Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Ranking the Presidents
In class, we are discussing the roles of the president and how the president can impact many things. Before we begin, take a look at this article and let me know your reaction. Be sure to include who you think is at the top and the bottom of your list of presidential rankings.
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This article is pretty much what I expected. However, I was surprised that George Washington wasn't #1. He did come in a close second though and if he were to come in second, I would expect Lincoln to be first. I also think it makes sense that presidents that serve one term tend to be lower ranking, obviously they didn't do enough to win a second re election (for the most part, there are exceptions).
ReplyDeleteAs for my top presidents list, I would have to put it as 1. Washington 2. FDR 3.Lincoln as my top 3 and my worst president is Nixon because of Watergate.
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, my thought that Reagan is overrated has been confirmed although he was a great president who accomplished a lot. What surprised me the most was that George Washington was not ranked number one but Lincoln being ranked here did not catch me off guard due to his significant achievements during the Civil War. Moreover, I agreed with the idea that Truman and Eisenhower are among the Presidents that are the most underrated because hardly many people commonly talk about or recognize them. I also was not surprised to read that the presidents who had shorter terms did not rank very highly. For my list of presidential rankings, Lincoln is at the top and Nixon is at the bottom.
ReplyDeleteKatelyn Wolfgang: I was not surprised by the article. I expected that those that had only one term would be at the bottom. I actually was not surprised Lincoln was first with Washington second and FDR third. I expected the first two to get those exact places and knew that FDR would be high. I am also not surprised that people want FDR on Rushmore because he did do a lot. Finally, I was not surprised that Reagan is overrated. I would keep it with Lincoln being first followed by Washington and then FDR. Nixon would have to be at the bottom with Andrew Jackson taking second to last with the first because of Watergate and Jackson because of the Trail of Tears.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very interesting article. I disagree quite a bit with people thinking he was "overrated". But, i did agree that Jackson was overrated so i thought that was a good analysis. I also would've expected to see Nixon closer to the bottom. Gerald ford being at the bottom made sense to me. Overall a very interesting article. My top three presidents would definitely be Reagan, Eisenhower, and Teddy Roosevelt. Reagan did a lot of good for the country with "reaganomics". My three worst would probably be Jackson, Obama, and Johnson. Jackson because of the indian removal act, obama because of obamacare, and johnson due to his opposition to reconstruction initiatives.
ReplyDelete-Nick Pignetti
I am certainly not surprised that Lincoln is ranked number one. I feel like everyone expects Washington to be number one because he helped found our nation and instill basic principles that our nation runs off of. However, I feel like Lincoln served a greater purpose in his emancipation proclamation and support of the thirteenth amendment before it was passed, his Gettysburg address, and his role in the Civil War; all major turning points for our nation. I would also agree with Ford falling at the bottom of the list, as we had little to say about his accomplishments in class as he didn't do much during his presidency. I feel like presidents like this who do not engage themselves in their role as much, another example Buchanan (who I forgot was even president), have little affect on the public's liking. What I found surprising was that Kennedy was thought to be overrated, as I feel he had significant affect during the Cold War and with relations to Cuba as well as Vietnam. I'm also surprised that Eisenhower was thought to be underrated, though he was crucial to Brown vs Board of Education. However, I still feel Kennedy deserves more credit than him. Finally, I find it interesting where Obama falls and the article's stand point on it. I agree that the next couple of years will determine his ranking among previous leaders because changing ideology may influence view points on him compared to other presidents. Because of this I'm not sure where I would rank Obama at this point in time either.
ReplyDeleteToday, the president's role impacts every part of society, which can be viewed as both good and bad.
ReplyDeleteLincoln is a good, top choice because of his efforts for the Emancipation Proclamation (later leading to the 13th amendment) and the end of the Civil War. I also agree that Washington and Roosevelt are admirable top choices. I am a bit conflicted in regards to the lower rankings. Presidents who had shorter terms (or just one term) usually did not rank as highly as other presidents. I am not sure if their lack of tenure should be used to question the success/failure of a president when comparing to presidents who clearly had some major downfalls. Then again, tenure does represent the people's choice and therefore not being voted in for a second term means that the president was unsuccessful in office. Thus, I am not quite sure I agree/disagree with the lower rankings. I would, however, place Andrew Johnson in the lower rankings because of how he dealt with Reconstruction and his unfavorable attitude towards the 14th amendment. Additionally, I would place Hoover and W. Bush in the lower rankings.
The article leaves room for change in the polls as Obama still has time left in office as well as the responses seemed to have been based off of ideology. As Obama's term comes to a close, I do not believe that Obama will move further up the ranks only because he has not had many large-scale successes; it is difficult to define his time in office. Perhaps this is because his work has not had the time to properly take effect. He does, however, remain important in terms of diversifying what the public views as president material.
I found it interesting that the article even bothered to rank Obama. It doesn't seem right to rank somebody while still in office, as it will take many years to look back at his presidency and actually see the effects of it. I believe he will move up in the rankings, since he did lead the country to a so far successful recovery from the Great Recession, one of the largest economic incidents in recent history. I also think ranking Bush 43 is a little unfair, but the effects of his presidency are already showing, such as the destabilization of the Middle East and high deficit spending.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to me that FDR is ranked so highly. It makes sense given that he guided the US through such a hard time, but he pulled a lot of sketchy moves such as trying to stack the Supreme Court that, at least for me, paint his presidency with a negative light. It's hard to argue that his presidency had a significant effect on the US. I also noted that the top two, FDR and Lincoln, both presided over huge crises. By having to deal with such large problems, it makes sense that they would be ranked as the top presidents, as it is hard for anyone to have such as large of an effect as a president who dealt with such a large crisis.
I agree that Lincoln deserves to be at the top of the list. The civil war was probably the biggest domestic conflict in American history, and he his direct involvement helped unite the Union. Who knows how large his effect would have been on Reconstruction had he not been assassinated. I would think that Andrew Jackson deserves to be near the bottom, due to his failure in Reconstruction and his whole “kill the Indians” thing.
I wasn't too surprised seeing Lincoln rated as the best president. His accomplishments not only had an incredible impact during the Lincoln era, but it shaped the rest of American history, and has influenced how our society functions today. He not only ended the Civil War, but passed the Emancipation Proclamation. I agree with the lower ratings of the presidents whose terms ended early, mostly because they didn't do well enough to win a second term. I do believe Obama should be rated a little higher, with his passing of innovative reforms and the death of Osama Bin Laden. For me, Lincoln stands at the top and FDR follows directly after.
ReplyDeleteThis list is exactly how I expected. I would rank Lincoln as my number 1 president, because he kept the United States together and brought the union closer together than it had ever been before. Although Washington set the standard for American presidents, he did not play as large a roll as Lincoln in my mind. FDR is my favorite president of all time. He served during my favorite time period and pulled the US through the largest and most intense war the world has ever seen.
ReplyDeleteThe article didn't surprise me with its top three presidents. I expected the top three to be some combination of FDR, Lincoln and Washington. Especially because those three presidents all lead our country through significant turmoil. On the other hand, I was a little surprised that Eisenhower was that close to the top of the list. Also, I expected that Reagan would be ranked a little higher. If I had to pick two presidents that would definitely be near the bottom, it would be Nixon and Jackson. Nixon of course because of Watergate and Jackson because of the trail of tears and he was also just an all around terrible person.
ReplyDeleteThis article didn't really shock me. I understand how Kennedy can be a highly overrated president simply because of his name. I agree with the way the top presidents were ranked, with Lincoln at the top along with Washington and FDR. But I don't think it's up to the presidents whether they get a high ranking or not. It's more of the time they are president. If you look at the higher ranking presidents they are known for the time period they were in and how they handled the situation. As for my rankings I would say Lincoln and FDR at the top and Nixon and Jackson at the bottom.
ReplyDeleteThis article was disappointing because Ronald Reagan wasn't #1. I think any president that survives an assassination like Ronald Reagan and returns to the presidency should automatically be number 1 over people that didn't fair so well a.k.a Lincoln. Also Reagan was an actor and a president unlike Lincoln who was just a president who got shot by an actor bringing up the point that actors are supreme and again Reagan should be ahead. I agree with FDR being so high up because all his work getting us out of the Great Depression and winning World War 2. He showed great presidential qualities dealing with Pearl Harbor and fireside chats. Kennedy is definitely overrated because we hold him to a higher standard as a great vision of a president but the Bay of Pigs was a massive taint on his legacy. I agree with George W. Bush being very low because he got us involved in a lot of conflicts but he handled 9/11 very well and is surprisingly good at dodging shoes, now watch me hit this drive.
ReplyDeleteThe article is pretty much what i expected. The presidents at the top are to be expected at the top and the presidents at the bottom would be at the bottom. I am not surprised that President Obama is in the middle because he isn't really a strong president but he isn't a bad one either. At the top of my list would be George Washington , Lincoln, and FDR, while at the bottom i would have George W Bush, Nixon and Carter.
ReplyDelete-Rishabh Mistry
I was surprised by Andrew Jackson's proximity to the top of the list. His actions in reference to Native Americans are often referenced as controversial; although, he was a product of his time. I agree with Kennedy being highly overrated. He dealt with the Cold War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, but other than that he didn't do much because of his short time in office. My top three are 1. T. Roosevelt because of his progressive Republican and environmental policies. 2. Lincoln for his dealing with the splitting apart of the Union. 3. Monroe for his role in the expansion of the U.S. The bottom of my list would have to be Hoover.
ReplyDeleteI was not surprised by the article at all. The survey shows Obama currently ranking eighteenth, but I believe that in the years folllowing his presidency his rank will be higher than what It is now. I was a bit surprised that Lincoln was in first place, but it's quite understandable. It's also a bit of a shock the George W. Bush was ranked so low.
ReplyDeleteAt the top of my list is FDR , followed by Lincoln and Washington. At the bottom of my list is George W. Bush and Nixon.
I am not surprised by the top rankings of presidents in this article. I think Lincoln deserves the to be number one because of his efforts during the Civil War. The presidency was also made for George Washington, so it is expected that he would rank highly. I was also not surprised Obama ranked 18th because, in my opinion, he hasn't done anything spectacular, however, he hasn't done anything bad, which puts him right in the middle. My top picks would have to be Lincoln and FDR, and my bottom picks are Jackson and Nixon.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that Andrew Jackson ranked higher than Obama. Jackson is responsible for the Indian Removal Act and there are many petitions to remove him off of the $20 bill. While it can be argued Obama has not gotten a lot of the things he has promised done (closing Guantanamo Bay and functional universal healthcare) he is ethically better than Andrew Jackson. Also, I am not surprised that Lincoln rated number 1 because of his support for ending slavery and mobilizing the nation. Because of my support of the environment, my top president is Roosevelt because of his conservation efforts. He is continuously rated a top president for many. My least favorite presidents are Jackson (genocide against Native Americans) and W. Bush because of the Iraq war.
ReplyDeleteI would tend to agree with the article. Kennedy is overrated and Lincoln is likely our greatest President. I don't understand why Truman is so high on the list, especially considering that the last few years of his presidency saw a severe economic recession. Truman's administration was mostly guided by those around him and FDR had included him on the ticket in 1944 only to get more votes in the South.
ReplyDeleteFor my President rankings, Lincoln or Washington are at the top and Pierce at the bottom, but that might change in the event of a President Clinton or Trump or Cruz.
I'm not surprised by the rankings of this article, generally the ranking of presidents is fairly concistent, so I had no surprises. I would list FDR as our greatest president as he changed the platforms of our modern political parties, led America through WWII, pulled us out of the Great Depression, and continued to be president through his polio that took its toll on his body throughout his presidency. He also put all the Asian Americans in internment camps, but we tend to just forget about that. I think the worst president would have to be Richard M. Nixon, as he put the nation in a state of panic, lied to the nation, and was the only president that resigned from office. If you speak to anybody that lived through Richard Nixon's presidency, they will tell you the state of the nation was terrible and that they had no idea what would happen.
ReplyDeleteThis article's ranking was pretty much what I was expecting with Lincoln and Washington at the top as usual. I hadn't seen the overrated and underrated president's aspect of the list before but I agreed with it 100%. Truman earns being one of the most underrated, nobody ever talks about the man who had to decide to drop the atomic bomb and ended one of the worst wars in history. I would agree with Eisenhower being underrated as I know nothing about what he accomplished or who he was but he must have done well and kept the country in good shape to rank in the top 10. For my list, I'd keep Lincoln at first and probably push Jackson lower since some could argue he hung out in the gray area of the total abuse of power region.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing i was surprised about was the Reagan and FDR weren't higher and that Obama was as high as he was. I agree with that Lincoln should be #1, but I thought FDR shouldv'e came in a close second. I definitely think that Eisenhower, Truman, George H.W. Bush are underrated because they did what was necessary for the country.
ReplyDelete-Siri Gundapaneni
I was for the most part not surprised by the list, but I would change a few things if I were the one rating the Presidents. I was surprised to see Johnson and Kennedy so low despite what they did for civil rights during the 60s. While I’m certainly no expert, and it may have just been the times, I think their role in desegregation or their leadership during that time period in part led to long lasting effects on our American culture and society. I was surprised Reagan made it so high. Under Reagan income inequality grew at unprecedented rates, despite increasing worker productivity, wages did not grow at a similar pace, whether that has to do with a lower corporate tax rate, or lower taxes on the rich, I do could not tell you, but Reagan’s presidency marks a period where these trends started to grow exponentially and he did nothing in my eyes to combat this. Furthermore, the 1980s marked a time in exponential growth of incarceration rates. Prior to 1980 the rate fluctuated around .1-.2% and between 1980 and 1990 it had more than doubled from .2% to about .45%, marking the ten year period of one of the greatest increases of incarceration rates since at least the early 20th century. Whether it was a crackdown on drugs or limiting judicial sentencing discrepancy, none of that negates the fact that will stain Reagan’s legacy. While he is by far not our worst president, he is ranked too high in my opinion. Lastly, I feel it unfair to rank Obama without the ability of hindsight to see his lasting legacy. Since publication, the Supreme Court deemed gay marriage a right in every state. While Obama may not be solely responsible, this will be something that will be looked back on as an accomplishment. It may not be to the same degree as the civil rights movements of the 1960s, but under Obama’s presidency the LGBT community was given more credibility, validation, and freedom that will shape how society as a whole views itself. Furthermore, he helped lead the US out of one of the greatest financial recessions in its history, and that deserves more than his current middle of the pack placement. If I ranked the presidents I would also say 1.Lincoln 2.Washington and 3.Roosevelt. I would put John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and William Henry Harrison towards the bottom of my list.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting, and I was surprised by some of the rankings for the presidents. The presidents in the top ten that were a surprise to me were Clinton, Jackson, and Truman. I was not at all surprised that JFK was the most overrated president, and not surprised that Eisenhower and Truman were among the most underrated. I was also not surprised that Obama's ranking was "middle of the pack", but I certainly think his ranking will climb after he leaves the office.
ReplyDeleteMy top presidents wouldn't be very different than the article - Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, and FDR would be my top picks. The bottom would be Nixon, Johnson, and Harrison.
I wasn't surprised by the rankings. During Lincoln's presidency he managed to tear the country apart and put it back together. While Washington is a close second, he really just set the standards and Lincoln surpassed those standards.
ReplyDeleteI could understand why JFK is the most overrated president only because he was very unique as a person and a president while at the same time had a murder surrounded by conspiracy. I don't think Obama should've been ranked because he is still in office. He still has some time to make a move that could totally switch the publics opinion about him.
I would've had FDR, Lincoln, Eisenhower, and Washington as my top picks. In my opinion they are prime examples of what this country needs in the oval office. At the bottom I would've put HW Bush, Nixon, and Jackson.
~Eyad Hasan