Category: The Worst Ever

Millard Fillmore 

Millard Fillmore took presidency after Zachary Taylor died, only having been in office for a little over a year. Fillmore is considered one of the worst because he supported the Compromise of 1850- which included the Fugitive Slave Act. The Fugitive Slave Act compelled the government to return runaway slaves to their masters, which stood for everything that Zachary Taylor opposed (Tolson). Fillmore’s hopes in doing this was delaying the South’s secession from the Union, which it did, but only for awhile.

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Taken From Here

Citation:

Tolson , Jay. “Worst Presidents: Millard Fillmore (1850-1853).” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 16 Feb. 2007, http://www.usnews.com/news/special-reports/the-worst-presidents/articles/2014/12/17/worst-presidents-millard-fillmore-1850-1853.

Herbert Hoover 

Herbert Hoover was elected on the eve of the Great Depression, so (fairly or unfairly) he ended up receiving the blame for America’s worst economic crisis. After the stock-market crash in 1929, Hoover believed that more government intervention would make things worse, and many did not agree with this position. Because of the loss of homes and jobs, shanty little towns popped up all over America and were nicknamed Hoovervilles, blaming Hoover for their poor situation (James 2009). To add to his unpopularity, Hoover kept up his support for the Prohibition. VIDEO: http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1879648_1879646_1879697,00.html

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Taken from here

Citations

James, Randy. “Top 10 Forgettable Presidents.” Time, Time Inc., 10 Mar. 2009, content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1879648_1879646_1879697,00.html.

 

Warren Harding

In his own words, “I am not fit for this office and should never have been here”. As the 29th president of the United States, Harding’s presidency is considered one of the worst mainly because what became known as the Teapot Dome Scandal. This was one of the first times that corruption within the federal government was unveiled, and the public has not forget it.

At the request of the Navy, oil reserves at Teapot Dome was set aside strictly for emergencies, such as war (Kelly 2007). Harding’s Interior Secretary, Albert Fall, illegally accepted over $400,000 in gifts from oil companies in exchange for leasing the rights to Teapot Dome. The Wall Street Journal uncovered what had happened and exposed Fall in 1922, and eventually he was found guilty of bribery (Kelly 2007). Harding claims that he did not know about what was taking place, but since then his presidency has been tainted with the corruption that went on within his administration.

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Taken from here

 

Citation

Kelly , John. “10 Political Scandals.” HowStuffWorks, 16 Sept. 2007, people.howstuffworks.com/6-political-scandals1.htm.