The United States of America has been in existence for over 231 years, yet only forty-two different men have had the honor to be called President. Our first President, George Washington, was inaugurated in 1789, thirteen years after Thomas Jefferson (our third President) authored the Declaration of Independence, and two years after the Constitution was adopted by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
We've come a long way since then, both for good and for ill. And the forty-two men who have headed the executive branch of government have made countless decisions that have helped shape our nation's history.
It's worth pointing out that all forty-two men were White Christians (and 41 were Protestant; only John F. Kennedy, who was President for less than three years, was a Catholic). In 2008, there exists the strong possibility that either a woman (Hillary Rodham Clinton), or a Hispanic (Bill Richardson), or a man with a Black, Muslim father (Barack Hussein Obama), or a Mormon (Mitt Romney), or another Catholic (Rudy Giuliani) will be elected President. But unless and until that happens, it is fair to say that the American Presidency has been monopolized by White, Protestant men.
Anyway, this piece is not about what may happen in the future; it is about judging the past. Some Presidents have been better than others, in terms of their accomplishments. Some of been historic leaders and reformers. Others have been corrupt, or simply incompetent. What follows are some recent rankings from surveys of historians and other experts. (We will exclude both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush from these rankings, because their terms are too recent for any truly objective analysis. Also, I must mention that although George W. Bush is known as our 43rd President, there have actually only been 42 different men who have held the office. That's because Grover Cleveland held office on two separate occasions, and so is considered our 22nd and 24th President. The more you know...)
In 2005, the Wall Street Journal surveyed 85 scholars, and came up with these rankings:
GREAT
1 George Washington
2 Abraham Lincoln
3 Franklin Roosevelt
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Baritone
While there are a variety of opinions concerning the various presidents and the relative success or failure of their respective tenures in office, I am always mystified by the reverence in which Ronald Reagan is held. For many conservatives, Ronny was tantamount to a god.
Other than his having a truly improbable head of hair, I think of Reagan as a dottering, largely inept, all too often snoozing president and not very good has-been actor. The notion that Reagan had anything to do with the fall of the Berlin wall and the demise of the Soviet Union is baloney. Both events happened owing to the ultimate repeated failures of the Soviet system, the government collapsing of its own weight with no assistance from Mr. Reagan.
The Reagan administration's signing off on the odious "trickle down" economics was emblematic of right wing disdain for the masses.
Again, I just don't get it.
Baritone
2 - Dave Nalle
Reagan made great speeches and provided leadership with confidence when the nation was feeling shaky. And while he may not have been all that great a hands-on leader, he surrounded himself with really talented people most of whom did an excellent job.
As for 'trickle down' economics, it was a poor explanation for a complex concept which - whether you want to admit it or not - works extraordinarily well, especially for those in the middle and working class.
What I always find intriguing on these lists is how low John Quincy Adams and Martin Van Buren get rated. Both of them made phenomenal contributions to the nation before and after their terms as president, but because their 4 years in office were unremarkalbe - in Van Buren's case through no fault of his own - they get pushed down the list. Yet it could be argued that they were far more important and influential political figures outside of their presidencies than any of their contemporaries. They were both remarkable political visionaries and without the groundwork they laid Lincoln would never have been able to accomplish what he did.
Dave
3 - Baritone
I think Garfield and Harrison get dissed all too often. Both died well. Harrison holds the record for boring, lugubrious inaugural speeches receiving the "Love to Hear Yourself Talk" trophy with the "While It's Colder'n Snot" Citation and Cluster (posthumously, of course.)
The Reagan years did have one particular effect upon my life: I rediscovered my dislike for jelly beans.
B-tone
4 - Zedd
Ronald Reagan provided a poor explanation for just about everything. He just happened to have good delivery. For those who are moved by theatrics, folksiness and inconsequential ideals such as loving your country and cowboy sayings he seemed the best. Many thinkers were baffled by the excitement surrounding this President, who seemed to be someone who walked into the wrong stage and had to fudge his way so as not to be exposed. He was Bush II with a much better delivery and much better men surrounding him.
There was a large population that wasn't heard during the 60's and 70's. There was still a great deal of upset by those who didn't buy into the hippie movement. There was a large population that was pushed into integrating. There was a frustration about the liberalization of programing on TV. That population ached for the good old days. Reagan represented those days when America didn't feel guilty about anything. He brushed over the ugliness that needed to be addressed and deleted good programs for minorities that have devastated the inner cities (we can comfortably blame Reagan for gangster rap and the culture that comes with it).
This country was doing the right thing by African Americans until Reagan. Then it became "in" to bash African Americans, 20 years after the right to vote (I know it's ridiculous now isn't it).
5 - Baritone
Well said Zedd. There are always those who harken back to the supposed "good old days." Such people are usually conservatives who, by definition abhor change, especially if the status quo is keeping their pockets full. There are Russians who still long for the "good old days" under Stalin.
Of course, the fact is, there are no "good old days," as you aptly point out. Reagan was just a huckster who looked good in a cowboy hat.
B-tone
6 - moonraven
Best: probably FDR
Worst: No contest: GW Bush
The problem with the lists quoted in the article is they are largely based on who was the biggest sonofabitch iin regard to other countries--James Polk was a magalomaniac who wanted his legacy to be territory ripped off from Mexico--so he mongered war and invaded.
Generally speaking the US government has ben a plague on the face of the planet--right from the getgo.
And of course there are 300,000,000 little plaguelets running around, too.
7 - Matthew T. Sussman
WHERE IS JOE SATRIANI ON THIS LIST...
...wait, wrong article.
8 - RJ
Reagan represented those days when America didn't feel guilty about anything.
As opposed to liberal Democrats, who want America to feel guilty about everything...
He brushed over the ugliness that needed to be addressed and deleted good programs for minorities that have devastated the inner cities (we can comfortably blame Reagan for gangster rap and the culture that comes with it).
Yes, it's much easier for the Left to blame a dead White man for the actions of gangsta rappers and inner-city gang members than it is for them to blame the the gangsta rappers and inner-city gang members themselves...
This country was doing the right thing by African Americans until Reagan. Then it became "in" to bash African Americans, 20 years after the right to vote (I know it's ridiculous now isn't it).
The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified 111 years before Reagan took office...
9 - Dr Dreadful
The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified 111 years before Reagan took office...
RJ: this is indeed true.
Two words for you to ponder, however:
Poll tax.
10 - Baronius
I think Dave's wrong to look at who each man was outside his presidency. The lists are intended to judge the Presidents, not the lives of the men who held the job. Which is why Jefferson and especially Adams seem ranked too high. Both were great men who made plenty of missteps.
Truman in the top ten. That's interesting. I'm going to have to think about that. I associate him so strongly with the loss of Eastern Europe that I probably underrate him.
Baritone and Zedd show such strong feelings against Reagan, or at least against a caricature of Reagan. RJ is overestimating him. I think he'll do well when judged from a distance.
11 - RJ
Doc:
Of course, that's true. But the idea promoted by some that absolutely no Blacks had the right to vote anywhere, ever, prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is simply untrue.
Actually, ten Northern states allowed Blacks to vote prior to the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870. And Blacks certainly had the right to vote in the South during the Reconstruction period; in fact, there were over a dozen Blacks elected to the Congress from the South during this time. Only in 1877, when Reconstruction ended, did this change. (I should point out that the main reason I ranked Rutherford B. Hayes among the worst Presidents ever is due to the infamous Compromise of 1877, where he was awarded the Presidency after a disputed election in exchange for pulling out all federal troops from the South.)
Even after 1877, however, Blacks were still able to vote in the North and the West, which comprised the majority of the country. And even in the South, there was some Black participation in elections, although this was obviously repressed. Poll taxes were one method used to discourage Blacks (and Native Americans, and poor Whites) from voting, but again, this was a practice pretty much exclusive to the South.
Just trying to provide a somewhat more "nuanced" description of voting rights than was offered by Zedd...
12 - Lumpy
This talk of Reagan ending civil rights is just weird bigotry. Makes no sense at all. The Republican administrations which came after him did more for blacks in public service than all the democrats who preceded them especially that vicious segregationist FDR.
13 - C. K. Justus
My top ten president are:
George Washington
Abraham Linclon
Thomas Jefferson
Franklin Roosevelt
Andrew Jackson
Harry Truman
James Polk
James Monroe
John Adams
John Kennedy
MY bottom five are:
James Buchanan
Ulysses Grant
Andrew Johnson
Warren Harding
Millard Fillmore
14 - Zedd
RJ,
You missed the point didn't you or you are still in teen mode (argue over the silly points). There is no nuance in your statement kiddo.
Very good article though.
15 - Dave Nalle
Ok fine, here are my top and bottom picks.
Top 10:
George Washington
Theodore Roosevelt
James K. Polk
Abraham Lincoln
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
Dwight Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Bill Clinton
Andrew Jackson
Bottom 5:
Lyndon Johnson
Woodrow Wilson
Jimmy Carter
Andrew Johnson
John Tyler
16 - alessandro
Does Pete Rozelle count?
17 - RJ
Zedd:
Thank you for the part that was a compliment. :-/
Dave:
Why would you put BJ Clinton in the top ten? I agree he wasn't nearly as bad as Carter, but you really think he was better than Reagan? (Or Taft, or Coolidge, or...)
Alessandro:
LOL!
18 - Dave Nalle
Oops, sorry. I left Reagan off my list by some bizarre mishap. Stick him in there right above JFK for me and bump Jackson off the bottom.
As for Clinton, yes he makes it in the bottom of the top 10, because he actually cut government spending, didn't fuck anything up too horribly, and I don't give a damn how many blowjobs he got while in office.
Dave
19 - Maurice
Interesting how many comments there are about Reagan. Reagan created many successful events starting with the release of the Iranian hostages. The firing of the air traffic controllers solidified his standing as a man of his word. His ardent belief in Milton Friedman and trickle down economics repaired the damage done by Carter. His landslide re-election confirmed his popularity.
I personally think Reagan was so popular because he did what he said he would do. You may not agree with him or his policies but you have to admire a politician that has principles and sticks to them no matter what the outside influences are.
20 - Baritone
Maurice,
Apparently, you believe Reagan's accomplishments you make note of were good. I don't.
His response to the air traffic controllers was uncalled for and over the top. It put people in jeapordy and damaged the air transportation industry for months. His teeing off against the controllers was disingenuine at best. Remember, Reagan was a union man himself - president of SAG for several years if memory serves.
"Trickle down" economics was odious in its conception.
To believe that Reagan had anything to do with the release of the Iranian hostages is just wrong. The hostages were released the very day of Reagan's inauguration. The exact timing of the hostage release - 6 minutes after Reagan took the oath - was arranged simply to embarrass Carter. Neither Reagan nor his people had anything to do with it. The release was actually negotiated by then Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher and brokered by the Algerian government with the signing of the "Algiers Accords" the day before Reagan took office.
B-tone
21 - Lumpy
To think that trickle down was a bad thing at this point with such overwhelming evidence suppprting its effectiveness is just retarded or some sort of weird leftist reality avoidance syndrome.
22 - Lee Richards
The Louisiana Purchase alone ought to give Jefferson a spot in the top 5 (and, of course, his leadership was significant before we even had a presidency.)
Top 5: Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, T. Roosevelt
Bottom 5: Nixon, Grant, Fillmore, A. Johnson, Harding
23 - Silver Surfer
Washington and Jefferson were traitors to the Crown. Both should have been beheaded.
24 - Silver Surfer
Thrice, as you can see, and then they should have been quartered and their lifeless, headless bodies sent to the four corners of the colonies to show what happens when you play up too much.
Just kidding ...
25 - Baritone
#23 & #24
There were two of them, so I guess it had to be said twice.