present your videos in a way that's not only educational but entertaining. Probably stupid question. Was your favorite channel the history channel growing up? Godspeed!
Being A student of American history and presidential buff I thoroughly enjoyed your videos.😊
Love your well educated and nuanced conservative perspective. Its such a breath of fresh air and restores some of my faith in humanity. (And that's coming from a staunchly secular social democrat)
Enjoyed this video, just a suggestion for another similar ranking video...
Based on what you know, the runner ups in Presidential elections, how do you think they would have done? And how would you rank them, based on potential
Henry clay and William Jennings Bryan have to be the best failed presidential contenders.
@@genericyoutubeaccount579 I'm not from the US but am a big fan of history, I'll have to find out more about those 2 men.
Of course what ifs can never truly be answered and in many cases, it's the over looked candidate who many have made the biggest impact, for good or ill, but still fun to speculate.
When you go from "i might let some personal bias come into my ranking" to "i hate the guy I can't rank him higher".
I'm lock in step with your top 5.
Love Teddy R. but I have to go with Washington and Lincoln; 1-2 respectively.
20:06 Don't forget he blocked Japan's racial equality plank at Versailles and his demand that the Kaisers abdicate as a precondition for armistice probably helped destabilize Europe unnecessarily.
Wilson did in WWI to those that were of German ancestry what Roosevelt did to Japanese.
I could listen to this man talk for hours
Chester Arthur. I read up on the Congress with which he had to work. Republicans controlled the House, but for the first time the Senate was evenly divided: 37 Republicans, 37 Democrats, 2 Other parties. But there was no Vice President to break ties!
Don't think I would have put JQA as high. Couldn't get a lot done with a Congress in opposition to him and his stature as a "minority-elected" President.
Honestly, im very surprised. We have very different political beliefs and yet my list would be near identical. The only things I would change is having Grant ahead of Quincy Adams and Carter in front of Zachary Taylor.
Yeah, I think I agree with Clinton. Growing up as a core conservative, I was very much against Clinton. But, looking back, beyond his scandals, he really wasn't all that bad and actually did have some good policies. Today, I would love to have someone more moderate like him today since both main parties have gone loony tunes in recent years.
Even though I disagree with some of your picks and I am opposite of your political ideology it makes me so happy that you put Theodore Roosevelt as #1 as I do. I appreciate that you attempt to look at results and not just character and rhetoric when ranking presidents
Another thing great about FDR is his Fire Side chats
Wait, what? Garfield was a president of US? That's a better story than a horse in the Roman senate.
For me personally I think Nixon is lower due to his handling of opening China and giving us many of the issues in the Far East we deal with today including a potential Taiwan invasion and South China Sea issues
I would also hold The War on Drugs and the unremembered War on Cancer against him. Putting wage and price controls in place was also a major issue.
@@tomhalla426 also ended our currency's convertibility to gold
7:29 At the time he would not have been seen as a "conservative". He opposed corruption, opposed the influence of corporations in foreign policy and took the classical liberal positions on trade and immigration. Though consistent in his pposition to government it was framed in terms of a mindset of opposing corporate subsidies as opposed to the pro business opposition to govt that would define 20th century small govt conservatism.
Before the welfare state, opposing tariffs and free markets were quite literally the only way to get more money in the hands of common people. That being said he was definitely far to the right of Bryan and more progressive Democrats and of Republicans sympathetic to socialism
My top 8: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, F.D. Roosevelt, JFK, Theodore Roosevelt, Clinton, Jefferson, and Reagan.
In 1960, the United States lagged behind by a century in terms of civil rights for a supposedly civilized nation, which was a great shame. Additionally, it was decades behind in terms of social protection. JFK managed to make decades of progress in just 1,000 days.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a decent president, but he lacked the courage, which is somewhat surprising for a military man like him, to address the issues of McCarthyism and segregation. Only at the end of his tenure did he issue a warning about the military-industrial complex.
Reagan crafted a foreign policy that addressed the challenges of the time and implemented economic measures that resonated with a portion of the population. However, in terms of social protection, at least in terms of ideology, he was behind the times, though not necessarily in terms of factual outcomes.
As for Clinton, to the best of my knowledge, the economic situation was favorable during his presidency. He presented America in an exceptionally civilized manner (so was Obama, but Clinton was much more effective) and effectively resolved some seemingly insoluble external problems.
The world underwent significant changes during the times of FDR, JFK, Reagan, and Clinton, and they made substantial contributions to a positive trajectory.
As a British viewer would love to see you do something on British Prime Ministers
I am brazilian why the hell am I obsessed with this guy making
Videos about us presidents
Acontece
Cant wait to see the follow up video in 20 years to see where you rank GWB, BO, DJT, & JB 😅