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Ranking The Presidents



Official Ranking of the Presidents of the United States

Franklin Roosevelt
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Andrew Jackson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Jefferson
Harry Truman
James Polk
Bill Clinton
James Madison
Theodore Roosevelt
John Kennedy
Andrew Johnson
John Tyler
Grover Cleveland
Lyndon Johnson
Jimmy Carter
John Adams
James Monroe
Rutherford Hayes
Martin Van Buren
Franklin Pierce
George Bush
John Quincy Adams
William McKinley
Dwight Eisenhower
Benjamin Harrison
Herbert Hoover
Chester Arthur
Ronald Reagan
William Taft
James Buchanan
Gerald Ford
Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore
Calvin Coolidge
Richard Nixon
James Garfield
William Harrison
Ulysses Grant
Warren Harding




People are always asking me who I think the best presidents were. Rating them is such a subjective thing, and I’ve found that my opinions do change from time to time, albeit in minor ways. It’s especially difficult to judge a recent administration. Contemporary emotions and ideologies seldom match how one is viewed by history. Washington, now practically deified and near the top of every list I’ve ever seen, left office in frustration and disgust. Jefferson thought he was a failure as President. On the other end, Grant left office still the popular war hero, but today his administration is known as one of the most corrupt.

Almost every president has done some good and some bad. Franklin Roosevelt definitely stretched the limits of the Constitution, but what he did for the Nation certainly overshadows his abuse of power, if it can be called that. Nixon had some obvious highlights in foreign relations, but his actions regarding the Watergate scandal indelibly changed the way we see our leaders, and not for the better. William Harrison carried out no official duties of his office, but is not at the bottom of the list because some men actually managed to do a worse job.

When rating them one must weigh the positive and negative aspects of their administration and try to see it as a whole, regardless of wherever the current political climate may be. I personally don’t believe that any of the 41 men who have held the position ever intentionally did harm (for the purposes of rating an administration I will not be including the current president). Almost every president has entered the office with a clear agenda and a lot of ideas, but life has a way of setting its own agenda. Invariably, if he wants to concentrate on foreign affairs, domestic issues will take center stage and vice versa. Some presidents were strong leaders who did a great job, some were weak leaders who did a poor job, and most had the leadership skills, but either were not willing to take a strong stand or, more often, not able to rise to the events that are always beyond a president’s control.

There is probably no list anywhere to which everyone will agree, and the above list is no exception. Rather than put them in the categories Great, Near Great, Average, etc (as below), I’ve graded each president and ranked them according to that grade.



1948 Poll conducted by          1962 Poll conducted by    1982 Poll of 49
Arthur Schlesinger of 55        Schlesinger of 75         historians conducted 
historians, published in        historians, published     by the Chicago Tribune:
Life Magazine:                  in the New York Times:

Great                           Great                    Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln                	Abraham Lincoln          Franklin Roosevelt
George Washington            	George Washington        George Washington               
Franklin Roosevelt              Franklin Roosevelt       Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson                	Woodrow Wilson           Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson                Thomas Jefferson         Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson                  Andrew Jackson           Woodrow Wilson
Theodore Roosevelt           	Near Great               Harry Truman
Near Great                      Theodore Roosevelt       Dwight Eisenhower
Grover Cleveland               	James Polk               William McKinley
John Adams                      Harry Truman             James Polk
James Polk                      John Adams               Lyndon Johnson
John Q Adams                    Grover Cleveland         Grover Cleveland
Average                         James Madison            John Kennedy
James Monroe                    Average                  John Adams
Rutherford Hayes               	John Q Adams             James Monroe
James Madison                  	Rutherford Hayes         James Madison
Martin Van Buren              	William McKinley         Martin Van Buren
William Taft                    William Taft             John Q Adams
Chester Arthur                  Martin Van Buren         William Taft
William McKinley             	James Monroe             Herbert Hoover
Andrew Johnson                	Herbert Hoover           Rutherford Hayes
Herbert Hoover                  Benjamin Harrison        Gerald Ford
Benjamin Harrison            	Chester Arthur           Chester Arthur
John Tyler                      Dwight Eisenhower        Benjamin Harrison
Below Average           	Andrew Johnson           Jimmy Carter
Calvin Coolidge                 Zachary Taylor           Calvin Coolidge
Millard Fillmore                Below Average            Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor                  John Tyler               John Tyler
James Buchanan                 	Millard Fillmore         Ulysses Grant
Franklin Pierce                 Calvin Coolidge          Millard Fillmore
Ulysses Grant                   Franklin Pierce          Andrew Johnson
Failure                         James Buchanan           James Garfield
Warren Harding                  Ulysses Grant            Richard Nixon
                                Failure                  Franklin Pierce
                                Warren Harding           James Buchanan
                                                         Warren Harding
                                                         William Harrison




It is interesting to compare their historical ranking with their personal popularity at the time they left office.

Rank                      Popularity
A+	George Washington	C
C	John Adams 	        D
A	Thomas Jefferson	B+
B+	James Madison	        C+
C	James Monroe	        A+	
C-	John Quincy Adams	D
A+	Andrew Jackson	        A
C	Martin Van Buren	D-
F	William Harrison	C
B+	John Tyler	        D-
A	James Polk	        A
D-	Zachary Taylor	        C
D-	Millard Fillmore	D
C	Franklin Pierce	        D-
D	James Buchanan	        D
A+	Abraham Lincoln	        A*
B+	Andrew Johnson	        F
F	Ulysses Grant	        A+
C	Rutherford Hayes	C
F	James Garfield	        C
D+	Chester Arthur	        D
B	Grover Cleveland	B
C-	Benjamin Harrison	C-
C-	William McKinley	A
B+	Theodore Roosevelt	A+
D	William Taft	        D
A	Woodrow Wilson	        C-
F	Warren Harding	        F
D-	Calvin Coolidge	        B
C-	Herbert Hoover	        F
A+	Franklin Roosevelt	A
A	Harry Truman	        B
C-	Dwight Eisenhower	A+
B+	John Kennedy	        A
B-	Lyndon Johnson	        D
F	Richard Nixon	        F
D	Gerald Ford	        D
B-	Jimmy Carter	        D
D	Ronald Reagan	        A+
C	George Bush	        D
A	Bill Clinton	        B


* not including Confederacy



All Content on All Pages © 2000-2003
except 1948 Poll © Time/Life Inc, 1962 Poll © New York Times, 1982 Poll © Tribune Inc

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