“Presidents Day” was assigned to February 22 by Congress in 1885 and declared a national holiday. It was intended to honor our nation’s first President, George Washington. But also, about this time, there was a movement to honor Lincoln on this same day as well.
So in honor of Presidents Day, C-SPAN surveyed historians to create a list ranking all the Presidents of these United States. Here’s their Top 10:
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. George Washington
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt
4. Theodore Roosevelt
5. Harry S. Truman
6. John F. Kennedy
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. Dwight D. Eisenhower
9. Woodrow Wilson
10. Ronald Reagan
Can’t argue with the list, seems reasonable. Lincoln faced probably the most difficult crisis any of the President’s had. Washington, the closest thing we ever had to an Aristocrat as a leader, yet honorable and established our time honored tradition of peaceful transition of power. And FDR, his leadership during WW2 kept America together.
My Top Three, in no particular order:
1. Washington
2. Lincoln
3. T. Roosevelt
The list seems reasonable to me as well. I just wonder how accurate we can be on determining the ‘rating’ of Presidents before they have 20+ years out of office. I am glad to see my top favorites are in the top ten – Washington, Lincoln, TR, and Truman.
Mike B
I think it is interesting to see how the rankings have changed. The highest ranking presidents were close to their same rankings from 9 years ago. However, look at Clinton. He was number 21 in 2000. Now he is number 15. Why is that?
Hey – I just found this blog, and it seems pretty neat. I’m not sure if you’re interested, but apparently Thomas Jefferson has a blog? It’s at http://monticello-tj.blogspot.com. It seems a little new but I was pretty entertained.
As for Bill Clinton rising in rankings, I think absence makes the heart grow fonder. It’s easier to forget the mistakes he made at a distance.
It’s all so subjective. All of them had great strengths, but all of them also had great weaknesses.
Lincoln thought that war with the South would be a cakewalk and willingly led the nation into a near catastrophe instead of working for a peaceful resolution. Washington had little political experience and was easily led around by Hamilton. Jefferson called for a disastrous trade embargo with Britain and France; it was Madison who had the better idea of trading only with whichever first stopped their harassment of our ships. Wilson blundered into the Mexican and Russian civil wars.
It all depends upon what area of measurement is most important to you. I personally like Monroe because I can’t think of any peronsal weakness of his or a major mistake of his administration during his two full terms, but he was simply competent, not posing (or posed by others) as an iconic symbol, so he’s not even listed.