Presidential Rankings - The Good Ones

According to Graboyes, the Somewhat Positive presidents made positive but not earth-shattering contributions.

John Adams: A great man but mediocre president.

James Madison: Another great man who proved to be a mediocre president.

Andrew Jackson: He changed American politics and governance.  He stamped out nullification.  He might have rated among the greats but for his treatment toward Native Americans.

Ulysses Grant: He criminalized the KKK, reversed course from Jackson regarding Native Americans, and sought to stabilize the dollar.  However, his administration was plagued by corruption, which stained him though he supported investigations.

Chester Arthur: Elevated to the presidency in the wake of James Garfield's assassination, Arthur reformed the Civil Service.  Here was a man who had benefited from the existing system and knew what needed to be reformed.  He also strengthened the navy and sought to improve the lot of former slaves and Native Americans.

William McKinley: Though he wanted peace with Spain, he went to war when his efforts failed.  He also strengthened Anglo-American ties.

Warren Harding: Ended the disaster that was the Wilson years - releasing some political prisoners - and began an era of prosperity.  He appointed former President Taft to the Supreme Court and his choice of Andrew Mellon for Treasury was particularly good.  He had good bipartisan relations.  However, he died in office and was stained by stories of his adultery and the Teapot Dome Scandal.

Calvin Coolidge: Harding's vice president, Coolidge was a limited government adherent, resisting efforts of the federal government to infringe on the states.  He advocated individual rights and ran a clean administration.  Ronald Reagan viewed Coolidge very highly.

Dwight Eisenhower: Ike ended the Korean War, didn't get the US entangled in Vietnam, founded the Interstate Highway System and the US Space Program.  Also, he sent troops to Little Rock to enforce desegregation.

This list comes as a bit of a surprise.  John Adams had the Alien and Sedition Acts, which infringed on the First Amendment.  That's a big negative.  He won the Quasi-War with France and was the first president to live in the White House.  Yeah, he only ranks in the somewhat positive as a lifetime achievement award.  Likewise, James Madison's presidency was mostly the War of 1812, which was mostly a disaster.  The White House was set on fire by the British.  If not for Andrew Jackson's success at New Orleans and the amazing performance of the US Navy, Madison would look much worse.  Again, his rating among the good seems like a lifetime achievement award.  I completely agree with his rating of Jackson.  Massively consequential president but also an ass.  The Democrats use the Jackass as their symbol on account of Jackson.  Like Monroe after the War of 1812, Grant had a postwar presidency though it wasn't another Era of Good Feelings.  Though he enforced Reconstruction, there were a lot of Indian Wars in the West during his presidency.  Yes, he wasn't as anti-Indian as Jackson, but he was hardly in their corner.  He might be getting the bump to somewhat positive on account of winning the Civil War.  It starts to look as though the quintile division scheme is forcing some so-so presidents upwards.  McKinley oversaw the expansion of the US into an empire.  The Spanish American War brought the Philippines and Puerto Rico as US possessions.  There was also the annexation of Hawaii.  McKinley was ambivalent about the war; Theodore Roosevelt - who was assistant secretary of the navy at the time, accused him of having the backbone of a chocolate eclair.  Harding is often ranked much lower, but his placement here is fair.  The return to Normalcy is underrated.  Coolidge and Eisenhower definitely rank toward the top of this batch.

Ex-Presidents Who Ran Again

Generally speaking, when a president has left office, that has been the end of his political career.  Few men go on to seek lesser elective offices or pursue posts inferior to the presidency.  However, some have sought to resume the office of president after having left the job.

Martin Van Buren (1782-1862) had been the attorney general of New York, Governor of New York, a Senator from New York, the Secretary of State, the Vice President under Andrew Jackson, and finally President.  His term did not go well and he was voted out of office in 1840.  However, he sought the Democratic nomination in 1844, but lost to Polk.  In the 1848 election, a party split over the regulation of slavery in the territories led to the Free Soil Party.  The Free Soilers nominated Van Buren.  His running mate was Charles Francis Adams, son of President John Quincy Adams, and grandson of President John Adams.  Though he won 10% of the votes, Van Buren won no electoral votes.

Millard Filmore (1800-1874) had been a congressman and President Zachary Taylor's vice president.  When Taylor died in July 1850, Filmore became president.  Filmore was ambivalent about running for a term of his own in the 1852 election.  He was unpopular with Northern Whigs.  A backroom deal to get the nomination to either Daniel Webster or Filmore fell through, and Winfield Scott became the party nominee.  By 1856, the Whig Party was split by slavery, many migrating to the new Republican Party.  The American Party - better known as the Know Nothing Party - gathered other remnants of the Whigs.  The party nominated Filmore.  Filmore did better than Van Buren, winning 21.5% of the popular vote and 8 electoral votes.

Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) had left the White House after two terms.  However, in the wake of the Hayes Presidency, he sought a return to the presidency.  Many felt that this was a breech of Washington's two-term limit, which surely impacted later results.  In a convention fight, Grant was the lead candidate, but could not secure enough delegates for the nomination.  Eventually, the convention selected James Garfield for the nomination.

Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) had won the presidency in 1884, the first Democrat to do so since James Buchanan in 1856.  However, he was voted out in 1888.  Cleveland was determined to return to office.  In the 1892 campaign, he was his party's clear frontrunner, but only narrowly secured the nomination.  He then went on to win the election, becoming the first - and so far only - president to serve non-consecutive terms.  Cleveland did not seek re-election in 1896, perhaps because his party had disowned him for his stance on the gold standard.  He supported the National Democratic Party in 1896 but refused to be the party nominee; this was a splinter party that supported the gold standard.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) had been a New York Assemblyman, New York City Police Commissioner, Governor of New York, Colonel in the Spanish-American War, and Vice President under William McKinley.  He became president on McKinley's assassination and was handily re-elected in 1904.  He selected William Howard Taft to succeed him in 1908.  Displeased with the Taft Administration, Roosevelt sought to win the Republican nomination.  That Taft's margin of victory at the convention came from Southern states that Republicans hadn't won since the 1870s irked Roosevelt.  He formed the Bullmoose Party and thus elected Woodrow Wilson.  Roosevelt won 27% of the popular vote and 88 electoral votes.  Taft won 23% of the vote and only 8 electoral votes.

Donald Trump (1946-) is the first man elected to the presidency who had been neither a politician or a soldier.  After a tumultuous presidency, he was defeated for re-election in one of the most troubled elections on record.  He claimed it was stolen.  He is currently the leading nominee for the Republican Party, having won both Iowa and New Hampshire thus far.  If successful, he will repeat Grover Cleveland's achievement.  Even if not elected, he will be the first ex-president to secure his party's nomination for another run and not win.

Clearly, most modern presidents learned from history that it was almost certainly a losing proposition.  Also, the 25th Amendment limited a president to 10 years, which would have nixed both Grant and Roosevelt's efforts.

Only Living President

As of this writing, there is one sitting president and 5 ex-presidents: President Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter.  There have never been more than 5 living ex-presidents.  One supposes that after George Washington, the following presidents always had a predecessor enjoying his retirement.  In fact, no.  Several presidents have been the only living president during their presidency.

George Washington (1789-1797): As the first president, Washington had no predecessors to consult in the difficult times.  It was up to him to establish how Article 2 of the Constitution would work.  For nearly 8 years, he was the only living president.

John Adams (1797-1801): Having been Washington's VP, Adams knew his predecessor fairly well.  He even called upon Washington to lead an army during the Whiskey Rebellion.  However, Washington died in December 1799, leaving John Adams as the only living president.  He did not win re-election the following year, so his tenure as the only living president was only 1 year and 4 months.

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877): When Grant began his presidency in March 1869, there were 3 ex-presidents: Millard Filmore, Franklin Pierce, and Andrew Johnson.  Pierce died in October 1869, Filmore in January 1874, and Johnson on July 31, 1875.  For the next year and 8 months, Grant was the only living president.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909): Theodore took office upon the assassination of McKinley.  At that time, only 1 previous president was still living: Grover Cleveland.  When Cleveland died on June 24, 1908, Roosevelt was the only living president.  Eight months later, Roosevelt left office.

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933): When Hoover came to office, former President Taft was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Calvin Coolidge retired to Massachusetts.  Taft died in 1930 and Coolidge died on January 5, 1933.  Hoover was the only living president for 2 months.

Richard Nixon (1969-1974): Nixon took office when there were 3 living former presidents.  Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson.  Eisenhower died a couple of months after Nixon was inaugurated in 1969.  Truman died in December 1972 and Johnson died a month later, January 22, 1973.  Richard Nixon was the only living president for the next 18 months, at which time he resigned.

Since 1981, there have been 3 to 5 living former presidents.