The founders didn’t want us venerating presidents.

They actually invented the word “president” specifically to signify a minimal role. Early drafts of the constitution named the position king. They also considered emperor. It was always going to be an elected position, but that’s what it might have been called. Even “governor” was deemed too important-sounding.

In the end, they went with a word that just means “presides over” - the federal government was never meant to be very powerful.