Was James Buchanan or Andrew Johnson the worst president ever?

Added: 2026-06-10

[00:00:00]Another question that is being asked, and I'm going to pin this one, and we're going to see which is who was a worse president, Andrew Johnson or James Buchanan?

[00:00:12]Man, we are >> [laughter] >> we're we're on a roll. That's a That's actually a really good one. Andrew Johnson or James Buchanan, who was a worse president? So, man, that's that that is a that is a pretty one. I think I'm going to say I'm going to say Andrew Johnson. And now now let me explain why I said Andrew Johnson will be was the worst president beyond James Buchanan. I think Andrew Johnson's number one.

[00:00:45]I think James Buchanan vastly vastly fell short when it came to the Civil War. And there are things that we can't even that we just have to be honest with where Buchanan it's not just that he let the country fall apart and did nothing to address the slavery issue, which he did, and which he deserves a lot of blame for.

[00:01:12]It's also the fact that Buchanan remember this, guys, actively supported the Dred Scott decision.

[00:01:23]Actively knew and pushed the Supreme Court to rule on the Dred Scott decision.

[00:01:28]He also supported the Lecompton Constitution in Kansas, which would have admitted Kansas as a slave state against the wishes of the people of Kansas, even though Buchanan ran on popular sovereignty. So, there's this idea out there that James Buchanan just inherited a terrible situation and did nothing to improve it, but Civil War is happening no matter what. That's all probably true, but at the same time we can't pretend that Buchanan didn't just wasn't just unable to fix the situation.

[00:01:58]He actively made it worse. He actively behind the scenes was supporting the Dred Scott decision. He actively pushed for the Lecompton Constitution in Kansas.

[00:02:07]And after the South seceded upon Lincoln's election, at least the original five states of the Confederacy, Buchanan sent the most half you know what attempt he made the most half you know what attempt to stop it in South Carolina, was pushed back one time in January, and never did anything else and allowed the South to secede. So, when you take that into account, I got to be honest, I don't think it's really close Well, no, I'm going to say why it's not close between Johnson and Buchanan. I don't think it's I think it's too fair to Buchanan to say that Civil War happens without him.

[00:02:46]That's true, but it is so much worse because of him. There's no debating that when you look at the things he actively did while president. Now, here's why Andrew Johnson's worse, though.

[00:02:55]At the end of the day, Buchanan still did inherit a country getting increasingly increasingly divided over slavery, and Civil War was probably inevitable. I can't ignore those two facts.

[00:03:06]Johnson inherited the most golden opportunity of golden opportunities to fulfill the promise of the American dream upon the death of Lincoln.

[00:03:16]Which was obviously making sure freedmen had their rights, that those rights were protected, and that we had a somewhat unified country.

[00:03:25]It would have been messy, don't get me wrong, but it could have gone on It could have happened a lot better than it did. Johnson's um extremely quick policy of reconciliation and forgiveness. Now, a lot of people think Abraham Lincoln was part of that, too. Abraham Lincoln talked about doing that, but truth be told, we don't really know because if you know anything about Abraham Lincoln's history as president, he was a pretty big liar. He lied a lot to get what he needed to get done for political expediency.

[00:03:52]And I'm not so sure that just because Lincoln had said he was all for reconciliation, he would have stood by and allowed for the black codes to start taking place in the south. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have stood by and allowed that to happen. And I think he would have been very, very, very aggressive towards Confederates forming white militia groups in the south. The reason reconstruction failed is because between Lincoln's death and the Grant and Ulysses S. Grant's takeover as president in 1869.

[00:04:23]Johnson's hands-off approach and laxed approach to former Confederates and allowing them to reintegrate into society so quickly and to pass black codes is what allowed for the white militia groups to gain so much ground. So, by the time Grant is using the you know, creates the Justice Department and is using the new powers given to him to fight these militia groups in the south, it's too late. The violence is too strong. And even though I think had the federal government stayed to it past Grant, through Rutherford B. Hayes into the Gilded Days, they probably could have gotten what they needed out of it and they would have come out on top. I don't I think the public appetite against it is totally rooted in the violence that was happening that would not have happened as effectively from white militia groups had it not been for their ability to reorganize because of Johnson's 3 years as president. So, I think with that in mind, Johnson is the worst president because Johnson screwed up a golden opportunity that pushed America back for a century. And so, with that in mind, I I just I I think Johnson was a historically bad I I I don't think there's any president worse than Johnson. I think he's far and away the worst president we ever had.

[00:05:40]And I actually think he's significantly worse than James Buchanan because again, I think while they both did horrible jobs as president, and I think they are in the Mount Rushmore bad presidents both of them. I really do think that Johnson absolutely screwed up an amazing situation. Just historically speaking, to to inherit that good of a situation and absolutely drop the ball, very few presidents have done that like Johnson.

[00:06:09]And with that in mind, I got to say that I think that Johnson is Yeah, it's Johnson. He's worse.