Lyndon Baines Johnson: The Great Liberal Society

Lyndon Baines Johnson

Liberal Lyndon Baines Johnson was chosen by John F. Kennedy to be his running mate. This was an assignment made to balance out a ticket that featured a young and inexperienced Senator from Massachusetts. When Kennedy was assassinated by a radical socialist on November 22, 1963, Johnson would be sworn in as the 36th President of the U.S. He would go on to become one of the most liberal, and worst, Presidents of all time.

Here are some of his accomplishments (good and bad).

Inauguration. He was inaugurated President in Dallas on Air Force One less than 3 hours after Kennedy was pronounced dead. He was then rushed back to Washington D.C. amid fears someone might be trying to assassinate him too. He made a name change request to Congress for the NASA/Air Force Cape Canaveral launch facilities be changed in honor of Kennedy.  It was called Cape Kennedy for about 10 years before being changed to the Kennedy Space Center in 1973.

Warren Commission. Immediately after the assassination rumors of conspiracies started to swirl. To head these off he created a commission headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. The commission extensively investigated the issue and concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President Kennedy. Of course this did little to allay conspiracy theories. My theory is that Kennedy was assassinated by Oswald with the specific intent of replacing a conservative Democrat with a liberal Democrat. So, chances are that Johnson would not be a target of a socialist assassin. We will reserve judgement on this.

Tax Cuts. One of his few real accomplishments was pushing through Congress the Kennedy tax cuts. He then signed the Revenue Act of 1964. This would spur the economy and would nearly double income to the U.S. treasury over the next ten years. This was good.

Civil Rights. Many historians teach that Kennedy had started to work with Congress to get a new civil rights bill passed. Johnson took up the cause. They say Johnson was able to get the bill through Congress, and he eventually signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It outlawed segregation.  It makes it illegal not to hire someone because of race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. While it's true Johnson did sign the bill, it was actually the creation of the republican party, who had started working on the bill in 1957 and 1960. In total, 34 republicans voted against it, but a whopping 96 democrats voted against it. Also, democrats went as far as to filibuster the bill. It's also neat to note that the bill mirrored a republican bill in 1875 that failed to pass due to democrat opposition. So, while most schools teach this was a democrat created, the truth is that it was a republican bill that had some democrat support, inducing both Kennedy and Johnson. This was a good bill. He also signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and this bill guaranteed African Americans the right to vote. These laws are good.

Election of 1964. Johnson ran for election for the first time and defeated the great conservative, Barry Goldwater, with relative ease in a landslide. While Goldwater lost, it would set the stage for future great conservative President Ronald Reagan. This was a time when the nation wasn't quite ready for a conservative, as liberalism was still at a high. He won with 61% of the vote

The Highway Beautification Act of 1965
made it so road signs and garbage
would not become so obtrusive
that it would block the view
of natures beauty.

The Daisy. During the 1964 Presidential campaign, Johnson ran the most mudslinging ad in political history. It was a commercial with a little girl plucking daisies, and she is struck by a nuclear bomb. This was to imply Barry Goldwater would be too willing to push the button. The ad only ran once. But some say it made Goldwater look so bad that he lost in a landslide. You can see the Daisy Ad here on YouTube.  This was bad.

Great Society. Congress got busy right away passing the various pieces of the Great Society Agenda.

• Public Education. Lots of money spent on public education under the guise that the way to make education better is to spend more money. Prior to this notion, prior to 1964, hardly any Federal funds were given to public education, and we had the #1 education system in the world. Since that time, since all this money has been thrown into education, our education system has failed. Yet you still have people saying we need to throw more money at it. The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act nearly doubled funds to education from $4-8 billion. This was the first time large amounts of Federal dollars went to public education, and education in the U.S. has spiraled downward ever since. (not as good as some think)
• Public Broadcasting. In 1967 he also signed the Public Broadcasting Act, which increased federal dollars for public broadcasting, leading to stations such as Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). The problem with this is these news stations were run by liberals. So, basically, it meant that all Americans were paying for the public advancement of the liberal agenda on TV and radio. (not good)
• Medicare. The 1965 Medicare to Social Security Act created medicare, which assured people over the age of 65 had access to "free" healthcare. (good)
• Urban renewal.  As many businesses left the areas of inner cities to get away from the rioting, poverty got even worse. For the next 50 years democrats controlled many cities (like Detroit). Detroit went from one of the most successful cities during the 1950's to one big slum laden city in 2017. This is often cited as proof that liberalism fails anywhere it is tried.  Still, in an effort to help the poor in these cities, Johnson signed the Housing and Urban Development Act in 1968, along with the New Communities Act the same year. These were attempts to offer public assistance to create affordable housing. These were essentially considered failures. (bad)
• Beautification. He signed the Highway Beautification act in 1965. This was a good bill that limited billboards and other junk from interfering with the views of landscapes along public roads. It also limited the number of junkyards and other junk and clutter that might impede with the natural beauty of the United States along roads and highways. I personally think this was Johnson's most significant achievement. This was a very significant good. The person who spearheaded this movement was Johnson's wife, Ladybird. (good)
• Conservation. He signed over 300 environmental regulations into law. Many were clean air and water acts, such as the clean air act of 1963. He signed many to protect nature and land, such as the Wilderness act of 1964. He signed urban environment acts, such as the Beautification Act of 1965 mentioned above. He signed many laws to help natural parks, such as the Wilderness Act of 1964. 
• War on poverty. This was created to end poverty as we know it. It created unemployment. Between 1964 and 2014, $20.7 trillion would be spent on unemployment benefits, on the war on poverty, on the Johnson belief that this would create economic growth and end poverty. That's $20 trillion transferred from producers to non-producers. However, the poverty rate was unaffected by the war on poverty. In fact, if anything, we can effectively say that war on poverty has made poverty in the country even worse. That's $20 trillion that has been taken away from people to end poverty and it failed. That $20 trillion trillion is more than our national debt was in 2014. Take away this one program and we'd have no debt. But, because it makes people like Johnson feel good to spend other people's money, such programs, such government waste, will not end even though they continue to fail. The only thing about the war on poverty that succeeded was growing the size and scope of government and wasting money. Poverty was 14% in 1964 and it was 14% in 2014. (horrible)

Vietnam. Things did not go well for Johnson in Vietnam. He increased troop involvement from 16,000 in 1963 to 550,000 in 1968.  He was unable to quell political pressure from his own party to end the war. This lead to failure to give the military the go to do what they needed to do to win. This was an utter disaster for the liberal Johnson. (bad) In retrospect, we could have won the war in Vietnam our Presidents hadn't allowed it to get so political. There's also people today who believe that liberal democrats actually sympathized with socialists, and so their hearts weren't into defeating them in Vietnam or anywhere else for that matter. I wouldn't lump Johnson into this group, but you never know (and never will know) for that matter.

Unrest and rioting in black neighborhoods in 1964-1967. In Detroit, Michigan, in 1967, rioting got so bad that governor George Romney had to send in the national guard. The city burned for three days and 43 died. In April 1968, rioting occurred in over 100 cities, although this was mainly in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.  This, coupled with failure in Vietnam, caused Johnson's popularity to plummet. (bad)

Space Exploration. He continued the NASA vision started by Eisenhower and Kennedy. He was determined to commit whatever resources were necessary to land a person on the moon. (good)

Attempt at re-election in 1968. He initially was going to try to gain the nomination as incumbent President  in 1968, but decided against it. Part of the reason he decided not to run was because of all the failures of the Vietnam War. Figuring he would not be able to win re-election, he decided to drop out. This would set the stage nicely for liberal republican Richard Nixon.

Legacy. Lyndon Johnson became President only because Kennedy was assassinated. He was a liberal President who had a liberal agenda, and most of it was passed (unfortunately). We generally list him as one of the worst Presidents of all time.

Further reading and references:

• Whitehouse.gov: Lyndon Johnson
• History.com: Lyndon Johnson
• Rush Limbaugh: Democrats Celebrate 50 Years of Defeat in the War on Poverty
• History Channel: Highway Beautification Act of 1965
• NPS: Lyndon Johnson and the Environment
• The Blaze: Who's really responsible for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Yahoo.com: Oct. 22, 1965: Highway Beautification Act Becomes Law

Dwight David Eisenhower: A Moderate Republican in Peacetime

Dwight David Eisenhower

General Dwight David Eisenhower had become famous for leading allied forces to victory in Europe during WWII. After the war he was among the most famous figures in America, and the republican party aimed to capitalize on this popularity by nominating him as their candidate for President in 1952. He would go on to win the election and lead the nation through eight years of peacetime.

Here are his achievements (good or bad).

1.  Elected President in Landslide. He was nominated as the popular war-time General and gained the nomination over Mr. Republican, Senator Robert Taft. He won the election in a landslide over Adlai Stephenson. He became the 34th President of the United States in January of 1953. He was the first President to be subjected to the 22nd Amendment which initiated that initiated a limit of two terms for President.

2. Cold War. After the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953 he tried to improve relations with the Soviet Union. There was actually hope for a peace treaty between the two nuclear super powers of the time. However, these hopes were dashed when, just prior to the end of his second term in 1960, the Soviets shot down a U.S. U-2 renaissance (spy) plane. Still, relations remained stable, so this can be seen as a general good. Now, this is not to say that there wasn't fear in the U.S. School children in the U.S had to go through nuclear bomb preparations in what were dubbed "Duck and Cover Drills."

3.  Korean War.  Good. He ended the war in 1953. Similar to Truman, he threatened to use nuclear weapons to end the war. His use of America's military strength as a deterrence saved lives, saved U.S. dollars, and helped to end a war. This has to be seen as a general good.

4.  Anti-Communist CIA Operations. Good.

5.  Strengthened Social Security. Good/ bad. It's good that he strengthened them by expanding them. However, in order to do so he created a new agency to control it, called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Such organizations are bad in that they are able to make rules and regulations the people have to follow without going through Congress. Most previous presidents were leery of doing this because the Constitution says that only Congress should have the power to make laws. The good is that 10 million more workers received this benefit.

Duck and Cover Drills of the 1950's 

6.  Interstate Highway System. Good/ Bad. It was the single largest public works program in U.S. History and was perhaps his most significant achievement. The Federal Aid Highway Act (Interstate Highway Act) of 1956 essentially absconded state control of interstate roads and gave that power to the Fed. This is good in the the states never would have agreed on how to put this together. It's bad in the it gave a lot of power to the Federal government. It was good in that we have a nice road system across the country.  Of course, he justified the Act as a need to increase the speed at which people could leave cities in the event of a nuclear strike during the Cold war. Prior to this time, people traveled via secondary roads that typically wended through cities, making travel long and difficult. After the project was complete, people could zip through towns at relatively high speeds, avoiding slow secondary roads. The act provided $25 billion for the building of roads, bridges, tunnels, etc. in order to complete the project. Over 40,000 miles of highways were built across the nation over the ensuing years. The project also improved the ability of the military to operate, and benefited the American economy by making it easier to move products across the country.

7.  Discredited Senator Joseph McCarthy. Bad. Well, it was bad only because Senator Joe McCarthy would turn out to be right when the Vinona Accords were released after the fall of the U.S.S.R. in 1991. McCarthy made an accusation that there were Russian spies inside both the FDR and Truman administrations. He even went as far as to run a series of TV commercials in 1954. In order to maintain party unity, Eisenhower did not publicly talk bad of the Senator. However, he didn't like him and privately worked behind the scenes to discredit him.  Keep in mind that, despite his opposition to McCarthy, Eisenhower never spoke openly about it, and never publicly condemned McCarthy.

8.  Eisenhower created executive privilege.  McCarthy threatened to issue the White House subpoenas for access to knowledge regarding soviet spies. Eisenhower said that members of the executive should be allowed to talk with each other without fear of this top secret information being subject to subpoenas. This action became known as executive privilege, whereby the President has the power to avoid subpoenas by the other branches of government, thereby protecting top secret information. This action prevented McCarthy from obtaining the information he needed to continue his hunt for soviet spies. Now, if he had been allowed to continue, McCarthy would have probably unearthed the over 300 spies revealed in 1991. However, to this day, the media and most historians continue to hide the truth about these spies, and so McCarthy continues to be seen as a villain.

9. Civil Rights. Bad. Failed to enforce Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that desegregation in schools in 1954. The board ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional (and it was). Eisenhower may not have been opposed to the ruling, although he was hesitant to support it publicly due to fears of it hurting him politically. He did, however succeed in ordering the complete desegregation of the military, and this is definitely a good thing. (To be fair, Truman started the desegregation of the military).

10. He used Federal troops to force desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. Eisenhower believed desegregation should occur slowly, which is why he failed to fully enforce the Supreme Court ruling. However, he did send Federal troops to Arkansas to enforce integration of a high school there. The school was refusing to comply with a court order forcing the school to integrate it's black and white students. I think the idea that the Federal government (the state) can force people to do something by using the military is horrible. That's what liberals want. Don't get me wrong here. I think the idea here was good. However, in my view, this set a horrible precedent for future Presidents. Think of it this way: What if the Federal government sent in Federal troops to force segregation? Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter thanking Eisenhower for doing this. For the first time an all white school was desegregated in the south. This was, overall, seen as (and is) a good thing. Again, don't get me wrong, as I think this was good.

11.  New Deal. Bad. He let these policies continue. Perhaps this was because he had a democratic controlled Congress for most of his two terms (republicans only controlled congress in 1953 and 1954. And even then, the republicans had the majority by only one vote). Perhaps it's because he was a moderate republican. But he failed to hone in the big government policies of FDR.

12.  Fair Deal.  Bad. He let these policies continue. Ditto what I said about the New Deal: he failed to hone in the big government policies of Truman.

13.  Minimum wage.  Bad. He increased it. Surely it's always good when people make more money. However, most evidence suggests that all minimum wage increases do is decrease the value of the dollar and make it so those who aren't working are less likely to find work.

14.  Department of Education. Horrible. He helped create it. Since mainly progressives control this, it allowed them to gain control of our public school systems. This marked a transition from small, parent and teacher controlled school houses to large, government run school systems. While this was an effort to improve pubic schools, it actually lead to America going from #1 to #17 or even less in some areas of education. It also lead to the decline of private schools as people had no choice but to send their kids to the free public school system.

15.  Civil Rights Legislation of 1957 and 1960. These established a permanent civil rights office in the Justice Department.  This also created a Civil Rights Commission to hear testimony when the voting rights of minorities were abused. You don't necessarily want more government offices, but these were needed to oversee the desegregation of the nation and to assure equal voting for all American citizens. Good.

16.  He supported anti-Communist South Vietnam. He described what he called the "domino effect," whereby if Vietnam were to become Communist, that other countries would also be forced to succumb to communism. This would later lead to war with North Vietnam. We will reserve judgment here, as he was being consistent with his foreign anti-communist policies.

17.  Space Race. After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, he initiated the creation of NASA. This lead to the space race. This race would ultimately put an American on the moon, and would be a culmination of the American Dream, showing what American Exceptionalism is all about. The project would go on to produce over  1,600 different products

18.  Heart Attack in 1955 and re-election in 1956. Eisenhower suffered a heart attack in September, 1955, and spent seven weeks in the hospital recovering. In February, 1956, his doctors reported that he was recovering well. Despite fears about his health, he was re-elected in a landslide for the second time against Adlai Stephenson in 1956.

19.  He opposed the conservative base of his own party. He positioned himself as a moderate republican in opposition men like Robert Taft (overall, however, Eisenhower and Taft got along, and Taft even helped Eisenhower get his agenda through. Taft was sorely missed by Eisenhower after his death in July of 1953). He even went as far as to say his goal was to create "a strong progressive Republican Party in this country. If the right wing wants a fight, they are going to get it... before I end up, either this Republican Party will reflect progressivism or I won't be with them anymore." This was not good. The progressive movement was exactly what was wrong with this nation. However, he probably believed such a view was necessary in order to deal with a democratic controlled Congress. One must also understand that FDR was still seen as a good president, and so to say that FDR was a horrible liberal President, and to adamantly oppose the liberal agenda he advanced, would risk any chances he had at getting re-elected in 1956. One should also note that his conviction as a moderate republican probably explains why he had liberal republican Richard Nixon as his Vice President.

20.  He initiated peace through deterrence. This was the predecessor of Ronald Reagan's military policy of "Peace Through Strength." The strategy here is to build up the world's most powerful military with the hope that it acts as a deterrent for others to mess with the U.S. Eisenhower used inexpensive nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence. He did this to help end the Korean war as noted above. He also encouraged an increase in B-52 bombers, land based missile defense systems, and submarine ballistic missiles. These were all meant to intercept any bombs headed our way. The goal was never have to use them. Imagine that if the U.S. did not do this, it would have been easy for the communists to take over our country. This was a big fear at the time. Such a defense system provided means for comfort among the American populace who feared both nuclear war and communism equally. To put this into perspective, Eisenhower believed communism could easily take over 3rd world nations, which is also why he believed it was important to keep communism from spreading to Vietnam.

21.  Supreme Court. He was able to successfully make 5 supreme court nominees: Earl Warren in 1953 (bad liberal republican), John Marshall Harlan in 1954 (good conservative), William J. Brennan in 1956 (bad liberal), Charles Evans Whitaker in 1957 (retired shortly thereafter), and Potter Stewart in 1958(good conservative). Earl warren was nominated as the Chief Justice, and he would go on to vote with liberals on many decisions, which was bad. So, as far as Supreme court nominees, he had a 50-50 record.

His legacy. Mainly because he ended the Korean war and lead the nation through eight years of peacetime, his popularity remained high during his Presidency. It has remained high. His international highway system improved travel between states, and that is also perceived as a general public good. So, while he failed to cut taxes (the top level remained at 90%) and to reign in spending, this was the fault of the democratic controlled Congress, and so we give Eisenhower a pass. So, overall, he makes the top 10 list of best Presidents all time.

Harry S. Truman: The Fair Deal, or the Liberal Deal

Initially, after becoming President, Truman followed the FDR domestic agenda. His goals were to lead the U.S. to victory in WWI, and then to lead the nation from a depression-time and war-time to a peace-time economy. He ultimately would set his own agenda by creating what would become "The New Deal." 

In order to get through the depression, and to win the war, FDR used his executive mite, and his New Deal Policies, to create a large central government. You had rations on what people could purchase, and you had the government ordering the transformation of factories to the production of goods and services to the production of war goods. 

So, the government had a scary amount of power over the American people. It was almost totalitarian-like, socialistic-like, fascist-like powers. Okay, it was not good. Truman's role was to transform America away from this type of a system and back to a system that put consumers back in power. He would transform America away from a government run economy to a consumer-run economy. 

So, he decided he needed to sway from the New Deal agenda Or, actually, to build upon the new deal. He decided he had a mandate, and decided to be aggressive with his new agenda. He therefore, in January, 1949, during his State of the Union Speech,  presented 21 points to Congress. It would become known as the Fair Deal.  It essentially involved 21 points, including:

• An Expansion of Social Security. Passed in 1950. 
• Full Employment Program. It passed as the Employment Act of 1946, but it failed to gain any traction and was a failed program. 
• Permanent Fair Employment Practices Act.  He failed. 
• Public Housing and Slum Clearance. Passed in 1949. 
• New Public Works Programs.  He failed. 
• A Higher Minimum Wage.   Passed through Congress. 
• Extension of the Fair Employment Practices Committee. A wartime committee that worked to prevent against discrimination of African Americans in government and military. He failed to extend it. 
• National Health Insurance System. He failed. 
• Liberal immigration policies. He failed
• Repeal of Taft-Hartley. He failed. 
• Brannon Plan. Meant to help provide income support for family farmers. Failed. 

As you can see, the Fair Deal was pretty much a failure. Truman didn't have the mandate he thought he did.
This was mainly due to pressure from conservative democrats in the south (who would 35 years later become Reagan democrats), and republicans in the north, did not want any more liberalism. They did not want any more power to be given to the government. They had had enough. 

This is similar to what happened in the election of 1920, where Americans had simply had enough of rules and laws and taxes They wanted smaller government, less government, less regulations, and a simpler approach to government. They wanted more power to the people. They wanted a return of liberties. They wanted a return to a capitalistic economic system.

In 1949, they economy took a step back, and unemployment rose while inflation rose as well. This made people think the post war economic boom had ended. Truman set high post-war taxes, which remained around 90%. This was in an effort to balance the federal budget. This, as economics 101 teaches, does not bode well for a good economy.

He did, however, attempt to limit spending, with any surplus going to pay off the national debt. After several months of worsening economic numbers to begin the year, he gave up on his efforts to balance the budges and allowed for some tax cuts to go through.

This set the stage for Eisenhower to become President in 1952. Although, that was two years away. In the meantime, Truman got the United States involved in another war. 

Harry S. Truman: Squeaking past Dewey

The Chicago Tribune was a notoriously republican newspaper.
It's writers had previously referred to Truman as a "nincapoop.
Printers had been on strike protesting the Taft-Hartley Act.
And a new printing method made it so the paper had to
go to print seven hours before publication.
A combination of these factors lead to the error,
of which Truman touted during a train ride
back to Washington on November 3, 1948. 

After WWII was finally over, Truman had the goal of transforming the U.S. economy from a wartime economy to a post wartime economy. He also had to work with different factions of his own party to keep together the democratic dynasty that FDR had built. This would prove very difficult for Truman.

Republicans in the north and Southern Democrats would post problems for the liberal President. However, labor and unions, two factions that traditionally sided with democrats, gave Truman even more trouble than republicans and conservatives.

The war was expensive, so Truman wanted to cut back on military spending as soon as possible. Of course, a problem here was that the country had just gotten over a depression (or so the media would have us believe. Conservative historians speculate that the depression never really ended until the post-war boom. Based on the evidence I've seen, this is what I tend to believe). So, there was hesitation regarding anything that might impact the economy.

There was no consensus what to do with the American economy. Further complicating matters was thatTruman would have to deal with conservative democrats in the south and republicans in the north.

After the war, there was a housing shortage, labor conflicts, and inflation. Inflation in one month had hit a whopping 6 percent.

Truman's efforts to convert from a war-time to peace-time system were also slow, and resulted in many of the products consumers yearned to start purchasing again, things they had sacrificed during war-time, were slow to get on the shelves. Some products, such as meat, were so costly in 1946 (inflation) that they weren't even worth buying. So, this earned the ire of consumers.

So, this made consumers unhappy, and it also made labor and unions unhappy. This lead to price controls. Complicating matters is that labor wanted wage increases.

In August of 1945, Truman said he decided he would continue price controls. But, labor still sought wage increases. This prompted a series of strikes to occur in the steel, coal, auto, and railroad industries. These strikes involved over 800,000 workers, the largest in American history. Truman's stark efforts to end these strikes earned the ire of unions and the labor industry. I will get to this in a moment.

Add to this that consumers were opposed to the strikes, producers were unhappy with price controls, and producers were unwilling to sell their products at artificially low prices. Farmers, for instance, refused to sell grain for several months in 1945-46 until they were able to get paid better for their product. This was despite the fact that consumers really needed the grain that was being withheld.

To end the railroad strikes, Truman took them over. Despite this, two railroad unions went on strike anyway. This shut down the entire railroad industry. Consumers were really upset by this. Over 175,000 passengers stood without transportation.

What did Truman do? He wrote a letter to Congress calling for them to call on veterans to form a lynch mob to destroy union leaders.

Um, not good.

Even his own staff was stunned by this and tried to tone it down. But the damage was done.

To make matters worse, democrats in the Congress actually wrote a bill in response to this. However, and thankfully, it was killed in the Senate by Truman's arch nemesis (a man I plan on studying and writing about in the  near future) Robert Taft.

The striking did subside quite a bit, although some continued until the end of his presidency. Truman's popularity plummeted from 82% to 52%, and the democrats lost Control of Congress during the 1946 mid-term elections.  (Here we have the first time election of republican Congressmen Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon).

Before the election, his popularity had plummeted to a pitiful 32%. There were actually calls from one fellow democrat (William Fulbright) for him to resign. These calls, of course, were rejected by Truman.

Okay, so not only did he have southern democrats and republicans opposed to him, he also had traditional democratic factions such as labor and unions opposed to him. 

So, for this and other reasons, it was expected that Truman would lose the election of 1948. Republicans thought he would lose, and so too did Democrats. Nearly every poll had New York Governor Thomas Dewey defeating the incumbent President.

In fact, it was this belief that lead to the Chicago Tribune accidentally publishing the famous headline, "Dewey Defeats Truman." (see photo)

However, on election night, it was learned that Truman won 28 of 48 states, and won 303 out of 531 electoral votes.

How did he win? Well, according to what I have read, he kind of used the above failures to his advantage. As noted, during the mid-term elections, Republicans took control of Congress. In his State of the Union address in January of 1947, he said a resolution needed to happen regarding labor unrest and strikes. He offered no solutions, and left that to Congress.

Congress passed the Taft-Hartley bill, which limited union intervention in politics and thereby limited their power. Truman vetoed it, and Congress overrode this veto. (This bill was good, by the way. By his veto, along with some of the stupid, socialistic things mentioned above, Truman moves down our ranking of great presidents. Sorry, but sometimes when you read history you learn the truth about people not taught in schools). People should not have to join unions, especially when they support politics that the people do not support).

They also approved "right to work laws" which made it so labor workers did not have to sign up for unions. This made labor and unions mad at republicans.

There was still inflation in 1947 and 8, although not as much as in 1946. Truman called for a return to price controls and rationing, knowing Congress would disapprove of this. They did reject the idea. However, they did pass a price control and rationing bill, although it was vetoed by the president because he believed it was not enough.

So, once again, even though Truman was guilty of causing the problem, republicans in Congress were to blame.  To make matters worse, of the republican bill regarding price controls and rationing, Truman's arch opponent, Senator Robert Taft, said, Americans should "eat less mean, and eat less extravagantly."

In a speech, Truman purposefully misquoted him, saying, "Eat less." So, in this way (which is typical of liberals to misinterpret and misquote for their own political gains) Truman managed to make Taft look like the guilty party here, when it was him. Truman made it look like inflation was the fault of Taft and republicans.

He rejected republican tax cut bill (it was a good bill). He rejected republicans tariff bill to raise tariffs on wool (it as also a bad bill). Truman said the tariff bill was "isolationist."

So, with republicans taking some of the blame for the problems in the nation -- well, it still didn't look good for Truman's prospects in 1948.

He was still the underdog going into election day. Republicans and Democrats alike thought he would lose. John Dewey was even, at one point, declared the winner.

However, Dewey was a very liberal republican, and Truman used the Power of the Pulpit to go on a last minute jaunt across the country. He took a train tour across the country. It was called a "Whistle Stop tour."
and came out a winner. His victory is still used to this day as inspiration for underdogs. 

References and further reading:

• The Miller Center: Harry S. Truman: Domestic Affairs

Harry S. Truman: A good wartime president

Harry S. Truman was a liberal democrat. And this makes sense, considering he was Vice President to FDR, among the most liberal Presidents we ever had. But I thought it was neat to learn, that while he was liberal on domestic issues, he was very conservative when it came to foreign policy.

I also found it very iinteresting to learn that he apparently had no knowledge of the Manhattan Project, or that the world's best scientists were working to develop an atomic bomb. Some say this was because he had basically no contact with President Roosevelt during the short time he served under him. However, it may also be a testament to the secrecy of the project, and the success of the nation amid a war to keep it a secret.

He also was unaware of what was happening inside the Soviet Union regarding their development of weapons and their development of a socialist government. So, two of the most significant markers of the Truman administration evolved around events Harry S. Truman was not even aware of prior to becoming President: The nuclear bomb and the Cold War.

On April 12, 1945, shortly after becoming the only President to be inaugurated President for a fourth term, Roosevelt died as a result of a stroke, and Truman became the 33rd President. A few months later, on May 8, 1945, victory in Europe was declared. Britain and the United States celebrated, and this day became known as Victory in Europe Day, or V-E day.

War with Japan was coming to a close, please were sent to the Emperor of Japan to surrender, and the alternative was "complete and utter destruction."  The Emperor ignored the pleas, and so the war in the Pacific continued. The United States and Britain were preparing for a very costly invasion of Japan.

This prompted Truman, under the direction of his advisers, and with the permission of the British, to drop atomic bombs on Japan's military cities. After papers were dropped on the cities warning the people of what was going to happen, giving them plenty of time to get out, the bombs were dropped. On August 8, 1945, Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima.

Truman issued another warning for Japan to surrender, or a ruin will fall from the sky like no other seen in history. Japan still refused to surrender. So, on August 9, 1945, Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. There were orders for two more bombs to be dropped if necessary, but this wasn't needed, as Japan finally got the message.

The effects of the bombings were huge. Around 90,000-146,000 were dead or dying in Hiroshima, and 39,000-80,000 were dead or dying in Nagasaki. This is not even to mention all the other damage to Japan made by these horrendous bombs. This time Japan finally got the message, and on August 15, 1945, the Prime Minister offered Japan's complete surrender.

The majority of Japanese were happy the war was over, because they had suffered much loss and suffering. However, there were reports of some Japanese warriors continuing the fight in the Philippines and other places.

According to David Powers, the Japanese Emperor made his first broadcast to the Japanese people on August 15, 1945. He never spoke of "surrender" or "defeat," and so many soldiers would keep on fighting. This was testament to the importance of using the atomic bombs. If they had not been dropped, it would have come at grave costs to the United States and its allies.

In retrospect, many people still criticize Truman for dropping the bomb. They say it was a senseless act of terror on many innocent civilians. However, we must also consider the fact that the people are responsible for the people ruling over them. Truman later said that attacking Japan saved thousands of both American and Japanese lives. Estimates had a war on mainland Japan lasting over a year, and costing 250,000 to 500,000 American lives

So, the war was over. There was much celebrating. But there was also a lot of destruction caused by the war and rebuilding to do. Of course, there as also the fact that the Russians had created the Soviet Union and were pent on spreading Communism around the world. Hence, this began the reconstruction of both Europe, Japan, and the Cold War.

References and further reading:

• Weekly Standard: The Inconvenient Truth about Truman
• whitehouse.gov: Harry S. Truman
• David Powers Japan: No Surrender in WWII

Bill Clinton: A good fiscal president, bad role model

George H.W Bush failed to hold true to his pledge not to raise taxes, and this angered the conservative base. This, coupled with the successful independent campaign of Ross Perot, allowed William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton to slip into the office of the President without garnishing a majority of support among voters.

He ran as a "new" democrat. By this, he was trying to make it look like he was not the same old type of liberal democrat as was portrayed in the 1960's. However, there was nothing new about the Bill Clinton's agenda other than he attempted to run as a moderate (conservative) democrat rather than a liberal democrat. However, once elected he would run as a liberal. 

So, the claim of being a "new" democrat, the fact that the country was ready for something other than a republican, the fact that Bush was perceived as not conservative enough, or as a person who is not true to his word, gave us Bill Clinton. 

Bush made very little effort to change domestic policy; he essentially rode the wave of Reaganomics. By the end of his term, a mild recession was in process, and this may have been partially due to Bush's allowing Congress to raise some existing taxes. However, the recession was short lived and is generally considered one of the mildest recession in U.S. history. The Reagan economic boom continued throughout much of the Clinton administration. 

The result was Bill Clinton became President in 1992. The economy quickly recovered and continued to soar. Bill Clinton's popularity soared as he rode the economic tide created by Reagan. The economy created by Reaganomics was so strong the Bush recession turned out to be but a minor blip in the road.

My dad, a person I would consider a conservative republican, has said to me on numerous occasions that he thought Clinton was a good President just by the fact that he created a sound economic environment. My dad said that he decided to sell his business while the economy was still doing well, and this was mainly because of Clinton. 

While it's easy to give Clinton credit, he probably doesn't deserve it. Here is why.

During the 1980s, Reagan cut regulations and cut taxes in order to stimulate the economy. At the same time, to help win the cold war, he increased military spending. He believed it was important to have the mightiest military in the world but to not need it. He referred to this as "Peace through strength."

To offset this, a democratic controlled Congress promised to cut spending. Congress would later renege on this promise. So, by the end of the Reagan-Bush era, the national debt was at an all-time high. Bill Clinton believed he could pay off some of this debt by cutting military spending and raising taxes on the wealthy. So, in 1993, he signed a bill that would do just that.

As far as the military, throughout his terms, the military budget was repeatedly cut, and this resulted in reductions at the Pentagon, a closing of military bases, a pullout of many troops from Europe, and many military bases were shut down.

By the end of Clinton's term in office, the military was severely depleted. While conservatives saw this as problematic, liberals see this as a good thing. They believe a powerful military just makes the U.S. look arrogant to people in nations like Iran and Iraq.

For instance, when radical Muslims commit acts of terror against us, it's our fault more so than theirs. To fix the problem, rather than built up the military, they tear it down.

You see, this is the kind of nonsensical stuff your dealing with when a liberal posing as a moderate is elected President.

In fact, after 911, Clinton's former Defense Secretary, Casper Weinberger, said Clinton had cut defense spending so much, and the military was so depleted, that he didn't think we could fight and win a war on terrorism.

He also raised taxes on the wealthy. One of the myths of Keynesian economics is that raising money on the wealthy is a viable method of raising governmental revenue. The problem with this is wealth cannot be taxed, only income can be taxed. Most people who are wealthy have their money invested, and so they don't make income per se.

Plus, on the income they do make, as their taxes go up, they just find ways of getting around paying it. It's not worth doing this when taxes are low, but when they are perceived as too high, the extra effort is worthwhile.

In either case, tax hikes usually result in a short-term revenue increase, althoug a long-term decline in revenue. Liberals believe this is okay so long as it allows them to push forth their progressive agendas. 

However, this agenda was repudiated by voters in the 1994 mid-term elections as republicans gained control of the House of Representatives and the Senate for the first time in 40 years. This is often referred to as the "republican revolution," and was lead by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. It's also often referred to as the "Newt Gingrich Revolution." 

Gingrich's House, capped by the Contract with America, powered Conservatives, and united republicans. The most important thing on that Contract with America called for tax cuts -- particularly capital gains tax cuts. 

Due to his desire to get along with Congress to pass his agenda later, Clinton (perhaps due to bad advice from his staffers), signed the Gingrich tax cuts into law. 

This, in my opinion, is why the economy continued to boom. This tax cut offsets the Bush and Clinton tax hikes and allowed the economy to continue to soar. Now, of course, we also have to recognize the Internet boom also played a role. But I think the Newt Gingrich Contract with America, while helping to reinvigorate republicans, also saved the Clinton administration, making it look good. 

The 1964 election put Clinton up against moderate republican Bob Dole. Clinton rode the economic wave through the election, beating Dole by an electoral vote of 379 to 159. However, once again he failed to gain a majority of support of the voters, as he garnished only 49.2% of the popular vote (although this was more than Dole's 40.7%). 

As you might imagine, the liberal media makes sure most people know that it was Bill Clinton's economy. And that's fine with me, as the President should get credit for the economy. I mean, think of it this way: he could have vetoed the tax cuts. But he didn't. He signed them into law, and in this way, he should get credit.

Still, liberals sight the booming 1990s economy as a result of the Clinton tax hikes. They often cite this as evidence that tax hikes can stimulate the economy. Conservatives understand that it was the tax cuts that did this, not the tax hikes. But, this is one of the reasons there are two parties, so one can act like kids and skrew things up, and the other can act as adults and fix things while not caring that the other gets credit.

In December of 1993, he worked with democrats and republicans in Congress to pass the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This bill removed tariffs on trade between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

 Critics said this bill would cause industries to move out of the U.S. and open shop in those other countries where workers were paid less, and then they would sell their products back in the U.S. while making a higher profit. Supporters claimed the bill would benefit both countries equally.

This criticism was brushed off by democrats and republicans alike until Donald Trump came around 23 years later and informed voters that NAFTA had resulted in 75,000 industries leaving the country. So, in the end, while seen as necessary in the modern global economy, it would end up benefiting other nations at the expense of American jobs.

So, NAFTA would wind up being one of the worse bills ever signed by any President.

One other really good thing he did was, on August 22, 1996, sign the welfare reform bill called The Personal Responsibility And Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. It required able-bodied people on Welfare to work, and it limited the number of years they could receive government assistance. His Welfare to Work Partnership helped people get the needed education and training they needed to get jobs.

It worked. Between 1994 and 2004, the number of people on welfare declined by 60%.Plus, many studies showed that in 1996, 60% of mothers removed from welfare were able to find jobs, and after a period of several months 80% held jobs. U.S. Census data also showed that between 1993 and 2000 the percentage of low-income, single mothers, with a job grew from 58-75%, an increase of almost 30%. In those same years, the percentage of never-married mothers in the workforce increased from 44-66%, an increase of 50%.

All of these were unprecedented improvements. Another neat statistics is that, between 1994 and 2000, child poverty fell every year. By the year 2000, the poverty rate of black children was at the lowest it had ever been.

Liberals see this as bad, claiming it means there are people who need assistance are not getting it. Conservatives believe success is not based on how many people need government assistance, but by how many people can make it on their own. By the conservative definition, Clinton's welfare reform was a huge success. 

Clinton also faced his share of scandals, including various accusations that had sexually assaulted or raped women, and one woman by the name Monica Lewinski who claimed that she gave him a blowjob in the Oval Office. Clinton at first denied these claims, although later evidence forced him to appear on national television one evening to apologize to voters. That must have been humiliating.

So, I list Clinton in my second tier of Presidents called, "They did some good things, but they also did some bad things. Fiscally he was a pretty decent President. Along with raising taxes and cutting military spending, he also succeeded at cutting 377,000 government jobs and sharply reduced government spending.

This was so successful that, in 1999, it was announced that he and Congress had succeeded at balancing the Federal budget. By the time his term ended there was even a surplus. It's also important to mention that he helped create an economic environment that saw the creation of 20 million new jobs.

Again, people who credit the tax hikes for these successes are not being honest. The true reason for the good Clinton economic years were the tax cuts, particularly on Capital Gains. It should be noted that the best way to get a stagnant economy moving is by cutting capital gains taxes. 

Regardless, by the end of his terms, the Internet Bubble had burst. This caused a recession. I think it's fair to say that, by our own rule of giving a President credit for the state of the economy, we can duly call it the Clinton Recession. It was in this state that Clinton saw his Vice-President nominated as the democratic candidate for President in 2000.

Perhaps a repudiation of sorts on the Clinton years was that Gore lost in in closely contested election to George W. Bush, the son George H.W. Bush. Overall, however, Clinton's economy was pretty good, and for that, we can mark him as a pretty good fiscal President. Socially, however, he was a horrible role model for a nation that truly needed one.

My ranking of the presidents

George Washington often a top choice on best president lists,
with Abraham Lincoln usually ranking in the second spot.
The rest of  such lists are merely subjective,
usually being influenced by political affiliations.

The following is a list of presidents ranked from best to worse.   

Here are the great presidents.

1. George Washington (no party) for keeping the country together, and creating a humble executive.  The worse thing he did was sign the Fugitive Slate Act of 1793, which gave the right to a slave owner to recover an escaped slave (an ardent violation of natural rights). However, considering we probably wouldn't have a nation were it not for him, we will forgive him for this and still rank him #1 forever and ever Amen.

2. Abraham Lincoln (Republican) for preserving the union and ending slavery. Nothing else he did could add to nor take away from these stunning achievements, not even the fact that he was an enemy of state's rights.

3. Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican) for protecting state rights and preserving a limited government by repealing many federal taxes and opposing government debt. We must also hail him for the brilliant Louisiana Purchase, which is perhaps one of the greatest bargains in all of world history. Of course his greatest fame came from his actions before becoming president, mainly for writing the Declaration of Independence. He might also gain respect for his making up with John Adams and writing many letters about the true intentions of the founding fathers.

4 .Martin Van Buren:  (Democrat) Some say he was the first forgettable president based on his inability to get the U.S. out of the depression caused by the panic of 1837.  Some say the depression was the result of banks offering easy credit with no central regulation, and that all he had to do was create regulations to end it. However, I believe this is a reason to rank him high on this list.  He was the first president to have a laissez-faire approach to government, and therefore refused to use the depression as a reason to increase the central government at the expense of personal liberties.  This laissez-faire approach set a precedent that was followed by most presidents for the next 90 years.  He should also get credit for keeping us out of war with Britain as tensions grew along the border between New York and Canada.  However, despite these successes, the propaganda tossed out by the Whigs won the day.  Not helping matters was that he was also known for living an extravagant lifestyle, making him an easy scapegoat.  He was easily defeated by William Henry Harrison in 1841. Ironically, to defeat him, the Whigs had to nominate a democrat for Vice President. So, when Harrison died shortly into his term, the laissez-faire democrats were back in power anyway.

5. Calvin Coolidge (Republican) for continuing the policies of Warren G. Harding and becoming the only president to accomplish the trifecta of cutting both individual and corporate taxes, limiting regulations on private business, and cutting spending in order to create an environment of economic prosperity that created the environment that made both the Industrial Revolution and the Roaring 20s possible.

6. Ronald Reagan (Republican) for having the nerve to cut taxes across the board, and limiting regulations on private business, to lift a faltering economy.  He may also receive credit for putting pressure on the Soviet Union to end the Cold War, and for creating confidence that gave rebirth to the notion of American Exceptionalism.

7. Grover Cleveland (Democrat) for his love and devotion to the Constitution, for refusing to sign any law that violated Constitutional restraint and impeded upon natural rights, for supporting low tariffs that benefited businesses, for reducing taxes, for having the courage to fight government corruption and fighting government corruption, and for doing all of this despite the fact that doing the opposite would have paid dividends as far as his political career and legacy were concerned. He should also be hailed for his quote, "People support the government, the government should not support the people."

8. John Tyler: (Whig, Democrat, Independent) He is often thought of as one of the worse presidents. However, according to the Daily Caller, "Short of George Washington, Tyler is perhaps the greatest presidents in American history. Tyler used his veto power the way Washington intended, as a check on unconstitutional legislation. He vetoed the re-incorporation of a central banking system, as well as bills involving internal improvements and a protective tariff. The Whigs expelled him from the party for “gasp!” following the Constitution. His administration laid the groundwork for the settlement of the Oregon dispute with Great Britain and brought Texas into the Union."    He is also significant for vetoing the Third Bank twice, vetoing the tariff bill, ending the Second Seminole War, holding back federal troops in Dorr Rebellion, establishing trade with China, and establishing the role of the Vice President while fending off Henry Clay. Not good was that he annexed Texas despite the fear of free states that Texas would be a slave state.  This lead to a war with Mexico -- although it also ultimately lead to the expansion of the U.S., which as good.

9.  Zachary Taylor: (Whig) He opposed the compromise of 1850. This can be perceived as good because, after Zachary Taylor died in 1850, Milford Fillmore would sign the bill, ultimately prolonging slavery as an institution in the U.S. The bill also strengthened the fugitive slave law, which was an ardent violation of justice.  Taylor opposed all this: He would not have signed the bill.  It also should be known here that the Whigs were ardent supporters of slavery, so Taylor opposed his own party on this.  So he went up against his own party on this issue, and for this we should give him credit. This may also have been why he was killed.

10. Dwight David Eisenhower (Republican) for creating an era of economic stability and peace that allowed the U.S. to emerge as a world superpower, for standing firm against the Soviet Union, and for his warnings against deficit spending. While it was a huge government project, his championing for the building of an interstate highway system was a good federal program.

11. John F. Kennedy (Democrat) for defeating a popular republican vice president (Richard Nixon) and being more conservative than he was, for not being afraid to deal with communism in both Cuba and Vietnam, for not blaming his predecessor for the Bay of Pigs failure (Eisenhower designed the plan), for cutting taxes in order to spawn economic prosperity during 1960s, and for championing for flights to the moon and back, all of which gave Americans reason to be proud once again. He also should be given credit for his quote: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."  His liberal social views are what keep him out of the top ten. 

12. James Monroe (Republican) for a Monroe Doctrine that warned European nations about coming to the new world and prevented the U.S. from becoming entangled in European affairs for the next century. Also for his opposition to excessive government spending and not being afraid to veto popular bills.

13. Andrew Jackson (Democrat) He can be considered a great for refusing to allow South Carolina to leave the union, and threatening military action if it tried. He can be considered great for believing that American greatness comes from the people and not from government.  He can be considered great for cutting federal spending, eliminating internal taxes, and reducing the national debt. He must also gain credit for his constant warnings that government encroachment would lead to many of the problems that are occurring today as a result of government encroachment (mainly a loss of personal liberties, or natural rights).  He did not believe the government should intrude in the lives of private individuals.  Some like to move him down in rankings for his battle with the Indians, but at the time his actions were popular because various Indian Tribes threatened American settlements.

14.  James Madison (Democratic-Republican) He can be considered great for signing the Non-Intercourse Act which allowed the U.S. to trade with all nations except France and Britain, and the Macon's Bill #2 that allowed the U.S. to trade with any nation that worked to protect American shipping interests (all nations except Britain agreed).  He can be considered great for leading the country through the War of 1812 to stop British soldiers from harassing American ships and impressing soldiers. He can be considered bad for creating the Second Bank of the United States.  He is best known for what he did prior to becoming president, which was being one of the key authors of the Federalist Papers and Bill of Rights.

15. Harry S. Truman (Democrat) for having the courage save millions of young lives by dropping Fat Man and Little Boy on Hiroshima, for the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe, and for standing firm against the threat of communism.

16. James K. Polk (Democrat) for being a Jacksonian president (Manifest Destiny) and expanding the country all the way to the Mexican border by defeating and forcing them to cede both New Mexico and California to the U.S in exchange for $15 million in cash, for avoiding war with Britain by encouraging them to agree with creating a border at the 49th parallel, except for the southern tip of Vancouver, in 1846, and for keeping his campaign pledge of being a one term president despite pleas for him to run again (good thing he didn't, because he died shortly after his term ended).

The next group of presidents is generally considered as good or bad, depending on how you look at what they did in office. They all did some good things, but offset them with some bad things. 

17. George W. Bush (Republican) He failed to reign in spending, and in fact allowed it to soar, but he did cut taxes to allow the economy to expand, he did make excellent Supreme Court nominees, and he responded heroically to 911. Another of his failures was to stop the influx of illegal immigrants and to protect and defend the borders. By failing to veto any spending bills placed on his desk, the national debt skyrocketed to unprecedented levels.

18.  Ulysses S. Grant (republican) He rode his popularity following his Civil War successes into the office of the president.  He is usually considered an unsuccessful president due to too many scandals.  However, that's what the propaganda says.  If we go by his attempts to prevent the nation from getting into wars, and ability to preserve liberties, he deserves a higher ranking than he often gets.  He vetoed the Inflation Bill of 1874, he cut taxes, he lowered debt, he fired 2,248 government employees, he moved the country toward a de facto gold standard, he signed the Specie Payment Resumption Act and avoided war with Spain/ Ciuba despite Virginius Affair, and signed the Treaty of Washington.  He should also gain more respect simply because he supported equal rights for blacks and native Americans by supporting the 15th Amendment. Still, bringing down his presidency are all the scandals, plus his creation of the Office of Solicitor General, and the fact that he left reconstruction violence problems to state militias instead of using the army.  He also suspended habeas corpus (the right to seek relief from unlawful imprisonment) by signing the Ku Klux Klan Act in 1871

19.  John Adams (Federalist) We are going to give him credit for avoiding war with France despite his own personal desires to go to war with them. By avoiding war and not advancing his own political agenda, he took serious criticism within his own party, particularly from Hamilton Federalists.  It may have been for this reason that he lost the 1800 electionand and the Midnight Judges.  One of these midnight judges was John Marshall, who was the first activist judge who used his position to advance an agenda at the expense of personal liberty.

20.  Chester A. Arthur (Republican) The spoils system allowed elected officials to award those who supported their campaign with the best government jobs. Even though his political career benefited from this, Arthur ended it by signing the Pendleton Act in 1883. The new law required government officials to be hired based on merit instead of political affiliation. He also lowered tariffs, which are essentially taxes on imported goods.  He pushed for the International Meridian Conference, which established the Greenrich Meridian as an international standard for zero degrees longitude.  He signed into law in 1882 the Edmunds Act, which was an anti-Mormon bill that made polygamy illegal.  The Act was unconstitutional because it violates the natural right to choose who you marry. He also signed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S. The act was renewed in 1892, made permanent in 1902, and eventually repealed with the Magnuson Act in 1943. 

21. Franklin Deleno Roosevelt (Democrat) He could easily be hailed as one of the best presidents due to his patriotism in war time and his ability to inspire through his speaking skills during the Great Depression and ability to lead during WWII.  However, he could just as easily be hailed as a bad president for putting his own personal political ambitions before the Constitution he was bound to protect and defend.  He could be hailed as great for creating the FDIC for protecting money invested in banks and restoring confidence in the banking system.  He could be considered great for creating a social security program to assure that the elderly and sick would be cared for.  However, at the same time. we could rank him as a bad president for using the troubles of the nation as an excuse to ignore the constitution to push forth programs that benefited a few at the expense of the majority.  And that is why we rank him here. 

22. Teddy Roosevelt (Republican) for carrying "A Big Stick" and breaking up trusts that infringed on individual liberties, and for his defense and foreign policy views. He moves down the list because he was a progressive, big government president who supported high taxation, and government intervention into commerce. Bad is that he increased tariffs, and pushed for an income tax. Terrible is that he created the Department of Commerce and Labor, which set a precedence for future presidents to likewise create such departments.  This is bad because these departments have the power to make regulations without the approval of Congress, and thereby have the ability to take away liberties. 

23. Bill Clinton (Democrat) He can be considered great for putting his nation before his political aspirations and agreeing to sign on to republican bills to cut taxes, reduce capital gains, and welfare reform. Such actions allowed for the economy to stay robust during most of his terms in office. He can be considered great for expanding free trade.  He can be considered a poor president for his lack of leadership in foreign affairs.  He can be considered as a poor president on social issues, such as nominating liberal judges to courts.  He can be considered great for supporting the gay community although opposing gay marriage.  He can be considered a bad president not for having sexual relations while in office, but for lying about it when he was caught.  

24. Warren G. Harding (Republican) for succeeding in cutting spending by 40 percent, and signed a much needed tax cut that helped to lead the country into the greatest period of economic expansion in history at that time. He was the only president to succeed at both cutting taxes and reigning in spending. Unfortunately, scandals lead to his downfall, and perhaps the stress that lead to his early death.

25. James Buchanan (Democrat)  The fifteenth president failed to stand up against the spread of slavery, and the  block of states that would become the Confederacy. However, unlike Abraham Lincoln (the man who succeeded him) he succeeded at avoiding war. He also favored low taxes and low tariffs in an effort to stimulate the economy, Many consider him a failed president, although he really wasn't. Yet the slavery issue was too big a scar on his legacy to rank him higher than this. 

26. John Quincy Adams (Federalist) The son of John Adams, he was literally groomed for the presidency but failed to accomplish anything once elected.  He was good because he did not allow the U.S. to become involved in the affairs of other nations.  He said that America should not go abroad "in search of monsters to destroy." Bad is he supported Henry Clay's American system.  It called for high tariffs that disadvantaged the poor, who were now forced to pay higher prices.  It called for high western land prices to discourage people from leaving eastern states in favor of western states.  This also worked to the disadvantage to the poor who could not afford the higher land prices. The bill favored one group at the expense of another, and was therefore unconstitutional.  He also signed the Tariff Act of 1828, which disadvantages the poor, especially in western states, who could not afford the high prices of imported goods.

27.  Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) Good is that he ended reconstruction and withdrew federal troops. He defended the rights of blacks who were being oppressed in the South. He ended the spoils system and defended the gold standard. Good is that he vetoed the inflationary Bland-Allison Act.  Bad is he used federal troops to murder 70 striking workers. Bad is that he banned the sale of alcohol at Army forts.

28.  William McKinley (Republican)  He lead over the U.S. during the Spanish-American War.  Bad is he sent federal troops to end the Boxer Rebellion, a Chinese uprising in northern China against western and Japanese influence there. He also kept federal troops out of the south. Bad is he signed onto a high tariff bill. Bad is he failed to choose his own vice president, and allowed his fellow republicans to nominate Teddy Roosevelt at the convention. Good is he proved America could be a influence upon the world scene, setting the state for an American Superpower.

29.  William Howard Taft (Republican) He supported peaceful free trade treaties.  But, he signed on to the Payne Aldrich Tariff Act.  He also supported the 16th amendment, which allowed the government to collect taxes on income.

30.  George H. W. Bush (Republican)  Good is he was a nice guy. He involved the U.S. in a popular Gulf War, and gave the military the authority to do its job and win fast.  Okay, some government is needed.  So his Clean Air Act noble.  Bad is he reneged on his popular vow, "Read my lips: no new taxes." He was too willing to negotiate with democrats, giving them too much of what they wanted.  Of course we must keep in mind he was working with a democratically controlled Congress.  Still, his reneging on his no tax pledge is probably what cost him re-election in 1992.

31.  Gerald R. Ford (Republican)  He was the only president never elected.  He was chosen to replace Spiro Agnew as vice president by Richard Nixon.  He then became president when Nixon resigned.  He therefore is the only president never to be elected.  He did some good things, such as the Tax Reduction Act of 1975.  He urged the reduction of domestic oil price controls and refused to bail out a bankrupt New York City.  He also advocated the Human Rights Watch, a non governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Bad is that he encouraged every American to be vaccinated for H1N1, and this ended up being a deadly mistake.  The Education for Handicapped Children Act essentially forced schools to provide an education for handicapped children and give them one free meal a day.  It surely sounds like a nice act, but it violates personal liberties by forcing schools to act in a certain way.  It basically doesn't force schools to do anything, but refusal to participate would result in reduced. The was an early attempt by progressives to negative incentives as a way to move forth their agenda. It was also evidence of Ford being a RINO, a Republican In Name Only.

The following presidents were not in office long enough to be considered good or great or bad or anything other than just spot fillers.

32.  William Henry Harrison (Whig) Many people have him as one of the worse presidents, but this is merely due to the fact he died of pneumonia 30 days into his term.  I think this is not enough time to judge him by, and therefore I rank him right here in the middle of my rankings.  He was neither a great nor one of the worse presidents. He was, in essence, just an average president. This is why I'm ranking him right here in the middle.

33.  James A. Garfield (republican) Like William Henry Harrison, he was not in office long enough to truly judge.  He was shot by an assassin's bullet and died three months later at the White House due to an infection that set in, probably due to his doctors not wearing gloves when they operated on him.

The following are generally considered poor presidents for the reasons noted.

34.  Millard Fillmore (Whig) He backed the compromise of 1850 that stopped southern states from seceding, but allowed slavery to spread. The compromise also strengthened the fugitive slave law, which was an ardent violation of justice.

35.  Benjamin Harrison (Republican) He did nothing good except have electricity installed in the White House. He signed the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 because he was in favor of restricting international trade to the benefit of American businesses and jobs from foreign intervention.  He supported the Sherman Silver Purchase Act.  This, coupled with the McKinley Tariff Act, would lead to the depression inherited by Grover Cleveland. He also signed onto the Sherman Anti-Trust Act that gave the government too much power over business activity.  He appointed Teddy Roosevelt to the U.S. Civil Service, who would prove to be a thorn in his side and would go on to become the first progressive president.

36.  Herbert Hoover (Republican) Calvin Coolidge actually opposed Hoover following him into the office of the president, even though he was also a republican.  The reason was because he believed Hoover was too progressive.  And he was right.  When the economy started to spiral out of control, he worsened by signing into law bills that raised tariffs and regulations on businesses, making it harder for them to stay in business.  It was his progressive policies, and not capitalism, that lead to the Great Depression.

37.  Richard Nixon (Republican) Watergate dragged him down and doomed his political career.  But even before that he was one of the more progressive republican presidents of all time.

38.  Andrew Johnson (Republican) He has traditionally been judged as a terrible president, and this may be true because, as a democrat, he had essentially no clout over a republican Congress. However, he did have some good ideas. For one thing, he was opposed to high taxes and regulations that would hurt the common man. He was adamantly opposed to Whigs who championed for higher taxes and tariffs to pay for roads and other infrastructure improvements. Even when a spending bill would have benefited his own district and his political career, he opposed it as any good politician would. He was strongly anti-government, and so if he was only given a chance, he very likely would have been a good president. Yet, with no clout, he had no power. He was therefore rather ineffective. Still, he did not hurt the office as later progressive presidents would, so we cannot rank him lower on this list.

39.  Franklin Pierce (Democrat) He tried to avoid a Civil War.  He reduced the national debt. He refused to sign onto any bill that would compromise the slavery industry.  He angered northern voters because he hinted at adding southern slave states. His signing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act that lead to Bleeding Kansas. Kansas was a free state, and this act reversed that.  It enraged northern voters. The act also made it so white male voters could choose whether their state was a slave or free state.  So potential voters from the north and south were sent to Kansas to influence the vote, and this was termed "Bleeding Kansas." The Act was a betrayal to the north, and is often considered a prelude of the Civil War.

40.  Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat)  Nothing he did was good unless you consider advancing the progressive agenda and the scope and size of the federal government at the expense of personal liberties as good.  Oh, and he also failed to be a leader during the Vietnam War.  This allowed anti-war political activists to control it until there was no way it could be won.  This set the stage for America losing its first war.

41:  Barack Obama (Democrat) Even though it never had majority support, he pushed his healthcare reform through Congress.  The result was that, for the first time ever, Americans had to buy something (in this case healthcare) in order to be citizens.  Failure to comply with this state demand means you will be punished with higher taxes.  Unable to get his other unpopular agenda items through Congress, he bypassed them with executive action, setting a precedence for future presidents to likewise disrespect the law of the land to advance an unpopular agenda. He likewise used his pen to change Obamacare over eight times without going through Congress.  His administration was also embittered in an array of scandals, such as the Benghazi cover-up, Operation Fast and Furious, VA Scandal, lying to get Obamacare passed, and IRS targeting Obama's enemies. His ending of the War in Iraq created a breeding ground for a terrorist group worse that Al Qaeda to develop: ISIS.  He failed to act to the horrible acts performed by ISIS, such as beheading of American journalists.  He negotiated with Iran, the enemy of our ally Israel, thus setting the table for them to develop nuclear weapons.  He talked poorly of Christians while doing the opposite of Muslims.  He also went around the world apologizing for the U.S., as though we were the cause of the world's problems, as opposed to the arbiters of good. He did nothing good. In fact, he did so much damage to the office of the president that it's impossible to list them all here.

42. Woodrow Wilson (Democrat) He got the U.S. involved in a war we should not have been in, and he created a peace treaty to end that war that ultimately lead to WWII.  He created a ministry of propaganda that allowed the state to arrest and imprison people for speaking out against the government.  He was the first president to speak poorly of the constitution, believing it was a living document that should change to meet the demands of modern generations.  He made the government -- the state -- more powerful, thus setting the stage for future presidents to fundamentally transform America from capitalism to socialism.

43.  Jimmy Carter (Democrat) Nothing he did was good either.  He was another progressive president who attempted, although failed, to advance the progressive agenda.  In fact, he was such a horrible President he couldn't even advance the liberal agenda. His lack of leadership in Iran allowed the overthrow of dictators in Iran who were allied with the United States. His failure to stop radicals from taking over Iran is responsible for many of the problems that have occurred in the Middle East since that time. It should be noted here he was a great man, but a very poor president.

44.  Surely you're thinking there were 44 presidents.  You would be wrong.  Grover Cleveland was elected to two non-consecutive terms, so he is usually counted twice.  We are not going to list him twice here, and so we end up with this extra space.

Further Reading:

• Political Rant: Best and Worse Presidents
• Best Libertarian Presidents

Ulysses S. Grant: Rebuilding a nation

Most people remember Ulysses S. Grant as a General who lead the Union to victory during the Civil War. While I'm sure most people know he was later elected President, I think he generally is chocked up as a bad President because of all the scandals during his terms in the office. I would like to argue that he was one of the best Presidents.

One of the objectives of Articulating Ideas is to question the general consensus, to search for and investigate the facts, and to come to our own conclusions. I think once we lay out all the facts about Grant, we can label him as one of the great Presidents.

Huge cigars and scandals aside, here are a partial list of Grant's accomplishments. Sure some of these are bad, although the majority are good. Let's start by setting the stage.  During reconstruction there were two groups of republicans:

1. Moderate Republicans: They agreed with Abraham Lincoln that the seceded states should be admitted back into the Union, although on Congress's terms, not the presidents. 
2. Radical Republicans: They opposed slavery during the Civil War, and did not trust ex-Confederates after the war. They believed the seceded states should be punished, and their social structure uprooted. In the meantime, they wanted newly emancipated blacks to be protected by Federal powers.

When Lincoln died, Andrew Johnson, a democrat, wanted a quick restoration, and so he continued on with Lincoln's reconstruction plans. Grant, on the other hand, sided with the Radical Republicans.

A majority of republicans were moderates when Lincoln was President. Once Grant, the embodiment of Union victory, sided with the Radicals, a majority of republicans became radicals.

Grant was the logical choice for President at the 1868 Republican convention. Johnson became very unpopular among democrats. This lead Democrats to nominating New York Governor Horatio Seymour. Ulysses S. Grant would easily go on to win the Presidency, earning 214 electoral votes to Horatio's 80. He won 52.7% of the popular vote to Horatio's 47.3%.

At 46, Grant became the youngest President ever elected up to that time. He was a war hero, but he had literally no political experience. This would go on to plague him during his Presidency.

While he was considered a very honest man, he would go on to appoint some people to his administration who weren't so honest. This has caused many historians to list his presidency as an abject failure.

At Articulating Ideas, we do not always side with historians. We make our own assessment. Scandals aside here is a list of what the Grant administration accomplished, both good and bad.

1.  He supported equal rights for blacks and native Americans, and he encouraged passage of the 15th Amendment, which protected African American voting rights. Congress passed the Amendment on February 26, 1869. At one point, 17 states approved ratification and 11 did not, meaning 11 more states were needed for ratification. This caused Congress to force all Southern States that had seceded from the Union to accept the 15th Amendments in order to be admitted back into the Union. They also had to accept the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to anyone born in the United States, including former slaves. Both Amendments were ratified and signed by the President. This protected the liberties to more people, which is always a good thing. Because the 14th Amendment was poorly written, it has now come under scrutiny, as some people in 3rd world countries are coming to the U.S. just so their children can automatically become citizens. Such an interpretation is taking the Amendment out of context, and that is a discussion for another day.

2.  He enforced civil rights laws already on the books to fight the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). This was good.

3.  He signed the first of the Klu Klux Klan Acts, a.k.a. the Civil Rights Act of 1870. This essentially gave the President the legal power to enforce the 15th Amendment. Essentially, the Act prohibited voter discrimination on the basis of race, color, or the fact a person was formerly a slave. It was passed in May of 1870 and signed by President Grant. This was good.

4.  He signed the 2nd Klu Klux Klan Act, a.k.a. the Civil Rights Act of 1871. The intent of this law was good in that it guaranteed equal rights for African Americans. However, it was bad in that it did so in such a way the violated the natural rights of those of whom the law was used against. The law encouraged the violation of natural rights, thus ignoring the Constitution, thus violating Constitutional Rights and the rule of law.  It basically suspended the right of Habeas Corpus to combat the KKK. Habeas Corpus is the right to defend oneself against wrongful imprisonment.  It is protected by the Suspension Clause of the Constitution (Article One, Section 9), and states, "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." So fighting the KKK was good, but signing a law that disregarded the Constitution was bad and violated liberties was bad.

5.  He signed the Civil Rights Acts of 1875, a.k.a. the Enforcement Act. It was good in that it helped in guaranteeing equal rights for African Americans.  The law guaranteed African Americans equal treatment in public places and on transportation prohibited exclusion from jury service based on race. It was later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. This was because, while Congress has a right to ensure that government officials guarantee the right to vote of all citizens, it does not have the right to prevent discrimination by private individuals. The law was bad because it violated the natural right to form an opinion. You cannot force me to conform.

6.  He championed for reforms. He favored civil reforms that would have ended the spoils system or a system where elected politicians rewarded their friends and family members who helped them get elected with government jobs. However, he failed to get civil reforms passed through Congress.

7.  Cut taxes. Prior to the passage of the 16th Amendment in 1909 and ratification in 1913, the only means of raising money was through custom taxes or tariffs. There was no income tax. If money was needed it was raised through the states. However, prior to the Civil War, there was no government debt. Foreseeing an expensive war, Congress passed the Civil War Revenue Act of 1861 that called for a 3% tax on income over $800. It was signed by Lincoln and became the nation's first income tax. It was only expected to last 10 years. On July 1, 1862, Lincoln signed the Revenue Act that created the Commissioner of Revenue that had the power to impose even more taxes. To run the program Lincoln created the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Within the next six months over 4,000 government jobs were created to make sure citizens paid the taxes and to prosecute those who did not. Northern residents did not think they should have to pay off the debt when it was Southern states that were responsible for the war. So, in 1872, Congress and Grant allowed these taxes to expire. This was good in that it left more money in the hands of citizens so they could spend it where they wanted. However, the Civil War debt continued into the 20th century, and so too did the Commissioner of Revenue.

8.  Presided over the Panic of 1873 when the economy fell into deep economic recession. During the Civil War, Jay Cooke and Company loaned money to the U.S. to pay for the war. After the war, building tracks where land had yet to be cleared required Federal grants and loans, and the chief financier was Jay Cooke and Company. Jay Cooke's firm, along with other banks and industries, had loaned out heavily to fund a railroad construction boom, which resulted in 35,000 miles of railroad tracks being laid down between 1866 and 1873. In 1869, the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1969. A second transcontinental was planned, and Jay Cook was the main financier. When Cooke realized he had overextended himself, he filed for bankruptcy. This resulted in a nationwide panic resulting in many other banks and industries filing for bankruptcy, and so to did 89 of 364 railroads along with 18,000 other businesses over the following two years. Unemployment grew to 14%.

9.  Vetoed inflation bill of 1874:  Along with the Revenue Act of 1861 to raise money to pay for the war, Lincoln also approved the printing of money without species. Without species means that it was not backed by gold or silver, and were essentially IOU promissory notes whose value was essentially based on the confidence of wealthy investment banks like Jay Cooke. In 1862, the government printed money not backed by gold, called "Greenbacks." This resulted in overconfidence in the market, inflation, and some say this caused the panic of 1873. On Sept. 20, the New York Stock Exchanged announced it was suspending transactions for ten days. Many called for inflating the supply of greenback, while bankers were against it. On April 18, 1874, Congress passed an inflation bill to increase the money supply by $100 million. Grant vetoed it, claiming that any short-term benefits would be worth the long-term consequences, mainly the risk of inflation and a devaluation of the dollar. This set the stage nicely for the Specie Payment Resumption Act.

10.  Signed the Specie Payment Resumption Act. Grant's campaign promise was to return to species-backed money and to pay off debt with gold or silver. The Coinage Act of 1873 eliminated silver as a species and this followed other nations who did the same. Grant believed this would cause stability. However, it was too late. Grant rightly vetoed a bill to print more money claiming it would only cause more inflation and make matters worse. Instead, he signed the Specie Payment Resumption Act of 1875 that ended the overprinting of money and backed newly printed money with gold, thereby returning the country to the Gold Standard. Some say this prolonged the recession and was why it lasted into the Rutherford B. Hayes administration. Others, however, believe such relative inaction by the Federal government is what ultimately helped investors regain confidence. With all due respect to Grant, the resumption of specie payments did not resume until the Hayes administration was underway, and the nation returned to prosperity by 1879.

11.  Lowered debt.   His Treasury Secretary, George Boutwell, worked to reduce federal expenditures. One of the means he did this was by laying off over 2,248 government employees. He signed the Public Credit Act of 1869 to pay off all public debts with gold rather than greenbacks. The reason for this was that part of the debt incurred during the Civil War was caused by giving out war bonds and overprinting greenbacks. Signing the Public Credit Act helped reduce the value of gold to $130 per ounce, making it more affordable for the U.S. to pay back bonds with gold.

12.  Fired 2,248 government employees to help lower the debt. Okay, so that was very good.

13.  Avoided war with Spain and Cuba despite Virginius Affair.

14.  Signed Peaceful Treaty of Washington. It was a treaty signed by Grant in 1871 to settle disputes that arose following the Civil War between Great Britain and the United States.

15. Comstock laws were signed on March 3, 1873. I am not a fan of contraceptives, and they allow people to play God. However, in 1873, Anthony Comstock headed to Washington to try to get Congress to pass a bill he wrote banning the sale of contraceptives through the mail and across state lines. The bill was passed by Congress and signed by President Grant. I think Comstock had good intentions, but it is never good when you use Government to force your views on everyone else. So, in this way, the Comstock law was not a good law.

16. He signed the General Mining Act of 1872. This bill was promoted by prospectors from Nevada and California. It as essentially a byproduct of the California Gold Rush, where most of the gold was found on public lands. At the time there were no Federal laws regarding mining on public lands. Some Congressmen believed that they were robbing the taxpayers and their mines should be seized to pay off the war debt. In 1865, Representative George Washington Julian proposed a bill to seize the mines and sell them via public auction. Representative Fernando Wood actually proposed sending in Federal troops to force the minors out. However, such proposals would have discouraged mining and would have hurt the economy. So, this encouraged prospectors from Nevada and California to promote the General Mining Act. They claimed the minors were providing a public service by settling land and selling valuable products and creating commerce. The Act simply states that anyone over the age of 18 who discovers gold, silver, or platinum on public lands had the right to mine it without paying taxes. This was great for the mining industry and the U.S. economy. Critics say it gives away "valuable assets" at unfairly low prices. They believe the public should benefit from the mining industry. They also hate it because it doesn't include regulations to protect the environment.  However, Grant saw the value in the public service argument, and he rightly signed the bill making it the law of the land.

17.   anti-Mormon Poland Act (-8)

18.   Civil Rights Act of 1875 (-9)




6. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
Good: General Mining Act of 1872 (+9), supported equal rights for blacks and Native Americans (Fifteenth Amendment) (+4), favored but failed to institute civil service reform (+1),[23] vetoed Inflation Bill of 1874 (+7), cut taxes (+6), lowered debt (+3), fired 2,248 government employees (+6),[24] de facto gold standard (+8),[25] Specie Payment Resumption Act (+7), avoided war with Spain/Cuba despite Virginius Affair (+9),[26] peaceful Treaty of Washington (+6).
Bad:


 Created Office of Solicitor General (-1), left Reconstruction violence problems to state militias instead of Army but kept some federal troops in South (-2),[27] Ku Klux Klan Act that suspended habeas corpus (-9), wanted to annex Dominican Republic (-10),[28] intervened in Liberian-Grebo War(-10),

  Comstock laws (censorship) (-5),,, numerous scandals (-2).[29]
Score: 10

Further reading and references:

• CDN: Federal Income Tax: Paying the president's debts
• New York Times: Keeping Your Money Where It Will Do Most Good
  
• Boundless.com: The governmenet debt