xyzinferno

James Buchanan is widely regarded as one of the worst presidents in the history of the US, and in my opinion, is the single worst among them.

This disdain largely stems from complacency and negligence in handling the secession of states from the Union. Some go as far as to claim Buchanan single-handedly caused the Civil War to occur, while others (such as myself) view it as a lack of action and decisiveness that allowed the division within the US to fester and culminate into the Civil War.

But what were Buchanan's personal views on secession, and the ultimate divide that caused it to happen?

I believe no source illustrates this better than Buchanan's fourth State of the Union Address. The full script is linked to this post, but to highlight some of the key takeaways from it:

The long-continued and intemperate interference of the Northern people with the question of slavery in the Southern States has at length produced its natural effects.

I have long foreseen and often forewarned my countrymen of the now impending danger.

All or any of these evils might have been endured by the South without danger to the Union (as others have been) in the hope that time and reflection might apply the remedy.

The immediate peril arises not so much from these causes as from the fact that the incessant and violent agitation of the slavery question throughout the North for the last quarter of a century has at length produced its malign influence on the slaves and inspired them with vague notions of freedom.

I believe that last excerpt is the nail in the coffin for Buchanan's mishandling of US tensions. Rather than pinning the blame on the south for continuing the barbaric practice of slavery, he instead pins the blame on the north for making slavery an issue, even going as far as to claim the north is at fault for allowing slaves to even consider freedom.

The Southern States, standing on the basis of the Constitution, have right to demand this act of justice from the States of the North. Should it be refused, then the Constitution, to which all the States are parties, will have been willfully violated by one portion of them in a provision essential to the domestic security and happiness of the remainder.

In later parts of the address, Buchanan continues to appease the South. He argues that it is the north's obligation to cater to the demands of the South, and should they be rejected, the North is to blame for the resulting aftermath.

Looking back from a more modern perspective, we can see the war this would result in, and understand how perverse Buchanan's views on civil rights were.

Perhaps my take on Buchanan is too harsh. If you disagree or want to elaborate, please feel free to discuss!

The primary photograph featured in this post. Above is Harry Truman playing the piano at the National Press Club in Washington, with actress Lauren Bacall perched atop.

Above is Richard Nixon playing the piano for Harry and Bess Truman at the Truman Library

While it isn't a piano, Bill Clinton did play the saxophone, and quite stylishly too. The above picture was taken during his performance at the Arsenio Hall Show in 1992.

Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States, may have been one of the lesser known presidents in our nation's history, but he wasn't without memorable quirks.

For Thanksgiving dinner, President Coolidge was sent a raccoon from Mississippi to be served as a meal, despite Coolidge having requested the practice of sending a Thanksgiving animal to the White House to cease.

With no interest in feasting on the raccoon, Coolidge gave the raccoon a presidential pardon and named her Rebecca. The Coolidge family would later adopt another raccoon, Ruben, to provide Rebecca company. However, Ruben ultimately ran away, leaving Rebecca alone once again. On this, First Lady Grace Coolidge, had this to say:

Rebecca had lived alone and had her own way so long that I fear she was a little overbearing and dictatorial, perhaps reminding her spouse that he was living on her bounty. Afterward, Rebecca continued to live in single blessedness.

I consider Eisenhower to be my favorite U.S. President of all time, and among all of his quotes, this one in particular has always stood out to me as a testament to his desire for peace:

War is mankind's most tragic and stupid folly; to seek or advise its deliberate provocation is a black crime against all men. Though you follow the trade of the warrior, you do so in the spirit of Washington — not of Genghis Khan. For Americans, only threat to our way of life justifies resort to conflict.

Knowing that he was the general who led the charge on D-Day, and knowing that saw the horrors of WWII firsthand, it is incredible to see him express his desire for mitigating war as much as possible. Not all war is the same. And incredibly enough, Eisenhower did not lead the US into a new war in his 8-year tenure in office, despite having presided over the end of the Korean War and many subsequent Cold War tensions across the world.

Of course, his views and actions weren't without fault. Namely, the domino theory he ascribed to led to the US meddling with the affairs of foreign nations through the use of the CIA which formed under Eisenhower's administration.

But Eisenhower's desire to mitigate bloodshed in the name of conquest remained firm, and in my eyes, was a mindset that many future presidents would have benefited from adopting.

If you have any thoughts on Eisenhower, or presidents' stances on war in general, feel free to share them!

https://lemmy.world/c/presidents

Designed as a Lemmy alternative to r/Presidents, our community aims to provide a place for people to discuss U.S. Presidents from a historical context. We aim to keep divisive politics at a minimum, preferring to remain as impartial as possible and be inclusive to people of all political leanings that enjoy and want to discuss U.S. Presidents.

Similar to r/Presidents, we allow tier list posts and memes, which make up a good portion of content, as well as threads for fun facts, "On this day" posts, and general discussions on more obscure topics.

If you have a fondness for history, I highly encourage you to check out our community!

!presidents | lemmy.world/c/presidents

Gerald Ford is probably, in my opinion, one of the most overlooked presidents of the 1900s, especially considering when he took office.

Having the guts to tell congress and the entire nation outright that the state of the union is not good is downright impressive. On one hand, you want a leader to instill confidence and hope, but being honest and forthcoming about how things are is important. Whether that honesty hurt Gerald Ford in his election is something we can only speculate, but I have to admit, it's admirable nonetheless.

I posted this initially on r/presidents, though I thought I'd repost it here before making a follow up with the remaining presidents!

I plan on combining all the presidents' icons into a tier list template, which I will post to this community when it's complete.

Until then, feel free to make your own tier lists and upload them here! We'd love to increase user engagement during the early days of our community.

Coincidentally enough, I saw another user make a post about cookies. Reminded me of a Reddit post I made 4 years ago that'd be fitting to share!

After viewing and reading through a similar forum post on Historum, the rabbit hole of the Gold Bugs and Silverites was a fascinating one, clarifying many of the circumstances that led to the 1896 Presidential Election and it's subsequent outcome.

At the time, The US Dollar was backed by the Gold Standard, which equated the value of one dollar to a specific amount of gold. Up until 1873, the US Dollar was also equal to a specific value of silver, which naturally meant some sum of silver was equal to a certain sum of gold, as backed by the US government. However, despite this practice being abolished, many believed in "freeing silver" or reinstating the practice of backing the US dollar with silver and minting silver coins.

William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic Party's nominee, was an advocate for free silver, while Republican candidate William McKinley, who would go on to win the election, was a staunch advocate for the gold standard.

With much of the debate and discourse- both honorable and underhanded- that comes with a presidential election, the outcome was decided, with McKinley and the gold bugs winning 23 states versus Bryan's 22 (271 electoral votes to 176).

The Gold Standard remained firmly in place, and the Silverite's suffered yet another legislative defeat. For more detailed information, I recommend reading the attached article and plenty more that exist across the internet.

What are your thoughts on this election cycle, and the economic circumstances surrounding it?