Shinokamen Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 I have been assigned to come up with a list of the greatest presidents in my opinion. I have not been given a standard by which I must rate them, and I am planning to go against the common conception that Lincoln, FDR, Jackson, and the like are among the best for their blatant disregard for individual rights. What I want are suggestions for the best presidents. Should I go with the ones who are usually given low rankings because of their relative inaction (and thus did not do as much to destroy liberty)? Or have there been any truly "great" presidents? Something I just thought of: perhaps I will go with the common idea that FDR (and the others) is "great," but great for his great disregard for mankind and his great need to sacrifice everyone in the country to the common good. Any constructive input would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miles White Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Look up Calvin Coolidge, and Grover Cleveland. Not only favorite presidents, but personal heros of mine. Thomas Jefferson of corse should be on the list. William Mckinely, for supporting the gold standard during a time where allot of people wanted silver, and greenbacks instead. Andrew Jackson for dismantling the first bank of the United States which triggered the "Wild Cat" free banking era in American history. Those are some of the first that come to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarrisan Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 All presidents in American history, or just those of the 20th century? Either way, I'd second Coolidge, and add Washington as my personal favorite (Alas, my knowledge of presidential history is a bit weak). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaszloWalrus Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 (edited) I have not been given a standard by which I must rate them, and I am planning to go against the common conception that Lincoln, FDR, Jackson, and the like are among the best for their blatant disregard for individual rights. I understand dislike of FDR and Jackson, but what do you have against Lincoln? Edited November 7, 2008 by softwareNerd Fixed missing QUOTE end-tag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinokamen Posted November 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Lincoln expanded the government unrelentingly. Everyone seems to like him because he ended slavery, but that was never his attention in the beginning. His only goal initially was to "preserve the union." Lincoln enslaved the entire country by imposing the draft and an income tax. He also threw those who disagreed with him in prison, rather than listen to their argument. FDR is by far the worst president, I think, for his blatant disregard of individual rights and unrelenting expansion of government. Also, he loses points for his (successful) attempt to become a life-long ruler. Cal is often listed as one of the worse presidents that we have had, isn't he? Is that because he did not try to expand government into all aspects of a person's life? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted November 8, 2008 Report Share Posted November 8, 2008 Lincoln expanded the government unrelentingly. Everyone seems to like him because he ended slavery, but that was never his attention in the beginning. His only goal initially was to "preserve the union."There have already been some threads on this topic, but this is simply not true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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