Select a President
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George Washington
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John Adams
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Thomas Jefferson
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James Madison
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James Monroe
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John Quincy Adams
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Andrew Jackson
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Martin Van Buren
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William Henry Harrison
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John Tyler
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James K. Polk
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Zachary Taylor
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Millard Fillmore
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Franklin Pierce
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James Buchanan
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Abraham Lincoln
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Andrew Johnson
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Ulysses S. Grant
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Rutherford B. Hayes
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James A. Garfield
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Chester A. Arthur
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Grover Cleveland
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Benjamin Harrison
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William McKinley
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Theodore Roosevelt
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William Howard Taft
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Woodrow Wilson
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Warren G. Harding
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Calvin Coolidge
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Herbert Hoover
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Harry S. Truman
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
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John F. Kennedy
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Lyndon B. Johnson
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Richard M. Nixon
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Gerald R. Ford
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Jimmy Carter
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Ronald Reagan
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George H. W. Bush
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William J. Clinton
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George W. Bush
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Barack Obama
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Donald J. Trump
Historians Survey Results Category
Total Scores/Overall Rankings
President | 2021 Final Score | Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | ||
Abraham Lincoln | 897 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
George Washington | 851 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 841 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 785 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 734 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 9 |
Harry S. Truman | 713 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
Thomas Jefferson | 704 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
John F. Kennedy | 699 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 |
Ronald Reagan | 681 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
Barack Obama | 664 | 10 | 12 | NA | NA |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 654 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
James Monroe | 643 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 14 |
Woodrow Wilson | 617 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 6 |
William McKinley | 612 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 |
John Adams | 609 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 16 |
James Madison | 604 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 18 |
John Quincy Adams | 603 | 17 | 21 | 19 | 19 |
James K. Polk | 599 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
William J. Clinton | 594 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 21 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 590 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 33 |
George H. W. Bush | 585 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 20 |
Andrew Jackson | 568 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 13 |
William Howard Taft | 543 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
Calvin Coolidge | 535 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
Grover Cleveland | 523 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 17 |
Jimmy Carter | 506 | 26 | 27 | 25 | 22 |
James A. Garfield | 506 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 29 |
Gerald R. Ford | 498 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 23 |
George W. Bush | 495 | 29 | 33 | 36 | NA |
Chester A. Arthur | 472 | 30 | 35 | 32 | 32 |
Richard M. Nixon | 464 | 31 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
Benjamin Harrison | 462 | 32 | 30 | 30 | 31 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 456 | 33 | 31 | 33 | 25 |
Martin Van Buren | 455 | 34 | 34 | 31 | 30 |
Zachary Taylor | 449 | 35 | 32 | 29 | 28 |
Herbert Hoover | 396 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 34 |
Warren G. Harding | 388 | 37 | 40 | 38 | 38 |
Millard Fillmore | 378 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 35 |
John Tyler | 354 | 39 | 39 | 35 | 36 |
William Henry Harrison | 354 | 40 | 38 | 39 | 37 |
Donald J. Trump | 312 | 41 | NA | NA | NA |
Franklin Pierce | 312 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 39 |
Andrew Johnson | 230 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 40 |
James Buchanan | 227 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 |
Survey Participants
- Carl Abrams
Bob Jones University - Kenneth Ackerman
Lawyer and Historian - Carol Anderson
Emory University - Terry H. Anderson
Texas A&M University - Lee Annis
Montgomery College - Nicole Anslover
Indiana University Northwest - Carl Sferrazza Anthony
First Ladies Library - Thomas Balcerski
Eastern Connecticut State University - Mary Jo Binker
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers - Brad Birzer
Hillsdale College - Aniko Bodroghkozy
University of Virginia - Walter R. Borneman
Lawyer and Historian - Wesley Borucki
Palm Beach Atlantic University - Betty Boyd Caroli
Historian and Biographer - Paul Brandus
Author - Steven Breezeel
Harding University - Mary Brennan
Texas State University - Amanda Brickell Bellows
The New School - Douglas Brinkley
Rice University - Vernon Burton
Clemson University - Charles Calhoun
East Carolina University - Lou Cannon
Journalist and Biographer - Mark Cheathem
Cumberland University - Lindsay Chervinsky
Iona College - Merlin Chowkwanyun
Columbia University - Kendrick Clements
University of South Carolina - Catherine Clinton
The University of Texas at San Antonio - Elizabeth Cobbs
Texas A&M - Alexis Coe
Historian and Author - Stacy Cordery
Iowa State University - Matthew Costello
White House Historical Association - Marcus Cox
Xavier University of Louisiana - Kathryn Cramer Brownell
Purdue University - Spencer Crew
George Mason University - Robert Dallek
Historian and Biographer - David Dalton
College of the Ozarks - Michael Davis
Hampton University - Jason R. Edwards
Grove City College - Laura Edwards
Princeton University - Lee Edwards
The Heritage Foundation - Reginald Ellis
Florida A&M University - Katherine Ellison
Saginaw Valley State University - Jeffrey Engel
SMU Center for Presidential History - David Farber
The University of Kansas - Michael Fauntroy
George Mason University - Craig Fehrman
Journalist and Historian - Alvin Felzenberg
Historian and Author - Christian Finnigan
Colorado Christian University
- Ellen Fitzpatrick
University of New Hampshire - Irwin Gellman
Historian and Author - Robert P. George
Princeton University - Michael Gerhardt
UNC School of Law - Lorri Glover
Saint Louis University - Debra Goodrich
Historian and Author - Ken Gormley
Duquesne University - Amy S. Greenberg
Pennsylvania State University - David Greenberg
Rutgers University - J. Robert Greene
Cazenovia College - Kevin Grimm
Regent University - Allen Guelzo
Princeton University - Nigel Hamilton
University of Massachusetts Boston - Peter Henriques
George Mason University - Michael Hiltzik
Los Angeles Times - William Hitchcock
University of Virginia - Joan Hoff
Montana State University - Harold Holzer
Hunter College - Charles Hubbard
Lincoln Memorial University - Matthew Hulbert
Hampden-Sydney College - Maurice Jackson
Georgetown University - Andrew Johns
Brigham Young University - Robert Kaufman
Pepperdine University - Michael Kazin
Georgetown University - Kimberly Kellison
Baylor University - Paul Kengor
Grove City College - David Kennedy
Stanford University - Stephen King
Regent University - Stephen Knott
US Naval War College - Matthew Lassiter
University of Michigan - Alan Lowe
Historian - G. Terry Madonna
Millersville University - Grant Madsen
Brigham Young University - James Mann
Johns Hopkins University - Robert Maranto
University of Arkansas - John Marszalek
Mississippi State University - John Mayfield
Samford University - Edna Medford
Howard University - Robert Merry
Journalist and Author - Jakob A. Miller
Taylor University - Bruce Miroff
SUNY Albany - Lucas E. Morel
Washington and Lee University - Paul Moreno
Hillsdale College - Seymour Morris Jr.
Historian and Author - Timothy Naftali
NYU - Johanna Neuman
American University - Cassandra Newby-Alexander
Norfolk State University
- Luke Nichter
Chapman University - Lee Ohanian
UCLA - Margaret O'Mara
University of Washington - Colleen O'Neill
Utah State University - Jason C. Parker
Texas A&M University - Joe Pika
University of Delaware - Richard Pious
Barnard College - Jack Pitney
Claremont McKenna College - Thomas Pope
Lee University - Paul Rahe
Hillsdale College - Willard Sterne Randall
Champlain College - William Reddinger
Regent University - Stanley Renshon
CUNY Graduate Center - LeeAnn Reynolds
Samford University - Don Ritchie
Senate Historian - retired - Darlene S. Rivas
Pepperdine University - Bert Rockman
Purdue University - Larry J. Sabato
University of Virginia Center for Politics - Susan Schulten
University of Denver - Daryl Scott
Howard University - Garrett Sheldon
University of Virginia at Wise - Craig Shirley
Historian and Author - Amity Shlaes
Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation - Colleen Shogan
White House Historical Association - Katherine Sibley
Saint Joseph's University - Brooks Simpson
Arizona State University - Manisha Sinha
University of Connecticut - Richard Norton Smith
Historian and Biographer - David Snead
Liberty University - Taylor Stoermer
Johns Hopkins University - Robert Strauss
Historian and Author - Mary Stuckey
Pennsylvania State University - Craig Symonds
US Naval Academy - Thierno Thiam
Tuskegee University - Evan Thomas
Journalist and Author - Tevi Troy
Historian and Author - Mark K. Updegrove
LBJ Foundation - David Vaught
Texas A&M University - Ben Voth
Southern Methodist University - Shirley Warshaw
Gettysburg College - Robert Watson
Lynn University - Joan Waugh
UCLA - Ronald White
The Trinity Forum - Ted Widmer
Macaulay Honors College - Sean Wilentz
Princeton University - Peter Wood
National Association of Scholars - Jean Yarbrough
Bowdoin College
Methodology
In 2000, C-SPAN's original team of academic advisers devised a survey in which participants used a 1 ("not effective") to 10 ("very effective") scale to rate each president on 10 qualities of presidential leadership: Public Persuasion, Crisis Leadership, Economic Management, Moral Authority, International Relations, Administrative Skills, Relations with Congress, Vision/Setting an Agenda, Pursued Equal Justice for All and Performance Within the Context of the Times. In 2009, 2017 and 2021, following a change in administrations, subsequent surveys have been conducted using these same 10 characteristics.
Surveys are distributed to historians, professors and other professional observers of the presidency who are drawn from databases of C-SPAN programming, research in the field and suggestions from our academic advisers. Each cycle, we reach out to past participants and add new names to the list to maintain a well-rounded list of invited participants. This year, 142 completed the survey, up from 91 in 2017.
Participants are guaranteed that their individual survey responses will remain confidential. No definitions are provided for the categories: participants are able to interpret them as they see fit to determine their rankings. Each of the 10 categories is given equal weighting in arriving at a president's total score. Survey responses are tabulated by averaging all responses in a given category for each president.
Academic Advisory Team
Douglas G. BrinkleyProfessor of History
Rice University
Edna Greene MedfordAssociate Provost for Faculty Affairs
Professor of History
Howard University
Richard Norton SmithPresidential Biographer
Amity ShlaesChairman
Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation
When C-SPAN conducted our first Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership in 2000, we worked with a team of nationally recognized historians to establish the survey's framework: Douglas Brinkley, Edna Greene Medford and Richard Norton Smith. They recommended the 10 qualities of presidential leadership and guided us on the survey's organization, execution and analysis of the results. While other advisers have joined for certain years, this core group has remained with us for each subsequent survey. In 2021, our fourth survey, we welcome the addition of Amity Shlaes. Our advisers' research and writing in American history span from the nation's founding to the late 20th century. For each survey cycle, our group of advisers assesses the leadership qualities, recommends additional participants and reviews the results tabulated by C-SPAN.
Additionally, Robert X. Browning, executive director of the C-SPAN Archives, has consulted on the data and analytics for all four presidential surveys.
Press Room
Press Releases
News Articles
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August 10, 2021MoneyWise, Historians Say These Are The 25 Worst U.S. Presidents of All Time
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August 3, 2021Iowa City Press Citizen, Remembering the legacy of President Herbert Hoover: Great humanitarian and conservative statesman
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August 3, 2021Herald Democrat, We still like Ike
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July 23, 2021KCUR Radio, How U.S. Presidents Stack Up Against Each Other
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July 21, 2021Richmond Times Dispatch, George R. Goethals column: Ranking presidential leadership
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July 19, 2021The List, Donald Trump not done well when compared to other past
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July 18, 2021Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mendoza Line, meet the Harrison Line: Rob DeWitt and Charlie Tercek
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July 17, 2021Bellville News-Democrat, Survey provides all-time presidential rankings. Trump supporters won’t like the results
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July 16, 2021The Courier, How history ranks American presidents
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July 15, 2021Columbus Alive, Warren G. Harding presidential sites get new life in Marion
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July 14, 2021Jonesboro Sun, Trump earns his place in history
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July 13, 2021Missourian, Harry Truman remains near top of presidential ranking based on leadership
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July 12, 2021Aberdeen News, Historians rank Trump near bottom in presidential poll
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July 9, 2021Topeka Capitol Journal, Great presidents? Dwight Eisenhower and Harry Truman rank high while Donald Trump sits near the bottom.
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July 8, 2021Concord Monitor, Letter: Historians rank former presidents
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July 7, 2021LA Times, Letters to the Editor: Why it’s time for historians to reassess FDR
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July 7, 2021New York Times, Pondering Presidents — Who Got ‘Polked’?
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July 4, 2021Palm Beach Post, Trump 'worst' president ever? Palm Beach County historians in C-SPAN poll disagree
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July 4, 2021Boston Globe, Lincoln was the best. Buchanan was the worst. What about the others?; C-SPAN rounds up historians to rank the presidents.
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July 4, 2021Kansas Reflector, C-SPAN survey of presidential leadership adds sparkle to Eisenhower, Truman
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July 4, 2021Citizen Tribune, LMU professor helps C-SPAN rank the presidents
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July 3, 2021WFLA, FOX affiliate Tampa FL, Donald Trump ranks near bottom of C-SPAN’s effective presidents list
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July 2, 2021University of Arkansas, C-SPAN Asks U of A Faculty Member to Rank U.S. Presidents; Results Released
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July 2, 2021Lincoln Memorial University, Hubbard Helps Rank Presidents in C-SPAN Survey
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July 2, 2021Smithsonian Magazine, Who Were the Best and Worst Presidents Ever—and How Do Historians Decide?
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July 2, 2021CT News Junkie, OP-ED | Ranking the Best . . . and the Worst Presidents
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July 2, 2021Topeka Capitol Journal, C-SPAN experts like Ike. Kansan Dwight D. Eisenhower lands at No. 5 spot on Presidential Historians Survey.
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July 2, 2021Lynn University, Robert Watson contributes to new C-SPAN survey
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July 1, 2021Can He Do That (Washington Post Podcast), What makes a president a good (or bad) leader?
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July 1, 2021Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Historians survey ranks presidents; Clinton slips from '17 spot
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July 1, 2021KCBS Radio, Presidential historians rank the U.S. presidents
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July 1, 2021MarketWatch, Trump ranks among worst U.S. presidents, as Obama moves into top 10, according to new historian survey
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July 1, 2021New York Times, Maybe Trump Wasn’t the Worst President Ever?
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July 1, 2021WSYX - CBS Affiliate Cincinnati OH, Trump places 41st in C-SPAN presidential rankings, Obama ranks 10th
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July 1, 2021Bloomberg, Was Trump the Worst President? Not on This List
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July 1, 2021LA Times, Column: In surprise upset, historians rule that Trump was not the worst president ever
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July 1, 2021Spectrum News, Trump ranks 41st in C-SPAN presidential survey; Lincoln, Washington top list
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July 1, 2021MSNBC, Trump ranks among the worst presidents in history, according to new survey
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July 1, 2021Cleveland News, Donald Trump Ranks Lowest Among Living President in Survey of Historians
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July 1, 2021Salt Lake Tribune, Was Trump one of the worst presidents ever?
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July 1, 2021Washington Examiner, Here are the greatest presidents of all time, according to C-SPAN
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July 1, 2021A&M, Four A&M professors contribute to 2021 C-Span Survey on the Presidents, the most of any U.S. faculty.”
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July 1, 2021McClatchy, Who are the best and worst presidents? How historians ranked them in new C-SPAN survey
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July 1, 2021Upworthy, The new historical presidential rankings are out and Trump's debut isn't impressive
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July 1, 2021Current, The C-SPAN presidential rankings are here!
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July 1, 2021Huffington Post, Historians Give Trump A Damning Place On The List Of Presidents In New Survey
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July 1, 2021Alabama Political Reporter, Trump ranked fourth worst president in C-SPAN historian survey
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July 1, 2021Bob Jones University, Abrams Participates in C-SPAN Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership
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June 30, 2021KVEO Historians rank presidents in C-SPAN survey; Trump scores 41st, Obama 10th
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June 30, 2021Staten Island Advance, C-SPAN presidential rankings: How did Donald Trump do in his first year of eligibility?
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June 30, 2021Salon, Historians rank Trump near bottom of U.S. presidents, Obama rises into top 10
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June 30, 2021New York Magazine, Kennedy’s Presidency Accomplished Little, But His Historic Myth Endures
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June 30, 2021Minnesota Post, Presidential ranking: C-SPAN survey shows Trump in 41st place
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June 30, 2021Study Finds, Donald Trump debuts as lowest-ranked living president in C-SPAN leadership poll
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June 30, 2021CNN, Turns out Donald Trump wasn't the worst president in US history, historians say
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June 30, 2021CNN, Trump is one of history's worst presidents, survey says
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June 30, 2021Washingtonian, Historians: Trump Was Only the Fourth-Worst President of All Time
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June 30, 2021The Week, Historians rank Trump ahead of only 3 other presidents
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June 30, 2021The Hill, Trump ranked fourth from worst in C-SPAN's 2021 presidential rankings
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June 30, 2021Daily Caller, C-Span Releases Its Rankings Of The Best Presidents. Trump’s Spot Might Shock You
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June 30, 2021USA Today, Historians rank Trump near the bottom of U.S. presidents as Obama rises into the top 10
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June 30, 2021Slate, What Does It Take to Be a Worse President Than Trump?
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June 30, 2021Washington Post, Historians just ranked the presidents. Trump wasn't last.
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June 30, 2021US News and World Report, Trump Debuts Near Bottom of C-SPAN's Presidential Leadership Survey
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June 30, 2021Politico, Trump debuts at 41st in C-SPAN presidential rankings
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June 30, 2021Forbes, Trump Ranks 41st Of 44 Presidents In Survey Of Historians As Obama Cracks Top 10
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June 30, 2021Talking Points Memo, Ranking the 44 Former American Presidents
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June 30, 2021Business Insider, Historians rank Trump among worst presidents in US history, new C-SPAN survey shows
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June 11, 2021The Topeka Capital-Journal: What is the true measure of a U.S. president? We'll find out when the C-SPAN ranking comes out later this month.
2021 Presidential Survey Gallery
Presidents
Leadership Characteristics
Insights
Historians Survey Results Category
Public Persuasion
President | 2021 Final Score | Category Rankings | 2021 Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |||
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 94.8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Abraham Lincoln | 91.5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 90.3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
George Washington | 89.9 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
Ronald Reagan | 89.1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
John F. Kennedy | 84.8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
Thomas Jefferson | 79.6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
Andrew Jackson | 78.6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 22 |
Barack Obama | 76.3 | 9 | 10 | NA | NA | 10 |
William J. Clinton | 73.4 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 19 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 73.3 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 5 |
Woodrow Wilson | 72.4 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 13 |
James K. Polk | 65.8 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 18 |
Harry S. Truman | 65.5 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 6 |
William McKinley | 64.2 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 64.1 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 11 |
James Monroe | 63.5 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 12 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 61.9 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 20 |
James Madison | 60.5 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 |
Grover Cleveland | 55.5 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 25 |
Calvin Coolidge | 52.9 | 21 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 24 |
John Adams | 51.4 | 22 | 22 | 26 | 24 | 15 |
George W. Bush | 51.1 | 23 | 25 | 36 | NA | 29 |
James A. Garfield | 51.0 | 24 | 21 | 25 | 21 | 27 |
George H. W. Bush | 50.1 | 25 | 23 | 30 | 19 | 21 |
John Quincy Adams | 49.4 | 26 | 33 | 32 | 33 | 17 |
Richard M. Nixon | 48.2 | 27 | 26 | 21 | 28 | 31 |
William Howard Taft | 47.3 | 28 | 31 | 28 | 25 | 23 |
Martin Van Buren | 45.5 | 29 | 30 | 24 | 32 | 34 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 44.2 | 30 | 29 | 34 | 23 | 33 |
Zachary Taylor | 44.1 | 31 | 27 | 20 | 26 | 35 |
Donald J. Trump | 43.9 | 32 | NA | NA | NA | 41 |
Warren G. Harding | 43.4 | 33 | 36 | 31 | 27 | 37 |
Chester A. Arthur | 43.1 | 34 | 37 | 33 | 34 | 30 |
Jimmy Carter | 43.0 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 26 |
Benjamin Harrison | 41.9 | 36 | 32 | 29 | 35 | 32 |
Gerald R. Ford | 41.6 | 37 | 34 | 23 | 31 | 28 |
William Henry Harrison | 39.2 | 38 | 28 | 27 | 29 | 40 |
Herbert Hoover | 35.0 | 39 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 36 |
John Tyler | 34.9 | 40 | 39 | 37 | 38 | 39 |
Millard Fillmore | 33.5 | 41 | 40 | 39 | 36 | 38 |
Franklin Pierce | 30.1 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 39 | 42 |
James Buchanan | 21.8 | 43 | 43 | 42 | 40 | 44 |
Andrew Johnson | 21.7 | 44 | 42 | 41 | 41 | 43 |
Historians Survey Results Category
Crisis Leadership
President | 2021 Final Score | Category Rankings | 2021 Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |||
Abraham Lincoln | 96.4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
George Washington | 91.9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 91.6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 80.8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
Harry S. Truman | 80.1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 77.3 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 5 |
John F. Kennedy | 73.9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
Thomas Jefferson | 70.2 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 7 |
Ronald Reagan | 69.0 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 9 |
George H. W. Bush | 68.9 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 21 |
Woodrow Wilson | 67.1 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 13 |
James K. Polk | 66.7 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 18 |
Andrew Jackson | 66.5 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 22 |
James Monroe | 64.9 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 12 |
William McKinley | 63.4 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 63.2 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 30 | 20 |
Barack Obama | 62.8 | 17 | 15 | NA | NA | 10 |
John Adams | 62.2 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 15 |
James Madison | 60.4 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 19 | 16 |
William J. Clinton | 57.7 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 20 | 19 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 57.5 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 11 |
George W. Bush | 54.6 | 22 | 25 | 25 | NA | 29 |
John Quincy Adams | 54.0 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 21 | 17 |
Grover Cleveland | 51.8 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 25 |
Gerald R. Ford | 50.1 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 22 | 28 |
William Howard Taft | 50.0 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 25 | 23 |
Calvin Coolidge | 49.1 | 27 | 29 | 32 | 31 | 24 |
Richard M. Nixon | 48.3 | 28 | 27 | 23 | 23 | 31 |
Zachary Taylor | 47.4 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 35 |
James A. Garfield | 46.4 | 30 | 31 | 28 | 32 | 27 |
Chester A. Arthur | 45.1 | 31 | 32 | 29 | 29 | 30 |
Benjamin Harrison | 43.4 | 32 | 33 | 30 | 33 | 32 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 43.0 | 33 | 30 | 33 | 26 | 33 |
Martin Van Buren | 41.1 | 34 | 35 | 31 | 34 | 34 |
Jimmy Carter | 39.5 | 35 | 37 | 35 | 28 | 26 |
John Tyler | 38.6 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 35 | 39 |
Millard Fillmore | 37.9 | 37 | 34 | 36 | 27 | 38 |
Warren G. Harding | 32.8 | 38 | 39 | 37 | 38 | 37 |
William Henry Harrison | 31.9 | 39 | 38 | 38 | 36 | 40 |
Herbert Hoover | 26.6 | 40 | 40 | 39 | 39 | 36 |
Donald J. Trump | 26.5 | 41 | NA | NA | NA | 41 |
Franklin Pierce | 25.0 | 42 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 42 |
Andrew Johnson | 19.8 | 43 | 42 | 40 | 37 | 43 |
James Buchanan | 16.1 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 44 |
Historians Survey Results Category
Economic Management
President | 2021 Final Score | Category Rankings | 2021 Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |||
Abraham Lincoln | 81.9 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
George Washington | 80.5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 75.4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 75.0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
William J. Clinton | 73.6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 19 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 72.3 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
John F. Kennedy | 67.9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 8 |
Harry S. Truman | 67.6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
Barack Obama | 64.6 | 9 | 8 | NA | NA | 10 |
John Adams | 63.9 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 15 |
Thomas Jefferson | 62.4 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 7 |
Woodrow Wilson | 62.1 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
William McKinley | 62.1 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
John Quincy Adams | 61.0 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 |
Ronald Reagan | 60.5 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 21 | 9 |
James K. Polk | 60.0 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 18 |
James Monroe | 59.9 | 17 | 18 | 13 | 20 | 12 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 58.5 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 |
William Howard Taft | 58.3 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 23 |
James Madison | 57.1 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 16 |
Calvin Coolidge | 56.0 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 26 | 24 |
Grover Cleveland | 50.0 | 22 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 25 |
George H. W. Bush | 49.8 | 23 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 21 |
Richard M. Nixon | 49.5 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 17 | 31 |
Andrew Jackson | 49.3 | 25 | 26 | 30 | 24 | 22 |
James A. Garfield | 49.2 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 27 |
Chester A. Arthur | 47.9 | 27 | 31 | 26 | 27 | 30 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 47.5 | 28 | 27 | 32 | 37 | 20 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 47.2 | 29 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 33 |
Zachary Taylor | 46.3 | 30 | 28 | 25 | 29 | 35 |
Benjamin Harrison | 45.0 | 31 | 32 | 28 | 28 | 32 |
Warren G. Harding | 44.7 | 32 | 35 | 36 | 36 | 37 |
Gerald R. Ford | 42.9 | 33 | 30 | 27 | 25 | 28 |
Donald J. Trump | 42.7 | 34 | NA | NA | NA | 41 |
George W. Bush | 42.2 | 35 | 36 | 40 | NA | 29 |
Millard Fillmore | 40.3 | 36 | 34 | 34 | 32 | 38 |
Jimmy Carter | 37.8 | 37 | 33 | 35 | 33 | 26 |
Franklin Pierce | 37.3 | 38 | 41 | 38 | 38 | 42 |
Martin Van Buren | 37.2 | 39 | 40 | 33 | 34 | 34 |
John Tyler | 36.2 | 40 | 39 | 31 | 31 | 39 |
William Henry Harrison | 32.7 | 41 | 38 | 39 | 39 | 40 |
Andrew Johnson | 30.8 | 42 | 37 | 37 | 35 | 43 |
James Buchanan | 27.8 | 43 | 42 | 42 | 40 | 44 |
Herbert Hoover | 26.2 | 44 | 43 | 41 | 41 | 36 |
Historians Survey Results Category
Moral Authority
President | 2021 Final Score | Category Rankings | 2021 Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |||
Abraham Lincoln | 95.2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
George Washington | 92.7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 81.8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 81.4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 79.3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
Barack Obama | 75.5 | 6 | 7 | NA | NA | 10 |
Jimmy Carter | 71.7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 26 |
John Adams | 71.6 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 15 |
Harry S. Truman | 71.3 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
John Quincy Adams | 69.9 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 17 |
Thomas Jefferson | 69.1 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
James Madison | 68.5 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 16 |
Ronald Reagan | 65.4 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 9 |
James Monroe | 63.2 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 12 |
George H. W. Bush | 63.1 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 21 |
John F. Kennedy | 61.8 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 8 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 60.8 | 17 | 19 | 23 | 31 | 20 |
Calvin Coolidge | 60.4 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 23 | 24 |
Woodrow Wilson | 59.6 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 13 |
Gerald R. Ford | 59.5 | 20 | 23 | 13 | 21 | 28 |
William McKinley | 59.4 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 14 |
William Howard Taft | 59.3 | 22 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 23 |
James A. Garfield | 58.6 | 23 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 27 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 54.8 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 11 |
Grover Cleveland | 53.5 | 25 | 26 | 21 | 18 | 25 |
George W. Bush | 51.4 | 26 | 34 | 35 | NA | 29 |
Benjamin Harrison | 48.6 | 27 | 30 | 29 | 30 | 32 |
James K. Polk | 48.6 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 20 | 18 |
Zachary Taylor | 48.0 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 35 |
Herbert Hoover | 47.1 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 24 | 36 |
Chester A. Arthur | 47.0 | 31 | 35 | 33 | 32 | 30 |
Andrew Jackson | 46.3 | 32 | 20 | 18 | 14 | 22 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 45.5 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 26 | 33 |
Martin Van Buren | 45.4 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 29 | 34 |
William Henry Harrison | 43.8 | 35 | 31 | 31 | 34 | 40 |
Millard Fillmore | 34.5 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 33 | 38 |
John Tyler | 33.8 | 37 | 37 | 34 | 35 | 39 |
William J. Clinton | 30.0 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 41 | 19 |
Franklin Pierce | 29.2 | 39 | 39 | 38 | 36 | 42 |
Warren G. Harding | 26.9 | 40 | 40 | 39 | 39 | 37 |
Richard M. Nixon | 21.7 | 41 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 31 |
Andrew Johnson | 20.3 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 37 | 43 |
James Buchanan | 19.1 | 43 | 43 | 42 | 38 | 44 |
Donald J. Trump | 18.7 | 44 | NA | NA | NA | 41 |
Historians Survey Results Category
International Relations
President | 2021 Final Score | Category Rankings | 2021 Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |||
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 88.0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
George Washington | 85.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Abraham Lincoln | 82.8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 80.6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 78.5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 5 |
James Monroe | 78.4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 12 |
Harry S. Truman | 78.3 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
George H. W. Bush | 74.7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 21 |
Ronald Reagan | 73.8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 9 |
John Quincy Adams | 70.2 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 17 |
Thomas Jefferson | 69.2 | 11 | 11 | 18 | 16 | 7 |
Richard M. Nixon | 68.7 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 31 |
Woodrow Wilson | 67.8 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 13 |
John Adams | 66.2 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 15 |
John F. Kennedy | 65.7 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 8 |
William McKinley | 64.2 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 14 |
James K. Polk | 62.0 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 18 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 61.5 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 33 | 20 |
William J. Clinton | 58.7 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 21 | 19 |
William Howard Taft | 57.2 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 22 | 23 |
Barack Obama | 56.7 | 21 | 24 | NA | NA | 10 |
James Madison | 56.0 | 22 | 22 | 31 | 24 | 16 |
Andrew Jackson | 55.5 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 22 |
Grover Cleveland | 53.8 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 18 | 25 |
Gerald R. Ford | 52.8 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 28 |
Martin Van Buren | 52.2 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 34 |
Calvin Coolidge | 52.0 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 24 |
Jimmy Carter | 50.0 | 28 | 32 | 27 | 20 | 26 |
Benjamin Harrison | 49.4 | 29 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 32 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 48.0 | 30 | 33 | 30 | 26 | 33 |
Zachary Taylor | 46.8 | 31 | 30 | 33 | 27 | 35 |
Herbert Hoover | 46.7 | 32 | 31 | 24 | 25 | 36 |
Chester A. Arthur | 46.6 | 33 | 35 | 34 | 34 | 30 |
Warren G. Harding | 46.3 | 34 | 37 | 37 | 35 | 37 |
John Tyler | 45.2 | 35 | 28 | 25 | 31 | 39 |
James A. Garfield | 44.9 | 36 | 36 | 32 | 38 | 27 |
Millard Fillmore | 42.6 | 37 | 34 | 38 | 32 | 38 |
George W. Bush | 42.2 | 38 | 41 | 41 | NA | 29 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 39.7 | 39 | 38 | 35 | 36 | 11 |
Franklin Pierce | 36.2 | 40 | 40 | 39 | 39 | 42 |
William Henry Harrison | 34.0 | 41 | 42 | 42 | 41 | 40 |
Andrew Johnson | 33.9 | 42 | 39 | 36 | 37 | 43 |
Donald J. Trump | 33.3 | 43 | NA | NA | NA | 41 |
James Buchanan | 30.5 | 44 | 43 | 40 | 40 | 44 |
Historians Survey Results Category
Administrative Skills
President | 2021 Final Score | Category Rankings | 2021 Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |||
Abraham Lincoln | 86.7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
George Washington | 84.0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 80.7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 76.1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 75.0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Thomas Jefferson | 72.1 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 68.9 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 11 |
Harry S. Truman | 68.0 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 6 |
James K. Polk | 66.8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 18 |
James Monroe | 66.5 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 12 |
Woodrow Wilson | 64.4 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 13 |
William McKinley | 64.2 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 |
George H. W. Bush | 63.5 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 21 |
Barack Obama | 63.3 | 14 | 19 | NA | NA | 10 |
William Howard Taft | 62.6 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 20 | 23 |
James Madison | 62.0 | 16 | 17 | 22 | 18 | 16 |
John Quincy Adams | 61.9 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 22 | 17 |
John F. Kennedy | 61.7 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 8 |
John Adams | 61.2 | 19 | 21 | 25 | 19 | 15 |
Herbert Hoover | 60.0 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 36 |
Calvin Coolidge | 59.6 | 21 | 25 | 23 | 28 | 24 |
William J. Clinton | 59.4 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 19 |
Grover Cleveland | 58.3 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 12 | 25 |
Chester A. Arthur | 54.9 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 29 | 30 |
Martin Van Buren | 54.6 | 25 | 26 | 21 | 25 | 34 |
Richard M. Nixon | 53.5 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 17 | 31 |
Andrew Jackson | 53.5 | 27 | 23 | 18 | 23 | 22 |
James A. Garfield | 53.2 | 28 | 32 | 28 | 34 | 27 |
Gerald R. Ford | 52.4 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 28 |
Ronald Reagan | 52.1 | 30 | 33 | 30 | 32 | 9 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 50.9 | 31 | 29 | 27 | 27 | 33 |
Benjamin Harrison | 49.7 | 32 | 30 | 31 | 30 | 32 |
George W. Bush | 49.4 | 33 | 34 | 37 | NA | 29 |
Jimmy Carter | 49.2 | 34 | 31 | 29 | 26 | 26 |
Zachary Taylor | 47.2 | 35 | 35 | 33 | 31 | 35 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 46.1 | 36 | 37 | 36 | 39 | 20 |
Millard Fillmore | 42.9 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 35 | 38 |
John Tyler | 39.1 | 38 | 38 | 34 | 33 | 39 |
Franklin Pierce | 38.2 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 38 | 42 |
William Henry Harrison | 34.6 | 40 | 40 | 42 | 36 | 40 |
Warren G. Harding | 33.4 | 41 | 42 | 40 | 41 | 37 |
James Buchanan | 30.5 | 42 | 41 | 38 | 37 | 44 |
Andrew Johnson | 25.9 | 43 | 43 | 41 | 40 | 43 |
Donald J. Trump | 22.8 | 44 | NA | NA | NA | 41 |
Historians Survey Results Category
Relations with Congress
President | 2021 Final Score | Category Rankings | 2021 Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |||
George Washington | 83.5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 80.7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 80.5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Abraham Lincoln | 78.9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
Thomas Jefferson | 73.0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 72.4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 71.6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
Ronald Reagan | 68.4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
James Monroe | 66.9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 |
William McKinley | 65.2 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 14 |
John F. Kennedy | 62.0 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 8 |
James Madison | 60.9 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 16 |
James K. Polk | 60.7 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 18 |
Harry S. Truman | 59.6 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 6 |
Calvin Coolidge | 57.4 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 24 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 56.7 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 31 | 20 |
George H. W. Bush | 55.1 | 17 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 21 |
Woodrow Wilson | 55.0 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 13 |
Gerald R. Ford | 54.6 | 19 | 19 | 13 | 12 | 28 |
William Howard Taft | 54.6 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 28 | 23 |
George W. Bush | 54.1 | 21 | 25 | 36 | NA | 29 |
John Adams | 52.9 | 22 | 24 | 28 | 22 | 15 |
William J. Clinton | 52.2 | 23 | 17 | 19 | 36 | 19 |
Andrew Jackson | 51.9 | 24 | 21 | 14 | 16 | 22 |
Grover Cleveland | 51.6 | 25 | 22 | 27 | 18 | 25 |
James A. Garfield | 51.1 | 26 | 27 | 22 | 23 | 27 |
Chester A. Arthur | 50.7 | 27 | 29 | 25 | 27 | 30 |
Martin Van Buren | 49.4 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 25 | 34 |
John Quincy Adams | 49.0 | 29 | 32 | 31 | 35 | 17 |
Benjamin Harrison | 48.8 | 30 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 32 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 48.5 | 31 | 30 | 35 | 21 | 33 |
Barack Obama | 46.9 | 32 | 39 | NA | NA | 10 |
Warren G. Harding | 45.4 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 26 | 37 |
Jimmy Carter | 44.9 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 33 | 26 |
Millard Fillmore | 43.9 | 35 | 36 | 33 | 29 | 38 |
Herbert Hoover | 43.9 | 36 | 31 | 30 | 34 | 36 |
Zachary Taylor | 43.8 | 37 | 35 | 29 | 32 | 35 |
Richard M. Nixon | 40.0 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 30 | 31 |
Franklin Pierce | 37.0 | 39 | 40 | 39 | 37 | 42 |
William Henry Harrison | 36.2 | 40 | 38 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
John Tyler | 30.5 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 38 | 39 |
Donald J. Trump | 28.6 | 42 | NA | NA | NA | 41 |
James Buchanan | 25.6 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 44 |
Andrew Johnson | 15.2 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 43 |
Historians Survey Results Category
Vision / Setting an Agenda
President | 2021 Final Score | Category Rankings | 2021 Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |||
Abraham Lincoln | 96.4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
George Washington | 93.1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 92.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 86.9 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Ronald Reagan | 84.0 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Thomas Jefferson | 83.8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
John F. Kennedy | 80.0 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 78.1 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Woodrow Wilson | 75.5 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
Andrew Jackson | 74.1 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 22 |
James K. Polk | 72.8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 18 |
Barack Obama | 71.5 | 12 | 12 | NA | NA | 10 |
Harry S. Truman | 69.8 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 6 |
James Monroe | 68.6 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 |
James Madison | 66.4 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 16 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 64.8 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 5 |
John Quincy Adams | 62.5 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 13 | 17 |
William McKinley | 62.3 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 17 | 14 |
William J. Clinton | 60.2 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 22 | 19 |
John Adams | 59.2 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 15 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 58.1 | 21 | 23 | 22 | 36 | 20 |
Grover Cleveland | 52.2 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 25 |
Richard M. Nixon | 50.9 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 31 |
Jimmy Carter | 50.5 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 26 |
George W. Bush | 50.5 | 25 | 26 | 25 | NA | 29 |
William Howard Taft | 49.4 | 26 | 28 | 31 | 26 | 23 |
Calvin Coolidge | 48.5 | 27 | 29 | 27 | 33 | 24 |
George H. W. Bush | 48.0 | 28 | 27 | 34 | 28 | 21 |
James A. Garfield | 47.8 | 29 | 25 | 29 | 24 | 27 |
Martin Van Buren | 45.6 | 30 | 33 | 28 | 27 | 34 |
Chester A. Arthur | 44.6 | 31 | 34 | 33 | 29 | 30 |
Zachary Taylor | 44.1 | 32 | 30 | 24 | 25 | 35 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 43.2 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 23 | 33 |
Benjamin Harrison | 43.1 | 34 | 31 | 26 | 30 | 32 |
Gerald R. Ford | 40.8 | 35 | 35 | 36 | 31 | 28 |
Donald J. Trump | 39.6 | 36 | NA | NA | NA | 41 |
William Henry Harrison | 37.6 | 37 | 36 | 32 | 35 | 40 |
Warren G. Harding | 37.3 | 38 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 37 |
Herbert Hoover | 37.0 | 39 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 36 |
John Tyler | 35.9 | 40 | 37 | 35 | 34 | 39 |
Millard Fillmore | 34.5 | 41 | 39 | 37 | 32 | 38 |
Franklin Pierce | 27.3 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 40 | 42 |
Andrew Johnson | 21.7 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 39 | 43 |
James Buchanan | 19.1 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 44 |
Historians Survey Results Category
Pursued Equal Justice For All
President | 2021 Final Score | Category Rankings | 2021 Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |||
Abraham Lincoln | 90.9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 86.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
Barack Obama | 78.2 | 3 | 3 | NA | NA | 10 |
Harry S. Truman | 75.3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Jimmy Carter | 72.0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 26 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 71.4 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 18 | 20 |
John F. Kennedy | 71.0 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
William J. Clinton | 66.6 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 19 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 66.2 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 3 |
John Quincy Adams | 66.0 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 17 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 62.7 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 4 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 61.5 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 5 |
John Adams | 57.3 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 |
George Washington | 54.8 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 2 |
George H. W. Bush | 52.0 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 21 |
James A. Garfield | 51.9 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 27 |
Gerald R. Ford | 51.3 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 28 |
George W. Bush | 50.7 | 18 | 19 | 25 | NA | 29 |
William Howard Taft | 48.8 | 19 | 22 | 19 | 26 | 23 |
Thomas Jefferson | 47.9 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 11 | 7 |
James Madison | 47.1 | 21 | 18 | 20 | 13 | 16 |
Ronald Reagan | 46.0 | 22 | 23 | 16 | 24 | 9 |
Benjamin Harrison | 45.5 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 29 | 32 |
Calvin Coolidge | 44.3 | 24 | 29 | 30 | 34 | 24 |
James Monroe | 43.9 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 16 | 12 |
William McKinley | 43.8 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 23 | 14 |
Chester A. Arthur | 43.3 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 30 |
Richard M. Nixon | 42.8 | 28 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 31 |
Grover Cleveland | 42.3 | 29 | 31 | 24 | 22 | 25 |
Warren G. Harding | 40.5 | 30 | 33 | 34 | 37 | 37 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 39.9 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 25 | 33 |
Herbert Hoover | 39.7 | 32 | 28 | 31 | 31 | 36 |
Martin Van Buren | 38.3 | 33 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 34 |
Zachary Taylor | 36.2 | 34 | 34 | 32 | 27 | 35 |
James K. Polk | 32.3 | 35 | 36 | 36 | 33 | 18 |
William Henry Harrison | 30.8 | 36 | 37 | 37 | 36 | 40 |
Woodrow Wilson | 30.2 | 37 | 35 | 26 | 20 | 13 |
Millard Fillmore | 30.2 | 38 | 39 | 38 | 35 | 38 |
Andrew Jackson | 30.0 | 39 | 38 | 35 | 32 | 22 |
Donald J. Trump | 27.6 | 40 | NA | NA | NA | 41 |
John Tyler | 24.0 | 41 | 41 | 39 | 38 | 39 |
Franklin Pierce | 23.0 | 42 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 42 |
Andrew Johnson | 19.8 | 43 | 40 | 40 | 39 | 43 |
James Buchanan | 17.9 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 44 |
Historians Survey Results Category
Performance Within Context of Times
President | 2021 Final Score | Category Rankings | 2021 Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |||
Abraham Lincoln | 96.5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
George Washington | 95.6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 89.6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 82.5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Harry S. Truman | 77.4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Thomas Jefferson | 77.1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 76.0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 5 |
Ronald Reagan | 73.0 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 9 |
John F. Kennedy | 70.0 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 8 |
Barack Obama | 68.2 | 10 | 15 | NA | NA | 10 |
James Monroe | 67.8 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 12 |
James Madison | 65.3 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 16 |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 65.0 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 |
William McKinley | 63.4 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
Woodrow Wilson | 63.2 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 13 |
Ulysses S. Grant | 63.1 | 16 | 21 | 25 | 33 | 20 |
James K. Polk | 63.1 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 18 |
John Adams | 63.0 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 15 |
Andrew Jackson | 62.8 | 19 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 22 |
William J. Clinton | 61.9 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 19 |
George H. W. Bush | 59.7 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
John Quincy Adams | 58.8 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 17 |
William Howard Taft | 55.2 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 |
Calvin Coolidge | 55.2 | 24 | 26 | 24 | 27 | 24 |
Grover Cleveland | 53.8 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 25 |
Gerald R. Ford | 51.8 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 28 |
James A. Garfield | 51.5 | 27 | 27 | 31 | 30 | 27 |
Chester A. Arthur | 48.5 | 28 | 32 | 27 | 26 | 30 |
George W. Bush | 48.3 | 29 | 35 | 36 | NA | 29 |
Jimmy Carter | 47.8 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 24 | 26 |
Benjamin Harrison | 46.7 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 29 | 32 |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 45.9 | 32 | 28 | 32 | 25 | 33 |
Martin Van Buren | 45.3 | 33 | 33 | 30 | 31 | 34 |
Zachary Taylor | 45.0 | 34 | 30 | 26 | 28 | 35 |
Richard M. Nixon | 40.3 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 |
Millard Fillmore | 37.3 | 36 | 37 | 35 | 34 | 38 |
Warren G. Harding | 37.1 | 37 | 40 | 38 | 37 | 37 |
John Tyler | 35.8 | 38 | 36 | 34 | 35 | 39 |
Herbert Hoover | 33.7 | 39 | 39 | 37 | 36 | 36 |
William Henry Harrison | 32.9 | 40 | 38 | 39 | 38 | 40 |
Franklin Pierce | 28.5 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 40 | 42 |
Donald J. Trump | 28.3 | 42 | NA | NA | NA | 41 |
Andrew Johnson | 21.1 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 39 | 43 |
James Buchanan | 19.1 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 44 |
Historians Survey Results
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | |
Total Score | ||||
Overall Rank |
Category | 2021 Final Score | Overall Rankings | |||
2021 | 2017 | 2009 | 2000 | ||
Public Persuasion | |||||
Crisis Leadership | |||||
Economic Management | |||||
Moral Authority | |||||
International Relations | |||||
Administrative Skills | |||||
Relations with Congress | |||||
Vision / Setting an Agenda | |||||
Pursued Equal Justice For All | |||||
Performance Within Context of Times |
Survey Links
Individual Leadership Characteristics
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Resource Links
- Watch the Washington Journal segment announcing the 2021 survey results
- Watch the four survey advisers discuss the 2021 survey on the Washington Journal
- Listen to The Weekly podcast discussing the 2021 survey
- View full results from C-SPAN's 2021 Survey of Presidential Leadership
- View full results from C-SPAN's 2017 Survey of Presidential Leadership
- View full results from C-SPAN's 2009 Survey of Presidential Leadership
- View full results from C-SPAN's 2000 Survey of Presidential Leadership
- Compare category rankings from all four C-SPAN surveys