Historical rankings of presidents of the United States

In political studies, surveys have been conducted in order to construct historical rankings of the success of individuals who have served as President of the United States. Ranking systems are usually based on surveys of academic historians and political scientists or popular opinion. The rankings focus on the presidential achievements, leadership qualities, failures and faults.[1][2][3]

In the 1920s, sculptor Gutzon Borglum and President Calvin Coolidge selected George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln to appear on Mount Rushmore—it later became an iconic symbol of presidential greatness.

General findings

Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and George Washington are most often listed as the three highest-rated Presidents among historians. The remaining places within the Top 10 are often rounded out by Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Harry S Truman, Woodrow Wilson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Andrew Jackson, and John F. Kennedy. More recent Presidents such as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton are often rated among the greatest in public opinion polls, but do not always rank as highly among presidential scholars and historians. The bottom 10 often include James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, Millard Fillmore, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Ulysses S. Grant, Zachary Taylor, and George W. Bush. Because William Henry Harrison (30 days) and James A. Garfield (200 days, incapacitated after 119 days) both died shortly after taking office, they are usually omitted from presidential rankings. Furthermore, Zachary Taylor died after serving as president for only 16 months, but he is usually included. In the case of these three, it is not clear if they received low rankings due to their actions as President, or because each was in office for such a limited time that it is not possible to assess them more thoroughly.

Political scientist Walter Dean Burnham noted the "dichotomous or schizoid profiles" of Presidents, which can make some hard to classify. Historian Alan Brinkley stated that "there are presidents who could be considered both failures and great or near great (for example, Nixon)". Historian and political scientist James MacGregor Burns observed of Nixon: "How can one evaluate such an idiosyncratic president, so brilliant and so morally lacking?"[4]

David H. Donald, noted biographer of Abraham Lincoln, relates that when he met John F. Kennedy in 1961, Kennedy voiced his deep dissatisfaction and resentment with historians who had rated some of his predecessors. Kennedy said: "No one has a right to grade a President—even poor James Buchanan—who has not sat in his chair, examined the mail and information that came across his desk, and learned why he made his decisions".[5]

Historian and political scientist Julian E. Zelizer argues that traditional presidential rankings explain little concerning actual presidential history and that they are "weak mechanisms for evaluating what has taken place in the White House".[6] Libertarian political commentator Ivan Eland wrote a book titled Recarving Rushmore (2008; updated 2014) in which he wrote that historians' criteria are poor in their capacity to reflect presidents' actual services to the country. In the book, Eland chose to rate 40 Presidents on the basis of whether their policies promoted prosperity, liberty and non-interventionism as well as modest executive roles for themselves—his final rankings varied significantly from those of most scholars.

Notable scholar surveys

Abraham Lincoln is often considered the greatest President for his leadership during the American Civil War and his eloquence in speeches such as the Gettysburg Address
James Buchanan is often considered the worst President for his inept leadership during the years leading up to the Civil War

The 1948 poll was conducted by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. of Harvard University.[1] The 1962 survey was also conducted by Schlesinger, who surveyed 75 historians.[7] Schlesinger's son, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., conducted another poll in 1996.[8]

The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents also gives the results of the 1982 survey, a poll of 49 historians conducted by the Chicago Tribune. A notable difference from the 1962 Schlesinger poll was the ranking of Dwight D. Eisenhower, which rose from 22nd in 1962 to 9th in 1982.

The Siena Research Institute of Siena College conducted surveys in 1982, 1990, 1994, 2002 and 2010. The 1994 survey placed only two presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, above 80 points and two presidents, Andrew Johnson and Warren G. Harding, below 50 points.[9][10] The 2010 Siena survey had George W. Bush plummet from the initial 2002 ranking of 23rd down to 39th.

The 1996 column shows the results from a poll conducted from 1988 to 1996 by William J. Ridings Jr. and Stuart B. McIver and published in Rating The Presidents: A Ranking of U.S. Leaders, from the Great and Honorable to the Dishonest and Incompetent.[11] More than 719 people took part in the poll, primarily academic historians and political scientists, although some politicians and celebrities also took part. Participants from every state were included and emphasis was placed upon getting input from female historians and "specialists in African-American studies" as well as a few non-American historians. Poll respondents rated the Presidents in five categories (leadership qualities, accomplishments and crisis management, political skill, appointments and character and integrity) and the results were tabulated to create the overall ranking.

A 2000 survey by The Wall Street Journal consisted of an "ideologically balanced group of 132 prominent professors of history, law, and political science". This poll sought to include an equal number of liberals and conservatives in the survey as the editors argued that previous polls were dominated by either one group or the other. According to the editors, this poll included responses from more women, minorities and young professors than the 1996 Schlesinger poll. The editors noted that the results of their poll were "remarkably similar" to the 1996 Schlesinger poll, with the main difference in the 2000 poll being the lower rankings for the 1960s Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and John F. Kennedy and higher ranking of President Ronald Reagan at 8th. Franklin D. Roosevelt still ranked in the top three.

Another presidential poll was conducted by The Wall Street Journal in 2005, with James Lindgren of Northwestern University Law School for the Federalist Society.[12] As in the 2000 survey, the editors sought to balance the opinions of liberals and conservatives, adjusting the results "to give Democratic- and Republican-leaning scholars equal weight". Franklin D. Roosevelt still ranked in the top three, but editor James Taranto noted that Democratic-leaning scholars rated George W. Bush the sixth-worst president of all time while Republican scholars rated him the sixth-best, giving him a split-decision rating of "average".

A 2006 Siena College poll of 744 professors reported the following results:[13]

  • "George W. Bush has just finished five years as President. If today were the last day of his presidency, how would you rank him? The responses were: Great: 2%; Near Great: 5%; Average: 11%; Below Average: 24%; Failure: 58%"
  • "In your judgment, do you think he has a realistic chance of improving his rating?" Two-thirds (67%) responded no; less than a quarter (23%) responded yes; and 10% chose "no opinion or not applicable"

Thomas Kelly, professor emeritus of American studies at Siena College, said: "President Bush would seem to have small hope for high marks from the current generation of practicing historians and political scientists. In this case, current public opinion polls actually seem to cut the President more slack than the experts do". Douglas Lonnstrom, Siena College professor of statistics and director of the Siena Research Institute, stated: "In our 2002 presidential rating, with a group of experts comparable to this current poll, President Bush ranked 23rd of 42 presidents. That was shortly after 9/11. Clearly, the professors do not think things have gone well for him in the past few years. These are the experts that teach college students today and will write the history of this era tomorrow".[13]

A 2010 Siena poll of 238 presidential scholars found that former President George W. Bush was ranked 39th out of 43, with poor ratings in handling of the economy, communication, ability to compromise, foreign policy accomplishments and intelligence. Meanwhile, the then-current President Barack Obama was ranked 15th out of 43, with high ratings for imagination, communication ability and intelligence and a low rating for background (family, education and experience).[14][15]

The C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leadership consists of rankings from a group of presidential historians and biographers. The C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leadership has taken place three times: in 2000, 2009 and 2017.[16][17][18] The most recent survey was of 91 presidential historians, surveyed by C-SPAN's Academic Advisor Team, made up of Douglas G. Brinkley, Edna Greene Medford and Richard Norton Smith. In the survey, each historian rates each President on a scale of one ("not effective") to 10 ("very effective") on presidential leadership in ten categories: Public Persuasion, Crisis Leadership, Economic Management, Moral Authority, International Relations, Administrative Skills, Relations with Congress, Vision/Setting An Agenda, Pursued Equal Justice for All and Performance Within the Context of His Times—each category is equally weighed.[19] The results of all three C-SPAN surveys have been fairly consistent. Abraham Lincoln has taken the highest ranking in each survey and George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt have always ranked in the top five while James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and Franklin Pierce have been ranked at the bottom of all three surveys.[18]

In 2008, The Times daily newspaper of London asked eight of its own "top international and political commentators" to rank all 42 Presidents "in order of greatness".[20]

In 2011, through the agency of its United States Presidency Centre (USPC), the Institute for the Study of the Americas (located in the University of London's School of Advanced Study) released the first ever United Kingdom academic survey to rate Presidents. This polled the opinion of British specialists in American history and politics to assess presidential performance. They also gave an interim assessment of Barack Obama, but his unfinished presidency was not included in the survey (had he been included, he would have attained eighth place overall).[21]

In 2012, Newsweek magazine asked a panel of historians to rank the ten best Presidents since 1900. The results showed that historians had ranked Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama as the best since that year.[22]

A 2013 History News Network poll of 203 American historians, when asked to rate Obama's presidency on an A–F scale, gave him a B- grade. Obama, whom historians graded using 15 separate measures plus an overall grade, was rated most highly in the categories of communication ability, integrity and crisis management; and most poorly for his relationship with Congress, transparency and accountability.[23]

A 2015 poll administered by the American Political Science Association (APSA) among political scientists specializing in the American presidency had Abraham Lincoln in the top spot, with George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bill Clinton, Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson making the top 10.[24] APSA conducted a repeat of this poll in 2018.[25]

Scholar survey results

Within each column:[26]

  • Blue backgrounds indicate first quartile.
  • Green backgrounds indicate second quartile.
  • Orange backgrounds indicate third quartile.
  • Red backgrounds indicate fourth quartile.

Note: click the "sort" icon at the head of each column to view the rankings for each survey in numerical order.

No. President Political party
Schl. 1962[7]
M-B 1982
CT 1982
Siena 1982
Siena 1990
Siena 1994
R-McI 1996[11]
C-SPAN 2000
WSJ 2000
Siena 2002
WSJ 2005[12]
C-SPAN 2009[27]
Siena 2010[14][15]
USPC 2011[21]
APSA 2015[24]
C-SPAN 2017[28]
APSA 2018[25]
Aggr.[29]
1 George Washington Independent020203020404040302 (tie)0301040102040302020203
2 John Adams Federalist0910091510141214111613121317171215191415
3 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican0505040502030504040704050407050405070505
4 James Madison Democratic-Republican1412141709080910171815091720061413171214
5 James Monroe Democratic-Republican1218151615111513151416081614071316131817
6 John Quincy Adams Democratic-Republican1113161917161718181920172519192022212321
7 Andrew Jackson Democratic0606070713091108051306131013140909181509
8 Martin Van Buren Democratic1517201821212221213023242731232725342724
9 William Henry Harrison Whig – – – –26352835 –37 –36 –3935 –39384238
10 John Tyler Independent[30]2225282834333434323634373535373736393737
11 James K. Polk Democratic1008 (tie)121012131411091210110912121619142012
12 Zachary Taylor Whig2524272629343329292831343329333333313535
13 Millard Fillmore Whig2426293132323536313535383637383537373839
14 Franklin Pierce Democratic272831333536373733 (tie)3937 (tie)393840403940414140
15 James Buchanan Democratic2629333437383940384139414042424043434343
16 Abraham Lincoln Republican0101010103020201010102020201030201010101
17 Andrew Johnson Democratic[31]1923323038394039374036423741433641424041
18 Ulysses S. Grant Republican283035323637383833 (tie)3332352923262928222136
19 Rutherford B. Hayes Republican1314222222232425232622272433313030322925
20 James A. Garfield Republican – – – –25302630 –29 –33 –2827 –31293429
21 Chester A. Arthur Republican1721 (tie)232424262728263226302632253232353128
22/24 Grover Cleveland Democratic0811171318171916131712201221202123232420
23 Benjamin Harrison Republican2120262531293031193127323030343429303231
25 William McKinley Republican1815181119191817161514191416211721161919
26 Theodore Roosevelt Republican0707050405050305060405030504020504040404
27 William Howard Taft Republican1616192020202120222419212024242520242223
28 Woodrow Wilson Democratic0404060606060606070611061109080610111107
29 Warren G. Harding Republican2931363639404141393837 (tie)403938413842403942
30 Calvin Coolidge Republican2327302930313633302725292326292827272830
31 Herbert Hoover Republican201921212728292433 (tie)3429313134362638363634
32 Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic030302030101010202 (tie)0203010303010103030302
33 Harry S. Truman Democratic –08 (tie)080807070707080507070705090706060606
34 Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican –21 (tie)110911120809100909100808101007050708
35 John F. Kennedy Democratic – –131408101015120818141506111514081610
36 Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic – –101214151312141017151811161112101013
37 Richard Nixon Republican – –343528252332362533263227302334283333
38 Gerald Ford Republican – –242323273227282328282822282424252526
39 Jimmy Carter Democratic – –252733242519272230253425321826262627
40 Ronald Reagan Republican – – – –16 *222026251108160610180811090916
41 George H. W. Bush Republican – – – – –18 *3122242021222118222217201722
42 Bill Clinton Democratic – – – – – –16 *23 *20 *21 *24 *182215131908151318
43 George W. Bush Republican – – – – – – – – – – –23 *19 *36393135333032
44 Barack Obama Democratic – – – – – – – – – – – – – –15 * –18 *120811
45 Donald Trump Republican – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –44 *44
Total in survey2931363639404141394139424042434043434444
* Ranking calculated before president had completed his term in office.

Note: Grover Cleveland was elected to two non-consecutive terms, serving as both the 22nd and 24th President of the United States—to date he is the only person to have achieved this distinction. Because of it, the total number of people who have served as president is one less than the number of presidents in order of succession.

Liberal and conservative raters

The Murray-Blessing 1982 survey asked historians whether they were liberal or conservative on domestic, social and economic issues.[32] The table below shows that the two groups had only small differences in ranking the best and worst presidents. Both groups agreed on the composition of nine of the top ten Presidents (and were split over the inclusion of either Lyndon B. Johnson or Dwight D. Eisenhower) and six of the worst seven (split over Jimmy Carter or Calvin Coolidge).

Rankings by liberals and conservatives
Rank Liberals (n = 190) Conservatives (n = 50)
1 Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln
2 Franklin D. Roosevelt George Washington
3 George Washington Franklin D. Roosevelt
4 Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson
5 Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt
6 Woodrow Wilson Andrew Jackson
7 Andrew Jackson Harry S. Truman
8 Harry S. Truman Woodrow Wilson
9 Lyndon B. Johnson Dwight D. Eisenhower
10 John Adams John Adams
30 Calvin Coolidge Jimmy Carter
31 Franklin Pierce Richard Nixon
32 James Buchanan Franklin Pierce
33 Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson
34 Ulysses S. Grant James Buchanan
35 Richard Nixon Ulysses S. Grant
36 Warren G. Harding Warren G. Harding

Excluded groups ranking approach

In 2002, Ron Walters, former director of the University of Maryland's African American Leadership Institute, stated that Presidents ranked by how each one balanced the interests of majority interests and the interests of excluded groups was practical in respect to American debate on racial politics. Presidents have traditionally been ranked on personal qualities and their leadership ability to solve problems that move the nation in a positive direction. Walters stated there was a qualitative difference between white and African American intellectuals in evaluating presidents. In the 1996 New York Times poll by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., 31 white historians and one black historian ranked presidents on differing categories of greatness. In a survey done by professors Hanes Walton Jr. and Robert Smith and in their text book American Politics And The African American Quest For Universal Freedom, 44 African American political scientists and historians ranked Presidents in terms of racial attitudes and racial legislation proposed.[33] Individual presidents' attitudes, policies and perspectives were historically ranked in five categories: White Supremacist; Racist; Racially Neutral; Racially Ambivalent; Antiracist.[34]

Public opinion polls

Rasmussen poll

According to a Rasmussen poll conducted in 2007, six Presidents—George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy—were rated favorably by at least 80% of Americans.[35]

President Favorable Unfavorable Net favorable
George Washington 94 2 92
Abraham Lincoln 92 4 88
Thomas Jefferson 89 4 85
Theodore Roosevelt 84 8 76
Franklin D. Roosevelt 81 12 69
John F. Kennedy 80 13 67
John Adams 74 9 65
James Madison 73 8 65
Ronald Reagan 72 22 50
Dwight D. Eisenhower 72 15 57
Harry S. Truman 70 14 56
Andrew Jackson 69 14 55
Gerald Ford 62 26 36
John Quincy Adams 59 7 52
Ulysses S. Grant 58 24 34
George H. W. Bush 57 41 16
Jimmy Carter 57 34 23
William Howard Taft 57 15 42
Woodrow Wilson 56 19 37
Bill Clinton 55 41 14
James Monroe 49 10 39
Herbert Hoover 48 34 14
Lyndon B. Johnson 45 42 3
Andrew Johnson 45 26 19
Chester A. Arthur 43 17 26
James A. Garfield 42 16 26
William McKinley 42 24 18
George W. Bush 41 59 −18
Grover Cleveland 40 26 14
Calvin Coolidge 38 31 7
Rutherford B. Hayes 38 19 19
Richard Nixon 32 60 −28
Benjamin Harrison 30 35 −5
Warren G. Harding 29 33 −4
James Buchanan 28 32 −4
James K. Polk 27 21 6
Zachary Taylor 26 18 8
Martin Van Buren 23 19 4
William Henry Harrison 21 16 5
Franklin Pierce 17 25 −8
Millard Fillmore 17 25 −8
John Tyler 9 15 −6

Gallup poll

A Gallup poll about presidential greatness taken February 2–5, 2011 asked 1,015 adults in the United States the following question: "Who do you regard as the greatest United States president?".[3]

  1. Ronald Reagan (19%)
  2. Abraham Lincoln (14%)
  3. Bill Clinton (13%)
  4. John F. Kennedy (11%)
  5. George Washington (10%)
  6. Franklin Roosevelt (8%)
  7. Barack Obama (5%)
  8. Theodore Roosevelt (3%)
  9. Harry Truman (3%)
  10. George W. Bush (2%)
  11. Thomas Jefferson (2%)
  12. Jimmy Carter (1%)
  13. Dwight Eisenhower (1%)
  14. George H. W. Bush (1%)
  15. Andrew Jackson (<0.5%)
  16. Lyndon B. Johnson (<0.5%)
  17. Richard Nixon (<0.5%)

In addition, "Other" received 1%, "None" received 1% and "No opinion" received 5%.

Public opinion polls on recent Presidents

These polls evaluate recent Presidents only.

2010 Gallup poll

A Gallup poll taken on November 19–21, 2010 asked 1,037 Americans to say, based on what they know or remember about the nine most recent former Presidents, whether they approve or disapprove of how each handled his job in office.[36]

  1. John F. Kennedy (85% approval/10% disapproval)
  2. Ronald Reagan (74% approval/24% disapproval)
  3. Bill Clinton (69% approval/30% disapproval)
  4. George H. W. Bush (64% approval/34% disapproval)
  5. Gerald Ford (61% approval/26% disapproval)
  6. Jimmy Carter (52% approval/42% disapproval)
  7. Lyndon B. Johnson (49% approval/36% disapproval)
  8. George W. Bush (47% approval/51% disapproval)
  9. Richard Nixon (29% approval/65% disapproval)

Public Policy Polling

A Public Policy Polling poll taken between September 8–11, 2011 asked 665 American voters, based on what they know or remember about the nine most recent former presidents, whether they hold favorable or unfavorable views of how each handled his job in office.[37]

  1. John F. Kennedy (74% favorability/15% unfavorability)
  2. Ronald Reagan (60% favorability/30% unfavorability)
  3. Bill Clinton (62% favorability/34% unfavorability)
  4. George H. W. Bush (53% favorability/35% unfavorability)
  5. Gerald Ford (45% favorability/26% unfavorability)
  6. Jimmy Carter (45% favorability/43% unfavorability)
  7. Lyndon B. Johnson (36% favorability/39% unfavorability)
  8. George W. Bush (41% favorability/51% unfavorability)
  9. Richard Nixon (19% favorability/62% unfavorability)

Vision Critical/Angus Reid poll

A Vision Critical/Angus Reid Public Opinion poll taken on February 18–19, 2011 asked 1,010 respondents about 11 former Presidents plus the current president and whether each was a good or bad President.[38]

  1. John F. Kennedy (80% approval/6% disapproval)
  2. Ronald Reagan (72% approval/16% disapproval)
  3. Bill Clinton (65% approval/24% disapproval)
  4. Dwight D. Eisenhower (61% approval/6% disapproval)
  5. Harry S. Truman (57% approval/7% disapproval)
  6. Jimmy Carter (47% approval/28% disapproval)
  7. George H. W. Bush (44% approval/38% disapproval)
  8. Barack Obama (41% approval/33% disapproval)
  9. Gerald Ford (37% approval/25% disapproval)
  10. Lyndon B. Johnson (33% approval/27% disapproval)
  11. George W. Bush (30% approval/55% disapproval)
  12. Richard Nixon (24% approval/54% disapproval)

2013 Gallup poll

A Gallup poll taken November 7–10, 2013 asked 1,039 adults in the United States the following question: "How do you think each of the following presidents will go down in history—as an outstanding president, above average, average, below average, or poor?".[39]

Gallup poll 2013
President Outstanding Above average Average Below average Poor No opinion Weighted average[40]
Dwight D. Eisenhower 10% 39% 36% 2% 1% 12% 3.63
John F. Kennedy 18% 56% 19% 2% 1% 4% 3.92
Lyndon B. Johnson 4% 16% 46% 14% 8% 12% 2.93
Richard Nixon 2% 13% 27% 29% 23% 6% 2.38
Gerald Ford 2% 14% 56% 15% 5% 8% 2.92
Jimmy Carter 4% 19% 37% 20% 15% 6% 2.76
Ronald Reagan 19% 42% 27% 6% 4% 2% 3.67
George H. W. Bush 3% 24% 48% 12% 10% 2% 2.98
Bill Clinton 11% 44% 29% 9% 6% 1% 3.45
George W. Bush 3% 18% 36% 20% 23% 1% 2.58
Barack Obama 6% 22% 31% 18% 22% 1% 2.72

2014 Quinnipiac poll

A Quinnipiac University poll taken June 24–30, 2014, asked 1,446 registered voters in the United States who they thought were the best and worst Presidents since World War II.[41]

Best President since World War II:

  1. Ronald Reagan (35%)
  2. Bill Clinton (18%)
  3. John F. Kennedy (15%)
  4. Barack Obama (8%)
  5. Dwight Eisenhower (5%)
  6. Harry S. Truman (4%)
  7. Lyndon B. Johnson (tie) (3%)
  8. George H. W. Bush (tie) (3%)
  9. Jimmy Carter (2%)
  10. Richard Nixon (tie) (1%)
  11. Gerald Ford (tie) (1%)
  12. George W. Bush (tie) (1%)

Worst President since World War II:

  1. Barack Obama (33%)
  2. George W. Bush (28%)
  3. Richard Nixon (13%)
  4. Jimmy Carter (8%)
  5. Lyndon B. Johnson (tie) (3%)
  6. Ronald Reagan (tie) (3%)
  7. Bill Clinton (tie) (3%)
  8. Gerald Ford (tie) (2%)
  9. George H. W. Bush (tie) (2%)
  10. Dwight Eisenhower (1%)
  11. Harry S. Truman (tie) (<1%)
  12. John F. Kennedy (tie) (<1%)

2017 Quinnipiac poll

Four years later, a Quinnipiac University poll taken January 20–25, 2017 asked 1,190 voters in the United States who they thought were the best and worst Presidents since World War II.[42]

Best President since World War II:

  1. Ronald Reagan (30%)
  2. Barack Obama (29%)
  3. John F. Kennedy (12%)
  4. Bill Clinton (9%)
  5. Dwight Eisenhower (tie) (3%)
  6. George W. Bush (tie) (3%)
  7. Harry Truman (tie) (2%)
  8. Lyndon B. Johnson (tie) (2%)
  9. Jimmy Carter (tie) (2%)
  10. George H.W. Bush (tie) (2%)
  11. Richard Nixon (tie) (<1%)
  12. Gerald R. Ford (tie) (<1%)

Worst President since World War II:

  1. Richard Nixon (24%)
  2. Barack Obama (23%)
  3. George W. Bush (22%)
  4. Jimmy Carter (10%)
  5. Ronald Reagan (5%)
  6. Bill Clinton (4%)
  7. Lyndon B. Johnson (3%)
  8. George H.W. Bush (2%)
  9. Gerald R. Ford (1%)
  10. Harry S. Truman (tie) (<1%)
  11. Dwight Eisenhower (tie) (<1%)
  12. John F. Kennedy (tie) (<1%)

2017 Morning Consult poll

Including for the first time President Donald Trump, a Morning Consult poll taken February 9–10, 2017 asked 1,791 registered voters in the United States who they thought were the best and worst Presidents since World War II.[43][44]

Best President since World War II:

  1. Ronald Reagan (26%)
  2. Barack Obama (20%)
  3. John F. Kennedy (17%)
  4. Bill Clinton (9%)
  5. Donald Trump (6%)
  6. George W. Bush (tie) (2%)
  7. Harry Truman (tie) (2%)
  8. Jimmy Carter (tie) (2%)
  9. George H.W. Bush (tie) (2%)
  10. Richard Nixon (tie) (1%)
  11. Lyndon B. Johnson (tie) (1%)
  12. Gerald R. Ford (<1%)

Worst President since World War II:

  1. Donald Trump (26%)
  2. Barack Obama (25%)
  3. Richard Nixon (13%)
  4. George W. Bush (7%)
  5. Bill Clinton (6%)
  6. Jimmy Carter (5%)
  7. George H.W. Bush (3%)
  8. Lyndon B. Johnson (2%)
  9. Ronald Reagan (tie) (1%)
  10. Gerald R. Ford (tie) (1%)
  11. Harry S. Truman (tie) (1%)
  12. John F. Kennedy (<1%)

2018 Quinnipiac poll

A Quinnipiac University poll taken March 3–5, 2018 asked 1,122 voters in the United States who they thought were the best and worst Presidents since World War II.[45]

Best President since World War II:

  1. Ronald Reagan (28%)
  2. Barack Obama (24%)
  3. John F. Kennedy (tie) (10%)
  4. Bill Clinton (tie) (10%)
  5. Donald Trump (7%)
  6. Dwight Eisenhower (4%)
  7. Harry Truman (tie) (3%)
  8. Jimmy Carter (tie) (3%)
  9. Lyndon B. Johnson (2%)
  10. George H.W. Bush (tie) (1%)
  11. Richard Nixon (tie) (1%)
  12. George W. Bush (tie) (1%)
  13. Gerald R. Ford (<1%)

Worst President since World War II:

  1. Donald Trump (41%)
  2. Barack Obama (21%)
  3. Richard Nixon (10%)
  4. Jimmy Carter (8%)
  5. George W. Bush (6%)
  6. Bill Clinton (4%)
  7. Lyndon B. Johnson (tie) (2%)
  8. Ronald Reagan (tie) (2%)
  9. Gerald R. Ford (1%)
  10. Harry S. Truman (tie) (<1%)
  11. Dwight Eisenhower (tie) (<1%)
  12. John F. Kennedy (tie) (<1%)
  13. George H.W. Bush (tie) (<1%)

Siena College Research Institute, Presidential Expert Poll of 2010

Abbreviations

  • Bg = Background
  • PL = Party leadership
  • CAb = Communication ability
  • RC = Relations with Congress
  • CAp = Court appointments
  • HE = Handling of economy
  • L = Luck
  • AC = Ability to compromise
  • WR = Willing to take risks
  • EAp = Executive appointments
  • OA = Overall ability
  • Im = Imagination
  • DA = Domestic accomplishments
  • Int = Integrity
  • EAb = Executive ability
  • FPA = Foreign policy accomplishments
  • LA = Leadership ability
  • IQ = Intelligence
  • AM = Avoid crucial mistakes
  • EV = Experts' view
  • O = Overall
  • Blue backgrounds indicate first quartile.
  • Green backgrounds indicate second quartile.
  • Orange backgrounds indicate third quartile.
  • Red backgrounds indicate fourth quartile.

Source:[46]

Seq. President Political party Bg PL CAb RC CAp HE L AC WR EAp OA Im DA Int EAb FPA LA IQ AM EV O
 
1 George Washington Independent718123341341494223112134
2 John Adams Federalist429182610132332161513172231912207151217
3 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican146461661185536145761655
4 James Madison Democratic-Republican3101197121771596812514201721086
5 James Monroe Democratic-Republican9121581499817816168101121315797
6 John Quincy Adams Democratic-Republican234203516143029231315111842116265202119
7 Andrew Jackson Democratic3021014272843851912131423619523121314
8 Martin Van Buren Democratic161323192438331332252424272923252722272423
9 William Henry Harrison Whig243025313327423530243735363033392431333435
10 John Tyler Independent[30]334239423931223926343529343337353633323637
11 James K. Polk Democratic179131221157237161714112498102091112
12 Zachary Taylor Whig373528373724363428283427372131342537253333
13 Millard Fillmore Whig404140383533252537353836353638333939303538
14 Franklin Pierce Democratic383737414034353638383939393840404038354040
15 James Buchanan Democratic234041404241404143394242434042414340414342
16 Abraham Lincoln Republican28626451312212111523213
17 Andrew Johnson National Union[31]424343434337394334424141423741384241424243
18 Ulysses S. Grant Republican262824222529212222402826262734242129313126
19 Rutherford B. Hayes Republican293330292926191833333332332830303230242931
20 James A. Garfield Republican202222243223412731292528252526312326222727
21 Chester A. Arthur Republican413132272819142127263025203227262832172625
22/24 Grover Cleveland Democratic191617151722201924182022171917211925141920
23 Benjamin Harrison Republican393234283035293039363634323135283435233234
25 William McKinley Republican211419112318242021202123192218151827112021
26 Theodore Roosevelt Republican6735122121431264446342
27 William Howard Taft Republican143629301820322436222330211825233118282324
28 Woodrow Wilson Democratic8891688153791085911101012429108
29 Warren G. Harding Republican433836343639372640434343404243374143394141
30 Calvin Coolidge Republican252438212630122841303237311728323328192829
31 Herbert Hoover Republican102631331943434042322638411329363714403836
32 Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic51122152332431631310421
33 Harry S. Truman Democratic351514201561115677157886917869
34 Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican121721109118520171120139797195710
35 John F. Kennedy Democratic1319413127276106147153513171111161411
36 Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic153161510289121291253412431521371616
37 Richard Nixon Republican182026363825343314372219244324112916433730
38 Gerald Ford Republican272535172236311735233133301532273034262528
39 Jimmy Carter Democratic31392739204038312521292129736293513363032
40 Ronald Reagan Republican3455731213141131191823262013836131718
41 George H. W. Bush Republican112733233432261629272731282022142224182222
42 Bill Clinton Democratic22118251131041811101010411518149341513
43 George W. Bush Republican362342324142184219414040383939423842383939
44 Barack Obama Democratic322171813171610131418616121622168211815
Seq. President Political party Bg PL CAb RC CAp HE L AC WR EAp OA Im DA Int EAb FPA LA IQ AM EV O

2017 C-SPAN Presidential Historian Survey

Abbreviations

  • PP = Public persuasion
  • CL = Crisis leadership
  • EM = Economic management
  • MA = Moral authority
  • IR = International relations
  • AS = Administrative skills
  • RC = Relations with Congress
  • VSA = Vision/Setting an agenda
  • PEJ = Pursued equal justice for all
  • PCT = Performance within context of times
  • O = Overall
  • Blue backgrounds indicate first quartile.
  • Green backgrounds indicate second quartile.
  • Orange backgrounds indicate third quartile.
  • Red backgrounds indicate fourth quartile.

Source:[47]

Seq. President Political party PP CL EM MA IR AS RC VSA PEJ PCT O
 
1 George Washington Independent421122221312
2 John Adams Federalist2217151113212420151919
3 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican813136117551767
4 James Madison Democratic-Republican181919922171318181617
5 James Monroe Democratic-Republican17141816711914251113
6 John Quincy Adams Democratic-Republican332317121518321592221
7 Andrew Jackson Democratic710262020232110381318
8 Martin Van Buren Democratic3035403326262833303334
9 William Henry Harrison Whig2838383142403836373838
10 John Tyler Independent[30]3936393728384137413639
11 James K. Polk Democratic13914271691111361214
12 Zachary Taylor Whig2728282830353530343031
13 Millard Fillmore Whig4034343634363639393737
14 Franklin Pierce Democratic4141413940394041424141
15 James Buchanan Democratic4343424343414243434343
16 Abraham Lincoln Republican31223141121
17 Andrew Johnson National Union[31]4242374139434342404242
18 Ulysses S. Grant Republican1921271919372023102122
19 Rutherford B. Hayes Republican2930253233293032322832
20 James A. Garfield Republican2131292236322725202729
21 Chester A. Arthur Republican3732313535282934273235
22/24 Grover Cleveland Democratic2022242623222221312323
23 Benjamin Harrison Republican3233323027302631243130
25 William McKinley Republican1616111817131017261816
26 Theodore Roosevelt Republican254544741144
27 William Howard Taft Republican3126202521122328222424
28 Woodrow Wilson Democratic111198128167351011
29 Warren G. Harding Republican3639354037423440334040
30 Calvin Coolidge Republican2429222129251829292627
31 Herbert Hoover Republican3840432931143138283936
32 Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic13531333833
33 Harry S. Truman Democratic14410105101413456
34 Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican12664656161275
35 John F. Kennedy Democratic677151416129798
36 Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic152012243861821410
37 Richard Nixon Republican2627234210243724213428
38 Gerald Ford Republican3424302325271935142525
39 Jimmy Carter Democratic353733143231332252926
40 Ronald Reagan Republican581613933862389
41 George H. W. Bush Republican231221178161527162020
42 Bill Clinton Democratic9183381820171961715
43 George W. Bush Republican2525363441342526193533
44 Barack Obama Democratic1015872419391231512
Seq. President Political party PP CL EM MA IR AS RC VSA PEJ PCT O

Memorability of the Presidents

In November 2014, Henry L. Roediger III and K. Andrew DeSoto published a study in the journal Science asking research subjects to name as many Presidents as possible.[48][49] They reported data from three generations as well as from an online survey conducted in 2014. The percentage of participants in the online survey sample who could name each President was the following:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Maranell, Gary M. (June 1970). "The Evaluation of Presidents: An Extension of the Schlesinger Polls". The Journal of American History. 57 (1): 104–113. JSTOR 1900552.
  2. ↑ William J. Ridings Jr. and Stuart B. McIver. Rating the Presidents: A Ranking of U.S. leaders, from the Great and Honorable to the Dishonest and Incompetent. 2000. ISBN 0806521511.
  3. 1 2 "Americans Say Reagan Is the Greatest U.S. President". Gallup.com. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  4. ↑ Skidmore. 2001.
  5. ↑ Donald, David H. Lincoln. 1995. p. 13.
  6. ↑ Zelizer (February 21, 2011). "What's wrong with presidential rankings". CNN Opinion.
  7. 1 2 Schlesinger, Arthur M. "Our Presidents: A Rating by 75 Historians". The New York Times. July 1962. pp. 12–13, 40–41, 43.
  8. 1 2 "Rating the Presidents: Washington to Clinton". Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Historians Give Good Grades to Clinton Presidency in Siena College Survey". January 11, 1995. Archived June 28, 2006.
  10. ↑ "FDR America's Greatest President". August 19, 2002. Archived February 10, 2007.
  11. 1 2 Rating the Presidents: A Ranking of U.S. leaders, from the Great and Honorable to the Dishonest and Incompetent. 2000. ISBN 0806521511.
  12. 1 2 "Presidential Leadership; The Rankings". Wall Street Journal Online. September 12, 2005. Archived from the original on February 7, 2006.
  13. 1 2 "Experts: Bush Presidency Is A Failure; Little Chance To Improve Ranking". Archived May 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.. Siena Research Institute. May 1, 2006.
  14. 1 2 "Rushmore Plus One; FDR joins Mountainside Figures Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln as Top Presidents" Archived July 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.. Siena Research Institute. July 1, 2010.
  15. 1 2 Thomas, G. Scott (July 1, 2010). "Clean sweep for the Roosevelts". Business First of Buffalo. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  16. ↑ "C-SPAN Releases Second Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership". C-SPAN. February 15, 2009.
  17. ↑ "Presidential Historians Survey 2017". C-SPAN. February 17, 2017.
  18. 1 2 "C-SPAN Releases Third Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership". C-SPAN. February 17, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Methodology: Presidential Historians Survey 2017". C-SPAN. February 17, 2017.
  20. ↑ Griffin, Jeremy; Hines, Nico (October 28, 2008). "Who's the greatest? The Times US presidential rankings". The Times. London. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  21. 1 2 Iwan Morgan. "UK Survey of US Presidents: Results and Analysis". Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  22. ↑ "From Franklin Delano Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy, Newsweek's 10 Best Presidents (Photos)". The Daily Beast. September 24, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  23. ↑ HNN Staff (September 8, 2013). "Historians Give Barack Obama a B-". History News Network. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  24. 1 2 Brandon Rottinghaus (February 13, 2015). "Measuring Obama against the great presidents". The Brookings Institution.
  25. 1 2 "How Does Trump Stack Up Against the Best — and Worst — Presidents?". The New York Times. February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  26. ↑ Quartiles were determined by splitting the data into an upper and lower half and then splitting these into the first two and last two quartiles, respectively. When splitting an odd number of values, the median was included in the upper half.
  27. ↑ "Lincoln Wins: Honest Abe tops new presidential survey". CNN. February 16, 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  28. ↑ "Presidential Historians Survey 2017". C-SPAN. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  29. ↑ Aggregate of all polls up to and including APSA 2018 by ranking each president's ratio of favourable to total pairwise comparisons, excluding ties.
  30. 1 2 3 Tyler was elected on the Whig ticket as Harrison's vice president, but Tyler became an independent after the Whigs expelled him from the party in 1841.
  31. 1 2 3 Johnson was a former War Democrat elected on the National Union ticket as Lincoln's vice president, but by 1868 the National Union Party disbanded.
  32. ↑ Murray and Blessing. p. 135.
  33. ↑ Walters (July 8, 2002)."Presidency: How Do African-American Scholars Rank Presidents?". History News Network.
  34. ↑ Walton Jr., Hanes; Smith, Robert C. (2000). American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc. pp. 201–202.
  35. ↑ "Washington, Lincoln Most Popular Presidents: Nixon, Bush Least Popular - Rasmussen Reports™". Rasmussenreports.com. July 4, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  36. ↑ "Kennedy Still Highest-Rated Modern President, Nixon Lowest". Gallup. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  37. ↑ "JFK, Reagan, Clinton most popular recent ex-presidents". September 15, 2011.
  38. ↑ "Kennedy and Reagan Lead List of Good Presidents for Americans". Angus Reid Public Opinion. Archived August 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  39. ↑ "Americans Rate JFK as Top Modern President". Gallup. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016.
  40. ↑ The weights were 5 for "Outstanding", 4 for "Above Average", 3 for "Average", 2 for "Below Average" and 1 for "Poor".
  41. ↑ "National (US) Poll – July 2, 2014 – Obama Is First As Worst President Since WWII, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; More Voters Say Romney Would Have Been Better". Quinnipiac University.
  42. ↑ "Trump Starts In The Hole As U.S. Voters Disapprove, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Reagan, Obama Are Best Presidents In 70 Years". Quinnipiac University.
  43. ↑ "Morning Consult National Tracking Poll February 09–10,2017". Politico.
  44. ↑ "Poll: Trump and Obama Are America's Worst Presidents Since World War II". Morning Consult.
  45. ↑ "QU Poll Release Detail". Quinnipiac University. March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Rushmore Plus One; FDR joins Mountainside Figures Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln as Top Presidents". Siena College. July 1, 2010. Archived from the original on July 6, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  47. ↑ "All Presidents - C-SPAN Survey on Presidents 2017". C-SPAN. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  48. ↑ Roediger, Henry L.; DeSoto, K. Andrew (November 28, 2014), "Forgetting the Presidents", Science, 346 (6213): 1106–1109, Bibcode:2014Sci...346.1106R, doi:10.1126/science.1259627, PMID 25430768
  49. ↑ Carey, Benedict (November 27, 2014). "Study on Cultural Memory Confirms: Chester A. Arthur, We Hardly Knew Ye". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2015.

Further reading

  • Bailey, Thomas A. (1966). Presidential Greatness: The Image and the Man from George Washington to the Present. New York: Appleton-Century. → A non-quantitative appraisal by leading historian.
  • Bose, Meena; Landis Mark (2003). The Uses and Abuses of Presidential Ratings. New York: Nova Science Publishers. ISBN 1590337948. → A collection of essays by presidential scholars.
  • DeGregorio, William A. (1993). The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (4. ed., rev., expanded, and up-dated ed.). New York: Barricade Books. ISBN 0942637925. → Contains the results of the 1962 and 1982 surveys.
  • Eland, Ivan (2009). Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty. Oakland, California: Independent Institute. ISBN 1598130226.
  • Faber, Charles; Faber, Richard (2000). The American Presidents Ranked by Performance. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Co. ISBN 0786407654.
  • Felzenberg, Alvin S. (1997). "There You Go Again: Liberal Historians and the New York Times Deny Ronald Reagan His Due". Policy Review. 82: 51–54. ISSN 0146-5945.
  • Holli, Melvin G. (1999). The American Mayor: The Best & the Worst Big-City Leaders. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0271018763.
  • Merry, Robert W. Where They Stand: The American Presidents in the Eyes of Voters and Historians (2012).
  • Miller, Nathan (1998). Star-Spangled Men America's Ten Worst Presidents. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0684836106.
  • Murray, Robert K.; Blessing, Tim H. (1994). Greatness in the White House: Rating the Presidents, from Washington Through Ronald Reagan (2., updated ed.). University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0271010894.
  • Nichols, Curt (2012). "The Presidential Ranking Game: Critical Review and Some New Discoveries". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 42 (2): 275–299. doi:10.1111/j.1741-5705.2012.03966.x. ISSN 0360-4918.
  • Pfiffner, James P. (2003). "Ranking the Presidents: Continuity and Volatility" (PDF). White House Studies. 3: 23. ISSN 1535-4768.
  • Ridings, William J., Jr.; McIver, Stuart B. (1997). Rating the Presidents: A Ranking of U.S. leaders, from the Great and Honorable to the Dishonest and Incompetent. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing. ISBN 0806517999.
  • Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. (1997). "Ranking the Presidents: From Washington to Clinton". Political Science Quarterly. 112 (2): 179–190. doi:10.2307/2657937. JSTOR 2657937.
  • Skidmore, Max J. (2004). Presidential Performance: A Comprehensive Review. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Co. ISBN 0786418206.
  • Skidmore, Max J. (2001). "Ranking and Evaluating Presidents: The Case of Theodore Roosevelt". White House Studies. 1 (4): 495–505. ISSN 1535-4768.
  • Taranto, James; Leo, Leonard (2004). Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and Worst in the White House. New York: Wall Street Journal Books. ISBN 0743254333. → For Federalist Society surveys.
  • Vedder, Richard; Gallaway, Lowell (2001). "Rating Presidential Performance". In Denson, John V. (ed.). Reassessing the Presidency: The Rise of the Executive State and the Decline of Freedom. Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute. ISBN 0945466293.

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