Woodrow Wilson vs. Calvin Coolidge

[TDAS04]

Coolidge was the better person, but Wilson was the better president.  I hate to admit that, but Wilson’s economic policies were pretty good.

[jaymichaud]

Coolidge was way more based.

[Alben Barkley]

Wilson, not even remotely close. Wilson was a top 10-15 president, Coolidge is in the like 30-40 range.

[VPH]

Wilson on non-racial issues, Coolidge on race

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Coolidge, tho that's more because Wilson was such a horrible President.  The good things that happened during Wilson's presidency would have largely happened no matter who had won in 1912, with at most a few details changing had either Teddy or Taft won. The primary exception is the Adamson Act, which I doubt would have happened under either Teddy or Taft. (Definitely not under Taft, but while Teddy might not have vetoed it, I doubt he'd seek passage of it or any similar bill.)

[John Dule]

Wilson's presidency was a disaster for the entire planet, on the same level as the presidency of George W Bush.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Both of them had racist thoughts, Coolidge did put Jay Edgar Hoover as FBI agent, he worked until sixties and Woodrow Wilson WC judges put Afro Americans in Chain gangs in Deep South without right to counsel until sixties


Federick Vinson was from Wilson era and almost kept segregated schools before he died and Warren took Crt


Abstain

[Big Abraham]

Coolidge, not even remotely close. Coolidge was a top 10-15 president, Wilson is in the like 40-45 range.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Coolidge, not even remotely close. Coolidge was a top 10-15 president, Wilson is in the like 40-45 range.

Except 1 mistake appointment of Hoover as Head of FBI 1924-1972 Hoover served FBI and 4 Assassinations happened on his watch

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Keep cool with Coolidge against the racist, censoring warmonger.

[Alcibiades]

Wilson laid the ground for a lot of what would go onto become the New Deal, but was very racist even by the standards of his day. Coolidge was pretty personally progressive on race for his day, although he had little in terms of legislative achievements to show from it, and was a disaster on the economy, contributing to the environment which led to the Crash.

Wilson on balance.

[1978 New Wave skinny trousers]

Keep cool with Coolidge against the racist, censoring warmonger.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Wilson easily.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Wilson laid the ground for a lot of what would go onto become the New Deal, but was very racist even by the standards of his day. Coolidge was pretty personally progressive on race for his day, although he had little in terms of legislative achievements to show from it, and was a disaster on the economy, contributing to the environment which led to the Crash.

Not really. He presided over that groundwork; he did not perform it. By today's standards, there was little difference between what the three major candidates stood for in 1912.  Most of what Wilson gets credit for was either already on the way to happening or would have happened no matter who won the White House that year.  The income tax, stronger anti-trust legislation, the Federal Reserve, and direct election of Senators would have happened regardless during what was Wilson's first term.

[Don Vito Corleone]

Woodrow Wilson was a monstrous authoritarian, but he was still one of America's best Presidents due to his upsides (bit sad, really). Without Woodrow Wilson, there is no Franklin Roosevelt. So for that reason, and Coolidge's own strong deficiencies without Wilson's strengths, I am going with Wilson.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

The one that left office popular.

[John Dule]

It's a little weird to me that people lay so much blame on Coolidge for the Great Depression. Yeah, sure, the warning signs were probably appearing under his watch, and inequality expanded during his presidency. But blaming him for the Depression is like blaming Bill Clinton for 9/11. Both of these disasters happened shortly into their successors' terms, and both could've been averted if the preceding administrations had been more vigilant. Ultimately though, it is the handling of those crises that made them so disastrous, and that is something that you can't blame the predecessors for. I have no idea how Coolidge would've handled the Depression had it happened under his watch, but regardless, that kind of silly hypothetical shouldn't factor into the actual analysis of the man's presidency.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

It's a little weird to me that people lay so much blame on Coolidge for the Great Depression. Yeah, sure, the warning signs were probably appearing under his watch, and inequality expanded during his presidency. But blaming him for the Depression is like blaming Bill Clinton for 9/11. Both of these disasters happened shortly into their successors' terms, and both could've been averted if the preceding administrations had been more vigilant. Ultimately though, it is the handling of those crises that made them so disastrous, and that is something that you can't blame the predecessors for. I have no idea how Coolidge would've handled the Depression had it happened under his watch, but regardless, that kind of silly hypothetical shouldn't factor into the actual analysis of the man's presidency.

Bill Clinton (and the Republican Congress, but the buck stops at the president) do get partial blame for the 2008 financial crisis thanks to deregulation, and repeal of New Deal-era laws which were put in place specifically to prevent a repeat of the Depression.

Hoover, unlike Coolidge, actually did support intervention in the economy. His efforts were simply insufficient. But Coolidge was a strong believer in laissez-faire economics and it is difficult to speculate whether his principles or the circumstances of the time would have won out.

[Mr. Smith]

Wilson by country miles.

[vitoNova]

Calvin Coolidge by a country mile. 

The 7th greatest president of all time. 

[RINO Tom]

Obviously Coolidge, though I am fine with historians ranking Wilson as the "greater President."  I won't go down the rabbit hole of addressing Democrats preferring one of our most conservative Presidents of all-time because he was less racist than Wilson, but I will say that any Republican/conservative preferring Wilson is likely very misguided.

[KaiserDave]

Wilson but.....ew.