I still say Woodrow Wilson did the most damage.
Have to disagree, hands down the worst president ever was James Buchanan. He was spineless and did almost nothin while rebels attempted to tear the country apart. Even had memebers of his own cabinet sending weapons to states that were talking about leaving. Though he did eventually stop this. If he would have had half the spine that Andrew Jackson did there might not have been a civil war. Of course then slavery might have lasted in the US into the 20th century.
However, I would definitely put Woodrow Wilson near the bottom, with Obama and Bush jr joining him down there.
The “Silent Revolution” of 1913 was done early in Wilson’s first term; the 16th & 17th Amendments and the creation of the Federal Reserve. Together they all created the necessary preconditions for the present massive federal administrative state.
The 16th Amendment and the Federal Reserve gave the Federal Government access to virtually unlimited fiscal resources. Without the money, the Federal Administrative State could not exist. The 17th Amendment removed the last real power that the states had as a check on the Federal Government. Before the 17th Amendment, state legislators could appoint Senators that would look out for State interests. Afterward, a Senator is just another federal elected position. Since campaign (bribe) money is fungible and can come from anywhere, Senators are only nominally beholden to the states they are supposed to represent. They are far more beholden to the bag men who bring them their bribes. The 17th Amendment killed the concept of Federalism that was a key element of our Constitutional Republic of limited Federal powers.
Wilson may not have been totally responsible for these things, as they were no doubt in progress before he took office. But I’ll pin them on him anyway.