Presidential Rankings - The Great Ones

I have long disagreed with the regular presidential rankings that are published every few years.  Invariably, the most recent Republicans are at the very bottom and the most recent Democrats rank very highly.  No bias there.  A couple of weeks ago, I came across one by Robert Graboyes that did not follow the usual rankings.  The presidents are separated into quintiles: highly positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative, and highly negative.  There is a 6th category for those who died so early in office that they don't merit ranking.  Let's start with the greats (i.e., highly positive):

Graboyes defines highly positive as leaving "at least one blockbuster accomplishment that swamps any negatives."

George Washington:  He was the first president and established what the office would be.  Everything he did became a precedent, including his resignation after 2 terms.  He defined the presidency.

Thomas Jefferson: The third president bought Louisianna from Napoleon, dramatically expanding the United States.  Where most nations were paying protection to the Tripolitan pirates, Jefferson sent the Marines.

James Monroe: Other than Washington, Monroe is the only president to run unopposed for re-election.  His time in office was known as the Era of Good Feelings.  He announced the Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Western Hemisphere as off-limits to European powers.

James Knox Polk: Nearly doubled the size of the United States and established treasury autonomy.  As a longtime Polk fan, it pleases me greatly that he was placed in the highly positive group.  This surely impacts my view of his overall picks.

Abraham Lincoln:  He saved the Union.  Enough said.

Theodore Roosevelt: He strengthened the presidency and established America as a superpower.  Indeed, he is the first US president to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: He led the allies to victory.

Harry Truman: He began the containment of Communism.

Ronald Reagan: He turned the economy around from the Ford/Carter mess, starting a 25-year economic boom.  More importantly, his strategy ended the Soviets without a war.

Generally, this is a good list.  I will quibble about FDR, whose actions regarding the Great Depression and threats of packing the Supreme Court should cost him a great spot.  However, FDR has been listed as one of the three greats - with Washington and Lincoln - in almost every list.  If Mount Rushmore had been carved in the 50s or later rather than the 20s and 30s, FDR would be on it.

Three Time Loser: The Corrupt Bargain!

Henry Clay was born in Virginia in 1777.  Twenty years later, he moved to Kentucky and began a law practice.  He was involved in politics from the start, having suggested revisions to the Kentucky Constitution to gradually end slavery (1799), being elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives (1803), to serving as a US Senator (1806-07, 1810-11).  He didn't much care for the Senate and pursued a career in the House of Representatives.  Despite being a freshman Congressman, Clay was elected to be Speaker of the House; he was only 34 years old.  He proved to be a commanding speaker and led the war hawks in demanding war with Britain.  Indeed, the Congress - as is its prerogative - declared war on June 18, 1812.  Two years later, Clay was selected by President Madison to join the peace commission in the Netherlands to end the war.  Also on the commission was John Quincy Adams, son of President John Adams.

In 1824, James Monroe followed the example set by Washington, Jefferson, and Madison to retire after 2 terms in office.  The Federalist Party had evaporated, which led to 4 Democratic-Republicans competing for the presidency.  There was General Andrew Jackson, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford, and Speaker of the House Henry Clay.  With so many candidates, Clay was certain that no one would gain enough electoral votes to win; that would send the election to the House of Representatives.  He was certain that he would be chosen in the body he led.  Though it was a sound plan, Clay placed fourth and the 12th Amendment only allowed the House to select among the top three.  Foiled!  It was his first losing run for the presidency.

Though he could not win, he had the power to select among the three.  William Crawford had suffered a stroke and was unsuited to the presidency at this point.  There was bad blood between Clay and Jackson.  In 1818, Jackson had invaded Spanish Florida and hanged two British subjects.  Clay found this outrageous and accused him of being a potential military dictator, like Bonaparte, Cromwell, Caesar, or Alexander the Great.  Though Jackson had the largest vote total of the three candidates, Clay would not lobby in favor of him.  That left his former peace commission colleague, John Quincy Adams.

John Quincy Adams was chosen by the House as the next president.  It is noteworthy that Adams had been serving as President Monroe's Secretary of State.  Each of his three predecessors - Monroe, Madison, and Jefferson - had served as Secretary of State.  It was a training ground for future presidents.  President Adams selected Henry Clay to be his Secretary of State.

If there had been bad blood between Clay and Jackson before, this greatly exacerbated the feud.  Jackson declared a 'Corrupt Bargain' had been struck where Clay supported Adams in exchange for the prime cabinet post.  There would be a rematch in 1828.