Poll 1 of 5: Greatest U. S. President (1789-1841)?

[elperromagico]

This is one of a series of polls designed to determine which President of the United States was the greatest of all time in the opinion of DUers. The Presidents are placed chronologically in groups of eight or nine.

Here are the links to each poll:
Poll 1 of 5: Greatest U. S. President (1789-1841)?
Poll 2 of 5: Greatest U. S. President (1841-1869)?
Poll 3 of 5: Greatest U. S. President (1869-1909)?
Poll 4 of 5: Greatest U. S. President (1909-1961)?
Poll 5 of 5: Greatest U. S. President (1961-Present)?

Tomorrow, I will post a "runoff" poll listing the winners from each of these five polls. Any President who receives over 50% in his poll will be included. In instances where no President receives over 50%, the top two votegetters will advance to the runoff. This runoff poll will be used to determine which President was the greatest of all time.

As always, Happy Voting! :hi:

[Walt Starr]

1. IMO, Thomas Jefferson was the greatest U.S. president ever.

He was certainly the most intellectual president as well.

[wuushew]

5. Jefferson was often naive

His first term is known for the successful acquisition of the Louisiana territory. However in doubling the national domain he ran against the anti-strong central government platform the Democratic-Republicans stood for. His second term was crippled by economic depression which his tariff policies had caused. Almost too late did he renounce his Francophile bias as the French Republic descended into tyranny.

He was a stauch anti-Federalist as well and refused to endorse Alexander Hamilton's debt consolidation program.

His vision for an agrarian American society would not come to pass.

I will not fault him for his failure to free his slaves as I have been told that they helped pay his substantial debt upon his death. Still Washington freed his slaves and Adams did not own any. Benjamin Franklin freed his only house servant before his death.

Also the election of 1800 was particularly venomous, Jefferson slandering Adams much as he had Washington and Adams while serving in their administrations.

[WI_DEM]

2. I prefer not to vote for any of those presidents

who sanctioned slavery--Washington, Jefferson, ect--instead I voted for John Q. Adams--a fervent opponent of slavery. I know some will say he wasn't our greatest president from this era--but in sanctioning slavery many of those founding fathers set this country back hundreds of years--when in the words of that great philosopher, Bernard P. Fife, "we should have nipped it in the bud" at the beginning.

[library_max]

3. Jackson made the first moves

toward changing this country from an aristocracy to a democracy.

[leyton]

4. George Washington

- Established a policy of isolationism, which I'd say was quite successful, especially when compared to the exploits of certain meddlesome 20th- and 21st-century presidents (cough cough Dubya, cough cough Reagan).

- Established the two-term limit. He was popular enough to have remained in office as long as he wanted, but instead he realized that there needed to be a better precedent.

- Won the Revolutionary war. 'Nuff said.

Jefferson and Jackson would probably be my second choices (a tie). Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase, which was a brilliant move, and as someone has already said, Jackson shifted the country from aristocracy to democracy. However, Jackson gets marked down in my book for the trail of tears (at least, I think that was him) and Jefferson because he opposed the national bank.

[Leprechan29]

7. Another Precedent:

He didn't establish a Kingship! He really set the standard for all Presidents to come...and that Standard was a gold one.

I also like the fact that he was very independent from established political parties

[elperromagico]

6. Kick.