Hail to the Chiefs

Long after a president is gone, he tends to be remembered for or judged by a few key events. On this Presidents Day, for example, an acquittal dominates the news; will William Jefferson Clinton be remembered mainly as the second president to be impeached?

The War of 1812, the Fugitive Slave Act, Reconstruction--which president do you associate with those issues? And what do you remember about Chester A. Arthur?

In honor of today’s holiday, here’s a brief look at some of the best and worst of times for the men who have held our highest office:

1. George Washington (1789-1797)

Best of Times: He saw the country through two Continental Congresses, led the Continental Army to victory over the British in the Revolutionary War and helped formulate the Articles of Confederation. In 1789, he was unanimously elected president under a just-ratified Constitution. The Bill of Rights was adopted during his term. Worst of Times: He reportedly had a bad temper. Jefferson said he “was naturally irritable,” and when his temper “broke its bonds, he was most tremendous in his wrath.”

2. John Adams (1797-1801)

Best of Times: He tried to keep the United States neutral in the long-running conflict between Britain and France, and he managed to keep the country from going to war with France. During his term, the United States started to become an industrialized nation. Worst of Times: Adams was criticized for his support of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which helped silence political opposition. He also faced friction within his own party from Alexander Hamilton and from a newly formed opposition party led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

Best of Times: Believing the best government was the least government, he cut military spending and reduced the budget and the national debt. He also purchased the Louisiana Territory from the French. Worst of Times: His administration was beset by rumors that he had fathered children by his slave, Sally Hemings. Modern testing has indicated that at least one child was most likely his.

4. James Madison (1809-1817)

Best of Times: He led the country to war against Britain. After the war, there was renewed patriotism among Americans. Worst of Times: His critics said he was “unfit for war.” The nation suffered numerous defeats by the British during the War of 1812, including the burning of the White House.

5. James Monroe (1817-1825)

Best of Times: His presidency was marked by increased prosperity; he was reelected with no opposition during the Era of Good Feeling. Worst of Times: With Missouri’s application for admission to the Union as a slave state, the argument over slavery heightened. The Missouri Compromise temporarily maintained the balance between free and slave states.

6. John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

Best of Times: The son of President John Adams opened many highways and canals. During his term, money was left to the government for the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution in 1846. Worst of Times: Adams’ election was determined by the House of Representatives. Neither he nor his opponent, Andrew Jackson, had won a clear majority of votes.

7. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

Best of Times: A hero in the War of 1812, Old Hickory greatly strengthened the office of the presidency, often battling with his opponents in Congress. Jackson established the custom of awarding government appointments to his supporters, a process known as the spoils system. Worst of Times: Jackson’s wife did not have a valid divorce from her first husband when she married Jackson. Though the problem was resolved and the Jacksons legally remarried, his opponents used it during his first presidential campaign. His wife died shortly after he was elected.

8. Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)

Best of Times: He launched an independent treasury system to hold federal funds and protect them from the financial panic of 1837, the nation’s first depression. Worst of Times: Van Buren was criticized for doing little as bankruptcies multiplied during the panic and for rewarding his supporters with political favors.

9. William Henry Harrison (1841)

Best of Times: He became a national hero when he defeated Indian warrior Tecumseh at the Tippecanoe River. He ran his campaign with the slogan, “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too,” referring to the battle and his running mate. Worst of Times: Harrison didn’t have much time to make a mark for himself: He died of pneumonia a month after taking office.

10. John Tyler (1841-1845)

Best of Times: The first leader to succeed to the presidency because of the death of a president, he had to bear being called “His Accidency” because of it. He reacted by vetoing bills and refusing to go against personal beliefs for his party’s advantage. Worst of Times: Because of Tyler’s conflicts with Congress, he was expelled from his party. All but one member of his Cabinet resigned. A bill of impeachment against him was introduced but failed to pass.

11. James K. Polk (1845-1849)

Best of Times: He broadened the Monroe Doctrine, arguing that America had a “manifest destiny” to expand. During Polk’s presidency, Texas joined the Union and much of the Southwest was annexed. Worst of Times: The acquisition of new territory led to a bitter dispute between North and South over the expansion of slavery.

12. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)

Best of Times: Popularly known as Old Rough and Ready because of his soldiering skills and his heroism in the Mexican War, he worked to admit California as a free state even though he owned slaves. Worst of Times: The slavery issue was heating up, but Taylor didn’t have much time; he was the second president to die in office.

13. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)

Best of Times: The opening of trade with Japan in 1853 was a high point. Domestically, he supported the Compromise of 1850, which allowed California to join the Union as a free state. Worst of Times: Under a compromise to obtain California’s admission, passage of the Fugitive Slave Act was allowed, which helped slave owners retrieve runaway slaves.

14. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

Best of Times: He approved the Gadsden Purchase, a large tract from Mexico that is now part of Arizona and New Mexico. Worst of Times: He tried to resist antislavery factions, and the slavery issue worsened, leading to bloodshed in Kansas when pro- and anti-slavery forces fought for control.

15. James Buchanan (1857-1861)

Best of Times: His term saw the last years of peace before the Civil War as he tried to balance government appointments between Northerners and Southerners. Worst of Times: When seven of the 15 states seceded from the Union over the slavery issue, he took no action to stop them.

16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

Best of Times: Forced to deal with secession by the Southern states and the resulting Civil War, he concluded that only the abolition of slavery could preserve the Union, and he helped accomplish both. Worst of Times: Lincoln did not live long enough to savor his victory. He was the first of four presidents to be killed in office.

17. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

Best of Times: Originally from the South and the only senator from a seceding state who stayed loyal to the Union, he pushed for a mild reconstruction of the South after the Civil War. Worst of Times: Johnson’s views on how to treat the South brought him into conflict with some members of Congress. He was impeached by the House of Representatives and escaped conviction in the Senate by one vote.

18. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

Best of Times: During Grant’s two terms, the 15th Amendment was passed, making it illegal to deny citizens the right to vote because of their race. Worst of Times: Though he was an acclaimed Civil War hero and personally honest, his administration was beset by political scandals involving subordinates and appointees.

19. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

Best of Times: He reformed the Civil Service, basing appointments on merit rather than the spoils system. He also ended Reconstruction, withdrawing federal troops from the former Confederate states. Worst of Times: His enemies called him “His Fraudulency” because he took office after a controversial election. When some electoral votes were questioned, a special commission, consisting mostly of members of his own party, awarded all disputed votes to Hayes.

20. James A. Garfield (1881)

Best of Times: He took a stand against political corruption but didn’t get to do much else.

Worst of Times: A mentally disturbed office seeker who had been denied a government post shot him. Garfield died two months later.

21. Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)

Best of Times: He supported the spoils system but followed Garfield’s agenda and backed Civil Service reform. Worst of Times: Arthur’s actions so antagonized a section of his party that he was not backed for a second term.

22. Grover Cleveland (1885-1889)

Best of Times: The only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms, he enlarged the Civil Service and vetoed many expensive spending programs. Worst of Times: He failed to gain reelection. Though Cleveland had more popular votes, Benjamin Harrison beat him on electoral votes.

23. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

Best of Times: The only grandson of a president (William Henry Harrison) to be elected president, he ran on the campaign song “Grandfather’s Hat Fits Ben.” He signed the Sherman Antitrust Act, a landmark law that regulated American business. Worst of Times: He was nominated for reelection, but opponents of the McKinley Tariff Act--a protection against imported goods--contributed to his defeat.

24. Grover Cleveland (1893-1897)

Best of Times: He returned as the nation’s 24th president during the economic Panic of 1893. He tried to bring the country out of depression by implementing sound-money measures, reducing tariffs and restraining labor unions. Worst of Times: In his run for a second term, rumors circulated that he had an illegitimate son. He acknowledged making child-support payments to widow Maria C. Halpin for a son he may or may not have fathered.

25. William McKinley (1897-1901)

Best of Times: From his front porch in Ohio, he campaigned for “a full dinner pail.” During his term, the country won the Spanish-American War in 1898, which brought U.S. territorial gains in Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. Worst of Times: He became the third president killed in office when an anarchist assassinated him in 1901.

26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

Best of Times: With his foreign policy motto “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” he initiated construction of the Panama Canal. He was called a trustbuster for breaking up monopolies. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating an end to the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. Worst of Times: He supported William Howard Taft for president in 1908, but Roosevelt ran for a third term in 1912 as a third-party candidate. He was shot in the chest during a campaign event but finished the speech. He lost the election.

27. William Howard Taft (1909-1913)

Best of Times: He also initiated antitrust suits, proposed the Department of Labor and drafted amendments calling for the income tax and direct election of senators. He later went on to the Supreme Court, becoming the only person to serve as president and chief justice. Worst of Times: Some of his policies alienated a wing of his party, and he lost his bid for a second term.

28. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

Best of Times: His Fourteen Points, which called for the formation of the League of Nations, were the basis for the armistice that ended World War I. He was the second president to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Worst of Times: He suffered a debilitating stroke in 1919. His wife, Edith, and his doctor are thought to have handled many of his day-to-day duties during the remainder of his second term.

29. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)

Best of Times: He campaigned on a “return to normalcy” platform. He eliminated war controls, cut taxes, established a federal budget system, restored the high protective tariff and limited immigration. Worst of Times: Harding’s administration was plagued by corruption. One of his Cabinet members was convicted and sentenced to a year in prison in the Teapot Dome scandal. He died while in office.

30. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

Best of Times: Silent Cal succeeded to the presidency upon Harding’s death. He had a reputation for honesty and presided over an era of relative prosperity. His slogan was “Keep cool with Coolidge,” and he believed “the business of America is business.” Worst of Times: His reputation for having little to say was legendary. When he died in 1933, Dorothy Parker is reputed to have said, “How could you tell?”

31. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)

Best of Times: He became president at a time of great prosperity, and he expected it to continue. Worst of Times: Seven months into his term, the stock market crashed, and despite the nation’s meltdown, he did not believe in extensive government intervention.

32. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)

Best of Times: Inaugurated in the midst of the Depression, he told Americans they had “nothing to fear but fear itself” and launched numerous programs. He then led the nation through World War II. He was the only president elected to third and fourth terms. Worst of Times: Roosevelt’s critics claimed his New Deal policies gave the federal government too much power. Many thought government controls over business might destroy the free enterprise system and lead to socialism.

33. Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)

Best of Times: He brought about a quick surrender by the Japanese in World War II, though the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not without controversy. After the war, he concentrated on containing communism through the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan and the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Worst of Times: Truman had another war to deal with when Communist forces from North Korea invaded South Korea.

34. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)

Best of Times: He was a World War II hero and Cold War president who pursued free market economics and initiated the American space program and the interstate highway system. Worst of Times: Eisenhower had to send U.S. soldiers into Little Rock, Ark., to enforce a federal court order mandating school desegregation.

35. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)

Best of Times: He proposed civil rights and Medicare legislation, and promoted the space program. Worst of Times: His early administration was beset by the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and the crisis over Soviet missiles based on that island. He was the fourth president to be killed in office.

36. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

Best of Times: He pressed on with the Kennedy agenda, including passage of the Civil Rights Act. He introduced his Great Society program and declared “war on poverty.” Worst of Times: Despite his vigorous program for social change, Johnson became bogged down by the expanding war in Vietnam.

37. Richard M. Nixon (1969-1974)

Best of Times: His term was marked by the first moon landing, a visit to Communist China and efforts at detente with the Soviets. A cease-fire was signed in 1973 ending American involvement in the Vietnam War. Worst of Times: Nixon resigned office--the only president to do so--in 1974 rather than face impeachment for the Watergate scandal, which involved high-level government officials, the burglary of Democratic headquarters and a subsequent cover-up.

38. Gerald R. Ford (1974-1977)

Best of Times: Succeeding to the presidency in the wake of Nixon’s resignation, Ford maintained U.S. importance in foreign affairs by arranging an interim truce in the Middle East and negotiating weapons limitations with the Soviet Union. Worst of Times: He angered many when he granted Nixon a “full, free and absolute pardon.” His term was hampered by a U.S. recession and an oil shortage.

39. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

Best of Times: He is credited with a national energy policy to deal with an oil shortage, Civil Service reform, environment protection and the establishment of the Department of Education. He also mediated the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel. Worst of Times: Carter was criticized for pardoning Vietnam draft evaders, and his administration was marked by a failed attempt to rescue Americans held hostage by Iran.

40. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

Best of Times: He cut taxes and, after an initial recession, oversaw a revitalized economy. His administration saw the collapse of Communism and subsequent breakup of the Soviet Union. Worst of Times: He was shot nine weeks into his term but recovered fully. His popularity dipped when news of the Iran-Contra scandal broke.

41. George Bush (1989-1993)

Best of Times: He dealt with Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait by assembling an international coalition that liberated Kuwait. His popularity ratings soared with Iraq’s defeat in the Persian Gulf War. Worst of Times: He was criticized for not pushing troops through to Baghdad and removing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. A tax increase and continuing economic woes cost him reelection.

42. Bill Clinton (1993-present)

Best of Times: His term of office has seen growing U.S. prosperity. The American people continue to give him good marks for his job as president. Worst of Times: His administration has been marked by scandals. After being impeached by the House, the Senate acquitted him on perjury and obstruction of justice charges.