Hi, I'm Mr. Beat, and Presidents Day is coming up
One of my favorite holidays. We have a big sale every year
the inventory has to go
Our best and newest models are coming in
(Presidents Day commercial)
No, we're not talking about a car sale
We're talking about an actual holiday that celebrates the Presidents of the United States of America
Not the band, although that's a really great band. One of my favorite bands
The actual Presidents of the United States of America
and you have wanted this video for a very long time
Here are my top 10 Presidents of all time
Number 10, James Garfield
one of our smartest Presidents in history
I mean by many accounts he was very intelligent
He was a self-made man. Started from the bottom now we're here.
Ok? Lost his father when he was young.
Worked to pay for an education. Eventually became a businessman.
A professor, and then of course later a politician.
A Representative. Also a successful military leader for the Union in the Civil War.
As President, he appointed many African Americans to posts in his administration
which was unheard of at the time
Now he didn't last long in office as President
You may already know that he was assassinated shortly after getting into office but
he would have been amazing, so for what he would have been is why I rank him high
He made a name for himself fighting cronyism, fighting the political machines in Washington
just fighting corruption in general
Number 9, James Madison
James Madison, the Father of the Constitution of course. Many of the
best ideas of the Constitution that we take for granted, came from him.
And he pretty much wrote the Constitution, ok?
The Bill of Rights, most importantly
came from James Madison, so just on that alone
that's why he's one of my favorites
Now as President he was also a great leader in terms of, once that War of 1812 broke out
he did an amazing job leading the charge against the British defending the homeland
Now he was a bit foolish when he called for war against the British
but I digress
He was a key author of the Federalist Papers.
and again, when he was my age he was one of the leading voices at the Constitutional Convention
Number 8, John F. Kennedy
I have a lot of respect for his World War II service
I mean he saved a man's life, for crying out loud.
His leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis was amazing.
I mean let's ignore the Bay of Pigs fiasco.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he did well. He learned from past mistakes.
He had found a way to ease relations with the Soviet Union.
At the height of the Cold War
He created the Peace Corps.
The Equal Pay Act, which I don't think gets enough attention.
Even though it was controversial, he moved Civil Rights legislation forward.
He just gave good, inspiring speeches. I mean I still get fired up watching his Moon Speech at Rice Stadium.
"We shall go to the moon!" I mean yeah, I'm fired up
Number 7, Harry Truman
I used to think much less of Harry Truman when I was younger.
I mean I judged him based on his decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
I didn't agree with that decision when I was younger, and I still struggle with that decision.
And then there were other things not to like about Harry Truman.
The Truman Doctrine, which really was all about us beginning to police the world
and get up in everybody's business
Some of his racist language that he used.
But then I learned more about Harry Truman
And the more I learned about him, the more I realized he was just a great, common sense leader.
who really considered all sides to issues
and he just tried to do what was best for the majority
He didn't always get it right, but he certainly did his best to make sure every voice was heard.
Plus, he played piano, and he's from the Kansas City area, so there's that.
Number 6, Theodore Roosevelt
Growing up, Theodore Roosevelt was my favorite President.
I mean, he was this larger than life figure who seemed like he could do just about anything
He was someone who fought for the common man
I kind of lived him up more than he actually was
I still respect Theodore Roosevelt tremendously
He went down the list just because of his foreign policy
The more I learned about his view of the world. A bit too American-centered
He could have learned a lot more about other cultures, I think
But his boldness was undeniable. I mean, he was an active President.
Before he was President, he signed up to fight a war he was really passionate about.
He wasn't just an advocate for the war, he actually fought in it.
He set new precedents for the role of President.
He stopped strikes. His push for national parks and his conservation efforts were amazing.
He bypassed political parties and institutions...went straight to the people.
Straight to the media. You know, he loved the press.
He was the first to have the press in the White House.
Theodore Roosevelt was all about justice.
He was a tough son of a gun.
Number 5, Dwight D. Eisenhower
Again, I'm a little biased here.
Eisenhower was raised in Kansas, my home state.
But, another World War II hero.
A phenomenal leader who helped the Allies get victory in that war.
No one can deny the importance of his leadership for an Allied victory.
Operation Overlord, the capture of Germany
That was him, and he later was the Supreme Commander for NATO, for crying out loud
He's a big reason why the Korean War ended
He had the foresight to see what was going wrong with that
Let's just end this, right now
The Interstate Highway System and NASA. I'm a fan of both, and that was him.
He appointed Earl Warren as Chief Justice for the Supreme Court.
Earl freaking Warren
Related to this, he sent federal troops to Little Rock to enforce school integration
after the Brown v. Board of Education decision
Eisenhower was a fairly moderate dude.
I mean, he saw the importance of social programs,
but also saw the importance of a limited government protecting liberty.
So he was a great balance of both.
Number 4, Thomas Jefferson
Definitely had some flaws, but I call him The Father of Civil Liberties
I mean he was a genius. I mean, the main author of the Declaration of Independence.
The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom
His passionate support of the Bill of Rights, and the fact he popularized many of the ideas in the Bill of Rights.
His views were always evolving.
It's not like he had the same ideas his entire life.
He's what we call a Renaissance Man, right?
He was constantly trying to better himself and learn new things.
He can claim credit for the Louisiana Purchase, which was a bit controversial, but ultimately I think the right thing to do.
He saw the good in common people.
He promoted democratic ideals when most of the elite did not.
So he saw the good in people. I've always liked TJ for that.
Number 3, Calvin Coolidge
Probably the least egotistical of all the Presidents.
Did not have an ego.
Actually probably weakened the power of the Presidency.
The least political of all the Presidents.
That's great. I love apolitical Presidents.
Extremely modest dude, ok?
He's kind of gotten a bad rap, though.
My favorite quote of him, quote
"Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been minding my own business."
While the President doesn't create jobs, and isn't responsible for the entire economy,
the economy did happen to do very well under his watch.
More importantly, at the same time he shrank the national budget,
shrank the national debt,
while simultaneously somehow finding a way to cut taxes.
He was a fiscal conservative but a social progressive.
outspoken for women's rights and fighting corruption.
Had a humble foreign policy, and
anti-crony capitalism
He used common sense, and spoke honestly.
He never sugar-coated anything.
My number two often surprises a lot of people.
but it is Grover Cleveland.
and this may be a surprise, even to people who have watched this channel for a long time.
Grover Cleveland started out as a teacher. He was a classic liberal
who believed in limited government
which explains the majority of his vetoes.
He had more vetoes than any other President other than FDR.
He had a humble foreign policy. He was anti-interventionist.
And I think you know what I value with my political beliefs, but
but he was a big proponent of free trade
He was anti-crony capitalist probably more so than any other President.
He fought the government-corporate monopoly of the railroads.
Before he became President, he made a name for himself fighting corruption and fighting the political machines of the day.
And Grover was a man of integrity
A strong moral compass, he put aside his own selfish desires
always for the greater good
What more could you ask for for a public servant of our country?
And my favorite President of all time...
is George Washington, which many of you already knew
George Washington, the first President
Set all precedents
set the bar very high for all future Presidents
Before he was President, though, he was a military hero.
The French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War
More than anyone, he is probably the person most responsible for the United States becoming a country.
Against great odds, against the most powerful military in the world at the time.
George Washington was confident, but humble.
He never wanted to be President.You know, he was kind of forced into that position.
I mean, that's always been inspiring to me.
The fact that he limited his own power. He unwillingly took that position.
When everybody wanted him to be king, he said "no."
The humility of George Washington has always inspired me.
He limited himself in power, and the great example of that is limiting himself to two terms.
And set that precedent for future Presidents.
until FDR
He was President of the Constitutional Convention
when the Constitution was made
He was against political parties
He warned against them.
He warned against foreign entanglements and permanent alliances.
The Proclamation of Neutrality.
I mean, that's what I'm all about.
His leadership during the Whiskey Rebellion. I mean, he was out there personally leading troops on horse, for crying out loud.
And George Washington just an amazing leader. Respected by all, unified all Americans.
I can't imagine another President having as much impact as George Washington.
And that will do it, ladies and gentleman.
Those were my top 10 Presidents of all time.
And next week, be sure to tune in because I'm going to be counting down the worst 10 Presidents of all time.
Who will be on that list? Tune in next week to find out.
This has been a lot of fun. Thanks for watching. And Happy Presidents Day!
Mr. Beat coming at ya, with much shorter hair now.
And I want to give a shout out to my friend Dave, who I met at Vidcon last year.
He has a YouTube channel called Professor Dave Explains
And he is in the process of making biography videos
about every President in American history
He just finished William Henry Harrison
I put the playlist below, you should go check it out.
Who is your favorite President? And why? Let me know in the comments below.