Not long ago, Rolling Stone magazine asked whether George W. Bush would go down in history as America’s worst president. He certainly has a strong resume. The war in Iraq, the loss of international standing, the struggling economy, and the erosion of civil liberties will likely be remembered less than fondly by future generations. But before we place the crown of Worst President Ever (WPE) so easily on Bush’s head, it is important to examine his competition.

Old Hickory himself, probably daydreaming about violating Supreme Court orders. Image credit: Library of Congress

Several different Presidents have been nominated for the title of WPE. Ulysses S. Grant and Warren G. Harding both led administrations that were rife with scandal and corruption. Although neither man participated in any wrongdoing himself, both of their legacies have been tarnished by it.

Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan are also strong candidates for WPE. With the tensions between slave and free states rising rapidly, both Pierce and Buchanan failed to take any effective measures to prevent the oncoming catastrophe of the Civil War. Secession was already underway in the last days of Buchanan’s presidency, and he did nothing to stop it.

Andrew Johnson followed Lincoln, and was the first president to be impeached. He badly mishandled Reconstruction, and is often nominated for WPE.

Many modern voters will point to Richard Nixon as the WPE, primarily for his role in the Watergate scandal, which destroyed American faith in government, and for his involvement in Vietnam. On the other hand, Nixon opened relations with China, eased Cold War tensions with Russia, and started the EPA.

Could Bush pass all of these men? It certainly is a matter for debate, but it appears that he can. The Civil War was horrible, but Buchanan and Pierce did not cause it; they just failed to act to avoid it. Vietnam was also a disaster, but Nixon did not start that either. Only Bush, out of these candidates, started his very own avoidable war. In addition, none of the other candidates have eroded the Constitution in the same way that Bush has, with warrantless wire taps, rendition, the suspension of habeas corpus, Guantanamo Bay, torture and the unilateral use of military power.

Who, then, could possibly stand in the way of George W. Bush and his coveted title of Worst President Ever? Who else in American history simultaneously did more damage to human life and assaulted the Constitution so egregiously?

Everyone, get out your $20 bill (that’s €5.75).

Andrew Jackson, by damaging the economy, defying the Supreme Court and furthering the genocide of the Native Americans, should go down as the Worst President Ever.

Andrew Jackson is often regarded as a symbol for the common man, and as a symbol, he works just fine. He was born in poverty, and worked his way up by becoming a country lawyer and an army officer. He was very successful in the War of 1812, and in fighting the Seminoles in Florida. He was tough, rugged, and respected.

But the skills of a general and the skills of the President are often very different. In office, Jackson brought the spoils system to the White House, and replaced many federal employees with personal friends and loyal party members. He battled forcefully against the National Bank. He withdrew funds from the Bank to invest elsewhere, which some speculate led to the Panic of 1837 and a depression from 1837-1844.

Many of the Founding Fathers owned slaves. But while men like Washington and Jefferson were born into the system of plantations and slave ownership, Jackson grew up poor. While Washington, Jefferson and others struggled mightily with the issue of owning people as property (Washington refused to buy or sell slaves and freed them in his will) Jackson spent most of his life expanding the number of people he owned. In 1804 Jackson owned nine slaves, by 1829 over 100, and at the time of his death in 1845 approximately 150 slaves lived and worked on the property.

In 1830, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which allowed the President to exchange western lands for Indian lands in the east. Also around that time, gold was discovered on Cherokee lands in Georgia. The Cherokee took their case to court, and in 1832, the Supreme Court ruled in Worcester v. Georgia that the Cherokee were entitled to federal protection against the state.

Jackson is famously quoted (perhaps erroneously) as saying “(Chief Justice) John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!” Fundamental to the idea of a democracy is the system of checks and balances. That Jackson defied the Supreme Court is an act which attacks the foundations of the republic.

In 1835, some members of the Cherokee Nation signed the Treaty of New Echota, which traded their lands in Georgia for lands in Oklahoma. In 1838, under Jackson’s successor, Martin Van Buren, the Cherokee were forced to march to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. Cherokee who did not comply were forcibly removed or killed. Over 4,000 died on the journey.

More than 45,000 Native Americans were removed from their land and sent West during Jackson’s Administration.

The decision to remove the Indians from their rightful lands came at a critical time in American History. Prior to Jackson, the US had a policy of assimilation. By the 1830s, the east coast was established, and America’s westward expansion was beginning. By choosing a policy of violence and land theft instead of one of peaceful coexistence, Andrew Jackson set the tone for future violence and conflict that ended with the annihilation of the majority of America’s native peoples.

And just to top it all off, in 1836 Andrew Jackson appointed Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney, who would later come to decide the infamous Dred Scott case.

There are many different types of presidents. There are great presidents, like Washington and Lincoln, who guided us through dangerous and troubled times. There are incompetent presidents, like Buchanan, Pierce, and Andrew Johnson. There are Presidents tainted by corruption, like Grant and Harding.

And then there are presidents who do damage in terms of destroying lives and eroding the foundations of the Constitution that far outstrips the negative accomplishments of the merely incompetent or corrupt. Many place Nixon in this category. Many people would place Bush there as well.

But neither Bush nor Nixon can hold a candle to the suffering caused by Andrew Jackson when he defied the Supreme Court and set in motion the great American tragedy of the genocide of the Native Americans.