So now that I opened the "Proverbial Pandora's Box".... I will post a list of my top five picks of the 17 Presidents that we had in the 20th Century, based upon their overall economic/social/foreign policy impacts with a brief rationale:
1.) FDR (Dem)---- Let's face it, despite his privileged economic background and physical disabilities, the man was able to not only rebuild the US economy after the Great Depression, but also win a two front war on the European & Asian fronts against Nazism/Fascism/ and Japanese Imperialism.
I can't think of a single US President in the 20th Century that was able to deliver so much, especially in terms of foreign affairs and economic policy. Arguably, the struggle for Civil Rights was on the back-burner until "after the war was over", but no question that FDR had the Dixiecrats in his crosshairs had he not died before the War was over.
2.) Eisenhower (Rep)--- To some this might seem like a curious choice, but let's face it, he did a pretty awesome job overall in terms of not only keeping us out of foreign wars, unlike the Truman Administration), presided over a period of peace and prosperity, with the highest level ever of Union Membership in the United States ever (33%), and additionally deployed the National Guard in the Deep South to enforce Civil Rights.
Granted, he an easier gig than Roosevelt, but still if you look at US Foreign Policy in the Middle East for example, he cut the British down to size when they were trying to reclaim Egypt during the Suez Crisis, was seen as a fair player in general when it came to Pax Americana in the Post WW II era, (Although unfortunately the Dulles Brothers were creating black eyes throughout Latin America w/o Presidential approval).
3.) LBJ (Dem) *** (Assuming he hadn't escalated the War in Vietnam to an insane level)
His single greatest accomplishment was obviously driving the final nail into the coffin of Jim Crow, segregation, the Dixiecrats, and White Supremacist rule in the Deep South, with the passage of the Civil Voting Rights Act, which arguably only a Democratic President would have been able to do at the time.
It was a major act of political courage, but sometimes things are more important than just a few election cycles, or even decades later when it comes to the decision of what is right or wrong.
Elsewhere, major expansions of the Social Safety net (Medicare & Medicaid), funding to provide electricity and running water to poor rural communities, where that used to be considered a luxury, as part of a broader "War on Poverty" that dealt with urban poverty as well.
Unfortunately, Vietnam doomed his historical legacy, even though ultimately he was only following in the policies of Eisenhower and Kennedy, when it came to propping up French Colonial rule in SE Asia.
4.) Theodore Roosevelt (Progressive/Rep)
Well, on domestic policy he certainly did a number on the Capitalist Trusts and "Monopoly Capitol" that dominated the US Economy at that time....
Now one can certainly argue that his "Gunboat Diplomacy" actions in Latin America was part of the closest thing to European Colonialism, that we had yet experienced in our nation's history, but I give him enough props in how he changed domestic politics, to still place him in the top five.
5.) Woodrow Wilson (Dem)
So look at all of the progressive economic policies that Wilson championed and won when it came to Monopoly Capitalism, the most progressive economic changes that we had seen until FDR.
Additionally, although Wilson didn't initially take a side in WW I, since we were neutral in the War between various European Colonial Powers, but eventually got us into the mix in '17.
Now, I look at Wilson's handshakes with the Southern Segregationist wing of the Democratic Party, the repression of the Labor Movement under his Administration, and it makes we want to spit on the ground with disgust....
Ok---- so plenty of alternate options for #5....
Truman--- Well he did try to push through Roosevelt's platform of integration of the military. He also was the dude that sent US soldiers with bayonets against striking workers after the war was over. Not to even mention, going way over the top when it came to the Civil War in Korea that not only cost the lives of 60,000 Americans, but was fundamentally motivated more by paranoia in Washington when it came to the Chinese Revolution than anything else.
JFK would certainly be a potential #5 option, but what did he actually accomplish as President in his few short years in office? So, he had some great speeches and all that, continued on the legacy of his predecessors when it came to the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South, but on foreign policy we were signing Free Trade Agreements right-left and center, overthrowing governments all over the world, and starting to dramatically escalate the War in Vietnam.
Nixon is obviously out of the equation....
Ford---- Ford Who? Is that the owner of a US Auto firm in Michigan?
Carter- Decent guy, but really congress did most of heavy lifting on policy and after the foreign policy crises in Afghanistan and Iran was basically a lame duck against anyone other than Reagan....
I could fast forward through Bush Sr and Bill Clinton, but not really seeing any major positive changes in economic, social, and foreign policy related items.
But hey--- post your top 5 and why, not to mention the original poll and question regarding LBJ.
Poll
