Bottom of the Order

Ranking Our Worst Presidents is Not as Easy as You Might Think

Gerald Arung Bate, Staff Writer

Identifying the  worst president in United States history is not an easy title to grant, as it requires one to delve into and critique the decisions presidents often have to make under pressure.

In order for a name to make it onto my list, a president had to have left the country objectively worse than he met it, been a traitor to his core campaign values, and showed close-to-complete apathy for his constituents and people as a whole.

The names  on this list have been “successful” in one or more of these areas and left the country worse off than when he began his term.

In fifth place, thirteenth President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, a man who ascended  to power after President Zachary Taylor’s sudden death. Fillmore personally opposed slavery; however, he supported the Compromise of 1850, which acted as a band-aid between the pro and anti-slavery factions. The biggest problem with Fillmore was that, in an attempt to keep the Union, he signed a half-hearted compromise into law  that only antagonized the factions it was supposed to placate and thus created a perfect storm for the Civil War.

In fourth place, tenth president John Tyler who, interestingly enough,  also ascended to power after the death of a sitting president – in this case  President William Harrison. Tyler earns this spot through some good, old fashioned cunning. Once he took the oath of office, he actually opposed and vetoed the bills from his party’s platform. He also believed that the president ought to set laws and often tried to bypass Congress and set laws by himself. Members of his party expelled him, and he received such little support on his attempt to run for re-election that he actually had to withdraw. Couple that with his ardent support for slavery, and you have the recipe for a really terrible accident…., um, I mean, president.

In third place, forty-third president,George  W. Bush, a man who was narrowly elected,  barely won the electoral college and lost the popular vote to Al Gore. Bush deserves this honor for doing away with the  FDR-era regulations which put restrictions on banks and stopped banks from duping, lying to, and stealing the money of their clients. Once Bush repealed the Uptick rule, the banks went roughshod on the American economy, and this led to the Great Recession. Coupled with the rash response to the immensely tragic events of 9/11 that led the U.S. into a completely useless war, Bush by far left the country, which was operating in a surplus, pre-Bush, to sink into a dark hole of war and economic distress.  He also supported government infringing on the privacy of the American people.

In second place, seventh president, Andrew Jackson, a man who  was loved and lauded by the populous in his day. A champion of slavery and manifest destiny, Jackson  essentially licensed ethnic cleansing as he went throughout the U.S. forcibly removing and murdering Native Americans. He also delayed America’s success with his opposition to paper money, probably because he never could quite  grasp the concept. . Don’t forget about the widespread corruption that took place in his presidency as well, in case you are doubting his place on the list.

Much to the chagrin of many, our current Commander-in-Chief has taken a liking to Jackson. Just as Jackson opposed paper money because he didn’t quite understand it, President  Trump’s opposition to Obamacare (aka The Affordable Care Act), which he doesn’t understand, and the corruption and nepotism he’s exhibited in just over 100 days in office, is reminiscent of Jackson’s day.  The only reason he isn’t higher on this list is that he is so new, he  never had slaves, and he lives in a very different time than many on this list. However, with his ever-growing list of scandals and firings, there’s always promise for him as he descends into history and takes his possible spot as the worst president ever.

In first place, though, is seventeenth president, Andrew Johnson, who, it must be noted, is also one of Trump’s heroes. Johnson earns this spot as a president who came after a great one, Abraham Lincoln, and proceeded to dismantle all the work the previous president had done thus setting the country back. He stopped all Reconstruction efforts and decimated the economy. Heck, he even got impeached, but was rescued from conviction by one vote.