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- Abraham Lincoln was voted the best US president in a survey.
- Nearly 100 historians and biographers rated 43 US presidents on 10 qualities of presidential leadership.
- Notable best presidents include George Washington at No. 2, Thomas Jefferson at No. 7, and Barack Obama at No. 12.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Historians agree: Abraham Lincoln was the best US president.
For C-SPAN’s third Presidential Historians Survey in 2017, nearly 100 historians and biographers rated 43 US presidents. The survey is released after a sitting president’s term, so C-SPAN will likely include current President Donald Trump in the ranking only after he leaves office.
The survey measures 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.
Read more: 50 maps that explain how America lives, spends, and believes
Scores in each category were then averaged, and the 10 categories were given equal weighting in determining the presidents’ total scores.
Notable top commander-in-chiefs include George Washington at No. 2, Thomas Jefferson at No. 7, and Barack Obama at No. 12.
While some historians weren’t shocked that Obama didn’t rank higher overall on the list — “That Obama came in at No. 12 his first time out is quite impressive,” Douglas Brinkley of Rice University said — others were surprised by his lower-than-expected leadership rankings, including No. 7 in moral authority and No. 8 in economic management.
“But, of course, historians prefer to view the past from a distance, and only time will reveal his legacy,” Edna Greene Medford of Howard University said.
Here are the top 20 presidents, according to historians surveyed by C-SPAN.
20. George H. W. Bush (41st president) ranked high in how he handled international relations.
Bioreports Photo/Lennox McLendon
18. Andrew Jackson (seventh president) had strong public persuasion during his tenure, according to historians.
Jackson’s supporters helped found the Democratic party after he lost the 1824 presidential election, despite getting the popular vote.
16. William McKinley Jr. (25th president) ranked highly for his relations with Congress.
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With the help of Congress, McKinley passed the Dingley Act, the highest protective tariff in US history.
15. Bill Clinton (42nd president) ranked high for economic management.
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14. James K. Polk (11th president) ranked highly for his crisis leadership and administrative skills.
13. James Monroe (fifth president) ranked highly for his handling of international relations.
The president lent his name to the Monroe Doctrine, which asserted Latin America was under the US’s sphere of influence.
12. Barack Obama (44th president) ranked highly for his pursuit of equal justice for all.
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11. Woodrow Wilson (28th president) ranked highly for his “vision,” according to historians.
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Wilson led the country during World War I and was instrumental in crafting the League of Nations, a precursor the United Nations.
10. Lyndon B. Johnson (36th president) ranked highly for his relations with Congress.
Johnson passed legislation including Medicare and Medicaid programs, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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.
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4. Theodore Roosevelt (26th president) ranked highly for his public persuasion.
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Mount Rushmore depicts Roosevelt’s face, alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln.
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd president) ranked highly for his public persuasion and handling of international relations.
FDR is the only president to have served more than two terms, dying in April 1945 at the start of his fourth term.
1. Abraham Lincoln (16th president) ranks best for his crisis leadership, administrative skills, vision, and pursued equal justice for all.
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History.com calls Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address “arguably the most-quoted, most-memorized piece of oratory in American history.”
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