Recently, a colleague asked me how would I assess the first few weeks of the Trump Administration. Such questions are not odd when one teaches American history and government. I realize now that I didn't answer his question correctly because he asked me to rank Trump's performance on a scale of 1 to 10. Nevertheless, my answer was definitive: "The worst in the history of the republic." Obviously, we don't know what the future holds, but as far as the first few weeks of a presidency goes, I see no historical evidence that anyone has had a rockier start. This question got me thinking...
Ranking presidents is a common pastime for many a historian and social studies teacher alike. If you teach US history, like me, you spend a great amount of your time examining the impact of various presidencies. The men we have elected as President can tell us a great deal about the beliefs, fears, hopes, and issues that shape society during a given era. Historians have even divided periods of American history into eras defined by the impacts of certain presidents: The Jeffersonian Republic, the Age of Jackson, the Reagan Revolution. Because we spend so much time studying them, it is only natural for students to ask teachers their opinions regarding the best and worst presidents. In fact, "Who do you think is the best president?" and "Who do you think is the worst president?" are the two most common questions I've been asked in my 8 years teaching high school social studies. Of course, I'm not counting "Can I go to the bathroom?" As a result, I've decided to spend the next 43 weeks ranking the 43 men who have held the title of President of the United States. For some, I'll have a lot to say. For others, a mere paragraph will suffice. Obviously, this exercise is nothing new. In fact, every time a president leaves office, C-SPAN conducts a survey of historians to see where the most recent president measures up. With a few exceptions, it's safe to say that my list won't differ from their list too much. You can find the most recent survey results here. If you can't wait until the end of the list, you can hear me discuss my top five on the very first episode of Among Other Things. I won't be including Donald Trump, because his story is far from over. At this point, I know there are two questions on everyone's mind: "Will Trent actually stay dedicated to this for 43 weeks?" and "Where will he rank Millard Fillmore?" You'll have to wait and see.
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Derek Trent AshcraftA place to discuss, among other things, politics, culture, food, faith, and nonsense. Archives
July 2021
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