How can some people think Teddy was the best president of The United States history?

[DACrowe]

P.S.

-George Washington welched on a treaty to a country that helped give us our independence (and by so doing, avoided war and possibly bankrupting the country)
-Thomas Jefferson dragged us into needless conflict.
-Abraham Lincoln suspended habeus corpus.
-JFK began his "camelot" by signing of to Bay of Pigs.

All presidents have made (terrible) mistakes. None of them walked on water and you shouldn't judge them by the mythical status elementary school and Hollywood puts on them (btw the recent HBO series John Adams was actually very good and quite accurate).

You judge their legacies as a whole and it is when you find them severely lacking despite their hype (Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant and Ronald Reagan spring immediately to mind) that you can come off condemning. But to bash a president on personal beliefs that were a product of their time...wow.

P.S. Jefferson originally wanted to abolish slavery, but when that didn't fly he didn't mind keeping them. Washington freed all his slaves on his deathbed though.

 

[StorminNorman]

Didn't Mussolini look up to everyone?

Everyone but Hitler who he considered a "sexual pervert".

 

[rdh007]

Everyone but Hitler who he considered a "sexual pervert".

Turns out he was right about something.

 

[TEDDY]

Since when was TEDDY president?

Since always!


TEDDY!!!

 

[Mr Sparkle]

P.S.

-George Washington welched on a treaty to a country that helped give us our independence (and by so doing, avoided war and possibly bankrupting the country)
-Thomas Jefferson dragged us into needless conflict.
-Abraham Lincoln suspended habeus corpus.
-JFK began his "camelot" by signing of to Bay of Pigs.

All presidents have made (terrible) mistakes. None of them walked on water and you shouldn't judge them by the mythical status elementary school and Hollywood puts on them (btw the recent HBO series John Adams was actually very good and quite accurate).

what happens when the US gets a two for one?

 

[Darthphere]

A white sale?

 

[moraldeficiency]

Small point about racism and teddy: he was the first president to ever invite a black man (fredrick douglas at that) to stay at the white house.

 

[Darthphere]

Small point about racism and teddy: he was the first president to ever invite a black man (fredrick douglas at that) to stay at the white house.

He stayed in the gardening shack though.

 

[Carcharodon]

Everyone but Hitler who he considered a "sexual pervert".

Uh...what? I've researched this. Regardless of what he thought of Hitler personally, he emulated him as much as possible in his role as a leader.

 

[StorminNorman]

Uh...what? I've researched this. Regardless of what he thought of Hitler personally, he emulated him as much as possible in his role as a leader.

Mussolini may of respected Hitler professional - but he that he was personally a weird, slightly scary man. In fact it is likely he would of sided with Britain - not Germany - if England had not of sanctioned them.

 

[Fading]

I've never understood President, or celebrity worship. Fact is they're human like the rest of us, all capable of faults big and small. The key lies in a President's ability to look past what he/she personally wants, and to do things that benefit the people they serve as a whole.

 

[Carcharodon]

Small point about racism and teddy: he was the first president to ever invite a black man (fredrick douglas at that) to stay at the white house.

I think he did more than that...if memory serves, he appointed him to an official position (or at least invited him). That was also a first.

Many argue (and there's little doubt in my mind) that he did so to attract the black vote in America. Still, a pretty ballsy move, considering the times.

 

[Hobgoblin]

Yes, you're right. TR was a racist. That was normal for the time. One of the things I learned in my college courses was to not judge historical figures with our modern values. Its unfair and doesnt work. How was he supposed to know that one day racism would be seen as a terrible thing? He would have laughed at the idea, as would the majority of people at the time.

We have to appreciate the things he did that were ahead of his time. He preserved America's natural wonders, fought the big corporations and worked to increase worker's rights. Plus, his personal quirks are just amusing. Having lions and other wild animals at the White House while also taking part in boxing matches. Not to mention that he was even sort of a genius. How many people here have written a book on Naval warfare before the age of 20? Especially one that is still taught in military schools today?