Nearly100 historians and biographers rated past commanders in chief on 10 leadership qualities.
Abraham Lincoln was voted the best US president.
Donald Trump didn't make the top 25 — he's No. 41.
Historians agree: Abraham Lincoln was the best US president.
For C-SPAN's most recent Presidential Historians Survey, conducted in 2021, nearly 100 historians and biographers rated the former US presidents. The survey is released after a sitting president's term, so C-SPAN will likely include President Joe Biden in its next round of the ranking, after he leaves office.
The 2021 C-SPAN survey, which was released after Donald Trump left the White House, measured 10 qualities of presidential leadership: public persuasion, crisis leadership, economic management, moral authority, international relations, administrative skills, relations with Congress, vision, pursued equal justice for all, and performance within the context of his times.
Scores in each category were then averaged, and the 10 categories were given equal weighting in determining the presidents' total scores.
George Washington came in at No. 2, followed by Franklin D. Roosevelt at No. 3. George H. W. Bush ranked at No. 21, beating out his son George W. Bush who came in at No. 29. Other notable commanders in chief included John F. Kennedy at No. 8, Ronald Reagan at No. 9, and Barack Obama at No. 10.
Donald Trump didn't make the top 25 — he ranked at No. 41. Jimmy Carter also missed the top 25, coming in at No. 26.
Here are the top 25 presidents, according to historians surveyed by C-SPAN. The full list can be found here.
25. Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th president) ranked well for his public persuasion and administrative skills.
24. Calvin Coolidge (30th president) earned strong scores in moral authority and administrative skills.
Coolidge took office after President Warren G. Harding's sudden death in 1923. He gained popularity for his frugality, helping usher the US into a period that became known as "Coolidge prosperity."
23. William Howard Taft (27th president) ranked well for his administrative skills and international relations.
9. Ronald Reagan (40th president) ranked highly for his public persuasion.
Domestically, Reagan is best known for cutting income taxes via two different federal laws: the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
8. John F. Kennedy (35th president) ranked highly for public persuasion.
Kennedy became the youngest man and first Catholic elected president.
7. Thomas Jefferson (third president) ranked highly for his relations with Congress and his vision.
Jefferson vastly expanded the US borders through the Louisiana Purchase with France.
6. Harry S. Truman (33rd president) ranked highly for his crisis leadership and his pursued equal justice for all.
These are the top 25 US presidents, according to historians and biographers (and why you won't find Biden on the list)
Reviewed by mimisabreena
on
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Rating: 5
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