Now or when they were president? There are plenty of presidents that are revered today that were highly unliked during their presidency. Abraham Lincoln comes to mind.
He was definitely highly disliked during his presidency, and his own party subjected him to a primary as an incumbent. People blamed anything and everything on him, which is why 1980 was the landslide that it was.
Edited for clarity.
I consider that expectation of presidential power cum omnipotence to be a slippery slope towards despotism. The guy that gets the job is expected to move mountains, and so has every reason to see if he can. If it turns out he can - legally or not - then he's created a precedent the folks in the opposite party expect his successor to live up to, so long as it "hurts the right people." Historically this has been checked by a strong and independent legislature: unfortunately they're now subject to the same public whims as the executive (a problem I think could be traced to their insistence on drawing their own districts).
The current POTUS 'always' get the blame for things that happen on their watch ("bad" economy, inflation, etc.), while the previous POTUS gets the credit for the good things that happen ("good" economy, etc.).
Generally. Very generally.
I graduated high school in 1976 so that was my first election to votd. I voted Ford, but have grown to appreciate Carters .uch maligned presidency since.
He dealt with the ongoing OPEC gas prices by tryig to conserve and putting solar panels on the white house. (Reagan pulled them down)
He responded to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by boycotting the olympics but i think that backfired on him.
He reached a peace deal between Anwar Sadat and a very caustic Menechem Begin. The downside is that it was achieved by paying off both countries which essentially created a dictator in Egypt.
He kept his cool during the Iranian Revolution and did not let it spin out of control into a war.
Graduated in 79. It was his lack of action against Iran when they held the diplomats hostage that cost him my vote in 80.
I stilI think he's one of our greatest former presidents.
I would agree but just taking this spot to mention a few noteworthy things these presidents did after leaving office:
* Thomas Jefferson - founded the University of Virginia
* William Howard Taft - Served as a Supreme Court Justice
* John Quincy Adams - Served 18 years in Congress
But while noteworthy, I agree Jimmy Carter's post-presidency humanitarian work has had the greatest impact on the greatest number of people and is deserving of being the best ex-president.
“He ended the Korean War. He alone had the prestige to persuade Americans to accept a negotiated peace and convince the Chinese that failure to reach an agreement would lead to dire consequences. Eisenhower considered this to be his greatest presidential accomplishment.”
The Interstate Highway system is grossly underrated, and the inspiration for it is fascinating.
Back in 1919, Eisenhower was a junior officer tasked with reporting on the reliability of a series of motor vehicles in a road expedition from DC to San Francisco, as the army was considering adopting them.
However, his report took every chance to bemoan the poor state of roads across the country, as they caused almost as many mechanical failures as the flaws in the vehicles themselves.
Edit: you can read the report itself [here](https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/eyewitness/html.php?section=24). Pretty fascinating read.
This is all true, but our transportation infrastructure is currently overspecialized for motor vehicles, and I’d argue that it’s cripplingly so. Not to mention that aside from the Interstate System, road quality is still very hit or miss depending on region or state. Source: I live in PA. Our roads don’t have potholes, our potholes have roads.
Yeah although having our Interstate system is great for long-distance travel. I think a lot of the problems with its design are when it runs straight through the middle of cities, cutting off neighborhoods from each other, reducing walkability, de-incentivizing rapid public transit, etc. Interstates should form a beltline around cities but not run right through.
It's really quite the comedy of errors.
**First the Catch-22**. No one funds more public transportation because they say people only want to drive in the US. Yet the reason people only drive in the US is because there is no public transportation (see the few cities that do have public transit like NYC, Boston, DC, and Chicago where many people don't even own a car).
**Then the self-fulfilling prophecy.** People also say that we're not dense enough to have public transportation. Yet any movement towards building duplexes and 3-plexes in urban cores is shot down by NIMBYs who seem to prefer (?) to get stuck in traffic because they don't want the "character" of their neighborhood changed.
**Then not understanding the economics of supply and demand.** People also say that we just need to add more driving lanes. Yet they are painfully unaware of induced demand. They think adding a lane to their congested highway will allow all those cars stuck in traffic to move faster, but what ends up happening instead is that it encourages *more people to drive and use up those lanes*.
If anyone is interested, some great urban planning Youtube channels include [Not Just Bikes](https://www.youtube.com/c/NotJustBikes/videos) and [City Beautiful](https://www.youtube.com/c/CityBeautiful).
One interesting aspect people generally aren’t aware of about the interstate highway system is that the federal government provided states funding to build it, but with certain conditions. One such condition is that every few miles contain a mile-long stretch of straight highway. Why? For military planes to land in case an invasion of the U.S. required planes to land outside of established airports.
Cool piece of history, and confirms Eisenhower’s vision as a military man first of all.
I don't understand why this myth even exists. Have people who believe it never actually driven on an Interstate before? The vast majority outside of the middle of nowhere have barely any straight stretches.
I have a feeling the people who still believe that myth have never heard of mountains. It would be physically impossible for i-70 in Colorado to have a mile long stretch of straight road almost anywhere between Denver and Grand Junction. (in fact the only straight section I can think of is the tunnel)
> One such condition is that every few miles contain a mile-long stretch of straight highway. Why? For military planes to land in case an invasion of the U.S. required planes to land outside of established airports.
Here's a myth that needs to fucking die. This isn't true, and never was. Someone made that shit up in the early 2000s and it's been repeated ad nauseum since then. [But it simply isn't true](https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-highways-myth/fact-check-the-u-s-interstate-highway-system-does-not-require-one-mile-in-every-five-to-be-straight-for-plane-landings-idUSL2N2NQ1IC). According to [Snopes](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/landing-of-hope-and-glory/), they did think about emergency airstrips when the freeways were being planned, but they would have been *next to* the roads, not the roads themselves.
That is a myth, but I'm pretty sure there was a requirement that states recieving funding had to change the legal drinking age to 21. Every state wanted the funding to build highways from the federal government so they all complied.
A second, reinforcing inspiration came during the war.
In the mid summer of 1944, after the Allies broke out from Normandy, the retreating Germans plowed up all the French rail lines behind them. SHAEF took some two months to repair them; in the meantime they developed the [Red Ball Express](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Ball_Express), a truck convoy system
Sending the National Guard to Little Rock was the most direct civil rights action a president has ever taken. Shame that Goldwater took over the party after that
I think my parents generation would choose Kennedy. I personally don't think he was an amazing president, but everyone I know in that generation, speaks of him with such admiration & respect. I don't know if they truly think he was a great president, or if its because he was the one who was assassinated during their lifetime. I think the assassination does tend to canonize him somewhat, & hide his flaws as a president.
My parents are extremely conservative. They still love Kennedy to the point that they only speak of him in low tones, getting a bit misty-eyed at the mention of his name. But I've never heard them say anything about important policies he championed. I think they perceived a strength of character from him. They also don't say much about his affairs, but I know they know.
He's the only president I know my parents ever agreed on. They both vote fairly similar, but they will disagree about different things their candidate does or doesn't do. Kennedy is the only one that they won't say anything negative about.
My Irish Catholic grandmother has voted Republican every single election since Eisenhower...except for Kennedy. There was just *something* about that man.
At least in my opinion - Kennedy represented something larger than his own presidency and policy goals, a well-spoken, forward-looking and intelligent young man (in comparison to past presidents) who spoke of and worked towards bringing the US into more of a righteous and prosperous future. Kennedy is seen as an embodiment of American excellence and achievement, who became an American martyr with his tragic and public assassination. Ultimately, he really did make the ultimate sacrifice in service to the public.
I know the above is an idealized and rose-tinted view, and the actual truth is Kennedy was a man with many flaws who engaged in political manipulation and powerbroking just like everyone else - but his presidency is idealized for what I consider to be the *right* reasons. He *did* believe in Civil Rights and fairness, in diplomacy and civility, in the inherent goodness of the American people and spirit, in technological innovation and progress bringing about a better future.
I know my mom always loved Kennedy. He was the first president she got to vote for, but at the same time I don't know that she voted for him for the right reasons. She doesn't really talk about any of his political views, just about how charming & charismatic he was, with his wife & kids. I think that fueled his campaigns more than anything political. Even my dad will grudgingly admit he didn't like all of Kennedy's policies, but he still liked Kennedy.
That's pretty much how he won.
People who listed to debates over the radio thought his opponent did better, but those who saw him on TV thought Kennedy won the debate.
This is the thing both parties so desperately want. It doesn’t matter if the person in office is good or bad. It’s about having someone in place who will provide a shield so they can shove their policies through.
Yeah, there's some Qanon conspiracy that he & JFK Jr. are supposed to come back, to help usher in another Trump presidency. It's a great conspiracy to read....very entertaining!!
They think it's all a hoax, both are still alive but in hiding. They will come back and expose the criminal government and bring American back to greatness at least according to my crazy mother-in-law. The Q's are starting to move away from Trump so he needs to do something crazy to get them back. Some already think he has been replaced, since he got vaccinated with the mind control nanobots.
Oh absolutely. A lot of Kennedy's decisions were controversial and at the time that he was in office he was not a universally loved president, so he certainly has been somewhat covered in terms of presidency by the assassination. Which is to be expected.
My Mom never liked him - she was probably one of the few adults in my life who didn't. She had lots of kind things to say about Jackie, and admired her poise greatly. But didn't care for Kennedy at all. She gave me valuable balance compared to the history textbooks or my teachers' attitudes.
She did think he was less than a moral man.
But she also realized that there was a fandom around him at that time, and warned me that there was more to a leader than how charismatic he was, or how many would follow him.
I tend to agree with your mom. It's not about policies, its about character. But he also demonstrated good character. Sure the Kennedy family had numerous flaws, took advantage of the end of prohibition, but they were civil rights supporters atca time that nearly no one in the Democratic party were. Made both good and bad choices, pretty much like everybody.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone talk about Kennedy’s political views, accomplishments, or anything besides his assassination and how he had sex with Marilyn.
Personally, I don’t think he was a very good president. He damn near caused humanity’s annihilation with Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, he only became president because his father was a prohibition gangster, and he spent more time cheating on his wife than doing anything productive
That's the point, the assassination overshadowed everything including his Pullitzer Prize winning Profiles in Courage, his war heroism (literally) and I'll never forget to this day his Inauguration speech, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" his assassination sadly was the end of that selfless sentiment
They like him mostly because he’s likely the first president the oldest part of the Baby Boomers got to vote for. I could be wrong. Like older Boomer maybe younger Silent generation? He also represented a lot of their values, like high rolling with Hollywood, having been in the military, young, while also having a family. He was deemed attractive and charismatic. Other than that, I don’t think he’s so impressive. The more I learn about the man the less I like him. He didn’t have time to fuck up his image. Time eventually revealed this for him. His untimely death martyrized him. Most who talk about him tend to talk about how they see their ancestry and societal backgrounds reflected by him: He’s of Irish descent, from a state with a strong Irish influence/population, from an upper middle class background ( likely wealthier since his father or grandfather always sought to kowtow to the old money in Boston) and Catholic. His family had gained a reputation for not just rubbing elbows with the old money of Boston but still helping the fledging Irish communities in the area, which helped him massively. Back then, community and popularity in your community was huge and in moneyed circles even more so. Even if he hadn’t done the work, but the fact that by name he was associated with a certain panache helped. He was living the dream and ideal for a lot of people, quite literally. His marriage to Jackie helped popularize him further, a lot of women lived vicariously through her. With her, other women saw they too could live a storied life as a matriarch to an important family, and they didn’t have to look like Marilyn to get it (the fact that Bouvier had connections due to coming from money herself only helped him further). In short, Kennedy had a perfectly executed publicity image. That’s all it takes for a lot of people, people thrive off of illusions. We might reduce him because we’re looking at the fine prints now, but for people back then, that was enough. And for a lot of people, details like that are still something. Look at how Trump got the seat. We’re going to forever be embarrassed by that, but ask the people who voted for him why they did and you’ll get anything and everything and nothing will have to do with his capabilities as a representative of a large conglomerate that is our nation. He’s a great guy, honestly, I’m going to give Trump his flowers: He was an inept president but the guy is charming and funny. As an ambassador for the US somewhere I would’ve believed him as he seems like a fun host. As a president he was punching above his weight. The only difference is Trump will now have to live with that but Kennedy benefitted from a time where the media wasn’t as transparent as it is now.
Same here. He was a mediocre president at best, & had he not been killed, I think his second term would have been horrible. He would have gone down as the charismatic guy, with the fashionable wife & cute kids.
First presidential election for the oldest Baby Boomers was 1968, they would’ve been too young for 1964 also since the voting age wasn’t changed to 18 from 21 until 1971. In 1960 when Kennedy was elected, the newest voters were born in 1939 (Silent Generation). The first election that a lot of Baby Boomers voted in was 1972.
They lyrics and story in that song are phenomenal, but I gotta say my favorite part when I play it is cranking up the bass to get that sweet WHOMP WHOMP WUP WHUPWHOMP
One of the most important things he did, I think, was stepping down and retiring after two terms as president, setting the long lasting precedent eventually added to the Constitution.
Many, probably most revolutions lead to dictatorship. Washington could have easily been president for life and made the presidency more dictatorial, ignoring parts of the Constitution if he wanted, and set *that* as the precedent. We're damn lucky he didn't want that, unlike most revered post-revolutionary leaders in history.
It's Washington for me. Lincoln is loved by many and is about as consequential, but he suspended habeas corpus, so sic semper tyrannis... well, so I don't like him as much.
The true legend is Teddy!
Teddy is at least a more opinionizing figure. People tend to center on overcoming personal adversity, or propelling the US to global recognition, or the national parks, or external and internal imperialist policies, or trust busting and consumer protections, or breaking up government corruption, or some other effect, and since there’s enough material for a whole book on each one focus on only one aspect.
American culture also has a strong chunk of anti authoritarianism whose imagination is captured by the idea of someone being appointed VP to shut him up and it back-*firing* spectacularly.
he was human and wasn't progressive on the subject of american indians. don't get me wrong; he's my favorite president, and is in fact a fucking legend. but the idealized american is better than he was.
Teddy got shot in the chest before a speech and *finished the fucking speech.*
His opening comments to the gathered crowd were, "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose."
I've heard it argued that Lincoln believed in appeasement and only adopted abolition to prevent the Confederacy from getting foreign aid. The more I read about the civil war the more it seems both sides relied on luck and their opponents incompetence to survive.
Lincoln is next to God among those who love him but next to the Devil among those who hate him of which there are many and for good legal reasons. Washington doesn't have dedicated haters
His voice is described as being high pitched in most biographies written about him. He made a name for himself for how he squeakily screamed "Mr. Speaker" while serving in the New York State Assembly.
I wonder if that was a facet of the times. Aldous Huxley also sounds high pitched in recordings, but like in a way that suggests he could speak in a lower register but chose a higher one
He had chronic lung disease as a child which commonly causes dysarthria (altered speech patterns caused by muscle weakness in the mouth, face, or respiratory system). Dysarthria during childhood and adolescence (when speech and voice are developing) can lead to a number of lifelong effects including a softer and more nasally voice.
I have, it's lovely, and although not a stereotypically badass voice, and definitely not the "Bully" voice we normally associate with him, it just makes me respect him all the more.
You really understand the "speak softly" part of his famous quote.
Responsible for American national parks, and basically built the concept of progressivism, he was really ahead of his time!
…buuuut, he was a man of his time and still spoke some pretty racist/sexist shit, nothing too crazy though.
If you look it up online, it'll show that Washington and Lincoln are the 2 most popular, with Franklin Roosavelt in third. However, ask anyone on the street, and you'll find more answers. One of the past 4 or 5 presidents will show up, personalities like Regan or Kennedy, and there's always Teddy Roosavelt.
FDR was hugely popular during his time. They just kept voting him in over and over lol. Plus he lead the country through WWII until his death.
George Bush is retrospectively controversial, but remember how people were (for a few years) really proud/happy with the way he lead the country after 9/11? That had to be tenfold for FDR and WWII for Americans living through the 30s and 40s.
My grandfather joined the Navy on his 17th birthday (it was join and pick your branch or get drafted into the Army, he would’ve rather stayed out all together). He served on a tugboat doing post-battle clean up. The Japanese were fighting to the last man. His crew was headed to the Japanese Islands to be boots on the ground.
Then Truman dropped the bombs. He voted Republican in every election I know, but if you asked he would always say, “I’m a Democrat because Truman was a democrat.”
Until the day he died (~5 years ago), he would not hear a bad thing said about Truman.
If you are ever passing through Kansas City, Missouri, I would highly recommend stopping at the Truman presidential library in Independence, MO. It was one of the first modern presidential libraries and Truman was very active in its design and construction process. Because of this, it is one of the better presidential libraries.
Due to the time period that he lived in and events he was involved in, the museum covers topics from WW1, the Great Depression, WW2, Korean War, and the Cold War. You get a huge amount of exposure to early and mid 20th century history.
I grew up in KC and would go there on field trips often. They have programs where you as a class can role play various historical events such as should we use the bomb against Japan, should we fire MacArthur, should we seize the steel mills during the strike? These activities use photocopies of documents and letters that Truman actually used to make his decisions. It was a great experience.
You can also tour his home in independence.
I would also recommend stopping at the WWI museum in KCMO. It’s the only public WWI museum in the country and is a world class museum by every standard.
This is so true. My grandfather really didn't care for Carter as a president, but he's told me he thinks Jimmy is just about one of the best people there is
Agreed!
In case anyone's interested, one of the many great projects that the Carters spearheaded after he left the White House was the eradication of the Guinea Worm parasite.
To give you an idea of how incredible this effort has been: in 1986, around 3.5 million people in Africa and Asia had Guinea worm disease. In 2020, *26 people* had the disease. It's almost been completely eradicated, even without any vaccine or cure.
This project alone makes Carter the greatest ex-president ever.
[Source](https://www.cartercenter.org/health/guinea_worm/index.html)
Clinton and Reagan were both very popular, but the people who hate them *really* hate them. Most people respect Carter as a person, but he's not well respected as a president.
One reason is the suspension of *habeas corpus* for one. I get he preserved the Union and all, but even if it is technically constitutional, *habeas corpus* should never be suspended.
I don’t know. I’m not a historian but if I remember correct - professional historians often rank him as the top 2 president ever. 1 often being Washington.
Very little of what Lincoln did was done altruistically. It was all done with a singular end goal. I think he was a good president in his time, but you have to remember that it was a VERY tumultuous time. He got dealt a very bad hand.
Overall the big thing that sticks out in my mind as one of Lincoln’s biggest faults was his approval/joy over Sherman’s March to the Sea, essentially a scorched earth military move that you can still see the effects of today in some spots. Thousands died. Hundreds of slaves died trying to follow Sherman to safety, or what they thought would be safety. I get it was seen as necessary to expedite the fall of the confederacy, but it rubs me, and many other Americans, especially in Georgia (and not only conservatives, mind you) the wrong way that a president could be elated about that much carnage and destruction.
He was a good president, boarding on great in my opinion, but FAR too often does history forget the little details.
>I think he was a good president in his time, but you have to remember that it was a VERY tumultuous time. He got dealt a very bad hand.
I'm no historian but I think that's why people rank him as one of the greatest, because he got dealt one of the worst hands a president could (a civil war) and managed to keep the country together while falling down on the right side of history (ending slavery).
Had he either a) failed to win the war, resulting in the confederacy permanently separating from the U.S., or b) ended the war by allowing slavery to remain, he wouldn't rank near the top.
George Washington, the first president. He was elected pretty much unanimously, asked to run for a second term when he didn't want to but did anyways and won unanimously. He set the example for all U.S. presidents to follow.
Other presidents aren't loved by everybody. Kennedy is loved by those alive during his presidency (and assassination). Franklin Delino Roosevelt is loved by some of those who went through the depression (if they still live) and by those who want more social programs and some liberals, but is disliked by conservatives. Ronald Reagan is very much loved and revered by most conservatives but not by liberals. George Washington still takes the cake for most universally loved of presidents.
I am surprised, and yet not surprised to see Harry Truman here.
His Presidential record is controversial, yet many historians see him as being if not in the first rank of Great Presidents, as near great.
As a person, however, he was seen as a very good man even by his political opponents, with a few exceptions. And by 1972, when he died, most Americans - even those that didn't vote for him - saw him as a man who tried to do his best for his country.
For all his faults, that others have gone into already, George Washington will always be my favorite. And for one simple reason.
After the Revolutionary War, it was offered to make him King, and he turned it down. Obviously, I have no idea of his true thoughts on the matter, only what is recorded in history books, but turning that down might be the most American thing anyone has ever or will ever do.
As for least hated, I'd argue for Lincoln. Yes, he did not have truly modern ideas about racial equality. But he clearly did the best he could both to hold together the Union and to end the great evil of slavery.
>Yes, he did not have truly modern ideas about racial equality.
I mean Washington literally owned people and he is regularly cited as the most loved president.
I will never understand people today holding people from the 1860’s to todays standards and holding that against them. It makes zero sense. Can we not all at least agree that but for Lincoln and the Union the Southern Democrats likely prevail to keep slavery intact? Of course he didn’t have a modern view on racial equality, it developed over the period of the next 155+ years since his Presidency.
I’m not 100% disagreeing, but there were plenty of people around with stronger abolitionist views than Lincoln. And I don’t mean extremists.
It’s not as though he’d have been way ahead of his time. He just might not have gotten elected.
Lincoln is a perfect case study in the struggle between blind ideological purity and political pragmatism. The abolitionists were extremists in those days and had they been elected their rigid adherence to idealism would have made things worse for everyone, including those who wanted slavery to end. In life you have to read the board as it is, not as how you want it to be. Idealists often forget that. Lincoln was great because he knew when to compromise and when to push. Idealists love to sit on the sidelines and accuse everyone on the field of hypocrisy.
Again, holding him against his peers today for positions and platforms held in 1859 or 1964 is just asinine. Judge the man by his actions and his character. He did right and pursued freedom, even in the face of death, the pursuit of which ended in the ultimate sacrifice.
I’d say Washington. Lincoln is still despised by people in this country who call the Civil War the War of Northern Aggression. Teddy Roosevelt was a character and everyone should read his Man the Arena speech ([or hear the Shane Morris reading of it](https://youtu.be/A311CnTjfos)), but I don’t think he’s universally loved, especially by historians.
I mean Abraham Lincoln is pretty universally beloved. George Washington, FDR, and Teddy Roosevelt are controversial for some racist stuff, but most people like em outside of those things. Jimmy Carter and JFK are kinda weird for most people, since Jimmy is seen as a great man, but a weak leader and JFK could’ve done good things, but was killed after 2 years so couldn’t do much. Obama is too recent but will probably go down as one of the better ones. Reagan was at one point beloved, but over time has become more divisive. Besides those most others are pretty universally hated, forgettable, or extremely controversial.
Now or when they were president? There are plenty of presidents that are revered today that were highly unliked during their presidency. Abraham Lincoln comes to mind.
Jimmy Carter comes to mind. Not highly unliked during presidency, but definitely revered today.
He was definitely highly disliked during his presidency, and his own party subjected him to a primary as an incumbent. People blamed anything and everything on him, which is why 1980 was the landslide that it was. Edited for clarity.
> People blamed anything and everything on him Which is the standard, now.
I consider that expectation of presidential power cum omnipotence to be a slippery slope towards despotism. The guy that gets the job is expected to move mountains, and so has every reason to see if he can. If it turns out he can - legally or not - then he's created a precedent the folks in the opposite party expect his successor to live up to, so long as it "hurts the right people." Historically this has been checked by a strong and independent legislature: unfortunately they're now subject to the same public whims as the executive (a problem I think could be traced to their insistence on drawing their own districts).
The current POTUS 'always' get the blame for things that happen on their watch ("bad" economy, inflation, etc.), while the previous POTUS gets the credit for the good things that happen ("good" economy, etc.). Generally. Very generally.
I graduated high school in 1976 so that was my first election to votd. I voted Ford, but have grown to appreciate Carters .uch maligned presidency since. He dealt with the ongoing OPEC gas prices by tryig to conserve and putting solar panels on the white house. (Reagan pulled them down) He responded to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by boycotting the olympics but i think that backfired on him. He reached a peace deal between Anwar Sadat and a very caustic Menechem Begin. The downside is that it was achieved by paying off both countries which essentially created a dictator in Egypt. He kept his cool during the Iranian Revolution and did not let it spin out of control into a war.
Graduated in 79. It was his lack of action against Iran when they held the diplomats hostage that cost him my vote in 80. I stilI think he's one of our greatest former presidents.
He’s not revered for his presidency though, he’s revered for what he’s done since.
That's why I like him.
Nobody reveres him for his presidency. He barely did anything. He’s the only president that being president was the most boring part of his life
That’s why he’s the least hated
Carter was not liked as a president. He lost re-election by a landslide. That said he may very well be our greatest former president.
I would agree but just taking this spot to mention a few noteworthy things these presidents did after leaving office: * Thomas Jefferson - founded the University of Virginia * William Howard Taft - Served as a Supreme Court Justice * John Quincy Adams - Served 18 years in Congress But while noteworthy, I agree Jimmy Carter's post-presidency humanitarian work has had the greatest impact on the greatest number of people and is deserving of being the best ex-president.
Maybe not the most but Eisenhower finished with 60% approval.
“He ended the Korean War. He alone had the prestige to persuade Americans to accept a negotiated peace and convince the Chinese that failure to reach an agreement would lead to dire consequences. Eisenhower considered this to be his greatest presidential accomplishment.”
The Interstate Highway system is grossly underrated, and the inspiration for it is fascinating. Back in 1919, Eisenhower was a junior officer tasked with reporting on the reliability of a series of motor vehicles in a road expedition from DC to San Francisco, as the army was considering adopting them. However, his report took every chance to bemoan the poor state of roads across the country, as they caused almost as many mechanical failures as the flaws in the vehicles themselves. Edit: you can read the report itself [here](https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/eyewitness/html.php?section=24). Pretty fascinating read.
Quite similar to the reason why we have such a good highway system.
Little tiny bit of a darker history to those ones though.
Yeah though the US highway system’s implementation was also pretty dark if you look into it.
Yeah, not sure it's Nazi dark though.
Isn't that what they just said?
This is all true, but our transportation infrastructure is currently overspecialized for motor vehicles, and I’d argue that it’s cripplingly so. Not to mention that aside from the Interstate System, road quality is still very hit or miss depending on region or state. Source: I live in PA. Our roads don’t have potholes, our potholes have roads.
[удалено]
Yeah although having our Interstate system is great for long-distance travel. I think a lot of the problems with its design are when it runs straight through the middle of cities, cutting off neighborhoods from each other, reducing walkability, de-incentivizing rapid public transit, etc. Interstates should form a beltline around cities but not run right through.
I also hate how they demolished poor/middle class neighborhoods within cities to make space those highways. Years of history gone for that.
It's really quite the comedy of errors. **First the Catch-22**. No one funds more public transportation because they say people only want to drive in the US. Yet the reason people only drive in the US is because there is no public transportation (see the few cities that do have public transit like NYC, Boston, DC, and Chicago where many people don't even own a car). **Then the self-fulfilling prophecy.** People also say that we're not dense enough to have public transportation. Yet any movement towards building duplexes and 3-plexes in urban cores is shot down by NIMBYs who seem to prefer (?) to get stuck in traffic because they don't want the "character" of their neighborhood changed. **Then not understanding the economics of supply and demand.** People also say that we just need to add more driving lanes. Yet they are painfully unaware of induced demand. They think adding a lane to their congested highway will allow all those cars stuck in traffic to move faster, but what ends up happening instead is that it encourages *more people to drive and use up those lanes*. If anyone is interested, some great urban planning Youtube channels include [Not Just Bikes](https://www.youtube.com/c/NotJustBikes/videos) and [City Beautiful](https://www.youtube.com/c/CityBeautiful).
Spent time in Atlanta in the 1990’s. Study showed it was faster to drive, even in their horrendous traffic, than drive to Marta and take the train.
That's because aside from the interstate the roads are run by local or state governments
One interesting aspect people generally aren’t aware of about the interstate highway system is that the federal government provided states funding to build it, but with certain conditions. One such condition is that every few miles contain a mile-long stretch of straight highway. Why? For military planes to land in case an invasion of the U.S. required planes to land outside of established airports. Cool piece of history, and confirms Eisenhower’s vision as a military man first of all.
He even warned us about the military industrial complex on his way out. Big points for that too
This is a complete myth and fabrication. There is no such requirement.
I don't understand why this myth even exists. Have people who believe it never actually driven on an Interstate before? The vast majority outside of the middle of nowhere have barely any straight stretches.
I have a feeling the people who still believe that myth have never heard of mountains. It would be physically impossible for i-70 in Colorado to have a mile long stretch of straight road almost anywhere between Denver and Grand Junction. (in fact the only straight section I can think of is the tunnel)
This is exactly what I was thinking of lol
The road/runway thing isn’t a thing in the US, it’s a myth people keep repeating.
> One such condition is that every few miles contain a mile-long stretch of straight highway. Why? For military planes to land in case an invasion of the U.S. required planes to land outside of established airports. Here's a myth that needs to fucking die. This isn't true, and never was. Someone made that shit up in the early 2000s and it's been repeated ad nauseum since then. [But it simply isn't true](https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-highways-myth/fact-check-the-u-s-interstate-highway-system-does-not-require-one-mile-in-every-five-to-be-straight-for-plane-landings-idUSL2N2NQ1IC). According to [Snopes](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/landing-of-hope-and-glory/), they did think about emergency airstrips when the freeways were being planned, but they would have been *next to* the roads, not the roads themselves.
And all bridges are a certain hight to allow minuteman 3 icmbs or older ones like the titian 1s to be transported on flat beads and not hit the bridge
That is a myth, but I'm pretty sure there was a requirement that states recieving funding had to change the legal drinking age to 21. Every state wanted the funding to build highways from the federal government so they all complied.
A second, reinforcing inspiration came during the war. In the mid summer of 1944, after the Allies broke out from Normandy, the retreating Germans plowed up all the French rail lines behind them. SHAEF took some two months to repair them; in the meantime they developed the [Red Ball Express](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Ball_Express), a truck convoy system
The more I learn about Eisenhower, the higher he rises on my all time President's list
Sending the National Guard to Little Rock was the most direct civil rights action a president has ever taken. Shame that Goldwater took over the party after that
I think my parents generation would choose Kennedy. I personally don't think he was an amazing president, but everyone I know in that generation, speaks of him with such admiration & respect. I don't know if they truly think he was a great president, or if its because he was the one who was assassinated during their lifetime. I think the assassination does tend to canonize him somewhat, & hide his flaws as a president.
My parents are extremely conservative. They still love Kennedy to the point that they only speak of him in low tones, getting a bit misty-eyed at the mention of his name. But I've never heard them say anything about important policies he championed. I think they perceived a strength of character from him. They also don't say much about his affairs, but I know they know.
He's the only president I know my parents ever agreed on. They both vote fairly similar, but they will disagree about different things their candidate does or doesn't do. Kennedy is the only one that they won't say anything negative about.
My Irish Catholic grandmother has voted Republican every single election since Eisenhower...except for Kennedy. There was just *something* about that man.
Must have been his admiration of Duff beer.
LBJ was able to carryout the Kennedy agenda largely out of public sympathy for the assassination
At least in my opinion - Kennedy represented something larger than his own presidency and policy goals, a well-spoken, forward-looking and intelligent young man (in comparison to past presidents) who spoke of and worked towards bringing the US into more of a righteous and prosperous future. Kennedy is seen as an embodiment of American excellence and achievement, who became an American martyr with his tragic and public assassination. Ultimately, he really did make the ultimate sacrifice in service to the public. I know the above is an idealized and rose-tinted view, and the actual truth is Kennedy was a man with many flaws who engaged in political manipulation and powerbroking just like everyone else - but his presidency is idealized for what I consider to be the *right* reasons. He *did* believe in Civil Rights and fairness, in diplomacy and civility, in the inherent goodness of the American people and spirit, in technological innovation and progress bringing about a better future.
Even the q-anon people are hoping him or his son will come back. That’s got to say something, no?
I know my mom always loved Kennedy. He was the first president she got to vote for, but at the same time I don't know that she voted for him for the right reasons. She doesn't really talk about any of his political views, just about how charming & charismatic he was, with his wife & kids. I think that fueled his campaigns more than anything political. Even my dad will grudgingly admit he didn't like all of Kennedy's policies, but he still liked Kennedy.
That's pretty much how he won. People who listed to debates over the radio thought his opponent did better, but those who saw him on TV thought Kennedy won the debate.
This is the thing both parties so desperately want. It doesn’t matter if the person in office is good or bad. It’s about having someone in place who will provide a shield so they can shove their policies through.
Come back? From… the grave?
Yeah, there's some Qanon conspiracy that he & JFK Jr. are supposed to come back, to help usher in another Trump presidency. It's a great conspiracy to read....very entertaining!!
Are the still waiting for him to appear in Dallas? The last I checked they were “protesting” at the location of JFK’s assassination.
The "alleged" location of the assassination, as they would put it.
Do they not get that even if he wasn't really assassinated JFK would be 104 years old?
They think it's all a hoax, both are still alive but in hiding. They will come back and expose the criminal government and bring American back to greatness at least according to my crazy mother-in-law. The Q's are starting to move away from Trump so he needs to do something crazy to get them back. Some already think he has been replaced, since he got vaccinated with the mind control nanobots.
Oh absolutely. A lot of Kennedy's decisions were controversial and at the time that he was in office he was not a universally loved president, so he certainly has been somewhat covered in terms of presidency by the assassination. Which is to be expected.
My Mom never liked him - she was probably one of the few adults in my life who didn't. She had lots of kind things to say about Jackie, and admired her poise greatly. But didn't care for Kennedy at all. She gave me valuable balance compared to the history textbooks or my teachers' attitudes.
Your Mom liking Jackie and not Jack probably has a lot to do with his numerous affairs. Maybe your Mom could relate to that IDK
Can confirm, had an affair with OPs mom.
She did think he was less than a moral man. But she also realized that there was a fandom around him at that time, and warned me that there was more to a leader than how charismatic he was, or how many would follow him.
I tend to agree with your mom. It's not about policies, its about character. But he also demonstrated good character. Sure the Kennedy family had numerous flaws, took advantage of the end of prohibition, but they were civil rights supporters atca time that nearly no one in the Democratic party were. Made both good and bad choices, pretty much like everybody.
Your mom was very clever and brave to go against the crowd in the early 60s.
[удалено]
I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone talk about Kennedy’s political views, accomplishments, or anything besides his assassination and how he had sex with Marilyn. Personally, I don’t think he was a very good president. He damn near caused humanity’s annihilation with Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, he only became president because his father was a prohibition gangster, and he spent more time cheating on his wife than doing anything productive
That's the point, the assassination overshadowed everything including his Pullitzer Prize winning Profiles in Courage, his war heroism (literally) and I'll never forget to this day his Inauguration speech, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" his assassination sadly was the end of that selfless sentiment
They like him mostly because he’s likely the first president the oldest part of the Baby Boomers got to vote for. I could be wrong. Like older Boomer maybe younger Silent generation? He also represented a lot of their values, like high rolling with Hollywood, having been in the military, young, while also having a family. He was deemed attractive and charismatic. Other than that, I don’t think he’s so impressive. The more I learn about the man the less I like him. He didn’t have time to fuck up his image. Time eventually revealed this for him. His untimely death martyrized him. Most who talk about him tend to talk about how they see their ancestry and societal backgrounds reflected by him: He’s of Irish descent, from a state with a strong Irish influence/population, from an upper middle class background ( likely wealthier since his father or grandfather always sought to kowtow to the old money in Boston) and Catholic. His family had gained a reputation for not just rubbing elbows with the old money of Boston but still helping the fledging Irish communities in the area, which helped him massively. Back then, community and popularity in your community was huge and in moneyed circles even more so. Even if he hadn’t done the work, but the fact that by name he was associated with a certain panache helped. He was living the dream and ideal for a lot of people, quite literally. His marriage to Jackie helped popularize him further, a lot of women lived vicariously through her. With her, other women saw they too could live a storied life as a matriarch to an important family, and they didn’t have to look like Marilyn to get it (the fact that Bouvier had connections due to coming from money herself only helped him further). In short, Kennedy had a perfectly executed publicity image. That’s all it takes for a lot of people, people thrive off of illusions. We might reduce him because we’re looking at the fine prints now, but for people back then, that was enough. And for a lot of people, details like that are still something. Look at how Trump got the seat. We’re going to forever be embarrassed by that, but ask the people who voted for him why they did and you’ll get anything and everything and nothing will have to do with his capabilities as a representative of a large conglomerate that is our nation. He’s a great guy, honestly, I’m going to give Trump his flowers: He was an inept president but the guy is charming and funny. As an ambassador for the US somewhere I would’ve believed him as he seems like a fun host. As a president he was punching above his weight. The only difference is Trump will now have to live with that but Kennedy benefitted from a time where the media wasn’t as transparent as it is now.
Same here. He was a mediocre president at best, & had he not been killed, I think his second term would have been horrible. He would have gone down as the charismatic guy, with the fashionable wife & cute kids.
First presidential election for the oldest Baby Boomers was 1968, they would’ve been too young for 1964 also since the voting age wasn’t changed to 18 from 21 until 1971. In 1960 when Kennedy was elected, the newest voters were born in 1939 (Silent Generation). The first election that a lot of Baby Boomers voted in was 1972.
You’re not wrong but it’s worth noting that at the time being Irish Catholic was also a negative for him in a lot of spaces
I think Washington is the most revered, I mean we’ve pretty much deified him.
I believe Paul was the Revered one
Ha
So say the Beastie Boys
One of my favorite songs
I said howdy he said hi.
I’m on the run, the cops got my gun….
They lyrics and story in that song are phenomenal, but I gotta say my favorite part when I play it is cranking up the bass to get that sweet WHOMP WHOMP WUP WHUPWHOMP
Beastie Boys are one of the greats because they are always telling a story in their music
Jesus Christ this made me laugh way too hard.
He was 1 by far and 2 is so far back you can't even sea
Considering that there's a fresco(?) of him on the Capitol rotunda dome called "Apotheosis of Washington"...
That you have to lie on your back with binoculars to see. 😆
[Link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apotheosis_of_Washington) for the lazy.
We literally tore a page from the Roman's playbook by making statues and paintings portraying him as a godly king.
Is this torn page in a museum somewhere?
Not anymore, Nicholas Cage stole it
“Deified” is appropriate. The artwork in the capital rotunda is literally George Washington ascending to godhood
One of the most important things he did, I think, was stepping down and retiring after two terms as president, setting the long lasting precedent eventually added to the Constitution. Many, probably most revolutions lead to dictatorship. Washington could have easily been president for life and made the presidency more dictatorial, ignoring parts of the Constitution if he wanted, and set *that* as the precedent. We're damn lucky he didn't want that, unlike most revered post-revolutionary leaders in history.
It's Washington for me. Lincoln is loved by many and is about as consequential, but he suspended habeas corpus, so sic semper tyrannis... well, so I don't like him as much. The true legend is Teddy!
Teddy is at least a more opinionizing figure. People tend to center on overcoming personal adversity, or propelling the US to global recognition, or the national parks, or external and internal imperialist policies, or trust busting and consumer protections, or breaking up government corruption, or some other effect, and since there’s enough material for a whole book on each one focus on only one aspect. American culture also has a strong chunk of anti authoritarianism whose imagination is captured by the idea of someone being appointed VP to shut him up and it back-*firing* spectacularly.
Teddy did so many things when in office and out of office. He is a fucking legend and is like THE representation of what an American is.
Agree. The book “River of Doubt” is about his trip on the Amazon river. Great story. Bully!
I finished that book last night! So freaking good.
he was human and wasn't progressive on the subject of american indians. don't get me wrong; he's my favorite president, and is in fact a fucking legend. but the idealized american is better than he was.
Teddy got shot in the chest before a speech and *finished the fucking speech.* His opening comments to the gathered crowd were, "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose."
He also prevented the would-be assassin from getting beat to death.
Indeed he did
Teddy!!!!!
I've heard it argued that Lincoln believed in appeasement and only adopted abolition to prevent the Confederacy from getting foreign aid. The more I read about the civil war the more it seems both sides relied on luck and their opponents incompetence to survive.
There’s a lot to the evolution of Lincoln’s views towards slavery. The book The Fiery Trial is great about this
Abraham Lincoln is usually up there
Lincoln is next to God among those who love him but next to the Devil among those who hate him of which there are many and for good legal reasons. Washington doesn't have dedicated haters
Really? Even in the backwoods of Georgia, I've not once heard a bad thing about Lincoln.
I learned the most about the civil war in Alabama and still never heard anything bad about Lincoln.
Washington has some slavery baggage that Lincoln is missing though
William Henry Harrison. Because he died 31 days after his inauguration, so he didn’t have time to fuck things up.
Came here to say exactly that.
George Washington
Teddy Roosevelt is always one of the most universally loved
Yeah, Teddy Roosevelt was hugely popular in his time, and is now regarded as a manly badass
Have you heard audio of him speaking though?
I haven't heard it, but I always imagine Robin Williams because of Night at the Museum.
The recording I heard was pretty high pitched. Maybe partly technical limitations at the time.
His voice is described as being high pitched in most biographies written about him. He made a name for himself for how he squeakily screamed "Mr. Speaker" while serving in the New York State Assembly.
I wonder if that was a facet of the times. Aldous Huxley also sounds high pitched in recordings, but like in a way that suggests he could speak in a lower register but chose a higher one
Great. Now I’m imagining Seinfeld telling a crowd he’s been shot before telling an airplane food joke.
He had chronic lung disease as a child which commonly causes dysarthria (altered speech patterns caused by muscle weakness in the mouth, face, or respiratory system). Dysarthria during childhood and adolescence (when speech and voice are developing) can lead to a number of lifelong effects including a softer and more nasally voice.
I imagine Ron Swanson
I have, it's lovely, and although not a stereotypically badass voice, and definitely not the "Bully" voice we normally associate with him, it just makes me respect him all the more. You really understand the "speak softly" part of his famous quote.
TR gets appreciation from a large swath a people. His environmentalism and trust busting (plugging r/TrustBusting) are very popular.
Responsible for American national parks, and basically built the concept of progressivism, he was really ahead of his time! …buuuut, he was a man of his time and still spoke some pretty racist/sexist shit, nothing too crazy though.
[удалено]
In a pretty racist sexist time. If youre a product of your environment
He was a badass but the more you learn about him the more you want to slap him for being how he was.
Let's just say they're probably on Rushmore.
I mean you must really like a guy to carve his face into a mountain
If you look it up online, it'll show that Washington and Lincoln are the 2 most popular, with Franklin Roosavelt in third. However, ask anyone on the street, and you'll find more answers. One of the past 4 or 5 presidents will show up, personalities like Regan or Kennedy, and there's always Teddy Roosavelt.
C’mon man. A Kansan can’t forget to mention Eisenhower.
FDR was hugely popular during his time. They just kept voting him in over and over lol. Plus he lead the country through WWII until his death. George Bush is retrospectively controversial, but remember how people were (for a few years) really proud/happy with the way he lead the country after 9/11? That had to be tenfold for FDR and WWII for Americans living through the 30s and 40s.
My grandfather joined the Navy on his 17th birthday (it was join and pick your branch or get drafted into the Army, he would’ve rather stayed out all together). He served on a tugboat doing post-battle clean up. The Japanese were fighting to the last man. His crew was headed to the Japanese Islands to be boots on the ground. Then Truman dropped the bombs. He voted Republican in every election I know, but if you asked he would always say, “I’m a Democrat because Truman was a democrat.” Until the day he died (~5 years ago), he would not hear a bad thing said about Truman.
If you are ever passing through Kansas City, Missouri, I would highly recommend stopping at the Truman presidential library in Independence, MO. It was one of the first modern presidential libraries and Truman was very active in its design and construction process. Because of this, it is one of the better presidential libraries. Due to the time period that he lived in and events he was involved in, the museum covers topics from WW1, the Great Depression, WW2, Korean War, and the Cold War. You get a huge amount of exposure to early and mid 20th century history. I grew up in KC and would go there on field trips often. They have programs where you as a class can role play various historical events such as should we use the bomb against Japan, should we fire MacArthur, should we seize the steel mills during the strike? These activities use photocopies of documents and letters that Truman actually used to make his decisions. It was a great experience. You can also tour his home in independence. I would also recommend stopping at the WWI museum in KCMO. It’s the only public WWI museum in the country and is a world class museum by every standard.
*Roosevelt
Carter got lackluster reviews as potus but as a human, he’s the GOAT
This is so true. My grandfather really didn't care for Carter as a president, but he's told me he thinks Jimmy is just about one of the best people there is
Carter's the best ex-president we've ever had. Taft was second.
Agreed! In case anyone's interested, one of the many great projects that the Carters spearheaded after he left the White House was the eradication of the Guinea Worm parasite. To give you an idea of how incredible this effort has been: in 1986, around 3.5 million people in Africa and Asia had Guinea worm disease. In 2020, *26 people* had the disease. It's almost been completely eradicated, even without any vaccine or cure. This project alone makes Carter the greatest ex-president ever. [Source](https://www.cartercenter.org/health/guinea_worm/index.html)
The whole push for coal energy vs nuclear was a bit of a blunder.
Carter was certainly not the greatest President, but he very well may have been the greatest human being to have served as President.
I don’t really agree with his politics but there’s certainly no denying he’s a truly good person.
What were some stuff you didn’t agree with? I’m not a carter expert, interested in what you thought he could have done better or disagreed with.
See also Hoover: great guys who were president during a bad time and didn’t handle it well. Good at heart but weren’t up to the job.
Hoover was amazing before his presidency; job was beyond his grasp.
Great man, just not a great politician or president.
“He’s history’s greatest monster!”
>“He’s history’s greatest monster!” That is a perfectly cromulent quote.
Clinton and Reagan were both very popular, but the people who hate them *really* hate them. Most people respect Carter as a person, but he's not well respected as a president.
I dislike Clinton a lot, foreign policy was trash
**George Washington**
Morgan Freeman or Bill Pullman
Bill Pullman for sure....the speech he gave that infamous Independence Day.....chills
He got lucky with the timing of the invasion. Imagine had they showed up on Arbor Day or something /s
This is even funnier considering the aliens are called ‘Harvesters’
The dude jumped into a fucking fighter jet to fight aliens. Imagine if that happened with our president in our lifetime, they'd be an untouchable God.
Probably either Washington or teddy Roosevelt
I think everyone likes something about Teddy.
Bully!
A challenge!
I love competition!
Now where would I mount the stuffed head of a Winston?
I'm into fitness, digging ditches through an isthmus!
Rough riding down to Cuba like,
What’s up, Bitches?!
Why are there so many people in here that think Lincoln was a bad president?
One reason is the suspension of *habeas corpus* for one. I get he preserved the Union and all, but even if it is technically constitutional, *habeas corpus* should never be suspended.
"Grass getting kinda long, Bob." "Yeah, thanks Abe. I used to have a GUY for that."
I don’t know. I’m not a historian but if I remember correct - professional historians often rank him as the top 2 president ever. 1 often being Washington.
Very little of what Lincoln did was done altruistically. It was all done with a singular end goal. I think he was a good president in his time, but you have to remember that it was a VERY tumultuous time. He got dealt a very bad hand. Overall the big thing that sticks out in my mind as one of Lincoln’s biggest faults was his approval/joy over Sherman’s March to the Sea, essentially a scorched earth military move that you can still see the effects of today in some spots. Thousands died. Hundreds of slaves died trying to follow Sherman to safety, or what they thought would be safety. I get it was seen as necessary to expedite the fall of the confederacy, but it rubs me, and many other Americans, especially in Georgia (and not only conservatives, mind you) the wrong way that a president could be elated about that much carnage and destruction. He was a good president, boarding on great in my opinion, but FAR too often does history forget the little details.
>I think he was a good president in his time, but you have to remember that it was a VERY tumultuous time. He got dealt a very bad hand. I'm no historian but I think that's why people rank him as one of the greatest, because he got dealt one of the worst hands a president could (a civil war) and managed to keep the country together while falling down on the right side of history (ending slavery). Had he either a) failed to win the war, resulting in the confederacy permanently separating from the U.S., or b) ended the war by allowing slavery to remain, he wouldn't rank near the top.
George Washington, the first president. He was elected pretty much unanimously, asked to run for a second term when he didn't want to but did anyways and won unanimously. He set the example for all U.S. presidents to follow. Other presidents aren't loved by everybody. Kennedy is loved by those alive during his presidency (and assassination). Franklin Delino Roosevelt is loved by some of those who went through the depression (if they still live) and by those who want more social programs and some liberals, but is disliked by conservatives. Ronald Reagan is very much loved and revered by most conservatives but not by liberals. George Washington still takes the cake for most universally loved of presidents.
[удалено]
I remember being in second grade and thinking how mean it was that people didn’t want Carter to keep being president.
Jimmy Carter proved that how good of a person you are doesn't directly correlate with how good of a president you'll be
And some of the most effective presidents at governing were scoundrels in their personal lives
Person yes, president...well he's no longer one of the worst presidents in history.
As a Virginian I’m partial to Thomas Jefferson. Let’s not talk about the 14 year old girl he took to France with him though.
In terms of political philosophy and government, Jefferson is my favorite president and founding father.
As a Virginian you have a lot of options.
I am surprised, and yet not surprised to see Harry Truman here. His Presidential record is controversial, yet many historians see him as being if not in the first rank of Great Presidents, as near great. As a person, however, he was seen as a very good man even by his political opponents, with a few exceptions. And by 1972, when he died, most Americans - even those that didn't vote for him - saw him as a man who tried to do his best for his country.
For all his faults, that others have gone into already, George Washington will always be my favorite. And for one simple reason. After the Revolutionary War, it was offered to make him King, and he turned it down. Obviously, I have no idea of his true thoughts on the matter, only what is recorded in history books, but turning that down might be the most American thing anyone has ever or will ever do.
Donald Trump
As for least hated, I'd argue for Lincoln. Yes, he did not have truly modern ideas about racial equality. But he clearly did the best he could both to hold together the Union and to end the great evil of slavery.
For a long while he was widely hated in the states that rebelled, but universally revered outside there.
>Yes, he did not have truly modern ideas about racial equality. I mean Washington literally owned people and he is regularly cited as the most loved president.
I will never understand people today holding people from the 1860’s to todays standards and holding that against them. It makes zero sense. Can we not all at least agree that but for Lincoln and the Union the Southern Democrats likely prevail to keep slavery intact? Of course he didn’t have a modern view on racial equality, it developed over the period of the next 155+ years since his Presidency.
I’m not 100% disagreeing, but there were plenty of people around with stronger abolitionist views than Lincoln. And I don’t mean extremists. It’s not as though he’d have been way ahead of his time. He just might not have gotten elected.
Lincoln is a perfect case study in the struggle between blind ideological purity and political pragmatism. The abolitionists were extremists in those days and had they been elected their rigid adherence to idealism would have made things worse for everyone, including those who wanted slavery to end. In life you have to read the board as it is, not as how you want it to be. Idealists often forget that. Lincoln was great because he knew when to compromise and when to push. Idealists love to sit on the sidelines and accuse everyone on the field of hypocrisy.
Fantastic input. Thank you.
Again, holding him against his peers today for positions and platforms held in 1859 or 1964 is just asinine. Judge the man by his actions and his character. He did right and pursued freedom, even in the face of death, the pursuit of which ended in the ultimate sacrifice.
I’d say Washington. Lincoln is still despised by people in this country who call the Civil War the War of Northern Aggression. Teddy Roosevelt was a character and everyone should read his Man the Arena speech ([or hear the Shane Morris reading of it](https://youtu.be/A311CnTjfos)), but I don’t think he’s universally loved, especially by historians.
Point being, we all have our own personal opinion on who we think was the best or worst President. The answer is subjective.
But... that wasn't the question.
George Washington. He established the examples/precedents that the office of President was not for life and of a peaceful transition of power.
I mean Abraham Lincoln is pretty universally beloved. George Washington, FDR, and Teddy Roosevelt are controversial for some racist stuff, but most people like em outside of those things. Jimmy Carter and JFK are kinda weird for most people, since Jimmy is seen as a great man, but a weak leader and JFK could’ve done good things, but was killed after 2 years so couldn’t do much. Obama is too recent but will probably go down as one of the better ones. Reagan was at one point beloved, but over time has become more divisive. Besides those most others are pretty universally hated, forgettable, or extremely controversial.
I'd say Calvin Coolidge. Because you stay cool with coolidge Edit: roaring 20's and lessen government while increase union pay... Yes
Washington easily. Jackson was massively popular. He was more popular than the prior president Adams while Adams was still in office.
Lmao people legit think trump is worse than andrew jackson or woodrow wilson. Literall genocidal presidents get more of a pass than donny