The 5 Most Badass Presidents of All-Time | Cracked.com

The 5 Most Badass Presidents of All-Time | Cracked.com

Well, maybe. Teddy Roosevelt and Ol' Hickory were certainly bad-asses, but to tell you the truth, John Quincy Adams wasn't really a bad ass, but Harry Truman and Zachary Taylor were. Taylor, in fact, should probably be #2 after Teddy.

Bad-ass qualifications:

• As I recall Taylor was known as Ol' Rough and Ready and worked his way up to General without any West Point credentials.
• Despite the fact that he was a southerner, he was the only pre-Lincoln President who showed any backbone about slavery and secession. In 1850 Taylor, then President, met with southern leaders who threatened secession. He told them that if necessary to enforce the laws, he personally would lead the Army and any person "taken in rebellion against the Union, he would hang ... with less reluctance than he had hanged deserters and spies in Mexico." That is pretty fuckin' bad-ass.

Unfortunately, the three Presidents after him were total pussies, and his own daughter was once married, against his wishes, to king secessionist Jefferson Davis himself.

(President Taylor's family was split over secession in general. Taylor's son was a Confederate general. Taylor's brother was a Union general.)