Even though he has yet to do much of anything?

 

Yup.

Yup.

 

While I personally don't understand the choice, it's yours to make.

Interesting, why?

 

Here goes:

 

James K. Polk, I find, is an interesting and unique figure in the history of the American presidency. Unlike most presidents who have had successful first terms, Polk decided not to seek a second term.

 

Polk, from the beginning had 4 major goals as president:

 

1) Establish an Independent Treasury System

 

2) Reduce Tariffs

 

3) Acquire the territory known as California and New Mexico

 

4) Acquire the Oregon Territory

 

He managed to get this all done in 4 years and did not seek reelection. These were no mean feats either as 1 & 2 required some finesse in dealing with Congress, while 3 required sparking a war with Mexico in order to seize said territory. 4 was done largely through diplomacy although saber-rattling helped to speed it along.

Here goes:

 

James K. Polk, I find, is an interesting and unique figure in the history of the American presidency. Unlike most presidents who have had successful first terms, Polk decided not to seek a second term.

 

Polk, from the beginning had 4 major goals as president:

 

1) Establish an Independent Treasury System

 

2) Reduce Tariffs

 

3) Acquire the territory known as California and New Mexico

 

4) Acquire the Oregon Territory

 

He managed to get this all done in 4 years and did not seek reelection. These were no mean feats either as 1 & 2 required some finesse in dealing with Congress, while 3 required sparking a war with Mexico in order to seize said territory. 4 was done largely through diplomacy although saber-rattling helped to speed it along.

 

With what he accomplished here, why would you think he is not rated higher as one of our great Presidents? Didn't have the glamour of a major incident like Civil War, writing Declaration of Independence, WWII, etc, etc.

With what he accomplished here, why would you think he is not rated higher as one of our great Presidents? Didn't have the glamour of a major incident like Civil War, writing Declaration of Independence, WWII, etc, etc.

 

That's exactly why.

Favorite overall top ten

1. Harry Truman

2. Abe Lincoln

3. Thomas Jefferson

4. Bill Clinton

5. JFK

6. James Madison

7. Jame K. Polk

8. Andrew Jackson

9. Martin Van Buren

10. Woodrow Wilson

Mine was Bill Clinton until yesterday.

 

Now its BHO. My first time voting and my first victory.:dancingpa

With what he accomplished here, why would you think he is not rated higher as one of our great Presidents? Didn't have the glamour of a major incident like Civil War, writing Declaration of Independence, WWII, etc, etc.

 

That's exactly why.

 

 

I also think that many have issue with the fact that we more or less provoked the Mexican-American War. College professors, and far too many Americans for that matter, are idealists and provoking war for territorial expansion purposes tends to not be "high minded."

Why is George Washington left off of everyone's list? Too obvious?

 

Imagine being offered kingship and refusing it. It would be easier now (albeit still difficult) since we have enjoyed the fruits of Democracy for 200+ years, but imagine coming from a world with virtually nothing but monarchies, and turning it down. I think the foresight, vision, and selflessness was amazing.....

Why is George Washington left off of everyone's list? Too obvious?

 

Imagine being offered kingship and refusing it. It would be easier now (albeit still difficult) since we have enjoyed the fruits of Democracy for 200+ years, but imagine coming from a world with virtually nothing but monarchies, and turning it down. I think the foresight, vision, and selflessness was amazing.....

I would put Washington second to Jefferson on my all time list. I would rank Lincoln lower than most people because I question whether he did all he could to keep the nation united without engaging in the most bloody war of our history. Slavery ended in nearly every country in the world without a bloody civil war. Why was civil war unavoidable for the US?

 

Like PepRock, I would rank Polk high on my list. His ranking has been negatively impacted by today's extreme political correctness atmosphere. Manifest destiny reflected the will of the people in Polk's day and nobody can deny that he was extremely successful in delivering the results that Americans wanted.

I would put Washington second to Jefferson on my all time list. I would rank Lincoln lower than most people because I question whether he did all he could to keep the nation united without engaging in the most bloody war of our history. Slavery ended in nearly every country in the world without a bloody civil war. Why was civil war unavoidable for the US?

 

Like PepRock, I would rank Polk high on my list. His ranking has been negatively impacted by today's extreme political correctness atmosphere. Manifest destiny reflected the will of the people in Polk's day and nobody can deny that he was extremely successful in delivering the results that Americans wanted.

 

 

Unless I'm confused here, South Carolina Seceeded before Lincoln was even sworn in. Unless I'm lost here, South Carolina fired on a Federal Fort and captured it before Lincoln called for volunteers. Just exactly what more could he have done to prevent that war? He openly stated if he could save the union without freeing slaves he would, if he could save it by freeing them all, he would.

 

The reality is that the Southern Confederation absolutely believed that Lincoln would attempt to impose abolition and "jumped the gun" to declare their independence. They not only wished to keep slavery but demanded that the practice be allowed to move into the new territories. (Bloody Kansas is the perfect example)

 

The South walked away from the negotiation table. I've always believed that Shelby Foote was right when he said that the Civil War occurred because we as a nation failed to do the one thing we were always best at: Compromise and finding the middle ground.

 

I also believe what makes him one of the strongest is he had the opportunity to trounce and denouce the beaten south at his Second Inaugural and instead laid out an idea of compassionate reconstruction of the union. Unfortunately Booth's bullet ended what might have been his finest hour.

Harry Truman ,because of him I probably am alive . He had guts enough to order the dropping of the two A-bombs and these ended WWII . Before this my future father was scheduled to be deployed as part of the planned Invasion of Japan and he was a combat infantryman . His chanches of survival were very low . I thank God that that war ended when it did .

Unless I'm confused here, South Carolina Seceeded before Lincoln was even sworn in. Unless I'm lost here, South Carolina fired on a Federal Fort and captured it before Lincoln called for volunteers. Just exactly what more could he have done to prevent that war? He openly stated if he could save the union without freeing slaves he would, if he could save it by freeing them all, he would.

 

The reality is that the Southern Confederation absolutely believed that Lincoln would attempt to impose abolition and "jumped the gun" to declare their independence. They not only wished to keep slavery but demanded that the practice be allowed to move into the new territories. (Bloody Kansas is the perfect example)

 

The South walked away from the negotiation table. I've always believed that Shelby Foote was right when he said that the Civil War occurred because we as a nation failed to do the one thing we were always best at: Compromise and finding the middle ground.

 

I also believe what makes him one of the strongest is he had the opportunity to trounce and denouce the beaten south at his Second Inaugural and instead laid out an idea of compassionate reconstruction of the union. Unfortunately Booth's bullet ended what might have been his finest hour.

What economic concessions did Lincoln offer, either during his campaign or after taking office, to the South to keep the country united? The southern states had good reason to suspect that Lincoln would act aggressive toward them after his election.

 

The bolded text is exactly why I do not place Lincoln higher on my list. Not only did Lincoln do nothing to prevent the escalation of the war, the war itself was badly mismanaged and cost far more lives than it might have.

 

Lincoln was courageous and made more difficult decisions than any other president has ever made - but civil war in any country is the result of failure, not success.

I've always believed that Shelby Foote was right when he said that the Civil War occurred because we as a nation failed to do the one thing we were always best at: Compromise and finding the middle ground.

The bolded text is exactly why I do not place Lincoln higher on my list. Not only did Lincoln do nothing to prevent the escalation of the war, the war itself was badly mismanaged and cost far more lives than it might have.

Hoot, you know I agree with you a lot, but I have to find it very, very, very ironic that you fault Lincoln for not compromising and finding a middle ground. Obviously, you are not an elected representative, but you aren't exactly a champion of compromise.

Hoot, you know I agree with you a lot, but I have to find it very, very, very ironic that you fault Lincoln for not compromising and finding a middle ground. Obviously, you are not an elected representative, but you aren't exactly a champion of compromise.

What you say is true, but there were other issues that pushed the southern states to the brink of war and I believe that they had some very valid grievances. I just question whether abolishing slavery a few years early was worth the death of more than 600,000 Americans, when slavery would have died a peaceful death a few years later anyway - and without the residual hatred from a bloody civil war.

 

I am not saying that Lincoln did not do as well as any president would have under the same circumstances but I am not convinced that more than a few presidents would have done equally as well.