Buchanan, James. It is not debatable. It is simply shown that no other President even comes close to him in terms of incompetence.
A president can fall into one of three main categories and rank among the worst in history: they can restrict rights to a significant portion of the population, involve the United States in an unnecessary war, or be so incompetent that their government implodes. While many presidents have engaged in all three of these activities, only one has done so to the point where he sparked a national civil war.
Although everyone makes mistakes, only one individual has ever made a mistake that severe.
Although we generally identify the Civil War with Lincoln, Buchanan was fully to blame. By working with Chief Justice Taney of the Supreme Court to produce what may be the worst Supreme Court ruling ever, the Dred Scott Decision, Buchanan ushered in his presidency. All legal rights were essentially taken away from every "black" individual in America by this ruling. I say "black" because, at the time, there was no fair standard to determine who was Black and who was White. As a result, you may be denied legal protections based solely on the color of your skin or, conversely, on the opinions of your neighbors. Buchanan believed that this would "settle the question of slavery once and for all." It was his first act. This was a dumb move. It is positioned almost a.
This was a dumb move. It rendered the American Civil War inevitable and excluded roughly one-third of the country from the social compact. It also happened very fast. Even before the 1860 elections, forces in Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Virginia were engaged in actual armed combat inside their states against other citizens.
Dred Scott doomed his presidency from the start, and Buchanan never had the intelligence to see he was mistaken. Even still, it wasn't sufficient because the country has withstood the faults of previous presidents who were equally foolish. This is where Buchanan truly shines as the worst President in history. Because every other one was able to divert the country's attention with a fictitious conflict, regardless of how awful things got. Not even Buchanan could get that properly. He could not even get even that small initiative passed, but he would have preferred to invade Cuba than deal with his domestic problems. The only American president before Buchanan was unable to move the aggression abroad.
What about incapacity? He accepts the cake. There was something really unique about the group of morons and lunatics that surrounded Buchanan. even in the current system, which is blatantly crooked. There were members of his administration openly working with the fledgling insurgents in the South, including senior Cabinet officials. Consider that. Buchanan did nothing as his own Secretary of War was arming disloyal citizens who intended to divide the country in two and unleash a bloody revolt to maintain slavery.
Look, I haven't even held him responsible for Utah! Throughout his whole presidency, that was essentially the only circumstance he managed with any degree of grace.
Even if he might have contributed to the Panic of 1857, I don't hold him responsible for it. Presidents had no idea that they bore direct responsibility for the economy at the time. I openly acknowledge that he was qualified for the position and that he worked really hard and long hours. I evaluate Buchanan solely based on his deeds and their results.
While many presidents have revoked rights, only one has denied humanity to an entire segment of the population. While several presidents appeared to have the potential to bring the ship of state crashing down, only Buchanan did. It was only Buchanan's performance that caused Americans to openly shoot one another.
I would like to provide a general warning to anybody who respond to this topic by citing Presidents Nixon, Bush, or other contemporary figures. We are not discussing the worst presidents you have ever known. You will most likely not be able to cover more than a fifth of American history in your lifetime, and certainly not more than a third.
The likelihood that your life would have avoided the tenure of the worst President in history is only one in five. Consider that.
There's a four-fifths chance that you are ignoring history and drawing from your own experiences when you say that the worst President is the one you experienced and liked the least.
Either you are biased toward your personal experiences, or presidents have gotten noticeably worse in the fifty years that you have been on Earth—quite a coincidence. That's not a wise approach to the past. Both your readers and upcoming historians won't be treated fairly by it.
A president can fall into one of three main categories and rank among the worst in history: they can restrict rights to a significant portion of the population, involve the United States in an unnecessary war, or be so incompetent that their government implodes. While many presidents have engaged in all three of these activities, only one has done so to the point where he sparked a national civil war.
Although everyone makes mistakes, only one individual has ever made a mistake that severe.
Although we generally identify the Civil War with Lincoln, Buchanan was fully to blame. By working with Chief Justice Taney of the Supreme Court to produce what may be the worst Supreme Court ruling ever, the Dred Scott Decision, Buchanan ushered in his presidency. All legal rights were essentially taken away from every "black" individual in America by this ruling. I say "black" because, at the time, there was no fair standard to determine who was Black and who was White. As a result, you may be denied legal protections based solely on the color of your skin or, conversely, on the opinions of your neighbors. Buchanan believed that this would "settle the question of slavery once and for all." It was his first act. This was a dumb move. It is positioned almost a.
This was a dumb move. It rendered the American Civil War inevitable and excluded roughly one-third of the country from the social compact. It also happened very fast. Even before the 1860 elections, forces in Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Virginia were engaged in actual armed combat inside their states against other citizens.
Dred Scott doomed his presidency from the start, and Buchanan never had the intelligence to see he was mistaken. Even still, it wasn't sufficient because the country has withstood the faults of previous presidents who were equally foolish. This is where Buchanan truly shines as the worst President in history. Because every other one was able to divert the country's attention with a fictitious conflict, regardless of how awful things got. Not even Buchanan could get that properly. He could not even get even that small initiative passed, but he would have preferred to invade Cuba than deal with his domestic problems. The only American president before Buchanan was unable to move the aggression abroad.
What about incapacity? He accepts the cake. There was something really unique about the group of morons and lunatics that surrounded Buchanan. even in the current system, which is blatantly crooked. There were members of his administration openly working with the fledgling insurgents in the South, including senior Cabinet officials. Consider that. Buchanan did nothing as his own Secretary of War was arming disloyal citizens who intended to divide the country in two and unleash a bloody revolt to maintain slavery.
Look, I haven't even held him responsible for Utah! Throughout his whole presidency, that was essentially the only circumstance he managed with any degree of grace.
Even if he might have contributed to the Panic of 1857, I don't hold him responsible for it. Presidents had no idea that they bore direct responsibility for the economy at the time. I openly acknowledge that he was qualified for the position and that he worked really hard and long hours. I evaluate Buchanan solely based on his deeds and their results.
While many presidents have revoked rights, only one has denied humanity to an entire segment of the population. While several presidents appeared to have the potential to bring the ship of state crashing down, only Buchanan did. It was only Buchanan's performance that caused Americans to openly shoot one another.
I would like to provide a general warning to anybody who respond to this topic by citing Presidents Nixon, Bush, or other contemporary figures. We are not discussing the worst presidents you have ever known. You will most likely not be able to cover more than a fifth of American history in your lifetime, and certainly not more than a third.
The likelihood that your life would have avoided the tenure of the worst President in history is only one in five. Consider that.
There's a four-fifths chance that you are ignoring history and drawing from your own experiences when you say that the worst President is the one you experienced and liked the least.
Either you are biased toward your personal experiences, or presidents have gotten noticeably worse in the fifty years that you have been on Earth—quite a coincidence. That's not a wise approach to the past. Both your readers and upcoming historians won't be treated fairly by it.