Top Five Presidential Feuds

 – By

Presidents are people just like us! Just like everyone, sometimes presidents get into arguments. With friends, with family, with other presidents, you name it! Below are the top five disagreements had between United States Presidents and... well... anyone!



  1. John Adams vs. Benjamin Franklin
    • During the American Revolution, Adams and Franklin were traveling through New Jersey to negotiate with the British. They stopped to stay overnight at a small inn where they had to share a room and a small bed. As they were laying down to go to sleep, they began to argue over whether or not they should leave the window open while they slept. Frankling argued that the window should remain open because one could get ill from a stuffy room and that the cool night air was good for your health. Adams argued that cold air would make you ill, and thus, the window should be closed. Eventually, after hours of debating, Adams fell asleep and Benjamin Franklin won by default. The window stayed open.
  2. Ulysses S. Grant vs. Horace Greeley
    • Talk about debating to death! Ulysses S. Grant was running against Greeley in the 1872 presidential election. Things were getting close, but before the election was finalized, Greeley died! Grant had the votes in the bag before his opponent met his untimely end, but Greeley ramains the only candidate to die before the conclusion of a presidential election.
  3. Ronald Reagan vs. Walter Mondale
    • In 1984, citizens were worried about President Reagan's age as he continued his presidency. During a debate with Walter Mondale, Reagan bantered: "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponents youth and inexperience." This display of wit put many of the American public's minds at ease, assuring them that President Reagan was still sharp as a tack.
  4. Nixon vs. Everyone
    • On June 27, 1973 it was revealed that President Nixon had compiled a list of those he did not like, calling it his "Opponents List" and part of his "Political Enemies Project." what started as a set list of approximately twenty men and women turned into a much larger list that changed constantly.
  5. Lincoln vs. Stanton
    • Before Abraham Lincoln became president, Edwin Stanton was giving him a hard time while the future president worked as a lawyer. Stanton would call Lincoln a "giraffe", poking fun at his unusual height, along with many other rude names. After a few years, Lincoln became President of the United States, and he knew that he needed a leader to help him turn things around in the Civil War. His advisors told him that the best man for the job was none other than... Edwin Stanton, his longtime personal enemy. Lincoln overcame his personal biases and hired Stanton, who helped the president achieve a victory that might not have been the same otherwise.

Last Modified:

Back