Greatest US Presidents of the last 100 Years

[RulerOfDaPeople]

This could also be called The Top 5 Presidents of the 20th Century as well I suppose... however GW is in play (though I highly doubt anyone would select him).

Who do you think were the 5 best Presidents of the last 100 years in the United States were?

FDR is a tricky one because on the surface he is a national Icon, and the only president to be elected to 4 terms. However his love for power also got him into trouble a few times like when he completely tried to re-align the supreme coart just to get his way with other things. Another black stain was when he rounded up all of the Japanese Americans and put them in (something like) concentration camps. He also had a failure with some of his programs and to this day it is debated if he helped the economy or if he prolonged the great depression. There is a long list of things that can be listed if you go over his presidency with a fine tooth comb, but he didn't get a grerat legacy for nothing. His leadership during WWII was when the nation needed it most, and this can also be contributed to another great president who was General at the time: Dwight D Eisenhower. And Kennedy while he pushed us to the moon, still got us into Veitnam (only the other hand prevented nuclear war during the Cubam Missile crisis). Chaos then followed during the 1960s.

Anyway before I ramble on any more, I just wanted to make it clear that no president, or human being for that matter, are without their flaws. Even so, these men were some of the best leaders America had in the last 100 years. My list...

(Honorable mention and close to #5 is JFK. I only think he has a legend that is remembered, just because of how young he tragically died, and the conspiricy theories.)

5.Woodrow Wilson
4.Dwight D. Eisenhower
3.Ronald Reagan
2.Theadore Roosevelt
1.Franklin D. Roosevelt

I suppose Calvin Coolage could be debated that he had a successful Presidency as well with the roaring 20s, however he could also be suspect to the state of the economy at the turn of the decade from 1929-1930. Woodrow Wilson beats him out pretty good. JFK didn't have enough on his record to make that spot, IMO, and the 1960s in the US spiraled out of control starting on his watch with the war on Veitnam. Wilson did a good job keeping the US out of world war as long as he could, then adapted well when it became impossible. He is also responsible for creating the Federal Reserve system we have today.

 

[Sharwood]

Belongs in history, along with all the other patently ridiculous "list" threads.

 

[King of Town]

Eisenhower and Johnson!

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Moderator Action: Moved to History.

 

[Cutlass]

Truman
FDR
Teddy
Ike
Wilson

 

[salty mud]

I'd have to say FDR, coming from a non-American.

 

[eastsidebagel]

My personal list:
1. Richard Nixon
2. Bill Clinton
3. George Bush senior
4. his son
5. Jimmy Carter

 

[luiz]

I'll give you a much more interesting list: the most overrated US presidents of the 20th Century!

1- FDR
2- JFK
3- Eisenhower
4- Teddy Roosevelt

Edit: for clarity's sake:

I think FDR was awful; Kennedy was bad but not horrible. Neither Eisenhower nor TR were bad, in fact Teddy was a overall a good president, but they are both overrated. Ike in particular. The man was responsible for the most disgusting US aggression against a latin american country, Guatemala. Thousands died and the country was ruined for decades (arguably it still is). It is ironic that the hysterical anti-imperialist types usually focus on Chile or Nicaragua or Cuba and leave the much, much worse Guatemala intervention out.

 

[civ_king]

FDR had two possible outcomes when he was elected, being remembered as one of the Greatest US presidents, OR being the LAST US President, (Yes I exaggerated)

 

[RalofTyr]

Obama rocks your socks off.

 

[Cutlass]

How can you mention overrated presidents without talking about Reagan, pretty much exclusively?

 

[Drewcifer]

I think FDR is probably the best but Lyndon Johnson is the most compelling as a historical figure. He was simultaneously fantastic and horrible. He ended segregation and pulled the south into the modern era, and at the same time he was the one plunged the US fully into Vietnam.

 

[negZero]

Obama rocks your socks off.

To bad he hasn't even become President yet

 

[luiz]

How can you mention overrated presidents without talking about Reagan, pretty much exclusively?

Reagan is quite overrated too, but he is known to be overrated. In contrast, most people actually think that FDR was an excellent president (even though by any objective standard he sucked big time) and JFK is nearly worshipped as the second coming. Eisenhower gets alot of love from people that should despise him, and for some reason people from the most radically distinct ideological backgrounds seem to all love TR, who was undeniably charismatic and clearly an above average president, but I don't see how he worked this miracle.

 

[North King]

In contrast, most people actually think that FDR was an excellent president (even though by any objective standard he sucked big time)

Oh for Christ's sake, he did not suck by an "objective standard." Unless you think you are more qualified to judge than historians, who generally rate him in the top five ever. Even most historians who self-identify as conservatives rank him there. Now, forgive me, but your opinions aren't more valid than those of professionals in the field; by most standards -- except the warped ones where barely liberal economics are enough to condemn people to the pit of hell that you apparently judge by -- he is a great president.

*********

I'd say it probably goes like this:

1. F. D. Roosevelt
2. T. Roosevelt
3. Johnson
4. Eisenhower
5. Reagan*

*Not especially great, but once you get past Ike, most of the rest are fairly mediocre. Kennedy is massively overrated; Wilson had good ideas but was ineffectual politically... Clinton and Truman could probably both give Reagan a run for his money, though.

 

[Cutlass]

Reagan is quite overrated too, but he is known to be overrated. In contrast, most people actually think that FDR was an excellent president (even though by any objective standard he sucked big time) and JFK is nearly worshipped as the second coming. Eisenhower gets alot of love from people that should despise him, and for some reason people from the most radically distinct ideological backgrounds seem to all love TR, who was undeniably charismatic and clearly an above average president, but I don't see how he worked this miracle.

Since the Revolutionary War ended and the government was formed, the 2 biggest crises the US has faced are the Civil War, and the Great Depression followed by WWII. Those are the only 2 situations that stood any chance of ending the US as a free and complete nation. FDR got us through one of them. He didn't do everything right. And in some ways he wasn't a nice guy. He was clearly a bigot. But he did get us through it, where many others would not have. It's fairly certain no conservative could have. What's further, the conservatives in the US at the time were mostly isolationist. To the point where there would have been no preparation for WWII. There wasn't a lot as it was, because Congress was against it. But FDR pushed through helping Britain. And there was a beginning of a major Navy and Air Force buildup.

The US would have been far, far, worse off through the 30s and 40s without FDR.

 

[CIVPhilzilla]

1. Reagan (beat stagflation and communism)
2. Coolidge (shows prosperity comes from minimal government intervention)
3. *Removed* to keep with the actual topic. Should probably read before posting.
4. JFK (pushed for big tax cuts to get our economy out of the crapper (3X larger than the Bush tax cuts when accounting for inflation), got us motivated to go to the moon and show up the soviets)

Wilson was by far one of the most destructive presidents in American history. He was the first "neo-conservative". The idea America should make the world "safe" for democracy has been a cornerstone of our foreign policy. He pushed Russia to keep fighting in WWI eventually causing the country to become to overstretched and allowed for the communist revolution to take over. He botched the treaty process by giving France and Britain to much say in how to punish Germany giving us the rise of Hitler and WWII. The push for an income tax has plagued our nation ever since and created a much larger government. The worst move out of Wilson's administration was the creation of the Federal Reserve, which within a little over a decade took our country into the Depression and in its sub-century existence has dropped the value of the dollar by 96%, versus a 13% appreciation in value from 1800 to 1913. If I could go back in time and stop a figure from rising to power it would be Wilson, the chain of bad events that stemmed from his adminstration haunts us to this day.

 

[Godwynn]

3. Washington (decided not to be king)

He was President in the last 100 years? Really?

 

[RalofTyr]

1. Reagan (beat stagflation and communism)

No. He didn't beat communism. One, there's still communist countries in the world and two, he just took credit for the fall of the Soviet Union, which was decades in the making due to poor management decisions.

 

[RulerOfDaPeople]

Unless you think you are more qualified to judge than historians, who generally rate him in the top five ever. Even most historians who self-identify as conservatives rank him there.

Wow, check out the most recent list. (2005 Wall Street Journal) It's actually remarkably close to mine. The only one I missed was Truman. But Wilson is right there as the 6th 1900s president they mention.

And on a side note to the developing discussion... Wilson, a Democrat, was an isolationist. Teddy Roosevelt didn't like him much, but Wilson still defeated good ole Teddy (and Taft) in 1912, and then managed to get re-elected. I fail to see why he is so bad despite your reasoning, Phil.


And you can't take all the credit away from Reagan. He was a strong diplomat. Yes he did it with a firm hand and a military build up, but he did it through sheer effort. He tried to form a relationship with 2 or 3 Soviet General Secretaries but they all kept dieing on him. It wasn't until very late in his presidency that he met Gorbechev and the 2 men were able to put an end to the Cold War Tensions, and they did it together. So you can't say Reagan didn't try. He made an effort with the Soviet Union through out the early 80s with other leaders who all just happened to up and die in office during Reagan's Presidency. Granted Brezhnev nearly attacked us, but he died in office and Andropov and Chernenko didn't fare much better. Just as soon as diplomatic relations improved, kaput. They're gone.

Most of all, he simply restored pride in America and made people actually give a care about where they came from and what they could do. He lifted up national moral. If you like Obama for that, how can you not like Reagan? Even Obama himself has said such things about Reagan and how Obama hopes to do the same (which he was ridiculed by democrats on the campaign trail for).