In an effort to determine the best and worst presidents in the history of the United States of America, CSPAN assessed the performance of all U.S. presidents.
Survey participants for the CSPAN study came from a diverse background of tenured American professors, presidential historians, lawyers and journalists. The survey sample size was 91 and the respondents answers were confidential.
The study was more than a mere popularity contest, and drew from 10 leadership and administrative skills including:
- Public Persuasion
- Crisis Leadership
- Economic Management
- Moral Authority
- International Relations
- Pursued Equal Justice For All
- Performance Within Context of Times
The Presidential Historians Survey has been conducted three times: 2000, 2009 and 2017. As a result, current President Donald Trump is left out from the aggregate rankings.
Best And Worst U.S. Presidents
The following are the total scores and overall rankings of the best and worst presidents in U.S. history.
US President |
Aggregate Score |
Ranking |
Abraham Lincoln |
907 |
1 |
George Washington |
868 |
2 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
855 |
3 |
Theodore Roosevelt |
807 |
4 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower |
745 |
5 |
Harry S. Truman |
737 |
6 |
Thomas Jefferson |
727 |
7 |
John F. Kennedy |
722 |
8 |
Ronald Reagan |
691 |
9 |
Lyndon B. Johnson |
687 |
10 |
Woodrow Wilson |
683 |
11 |
Barack Obama |
669 |
12 |
James Monroe |
646 |
13 |
James K. Polk |
637 |
14 |
William J. Clinton |
634 |
15 |
William McKinley |
627 |
16 |
James Madison |
610 |
17 |
Andrew Jackson |
609 |
18 |
John Adams |
604 |
19 |
George H. W. Bush |
596 |
20 |
John Quincy Adams |
590 |
21 |
Ulysses S. Grant |
557 |
22 |
Grover Cleveland |
540 |
23 |
William Howard Taft |
528 |
24 |
Gerald R. Ford |
509 |
25 |
Jimmy Carter |
506 |
26 |
Calvin Coolidge |
506 |
27 |
Richard M. Nixon |
486 |
28 |
James A. Garfield |
481 |
29 |
Benjamin Harrison |
462 |
30 |
Zachary Taylor |
458 |
31 |
Rutherford B. Hayes |
458 |
32 |
George W. Bush |
456 |
33 |
Martin Van Buren |
450 |
34 |
Chester A. Arthur |
446 |
35 |
Herbert Hoover |
416 |
36 |
Millard Fillmore |
394 |
37 |
William Henry Harrison |
383 |
38 |
John Tyler |
372 |
39 |
Warren G. Harding |
360 |
40 |
Franklin Pierce |
315 |
41 |
Andrew Johnson |
275 |
42 |
James Buchanan |
245 |
43 |
Tutors During COVID-19
Are you or a loved one looking for additional academic support during the pandemic?
Whether it be history or mathematics, be sure to check out our best online tutors for 2020.
We can help guide you through subject matter availability, tutor availability and affordability for online tutors and their programs.
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