-Caveat Lector-
The Twelve Worst Presidents
Government Miscellaneous
Source: Prof. Doug MacKenzie
Published: ? Author: Prof. Doug MacKenzie
The Twelve Worst Presidents
1. Abraham Lincoln
Many historians argue that Lincoln was the greatest president ever but that only
proves that historians don't
understand history. Lincoln could have avoided the Civil War by negotiating a peaceful
settlement with the
south. A dozen different nations ended slavery peacefully during the 19th century-
many of them before the
1860's, but Lincoln chose to provoke the south by maintaining a military presence in
South Carolina.
"Historians" blame the South for firing on Fort Sumter, but Lincoln did not need
Sumter to defend the North
from enemies. The only conceivable use that the North had for Sumter was for offensive
operations against the
South, therefore the South was justified in demanding that the North abandon Sumter.
Lincoln needlessly caused
the deaths of 625,000 Americans, the injury of many thousands more, and devastated
half the country. Also,
Lincoln was an ardent socialist who dramatically expanded the size and scope of
government. Lincoln catered to
business interests by handing them subsidies, tariffs, and tax breaks (socialization
of costs). Lincoln was
crushed the old Jefforsonian order, based on the right of secession thus allowing a
steady expansion of State
powers and erosion of personal liberty.
2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Historians also praise FDR for his handling of the Depression and WWII, but FDR's
policies extended and
prolonged the Depression and failed to prevent the war. A "great president" would have
maintained peace and
prosperity. The truth is that FDR was a power-mad demagogue. FDR attempted to secure
dictatorial power by
"packing the Supreme Court" and "purging the Congress" (his words, not mine). Even
FDR's fellow Democrats
wouldn't go along with his mad schemes for ending the balance of power within the US
government. Historians
acknowledge this as a "mistake", but tend to ignore it. FDR enacted a number of faulty
policies and programs
that we are all still paying for. Social Security, the Wagner Act, and the FDIC are a
part of an enduring
legacy of failure that haunts us all to this day.
3. Theodore Roosevelt
Historians have Teddy all wrong too. T.R. prosecuted a bloody war against Philippine
independence fighters
that resulted in the deaths of vast numbers of Filipinos, many of whom were
non-combatants murdered by US
soldiers (see Rummels' web page for more info). TR also violated the property rights
of business owners by
prosecuting them for violations of faulty and needless antitrust laws. Like his cousin
(FDR) TR sought to
expand the authority of the executive branch at the expense of the Congress and
Supreme Court. Historians
praise TR as an "activist" president, but ignore the consequences of his actions.
4. Woodrow Wilson
What do we have Wilson to thank for? We have the Federal Reserve Bank, our involvement
in WWI, a vast array of
regulations, and the confiscation of private property. Wilson's most enduring legacy
is the Federal Reserve
Bank. Despite its good image, the Fed has a horrible track record. The Fed caused;
economic collapses in 1920,
1929, and 1937; waves of severe inflation during WWI, WWII, and the 70's; and many
recessions as well.
5. Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover deserves his reputation as a lousy President, but not his reputation as
a defender of free
markets. Hoover was an ardent interventionist. Throughout his entire career, Hoover
pushed for bigger,
stronger, more active government. Hoovers' reacted to the crash in 29 by implementing
massive government
programs and intrusive government policies. Hoover pushed for higher industrial wages
in the face of (thanks
to the Fed.) deflationary pressure. Hoover pushed for increased regulation of industry
and labor markets that
amounted to nothing less than central planning. Hoovers' interventionist policies
converted the Feds' crash of
29 into a major economic collapse.
6. James Madison
Not many remember Mr. Madison's war these days, but it happened. Madison also
supported the creation of the
2nd Bank of the United States (even though he opposed the 1st). Madison has a
reputation as a Jeffersonian who
defended liberty, but he broke from Jefferson in a number of important ways.
7. George Washington
Good old George! Father of our country! Well, I guess somebody deserves the blame for
the way things turned
out. Washington set out to reverse the American independence movement by creating a
powerful central
government, not unlike the one that he fought against in the War of Independence.
Washington created the First
Bank of the US, imposed high tariffs, and brutalized property- owning Indians (many
Indians interpreted the
word "President" as meaning "village burner" after he got through with them). Like
other Federalists,
Washington was an ardent protectionist, regulator, and tax extractor.
8. William McKinley
Did McKinley really need to beat up on Spain? Did he really need to take over Spain's
colonies as American
colonies? Did he really need to push for high tariffs? No. He wanted to do these
things because he was an
imperialist, a war-monger, and a statist.
9. John Quincy Adams
JQA the fortunate failure! JQA proposed a massive program for "internal improvements"
(i.e. corporate welfare)
and massive tariffs. Fortunately, his incompetence as a politician meant that he
hardly got anything passed by
congress. Otherwise, he might have taken Lincoln's place as the architect of the
modern welfare/warfare state
in the US.
10. Lyndon Baines Johnson
Escalation in Vietnam. Medicare. the war on drugs (or was that Nixon?). The War on
Poverty. How is it that LBJ
didn't end up higher on my list? Remember that LBJ only looks so bad because he stands
on the shoulders of
monsters, like FDR, Wilson, and Lincoln.
11. Richard M. Nixon
I don't think I need to explain very much here. Nixon was a crook. Nixon also imposed
wage and price controls
(i.e. central planning) as a "solution" to inflation, embraced absurd Keynesian
policies, and expanded Johnson
's socialist "Great Society" programs. Nixon did end the War in Vietnam, but not as
soon as he could have.
Aside from being a criminal, Nixon was one of many pro-government, anti- freedom
presidents that we could have
done with out.
12. William Jefferson Clinton
Has any other president flaunted the law more that this one? I doubt it. Of course, he
did a good job of
diverting attention from his crimes when he used the US military to murder people in
foreign lands (why do
Americans love bombing so much?). Also, he raised taxes when he promised to cut them,
and blatantly defied the
Constitution on many occasions (remember his "EPA" land seizures and his
unconstitutional gun searches?). I
shouldn't say too much though, people that criticize Clinton tend to end up in trouble
with his IRS or his
"Justice" Department.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The author is an economics professor. I don't agree with all of these choices, but I
think this is a topic
ripe for discussion.
It seems like the author is coming at this from an economic libertarian/pacifist
viewpoint. I find it
refreshing though that the author chose Nixon for his more socialist policies rather
than Watergate.
Check out the rest of his site, its got a few other fun lists.
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A>
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