Make some room on Mount Rushmore. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for those presidents who have cemented their place in American history.
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00:00We begin with equality, that'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.
00:22The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together.
00:33Barack Obama had an impressive presidency, chalking up a series of historic wins.
00:39The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was his greatest legacy.
00:43An expansion 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 to get Americans of all walks of life to forge a reform package finally worthy of the people we're still here to serve.
01:00Obama began his presidency in the middle of the Great Recession.
01:04He negotiated with Republicans to provide economic stimulus, ending 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.
01:31Today, the United States, together with our close allies and partners, took an important first step toward a comprehensive solution that addresses our concerns with the Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear program.
01:43Number nine, 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.
02:20I'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.
02:29Hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments.
02:35Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, an international symbol of America's commitment to humanitarian aid.
02:42His moonshot speech inspired the entire country.
02:45Before the decade was out, the U.S. would win the space race against the Soviets, landing on the moon in 1969.
02:52We choose to go to the moon.
03:00We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things.
03:04Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
03:08Number 8. Lyndon B. Johnson.
03:10But really, it's all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.
03:20While Lyndon Johnson may have increased U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, his 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 to pass both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
03:42We believe all men are entitled to the blessing.
03:47The 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, and 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, aimed to create jobs and provide job training.
04:11Now, I 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.
04:29Dwight D. Eisenhower was president during some of the early years of the Cold War.
04:33His policy of containment against the Soviet Union helped to maintain balance between the world's two great superpowers.
04:39Though 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 was very reassuring to people.
04:52Eisenhower was also president during one of the most prosperous periods in American history, providing a tax break for large infrastructure expansion.
04:59The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 created the interstate highway system, providing 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.
05:18The middle class became America's happiest place to be, and they loved Ike.
05:24Number 6. Harry Truman.
05:26We will be the first great nation in all the history of the world to feed and support our former enemies as well as our friends.
05:37Harry Truman's presidency had a rough start.
05:40The immensely popular FDR died soon after the start of his fourth term and during the Second World War.
05:45Truman took the reins and, for better or worse, ended the war by employing the use of the atomic bomb in Japan.
05:51How could I face the people when it's finally over and say that I had the power to possibly end the war long ago?
05:59Spare the lives of their loved ones, and I chose not to use it.
06:03He then launched the Marshall Plan, helping to rebuild Europe and contain communism.
06:08The Truman administration played a central role in the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO,
06:14which helped maintain a prosperous and safe Western order, acting as a bulwark against Soviet expansion.
06:20Truman fought to protect FDR's economic legacy and his fair deal attempted to expand FDR's social safety net for lower-income Americans.
06:28Our country is very fortunate that we had the right man at the right place and at the right time.
06:365. Thomas Jefferson
06:46Thomas Jefferson has always been lionized as one of America's greatest founding fathers.
06:51In recent years, his more complicated legacy as a slave owner has surged to the fore.
06:56Still, even critical historians have to acknowledge Jefferson's accomplishments.
07:00Before the Revolutionary War, Jefferson was responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence.
07:05As president, Jefferson was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase from France, a massive westward expansion of territory.
07:12Napoleon was willing to sell the whole kit and caboodle, not just New Orleans, but the entire Louisiana Territory, for a cheap price of $15 million.
07:22He repealed naturalization laws, allowing for a greater expansion of immigration.
07:27He avoided war with Spain, and most importantly, petitioned Congress to pass a law prohibiting the importation of slaves.
07:34Thomas Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and almost 40 years before slavery was abolished.
07:414. Theodore Roosevelt
07:43Teddy Roosevelt, too, is a president with a complicated history with racism, but his progressive reforms can't be ignored.
07:50He fought to regulate an out-of-control business sector, becoming known as a trust-buster.
07:55He again lit into greedy corporations he felt unjustly wielded their power to gouge the public.
08:02He pushed for health legislation.
08:04He also passed some of America's first consumer protections.
08:07The Pure Food and Drug Act regulated food and medicine, and paved the way later for the Food and Drug Administration.
08:13Roosevelt also believed in conservation, establishing the national parks system, and preserving vast swaths of American wilderness.
08:22The conservation of our natural resources and their use constitute 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, Roosevelt 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.
08:493. George Washington
08:51George Washington, the father of the American army, is about to assume a new role as the father of America, the first president of the United States.
09:02George Washington was perhaps a bit reluctant to serve as the country's first chief executive, but 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, and 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.
09:24During his second term, he avoided entering the war between Britain and France.
09:28Hamilton is right. Mr. President. It's too fragile to start another fight. Sir, do we not fight for freedom?
09:34Sure, when the French figure out who's going to lead them.
09:36Later, in his famous farewell address, Washington presciently warned against the dangers of foreign entanglements and factionalism.
09:44Without Washington's wise, humble, and measured leadership, American democracy may have ended before it truly began.
09:51If I say goodbye, the nation learns to move on. It outlives me when I'm gone.
09:592. Franklin D. Roosevelt
10:02Franklin 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, you 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 ships, planes, tanks, guns. That 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.
11:09Throughout the long, tedious conference, he fought for unity and emerged with both of his major goals.
11:15Germany was to be removed as a threat to Europe, and the United Nations would become a reality.
11:22Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
11:26James Madison, the father of the Constitution, defended American sovereignty and brokered a lasting peace with the British.
11:33The biggest danger to our rights today is not from governments acting against the will of the majority,
11:39but from government which has become the mere instrument of this majority.
11:43Bill Clinton. He oversaw an economic boom and helped create a budget surplus.
11:48He managed to balance the budget and bring us actually into over $100 billion surplus.
11:58John Adams. Adams helped draft the Declaration of Independence and narrowly avoided war with France.
12:12Woodrow Wilson. His 14 points paved the way for the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations.
12:18The 14th and most influential point proposed that countries form an alliance
12:23to guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity of great and small states alike.
12:30Ronald Reagan. His policies helped to win the Cold War and reduce nuclear stockpiles.
12:35So in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride,
12:40the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all.
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13:02Number 1. Abraham Lincoln.
13:04God damn thing of any human meaning or worth until we cure ourselves of slavery and end this pestilential war.
13:15The presidents of the early 1800s set the conditions that allowed America to splinter apart.
13:20They left the mess for Abraham Lincoln, who was soon presiding during a civil war.
13:25Lincoln fought to preserve the Union.
13:27His Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 was a pivotal moment in ending the, quote,
13:32peculiar 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,
14:06setting the stage for the Reconstruction Era.
14:08I'd like your states restored to their practical relations with the Union immediately.
14:14Who do you think deserves the title of the greatest U.S. president?
14:17Cast your vote for the top POTUS and let us know who's got your seal of approval.
14:22Done is show the world that democracy isn't chaos.
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14:35Thanks for watching!