Rebellion Again! More Presidential Rankings!
Another United States Rebellion and Another United States Presidential Ranking!
In the early days of the United States, having whipped His Royal Majesty's butt, the collection of newly formed states found itself in an awkward position. That position, of course, was authority.
Sure, revolution is fun and all, but you must figure out how to govern when you win. Immediately after the war, the nation's citizens were ruled by a set of laws called the Articles of Confederation. As we later learn in our history, anything with the word Confederate in it is terrible.
Sure enough, the articles left the country with a weak federal government. It didn't collect taxes. Which meant it couldn't do things like build stuff, and more importantly, couldn't pay to have a standing army.
Since whipping butts was the new national pastime, it was only a matter of time before citizens would want to rebel again, and sure enough, one erupted on this day, August 29, 1786, in rural Massachusetts. Taxes were again the main reason why. This time, merchants on the coast wanted to be paid in hard currency from their fellow citizens who barter for food. Farmers fell into debt; tax collectors came to collect, and…
I mean, who couldn't see this coming?
Former Continental Army soldier and later farmer, Daniel Shays, would organize around 4,000 men to take the federal arsenal in Springfield. After that, they would take down the state government and change the entire economic system. He and his men made up T-Shirts for the occasion and called the event: Shays' Rebellion.
Apparently, this thing lasted a year. The Federal government couldn't raise funds, so Massachusetts set up a GoFundMe page, rounded up a militia, and squashed the uprising. The good news was these prompted states to get back into a room together and hammer out a stronger Constitution.
The bad news was, Thomas Jefferson said something stupid about the blood of patriots needing to refresh trees called liberty or whatever, and yes, I'm not going to quote it because it's dumb. Fast forward, and every goober with access to the internet machine uses this quote as justification for acting like a goober.
Alright, let's rank some presidents, shall we?
25: Jimmy Carter
39th President
2017 Ranking: 28
2019 Ranking: 27
2021 C-SPAN Ranking: 26
Term – January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981
The Good:
Carter is easily the nicest person ever to hold office. He is arguably the most influential former president in our history. He tends to get blasted, some it justifiably, a lot of it wrongly, because the Reagan Revolution swept him out of office.
The Bad:
Besides Afghanistan and Iran, Carter deregulated the airline industry. Now there are only like four airlines, and it costs about $500 to fly to Raleigh to get some East Carolina BBQ.
Um - Okay:
About three months into his administration, Carter suggested the U.S. withdraw from South Korea. Said the Koreans needed to be able to protect themselves and by that point we had been there for over 20 years. The military flipped out. Guess who won?
Why did I rank him here?
The Carter administration experienced the high and lows of an economic rollercoaster. His first two years, booming, his last two years, not so much. When you talk about inflation today, Carter is usually mentioned because it was terrible when he was in charge.
24: William McKinley
25th President
2017 Ranking: 17
2019 Ranking: 17
2021 C-SPAN Ranking: 14 - What?
Term – March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901
The Good:
McKinley took steady steps up the political ladder. Lawyer, then-Congressman, then Governor of Ohio. By the time he reached the White House, he was very much beloved. He delivered on that with pro-business agenda that was focused on supporting organized labor. Also, he was assassinated, so that must mean people loved him.
The Bad:
He established the strong modern-day presidency and the American Empire by annexing Puerto Rico, Hawaii, The Philippines, to name a few.
Um - Okay:
McKinley was a cook during the Civil War. He cooked during the battle of Antietam, and we built him a 25-foot statue to commemorate him. He must have cooked some mean slop or whatever they ate back then.
Why did I rank him here?
I haven't done a whole lot of reading on McKinley. I find it interesting how popular he was, and having been reelected, seeing his popularity usurped by his successor, Teddy Roosevelt. I dropped him back because I'm very much into learning more about American Empire making, especially with the current situation in Afghanistan.
It feels good to knock out another lesson finally, doesn't it? Don't rebel and stop reading. I'll be back with more!