¿ who was/is the best American president ever in history?

Answer 1

John F Kennedy, 35th President.
It is not so much what he achieved in office but what he gave to the American people and the world. A sense of hope, a sense of togetherness against the eneemies of man, a sense of belief and the inspiration to the youths of America.

Even today, we read of how Nacy Pelosi was moved by her meeting him, as did Dr Ban Kim Moon (the next UN Sec-Gen) and not to mention the young Bill Clinton.

Kennedy inspired people, he gave them hope. His vision outlined in the best inaugural address by a President, still holds true today. "Ask not what your country can do for you" and to the larger world, 'Ask not what America can do for you, but what together we can do, for the freedom of man'.

His death united people and LBJ was able to get many Bills passed. He inspired the moon landings. Civil rights and the peace corps.

Answer 2

George Washington. Since then it's been downhill all the way.

Seriously though I'd rate these pretty highly - Washington, Lincoln, both Roosevelts, LBJ whose presidency was wrecked by the Vietnam war and the lies told to him by the military, Eisenhower, Truman, Woodrow Wilson.

The USA has been lucky or maybe careful because even some of the not-so-good presidents have not done a great deal of harm overall.

Answer 3

A Toss up Between Harry Truman and Franklin Roosevelt! Truman ended a bloody war. Just think, having to drop an Atomic bomb on a country we were in war with or continue fighting a war where many Americans were dying. Also, When Douglas Macarthur provoked, the Chinese, Truman made the right decision by firing him. Imagine a war with the Chinese! FDR Mada the right decision and did not take crap from the Axis! His decisions ended the great depression and helped many people!

Answer 4

It is clear that not many contributors to this site have read much history. There is no serious debate among real historians as to the greatest president's in history:

1. Lincoln or FDR generally flip-flop between sholars
2. Washington
3. Jefferson
4. Jackson/Roosevelt (Teddy)

Those who listed presidents like LBJ, JFK or Clinton are an embarassment to this site. LBY is considered one of the great failures since so few of his programs got off the ground due to Vietnam. JFK would have had a difficult time getting reelected in 1964 and many historians think he would NOT have won if the Republicans came up with a serious challenger. Clinton will be remembered for not doing anything about terrorism and the Monica Lewinisky scandal--nothing more.

Answer 5

Washington was the most important because he set the standards for all that would follow. It was a new office in a brand new country and nobody was quite sure what form it would take; George Washington created the form.
Lincoln was the best because he not only refused to recognize the Confederacy as a separate country But he refused to allow European nations to recognize it either.
By doing so he allowed a more rapid reconciliation then would have normally been possible after the war ended.

Answer 6

Abraham Lincoln

Answer 7

The top recent presidents in U.S. history are:

Lyndon Johnson - His domestic agenda, particularly the civil rights acts were not only great but were taken at great risk and with great adversity. He inherited Vietnam and did not handle it well, but on balance his presidency was a major boon to the U.S.

Richard Nixon - A terrible person and he had a terrible career as a red baiter up to his presidency. But as president he was very good in foreign policy, especially with China. His main accomplishments are his domestic agenda such as the EPA.

Bill Clinton - He managed to keep and expand peace around the world with minimal U.S. cost and losses. He helped the economy boom with sound fiscal policies that led to the massive deficit he inherited being turned into a surplus. While there are things he failed to improve, at any level the Clinton presidency was a major success.

George Bush Sr - His foreign policy was excellent. He managed to handle the break up of the Soviet Union with no major wars and with a reasonable economy. That nothing major happened during his presidency (the war against Iraq in the big picture was not major) is a testament to his skill as a manager.


Presidents thought to be great but were not:

Lincoln - Yes, he won the Civil War. But it took a long time. He was slow to replace generals. There was really little that he did which was exceptional, he was just president during a war.

FDR - Yes, he largely won WWII (he died before it ended). Except the Russians really did the fighting. He had modest success in fighting the depression before the war. He contributed little to the war itself. He was able to provide only minimal assistance to the allies before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was only able to do a slight rebuilding of the military before Pearl Harbor. He did nothing exceptional, he was merely president during a war.

Ronald Reagan - he was a disaster as a president. He made U.S. foreign policy a joke by acting tough and then cutting and running when the marines were bombed in Beirut and then selling arms for hostages to terrorists. He nearly wrecked the economy and caused a massive increase in the defecit and debt. He is only considered great because he said a lot of things he either did not do at all or did the opposite, and because the Soviet Union collapsed shortly after he left office.

Kennedy - Not only was his presidency a disaster, his campaigning for president was a disaster. He claimed a "missile gap" that did not exist. That caused him to have to build more missiles to make good his campaign claims, triggering both the arms race and the Cuban missile crisis. His campaign for president nearly caused the destruction of the world - it doesn't get much worse than that. Add the fiasco of the Bay of Pigs and his decision to overrule the military and get involved in Vietnam and you have a truly terrible president. He is considered great because he spoke well and because FDR implemented many things such as the space program that Kennedy talked about but accomplished none of.

Answer 8

Abraham Lincoln

Answer 9

Jimmy Carter. He was a good down-to-earth man. He continues to serve society regardless of his political role. He was the last of the real presidents. After him the presidency became less democratic, no matter who filled the space. Democracy's not supposed to be about making one person be some big "leader", it's supposed to be about the people of a country making their country a healthy, happy place to live.

Answer 10

George Washington