The Ten Worst Americans
December 30th, 2005 at 5:39 am by David FarrarCaptains Quarters has published his list of the ten worst Americans. They are:
10 Jimmy Carter
9 John Walker Jr
8 Aaron Burr
7 Joe McCarthy
6 Richard Nixon
5 Stephen Douglas
4 Nathan Bedofrd Forrest
3 Benedict Arnold
2 John Wilkes Booth
1 John Edgar Hoover
His criteria were “that the status of American had to be part of their “crimes”. In other words, simply picking someone like Ted Bundy or Charles Manson would be too easy. Their evil, though real and in most cases worse than what you’ll read on this list, doesn’t have to do with their innate American heritage. I went looking for the people who sinned against America itself, or the ideal of America. Otherwise, we’d just be looking at body counts”
Excluding anyone active in the 1980s or later (so we avoid Bush. Clinton stupidities), who would be on your list? I have to say I agree with much of the above list – especially Nixon, McCarthy and Hoover. I would actually not list Carter. I might be tempted to add on Charles Lindbergh for his pro-Nazi support.
December 30th, 2005 at 6:30 am
I wouldn’t have listed Carter. He’s a good man, a lousy president. I woud have put Lincoln on the list and Bush. I can’t agree with you on Lindbergh. I have read his diaries and several biographies. He really wasn’t pro Nazi as much as he was anti-war. His famouns “speech” was taken out of context terribly when you read the whole thing. Unfortunately he didn’t go with earlier drafts of it where his point was clearer but he tried to cut the length and cut the wrong things. I think Lindbergh got a bad rap.
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 7:08 am
him, why would you put Lincoln on the list? You might as well declare Mother Theresa to have been a trader in sex slaves.
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 7:16 am
I can’t remember which one in particular is was but whoever the 1930′s gangster was who got all the crime families together and organised the first nationwide organised crime cartel should definitely be on the list. Luciano? Genovese? Trafficante?
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 8:10 am
Both Nixon and Senator McCarthy have been somewhat rehabilitated by Historians in recent years.
Everything Nixon is supposed to have done that was off the wall was also done by JFK LBJ and even FDR (who was the first to use plumbers). However the three mentioned above are heros to the chattering classes (LBJ to a far lesser extent) so they get a pass.
I’d replace Nixon on the list with LBJ in fact. He screwed up Vietnam and bought the US to the brink of civil war (with race riots etc). Nixon succeeded him and inherited his mess which he to some extent cleaned up.
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 8:25 am
Carter? Douglas is kind of a weird choice too.
I wouldn’t include Benedict Arnold, since his plan didn’t work.
I’d throw in . . .
December 30th, 2005 at 9:04 am
“He’s a good man”
Meh, he’s just a peanut farmer from Georgia.
I think Henry Ford warrants a mention, even if he doesn’t get into the top 10.
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 9:30 am
dim: Curtis Le May? You MUST be kidding!
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 9:37 am
What a lame list – where is Jefferson Davis? His antics saw 600,000 Americans lose their lives (mostly due to that other notable omission – Robert E Lee).
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 9:55 am
I’d have said there was much to admire about Robert E. Lee – his firm belief that slavery was immoral, and that states couldn’t seccede made him an excellent choice to command the Union’s forces against the Confederacy (which may be why Lincoln offered him the job).
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 10:10 am
Apart from my ignorance about many thing concerning the history of the US.
Vote:Really when all is said and done
WHO CARES..
December 30th, 2005 at 10:34 am
Surprising Johnathon Pollard wasn’t on the list
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 11:04 am
Mark Clark
Henry Wallace
George McClellan
Jane Fonda
Charles Lindbergh
Walter Duranty
Woodrow Wilson
Paul Ehrlich
Jimmy Bakker
Hiram Evans
Ehrlich & Duranty were not born in the US but were associated with US institutions.
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 11:14 am
Seems like a bit of an strange call “that the status of American had to be part of their “crimes”". Since when did being American constitute a crime? Or was it “crimes against America”? Whatever that would be. Arnold and Burr seem to qualify, and perhaps Booth, although leaving out Lee Harvey Oswald is odd in that case. Unless he didn’t really kill Kennedy?
The rest were politicians of varying views. That’s what democracy’s about, hardly anti-American.
If making hate lists is anti american (hence the inclusion of McCarthy), then this list also qualifies.
What is the purpose of such a list? To focus hate? To crystallize the ‘ideal of America’ by it’s opposites? Or just have a bit of ‘Ten things I hate about …’ fun? If it’s just idle Christmas hate-fun, I guess that’s OK.
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 12:36 pm
“him, why would you put Lincoln on the list? You might as well declare Mother Theresa to have been a trader in sex slaves.”
Because Lincoln was a tyrant and spat upon the constitution Adolf.He’s known in Libertarian circles as “the American stalin”.He banned books, closed newspapers,and had a secret police.He was not really in favour of Negro freedom regarding them as a means to an end and once stated that if slavery served the Norths purposes they should keep it.
See here..http://www.americanstalin.com/
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 1:54 pm
James – it’ll take more than the rantings of revisionists to destroy Lincoln’s reputation. People comparing him to Stalin, like those comparing Bush to Hitler, are simply stuck on stupid.
Vote:Graeme – I’d agree that Lee was a great man. But he put his state before his country, and made war on the United States. That’s treason pure and simple. The fact that he escaped the gallows speaks volumes – Americans are a forgiving lot.
December 30th, 2005 at 2:11 pm
“Americans are a forgiving lot.”
Tell that to St Tookie!
Vote:December 30th, 2005 at 3:41 pm
Perhaps I should have said American Americans. I guess the Austrian variety are less inclined to show mercy to the guilty and inflict more cruelty on the victims?
Vote:January 3rd, 2006 at 3:05 pm
HOW THE HELL DOES HOOVER COME INTO THIS!??!?!?!?!
He was a great man! Have you ever heard of an orphan who grew up to be president, but refused to take a salary???
The Great Depression was not at all the fault of Hoover, but merely fell in his times. It was the fault of massive debt- tooo much credit given out to people who could not pay it off.
If you are going to put that as the reason for him being #1 evil- then whoever is unlucky enough to follow George Bush’s presidency, will surely have the same label given to them.
Vote:January 3rd, 2006 at 3:34 pm
I think you’re confused – Herbert Hoover was president. J Edger Hoover was the director of the FBI.
Vote:January 5th, 2006 at 6:12 pm
Putting Carter on the list was unfortunate. The man is an internationalist, a peacemaker and one of the few US leaders to actually recongnise a world exists outside the USA. He is a man of high humanitarian values.
Vote:January 6th, 2006 at 3:02 am
Sean….Lincolns thoughts and actions are well documented and are there for all to see.Try some research sometime.And panning revisionists is silly when they have been vindicated so often…;-)
Vote:January 6th, 2006 at 4:15 am
Here you go Sean. Rather a through runndown of “Honest Abe” and what history shows he did and said….or is that revisionist crap too?
http://www.ambrosiasw.com/webboard/Forum23/HTML/003131.html
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