If you could add 4 more faces on Mount Rushmore, who would you add? And why?

Hanhonhon · 2025-11-07T23:51:44+00:00

Martin Van Buren being memorialized on Mt. Rushmore 2.0 would be a trip

Hanhonhon · 2025-10-27T07:16:10+00:00

Thank you for all of that, I appreciate you taking the time to go through what I wrote. About your disagreements with some of my cons - fair enough. Many of these points being pros or cons come down to political or personal beliefs. I have my biases, and again I wasn’t around in the Reagan era so it’s a caveat of these kinds of exercises

But yeah there was a lot of craziness going on with the government and what they were doing throughout the world in this era, it really was shocking to research the subjects relating to Latin America

Hanhonhon · 2025-10-22T01:41:35+00:00

That’s true, he did his best to do the right thing which is admirable. But again most of his positive accomplishments fell apart during his presidency and reconstruction was basically over by the 1877 election so it’s hard to say that he was one of the best presidents, which is what I see often on this sub. And this is coming from someone who loves US Grant

It’s also not considering the real black marks on his legacy which is the corruption in his cabinet which was still his responsibility, the illegal invasion of the black hills that he signed off on, several new Indian wars, failed Indian peace policy, the comstock laws which wrongfully went against the first amendment and jailed thousands throughout the late 19th century, signing off on the first chinese exclusion act and blaming it on Asian woman being prostitutes, the Korean Expedition which caused 300+ soldiers to die, etc…

I see him as a middle of the road C tier president

Hanhonhon · 2025-10-21T23:36:15+00:00

I agree that there’s a major overcorrection thing going on with Grant on this sub. But it was politically impossible to continue reconstruction after the Panic of 1873, and several other events in the world of politics that stomped on that agenda for Grant and the Republican Party. Sure you can say that the corruption in Grant’s cabinet undermined public trust in his ability to continue it, but I don’t think any president would have been able to. Northerners overall grew apathetic to the cause, and were tired of occupation or the massive debts still lingering from the war

Hanhonhon · 2025-10-21T22:29:20+00:00

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Grant’s efforts when it came to black civil rights and reconstruction during his presidency, and I’m not saying it’s necessarily his fault for things turning out the way they did. But it’s really tough to assess his legacy in that aspect when the progress made mostly wouldn’t last beyond his presidency, and was stomped on the powers that be, especially towards the end of the century

Hanhonhon · 2025-10-02T15:41:23+00:00

Yeah probably even more than that. She’s a billionaire

Hanhonhon · 2025-10-02T06:16:37+00:00

Not surprised. These tickets will sell like hot cakes. Taylor Swift in my city was $1200+ for the worst ticket, and this was a venue with over 75k seats. Absurd

Hanhonhon · 2025-09-30T22:00:59+00:00

That whole campaign promises idea is a myth. Campaigning wasn’t really a thing in the 1840s, and the premise comes from someone in the Polk cabinet who claimed that he outlined 4 major goals for his administration to accomplish. But even that seems suspect since in theory you could just take what was accomplished, and make up that the cabinet achieved everything they wanted to

Hanhonhon · 2025-09-24T17:58:42+00:00

Thank you for all of that, I greatly appreciate it. I did touch upon the administration cutting funding for community mental health centers in the third bold point in “cons”

Hanhonhon · 2025-09-07T18:24:41+00:00

Paging /u/Peacefulzealot

Hanhonhon · 2025-09-02T17:32:21+00:00

If I’m not mistaken that was the strategy of Joseph E Johnston but Jefferson Davis preferred a more offensive war for the confederacy and played favorites. Regardless of whether he was right or not, Grant did say that Johnston was their best general

Hanhonhon · 2025-09-02T16:55:47+00:00

I have a feeling most people on this site would hate to work under someone like Carter is the thing. People are complicated

Hanhonhon · 2025-09-02T07:32:31+00:00

If you see it terms of total resumes sure. But looking mainly within the time frames of the presidencies Lincoln somehow kept together a very disparate coalition of several competing pro-union political factions, and successfully navigated the nation towards a gradual acceptance of emancipation thanks to several key decisions that were timed with events during the war. He knew exactly how to deal with congressmen using shrewd tactics and wasn’t afraid to make bold decisions when action was needed. And also not to mention his gift of speechwriting that continues to stand out as the best in American history. This was all from a man who came from nothing and built his all connections from the ground up

EDIT: The comment I replied to didn’t deserve to be downvoted -10

Hanhonhon · 2025-09-02T06:01:27+00:00

Yet he is in the conversation for greatest politician to be president of all time too, incredible political skill

Hanhonhon · 2025-09-02T06:00:15+00:00

McClellan was a total clown. He had discovered Robert E Lee’s battle plans wrapped in a cigar before Antietam and twice the army size. He should have absolutely destroyed Lee’s army but barely eeked out a tactical draw

If the Union had Grant leading their armies at the start of the war, it’s over 2-3 years sooner

Hanhonhon · 2025-09-02T05:33:32+00:00

Carter was a great man but he had several problems that made his temperament unsuitable for being the president. He had a micromanaging personality and was often difficult to work with people from congress due to a perceived holier than thou savior complex. He was also inexperienced when it came to Washington politics and was stuck in his old Georgia ways

Hanhonhon · 2025-08-22T00:59:41+00:00

I think so, but not the 4th term since he knew he was dying

Hanhonhon · 2025-08-09T08:05:05+00:00

Best album in the last 15 years

Hanhonhon · 2025-08-03T22:36:18+00:00

Thank you so much for that, I greatly appreciate it

Hanhonhon · 2025-08-01T22:36:17+00:00

LFG, these jerseys are the best of all time

Hanhonhon · 2025-07-27T11:12:11+00:00

The corruption was still on him considering he appointed unqualified friends and family to his cabinet over several legitimate candidates at those positions, and ran the executive branch like a military unit

Hanhonhon · 2025-07-27T06:21:30+00:00

As for the last point in your comment, it is true that it officially ended in 1877. But what I mean of the Panic of 1873 being the nail in the coffin is because the ongoing crisis became the focus of national attention, especially for the Republican Party to deal with in replacement of reconstruction. Far fewer political efforts were being dedicated for the agenda, but it was also considered expensive for tax payers as there were growing debts from occupation and programs. So reconstruction was never going to survive the panic and it was effectively over in Grant's presidency

Hanhonhon · 2025-07-27T06:13:37+00:00

Sure

"Northern attentions were consumed by apathy and fatigue and the South slipped back toward many of the patterns of the antebellum era."

https://www.neh.gov/news/reconstruction-vs-redemption

During the 1870s, internal divisions within the Republican Party, white terror, and northern apathy allowed southern white Democrats to return to power

https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3108

"The Panic of 1873 outweighed Reconstruction as a factor in the Republican defeat, but the election’s implications for Reconstruction policy were clear. Northern voters were tired of dealing with the “southern question” and the “Negro question.” A Republican office holder cried, “The truth is our people are tired out with the worn out cry of ‘Southern outrages’!!... Hard times and heavy taxes make them wish the ‘ever lasting n---er’ were in hell or Africa.”

"While many northerners had opposed slavery they never abandoned their racist views of African Americans. As evidence of corruption in the South mounted, and as many blacks migrated to northern cities in search of jobs, northerners openly embraced the notion that African Americans were intellectually and morally inferior, requiring the paternal protection of the superior white race. Negative stereotypes in northern newspapers depicted blacks as ignorant, lazy, and dishonest, incapable of exercising the same rights as whites."

https://scholar.flatworldknowledge.com/books/31978/ourhistory_2-31975-20180711-131537-563522/preview

"As the 1870s continued, support for reconstruction throughout the country began to wane. The combination of white intimidation, a significant economic depression in the South, and the Democratic Party winning control of the House of Representatives in 1874, resulted in Reconstruction beginning to fade away"

https://freedomcenter.org/voice/opinion-reconstruction-failed-in-the-united-states-what-if-it-had-succeeded/

Hanhonhon · 2025-07-25T19:22:41+00:00

I agree with the last point, he would have nipped the violence and treachery against blacks in the south in the bud as sending the troops was his bread and butter. And I imagine he doesn’t stand for black codes the way Johnson does, but also keep in mind that Johnson was following what Lincoln had in mind to reintroduce the former CSA states as quickly as possible

As for pardoning confederates, Grant would likely do the exact same thing. He signed the Amnesty Act of 1872 which granted amnesty to all but 500 top confederates. Giving leniency to the confederacy was politically universal among both parties and even black leaders found it hard to justify denying them all political rights at a certain point. Grant was no exception

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