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Posted By
Rick Davis
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Springing from a discussion in one of my classes, this week is a double Top 5. So here are:
The Top 5 Best U.S. Presidents
1. James Monroe
2. George Washington
3. James Madison
4. Theodore Roosevelt *
5. Calvin Coolidge
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Franklin Roosevelt
3. Woodrow Wilson
4. Lyndon Johnson
5. Herbert Hoover
What do you think? Does my list line up with yours? Feel free to comment.
The Top 5 Best U.S. Presidents
1. James Monroe
2. George Washington
3. James Madison
4. Theodore Roosevelt *
5. Calvin Coolidge
*Some people may say that I’m being terribly inconsistent by including Teddy Roosevelt on this list. For the record, I'm not.
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Franklin Roosevelt
3. Woodrow Wilson
4. Lyndon Johnson
5. Herbert Hoover
What do you think? Does my list line up with yours? Feel free to comment.
Comments
Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, and held at least 13,000 citizens as political prisoners for disagreeing with his policies during the Civil War. When the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ruled this unconstitutional, Lincoln had a warrant written for his arrest. He was the first president to institute a progressive income tax (one of the planks of Marx’s Communist Manifesto, incidentally, and also unconstitutional). He created the state of West Virginia contrary to Article 4, Section 3 of the Constitution. Finally, he imposed a mandatory military draft in the North (also unconstitutional).
To be fair to Lincoln though, he was a much more moderate Republican than many in his party, and had he lived and not been assassinated the horror of Reconstruction would not have happened.
One of my favorite stories about Teddy concerns a particular tense time in 1902 when he found himself in the position of having to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. He wasn't sure whether his plans were the right thing to do. So he called all his head military advisers to the Oval Office. When they arrived, they found him with a Bible and a huge concordance in front of them. An uncomfortable silence followed. Finally, one of the men said, "You asked for us, sir?"
After acknowledging their presence, Roosevelt pointed to a stack of Bibles on his desk. "Get to work men," he said. "I can't act without a warrant."