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Jul 2, 2021 · Who Were the Best and Worst Presidents Ever—and How Do Historians Decide? C-SPAN’s 2021 ranking places Trump near the bottom of the list. Obama, Grant rises higher, while Lincoln holds steady...
- Nora Mcgreevy
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) Historians laud Franklin D. Roosevelt for his extraordinary popularity and his devotion to economic justice. FDR assumed the presidency during the worst of the Great Depression, but assured the American people: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
- Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) Among all the U.S. presidents, Lincoln is almost always in the top five for crisis leadership ability, his dedication to keeping the United States together and for pursuing equal justice for all.
- George Washington (1789-1797) The nation's first president ranked highly for his moral authority and overall performance within the context of his time.
- Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (1901-1909) Theodore Roosevelt ranked highly for public persuasion and other presidential attributes. Just 42 when he became the youngest president in the nation's history, he had the enthusiasm and energy to convince Congress to pass progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy — exemplified by his motto, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
- Harry S. Truman - Best (713) While serving as president from 1945 until 1953, Harry Truman led the United States through the final months of WWII, funded Europe's recovery with the Marshall Plan, and came to the defense of South Korea in 1950, beginning the three-year Korean War (via History).
- Dwight D. Eisenhower - Best (734) Famous for his role as supreme allied commander during WWII, Dwight D. Eisenhower succeeded Truman as president of the United States on January 20, 1953.
- Theodore Roosevelt - Best (785) According to historian Lewis Gould (via NPR), the prevailing view of Theodore Roosevelt was once set by Henry Pringle's 1931 biography, which gave the impression that Roosevelt was "fun to watch but ultimately inconsequential in the nation's history."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt - Best (841) Professor William E. Leuchtenburg (via the Miller Center) wrote that Franklin D. Roosevelt may "have done more [to] change American society and politics than any of his predecessors in the White House, save Abraham Lincoln."
- Abraham Lincoln. - 16th president (Served from: March 4, 1861–April 15, 1865) - Political party: Republican. - Overall C-SPAN score: 907. --- Political persuasion score: 92.4 (#3 out of 43)
- George Washington. - 1st president (Served from: April 30, 1789–March 4, 1797) - Political party: Independent. - Overall C-SPAN score: 868. --- Political persuasion score: 91.4 (#4 out of 43)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt. - 32nd president (Served from: March 4, 1933–April 12, 1945) - Political party: Democratic. - Overall C-SPAN score: 855. --- Political persuasion score: 96.8 (#1 out of 43)
- Theodore Roosevelt. - 26th president (Served from: Sept. 14, 1901–March 4, 1909) - Political party: Republican. - Overall C-SPAN score: 807. --- Political persuasion score: 92.6 (#2 out of 43)
- I. Ranking The Presidents
- II. Predictors of High Presidential Ratings
- III. Comparing The Responses of Scholars in History, Law, and Political Science
- IV. Conclusion
- Appendix Rating The Presidents of The United States Scholars Surveyed
Rating presidents is an odd practice. No one can be an expert on all periods. Many presidents (e.g., Ulysses Grant, Calvin Coolidge, and Warren Harding) are probably rated more on received wisdom than on assessments of their records. The historian Robert Ferrell argues that, once one goes beyond one’s narrow area of expertise, there is “a rapid dim...
In this section, we briefly explore differences in ratings within our sample and possible variables that might explain them. First, we examined presidential age at inauguration. Using linear regression with just 39 observations (one for each president),11with a constant in the model there is no relationship between the age of a president and his me...
Scholars in different fields see the world somewhat differently. Although we observed few large field-specific differences in ranking U.S. Presidents, there were several. The politics scholars were seldom the outliers in opinion. Historians were substantial outliers on two presidents: they ranked Bill Clinton 8 places higher than law professors and...
Ranking U.S. presidents is much more than a parlor game for academics and much less than a full assessment of the myriad successes and failures of the men who have held our highest office. Global measures, such as “Above Average” or “Average” make sense only in comparative terms—and even then they are severely reductionist. Nonetheless, educating t...
Bruce Ackerman, Yale University William Allen, Michigan State University Akhil Reed Amar, Yale University Joyce Appleby, UCLA Peri E. Arnold, Notre Dame University Jean Harvey Baker, Goucher College Paula M. Baker, University of Pittsburgh Brian H. Balogh, University of Virginia Herman J. Belz, University of Maryland Micael Les Benedict, Ohio State...
Aug 13, 2022 · See how presidents ranked in three major groupings: Attributes, abilities, and accomplishments.
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Apr 22, 2019 · We ask presidential historians to rank individual performance across 10 qualities of leadership. Conducted just as a sitting president leaves office, we aim to create a first assessment for...
