Guns Are Fun and Presidential Rankings Too!
The National Rifle Association was incorporated on this day, November 24, 1871. Come read a little history of this little-known marksmanship club and the next round of presidential rankings!
The National Rifle Association (NRA) was incorporated on this day, November 24, 1871. Founded as a group to promote rifle marksmanship, the NRA has morphed into a modern-day group of fanatical zombies hellbent to eat the faces of people who might want to end the private sales exemption.
Civil War hero Ambrose Burnside was elected the first president. His charge was to improve the training of soldiers who couldn't hit a thing during the Civil War. It makes you wonder how many people could have been killed had we had known how to shoot. Yikes.
The organization was mainly focused on competition, education, and appeal. Then 100 years into their existence, a few people within the NRA decided that the Second Amendment was under attack, and they haven't shut up about it since.
Since their annual convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1970, the NRA became one of the world's most prominent, most influential political advocacy groups. Once nonpartisan, they have found a home in the Republican Party, which happens to be the angrier of the two national parties.
The NRA filed for bankruptcy in early 2021 and has been fighting off lawsuits and the perception that they are a fraudulent, deceitful nonprofit. Good luck to them! I think they have some good ideas, like armed security guards at every school, and the only solution to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
Let's hope the bad guys have never taken a marksmanship class.
Okay, let's jump into some rankings because a former NRA president checks in at #17!
17: Ulysses S. Grant
18th President
2017 Ranking: 27
2019 Ranking: 26
2021 C-SPAN Ranking: 20
Term – March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877
The Good:
The first thing was – he wasn't Andrew Johnson. Grant spent his time helping Black Americans defend their civil rights. He created the Department of Justice – which is the best named Department of all the Departments.
The Bad:
Speaking of Departments. Every one of them was investigated by Congress under the Grant administration. Corruption was huge during Reconstruction because it's never easy gluing a country back together after ripping it apart.
The Okay:
Grant once signed into law doubling the pay of federal employees. An important note here – this included Grant.
Why did I rank him here?
Grant suffers from my poor opinion of Ohio – born presidents. He does rank the highest out of the 8, but it's a pretty low bar. Three died early in office, William Henry Harrison lasted a month. McKinley and Garfield were assassinated. Ben Harrison, Hayes, and Harding were all blah.
He did jump ten spots in four years, and I have a biography on him on my shelf. So he could be moving up.
To be clear, we are not anti-gun here at OkayHistoryDotCom. We are for sensible laws. Since 2013 after 26 students and teachers were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, mass shootings have increased at churches, nightclubs, malls, and concerts. It seems strange that to protect something James Madison wrote in the late 18th century, so many people have to die. Do we do this for any other Bill of Rights? I can't think of one.
This completes the middle portion of our rankings. We now race to the end with the final 15. Who do you think sits just outside the top ten? Share it below!
16: James Madison
4th President
2017 Ranking: 14
2019 Ranking: 14
2021 C-SPAN Ranking: 16
Term – March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817
The Good:
Madison wrote a few important documents, such as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Even though he did these things before he became president, that's what he is known for.
The Bad:
The War of 1812 seems like it was a bad idea. It was during this war that the British burned down Washington. Not a good look for James.
The Okay:
James married well. His wife Dolly saved a portrait of George Washington from the burning White House, and she is viewed as the first First Lady, having held formal gatherings of the newly created political parties.
Why did I rank him here?
I'm not sure, actually. I get him, and James Monroe mixed up all the time. I tend to give too much credit to these two guys and promise to do more work on them so I can answer this question when the next rankings come out in two years.
This completes the middle portion of our rankings. We now race to the end with the final 15. Who do you think sits just outside the top ten? Share it below!