Top 5 Most OVERRATED U.S. Presidents

Welcome back to another presidential blog on Stuff That Happened and today I'll be ranking my 5 most OVER-RATED presidents in United States history. To determine who is overrated, I'm looking at some of the famous historical surveys and on Wikipedia, we can see Presidents with more blue and green indicate a more favorable ranking. I looked through every President with a favorable ranking on most surveys, and picked out the 5 most overrated in my opinion and today we'll talk about why I feel they're overrated while also looking back at their performance as President and attempting to answer why they are looked at so favorably. Keep in mind, I'm not saying these Presidents were necessarily awful or among the worst; in fact, none of them made my Worst 5 of All Time list, although one was a dishonorable mention. But they are all, in my opinion anyway, over-rated.

William McKinley

5. William McKinley

McKinley is consistently ranked in the upper half of Presidential rankings and oftentimes ends up in the Top 15. There's no doubt the economy, which was already improving after a recent depression, flourished under McKinley. The unemployment rate dropped from around 12 to 5% during his first term. However, his foreign policies left much to be desired. McKinley was the President during one of the many liberation wars in Cuba as the Cuban Rebels fought for independence from Spain. This led to the Spanish-American War, which kicked off when the U.S. declared war after their ship, the U.S.S Maine exploded. The explosion was most likely an accident, but McKinley took the opportunity to jump into war and then try to expand the U.S. into a global empire in violent and inhumane ways.

The U.S. won the war and acquired Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines in the process. McKinley and the U.S. took possession of the Philippines against the wishes of the Filipino people, leading to another war. U.S soldiers burned villages, raped women, tortured civilians and even held about 200,000 Filipino civilians in disease-ridden camps. McKinley did have some successes as President, and is ranked high mostly for the thriving U.S. economy during his time as President, although many experts argue he had little to do with that. Regardless, nothing he accomplished makes up for so much unnecessary war and human suffering, which is why I believe he is overrated.

Barack Obama

#4 Barack Obama

The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama is consistently praised and ranked by historians as one of our greatest Presidents. He was certainly a powerful speaker and motivator, promoting "hope and change" during his campaign. A lot of certainly happened under Obama's watch during his 8 years in office, and much of it was good, including the elimination of head 9/11 terrorist Osama Bin Laden, improved relations with Cuba, and important financial reforms that prevent credit card companies from taking advantage of customers. Same sex marriage was also legalized via a Supreme Court decision while Obama was President, although it would've likely happened regardless of who was President.

Speaking of same sex marriage; Obama changed his stance multiple times, originally supporting it until he ran for Senate, then saying marriage should be only between a man and a woman. He kept this stance as President until he flip-flopped again as the political climate changed. He also flip-flopped on several other issues and campaign promises, including how fast he would withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, how he would close Guantanamo Bay and how he planned to eliminate several laws from the W. Bush administration. He never closed Guantanamo and kept much of W Bush's laws, including the unpopular tax cuts, which he made permanent.

President Obama did eventually reduce the number of US soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, but ramped up air wars, deploying special ops around the world. An analysis of American strikes around the world found that the U.S. dropped over 26,000 bombs over Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia in 2016. Obama did pass the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare, which some will consider a positive and others a huge negative, but it was definitely his major legislative achievement. But for many Americans, insurance costs and deductibles skyrocketed. Still, even if we consider Obamacare a success, his presidency was a mixed bag at best. For him to be ranked as high as the 7th greatest President in the history in one poll and 8th in another absolute insanity. Where I will rank him exactly when I do a full ranking remains to be decided, but Obama is definitely overrated.

Thomas Jefferson - a Founding Father

#3 Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson without a doubt belongs in the upper half of every Presidential Ranking, but as you can see, nearly every survey has him in all the way up in the Top 10 and sometimes even at #1. He was definitely one of the most intelligent U.S. Presidents and, as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, a key founding father. He had some major successes as President after being elected in 1800. In his first term, he negotiated the Louisiana Purchase, drastically expanding the size of the country. He also cut the National Debt in half and commissioned the Lewis & Clark Expedition. He was a huge champion of education and founded the University of Virginia. He donated thousands of books to the Library of Congress and encouraged the pursuit of knowledge in various fields including science. Jefferson also claimed to be against slavery, yet was one of the largest slave owners in Virginia, enslaving over 700 people during his lifetime. Granted, many early Presidents including Washington owned slaves, but Jefferson was the man who penned "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" - you know, the thing.

He not only failed to practice what he preached regarding slavery, but he was also okay with displacing hundreds of Native American tribes as part of his vision for westward expansion. There was slaughter and pillage during this expansion, the origins of Manifest Destiny. His foreign policies were also far from perfect. One of his biggest mistakes during this time was the Embargo Act of 18the 07, which he enacted during his second term.

Napoleon had established the Continental System, created to cut off trade with Britain and weaken their economy while strengthening France's position as the economical and political leader of Europe. Great Britain countered with a Naval blockade, which put a halt on goods leaving Europe. This greatly affected the United States, who needed to trade material for goods from Europe. To make matters worse, both Britain and France seized innocent and neutral American merchants caught trading with the opposite country.

Jefferson's response was the Embargo Act of 1807, which prohibited American ships from trading with any European Nation. Jefferson hoped not to offend France or Great Britain, expecting this would force them to respect American neutrality, but the Act did nothing but further destroy the American economy. It was hugely unpopular and many in the northeast started to smuggle in goods from Canada in response. Jefferson also dealt with many scandals and controversies during his time as president, too many to get into today. But many see him as cunning, political backstabber. There is also a long-running debate as to whether or not he had an affair with one of his slaves. When everything is considered, Thomas Jefferson was certainly a major asset to the country and a great founding father, but his presidency had both pros and cons and, when I see him ranked consistently in the Top 10, sometimes at #1, I have to consider him overrated.

Andrew Jackson - "Old Hickory"

#2 Andrew Jackson

The next overrated President has to be Old Hickory, Andrew Jackson, who has consistently been considered a top 10 President for most of my lifetime up until around 2016, when he started falling on the list due to his racism and brutal methods. My question is, why did we have to enter into the social justice/woke era to figure out Andrew Jackson shouldn't be a Top 10 President? Of course, there are plenty of positives. The first self-made man to become President, Andrew Jackson was a war hero who supported the average every day individual over big government. He was one of the toughest and craziest men to ever become President and there are many stories about him that seem too preposterous to be true, such as how he stood still during a duel, took a bullet to the chest, barely flinching, then calmly steadied himself, aimed, and shot his opponent, killing him. Jackson was certainly one of the most colorful and interesting Presidents. He also knew how to get things done and will likely always be the only President to ever successfully pay off the national debt, although he was also President when the Panic of 1837 hit, and many of Jackson's economic policies are blamed for the panic.

But the main issue with Jackson was his racism and Native American policies along with the brutal enforcement of them. Jackson might have had sympathy towards the every day common white man, but that's where his sympathies began and ended. He was a slave owner who participated directly in the slave trade. Unlike previous slave-owning Presidents, he showed no remorse for owning slaves and even referred to abolitionists as wicket monsters. He signed the Indian Removal Act in May of 1830, giving him the right to negotiate treaties to purchase tribal land in the eastern United States in exchange for lands further west, Oklahoma Territory, where the Native Americans would be sent. It was supposed to be voluntary, but it was anything but in actual practice. Through fraud, bribes and violent intimidation, Native Americans were forced off their land and relocated. When they refused, violence ensued sometimes leading to all-out wars. Jackson removed about 70,000 Native Americans, and thousands died during their journeys or in battles fighting for their land, as they were not provided with the proper food or supplies to make the move to Oklahoma Territory.

When they would resist moving, Jackson had no problem leading brutal military campaigns. He would take as much land as possible, burn villages, and slaughter as many people as possible. Although previous Presidents were also unkind to the indigenous people of the United States, Jackson took it to a new level entirely, leading a murderous genocide train throughout the entire southeast, and essentially wiping out the entirety of the Native American population. While the Native American population may have been an issue that needed solving, Jackson's methods were absolutely unforgivable and recent surveys have put him more closer to where he belongs. But for nearly all of my life, Andrew Jackson has been extremely overrated and had I made this video about 10 years ago, he would've been my #1 most overrated President.

FDR Delivering One Of His "Fireside Chats"

#1 Franklin D. Roosevelt

But as of today, my #1 most overrated President has to be Franklin D. Roosevelt, who continues to be consistently ranked not just Top 10 but Top 3, oftentimes as the greatest President in the history of the United States. In fact, not a single one of these official surveys has FDR lower than #3. Well, FDR was certainly a great President and we have to acknowledge the good.

Roosevelt showed lots of strength and fortitude during his political career, which he continued even after losing his ability to walk due to a severe bout with polio, or at least that's what the doctors diagnosed him with at the time. Since then, his illness was determined to most likely be Guillain–Barré syndrome. He was elected President in 1932, during the Great Depression, and presented the "New Deal," which implemented a variety of innovative policies meant to get the United States economic situation back on track. FDR's optimism and energy was transmitted to the people through a series of radio transmissions called "fireside chats" and while how much his New Deal policies really helped end the Great Depression continues to be debated, most agree it certainly gave people hope and FDR's speeches and charisma helped get the country through the difficult period.

He became hugely popular and was re-elected for a third term in 1940 as World War II was raging on outside of the United States. The U.S. planned to remain neutral until December 7th, 1941, when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor. America was thrust into the war on multiple fronts with troops on the ground in Europe and the Navy fighting back against Japan. Taking down Hitler became a key objective and FDR built a solid coalition with Britain and the Soviet Union to successfully defeat Hilter and Nazi Germany. By the end of the war, the United States was entering into a golden age of economic prosperity. So, if FDR was able to lead the country through the worst economic disaster it its history and lead a successful war campaign, ending up with a prosperous and powerful country, how could he be overrated?

For one, he did try to overreach with his powers many times, leading to fears he would become a full blown dictator. He served longer than another President by becoming the first to win a third term, and then even a fourth. Before that, it was an unwritten custom started by George Washington that a President serve no more than two terms. After FDR, the 22nd amendment was passed limiting a President's terms to two.

He also tried to pack the Supreme Court in 1937, after two of his New Deal programs were found to be unconstitutional. One was the NRA - the National Recovery Act, which was deemed unconstitutional because it gave an excessive amount of power to the President who would be able to regulate industries with insufficient standards of guidelines. When it was denied, he tried to pass the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937 that would allow the President to appoint an extra justice for every sitting justice over 70 years of age up to a total of six extra justices, which would pack the court in his favor. His court-packing plan was rightfully squashed by the Senate.

Even if we forgive some of these missteps, there is no way I could consider FDR a top 5 President when we look at his treatment of Japanese-Americans in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. He signed an order authorizing the military to round up about 120,000 Japanese-Americans, over 2/3rd of them American Citizens, and place them in camps, absolutely stripping them of basic civil rights. They lost their homes, farms, and businesses. It was excused at the time as a military necessity because there could be Japanese spies among them. This action went against every principle of the Constitution and should be a major stain on his legacy, although it should be noted it wasn't entirely his decision and he of course had military advisers who pushed it, but this was an executive order that should have never been signed.

Finally, FDR despite public demands, refused to increase the number of Jewish refugees that could enter the United States during a time they were seeking an escape from murder and torture at the hands of the Nazis. He argued that they posed a threat to National Security and there could be Nazi spies. Again, because a tiny fraction of a certain group of people might have been but probably weren't spies, FDR was willing to allow a massive number of innocent humans to endure horrific suffering and in many cases, be killed.

So, while Franklin D. Roosevelt was certainly a great leader, he was a President with some major pros and some major cons. No President is perfect, and every one has a few pros and cons, but to be a Top 5 or certainly a Top 3 President, the good has to outweigh the bad by a ton and for me, that's not really the case with FDR. He was certainly one of the most influential Presidents of all time and is responsible for many programs that we continue to enjoy today. But when considering how highly he is consistently ranked with how I would rank him, he comes in as my #1 most overrated President of all time.