James K Polk was the most efficient president in the history of the United States of America

1) Tariff Reduction The Federal Government in the time of Polk was very small. Compared to today's massive machine, the nuances of the tariffs were minor. When viewed in the context of history, the changes made by the Polk administration were minor. Study the historical list of tariffs by year on Wikipedia[1], as follows: 1792 -- 15.10% 1795 -- 8.00% 1800 -- 10.00% 1805 -- 10.70% 1810 -- 10.10% 1815 -- 6.50% 1820 -- 20.20% 1825 -- 22.30% 1830 -- 35.00% 1835 -- 14.20% 1840 -- 12.70% 1845 -- 24.30% James K Polk 1850 -- 22.90% James K Polk 1855 -- 20.60% 1860 -- 15.00% 1863 -- 25.90% 1864 -- 32.30% 1865 -- 35.60% 1870 -- 44.60% 1875 -- 36.10% 1880 -- 27.60% 1885 -- 32.60% 1890 -- 27.60% 1900 -- 27.40% 1910 -- 15.00% 1913 -- 17.60% 2) Independent treasury Although revolutionary for its time, there were inherent problems with the Independent Treasury. "In periods of prosperity, revenue surpluses accumulated in the Treasury, reducing hard money circulation, tightening credit, and restraining even legitimate expansion of trade and production. In periods of depression and panic, when banks suspended specie payments and hard money was hoarded, the government"s insistence on being paid in specie tended to aggravate economic difficulties by limiting the amount of specie available for private credit.[2]" 3a) Territorial Expansion Overview President Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase with somewhat questionable value to the United States today. The geography of this, and of Polk's territorial acquisitions, deserves more description than my opponent gives. One needs to see on the map of the USA the size of all territorial acquisitions.[3] Note also that Polk did little to develop the new land acquisitions. And the future of the acquisitions in retrospect were quite dim. What is the value of this expansion to the desert? The East Coast was in possession of the united states. Coastal waters have value above landlocked areas. Look at where industry is. The coast.[4] Look at where the people are. The coast.[5] Further inland you have farmland, but think how much of the Midwest is desert. The land was bad. Note that the Eastern United States is near the Gulf Stream, which brings rain. This was, and is, necessary to sustain life. This is one possible explanation why the United States population is in the Eastern half of the United States. Where is the center? Plato, Missouri.[6] 3c) Manifest Destiny A quaint idea from a past era. Empire building is no longer in vogue. "Referencing the Mexican-American War, General Ulysses S. Grant stated that "I was bitterly opposed to the [Texas annexation], and to this day regard the war, which resulted, as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation. It was an instance of a republic following the bad example of European monarchies, in not considering justice in their desire to acquire additional territory."[7] Compare to the conquests of the Ottoman Empire[8] Silicoln Valley and Las Vegas could have arisen elsewhere. 3d) One term presidency This should not be taken as an indication of efficiency. A president who is efficient for one term is very eligible for reelection. James K. Polk was on his deathbed at the end of his presidency. He died 103 days after leaving office. **************************************** Franklin D. Roosevelt In the top three presidents, by most rankings.[9] Chosen because everyone knows about Washington and Lincoln. 1) Great depression The backdrop to Roosevelt's presidency is the worst economic time in United States history. He decreased the terrible unemployment rate by offering government jobs, making best use of the workforce as possible.[10] 2) Regulation of banking Due to the state of crisis, fast action was required. Many decisions in a short amount of time could be considered efficient. The Glass"Steagall Act established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insured deposits.[10] This banking reform offered unprecedented stability: While throughout the 1920s more than five hundred banks failed per year; it was less than ten banks per year after 1933.[10] 3) Regulation of the Stock Market The Securities Act of 1933 is also known as the "Truth in Securities Act" and the "Federal Securities Act", or just the "1933 Act." Its goal is to increase public trust in the capital markets by requiring uniform disclosure of information about public securities offerings.[11] 4) Avoidance of War Delayed war for 3 years while the rest of the world was in battle. 5) Summary of Presidency "Roosevelt's New Deal Coalition united labor unions, big city machines, white ethnics, African Americans and rural white Southerners. He also influenced the later creation of the United Nations and Bretton Woods. Roosevelt is consistently rated by scholars as one of the top three U.S. Presidents, along with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington."[12] "In his first hundred days in office, which began March 4, 1933, Roosevelt spearheaded major legislation and issued a profusion of executive orders that instituted the New Deal."[12] Sources: [1] http://en.wikipedia.org... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org... [3] http://upload.wikimedia.org... [4] http://www.nasa.gov... [5] http://en.wikipedia.org... [6] http://en.wikipedia.org... [7] http://en.wikipedia.org... [8] http://upload.wikimedia.org... [9] http://en.wikipedia.org... [10] http://en.wikipedia.org... [11] http://en.wikipedia.org... [12] http://en.wikipedia.org...