I, too, had had the impression that the pre-Lincoln presidents were uniformly dreadful, and there certainly were some stinkers, primarily Lincoln's immediate predecessors Franklin Pierce (1853-57) and James Buchanan (1857-61) -- Buchanan was probably the worst president we've ever had.

But I've also been pleasantly surprised to find that a number of the pre-War presidents were of higher quality than typically portrayed.

My favorite example is Millard Fillmore, whose name is usually trotted out only as a late-night television joke (Johnny Carson abused him all the time). In fact, after growing up in abject poverty (his father was basically a tenant farmer), by virtue of intelligence, hard work and a little luck, Fillmore became a lawyer and leading citizen of Buffalo, NY. The Whigs unexpectedly nominated him for the vice presidency in 1848 on a ticket with Zachary Taylor (also an admirable and accomplished man) because he was almost universally respected and admired. When Taylor died without warning in mid-1850, Fillmore's vigorous support helped accomplish the passage of the Compromise of 1850, which put off the Civil War for ten years.

If anyone wants a recommendation on the generally-recognized single best book on the period immediately leading up to the War, the link is below.

• David M. Potter, The Impending Crisis 1848-1861