10 worst presidents in American history part 1

So last time around I covered the 10 best presidents in american history. BUT prehaps more interesting than the 10 best is the 10 worst presidents. As a rule we immortalize the great but banish the bad into the fog of history. So while many many people have heard of my 10 best picks (or at least 9 of them), it will be interesting to see how many people have even heard of the 10 who make up the worst list, let alone think they are sucky presidents.

Now the same rules apply to this as applied to the best presidents, Obama, W Bush, W. Harrison, and Garfield arnt eligible for the same reasons they were left out of the best presidents.  And of course, these men are weighted ONLY on their presidency, not on things they did before or after

So with that in mind here we go with Number 10:

Ulysses Grant. 18th President

Truth be told, its actually a shame Grant makes this list. As president he was actually really good. First he got the Tenure of Office act repealed, an act that had basically been invented by congress to justify impeaching President A Johnson. Then he had the radical idea of actually appointing a Native America, Ely Parker to head up the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the first and only president to do this. He helped get the 15th amendment, allowing the right to vote to be given to African American males passed, combined with the Naturalization Act of 1870, allowing African Americans to become naturalized citizens. He established the Department of Justice, and passed the Force Acts of 1870 and 1871 to try to clamp down on the Klan.

So why is he here? well quite honestly its everyone elses fault. Grant has the distinction of presiding over the most corrupt administration in history.

For example the "Gold Ring" Scandal was an almost successful attempt to corner the gold market, that involved Grants Brother in law, and Grants actions allowed the scandal to move forward (although his actions were done in "ignorance" following corrupt advise and not personal corruption) and his attempt to fix it crashed the economy with the original "Black Friday".

Or the Whiskey ring, that involved Republican politicians across the country, a bunch of tax collectors and Whiskey makers in a scheme to steal the governments share of taxes on alcohol, in which Grant himself was deposed as part of the investigation.  Or the Star Route scandal, where the Postal Service auctioned off southern and western routes to private postal services at over-inflated contracts. Or the New York Custom House Ring, where custom officials were overcharging to store goods, and pocketing the difference. Or the Salary Grab, a budget bill Grant signed (he had to or risk a shut down) that raised both his salary and congresses.....but also included a retroactive raise for the previous congress (which is blatantly illegal).

Or the Delano Affair and the Pratt & Boyd affair, which forced the resignations of Grants Interior Secretary and Attorney General for corruption, or the Trading post ring which lead to the impeachment and resignation of his War Secretary.

Oh and then their was the replacement between terms of Grants Vice President, after his first VP had to resign due to the Crédit Mobilier scandal which was basically a bribe to congress by a railroad company. In fairness to grant though, the scandal itself happened under Lincoln, just happened to be exposed under him. Still losing your VP to scandal is a big problem when it comes to claiming to be a good president

And with that many scandals in one administration, it doesnt matter how good a president you were personally, you kinda have no choice but to end up on this list, albeit at the bottom of the list.

And now Number 9

Richard Nixon. 37th President

You knew he was going to be on the list. In fact I think their is a law that says he must be on any top 10 worst presidents list. In fact if anything is surprising its likely how low he placed on the list. After all he is the only president to ever resign, and likely would have been the only president impeached and convicted if he hadn't.

But here's the thing, outside of watergate he really wasnt a bad president. For example even his critics praise him for his work in China and his visit to that country. He started phased withdrawals from the Vietnam war, and the year before he resigned, the draft ended. He also signed SALT I, which was the start of the drawdown of the cold war. He also created the EPA.

I mean heck, that resume alone would land him at near the top 10 best list, if not on it (admittedly near the bottom).....but then there's Watergate, which itself and the impact of it on American Politics, puts him near the bottom of a different top 10 list.

And now on to our last entry in this installment, our Number 8 worst president:

Woodrow Wilson. 28th President.

Like the two men below him on the rankings, Wilson did do a couple of things right, he passed the Federal Reserve Act which brought much longer periods of economic stability then had existed since Andrew Jackson destroyed the Second Bank of the United states. And he established the Federal Trade Commision and signed the Clayton Anti Trust act, building on, and solidifying the Trustbusting started under Teddy Roosevelt.

And of course he is the genius that came with the "14 points" peace plan to end World War I that likely could have prevented World War II. Except that he did such a horrible job of Politicking it that no one listened to him. Heck even the US congress wouldnt allow the US to take a seat in the League of Nations, the only part of the plan Wilson sold Europe on. So while it was a genius idea, it actually undercuts Wilson's standing because of how poorly executed it was.

And he was also a racist little shit. He's famous for thinking the uber racist retelling of american History, that put the Klan as the driving and heroic force in US history, was pretty accurate. But did you know he also RE-segregated the federal government?

Yea thats right, the federal government was already integrated, this asshole came up and undid it. Even the anti african american semi pro slavery Andrew Johnson didnt try to institute slavery, and didnt really want to. Thats how racist this SOB was.

But what really lands Wilson at this point on the list is the Lusitania. For those who dont know the Lusitania was a luxury liner that was sunk by the German's claiming it was smuggling weapons to the British to aid them in World War I. 125 Americans were killed in the sinking.

Now here's the thing, the Lusitania was sunk in 1915. In 1916 Wilson won reelection by pledging to keep the US out of the war. In 1917 the US citing the unprovoked attack on the Lusitania and the lies about its smuggling weapons as the as the reason to declare war on Germany.

Except as it turns out, the Germans weren't lying. in 2008 scuba divers proved the ship had been carrying weapons. And that the president would have known that back in 1915. Which means he lied us into World War I, but only when it became politically advantageous, and after winning reelection based on the lie he wouldnt take us into war. Those double lies hurt Wilson as he is dragged kicking and screaming from his usual spot in the 10 best presidents list where he usually shows up, to this spot on my 10 worst presidents list.

Next time, just like with the best presidents list, our next installment will feature our 7th, 6th, 5th and possibly 4th worst presidents of all times. With Nixon already out of the running, it will be interesting to see who tops the list by the time we get to part 3.