Monday, June 21, 2004
Periodic Presidents 2: National Heroes
The next column in my periodic table of the Presidents is Column 2, National Heroes. In this column go Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight Eisenhower. The common property of these Presidents is that they were major operational heroes during the Crisis, and because of their popularity, they were elected presidents. They sort of made good presidents, but their record as President can't compare with their record as National Hero during the Crisis.
Thomas Jefferson differs from the others in that he was an abstract idea hero, rather than a military hero. Thomas Jefferson, in my opinion, is the third greatest person ever to have lived, trailing only Buddha and Copernicus. He penned many of the ideas of the democratic form of government, which was eventually to have an effect on governments everywhere. A majority of the Constitutions of nations on this planet are now based on the US Constitution, which was the result of the application of Thomas Jefferson's ideas. He was one of our better presidents, having bought the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon and doubled US territory. However, it is his ideas that we will remember him for.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was a fine general in the Civil War, eventually defeating the Confederates with its charismatic leader Gen. Robert E. Lee. However, as President, he wasn't so good. He was honest, but allowed unscrupulous things to go on in his government, especially his second term. He is now generally rated as one of the worst of the Presidents because of these scandals. Once again, we remember Grant as a Civil War general rather than as a President.
Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, and as such was responsible for the defeat of the Nazis and the restoration of a war-battered Europe. His careful planning of D-Day turned that invasion into a success that won the war a year later, creating a generation of heroes. This made him so popular that he was elected President in 1952. He was okay as a President, with one major failure: the U-2 crisis, and he forcefully dealt with Khrushchev's rants during the early days of the Cold War. But we will always remember him for what he did during the war rather than as President.
These Presidents had to deal with wars that were echoes of the Crisis. The Plains Indians Wars were an echo of the Civil War, and the Korean War echoed World War II. The War of 1812 came in Madison's term, and I wonder if James Madison should also be included as a National Hero President. However, Madison's hero status was much less than Jefferson's.
Tomorrow: The Golden Age Presidents of the Era of Good Feelings and Camelot.
Thomas Jefferson differs from the others in that he was an abstract idea hero, rather than a military hero. Thomas Jefferson, in my opinion, is the third greatest person ever to have lived, trailing only Buddha and Copernicus. He penned many of the ideas of the democratic form of government, which was eventually to have an effect on governments everywhere. A majority of the Constitutions of nations on this planet are now based on the US Constitution, which was the result of the application of Thomas Jefferson's ideas. He was one of our better presidents, having bought the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon and doubled US territory. However, it is his ideas that we will remember him for.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was a fine general in the Civil War, eventually defeating the Confederates with its charismatic leader Gen. Robert E. Lee. However, as President, he wasn't so good. He was honest, but allowed unscrupulous things to go on in his government, especially his second term. He is now generally rated as one of the worst of the Presidents because of these scandals. Once again, we remember Grant as a Civil War general rather than as a President.
Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, and as such was responsible for the defeat of the Nazis and the restoration of a war-battered Europe. His careful planning of D-Day turned that invasion into a success that won the war a year later, creating a generation of heroes. This made him so popular that he was elected President in 1952. He was okay as a President, with one major failure: the U-2 crisis, and he forcefully dealt with Khrushchev's rants during the early days of the Cold War. But we will always remember him for what he did during the war rather than as President.
These Presidents had to deal with wars that were echoes of the Crisis. The Plains Indians Wars were an echo of the Civil War, and the Korean War echoed World War II. The War of 1812 came in Madison's term, and I wonder if James Madison should also be included as a National Hero President. However, Madison's hero status was much less than Jefferson's.
Tomorrow: The Golden Age Presidents of the Era of Good Feelings and Camelot.
