The 4 Most Underrated Presidents In American History
Many Americans are largely ignorant of their own history.
Only 30% know that the Constitution is the law of the land, only 43% know that the first ten amendments constitute the Bill of Rights, and only two-thirds know that the United States has a capitalistic economy.
This ignorance extends to the history of American leadership. Most Americans would recognize names such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln; however, several men who served as Commander-in-Chief are not appropriately remembered for their service to the United States, both inside and outside the White House.
Here are four of the most underrated American Presidents.
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge served as President from 1923 to 1929.
Coolidge previously filled the roles of President of the Massachusetts Senate, Governor of Massachusetts, and Vice President. When President Warren Harding unexpectedly passed away, Coolidge assumed the White House.
Coolidge enacted a conservative philosophy that decreased the size of government. As the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation explains, he “devoted himself to both tax and budget cuts, with the White House going so far as to dub twin lion cubs received as a gift ‘Budget Bureau’ and ‘Tax Reduction.’” Coolidge’s laissez-faire policies largely enabled the economic boom of the 1920s.
Coolidge was also adamant about increasing esteem for ethnic minorities in the United States. In a speech about the service of black soldiers during World War I, Coolidge said that “they gave their services in the war with the same patriotism and readiness that other citizens did… the propaganda of prejudice and hatred which sought to keep the colored men from supporting the national cause completely failed.” Coolidge also asked Congress for funds to establish a medical school at the historically black Howard University.
Despite his popularity, Coolidge — nicknamed “Silent Cal” because of his subdued demeanor — declined to run for a second term, writing in his autobiography that “it was better for the country to change leadership from time to time.”
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft served as President from 1909 to 1913.
Before his election, Taft also served as a federal district judge, Governor-General of the Philippines, and Secretary of War. President Theodore Roosevelt decided that Taft ought to succeed him in the White House, ensuring his nomination on the Republican ticket.
Though by no means a natural politician, President Taft was effective at continuing Roosevelt’s legacy. According to the White House Historical Association, Taft “signed the first tariff revision since 1897; established a postal savings system; formed the Interstate Commerce Commission; and prosecuted over 75 antitrust violations, far more than pursued by the ‘trust-buster’ Theodore Roosevelt.”
Taft also pioneered “dollar diplomacy,” which involved extending American influence abroad through trade, thereby stabilizing developing nations. As he explained during an address to Congress in 1912: “It is one that appeals alike to idealistic humanitarian sentiments, to the dictates of sound policy and strategy, and to legitimate commercial aims. It is an effort frankly directed to the increase of American trade upon the axiomatic principle that the government of the United States shall extend all proper support to every legitimate and beneficial American enterprise abroad.”
Taft eventually was appointed as Chief Justice of the United States, where he presided over a predominantly conservative court.
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant served as President from 1869 to 1877.
A graduate of West Point and a veteran of the Mexican-American War, Grant is most remembered for his leadership of the Union Army against the Confederacy.
As the University of Virginia’s Miller Center describes, Grant worked during his administration to strike a balance between “sustaining a strong Union while at the same time protecting the newly freed slaves” — goals that were “difficult, if not impossible to reconcile.”
Despite the fact that most Northerners and Southerners rejected civil rights for black people, Grant backed Reconstruction with the military in order to protect black citizens. When he signed the Fifteenth Amendment — which secured Americans’ rights to vote regardless of ethnicity or previous servitude — he declared that it was “a measure of grander importance than any other one act of the kind from the foundation of our free government to the present day.”
Though Grant, a proponent of federalism, did not always intervene to protect African-Americans from Ku Klux Klan violence, he placed nine counties in South Carolina under martial law after KKK members committed acts of terrorism to keep black voters away from the polls.
As the Miller Center further explains: “Grant wanted to meet the needs of the newly freed slaves and, at the same time, entice white Southerners into a Republican Party dedicated to creating jobs and solid businesses in the defeated region. However, it proved impossible for him to achieve these two competing goals. When he used federal troops or legislation to defend the rights of blacks, whites assailed him as a tyrant trampling states’ rights. Yet it went against his personal and political goals to abandon the freed slaves and the Republican Party in the South.”
James Madison
James Madison served as President from 1809-1817.
Madison — remembered as the “Father of the Constitution” — established himself as a leading force in the American Revolution by representing Virginia in the Continental Congress and framing the Virginia Constitution in 1776. He also contributed to the Federalist Papers along with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton.
The primary challenge of Madison’s administration was the disruption of American commerce by European powers — especially Great Britain — during the Napoleonic Wars. After avoiding armed conflict at all costs, Madison was eventually pressed into declaring war in 1812.
“Our moderation and conciliation have had no other effect than to encourage perseverance and to enlarge pretensions. We behold our seafaring citizens still the daily victims of lawless violence, committed on the great common and highway of nations, even within sight of the country which owes them protection,” said Madison in his war message. “We behold, in fine, on the side of Great Britain, a state of war against the United States, and on the side of the United States a state of peace toward Great Britain.”
Madison led the nation through its greatest threat since independence. Though Washington was torched in the conflict, the War of 1812 ended with Britain ceding portions of Northwest Territory to the United States.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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