Dead Presidents

Well, to be fair, most Presidents couldn’t handle the troubles from the sectional crises that eventually led to the Civil War.  It was just an insanely difficult time for any leader.  Lincoln wasn’t just outstanding because of the Presidents that preceded or succeeded him, but because he was just a transcendent leader.

Also, a lot of people don’t realize how many Presidents we had in such a short time.  If we start with Taylor in 1850 and go to Arthur in 1881, there were 10 Presidents in 31 years.  That’s a crazy turnover — an average of a new President every three years.  That doesn’t allow for stable leadership.  If we go back to Reagan in 1981, we’ve only had five Presidents in that same amount of time.