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

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

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
Category 2021 Final Score Overall Rankings
2021 2017 2009 2000

Survey Links

The Presidents Book