Gerald Rudolph Ford

Term:1974-1977

Party: Republican

Nickname: Jerry

Short Bio:
Ford has the distinction of being the only president to not be elected. Also, being the shortest serving president not cut short by death. This was not for lack of trying, as Ford also has the distinction of being the president with the most near assassinations. One was from a Charles Manson follower who went to shoot Ford but found their gun without a bullet in the immediate cartridge. The second assassination attempt was foiled by a bystander, who knocked the assailant's arm so they would miss the president. Ford is probably the second luckiest president when it comes to dodging death, the first being Jackson, who had two pistols shot at him point blank, with both misfiring though they were in perfect working order.

Ford is the only president from Michigan, which makes him awesome in that respect, and was a prodigy for the U of M Wolverines football team. His ascent to the Presidency is a note to all Speakers of the House that the presidency isn't necessarily out of reach. You just have to have to be picked for Vice-President by a President that you are sure is on his way out. As a note of clarification, the Speaker of the House is not in the line for President. Ford was picked by Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew as Vice-President.

Ford was in a bad situation. There was no transition time for him. He was literally stuck with Nixon's cabinet, who he could not effectively command. He made the unwise decision to pardon Nixon for everything he did regarding Watergate, which angered the American public. Ford also wasn't able to generate media appeal. The economy was still bad, and Ford wasn't able to help it with his plan to balance the budget any way possible.

Ford did however pull us out of Vietnam completely, something the U.S. had waited a very long time for. Ford, in the end, couldn't distance himself from Nixon and Watergate, and found himself beaten by Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election, though not by much.

Grade: C+

Ford wasn't as clumsy as people made him out to be. Nor was he as bad as some make him out to be. He was put into an unfortunate position, when the country didn't believe in the office of the President anymore. He was surrounded by Nixon's cabinet, and couldn't help the economy or unemployment. Had he not pardoned Nixon, many would probably of liked him more.

Richard Milhous Nixon

Term: 1969-1974

Party: Republican

Nickname: Tricky Dick

Short Bio:
Nixon's presidency has been, probably more than any other presidents, overshadowed by controversy. Most remember his staggering paranoia and handling of the Watergate scandal that led to his resignation. Before this time though, Nixon was a fairly good president. After serving under Eisenhower for two terms and losing the bid for president in 1960 to Kennedy, Nixon refined his campaigning skills and ran away with the 1968 election. Nixon sought to continue work on domestic issues such as an increase in social security benefits, the reorganization of the post office department, tax reforms, and anti-crime measures. In the late 60's and early 70's, crime had reached a high point due to drugs and a rise of gangs. This rise of crime would not go down until the early 90's.

Nixon also sought to pull the U.S. forces out of Vietnam, seeing that things were not going well. With this, Nixon's popularity soared, though anti-war protests like at Kent State and Jackson State College were still rampant and led to several deaths of students. This period in time was extremely turbulent, as riots were now commonplace and assassinations happening every few years. Right before Nixon was elected MLK Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were shot, at different times, and during Nixon's first term, Southern Democratic candidate George Wallace was shot five times leading to his paralysis. Things were not going well all of a sudden. Though Nixon promised he was pulling people out of Vietnam, the war was still going strong into 1972. On top of that, inflation and unemployment were rising, which ultimately led to low approval ratings for Nixon. This may of been where Nixon's paranoia really came into play, as he probably thought that the Democrats had a good chance of beating him in 1972. Though, in that same year, Nixon ended the draft and visited China, which opened up trade with the normally isolated country. The Republicans still weren't sure of their victory, so they had five men break into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. and try and find out valuable information. They were caught, and an investigation was launched.

For all the fears of losing the 1972 election, the Republicans actually had nothing to worry about. Nixon obliterated George McGovern, with the largest popular victory in American history, with 18 million more popular votes. Though McGovern only got 17 electoral votes, this isn't the greatest electoral win. That distinction still goes to Washington, who was unanimously voted in, and Monroe, who only had one electoral vote against him. Nixon celebrated his victory, as some of his aides were found guilty of burglary, conspiracy, and wiretapping.

Then things started to unravel for Nixon. An oil crisis had just started, the economy wasn't getting any better, and prosecutors were getting closer to connecting him with the Watergate Scandal. His vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigns after allegations of his taking bribes during his whole political career. Enter Gerald Ford, the old Speaker of the House as the new Vice President. Eventually, the prosecutors found out about the White House tapes, which recorded Nixon trying to cover up the Watergate fiasco. Nixon was eventually forced to hand the tapes over. Knowing that the end was near, and the whole country basically calling for his impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 9th, 1974. He remains the only president to resign from office. Gerald Ford takes the Presidency.

Grade: C-
While Nixon may of helped on a few domestic issues, stopped the draft, and opened trade with China, he severely damaged the office of the president with his shady dealings. The public found out for the first time how much corruption was really going on in the White House. Nixon had even asked the FBI to stop the investigation on the Watergate break-in. Nixon was overtly paranoid and relentless, which eventually led to his downfall. His administration, along with Grant's and Harding's, stand as one of the most corrupt. Like I said, he did do good for America, but his behavior in office effectively eclipsed his accomplishments.

Lyndon Baines Johnson

Term: 1963-1969

Party: Democrat

Nickname:LBJ













Short Bio:
Johnson was sworn in as president on Air Force One, which carried Kennedy's slain body, as an emotionally distraught Jackie Kennedy, her husband's blood still on her clothes, tried to wrap her head around what just happened. Though this time was a period of grief for the country, Johnson sought to continue Kennedy's work, and bring the country to greatness as Johnson's personal hero, FDR, had.
Johnson, at the University of Michigan, first explained his idea for a great society. He stated, "The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end of poverty and racial injustice." This would be Johnson's jumping off point, as he would make leaps and bounds for both. The 1960's were a tumultuous time. The poverty level was increasing, race riots were happening across the nation, and civil rights legislation still had not been pushed through. Johnson sought to solve these problems with his Great Society program. A couple months after making the Great Society speech, Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protected voting rights, banned racial discrimination in employment and in public places, and encouraged integration of educational facilities. Johnson was able to push through what Kennedy couldn't due to a semi-hostile Congress, and help a nation hurt by bigotry and segregation. Along with this, Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which made literacy tests and other registration requirements that had been designed to keep African Americans from exercising their voting rights illegal.

Johnson also made good on his declaration to help the impoverished in America. Health Care and Social Security were changed to help the poor and elderly. Johnson passed bills to help students of low income families get money for college and help schools provide materials for needy pupils. The bills brought education into the forefront as a national concern and extended assistance to church schools. Johnson also passed over fifty bills concerning the conservation and preservation of the nation's environment. This involved the Federal Water Supply Bill, which enabled states to receive federal funds for improving their water supply networks.

Johnson strove when it came to domestic issues, but not as much when it came to foreign ones. Johnson's view on how to handle the Vietnam War was to increase the number of troops sent over and start up a draft. The war ended up being a complete disaster, and the public knew it. This was the first war to be covered by the television news completely. While WWII newscasts gave basically all the good news, the Vietnam era news teams couldn't help but show how badly everything was going. The situation couldn't be glossed over and the American public saw for the first time how terrible a war could be. This led to countless anti-war demonstrations throughout the country, which fueled everyone's distaste for the war. As Johnson kept sending troops over to try and end the war, his approval ratings plummeted. Realizing that he didn't have much of a chance in the next election, he publicly announced that he would not seek another term. Remember that since he took over for Kennedy's term, which only had a year left, that didn't count as a full term for Johnson. Only if he took over before Kennedy's first two years were over would it have counted as a full term. If Johnson had run again and won, he would of been the second longest serving president, after FDR.

Grade: B
I actually like Johnson a lot. He did a lot for the U.S. in terms of Civil Rights, the environment, and helping the down-trodden. He gets a bad rap for increasing the number of troops going to Vietnam, which he felt was the best way to get the war over with. Sadly, this proved to be false, and the war ruined his reputation.

John F. Kennedy

Term: 1961-1963

Party: Democrat

Nickname: JFK, Jack.

Short Bio:
Kennedy has the distinction of being the youngest elected president in history. Theodore Roosevelt is technically the youngest to be president, as he took the office after McKinley was shot. Kennedy was a young, debonair, and exciting politician, which is probably what helped him become president. He was seen as a dark horse going into the 1960 election under the perception that he was too young, with too little experience, and was a Catholic to boot. Nixon, his competition, was vice-president under the popular Eisenhower, and seemed to be set to become the next president. Luckily for Kennedy, the television was invented. In the first ever televised debates, Kennedy looked cool and confident. Nixon, suffering from sickness, looked a mess and appeared flustered. Though people listening over the radio said Nixon won the debates, people who watched the debates swore that Kennedy did. This botched appearance in the debates probably cost Nixon the election. The election went to Kennedy, but not by much. Kennedy had only beat Nixon in popular votes by 115,000.

Kennedy's presidency is well known for a few reasons. One of those will be covered at the end. Only a few months into his presidency, Kennedy approves the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba to get rid of Castro. With the cancellation of air reinforcements and the failure of expected local support, the American forces were defeated by Castro's troops. Castro releases 1,173 prisoners for $55.5 million worth of food and medicine. Kennedy took full blame for the operation and tried to redeem himself with beefing up the U.S. military. Kennedy made small strides for the Civil Rights movement, something that his successor Johnson will do the most for, but did little else for domestic issues. Kennedy was strictly a international president. He cared more for protecting the U.S. and getting rid of any possible problems.

Though Eisenhower had sent military advisers and others to Vietnam, it was Kennedy that sent the first batch of official U.S. support. Thus began the unofficial start to America's involvement in the Vietnam War. The unpopular war would go on until Ford's presidency.

Communism and the Soviets became a bigger problem for the U.S. The Berlin Wall was being built, the Soviets were testing warheads, and there was considerable evidence that they had weapons pointed at us. The Cold War almost became a real war. It all came to a fever pitch during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Finding out that the Soviets had built missile bases in Cuba, Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of the Communist nation. Luckily, Kennedy was able to reach an agreement with Premier Khrushchev and all the missile bases were to be deconstructed as long as the U.S. promised not to invade Cuba. Kennedy, after hearing that all the weapons were taken out, lifted the blockade, and got rid of the missile bases we had pointing at the U.S.S.R. in Turkey. Kennedy basically averted WWIII. Most baby-boomers will tell you about how scary the times were and all the bomb drills they had to do, which had the children hide under their desks. With that, Kennedy brought the U.S. into a period of peace, as the U.S. had little to no near disasters with the U.S.S.R. after this time. Shortly before Kennedy's unfortunate end to his presidency, he was able to get an agreement involving the U.S., Britain, and the Soviet Union to limit nuclear tests. The treaty halted all nuclear tests but those done underground.

On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was shot twice while riding in his presidential convoy in Dallas. The shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, was later shot in police custody by a local bar owner, Jack Ruby on the 24th. Kennedy has the distinction of being the last president slain during his presidency, though not the last to be shot at. There are a bunch of conspiracy theories about his death, but they won't be entertained here.

Grade: B-
Kennedy is probably one of the most over-hyped president, partially due to his assassination. Kennedy did have one of the best approval ratings in the modern era, so I can't say that he wasn't beloved before his death. Yes, he was a very charismatic leader and a great speaker, but he was by no means perfect. He redeemed himself for the Bay of Pigs disaster with averting a war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and beefing up our military. Kennedy lacked a good record on domestic issues and got us involved in the Vietnam War, which became probably the most unpopular war we've been a part of.

Fun Fact!
Kennedy is on the rarely seen half dollar coin! Who was on the half dollar before him? The famous patriot, Benjamin Franklin.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Term: 1953-1961

Party: Republican

Nickname: Ike

You may remember the popular slogan for Eisenhower: I like Ike! Or maybe you haven't since it doesn't come up in conversations too much. Unless you're talking to me. Then random historical facts are shot out in conversation even if the listeners don't want to hear it. My pleasure! Eisenhower falls in line with Zachery Taylor, William Henry Harrison, and Ulysses S. Grant as knowing more about running an army, and less about running a country. Don't get me wrong, Eisenhower was better than all of those military generals at being president, but he seriously had no political experience when he won the 1953 election. Eisenhower had served in Panama and the Philippines before commanding the allied forces during WWII.

Eisenhower went straight to work after becoming president by threatening China with atomic weapons if they didn't arrange a truce. This worked and the Korean War ended, as Eisenhower had promised. Eisenhower favored economy in government undertakings and throughout his tenure worked to reduce governmental expenditure. Eisenhower was wary of the "Military-Industrial Complex" and claimed that it made the country less secure than it made it safe. He spent his tenure cutting the defense budgets favoring strategic efficiency rather than conventional military superiority. Some complained that Eisenhower was rather meek, as he did nothing to stop Joseph McCarthy and his hunt for domestic Communists.

Eisenhower was reelected to a second term, largely due to his work in kicking France, Great Britain, and Israel out of Egypt. The countries were trying to take back the Suez Canal and Eisenhower asked the United Nations to step in and make them leave. This was one of the only times that the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. agreed on something during the Cold War. Showing that he would stand up to global powers, Eisenhower became more popular with the American public and easily defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson.

Many issues kept Eisenhower busy during his presidency. He had to deal with the U.S.S.R. which had just launched Sputnik. Castro takes over Cuba. Steel strikes are going on and Eisenhower eventually has to declare strikes illegal. Schools trying to desegregate meet resistance from whites living in the areas on the south. Eisenhower himself was for segregation but chooses to do the right thing and send the 101st Airborne to Little Rock Central High and make the school desegregate. His presidency also marks the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as states, respectively. Eisenhower's tenure was not without scandal. His first White House Chief of Staff, Sherman Adams ended up taking gifts from a corporation which needed Adams' influence in cases set against the company. Adams was asked to resign by the Republicans so it would not damage their chances at reelection. Eisenhower later recalled that this was the saddest point in his presidency.

Grade: B-
Eisenhower is often labeled as a "do-nothing" president. He was timid in respect to some important domestic issues and his accomplishments paled in comparison to Truman and FDR. Truman himself is quoted as saying, "The trouble with Eisenhower is he's just a coward. He hasn't got any backbone at all." What he did do though is lead at a time of prosperity. He helped Egypt out, brought up the nation's defense without costing a lot of money, and made it clear that he was going to help stop the spread of communism. Eisenhower doesn't stand out in the scope of the latter part of the 20th century, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. A few presidents after Eisenhower will be well known, but not for the right reasons.

Fun Fact!
Eisenhower's grandson, David Eisenhower, married Julie Nixon, who is Richard Nixon's daughter. Also, Camp David, the country retreat of the President's is named after David Eisenhower.

Harry S. Truman

Term: 1945-1953

Party: Democrat

Nickname: Give 'Em Hell Harry

Bio:
Truman, more than perhaps any president, made tough decisions. Truman was given the presidency after FDR's death and all of a sudden felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. Truman had only met with FDR twice since becoming his vice-president and was unaware of the atomic weapons program that was nearing completion. Truman met with Churchill and Stalin at the Potsdam Conference and made preparations for the end of the war. This was were Truman realized that he could face up to two more years of fighting with the Japanese and the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides if they chose to invade the Japanese mainland. Seeing no other choice, he issued the Potsdam Declaration which was an ultimatum demanding that Japan surrender unconditionally or face total annihilation from the atomic bomb. After surrender did not come, Truman authorized the dropping of an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people. Still not getting a surrender, a second bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing 70,000. Shortly after, Japan unconditionally surrendered and thus ended the Second World War. There is much discussion, even today, about the dropping of the bombs, whether it was necessary or not. Some feel that since Russia had recently declared war on Japan, it would only be a matter of time before Japan surrendered. Others feel that we may of been able to take the mainland with less death then projected. Some feel that any course of action would of been better than dropping an atomic bomb. The amount of radiation and continual damage done to the areas was unforeseen by America, as it really didn't know what would happen when they dropped the bombs.

Though he had ended the Second World War, Truman's hardships had only begun. The issue of Communism was looming and caused Truman to make his "Truman Doctrine" speech to Congress. In this speech, Truman asked for $400 million dollars to battle communism in Turkey and Greece. He was concerned that if they became communist, then the rest of the middle-east would follow. This "domino effect" theory would be the overlying reason given for sticking our noses into other people's business during the Cold War.

Truman's popularity around the end of his first term had been waning and his election to a true full term was not guaranteed. In fact, he was the clear underdog to Strom Thurmond and Thomas E. Dewey. Dixiecrats, or Southern Democrats, were enraged at Truman for his pro-civil rights agenda and sought to get rid of him in favor of a segregationist candidate in Thurmond. In a surprise to everyone, especially the Chicago Daily Tribune, Truman defeated Republican Dewey. Having lost the House and Senate to Republicans in the mid-terms, Truman also saw the Democrats take both back. It was a blow to the Republican party.

Truman's next arduous task was the Korean War. When Communist North Korea invaded South Korea, Truman felt it was the U.S.' job to help them out so Communism would not spread. The fighting went back and forth until General Douglas MacArthur pushed the North Koreans to the border of China. This proved to be a mistake as China was secretly supporting North Korea and pushed the Americans back down to South Korea. MacArthur was in favor of using atomic bombs on China to get them out of the way, but Truman was convinced he was done dropping bombs on countries and refused. What followed was a very public bickering fest between the two, and ended with Truman canning MacArthur. This proved to be extremely detrimental to Truman's popularity. Though he left the office with low approval ratings, he may of kept the Korean War from going on any longer than it did, as an attack on China would of brought the U.S.S.R. into the fight against us too.

Among these tough decisions and mountains that Truman had to climb, Truman tried to make a difference. Under Truman, the CIA was created for the expressed purpose of running surveillance on foreign countries. He signed the Emergency Housing Bill, which provided for the construction of 2.5 million housing units for WWII vets. Truman officially declared the Philippines independent, ending our acquisition of the country from Spain in 1898. Truman created the President's Commission on Civil Rights which recommended more adequate means and procedures for the protection of the civil rights of the people of the United States. Truman is the first president to address the NAACP. The National Security Act is passed by Congress which allows for the creation of the United States Air Force and the Cabinet position of secretary of defense. Truman signed the Foreign Assistance Act, which proved $5.3 billion for the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan called for foreign aid for European countries affected by the war. The United States first recognized Israel as a country during Truman's presidency. Truman signed the Displaced Persons Bill, which allowed for the admission of 205,000 displaced Europeans to the U.s. Two years later, the bill is amended to raise the number to 415,000.

Truman, though he did much in his years as presidency, and a lot of good, left under a dark cloud.

Grade: B+
Truman in the view of many contemporary historians and even in Winston Churchill's opinion, saved Western Civilization. Many believe that he shortened the Korean War and WWII by his decisions and saved countless lives. Others believe that he was a monster for letting atomic bombs drop on Japan. I personally do not support the dropping of the bombs, though I do realize that it may of saved more in the end. What happened happened, so we can either look at it as the destruction of two cities, or the key to the end of conflict. I chose to see it as both. Those who curse Truman for his decision though like I have should remember that this was not an easy decision and wasn't a spontaneous move by the president. Truman picked what he considered to be the lesser of two evils. Nevertheless, this is still a hotly debated topic, that even I still feel mixed feelings about. Truman had to follow the performance that was FDR and he did it better than a lot of people would have. Though his methods were questionable, Truman accomplished much for the United States in his time as president.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Term: 1933-1945

Party: Democrat

Nickname: FDR

Bio:

FDR is still regarded as one of the greatest presidents, being elected to an unheard of four terms. Congress would ban presidents from serving more than two terms right after FDR passed. FDR is known as the savior of America during the depression, and the president that helped us win WWII. FDR strove to be seen as a strong leader and did that not only in his solutions for the country. FDR was struck with Polio in middle age, a rare age to contract the disease, and was not able to walk without metal braces, and even that was a lot of effort. Even though FDR couldn't walk around, he still tricked the public into thinking he was fine. The government and the press made an agreement not to photograph FDR in his wheelchair or comment on his disease, as FDR thought it might portray him as a weak leader to Americans. In public speeches and other events, he would use the metal braces on his legs to appear to walk, though rigidly, to the podium and deliver his speech. This he felt would portray himself as a strong leader. To help with his image, FDR delivered "fireside chats" in which he would give regular addresses to the American public through the radio. This added enormously to his popularity and put a lot of people's minds at ease. They felt better when FDR was reassuring them that everything was going to be OK.

Roosevelt sought to create jobs to help those effected by the depression by creating new groups and passing relief acts. One of the first was the Civilian Conservation Corps which put 250,000 young men to work on a new national reforestation program. By the time the program ended in 1941, it provided work for 2 million men. FDR officially took America off the gold standard to help stimulate the economy. The Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) was made to provide grants, rather than loans, to the states. In turn, the states would provide relief to the American public. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) was created, which paid farmers not to till their land and not grow as much. The lower amount of food grown would drive up the price of crops and help the struggling farmers. The most well known act passed during this time was the Social Security Act. This gave pensions to people sixty-five and older, set up unemployment insurance system, and assisted states in providing aid to dependent children, the blink and senior citizens who did not qualify for Social Security payments. This was all well and good but unfortunatley, the government decided it was alright to take money out of Social Security and have other generations pay for the older ones instead of keeping the money where it was supposed to stay. That's why we're in the pickle we are in today with Social Security.

The 21st amendment is passed, which ended Prohibition for good. It didn't work anyway. FDR passed the Neutrality Act, which prevented American corporations from shipping weapons to belligerents during wartime. FDR wanted to keep us out of war so we could focus on getting people jobs, but knew we would be dragged in eventually, so he made sure that a lot of jobs that were being created were ones that made planes and tanks and other military supplies. In 1940, FDR passes the Selective Training and Service Act, which is the only peace-time draft. This was FDR having great foresight. Later, FDR signs the Lend-Lease Act, which allows the U.S. to lend arms and other war materials to any nation if it is in the U.S.' interest to do so. This was basically to show Great Britain that we supported them, without declaring war on the Axis powers.

Then what everyone feared came to fruition. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and we declared war on them. This in turn led to Germany and Italy declaring war on us. Thus, we were now a part of the second World War. I will cover what happens in the war in another post. This ones just about FDR. During the war, seeing as China is an ally, the U.S. repeals the Chinese Exclusion act. Oh..whats that? You forgot about that silly law? Yep, it was still in effect at this time. It lasted for 80 years. There was not a lot of Chinese in America at the time thanks to this.

Not all of FDR's presidency was all roses though. Early in his second term, with many older supreme court judges going against his new deal plans, he tried to get them booted out if they were over 70. This was an attempt for FDR to get rid of six judges and pack it full of liberal judges that would agree with him. This cost FDR a lot of support, even from his close allies. During the war, FDR chose to ignore the Nazi concentration camps, arguing that the sooner the Allies won the war, the sooner the Holocaust would end. FDR's biggest offense though, in my book, was his Japanese Internment Camps. When the war started, he had everyone that was of Japanese descent or basically anyone that may of been Japanese and had them detained in internment camps throughout the war. He even went as far as asking Latin American countries if they would please send any Japanese citizens they had up to the states to be detained. Most were not released until the war ended or even a few years after it had ended. Many Japanese who went back to their homes and places of business found them to be stripped of anything valuable. The feeling was that any Japanese person could be a traitor to America and deserved anything that happened to them. This was pure paranoia on FDR's and America's part and was one of the biggest atrocities we have committed as a country.

FDR served three terms and four months into his fourth in April 1945, he died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage. His vice president, Harry Truman, was sworn in as president right after.

Grade B-

Roosevelt is consistently ranked in the top six presidents of all time, going either below or above his distant cousin, Theodore Roosevelt. He is praised for his New Deal programs and the jobs he and Congress helped create, for his role in leading the Americans to victory in the Second World War, and his strong, personal leadership. He won more elections than any other president and all happened to be landslide victories. His legacy is tarnished though by his dealings with the Supreme Court and his detainment of Japanese-American citizens. I would give him a lower score because I find the internment camps to be one of the most disgusting things we have done. Though no matter how angry or disappointed I am, his accomplishments cannot be thrown away because of his massive paranoia. He stands with Andrew Jackson as a great, powerful president, that tarnished his own legacy by disenfranchising a group of people.