I posted this on another website a long time ago and thought it would make for some good discussion here. We will see if it does or not. I may expand on this to include world leaders with another post or if one of you would like to create that post then please do.
In American history whom would you consider to be the greatest President of the United States of America and why? The most popular choices are Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Reagan and Clinton.
Would it be George Washington? Washington was the general who led the revolutionary army to victory over the British and then became the first President of the United States. But what did he actually do while President that made him a great President?
Would it be Thomas Jefferson? Jefferson was the third President and writer of the Declaration of Independence During his Presidency came a purchase from France called the Louisiana Purchase he nearly doubled the size of America. Over 800,000 square miles of land purchased at a cost of about four cents per acre or a total cost of about fifteen million dollars.
Would it be James Madison? Madison was the fourth President of the United States and the man who wrote the majority of the Constitution. Madison was President during the War of 1812 (which lasted until 1815) which some call the second revolutionary war.
Would it be Abraham Lincoln? Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States and served as President during the Civil War. If Lincoln had not been elected President would there have been a Civil War? If Lincoln had not been assassinated would his Presidency been considered great and would the reconstruction of the south been faster and more productive?
Would it be Franklin Roosevelt? Roosevelt was the thirty-second President and only President to be elected to four terms. During his Presidency the United States saw the great depression and World War.
Would it be John Kennedy? Kennedy was the thirty-fifth President of the United States. He was elected…stood up to the Russians…let the Cubans down…and got assassinated.
Would it be Ronald Reagan? Reagan was the fortieth President of the United States. He took over an economy that was in the tank and turned it around with what became known as Reaganomics and with a speech at the Berlin Wall that led to its destruction and to the reunification of Germany. He survived an attempted assassination, scandals and attacks from relentless opponents. During his Presidency the world saw the end of the cold war.
Would it be William Clinton? Clinton was the forty-second President of the United States. He took a dipping economy and turned it around and kept it stable throughout most of his Presidency while surviving relentless attacks from Republicans.
Who do you think was the greatest President of the United States of America and why?
Be prepared to argue your point. )
You may choose any of the above or anyone who has served as President of the United States.
Trivia question.
Who was the only President of the United States to serve both as President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? _________________ All poems and stories posted by Eiregirl are
Copyright 2005 - 2008 Aoibhegréine
These literary works are my property under copyright. If you wish to use my work for any purpose please ASK FIRST.
Tue Oct 03, 2006 6:17 pm
Start Over
Joined: 02 Nov 2005
Posts: 222
Location: Somewhere in the cosmos
I'm gonna post just quick and dirty on this right now cause it's time for bed...
The President I'd have to say I admire was Washington. Being the first president of a country that you did not know would survive would have been very nerve-racking, I would think.
I also have to say that I admire Washington, Jefferson, and Madison for the simple fact that they still had a healthy reverence and respect for the Constitution, which, sadly, no president to date has had the same. I'm guessing that they had fought and saw men die for the country, and it was also something dear to their heart, as they were so immeasurably involved in forging a new country and the document that would govern it.
Bring on the constructive comments, eire; i am ready hehe
I respect the fact that you admire Washington, Jefferson and Madison for what they did in forging a new country and I admire them myself for the sacrifices they were willing to make. These three men you mentioned had a hand in creating a new country that would eventually span the continent from east to west. Combined they led an army to victory over the British, wrote the Decalation of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights but the question remains...what did these men do while holding the office of President of the United States to make them great Presidents?
What did they do...what has any president done that could lead you to consider them a great president while holding that office?
Eiregirl _________________ All poems and stories posted by Eiregirl are
Copyright 2005 - 2008 Aoibhegréine
These literary works are my property under copyright. If you wish to use my work for any purpose please ASK FIRST.
You have had nearly 6 months to think about it and do some research...what have you come up with?
What has any of the presidents you picked done while holding the office of president of the United States that would make you consider them great presidents. Or what has any president done while in office that would make you consider them great?
Pokes start...you have had almost 6 months you should have come up with something by now
Eiregirl _________________ All poems and stories posted by Eiregirl are
Copyright 2005 - 2008 Aoibhegréine
These literary works are my property under copyright. If you wish to use my work for any purpose please ASK FIRST.
Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:46 pm
Start Over
Joined: 02 Nov 2005
Posts: 222
Location: Somewhere in the cosmos
blushes...sorry Eire
I will have something shortly.
Cheers
Start
Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:37 am
Start Over
Joined: 02 Nov 2005
Posts: 222
Location: Somewhere in the cosmos
If what you're looking for is something that they did WHILE they were President that made them great, well, I don't know that I have that. I admire Washington for what he did before he was President (although I liked him as President as well).
As I've stated before, however, Washington (and a few others) at least respected the Constitution. I would love to find a politician now who did that.
Below you will find a list of presidents of the United States. There have been 43 of them since the founding of the United States. Some of them have been good and others have been bad while a few have just filled the chair and a couple of them were not in office long enough to know what kind of president they would have been. Are there any of them that can be considered great presidents?
There is no doubt that the first six names on this list should be known to every real American and I know they did some wonderful and great things in their lives…they were there at the foundation of a new nation. While they were their at the beginning and while they had a hand in shaping and forming the documents that would create a new nation…what did they do while holding the office that would lead anyone to think they were great presidents?
Come people…give me your thoughts…pick a name and tell me why you think that president was a great president. Tell me just one thing that person did while in office that makes them a great president in your mind. Sometimes it might not be what they did…but what they did not do but could have done.
I will tell you why I think Starts choice of George Washington is a good choice and why I consider him to be at the very least a modestly great president…being the first he could have easily made himself King of America. Do you think I am wrong in that assumption…or that I am wrong in my assumption of the influence he had? He may not have done great things while in office but sometimes it is not what a person does that makes them great…it is what they don’t do but had the power to do. Of all 43 presidents he was the only one that had the power to become a king.
1. George Washington........23. Benjamin Harrison
2. John Adams...................24. Grover Cleveland
3. Thomas Jefferson...........25. William McKinley
4. James Madison...............26. Theodore Roosevelt
5. James Monroe................27. William Taft
6. John Quincy Adams.........28. Woodrow Wilson
7. Andrew Jackson.............29. Warren Harding
8. Martin van Buren............30. Calvin Coolidge
9. William H. Harrison.........31. Herbert C. Hoover
10. John Tyler....................32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
11. James K. Polk...............33. Harry S Truman
12. Zachary Taylor.............34. Dwight David Eisenhower
13. Millard Fillmore.............35. John Fitzgerald Kennedy
14. Franklin Pierce..............36. Lyndon Baines Johnson
15. James Buchanan...........37. Richard Milhous Nixon
16. Abraham Lincoln...........38. Gerald R. Ford
17. Andrew Johnson............39. James Earl Carter, Jr.
18. Ulysses S. Grant............40. Ronald Wilson Reagan
19. Rutherford Hayes...........41. George H. W. Bush
20. James Garfield...............42. William Jefferson Clinton
21. Chester Arthur...............43. George W. Bush
22. Grover Cleveland _________________ All poems and stories posted by Eiregirl are
Copyright 2005 - 2008 Aoibhegréine
These literary works are my property under copyright. If you wish to use my work for any purpose please ASK FIRST.
Tue Apr 03, 2007 4:37 am
cupcakes
Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 324
Location: NY
I choose William Taft as the greatest, because...
1) since I can't remember him, his presidency was hopefully uneventful/ peaceful. I think it is admirable to maintain peace.
2) quiet presidents need love too.
3) I wasn't subjected to any teacher's heroworshipping lectures about him.
My second choice will be honest Abe, cuz even though he was an ugly man, everyone loves him. I cut down the cherry tree.
Then I love FDR because I did buy into all the heroworshipping lectures. I believe it all!
Then I gotta love our current pres...George doubaya. He is just kute as a button. Probably one of the most hated men in the world at the moment...that's no small feat.
Who do you think is the greatest, Eire?
~cUppy
Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:23 am
Cavewoman
Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Posts: 2056
Location: nearby
cupcakes.. yer goshin, right? georgedubya? _________________ " The sorcerers in life are created within each of us" --- Lynn V. Andrews
Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:11 am
Hawaiian
Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 816
Location: Transplanted to Africa
LMAO @ cuppie!!
And she wins Eire's trivia question! Bonus points for cupcakes. I like Taft 'cause he had a pet cow that he let eat the White House lawn...
And I know you picked FDR 'cause his wife was a lesbian.
Choosing would be difficult for me in this, none of them were perfect. The one I think that had the greatest idea, way ahead of his time, was Woodrow Wilson. The idea: The League of Nations, which the US never joined. Too bad its successor, the UN, is corrupted by US money and power.
~Hawn _________________ 'A'a i ka hula, e waiho i ka hilahila i ka hale.
Dare to dance, leave your shyness at home.
Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:05 am
cupcakes
Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 324
Location: NY
yippee! I'm the winner. ::does a sgwiggily dance::
what happens when I collect enough bonus points? do I get to trade it in for something?
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