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Many surveys have been conducted in order to construct 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.

These standings vary only slightly. Three Presidents—George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt—always are ranked at the top of the known lists. Normally ranking just below those three are Presidents Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson. The remaining "top 10" ranks are often rounded out by Andrew Jackson, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower and James K. Polk. In recent polls, James Madison, James Monroe and Ronald Reagan have sometimes been ranked in the top 10.

Ranking at the bottom of most polls are Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, and Warren G. Harding.

Some presidents present special problems because their foreign policy success/failure stands in contradiction to their domestic policy failure/success. Political Scientist Walter Dean Burnham noted the "dichotomous or schizoid profiles. On some very important dimensions both Wilson and L.B. Johnson were outright failures in my view; while on others they rank very high indeed. Similarly with Nixon." Historian Alan Brinkley said: 'There are presidents who could be considered both failures and great or near great (for example, Wilson, Johnson, Nixon).' James MacGregor Burns observed of Nixon, 'How can one evaluate such an idiosyncratic president, so brilliant and so morally lacking?'" 2001

Surveys of scholars

Over 1000 scholars have participated in the surveys. The issue of the validity of the rankings has been of special interest to historians and political scientists, who have tried to specify the relative importance of personality, leadership, issues and partisanship. Quantitative ranking by groups of scholars have been in favor in recent decades, displacing the traditional methods of evaluation by individual writers as typified by Bailey (1966) and most biographers. For a description of each of the polls, see the survey details section below.

Because Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms and is counted as both the 22nd and 24th President, the total number of Presidents in each poll is at least one less than the number of the most recently-serving President in the poll. Because of their short time in office, Presidents William Henry Harrison and James Garfield are sometimes omitted from these polls.

# President Schlesinger 1948 poll rank Schlesinger 1962 poll rank 1982 Murray-Blessing survey of 846 historians Chicago Tribune 1982 poll rank Siena 1982 poll rank Siena 1990 poll rank Siena 1994 poll rank Ridings- McIver 1996 poll rank CSPAN 1999 poll rank Wall Street Journal 2000 poll rank Siena 2002 poll rank Wall Street Journal 2005 poll rank Average
Total Presidents in survey 29 31 36 38 39 40 41 41 41 39 42 40  
1 George Washington 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 3 3 1 4 1 2.83
2 John Adams 9 10 9 14 (tie) 10 14 12 14 16 13 12 13 12.17
3 Thomas Jefferson 5 5 4 5 2 3 5 4 7 4 5 4 4.42
4 James Madison 14 12 14 17 9 8 9 10 18 15 9 17 12.67
5 James Monroe 12 18 15 16 15 11 15 13 14 16 8 16 14.08
6 John Quincy Adams 11 13 16 19 17 16 12 18 19 20 17 25 16.9
7 Andrew Jackson 6 6 7 6 13 9 11 8 13 6 13 10 9
8 Martin Van Buren 15 17 20 18 21 21 22 21 30 23 24 27 21.58
9 William Henry Harrison — — — 38 26 35 28 35 37 — 36 — 33.57
(7 rankings)
37.08
(12 rankings, non-rank=42)
10 John Tyler 22 25 28 29 34 33 34 34 36 34 37 35 31.75
11 James K. Polk 10 8 12 11 12 13 14 11 12 10 11 9 11.08
12 Zachary Taylor 25 24 27 28 29 34 33 29 28 31 34 33 29.58
13 Millard Fillmore 24 26 29 31 32 32 35 36 35 35 38 36 32.41
14 Franklin Pierce 27 28 31 35 35 36 37 37 39 37 39 38 34.92
15 James Buchanan 26 29 33 36 37 38 39 40 41 39 41 40 36.58
16 Abraham Lincoln 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 1.58
17 Andrew Johnson 19 23 32 32 38 39 40 38 40 36 42 37 34.67
18 Ulysses S. Grant 28 30 35 30 36 37 38 38 33 32 35 29 33.42
19 Rutherford B. Hayes 13 14 22 22 22 23 24 26 25 22 27 24 22
20 James Garfield — — — 33 25 30 27 30 29 — 33 — 29.57
(7 rankings)
34.75
(12 rankings, non-rank=42)
21 Chester A. Arthur 17 21 26 24 24 26 26 32 28 26 30 26 25.5
22, 24 Grover Cleveland 8 11 17 13 18 17 19 17 16 12 20 12 15
23 Benjamin Harrison 21 20 23 25 31 29 28 31 31 27 32 30 27.33
25 William McKinley 18 15 18 10 19 19 18 17 15 14 19 14 16.33
26 Theodore Roosevelt 7 7 5 4 5 5 3 5 4 5 3 5 4.83
27 William Howard Taft 16 16 19 20 20 20 21 24 20 19 21 20 19.67
28 Woodrow Wilson 4 4 6 7 6 6 6 6 6 11 6 11 6.58
29 Warren G. Harding 29 31 36 37 39 40 41 38 38 37 40 39 37.33
30 Calvin Coolidge 23 27 30 27 30 31 36 33 27 25 29 23 28.42
31 Herbert Hoover 20 19 21 21 27 28 29 24 34 29 31 31 26.17
32 Franklin D. Roosevelt 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 3 1 3 2
33 Harry S. Truman — 9 8 8 7 7 7 7 5 7 7 7 7.18
(11 rankings)
34 Dwight D. Eisenhower — 22 11 9 11 12 8 9 9 9 10 8 10.73
(11 rankings)
35 John F. Kennedy — — 13 14 (tie) 8 10 10 15 8 18 14 15 12.5
(10 rankings)
36 Lyndon B. Johnson — — 10 12 14 15 13 12 10 17 15 18 13.6
(10 rankings)
37 Richard Nixon — — 34 34 28 25 23 32 25 33 26 32 29.2
(10 rankings)
38 Gerald R. Ford — — 24 23 23 27 32 27 23 28 28 28 26.3
(10 rankings)
39 Jimmy Carter — — 25 26 33 24 25 19 22 30 25 34 26.3
(10 rankings)
40 Ronald Reagan — — — — 16 22 20 26 11 8 16 6 13.88
(8 rankings)
41 George H. W. Bush — — — — — 18 31 22 20 21 22 21 22.14
(7 rankings)
42 Bill Clinton — — — — — — 16 23 21 24 18 22 20.67
(6 rankings)
43 George W. Bush — — — — — — — — — — 23 19 21
(2 rankings)

Presidents by average scholar rank

welfare reform, deregulation of telecommunications industries, economic expansion, impeachment, balanced the budget
# President Political Party Average ranking Noted For:
1 Abraham Lincoln Republican 1.58 Emancipation Proclamation, American Civil War leadership
2 Franklin D. Roosevelt Democrat 2 Leadership during World War II and Great Depression, New Deal, rural electrification, Social Security
3 George Washington Federalist-leaning non-partisan 2.83 First President; founder of the republic; establishment of many precedents through acts such as Judiciary Act of 1789, Residence Act of 1790, Bank Act of 1791, Coinage Act of 1792, Naval Act of 1794 and the establishment of the United States Cabinet, response towards the Whiskey Rebellion
4 Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican 4.42 Intellectual leadership, Louisiana Purchase, states-rights
5 Theodore Roosevelt Republican 4.83 Charisma, conservationism, trust-busting "Square Deal," Panama Canal
6 Woodrow Wilson Democrat 6.58 World War I leadership, major legislation including (reluctant) support for women's suffrage
7 Harry S. Truman Democrat 7.18 World War II and Cold War leadership, Marshall Plan, desegregation of armed forces
8 Andrew Jackson Democrat 9 Enhanced power of executive, handling of Nullification crisis, Bank War, Indian Removal Act, genocide, eliminated national debt, balanced budget
9 Dwight Eisenhower Republican 10.73 Cold War leadership, interstate highway system, economic prosperity
10 James K. Polk Democrat 11.08 Mexican-American War leadership, acquisition of Mexican territories (California, Texas, etc.) and much of the Oregon Territory
11 John Adams Federalist 12.17 Set precedent for peaceful transfer of power between rival political parties, XYZ Affair, established Department of Navy
12 John F. Kennedy Democrat 12.5 Cold War leadership, proposed Civil Rights legislation, defused Cuban Missile Crisis, early death left impression of unfulfilled promise
13 James Madison Democratic-Republican 12.67 Blamed for failing to prevent the War of 1812, presided over post-bellum Era of Good Feelings
14 Lyndon B. Johnson Democrat 13.6 Vietnam War failure, Civil Rights, Great Society
15 Ronald Reagan Republican 13.88 Hastened end of Cold War, economic expansion, increased national debt
16 James Monroe Democratic-Republican 14.08 Monroe Doctrine, admission of five states to the Union
17 Grover Cleveland Democrat 15 Creation of both the American Federation of Labor and the Interstate Commerce Commission
18 William McKinley Republican 16.33 Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, and the Annexation of Hawaii
19 John Quincy Adams National Republican/Whig 16.9 Presided during the end of the Era of Good Feelings
20 William Howard Taft Republican 19.67 Admittance of New Mexico and Arizona
21 Bill Clinton Democrat 20.67 NAFTA, reluctant support for
22 George W. Bush Republican 21 War on Terrorism, PATRIOT Act, Invasion of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina response, intelligence reform, Guantanamo, increased national debt
23 Martin Van Buren Democrat 21.58 Panic of 1837, enforcement of Treaty of New Echota led to displacement of Cherokees
24 Rutherford B. Hayes Republican 22 Compromise of 1877 and Desert Land Act of 1877
25 George H. W. Bush Republican 22.14 Gulf War, end of Cold War, economic recession
26 Chester Arthur Republican 25.5 Revitalization of US Navy
27 (tie) Jimmy Carter Democrat 26.3 Handling of Iranian hostage crisis, energy crisis, poor economy.
27 (tie) Gerald Ford Republican 26.3 Lack of charisma, pardoned Richard Nixon
29 Herbert Hoover Republican 26.17 Handling of onset of the Great Depression, handling of Bonus Army demonstration
30 Benjamin Harrison Republican 27.33 Failure to convince country of his leadership capabilities, tariff issue handling, loss of party leader support
31 Calvin Coolidge Republican 28.42 Lack of interest in exerting executive or federal power (regarded as a strength by some)
32 Richard Nixon Republican 29.2 Normalization of relations with China; withdrawal from Vietnam War; corruption, notably the Watergate scandal; resignation to avoid impeachment
33 James A. Garfield Republican 29.57 Brief administration (six months)
34 Zachary Taylor Whig 29.58 Short term, did not support Compromise
35 John Tyler Whig/none 31.75 Lack of support from any political party
36 Millard Fillmore Whig 32.41 Fugitive Slave Act, lack of leadership during growing sectional divisiveness
37 Ulysses Grant Republican 33.42 Corrupt administration, failure of Reconstruction
38 William Henry Harrison Whig 33.57 Briefest administration (30 days)
39 Andrew Johnson Democrat 34.67 Impeded Reconstruction, impeachment
40 Franklin Pierce Democrat 34.92 Failure to avert Civil War, intimidated into allowing Kansas-Nebraska Act, overall weak leadership
41 James Buchanan Democrat 36.58 Failure to avert Civil War, ruined his party, weak leadership, prone to frequent bouts of depression which invariably affected his leadership abilities
42 Warren G. Harding Republican 37.33 Corrupt and short administration

Scholar surveys details

The 1948 poll was conducted by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. of Harvard University (*). The 1962 survey was also conducted by Schlesinger, who surveyed 75 historians; the results of this survey are given in the book The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents by William A. Degregorio. Schlesinger's son Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. conducted another poll in 1996, not currently on the above chart.

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 President Eisenhower, who was ranked #22 in 1962, but was ranked #9 in the 1982 survey. The Siena Research Institute of Siena College conducted surveys in 1982, 1990, 1994, and 2002. The 1994 survey placed only two Presidents, Franklin Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, above 80 points, and placed two Presidents, Andrew Johnson and Warren G. Harding, below 50 points. ( [http://www.siena.edu/sri/results/2002/02AugPresidentsSurvey.htm)

The 1996 column shows the results from a poll conducted from 1989 to 1996 by William J. Ridings, Jr. and Stuart B. McIver, and published in the book Rating the Presidents: A Ranking of U.S. leaders, from the Great and Honorable to the Dishonest and Incompetent. 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 & crisis management, political skill, appointments, character & integrity), and the results were tabulated to create the overall ranking.

The C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leadership was a 1999 survey of academic historians. It found that historians consider Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin D. Roosevelt the three best presidents by a wide margin and William Henry Harrison, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan the worst. (*)

A 2000 survey by The Wall Street Journal was published in Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and Worst in the White House, and is also available online. The participants 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, but never balanced. The editors noted that the results of their poll were "remarkably similar" to the "mostly liberal" 1996 Schlesinger poll, with the main difference being the much higher ranking of President Ronald Reagan in the 2000 poll. According to the editors, this poll also included responses from more women, minorities, and young professors than the 1996 Schlesinger poll.

Another presidential poll was conducted by The Wall Street Journal in 2005, with James Lindgren of Northwestern University Law School for the Federalist Society. () 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." 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 President Bush an overall rating of "average". (*)

Liberal and Conservative raters

The Murray-Blessing 1982 survey asked historians whether they were liberal or conservative on domestic social and economic issues. The table shows the two groups had only small differences in ranking the best and worst presidents.

Rankings by Liberals and Conservatives

rank Liberals (n=190) Conservatives (N=50)
1 Lincoln Lincoln
2 FD Roosevelt Washington
3 Washington FD Roosevelt
4 Jefferson Jefferson
5 T Roosevelt T Roosevelt
6 Wilson Jackson
7 Jackson Truman
8 Truman Wilson
9 LB Johnson Eisenhower
10 John Adams John Adams
30 Coolidge Carter
31 Pierce Nixon
32 Buchanan Pierce
33 An. Johnson An. Johnson
34 Grant Buchanan
35 Nixon Grant
36 Harding Harding
Source: Murray and Blessing p 135

Popular opinion

Quinnipiac University poll

A Quinnipiac University poll, taken May 23-30, 2006, asked 1,534 registered American voters to pick the best and worst U.S. President of the last 61 years. *.

"Thinking about the United States Presidents we have had since World War II – Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Senior, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, which one would you consider the best president?"

  1. Ronald Reagan (28%)
  2. Bill Clinton (25%)
  3. John Kennedy (18%)
  4. Harry Truman (7%)
  5. Dwight Eisenhower (5%)
  6. Jimmy Carter (5%)
  7. Don't Know/No Answer (4%)
  8. George W. Bush (3%)
  9. George H. W. Bush (2%)
  10. Lyndon Johnson (1%)
  11. Richard Nixon (1%)
  12. Gerald Ford (1%)

"Which of these eleven presidents we have had since World War II would you consider the worst president - Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Senior, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush?"

  1. George W. Bush (34%)
  2. Richard Nixon (17%)
  3. Bill Clinton (16%)
  4. Jimmy Carter (13%)
  5. Don't Know/No Answer (5%)
  6. Lyndon Johnson (4%)
  7. Ronald Reagan (3%)
  8. George H. W. Bush (3%)
  9. Gerald Ford (2%)
  10. Harry Truman (1%)
  11. John Kennedy (1%)
  12. Dwight Eisenhower (<1%)

Washington College poll

A Washington College poll about presidential greatness, taken 11 February 2005, asked 800 adults nationwide, "Thinking about all the presidents of the United States throughout history to the present, who would you say was America's greatest president?"*

  1. Abraham Lincoln (20%)
  2. Ronald Reagan (15%)
  3. Franklin D. Roosevelt (12%)
  4. John F. Kennedy (11%)
  5. Bill Clinton (10%)
  6. Other/Don't Know (9%)
  7. George W. Bush (8%)
  8. George Washington (6%)
  9. Theodore Roosevelt (3%)
  10. Dwight Eisenhower (3%)
  11. Jimmy Carter (2%)
  12. Thomas Jefferson (2%)
  13. Richard Nixon (1%)
  14. John Adams (<1%)
  15. Andrew Jackson (<1%)
  16. Lyndon Johnson (<1%)

Gallup poll

A Gallup poll about presidential greatness, taken 7-10 February 2005, asked 1008 adults nationwide, "Who do you regard as the greatest United States president?" *

  1. Ronald Reagan (20%)
  2. Bill Clinton (15%)
  3. Abraham Lincoln (14%)
  4. Franklin D. Roosevelt (12%)
  5. John F. Kennedy (12%)
  6. Other/None/No opinion (5%)
  7. George Washington (5%)
  8. George W. Bush (5%)
  9. Jimmy Carter (3%)
  10. Harry Truman (2%)
  11. Theodore Roosevelt (2%)
  12. Thomas Jefferson (2%)
  13. George H.W. Bush (1%)
  14. Dwight Eisenhower (1%)
  15. Richard Nixon (1%)

ABC Poll

An ABC News poll about presidential greatness, taken 16-20 February 2000, asked 1012 adults nationwide, "Who do you think was the greatest American president?" *
  1. Abraham Lincoln (19%)
  2. John Kennedy (17%)
  3. Franklin Roosevelt (11%)
  4. No opinion (10%)
  5. Ronald Reagan (9%)
  6. George Washington (8%)
  7. Bill Clinton (7%)
  8. Theodore Roosevelt (4%)
  9. George H.W. Bush (4%)
  10. Thomas Jefferson (3%)
  11. Harry Truman (2%)
  12. Richard Nixon (2%)
  13. Jimmy Carter (1%)
  14. Dwight Eisenhower (1%)

References

  • Thomas A. Bailey, Presidential Greatness (1966), a non quantitative appraisal by leading historian
  • Degregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 4th ed. New York: Avenel, 1993. Contains the results of the 1962 and 1982 surveys.
  • Faber, Charles and Richard Faber. The American Presidents Ranked by Performance (2000)
  • Felzenberg, Alvin S. “There You Go Again: Liberal Historians and the New York Times Deny Ronald Reagan His Due,” Policy Review, March—April 1997.
  • Melvin G. Holli. The American Mayor: The Best & the Worst Big-City Leaders (1999)
  • Miller, Nathan. Star-Spangled Men America's Ten Worst Presidents (1999)
  • Murray, Robert K. and Tim H. Blessing. Greatness in the White House: Rating the Presidents, from Washington Through Ronald Reagan (1994)
  • Pfiffner, James P. ; "Ranking the Presidents: Continuity and Volatility" White House Studies, Vol. 3, 2003 pp 23+
  • Ridings, William J., Jr. and Stuart B. McIver. Rating the Presidents: A Ranking of U.S. leaders, from the Great and Honorable to the Dishonest and Incompetent. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing, 1997. ISBN 0806517999.
  • Schlesinger, Jr. Arthur M. "Ranking the Presidents: From Washington to Clinton," Political Science Quarterly (1997) 112:179-90
  • Skidmore, Max J. Presidential Performance: A Comprehensive Review (2004)
  • Skidmore, Max J. "Ranking and Evaluating Presidents: The Case of Theodore Roosevelt" White House Studies. Volume: 1. Issue: 4. 2001. pp 495+.
  • Taranto, James and Leonard Leo, eds. Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and Worst in the White House. New York: Wall Street Journal Books, 2004. ISBN 0743254333, for Federalist Society surveys.

External links

United States Presidential trivia

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Historical rankings of United States Presidents".

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