Top 10 Best US Presidents
Top 10 Best US Presidents
Transcript
00:00We begin with equality
00:03That's the origin, isn't it?
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for those presidents who have cemented their place in American history
00:12Which will give us more wealth, better living, and greater happiness for our children
00:19Number 10. Barack Obama
00:21The time for games has passed
00:25Now is the season for action
00:28Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together
00:33Barack Obama had an impressive presidency
00:36Chalking up a series of historic wins. The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare was his greatest legacy. An
00:43expansion of Medicaid plus the creation of health insurance marketplaces led to an additional 40 million insured as of 2023
00:50We have worked tirelessly over the past year with Americans of all walks of life
00:55towards a reform package finally worthy of the people we are still here to serve
01:00Obama began his presidency in the middle of the Great Recession
01:03He negotiated with Republicans to provide economic stimulus
01:07Ending the economic bleeding and sparking a prolonged period of growth
01:11He worked with Congressional Democrats to draft the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
01:17While imperfect, this helped to regulate the financial industry
01:21Under his leadership, the U.S. military eliminated Osama Bin Laden
01:25His State Department normalized relations with Cuba and crafted a nuclear agreement with Iran
01:30Today, the United States, together with our close allies and partners
01:35took an important first step toward a comprehensive solution that addresses our concerns
01:40with the Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear program
01:43Number 9. John F. Kennedy
01:45John F. Kennedy had a short but memorable presidency before his tragic assassination
01:50His youth and oratory inspired an entire generation of Americans
01:54Kennedy prevented a potential nuclear confrontation by successfully navigating the Cuban Missile Crisis
02:00I don't think we should be gloating too much
02:04It was just as much a victory for them as it was for us
02:08During this tense standoff with the Soviet Union, the world was brought to the very brink of nuclear war
02:13Kennedy's advocacy of the civil rights movement helped give his successor the momentum to get civil rights legislation passed
02:19I'm therefore asking the Congress to enact legislation
02:24giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public
02:28Hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores and similar establishments
02:34Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961
02:37an international symbol of America's commitment to humanitarian aid
02:41His moonshot speech inspired the entire country
02:44Before the decade was out, the U.S. would win the space race against the Soviets
02:48landing on the moon in 1969
02:51We choose to go to the moon
02:59We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things
03:03not because they are easy but because they are hard
03:07Number 8. Lyndon B. Johnson
03:09But really it's all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice
03:19While Lyndon Johnson may have increased U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War
03:23his impressive list of domestic accomplishments warrants his inclusion on this list
03:28His Great Society initiative targeted both economic and racial injustice
03:33He willingly gave up generations of white votes in the South
03:36to pass both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
03:41We believe all men are entitled to the blessing
03:46The bills transformed America, striking major blows against segregation and voter suppression
03:52He also supported the creation of both Medicare, a government health insurance program for seniors
03:57and Medicaid, a health insurance program for low-income individuals
04:01Johnson started the War on Poverty, launching programs like Head Start and the Economic Opportunity Act
04:08aimed to create jobs and provide job training
04:11I got all kinds of federal programs in mind on health, education, literacy, jobs, you name it
04:17We're going to change this country top to bottom
04:20Number 7. Dwight D. Eisenhower
04:22Unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex
04:28Dwight D. Eisenhower was president during some of the early years of the Cold War
04:32His policy of containment against the Soviet Union
04:35helped to maintain balance between the world's two great superpowers
04:38Though he entered the war in Korea as part of a UN police action, he avoided greater conflict
04:44But the idea that the nation's greatest war hero was going to go to Korea and give it his personal attention
04:49was very reassuring to people
04:51Eisenhower was also president during one of the most prosperous periods in American history
04:56providing a tax break for large infrastructure expansion
04:59The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 created the Interstate Highway System
05:04providing arteries for travel and the free flow of goods
05:07He maintained a balanced budget for three of his eight years and generally experienced low inflation
05:13Budgets were balanced and defense spending was down
05:17The middle class became America's happiest place to be
05:21and they loved Ike
05:24Harry Truman
05:25We will be the first great nation in all the history of the world
05:30to feed and support our former enemies as well as our friends
05:36Harry Truman's presidency had a rough start
05:39The immensely popular FDR died soon after the start of his fourth term and during the Second World War
05:44Truman took the reins and, for better or worse, ended the war
05:48by employing the use of the atomic bomb in Japan
05:50How could I face the people when it's finally over and say that I had the power to possibly end the war
05:56long ago
05:58spare the lives of their loved ones and I chose not to use it
06:02He then launched the Marshall Plan, helping to rebuild Europe and contain communism
06:07The Truman administration played a central role in the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO
06:13which helped maintain a prosperous and safe Western order
06:16acting as a bulwark against Soviet expansion
06:19Truman fought to protect FDR's economic legacy
06:22and his Fair Deal attempted to expand FDR's Social Safety Net for lower-income Americans
06:27Our country is very fortunate that we have the right man at the right place and at the right time
06:35No. 5 Thomas Jefferson
06:38You simply must meet Thomas
06:45Thomas Jefferson has always been lionized as one of America's greatest founding fathers
06:50In recent years, his more complicated legacy as a slave owner has surged to the fore
06:55Still, even critical historians have to acknowledge Jefferson's accomplishments
06:59Before the Revolutionary War, Jefferson was responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence
07:04As president, Jefferson was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase from France
07:08a massive westward expansion of territory
07:11Napoleon was willing to sell the whole kit and caboodle
07:14not just New Orleans, but the entire Louisiana Territory
07:18for a cheap price of $15 million
07:21He repealed naturalization laws, allowing for a greater expansion of immigration
07:26He avoided war with Spain
07:28and most importantly, petitioned Congress to pass a law prohibiting the importation of slaves
07:33Thomas Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
07:37and almost 40 years before slavery was abolished
07:40No. 4 Theodore Roosevelt
07:42Teddy Roosevelt, too, was a president with a complicated history with racism
07:46but his progressive reforms can't be ignored
07:49He fought to regulate an out-of-control business sector, becoming known as a trust-buster
07:54He again lit into greedy corporations he felt unjustly wielded their power to gouge the public
08:01He pushed for health legislation
08:03He also passed some of America's first consumer protections
08:07The Pure Food and Drug Act regulated food and medicine
08:10and paved the way later for the Food and Drug Administration
08:13Roosevelt also believed in conservation
08:15establishing the national parks system
08:18and preserving vast swaths of American wilderness
08:21The conservation of our natural resources and their use
08:26constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem in our national life
08:32A fierce advocate of the Spanish-American War and the expansion of America's presence in the world
08:37Roosevelt still fought for peace where he could
08:40He even earned a Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War
08:45The first Nobel given an American in any category
08:49No. 3 George Washington
08:51George Washington, the father of the American army
08:54is about to assume a new role as the father of America
08:58the first president of the United States
09:01George Washington was perhaps a bit reluctant to serve as the country's first chief executive
09:06but his dignity and integrity set a precedent for most who followed him
09:10Washington established the tradition of having a cabinet of expert advisors
09:14He advocated for religious tolerance
09:16and his leadership led to the ratification of the Bill of Rights
09:19His administration created the First Bank of the United States and the U.S. Mint
09:23During his second term, he avoided entering the war between Britain and France
09:27Hamilton is right
09:28Mr. President
09:29It's too fragile to start another fight
09:31Sir, do we not fight for freedom?
09:33Sure, when the French figure out who's going to lead them
09:36Later, in his famous farewell address
09:38Washington presciently warned against the dangers of foreign entanglements and factionalism
09:43Without Washington's wise, humble, and measured leadership
09:47American democracy may have ended before it truly began
09:50If I say goodbye, the nation learns to move on
09:55It outlives me when I'm gone
09:59Number 2
10:00Franklin D. Roosevelt
10:01Franklin D. Roosevelt faced a wide range of challenges as president
10:05He was first elected in the depths of the Great Depression
10:08His leadership enshrined a series of social welfare programs called the New Deal
10:13If you believe in that New Deal that I believe in
10:17You will have done your part towards the restoration of the purity and the success of representative government
10:26Through the Works Progress Administration, he put America to work constructing infrastructure projects all over the country
10:32Social Security provided a financial safety net for the country's oldest citizens
10:36As Hitler marched through Europe, Roosevelt pushed for the Lend-Lease Program to keep America's allies afloat
10:42We shall send you in ever-increasing numbers
10:46Ships, planes, tanks, guns
10:50That is our purpose and our pledge
10:54After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, FDR's steady leadership during World War II was pivotal to preventing the world from falling to fascism
11:02His diplomatic efforts, as well as those by his wife Eleanor, laid the foundations for the eventual creation of the United Nations
11:08Throughout the long, tedious conference, he fought for unity and emerged with both of his major goals
11:14Germany was to be removed as a threat to Europe, and the United Nations would become a reality
11:21Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions
11:25James Madison, the father of the Constitution, defended American sovereignty and brokered a lasting peace with the British
11:32The biggest danger to our rights today is not from governments acting against the will of the majority, but from government which has become the mere instrument of this majority
11:42Bill Clinton. He oversaw an economic boom and helped create a budget surplus
11:47He managed to balance the budget and bring us actually into over a hundred billion dollar surplus
11:57John Adams. Adams helped draft the Declaration of Independence and narrowly avoided war with France
12:03But we have a peace. We have an honorable peace
12:09For all that it has cost me
12:11Woodrow Wilson. His 14 points paved the way for the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations
12:17The 14th and most influential point proposed that countries form an alliance to guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity of great and small states alike
12:29Ronald Reagan. His policies helped to win the Cold War and reduce nuclear stockpiles
12:34So in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride, the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all
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13:01Number 1. Abraham Lincoln
13:03God damn thing of any human meaning or worth until we cure ourselves of slavery and end this pestilential war
13:14The presidents of the early 1800s set the conditions that allowed America to splinter apart
13:19They left the mess for Abraham Lincoln, who was soon presiding during a civil war
13:24Lincoln fought to preserve the Union
13:26His Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 was a pivotal moment in ending the, quote, peculiar institution of slavery, which was ultimately abolished by the 13th Amendment
13:37Two years ago, I proclaimed these people emancipated, then, thenceforward and forever free
13:45Lincoln's oratory was legendary and his moral convictions were on full display during his Gettysburg Address
13:52Lincoln also established the first federal income tax, stabilizing the tax base
13:57His two National Banking Acts promoted a stable and uniform currency
14:01His leadership saw America through its most turbulent period, setting the stage for the Reconstruction Era
14:07I'd like your states restored to their practical relations with the Union immediately
14:13Who do you think deserves the title of the greatest U.S. President?
14:16Cast your vote for the top POTUS and let us know who's got your seal of approval
14:21Done is show the world that democracy isn't chaos
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