Lincoln Ranked Best President By Historians

WASHINGTON — Just days after the nation honored the 200th anniversary of his birth, 65 historians ranked Abraham Lincoln as the nation's best president.

Former President George W. Bush, who left office last month, was ranked 36th out of the 42 men who had been chief executive by the end of 2008, according to a survey conducted by the cable channel C-SPAN.

Bush scored lowest in international relations, where he was ranked 41st, and in economic management, where he was ranked 40th. His highest ranking, 24th, was in the category of pursuing equal justice for all. He was ranked 25th in crisis leadership and vision and agenda setting.

In contrast, Lincoln was ranked in the top three in each of the 10 categories evaluated by participants.

In C-SPAN's only other ranking of presidents, in 2000, former President Bill Clinton jumped six spots from No. 21 to 15. Other recent presidents moved positions as well: Ronald Reagan advanced from No. 11 to 10, George H.W. Bush rose from No. 20 to 18 and Jimmy Carter fell from No. 22 to 25.

This movement illustrates that presidential reputations are influenced by present-day concerns, said survey adviser and participant Edna Medford.

"Today's concerns shape our views of the past, be it in the area of foreign policy, managing the economy or human rights," Medford said in a statement.

After Lincoln, the academics rated George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman as the best leaders overall. The same five received top spots in the 2000 survey, although Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt swapped spots this year.

Rated worst overall were James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison and Warren G. Harding.

The survey was conducted in December and January. Participants ranked each president on a scale of one, "not effective" to 10, "very effective," on a list of 10 leadership qualities including relations with Congress, public persuasion and moral authority.

Comments

[JTyroler]

05:00 AM on 02/17/2009

I think Wilson is overrated. Yes, he did some really good things as President - kept us out of WWI for quite some time, League of Nations, etc., but he did some horrible things.

How many suffragettes were arrested for picketing for their rights, such as Alice Paul?

He is considered by many to have been very racist, including his quoted praise of the Ku Klux Klan that appeared at the beginning of Birth of a Nation. He also enacted segregation in the Federal Government.

There were the Palmer Raids, deporting leftist immigrants, plus the American Protective League, which allowed warrantless searches and arrests against anyone who spoke out against the war or government policies. This post after the US entered WWI could have had me arrested during the Wilson Administration. Eugene V. Debs went to prison for protesting the draft. Wilson was also a proponent of eugenics - in 1907, he helped the state of Indiana become the first of thirty states to adopt eugenics policies.

During Wilson's Presidency, the US sent troops into Mexico, Haiti, Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, and Russia.

Post-war America saw major strikes and race riots in several cities.

[ziggystardust]

09:59 PM on 02/16/2009

Well there's no way Bush is going to be the "worst" president. I mean, his actions didn't directly lead to the Civil War. Like it or not, but Bush's reputation will almost certainly increase on these sorts of lists 30-40 years from now. Even among modern presidents, there's no way that Bush was worse than Jimmy Carter.

Of course, the lot of you are going to disagree with that, but then again, this site is infested with nutjobs. (And I mean "nutjob" with the highest respect.)

[bubbuh]

10:14 PM on 02/16/2009

Carter secured the Camp David Accords, a real sep towards peace in the Midlle East. In fact, no president since has manged to advnce on it. Carter diffused a real crisis of public trust, the Three Mile Island incident in such a way that it is barely remembered as a problem. In fact, if at the time the US had a couple of helicopters capable of dealing with extreme desert conditions, Carter would have been reelected.

Bush will sink to his true level as time go by.

[jcollell]

08:50 PM on 02/16/2009

I think historians where trying to show Bush a little kindness. Because ranking him the 36th best president is truly being too kind.

http://www.youspar.com/

[PepperzMom]

08:11 PM on 02/16/2009

"pursuing equal justice for all" only if you had an "R" attached to your name and were guilty as sin but got off with a get out of jail free card...

[bubbuh]

08:21 PM on 02/16/2009

He was an equal opportunity invader of privacy.

[Changeu]

07:23 PM on 02/16/2009

There's nothing like the stench of ugly bitterness. I know all of you wanted the historians to proclaim Bush as the worst ever. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen. You see, historians base this on unbiased data unlike you who base it on very bias feelings like hate, anger, and a lack of good medication. But seriously aren’t will all suppose to be moving forward & looking to the future. I voted for Obama, I left and stopped supporting the Republican Party in 2004. What are you going to do for change? May I suggest getting rid of all that residual hate and try some love if you’re capable.

Kind regards,
Free Thinker

[bubbuh]

07:56 PM on 02/16/2009

Give it time. This is the Former Resident's first time in the pool. He will sink to his true level in due course.

[Changeu]

07:22 PM on 02/16/2009

There's nothing like the stench of ugly bitterness. I know all of you wanted the historians to proclaim Bush as the worst

[TimmySlagle]

06:28 PM on 02/16/2009

Wow, best EVER?

Even though he suspended habeas corpus, and spied on Americans?

Wow, it's amazing what history will forgive after time.

[bubbuh]

08:04 PM on 02/16/2009

The Suspension Clause of the United States Constitution specifically included the English common law procedure in Article One, Section 9 which states:“The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it."

The Civil War was a good constitutional reason for Lincoln's action. As for spying, The US has used spies in every war, including the Revolutionary War.\

[MrsPeel]

08:34 PM on 02/16/2009

Yet another of your pearls of wisdom. I've enjoyed perusing them, all the way back to October 2005:

"I've got my money on Condoleeza Rice. Wouldn't that just steam the Democrats if the first woman VP and the first Black VP were Republicans. Hillary would look foolish running against Ms. Rice in 2008, since Condoleeza earned her position in society, rather than marrying up.

Posted by: TimmySlagle on October 17, 2005 at 05:40pm"

[realpolitic]

11:03 PM on 02/16/2009

Slagle is really the goofiest person on this site and never seems to me being caught using misinforming conservative talking points.

[sdsuprof]

05:58 PM on 02/16/2009

I think they meant that Bush was 24th in the category of pursuing equal injustice for all.

[vesaversa1]

05:14 PM on 02/16/2009

I don't think Lincoln deserved that high of a ranking but i want debate it. I guess they rank George W. Bush below the only confederate president of the USA .

[Copeword]

04:53 PM on 02/16/2009

Both Roosevelts are in the top five? That's cool.

[Drjimmy72296]

04:42 PM on 02/16/2009

As bad as W at 36 is Andrew Jackson at 13. A genocidal lunatic and war criminal - much more successful but far worse than most of those at the bottom.

[bubbuh]

08:29 PM on 02/16/2009

If it weren't for his treatment of the Cherokee, he would be in the top five. He was a man of his times and a military man. He viewed what he did in Appalachia, Georgia and Florida as conquering a foreign country much the same as was done to establish the original 13 colonies. Doesn't make the Trail of Tears less horrible; but, it does make it understandable.

[Drjimmy72296]

04:38 PM on 02/16/2009

Why is William Henry Harrison on this list at all, let alone two notches below George W. Bush? For all intents and purposes, the man was never really president.

Is giving an inaugural that's so boring it kills you really worse than starting two wars that have killed over a million people, bankrupting the country, shredding the Constitution and destabilizing the entire world?

And while Pierce may have been a horrible president at least there were some mitigating factors involved. What the hell is W's excuse?

[Palemoon]

05:45 PM on 02/16/2009

I agree, there were 2 presidents who served less than 6 months in office that have no business being on the list.

[bubbuh]

08:08 PM on 02/16/2009

Historians aren't very good with math. They should hired a grad student with good stat skills to set the study up. He would have asterisked out Harrison as a matter of course.

[Whinger]

04:20 PM on 02/16/2009

Makes me wonder what the heck Fillmore did to get the better of George W.!

[bubbuh]

08:13 PM on 02/16/2009

He was never elected President He became Prez when Taylor died.. As a President MF probably wasn't as bad as Bush. But, he did try to get elected President as the candidate of the Know Nothing Party. That's like running as the candidate of the Klan. This has somewhat prejudiced historians against him.

[postman606]

04:17 PM on 02/16/2009

What stands out is the fact that Lincoln was bookended by some horrible Presidents (Buchanan and Johnson) and some other really bad Presidents, Fillmore and Pierce, and the worst two term President U. S. Grant, until the arrival of Bush.

[bubbuh]

08:20 PM on 02/16/2009

His administration was probably the most corrupt. That puts him in my bottom five, maybe. But, he also did some pretty good things. Our National Park system started on his watch. and merut based Federal civil service as well. I guess he felt corruption should be limited to the highest levels of government.

[benross]

04:00 PM on 02/16/2009

You see “W” is not the worst in history....worst overall were James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison and Warren G. Harding. What did those guys do beyond starting a war and bankrupting the country? I’m thinking they must have been complete screwballs if W came out ahead.

[illuminutty]

05:05 PM on 02/16/2009

DOES PIERCE COUNT AS A BUSH? BABS BUSH IS A DECENDANT OF THAT ALCOHOLIC PIECE OF CRAP.

[bubbuh]

09:30 PM on 02/16/2009

Buchanan made the Civil War inevitable.

Andrew Johnson screwed up Reconstruction.

Pierce was the most divisive President in the 19th century; possibly even more divisive than Dubya. Evrything he tried blew up in his face.

Harrison shouldn't be on the list. His Presidency consisted of a 2 1/2 Inauguration Day speech followed by by being bedridden for 31 days until he died. It is one of the best documented cases of a killer speech.

Harding fathered an illegitimate child prior to attaining the WH. He allegedly used a WH coat closet for additional attempted fathering. See Nan Britton. This was in additional to his main affair. His main squeeze extorted a huge chunk of money and a lifetime pension from the GOP in return for her silemnce about the affair. See Carrie Fulton Phillips. More to the point, he is our only President who is provably a complete puppet of the criminal business interests which secured his nomination and embedded themselves in his cabinet. See the Teapot Dome Scandal. He may also have been a member of the Klan. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2229/was-warren-harding-inducted-into-the-kkk-while-president
He may taken or have been poisoned once the Teapot Dome Scandal started to break..
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1374.html
He was our first media star president. A darned interesting guy!