Let's play make-believe: You are an obective historian of American...

[Maddy McCall]

History. Place your partisanship aside and answer this question objectively, based on your knowledge of American history, especially twentieth century.

Who were the four most important presidents since Lincoln and why? Include in you discussion some biographical info to back up your assertion.



OOPS! Edited the thread title to "make believe." :-)

[FarmerOak]

1. My four:

1. U.S. Grant

- One of our more underrated presidents, oversaw southern Reconstruction and restored the nation.

2. T. Roosevelt

- Through the force of his own will, transformed the power of the presidency forever.

3. F.D. Roosevelt

- Instrumental in making the United States the nation it is today.

4. R. Nixon

- Changed forever the power and perception of the U.S. Presidency.

ETA: My choices were highly influenced by the fact that I just finished reading Stephen Ambrose's "To America," his final book.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

6. Sorry, but Grant had one of the most corrupt presidencies in history...

...and from the Southern perspective, Reconstruction was just a fancy way of defining/describing the military occupation of the defeated South that lasted twenty years. Grant was also an alcoholic that found himself overwhelmed by the day to day duties of the presidency.

The military occupation of the South was actually proposed by the hardliners in Lincoln's presidency who carried that idea over into Andrew Johnson's term. Johnson tried to stop the hardliners from implementing their plan but ended up getting impeached for his trouble.

[ashling]

2. TR, FDR, LBJ, W - (in chronological order)

and it just so happens that I AM an objective observer of American history.:evilgrin:

:dem:

[zonmoy]

3. Why include w thought

unless you include him for destroying the republic and bringing on the rise of the empire.

[Dookus]

4. Because the question was about

who was important, not who was best.

[ashling]

10. Thank you Dookus

In the 40s Time magazine made Hitler the man of the year.

W is undoubtedly one of the most important figures of American history. He has brought this country down to a place from which it will take a long time and a lot of hard work to recover.
He is personally responsible for the disdain in which this formerly great nation is held worldwide. He has laid the foundation for a system that brutilizes the environment, workers rights, civil rights, and Iraqi prisoners. He is evil.

I would have included Nixon as well, if I could have, but the limit was 4.

Others that I would rank very high are Wilson, Truman, and JFK. Of course, those are on the positive side of the ledger.

If you want best presidents, well that's another question ... and another list.

But for pure and unadulterated evil, you can't leave out W.

:dem:

[misanthrope]

5. The first three are easy...

...TR: He shaped modern perception of the office and politics with a unique ability to convey fortitude and optimism that often inspired others.

FDR: Need I explain. Four terms, Great Depression, WWII, 'nuff said.

LBJ: Escalation in Vietnam marred the country for decades

Fourth is tough because it's a toss-up between Nixon and Reagan.

Nixon's acts changed American politics pervasively. Without his scandals, Carter doesn't get elected and America doesn't sink into the cynicism that paved the way for Reagan.

Reagan, on the other hand, heightened the homeless problem, taught Americans it was good to be selfish, significantly increased comsumerism and materialism, scoffed at conservation, widened the gulf between the classes, appointed the judges who hand-picked the 2000 Presidential winner and hastened the current descent to today's morass.

Of course, none of this changes the fact that no one in 20th Century America was as influential, for as long, as J. Edgar Hoover.

[ashling]

12. TR and LBJ had even a greater impact than

you mention.

TR changed our outlook on business and how the government dealt with it. Without TR you don't get the Progressive inluence of trustbusting, etc.

Of course, it would take FDR to bring much of this progressive spirit to fruition.

Ah, LBJ: where do I begin.

Certainly the thing that he is most remembered for by many (maybe most) people is the War. However, he should be remembered at least as well for Civil Right and Voting Rights legislation, for the Great Society, Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, and a lot of other important legislation, including truth in advertising legislation, and those annoying child proof caps.

[misanthrope]

14. Right...

...I just reduced their synopses because they were concensus choices from the previous posts.

[kiahzero]

7. Important?

Wilson: Got the United States into WWI as a belligerant, so as to influence the peace afterwards. Would have been significantly more influential had he succeeded with the League of Nations. A President before his time, FP-wise.

F. Roosevelt: Completely changed the nature of the Federal Government with the New Deal.

Carter: Brought human rights to the international stage. He's pretty much the only reason the 'establishment' cares about HR at all.

Reagan: Completely changed the nature of the Federal Government, again - of course, it was negative, but that's no matter.

[No2W2004]

8. Okee Dokee

1) A. Johnson & C. Aurthur- for turning back attempts by party leaders and congress to reduce the power of the executive branch after Lincoln and Garfield were assassinated.

2) TR - Was the first "modern" President. Established the US presence on the world stage.

3) FDR - Quite simply, saved the world from fascism. Started massive public works projects that we still benefit from today.

4) Nixon - Invoked "executive privilege" as an attempted defense, his Presidency changed forever how American's view their government.

**Honorable mention: Samuel Tilden and Al Gore. Two men who won the Presidency but chose not to divide the country and stepped aside.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. My four best presidents of the 20th century are...

1. FDR, who brought the country out of the Great Depression and signed into law Social Security. He also led us into WWII by authorizing the fleet to move to forward bases in the Pacific which provoked the Japanese into the attack on Pearl Harbor.

****Truman was responsible for the beginning of the Atomic Age and getting us into Korea. Disqualified.

****Eisenhower presided over 8 years of increasing hostility with the Soviets and Communist China. He also sent the first military advisors into Vietnam. Although he warned us about the military industrial complex during his final speech, his presidency saw huge growth in the defense industry. Disqualified.

2. JFK, whose social programs LBJ signed into law after JFK's assassination. JFK also championed the space program that reached the moon just a few years after his death. He also attempted to get the U. S. out of Vietnam by signing NSAM 263, but was killed before he could fully implement the withdrawal.

****LBJ escalated the war in Vietnam when he signed NSAM 273, just four days after JFK's assassination. LBJ also took credit for JFK's social programs when he signed them into law. Disqualified.

****Nixon promised to get us out of the war in Vietnam. He lied. The war was still going when he resigned from office. He also lied about a great many other things, including his claim that he knew nothing about the Watergate break-in. Disqualified.

****Ford did preside over our final withdrawal from Vietnam, but pardoned Nixon. Disqualified.

****Carter tried very hard to be a good president, but he just had too many things go wrong. The economy went bad, and the hostages were never released by Iran until AFTER Carter left the White House. Disqualified.

****Reagan presented himself very well to the American public, but the Iran-Contra fiasco forever tainted his presidency. Disqualified.

****Poppy Bush. Presided over Gulf War I, a war which reminded me of the lopsided 1935-1936 war between Italy and Ethiopia. The U. S. economy that had been sputtering during the Reagan years went downhill in a real hurry. Also presided over the largest draw-down of the U. S. military forces since the end of WWII...and the GOP later tried to blame Clinton. Disqualified.

3. Bill Clinton, a man who presided over the greatest 8-year period of national and personal prosperity the country has ever seen. The last legally elected president. Life was very good.

****There is no #4. We are now governed by a fascist dictatorship.

[JohnLocke]

11. Wilson, T. Roosevelt, FDR, and GWB.

[Yupster]

13. My tries

FDR -- No doubt he's number one with a big gap between him and number two. His New Deal completely changed the relationship between the government and the populace. Social Security may be the most important program ever passed by a US congress.

Teddy Roosevelt -- Not nearly as clear a call as number one. TR ushered in a progressive era of politics which led to laws like the Pure Food and Drug Act, the Meat Inspection Act and the National Park system. A big change for the nation, and a change for the better. Also projected US power across the globe for the first time.

Lyndon Johnson -- Gets the number three nod for his expansion of the US federal government, an almost sceond New Deal accentuated by his medicare and medicaid programs. Putting 500,000 men in Vietnam gets a negative nod from me, but the question was important, and he was important.

Ronald Reagan -- Gets the number four nod for taking over a depressed nation and leading a patriotic revival. To Vietnam's fall in 75, to stagflation, hostage crisis, gas lines and malaise, and talk of the presidency being too big a job for any one man, Reagan used an optimistic message and legions of conservative activists to go on the offensive around the world economically and diplomatically. Within a few years, the world went from countries turning communist at about a country every year (S Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Angola, Mozambique, Nicaragua -- all just from 75-80) to the fall of the communist system itself throughout the world.

That's my four, and two Democrats and two Republicans since we're being non-partisan.