American Presidents

[Laisrean]

There have been a total of 42 presidents so far but the poll choices are limited to 40, so I'm going to drop 2 or more who I don't think anyone would consider as the greatest. One of these will be William Henry Harrison who died after 30 days in office, and another would be Richard Nixon (who seems to be extremely unpopular).

So anyways, which of the remaining 42 is your favorite?

[peggyelizabeth]

I was so going to answer William Henry Harrison! I did my 8th grade president report on him & it was so short I got a D. I had to defend the paper with my teacher for a higher grade. I hadn't a clue when I picked him that he died so quickly & she did admit that I didn't have much to work with & eventually gave me a B.

[Theres]

... One of these will be William Henry Harrison who died after 30 days in office
which is exactly why he should be considered!

[LostSheep]

which is exactly why he should be considered!

If only more would follow his example...

I'm going to vote for Millard Fillmore, despite never having heard of him before, simply because I very much doubt if anyone else will.

[Laisrean]

If only more would follow his example...

I'm going to vote for Millard Fillmore, despite never having heard of him before, simply because I very much doubt if anyone else will.

Notable presidential facts for Millard Fillmore:



* Fillmore, a bookworm, found the White House devoid of books and initiated the White House library.
* As of 2007, Millard Fillmore remains the last U.S. president who was neither a Democrat nor a Republican (although Abraham Lincoln was re-elected in 1864 running on the National Union Party ticket with Democrat Andrew Johnson as his running mate and opposed by the Radical Republicans).
* Fillmore was the first U.S. President born after the death of a former president, as he was born three weeks after George Washington's death on December 14, 1799.
* Fillmore is the first of two presidents to have been an indentured servant. He was a clothmaker.

During his term he accomplished the following:


* Admit California as a free state.
* Settle the Texas boundary and compensate the state for lost lands.
* Grant territorial status to New Mexico.
* Place federal officers at the disposal of slaveholders seeking escapees—the Fugitive Slave Act.
* Abolish the slave trade in the District of Columbia.


He also sent Commodore Perry to Japan to open trade, but Perry didn't arrive there until after his term.

[Theres]

i remember reading back in the 60's that Millard Fillmore was the most irrelvent president, that is the president who did the least during his term.

i also read (but don't hold me to this) that his 'monument' in DC was to have the cooling coils under an ice rink named after him.
talk about being immortal! lol

[LostSheep]

* Fillmore, a bookworm, found the White House devoid of books and initiated the White House library.

I can think of worse legacies, mind.

[omar]

Teddy Roosevelt; he created the National Park system.

[RoseRhythm]

Taft!
Because holy presidency...that's a big tub.
http://www.wellswooster.com/phototaft.htm
:T

[Laisrean]

Taft!
Because holy presidency...that's a big tub.
http://www.wellswooster.com/phototaft.htm
:T

Cool. So Taft was like the John Goodman of American presidents... :weirdsmil

[Bunches]

I've recently started learning about US presidents and I have to say that so far Truman is my favourite because i think he took the right attitude towards Stalin when the hostilities after Yalta arose. I know some people even dub him responsible for the development of the Cold War but i still think he was a good president.

I have to say though, after learning a little about the early to mid 20th Century Presidents, I do not think I will ever truly trust a politician again.

[PrincessKLS]

I chose Abe Lincoln, yeah I know he's a bit controversial and he may not have been as open as we thought. But still he helped to abolished slavery which was a move that helped the civil rights movement 100 years later :)

I also like Thomas Jefferson since he was open to a seperation of church and state.

[Zibblsnrt]

I've recently started learning about US presidents and I have to say that so far Truman is my favourite because i think he took the right attitude towards Stalin when the hostilities after Yalta arose. I know some people even dub him responsible for the development of the Cold War but i still think he was a good president.

I consider him a good one because of that; it helped break the pattern of endless direct great-power confrontations. The Cold War was certainly better than the traditional alternatives the diplomacy of the time tended to allow for.

[Laisrean]

I consider him a good one because of that; it helped break the pattern of endless direct great-power confrontations. The Cold War was certainly better than the traditional alternatives the diplomacy of the time tended to allow for.

I was under the impression that the Cold War was pretty much a necessity due to the advent of the nuclear bomb (and not to mention the fact everyone was sick of war having just wrapped up WW2).

I am not very fond of Truman because of his decision to use the Nuclear Bomb on two civilian population centers in Japan. There wasn't much of military value in these cities, and my God, we're talking about actual CITIES! Entire cities, wiped off the map. What was he thinking?!

It has been argued this was a lesser evil than invading Japan, but I don't think invading Japan was necessary either. Japan had sent out peace feelers months before Hiroshima and Nagasaki but we insisted on nothing less the unconditional surrender. But we could have ended the war a heck of a lot sooner and saved hundreds of thousands of lives if we had been willing to negotiate a surrender instead.

So I firmly believe Truman was wrong in using the abombs, and I would also criticize his handling of the Korean war as well... BUT with that said, I am glad he was the successor to FDR than that communist stooge named Henry Wallace who was his V.P. up until near the very end. Truman wasn't perfect, but Wallace would have been much worse and probably made the U.S. into a communist nation.

[Caitlin.ann]

I clicked George Washington because, according to my late grandmother, we're somehow related to Martha Washington. I guess there's no way to prove it now though. Other than that he was a great president. :)