***(Editor’s Note: In conjunction with the Inauguration of America’s 44^th President, “The Thirsty Quill” is publishing a series entitled “Ranking The Presidents.” There is no ‘exact science’ to these rankings other than personal opinion based on such factors as policy, performance, popularity, perseverance, integrity, and legacy. Aside from those Presidents ranked in the top 25% and the bottom 25%, there is a great deal of ‘wiggle room’ for discretionary placement and movement. These rankings are strictly the personal opinion of the Editor of ‘The Quill,’ and should not be regarded as an academic survey of any type. Debate of these rankings is highly encouraged and appreciated.)***

#24: Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)

Typically a forgotten figure in American politics, Van Buren had a resume that warrants some considerable merit among Presidential rankings. As one of only two Chief Executives in our history to serve as President, Vice President, and Secretary of State (along with Thomas Jefferson), Van Buren was quite influential in the early-American political landscape. A descendent of Dutch ancestry, he was the first President to be born a true citizen of the United States, considering that his birth came after the American Revolution. Oddly enough, Van Buren was a widower when he took the Oath of Office, as his wife Hannah had died some years before, in 1819.

Van Buren was instrumental in helping Andrew Jackson form what is now the modern Democratic Party, although the two men were from very different regions of the country (Jackson was a Southerner, while Van Buren was from New York). Keeping most of Jackson’s Cabinet intact, Van Buren set out to solidify the momentum and progress set forth under Jackson. Yet a financial panic in 1837, the Amistad fiasco, his involvement in the “Trail of Tears,” and the growing sectional crisis over slavery, all earned Van Buren the title of “Martin Van Ruin.”

However, we will steer clear of classifying Van Buren as a disaster since, like John Quincy Adams, his entire political career was quite successful when weighed beside his short tenure as President. Besides, many of the successes of Jackson’s terms could be attributed to Van Buren’s influence. So, being stuck here in “the middle of the road” seems an appropriate placement for Van Buren. He was ousted by William Henry Harrison in 1840. 

Notable Quotations: “Is it possible to be anything in this country without being a politician?”

“There is a power in public opinion in this country, and I thank God for it, for it is the most honest and best of all powers. It is a power which will not tolerate an incompetent or unworthy man to hold in his weak or wicked hands the lives and fortunes of his fellow-citizens.”

“As to the Presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entry upon the office, and of my surrender of it.”

#24: Martin Van Buren

#23: Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)

One of the most highly debated Presidencies in American history remains that of Herbert Hoover. Often the scapegoat for the Great Depression, Hoover has been given little leniency by most historians, scholars, and so-called experts. However, despite his inability to reverse the Depression in its infancy, I am convinced that the blame for the decade-long crisis cannot be laid solely at Hoover’s feet.  

Perhaps it was time for a market “correction” after the near-decade of economic prosperity aptly nicknamed “The Roaring Twenties.” The industrial boom, along with new inventions in the early-1900s, had ushered in an era of corporate power.  The introduction of life-altering products such as automobiles, radios, and the telephone became material “candy” for consumers to gobble up. On the heels of World War I, or “The War To End All Wars,” consumer confidence was sky-high. This confidence, along with the boom of corporate profits from the sale of the aforementioned “candy,” paved the way for an economic tsunami during the 1920s like America had never seen. The wave was bound to “crash,” and the balloon was bound to “pop,” sooner or later. Unfortunately for Hoover, he just so happened to be the man tanning on the beach in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was little he could do, and the tides of the economic downturn swept him under faster than he could tread water and yell for help. Add to the economic crash his lack of popularity due to his prohibition views, and well, Hoover was doomed.

On a positive note, Hoover did helped bolster the National Parks, vigorously pursued notorious gangster Al Capone, initiated the building of what would later become Hoover Dam, and was widely successful in foreign diplomacy. 

Notable Quotations: “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”

“Once upon a time, my political opponents honored me as possessing the fabulous intellectual and economic power by which I created a worldwide depression all by myself.”

“The President ought to be allowed to hang two men every year without giving any reason or explanation.”

#23: Herbert Hoover

PRESIDENTIAL RANKINGS SO FAR: 

#23: Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)

#24: Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)

#25: John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

#26: Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

#27: Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

#28: Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

#29: Zachary Taylor (March 1849-July 1850)

#30: Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

#31: Chester Arthur (1881-1885)

#32: Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

#33: John Tyler (1841-1845)

#34: Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

#35: Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)

#36: Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

#37: James Buchanan (1857-1861)

#38: Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

#39: Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

#40: Warren Harding (March 1921-August 1923)

#41: Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

#42*: James Garfield (March 1881-September 1881)

#43*: William Henry Harrison (March 1841-April 1841)