21-30
Here are the next ten presidents ranked and why they are placed where they are:
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Here are the next ten presidents ranked and why they are placed where they are:
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21. BILL CLINTON (42nd President, 1993-2001)
Despite Bill Clinton's scandals he had several notable accomplishments, including the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the implementation of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy for LGBT military personnel and the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Clinton's first years in office left him politically vulnerable. Clinton endorsed a massive health care reform act that was designed to provide universal coverage. The bill failed to move through Congress, however, and became a massive political disaster, leading to Republicans regaining control of both houses of Congress in 1994. In 1994, Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, a law that added 100,000 policemen and instituted harsher punishments for a variety of crimes, and in 1996 he signed a law increasing the national minimum wage. Additionally, he emerged favorably from a budget dispute with House Republicans that resulted in a pair of government shutdowns in 1995, the second of which lasted three weeks. Clinton's greatest accomplishment as president was leading the nation to a period of strong economic prosperity. While Clinton was in office, the nation enjoyed the lowest unemployment rates in decades, as well as a surge in median income and a rise in home-ownership rates. Clinton's reputation also suffered from scandal in his personal life. His second term in the White House was dominated by the Monica Lewinsky scandal; the president at first denied, and then later admitted, that he had sexual relations with the White House intern. |
22. JAMES POLK (11th President, 1845-1849)
James Polk is not thought of as a truly influential president but in all actuality he did quite a few great things to help shape the United states into what it is today. He made quite a big impact on what the United States looks like today in regards to territory. At the time of his presidency he was the youngest president and the most successful. One of the biggest things that he accomplished was all the territories he acquired during his time as president. He played a major part in the two year war on Mexico to gain the annexation of what would soon be Texas. He was also able to gain the majority of the Southwest. The most influential territory that he obtained was what would soon be California. As he started to acquire more territory for the United States he also started to become more popular as a president. James Polk also created a lot of new things for the United States that not a lot of people know about. Due to all the new land he gained he created a new agency: The Department of the Interior. This department is responsible for management and conservation of land in the United States. He is also credited with setting up the United States Naval Academy, one of the most prestigious military academies in the world. He also gave authorization to the Smithsonian. All though James Polk doesn’t come to mind when you think you think of influential presidents, he still did many great things for the United States. He changed the makeup of the United States as we know it today. He was able to add new territory and able to set up new programs to help the United States. He was an influential president of because of is help in gaining new land. |
23. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (6th President, 1825-1829)
John Quincy Adams’ election was shrouded in controversy. Due the Corrupt Bargain of 1824. Many believed that Adams bribed Henry Clay, Speaker of the House, into swaying the House vote toward Adams with the position of Secretary of State. No matter the case, Adams was elected over Andrew Jackson in 1824. Adams focused on public reform, by trying to institute a national university. He also funded projects devoted to the creation of a public interstate system. Adams also created the Erie Canal during his presidency, connecting the Great Lakes and allowing products such as grain, whiskey, and farm produce to reach Eastern markets. Adams also sought to provide the Native Americans with land and resources as reparations for the takeover of their land, but these procedures did not pass through Congress. Adams settled the reparations due from the War of 1812, and he also promoted Nicholas Biddle and the Bank of the United States. John Quincy Adams passed the Tariff of Abominations, which proposed astronomical tariff rates as to promote Western manufacturing and business. However, it hurt Western farming, which relied on foreign supplies. He stood behind the federal government, and its involvement in the individual states, which was not a popular concept during this era in American history. This contributed to his ineffectiveness: he could not garner any support behind his legislation because he was simply unpopular. He stood for good policies, but he had issues passing them. |
24. BARACK OBAMA (44th President, 2009-2017)
Barack Obama had a solid presidency. He had a lot of contributions to America but also had some setbacks. Obama’s greatest successes were also some of his greatest failures. For example, Obamacare helped millions of people get health care when before they could not afford it. But the downfall was if you did not have health care and still refused to get it, you would have to pay a tax on it. People were very angry that the government was forcing them to get something that not everyone wanted. He ended the war but it was not the best way he could have. Obama used a lot of money to end this war increasing national debt. Obama also made unemployment rate lower by over 5%, and also passed the American Recovery Act to help out in the time of the Great Recession. One of the biggest issues people see with Obama’s presidency is how much the national debt increased over his eight years being the president. Obama did not seem to make a large effort to try and decrease this deficit and left future presidents in an interesting situation. |
25. WILLIAM TAFT (27th President, 1909-1913)
William Howard Taft was an intelligent and brave man. He served as a judge for the Ohio Supreme Court as well as the Secretary of War for Theodore Roosevelt. Taft was a much stronger administrator than politician which caused his fast decline as a president. Although Taft had many successes and displayed strong attributes, he also failed in many areas and was left with no allies at the end of his presidency. Taft is perhaps best known for his trust busting abilities. He also held a huge role in empowering the Interstate Commerce Commission to set railroad rates. Taft renewed the US Postal Service and played a part in the success of states by passing a Liquor Act. Congress also submitted to the states amendments for a federal income tax and the direct election of Senators. Following Roosevelt, Taft lacked his leadership and physical vigor. He also was not able to obtain such an expansionist view like Roosevelt had. He also greatly angered Roosevelt by removing a close friend from office that Roosevelt had placed in his cabinet. This added fuel to the fire that Roosevelt started to keep Taft out of office for another term. Because of his failure to live up to “Roosevelt's expectation,” Taft was seen as a president that failed miserably. Despite his unpopularity and frailty, Taft achieved some things that are very vital to the functioning of the United States today. |
26. JIMMY CARTER (39th President, 1977-1981)
As president, Carter sought to portray himself as a man of the people, dressing informally and adopting a folksy speaking style. He introduced a number of ambitious programs for social and economic reform, and included a relatively large number of women and minorities in his cabinet. Despite Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, Congress blocked Carter’s proposal for welfare reform, as well as his proposal for a long-range energy program, a central focus of his administration. This difficult relationship with Congress meant that Carter was unable to convert his plans into legislation, despite his initial popularity. Carter’s relationship with the public suffered in 1977, when Bert Lance–a close friend of the president whom he had named as director of the Office of Management and Budget–was accused of financial misdealing's in his pre-Washington career as a Georgia banker. Carter initially defended Lance, but was later driven to ask for his resignation. Carter was a sincere, honest, and a well liked man. He did have to enter the presidency after Nixon’s Watergate Scandal which was very hard for him and his approval ratings. He handled the situation in a great manner. He may be viewed by some people negatively, but this is because of the circumstance he had to take care of. In all, Carter had a successful presidency despite this ranking. |
27. RICHARD NIXON (37th President, 1969-1974)
Richard Nixon accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. As he had promised, he appointed justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing. Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stability. Nixon also reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. Within a few months of his second term, his administration was embattled over the so-called “Watergate” scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee during the 1972 campaign. The break-in was traced to officials of the Committee to Re-elect the President. Nixon denied any personal involvement, but the courts forced him to yield tape recordings which indicated that he had, in fact, tried to alter the investigation. Nixon announced on August 8, 1974, that he would resign the next day to begin “that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.” Despite the Watergate Scandal, Nixon made some significant contributions throughout his presidency. |
28. RUTHERFORD HAYES (19th President, 1877-1881)
Rutherford B. Hayes started his presidency during the Reconstruction era following the Civil War. This was reflected in election in which he was elected, which had been in a deadlock between Hayes and Samuel Tilden. The deadlock was broken and Hayes was elected when he promised to sign into being the Compromise of 1877, which would pull Union soldiers out of the south, subsequently ending the Reconstruction era. Hayes was elected, and he signed the compromise, ending Reconstruction in the south. Hayes worked to reform the civil service appointment system, by trying to implement a federal examination for appointment to a civil service position. Hayes also dealt with labor unions and worker-manager strife, through the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. He handled the strike and subsequent riots by dispatching federal troops to quell the situation. He also passed the Bland-Allison Act, which enforced the gold standard. Overall, Rutherford B. Hayes was a decent, average president who handled the Reconstruction end, but overall nothing else. |
29. GROVER CLEVELAND (22nd and 24th President, 1885-1889 1893-1897)
Grover Cleveland was the president of the U.S. during a time of growth and expansion. Cleveland’s appointments and personnel-based decisions were normally determined by merit rather than party-influence. He is best known for being an intense proponent of the gold standard, which is the idea that all US currency should be backed by only gold, and not silver. Cleveland is ranked here because he was able to gain support of the people for a second term in office. Cleveland was also faced with an economically divided country and the issue of civil rights becoming more and more serious in the eyes of the government. Cleveland’s historic number of vetoes and, what some would call abuse of the executive branch’s powers was a main reason in him being ranked so low. |
30. BENJAMIN HARRISON (23rd President, 1889-1893)
Although Harrison had some successes during his time as president, often times his presidency is overlooked because of his unpopularity and failures. Harrison was sworn into office in 1889. Issues regarding currency reform and economic equity greeted Harrison into his presidency. That was the first problem Harrison addressed with the Sherman Antitrust Act. This act attempted to limit monopolies. Even though Harrison’s initial idea for this plan did not succeed, he is attributed to coming up with this system. Harrison also helped expand the United States by adding Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and the Dakotas as states. Harrison’s successes were not regarded because his immense unpopularity led to his defeat. The reason for such dislike is because of the high and unsuccessful McKinley Tariff. His attempt to enact legislation that protected and extended the civil rights for African Americans also was ineffective. During Harrison’s presidency, the clash of federal troops and Native Americans at the Battle of Wounded Knee led to 150 casualties of men, women, and children. As the next election approached, the economy was worsening. Therefore, President Cleveland succeeded him in office. Overall, Harrison had some great triumphs while in office. Due to poor choices and risks, Harrison was not very effective in improving the economy or winning the vote of the people for a second time. |