Who was the greatest president in the US history?

41 comments

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2. Calvin Coolidge

3. Lincoln or Washington… I go back & forth.

   Lincoln literally saved the Union and destroyed the institution of slavery.

   Washington had no precedents to go by, had to “make it up as he went”. He had more than one opportunity to become king and turned it down. He then walked away from power on his own after 8 years, setting a precedent that lasted till “That man in the White House” (as my grandparents called him) broke it in 1940.

4. William Henry Harrison.

5. Barely know anything about him but imma say Calvin Coolidge. Since he liked to do nothing. We need people in power who will do nothing.

   Also, maybe Reagan.

6. George Washington followed by John Adams. Washington gets the nod for setting the precedent of stepping down after 2 terms.

   John Adams for setting the precedent of a peaceful transition after an election loss. Our current politicians could use a refresher on this.

7. Lincoln and Washington.

8. Washington or Lincoln.

9. Lincoln.

10. Lincoln, without a doubt. He saved the Union and paved the way for racial equality.

    Teddy Roosevelt was the most badass, though. Guy got shot in the chest and still finished his speech lmao.

11. William Henry Harrison, undoubtedly.

12. Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt

13. Washington.

14. Abe Lincoln

15. FDR all the way

16. Washington, Lincoln, and FDR, probably in that order.

17. It depends on what you wanna declare at THE GREATEST achievement

    – We’ve of course got Washington who was so well liked, he could’ve ruled the US as basically king for much longer than he allowed himself too

    – of course Lincoln. Everyone associates him with slavery and the likes but he’s also much more integral to the survival of the US and not punishing the confederacy to far as to alienate them at the governmental level (culturally they were tho)

    – you’ve got Teddy r. going in on the beauty of our country. The NPS probably wouldn’t be what it is without him. Also the Panama Canal, to this day still integral in world operations

    – of course all the world war presidents and for better or worse winning and establishing the US as the super power it is.

    – JFK has always been renown though I’m to young to realize why.

    – Reagan and his fight with the commies is always talked about even tho he didn’t see it all the way through (G.H.W.B did)

    Then the more recent presidents could all have a few points but I think it’s to early to say any would be a “greatest”

18. FDR or Lincoln.

19. Lincoln. Washington got the car to run but Lincoln had to deal with the consequences of ignoring the check engine light that had been on since it was made.

20. Not Grover Cleveland, that clown ruined our Presidential count. Biden is actually the 45th man to be President, not the 46th, but everyone forgets that because of Grover Cleveland getting himself that fancy two non-consecutive terms.

21. Eisenhower

    He actually paved the way for the civil rights movement and he generally acted like a responsible custodian of the republic rather than a populist idealogue. Grossly unappreciated president.

    To top it off he signed off with a daring warning against the internal threat of the “industrial-military complex” that admittedly went over a lot of people’s heads but should have been taken more seriously.

    And this coming from a military man. He must have bought himself a whole lot of enemies with that speech.

    Eisenhower made some mistakes, perhaps, but he I don’t have a shadow of a doubt that he put his country first, over his own ego. He was an administrator by nature, not a populist firebrand.

22. Speak softly and carry a big stick.

23. As I always say when this is asked, this is something really hard to quantify since the presidency (and maybe all political office) is a complex position to be in.

    All presidents exist in a gray area that can’t be summed up in whether or not they were good or bad.

24. Calvin Coolidge.

25. It seems strange to me that Lincoln gets an enormous pass over his handling of Native Americans when we talk about great Americans as if Native Americans aren’t part of US history.

26. Lincoln, FDR, Washington.

27. We can’t know that until USA ceases to exist as such.

    That said, I like Ike.

28. Benjamin Franklin. There’s a reason he’s on the hundred dollar bill, y’all

29. Washington.

30. James K Polk may not be the best but he is up there.

    After keeping his campaign promises, he declined a second term.

31. Teddy, Abe or Ike

32. Washington. He turned down the kingship and refused to keep returning to the Presidency.

    Lincoln violated Habeas Corpus and was willing to keep slavery if it meant preserving the Union. I feel for the guy, but the rule of law is more important than winning a war, even a civil war.

33. FDR followed by Lincoln and Obama

34. I would say Lyndon Johnson had he not had Vietnam. He got things through congress that nobody else could. I wish he had better council during Vietnam

35. Martin Van Buren was the coolest *lookin* motherfucker, I’ll tell you that much

36. The overwhelming consensus would either be for Lincoln or FDR.

    I once heard an academic historian asked this question. He said “I don’t agree with the premise of the question. How can you come up with the criteria to determine who’s the greatest? How do you, for example, evaluate economic growth versus military success versus cultural progress? It’s impossible and historians shouldn’t encourage it because the whole enterprise is so hopelessly subjective.”

    The interviewer then said “OK, who do you think was the greatest?” His reply: “Oh, either Lincoln or FDR probably.”

37. Lincoln, FDR, TR

38. Washington or Lincoln no question

39. George Washington

40. Lincoln

41. Millard Fillmore, or at least he had the greatest name