James Buchanan
The only bachelor president and the one most historians agree is the worst — Buchanan watched seven states secede and did nothing, handing Lincoln a country already in freefall. His inaction during the secession crisis may have made the Civil War unavoidable.
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Often Compared To
James K. Polk
#2President / Democrat — Pineville, North Carolina · 1845–1849
The most underrated president in American history — Polk set four specific goals, achieved all four in one term, and didn't run for re-election as promised. Under Polk the U.S. acquired California, the Southwest, Oregon, and won the Mexican-American War.
Jimmy Carter
#3President / Democrat — Plains, Georgia · 1977–1981
A one-term presidency overshadowed by the Iran hostage crisis — but Carter's post-presidential legacy of global diplomacy, Habitat for Humanity, and election monitoring may be the most consequential in American history.