Presidential Greatness

Rating the Presidents

Arthur M. Schlesinger, New York Times Magazine Dec. 15, 1996.

Great: G. Washington, A. Lincoln, F. D. Roosevelt.

Near Great: T. Jefferson, A. Jackson, J. Polk, T. Roosevelt, W. Wilson, H. Truman.

Average (High): John Adams, J. Monroe, G. Cleveland, W. McKinley, D. Eisenhower, J. Kennedy, L. Johnson.

Average (Low): J. Madison, J. Q. Adams, M. Van Buren, R. Hayes, C. Arthur, B. Harrison, W. H. Taft, G. Ford, J. Carter, R. Reagan, G. Bush, W. Clinton.

Below Average: J. Tyler, Z. Taylor, M. Fillmore, C. Coolidge.

Failure: F. Pierce, J. Buchanan, A. Johnson, U. S. Grant, W. Harding, H. Hoover, R. Nixon.

William J. Ridings & Stuart B. McIver,⁽¹⁾

Overall Rank	Leadership Qualities	Accomplishments & Crisis Management	Political Skill	Appointments	Character & Integrity
1. Lincoln	2	1	2	3	1
2. FDR	1	2	1	2	15
3. Washington	3	3	7	1	2
4. Jefferson	6	5	5	4	7
5. T. Roosevelt	4	4	4	5	12
6. Wilson	7	7	13	6	8
7. Truman	9	6	8	9	9
8. Jackson	5	9	6	19	18
9. Eisenhower	10	10	14	16	10
10. Madison	14	14	15	11	6
11. Polk	12	8	12	15	20
12. L. Johnson	11	12	3	10	37
13. Monroe	15	13	16	8	13
14. J. Adams	17	11	21	13	3
15. Kennedy	8	13	10	7	34
16. Cleveland	13	17	19	17	16
17. McKinley	18	15	17	18	19
18. J. Q. Adams	20	20	25	12	4
19. Carter	28	22	32	14	5
20. Taft	25	21	30	20	14
21. Van Buren	19	24	11	22	25
22. Bush	24	18	27	25	24
23. Clinton	23	23	20	24	38
24. Hoover	33	33	34	21	11
25. Hayes	36	26	23	26	22
26. Reagan	16	27	9	39	39
27. Ford	34	28	24	23	17
28. Arthur	31	25	22	27	33
29. Taylor	23	31	33	28	23
30. Garfield	30	36	26	32	26
31. B. Harrison	32	29	29	29	28
32. Nixon	21	19	18	34	41
33. Coolidge	37	34	29	31	21
34. Tyler	35	30	18	30	27
35. W. H. Harrison	33	39	28	35	29
36. Fillmore	36	32	31	33	31
37. Pierce	38	37	37	36	35
38. Grant	27	35	40	40	32
39. A. Johnson	39	38	41	37	30
40. Buchanan	40	41	39	38	36
41. Harding	41	40	38	41	40

President Ranking by "Experts" (Murray/Blessing Poll)⁽²⁾

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

The Best and Worst Presidents, According to the Experts
(58 Presidential Historians and Political Scientists)⁽³⁾

The Ten Best	The Ten Worst
1. Abraham Lincoln 2. George Washington 3. Franklin D. Roosevelt 4. Thomas Jefferson 5. Theodore Roosevelt 6. Woodrow Wilson 7. Harry S. Truman 8. Andrew Jackson 9. Dwight Eisenhower 10. James Polk	1. Warren Harding 2. James Buchanan 3. Franklin Pierce 4. Ulysses Grant 5. Andrew Johnson 6. Millard Fillmore 7. Richard Nixon 8. John Tyler 9. Calvin Coolidge 10. Herbert Hoover

1. "Rating the Presidents" Citadel Press, 1997.
2. Source, Robert K. Murray and Tim Blessing, Greatness of the White House (University Park: the Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994), p. 16.
3. Source Steve Neal, "Putting Presidents in Their Places," Chicago Sun-Times, November 19, 1995, pp. 30-31.