Who do you think was the most influential President in the United States?

Sgt David G Duchesneau — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:15:31 -0400

Abraham Lincoln

Should be above Bush, you think 911 was worse than the civil war?
Clinton balanced the budget and actually left a surplus but top 5? No.
Personally don't think Bush43, Clinton, JFK, or Nixon belong in the top 10.
JFK was not a good president, just remembered well. Nixon was a brilliant politician but remembered as a shady scumbag, even compared to other politicians. FDR elected 4 times but if it weren't for WWII his new deal would have destroyed America not to mention court packing is worse than what Nixon did. FDR = shadiest president every (adulterer, internment camps, undercutting his own party to win a 3rd term... ) Obama is the worst for the deficit so far of any president in history and he won a nobel prize because they hoped that he wouldn't vote on a troop surge, which he did anyway. Those aren't arguments for praise. Any honorable recipient would have returned it after his decision but he was probably busy visiting the last of the "57" states. Washington had the toughest job, building a nation, he should be higher. Teddy ARE was only 42 when he became president, that should be considered. As long as Buchanan or Harding aren't up there guess can't complain too much.

Abraham Lincoln is the reason the United States is still United and began the elimination of racism by ending slavery. To do this he began a largely unpopular but necessary war. This made him hated to the point where he was assassinated but he went through with his decision anyway. Would any politician today do this? I doubt it.

Abraham Lincoln was man you could change his ideas. Like slavery he first thought it was good. Then he realized that slavery was wrong. He did almost everything to fix the country. No other president thought about slavery should be wrong or even segregation. Martin Luther King Jr was not a president but still fought for what is right. Only Abraham Lincoln thought slavery was wrong. He was a man of changes and does what should be right among us. If he didn't exist there still would be slavery and African Americans would not be equally treated. So I think Abraham Lincoln should be the best president in history.
Abraham Lincoln was the greatest & best!
What's your opinion?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 30 at 2015 4:21 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:21:18 -0400

I have to agree with you Sgt.by far the hardest task with the best result falls to Lincoln.... The first Republican President as well!

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 30 at 2015 4:32 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:32:15 -0400

GOA Dwight D. Eisenhower: Eisenhower won the the 1952 presidential race, becoming our 34th president. In the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, he used nuclear threats to conclude the Korean War. One of Eisenhower's enduring achievements was championing and signing the bill that authorized the Interstate Highway System in 1956. Eisenhower authorized the establishment of NASA in 1957. He also launched the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (which led to the Internet, among other things). Eisenhower devised the American basic strategy of nuclear deterrence based upon the triad of B-52 bombers, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Jul 30 at 2015 4:33 PM

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:33:57 -0400

Well said and articulately conveyed!

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 30 at 2015 4:39 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:39:42 -0400

Reagan is my vote. I served when he was president and heard how bad things were under Carter. Morale definitely improved under president Reagan.

Response by Lt Col Timothy Parker, DBA made Jul 30 at 2015 4:51 PM

Lt Col Timothy Parker, DBA — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:51:36 -0400

What a tough question. Most of those mentioned earlier have special achievements that influenced the course of the country in some way - some more than others, such as Lincoln. My vote is Washington - he set the standard (of behavior) by being first and knowing when to quit. Then again, if you are first no one can say you are doing it wrong......Just my humble opinion.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 30 at 2015 4:52 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:52:57 -0400

I still pick FDR. He had to contend with the great depression. In WWII before Pearl Harbor attack, he gave the Russians and Brits a fighting chance by providing thousands of ships and vehicles, weapons, to include ships. One it became game on for the US, he declared what America will do, and we did it.

Response by LTC Ed Ross made Jul 30 at 2015 6:33 PM

LTC Ed Ross — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 18:33:36 -0400

Abraham Lincoln without a doubt.

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Jul 30 at 2015 6:35 PM

SFC Joseph Weber — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 18:35:08 -0400

In no particular order and for different reasons, Lincoln, Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt..

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Jul 30 at 2015 7:45 PM

Capt Mark Strobl — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 19:45:59 -0400

OK, tip of the hat to The Honorable Mr. Lincoln. Sure, he saved the Union. Sgt David G Duchesneau, you well-outlined his accomplishments. However, my vote goes to the Honorable Mr. Reagan. Why? Character and Ethos. I loved the way he could make a tray of sh** sandwiches, present them to our enemies, and with a wink in his eye, and say, "Here, I made these just for you." He made us all proud to call ourselves Americans.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 30 at 2015 8:21 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:21:56 -0400

My top five, in order:
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. James Monroe
4. Franklin Roosevelt
5. Woodrow Wilson

Monroe never seems to get his due, but the Monroe Doctrine shaped the New World in a way that changed the dynamics of the Americas dramatically.

Response by SPC George Rudenko made Jul 30 at 2015 10:00 PM

SPC George Rudenko — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 22:00:17 -0400

Peyton Randolph, first "President " of congress, first continental congress 1774. When we told the Brits to shove your stamp act.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 31 at 2015 5:25 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 05:25:20 -0400

Washington left, by default, the longest-lasting marks on the presidency. If he were a RallyPoint member his influence points would be in the trillions!

I just can't believe no one said Jefferson; Louisiana Purchase, Barbary War, the Corps of Discovery Expedition, Declaration of Independence.

And what about Madison? He wasn't president at the time, but he "wrote" the Constitution.

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Jul 31 at 2015 9:21 AM

COL Vincent Stoneking — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 09:21:37 -0400

Washington. He established the norm of peaceful transition of power in the republic. He personified the (then theoretical) ideal of the citizen Statesman. Without his example, it is very possible that our transitions of power might have been more ... kinetic.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Aug 2 at 2015 2:52 AM

PO1 John Miller — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 02:52:52 -0400

I would have to agree that Lincoln was by far the best President in our history.

However, it's a pretty bold statement to say that if it were not for him there would still be slavery in the US.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Aug 2 at 2015 12:58 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 12:58:00 -0400

Popular? No, you asked for "most influential". That's easy. George Washington.

He wasn't just first. He invented the presidency? Remember, he could have been king, but turned it down. He conceived of the cabinet recognizing that the chief executive needed a staff to whom he could delegate executive powers inasmuch as no one person could administer all of the laws of the United States. He left office under a self-imposed limit on terms, a concept that wasn't codified until later. He also revealed the pitfalls of the office. In his decision to found the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the purpose of setting up a commercial operation, he showed us the fallacy of government engaging in private enterprise, a lesson that has been sadly repeated by many of those who followed him. No, no one is more influential than Washington. Not even close...

Response by PVT Mark Whitcomb made Aug 26 at 2021 5:31 PM

PVT Mark Whitcomb — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 17:31:51 -0400

Lincoln, #1 Reagan #1A