Essay:Jeh2ow's Good and Bad of Every U.S. President
This is a list of everything the presidents of the United States of America did. I will be classifying them into two categories: the Good, and the Bad. Please note that this essay may be contradictory, as I will look at the presidents by either a left-wing or right-wing perspective, given their political views. (I'm a lefty, in case you were wondering.) Let's get started with...
George Washington[edit]
The good[edit]
George Washington defined what it means to be the President of the United States, much more the very first. While a commander-in-chief for the Continental Army, he led his team to victory in the Revolutionary War, while also dedicated to reason and rationality, which, given the name of this website, we care about this a lot. Advocating for republican[note 1] values, Washington was the only founding father to free all of his slaves on his death bed.
The bad[edit]
Washington may have been one of the least qualified candidates for the presidency ever. Remember the slaves he owned? He inherited them from his family of wealthy tobacco farmers. While he certainly didn't lack the military experience, he knew little to nothing about politics. The position of head of state would revolve around his military experience, resulting in the nickname "Commander-in-chief". Because he's the first president, he is often shielded from criticism. He failed to support republican forces in France, responded to rioters with an army of 15000 men, and his economic policy favored the wealthy elites, like himself, instead of the middle class.
John Adams[edit]
The good[edit]
Adams never owned a slave in his life, and considered the practice abhorrent. A freethinker, he often disagreed with his own party, and was a good father to the point where his son, John Quincy, would later become a President.
The bad[edit]
Adams really "cared" about freedom of speech, as he fined and even imprisoned anyone who dare criticize the government. He even thought it was a good idea to arrest a congressman for speaking out against him in a letter. There's also the Alien and Sedation Acts, which effectively made immigration illegal.
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Note the fact that "republican" has a lowercase R.