The 4 Least Significant Presidents of the 20th Century

[Mr. Smith]

In response to Reaganfan's "The 4 most significant presidents of the 20th century", it seemed like a good idea to also look at those who ultimately did not end up making much an impact.

It seems easy,but in actuality given that even most of the lame-ducks such as Carter or Bush or Hoover got some significant things made. (Carter has the Department of Education, Bush has Operation Desert Storm, and Hoover has the Hoover Damn project)

This about those who didn't truly end up standing out.

With that said

1. Gerald Ford
2. Warren Harding
3. William H. Taft
4. William McKinley

What is it with Midwestern Republicans not doing much anyway? Is it programmed in them to lack any kind of vision or something? Okay,okay if fairness to McKinley, he did get assassinated quickly in, meaning anything he did do had to be in the 19th century.

[MurrayBannerman]

Well Ford and McKinley are kind of dealt raw deals.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

McKinley was of significance, though outside of the 20th Century. Is this what they call "sample bias" or something? It seems appropriate not to include him given how he served the vast majority of his presidency in the 19th, and only survived to win re-election and die in the 20th.

[publicunofficial]

I think McKinley was more notable than Bush Sr. or Carter.

[The Mikado]

I think McKinley was more notable than Bush Sr. or Carter.

McKinley was plenty notable, but the 21st century started on January 1st, 1901 and McKinley left office (after a fashion) on September 24th, 1901.  None of McKinley's major accomplishments were in that 9 month period.

[Reaganfan]

1. Taft
2. Harding
3. Ford
4. Carter

It was a real toss-up between Carter and Clinton. But I think in the end, Clinton was more significant than Carter.

[Nichlemn]

I do wonder how Clinton will be perceived by history. I'm guessing in popular culture, he'll eventually be remembered solely for his impeachment.

[TDAS04]

1.  Harding
2.  Taft
3.  Ford
4.  Carter

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Nobody's mentioned Coolidge? Harding gains a bit of notoriety due the corruption scandals and Hoover marks the end of the Fourth Party System, but Coolidge is very anonymous. Just the way, I'm sure he'd like it.

1) Ford
2) Coolidge
3) Carter
4) Taft (more notable in the SC than as President)

[The Dowager Mod]

Coolidge.
Ford.
Taft.
Bush I.

[MATTROSE94]

1. Harding
2. Coolidge
3. Taft
4. Could either be Ford, Bush Sr. or Carter

[SWE]

Taft, Bush, Ford, Coolidge. Harding can hardly be called insignificant, given his presidency marked a radical turnaround from the three progressive presidents who preceded him, in both foreign and domestic policy.

[ScottieF]

Harding
Ford
Carter
Bush Sr.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

I was born in 1973, and the President in my lifetime who had the least actual effect is almost certainly Ford.

There were worse Presidents, of course, but they actually had more effect - albeit usually a negative one.

[memphis]

Trying to think of 4 is tough. Every president is important in his own way, but Clinton surely tops the insignificant list.   He was more of a pop culture icon than a politician.

[Representative MJM]

Least Significant, though not necessarily the worst (in no particular order):
1) George H. W. Bush
2) Warren G. Harding
3) Gerald Ford
4) Calvin Coolidge (this last one was a tough one)

[I Will Not Be Wrong]

Taft
Coolidge
Ford
Bush Sr.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Harding
Coolidge
Taft
Ford

[H. Ross Peron]

Ford
Taft
Harding
Bush Sr.

[ElectionsGuy]

Not including McKinley

Ford, Carter, Harding, and Taft

[The_Doctor]

Working backwards

42. Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton presided over one of the most peaceful era and the most consequentially insignificant period of the 20th century. Like Coolidge, he gets an economy that pretty much ran on autopilot (the recession ended under Bush 41 and the recovery was beginning, also under Bush 41). Clinton benefited through things that were outside his control. The major highlights from the 1990s was largely propelled by forces outside Clinton's control. Even NAFTA was a Bush 41 initiative, ideologically pioneered by Reagan.

41. George H.W. Bush

George H.W. Bush gets some credit for winding down the Cold War but really, Ronald Reagan did that. Bush actively resisted the Reagan path but ultimately caved. Beyond that, I don't remember anything Bush the Elder did that was significant, that wasn't already in progress.

39. Jimmy Carter

Obvious reasons - one term President who ended up having most of his ideas reversed by the subsequent Reagan Administration.

27. William Howard Taft

I can't remember anything Taft did that was remotely significant. The most significant element of the Taft Presidency was that in 1912, the renomination struggle cemented the conservatives' control of the Republican Party.

Arguments against Harding / Coolidge:

It is tempting to put both Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge on the list. However, I disagree, if only because of the ideological actions they undertook. But it's a debatable case either way and I am not without my biases (cf, my screen name, honoring Calvin Coolidge).

Harding ushered in the GOP ideology of budget cuts and tax cuts to spur on the economy in the aftermath of the 1920 flash depression (little forgotten, but a huge deal in 1920). Coolidge cemented that ideology and sixty years later, his actions as President were ideologically revived by one of the most consequential Presidents of the 20th century, Ronald Reagan. For Harding to initiate the ideological sequence of actions and Coolidge sustaining it (and becoming an ideological fore runner for the Reagan Revolution), I would say they were just consequential enough to stay off this list.