Yesterday was President's Day, so technically I missed my window for writing this by 24 hours. But I got an email from a reader that said since last year on Presidents' Day I had written an article on my Top 5 chief executives in American history, I should have done the bottom 5 this year. It was a good idea, so I've done my best to winnow down the list.
For the record, it's somewhat discouraging to have a harder time narrowing down my list of bad presidents than it was to make necessary cuts to the great list last year. And yes, I am fighting the urge to intentionally, maliciously stir the pot by throwing Trump and Obama on the list. As fun as that would be, I'm sticking with my long-standing belief that not enough time has passed for us to fairly analyze their presidencies or the impact (good or ill) their lasting policies had on the country.
So don't expect to see anyone from the 21st century on the list. Nevertheless, here they are in descending (to the worst) order.
5th worst: Andrew Johnson
The dude was so inebriated he couldn't take his oath of office at Lincoln's second inauguration. That's not exactly the way to kick off your tenure in the executive branch. And yet amazingly, it managed to get worse for the guy (and the country).
Having taken over the presidency following the assassination of Lincoln, Johnson settled into an intense feud with the Radical Republicans who controlled Congress. Whether it was his obstinance towards them, or deeply held prejudice, Johnson inexplicably opposed several pieces of worthwhile legislation to help form a more just union. He shot down the Freedman's Bureau (designed to help newly freed slaves find work), vetoed the first civil rights bill, and actively discouraged enactment of the 14th Amendment (the provision that grants citizenship rights to all Americans regardless of race).
Though at his impeachment trial his presidency was saved by one vote, his legacy and reputation as president was not.
4th worst: Lyndon Johnson
Johnson might have had the foulest mouth of any president, but that isn't enough to land him on this list. And it's not as though anyone should conclude that the tall Texan never did anything right (think the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act). But when it comes to failed government policy, surely there are few things that have proven as disastrous as Lyndon Johnson's signature legislation, the so-called War on Poverty.
Economist Walter E. Williams often explains that while government is extremely limited in its ability to do good, it is extraordinarily well positioned to do immense harm to the population. That's the perfect depiction of Johnson's War on Poverty. It created immense harm - increased poverty, a welfare dependency crisis, and spiking rates of single motherhood. By replacing an earned living with government handouts and redistribution of wealth, the War on Poverty has accomplished nothing short of the utter collapse of the family unit in America's most vulnerable communities.
Forget his botched handling of the Vietnam quagmire (another failure that pushes him further down the list), the War on Poverty tragedy alone eclipses all the good he accomplished and plunges Lyndon Johnson squarely into the bottom five.
3rd worst: James Buchanan
James normally gets ranked at number one on these lists by historians, and I get it. The only bachelor president stood idly by as his own Secretary of War sent over 100,000 American muskets to armories in southern states preparing to secede. It's no surprise that the same Secretary of War, whom Buchanan refused to fire or even discipline, subsequently became a Confederate general in the Civil War.
Buchanan presided over four years of scandals, no-bid contracts to cronies, bribing of judges, and so much more. It's almost impressive how much nefarious activity he crammed into one term as the country disintegrated around him.
2nd worst: Woodrow Wilson
It's logical to question how anyone could possibly be worse than Buchanan. Meet Woodrow Wilson, America's only PhD president. Thankfully. Wilson suffered from a tragic syndrome of always thinking he was the smartest guy in the room. The arrogance and egotism ran so wild in his administration that Wilson fancied himself an authoritarian out of necessity - the country and world needed his brilliance in order to survive and thrive.
Just pause long enough to consider the sense of self-importance it requires to claim that if the entire globe would just listen to you, you would make the planet "safe for democracy." Then realize that while he was boasting about that, he was actively ensuring a lack of safety for his own citizens through his intentional abridgment of civil liberties, rabid support of eugenics and flagrantly racist policies.
Oh, and if you're ever feeling sympathetic towards the guy, just wait until April 15th rolls around and remember he's to thank for introducing the federal income tax.
The worst: Andrew Jackson
I know it seems like nothing can top those others, but this guy does. Yes, I know he's on the $20 bill. Yes, I know he's President Trump's favorite. Let's just assume that's because The Donald hasn't taken the time to actually get to know who this guy was. Because this was not a good guy.
There are two true legacies of the presidency of Andrew Jackson: the Panic of 1837 (our first depression) and the Trail of Tears (federally-imposed liquidation of an ethnic minority). The first was all precipitated by Jackson's foolish and unconstitutional efforts to destroy the National Bank. The second was fueled by Jackson's racism. And before anyone accuses me of going woke, here's Jackson in his own words, addressing Congress in 1833:
That those tribes cannot exist surrounded by our settlements and in continual contact with our citizens is certain. They have neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement, which are essential to any favorable change in their condition. Established in the midst of another and superior race, and without appreciating the causes of their inferiority or seeking to control them, they must necessarily yield to the force of circumstances and ere long disappear.
Men are a product of their times, I understand that. But even despite his times, Andrew Jackson was a particularly foul figure. For instance, while many men of his era owned slaves, not many were slave traders who enriched themselves by trafficking other men for profit. But Andrew Jackson did.
So there they are - America's worst 5 chief executives. Have a happy belated President's Day by feeling free to share where I'm right and where I'm wrong in the comments.
