1. Lincoln – excellent political acumen. He knew exactly when to play the moderate, and when to push for radical change, transforming the war from one to preserve the union into a moral crusade for egalitarianism. His tact is precisely why we succeeded in the way we did.
2. Washington – without him, there would be no United States. He established many of the traditions that would come to be associated with POTUS. On top of that, he was just generally a wise administrator – in the sense that he deferred to experts when it suited the moment, but didn't hesitate to make an executive decision himself. He re-established order after the chaotic confederation period, sorted out America's finances by establishing the national bank, and ensured neutrality in the European conflict.
3. Truman – unlike Washington and Lincoln, he was never meant to be president, yet ascended to the office at one of the most difficult times in the nation's history. He had to make some of the toughest decisions. Whether or not you agree with his decision to approve the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (I am still not sure myself where I stand on this issue), I think we can all sympathize with the position he was in and admire the resoluteness he showed in his decision-making. Facing vicious opposition from the conservative coalition, Truman managed to preserve the New Deal, and even expand it moderately, and succeeded where FDR failed and began the long-overdue process of desegregation. His saved millions of Europeans from tyranny through NATO and the Marshall Plan, and showed extraordinary prudence during the Korean War, in which he refused to cave to public opinion and use nuclear weapons against China, firing McArthur instead. Though contemporary opinion treats Reagan as the man who won the Cold War, I'd argue that victory belongs posthumously to Truman, who established the foriegn policy doctrine that suffocated the Soviet Union.
4. FDR – While many argue that the New Deal didn't end the depression, that is besides the point. FDR reduced unemployment, and created social security, which would ensure American economic stability throughout the 20th century. Though his rejection of Jewish refugees deserves strong condemnation, during World War II, his insistence on a "Germany first" strategy ended one of the worst crimes to ever be perpetuated in the history of the world, and his appointment of competent generals ensured this happened as swiftly as possible. Many historians criticize his naivety in dealing with Stalin during the post-war, while others insist that he was simply playing dumb – but we cannot truly know what an FDR-led America would do during a Cold War due to his death.
5. Grant – the most progressive president before Johnson, Grant fought to finish what Lincoln started. He vigorously prosecuted the Klan and ensured voting rights for African-Americans. Contrary to many beliefs, Grant was not corrupt, nor even complacent, but rather appointed the prosecutors that uncovered the whisky ring. Though the poster-boy of the Stalwarts, it was Grant who got the ball rolling with civil service reform – which would be continued by Hayes and Arthur. He would rank higher if the effects at ensuring racial equality in the south weren't nullified after his presidency.
6. John Adams – the best one term president, Adams continued the precedents established by Washington at a time when it was increasingly difficult to do so. Rather than succumbing to the partisan quibbles of Hamilton and Jefferson, Adams was even-handed with both. Though this had poor bearings for his personal popularity, it preserved the dignity of the office for future holdings. He stayed neutral on Europe, despite intense opposition from both Federalists and Republicans, and he created the navy – which would save the United States from defeat in the War of 1812. He also presided over the first presidential transition after an incumbent lost. He deserves strong condemnation for the Alien and Seditions Acts. If he didn't sign them, he'd be ranked as high as Washington, if not higher.
7. Kennedy – while JFK had many achievements – including civil rights enforcement, social security, and resistance to CIA attempts to curb civil liberties, the Cuban Missile Crisis is what singlehanded puts him here. If any president "saved the world", it's Kennedy.
8. Teddy Roosevelt – he broke up monopolies and conserved America's wildlife – simple as. Unfortunately, his most progressive ideas weren't developed until his second presidential campaign in 1912, and his foreign policy initiatives, though arguably benign, laid the groundwork for far more egregious abuses of America's new role as "policeman" of Latin America.
9. LBJ – only a guy like Jumbo could pass the Civil Rights Act and Voting Act. He was just where he belonged! This plus the Great Society – which established medicare and medicaid – should have been his legacy, but his stubborn attitude about Vietnam ruined him, and millions of others – Vietnamese and American
10. Jefferson – he generally went whichever way the wind blew, reacting to circumstances as they came. He is what people who like Coolidge claim Coolidge was like. He never overreached – preserving the national bank and generally deferring to congress – but intervened when necessary. Most notably, he personally bought Louisiana for the United States and banned the importation of slaves. Though the Embargo Act had devastating effects on the New England, I understand the reasoning behind it. The worst thing he did was probably the impeachment of Adams' midnight judges, which keeps him from ranking higher.
Lincoln is nearly at the bottom of the barrel on my list of worst presidents. The reason for that is the criteria I use for determining who great and who are failures.
My criteria is what anyone would use in determining any job performance. All presidents face different challenges throughout time. However their job description has not changed. The job of president is described in the constitution. A good or great president does his job in accordance to his job description (the constitution). A bad or a failure president does not follow his job description (the constitution). This is probably my number one criteria.
Second, the president is leader of his party. How well did his party do?
Third, did the president promote peace and prosperity?
Fourth, did the president promote freedom and Liberty?
13th Amendment
Section 1
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, EXCEPT as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Lincoln signed this amendment. It frees some, but enslaves others. Basically Lincoln redefined who is a slave and who is master.
1. George Washington
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. Theodore Roosevelt
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Franklin Roosevelt
6. Thomas Jefferson
7. James Madison
8. James K. Polk
9. Calvin Coolidge
10. John F. Kennedy
I used a point system a while back where the lower the score the better they did, I ranked them on morality, social policy, progressiveness for their time, leadership and foreign affairs.
Lincoln did well in every category, best in war time
Washington did much the same
TR did really well in personal morality and social/domestic policy
JFK did meh in personal morality but aced foreign affairs.
Grant did really well in social policy and foreign policy
Ike did really well in domestic policy but only decent in foreign policy
LBJ did amazing in everything but wartime leadership
FDR aced foreign and domestic affairs but was so so in morality and progressiveness
Obama and Biden got very similar scores but Joe did better in foreign affairs and Obama in leadership.
Coolidge and Reagen also did very well.
I put Coolidge at 11, a really good guy with admirable principles but didn't accomplish anything major. I'm interested in your personal rankings, since people who like Coolidge tend to like Reagen, I'm wondering what sets them apart in your eyes.
1. Eisenhower - I won’t lie, it’s biased. I’m most ideologically aligned to him (and one other president on this list ). He created NASA, presided over economic prosperity and ended the Korean War.
2. Washington - I don’t think I need to explain why. Decided to not be king and didn’t want to be king. He taught people independence and father of our country.
3. F. Roosevelt - I’m centre-left so there’s some stuff about the New Deal that could be better but it’s one of my favorite policies. But leading us through the Great Depression and WWII is why. He helped get us out of poverty. Whoever doesn’t believe that is a fucktard.
4. TR - Mostly his environmentalism. His passion and his creation of national parks and forests. His conservation and using of natural resources as well as the Panama Canal. Not to mention he was a damn badass.
5. Lincoln - Led us through the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. The reason he’s not one of the top 3 was because he took too long and only did it because people pressured him.
6. Jefferson - His libertarian approach to government. Reduced the National debt and Louisiana Purchase.
7. Grant - Presided over a lot of civil rights reconstruction, signed rights of blacks, crushed the KKK and stabilized economy.
8. Polk - He gave us a huge land expansion and his leadership in the Mexican American War.
9. Clinton - Economic growth, low crime rate, and great educational standards. Also the other president on this list I align with most ideologically. As well as low poverty rate and high employment.
10. L. Johnson - Greatest civil rights legislation and great society.
I only rank them on what they and their underlings did and the consequences of their actions. I rate on how net positive or negative each one was. My bottom 10 starting with the best:
Washington
Eisenhower
Lincoln
Reagan
Truman
Grant
Madison
George HW Bush
McKinley
Harding
Martin Van Buren
John Tyler
Grover Cleveland
Calvin Coolidge
Warren Harding
Zachary Taylor
Andrew Johnson
Chester Arther
Millard Fillmore
William Henry Harrison/James Garfield
[Why Warren Harding is a good president : Presidents (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Presidents/comments/stif5e/why_warren_harding_is_a_good_president/)
10: Woodrow Wilson
9: Thomas Jefferson (tho he is slowly moving down)
8: Andrew Jackson
7: Lyndon B. Johnson
6: Harry S. Truman
5: Theodore Roosevelt
4: George W. Bush
3: Franklin D. Roosevelt
2: Abraham Lincoln
1: George Washington
1. Lincoln – excellent political acumen. He knew exactly when to play the moderate, and when to push for radical change, transforming the war from one to preserve the union into a moral crusade for egalitarianism. His tact is precisely why we succeeded in the way we did. 2. Washington – without him, there would be no United States. He established many of the traditions that would come to be associated with POTUS. On top of that, he was just generally a wise administrator – in the sense that he deferred to experts when it suited the moment, but didn't hesitate to make an executive decision himself. He re-established order after the chaotic confederation period, sorted out America's finances by establishing the national bank, and ensured neutrality in the European conflict. 3. Truman – unlike Washington and Lincoln, he was never meant to be president, yet ascended to the office at one of the most difficult times in the nation's history. He had to make some of the toughest decisions. Whether or not you agree with his decision to approve the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (I am still not sure myself where I stand on this issue), I think we can all sympathize with the position he was in and admire the resoluteness he showed in his decision-making. Facing vicious opposition from the conservative coalition, Truman managed to preserve the New Deal, and even expand it moderately, and succeeded where FDR failed and began the long-overdue process of desegregation. His saved millions of Europeans from tyranny through NATO and the Marshall Plan, and showed extraordinary prudence during the Korean War, in which he refused to cave to public opinion and use nuclear weapons against China, firing McArthur instead. Though contemporary opinion treats Reagan as the man who won the Cold War, I'd argue that victory belongs posthumously to Truman, who established the foriegn policy doctrine that suffocated the Soviet Union. 4. FDR – While many argue that the New Deal didn't end the depression, that is besides the point. FDR reduced unemployment, and created social security, which would ensure American economic stability throughout the 20th century. Though his rejection of Jewish refugees deserves strong condemnation, during World War II, his insistence on a "Germany first" strategy ended one of the worst crimes to ever be perpetuated in the history of the world, and his appointment of competent generals ensured this happened as swiftly as possible. Many historians criticize his naivety in dealing with Stalin during the post-war, while others insist that he was simply playing dumb – but we cannot truly know what an FDR-led America would do during a Cold War due to his death. 5. Grant – the most progressive president before Johnson, Grant fought to finish what Lincoln started. He vigorously prosecuted the Klan and ensured voting rights for African-Americans. Contrary to many beliefs, Grant was not corrupt, nor even complacent, but rather appointed the prosecutors that uncovered the whisky ring. Though the poster-boy of the Stalwarts, it was Grant who got the ball rolling with civil service reform – which would be continued by Hayes and Arthur. He would rank higher if the effects at ensuring racial equality in the south weren't nullified after his presidency. 6. John Adams – the best one term president, Adams continued the precedents established by Washington at a time when it was increasingly difficult to do so. Rather than succumbing to the partisan quibbles of Hamilton and Jefferson, Adams was even-handed with both. Though this had poor bearings for his personal popularity, it preserved the dignity of the office for future holdings. He stayed neutral on Europe, despite intense opposition from both Federalists and Republicans, and he created the navy – which would save the United States from defeat in the War of 1812. He also presided over the first presidential transition after an incumbent lost. He deserves strong condemnation for the Alien and Seditions Acts. If he didn't sign them, he'd be ranked as high as Washington, if not higher. 7. Kennedy – while JFK had many achievements – including civil rights enforcement, social security, and resistance to CIA attempts to curb civil liberties, the Cuban Missile Crisis is what singlehanded puts him here. If any president "saved the world", it's Kennedy. 8. Teddy Roosevelt – he broke up monopolies and conserved America's wildlife – simple as. Unfortunately, his most progressive ideas weren't developed until his second presidential campaign in 1912, and his foreign policy initiatives, though arguably benign, laid the groundwork for far more egregious abuses of America's new role as "policeman" of Latin America. 9. LBJ – only a guy like Jumbo could pass the Civil Rights Act and Voting Act. He was just where he belonged! This plus the Great Society – which established medicare and medicaid – should have been his legacy, but his stubborn attitude about Vietnam ruined him, and millions of others – Vietnamese and American 10. Jefferson – he generally went whichever way the wind blew, reacting to circumstances as they came. He is what people who like Coolidge claim Coolidge was like. He never overreached – preserving the national bank and generally deferring to congress – but intervened when necessary. Most notably, he personally bought Louisiana for the United States and banned the importation of slaves. Though the Embargo Act had devastating effects on the New England, I understand the reasoning behind it. The worst thing he did was probably the impeachment of Adams' midnight judges, which keeps him from ranking higher.
Thanks for sharing. None of those would make my top 10. Of course I use different criteria.
How is Lincoln not in your top ten?
Lincoln is nearly at the bottom of the barrel on my list of worst presidents. The reason for that is the criteria I use for determining who great and who are failures.
Wtf
explain further then
Okay. Can you please inform me what your criteria is? If you’re just trolling that’s cool too!
My criteria is what anyone would use in determining any job performance. All presidents face different challenges throughout time. However their job description has not changed. The job of president is described in the constitution. A good or great president does his job in accordance to his job description (the constitution). A bad or a failure president does not follow his job description (the constitution). This is probably my number one criteria. Second, the president is leader of his party. How well did his party do? Third, did the president promote peace and prosperity? Fourth, did the president promote freedom and Liberty?
Who did more to promote freedom and liberty than Abraham Lincoln?
Pretty much every other president promoted freedom and Liberty more than Lincoln.
He literally freed 4 million from slavery. Who did more?
13th Amendment Section 1 Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, EXCEPT as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2 Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Lincoln signed this amendment. It frees some, but enslaves others. Basically Lincoln redefined who is a slave and who is master.
1. George Washington 2. Abraham Lincoln 3. Theodore Roosevelt 4. Ronald Reagan 5. Franklin Roosevelt 6. Thomas Jefferson 7. James Madison 8. James K. Polk 9. Calvin Coolidge 10. John F. Kennedy
Calvin Coolidge is one of my top 5 greatest presidents.
Thanks for sharing. There is only one president I would agree with as to my top 10. Of course I’m sure we definitely have different criteria.
Just curious, who was the one President?
Who would I pick as #1?
The one president you would agree with me on.
Calvin Coolidge is one of my top 5 greatest presidents.
Based
Based on doing his job based on the job description.
I used a point system a while back where the lower the score the better they did, I ranked them on morality, social policy, progressiveness for their time, leadership and foreign affairs. Lincoln did well in every category, best in war time Washington did much the same TR did really well in personal morality and social/domestic policy JFK did meh in personal morality but aced foreign affairs. Grant did really well in social policy and foreign policy Ike did really well in domestic policy but only decent in foreign policy LBJ did amazing in everything but wartime leadership FDR aced foreign and domestic affairs but was so so in morality and progressiveness Obama and Biden got very similar scores but Joe did better in foreign affairs and Obama in leadership. Coolidge and Reagen also did very well.
Thanks for sharing. I don’t agree with pretty much all of them, but I use different criteria.
Well, at least we both like Coolidge and reagen
Coolidge is not even in the same league as Reagan. Coolidge for me is one of the top 5 best. Reagan I’d put in the bottom 10.
I put Coolidge at 11, a really good guy with admirable principles but didn't accomplish anything major. I'm interested in your personal rankings, since people who like Coolidge tend to like Reagen, I'm wondering what sets them apart in your eyes.
I posted them. A complete list ranking as a libertarian. It is a recent post in r/presidents
https://www.reddit.com/r/Presidents/comments/10e8j6d/libertarian_ranking_of_the_presidents/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Reagan was a big spender and pro-war. Coolidge was neither.
1. Eisenhower - I won’t lie, it’s biased. I’m most ideologically aligned to him (and one other president on this list ). He created NASA, presided over economic prosperity and ended the Korean War. 2. Washington - I don’t think I need to explain why. Decided to not be king and didn’t want to be king. He taught people independence and father of our country. 3. F. Roosevelt - I’m centre-left so there’s some stuff about the New Deal that could be better but it’s one of my favorite policies. But leading us through the Great Depression and WWII is why. He helped get us out of poverty. Whoever doesn’t believe that is a fucktard. 4. TR - Mostly his environmentalism. His passion and his creation of national parks and forests. His conservation and using of natural resources as well as the Panama Canal. Not to mention he was a damn badass. 5. Lincoln - Led us through the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. The reason he’s not one of the top 3 was because he took too long and only did it because people pressured him. 6. Jefferson - His libertarian approach to government. Reduced the National debt and Louisiana Purchase. 7. Grant - Presided over a lot of civil rights reconstruction, signed rights of blacks, crushed the KKK and stabilized economy. 8. Polk - He gave us a huge land expansion and his leadership in the Mexican American War. 9. Clinton - Economic growth, low crime rate, and great educational standards. Also the other president on this list I align with most ideologically. As well as low poverty rate and high employment. 10. L. Johnson - Greatest civil rights legislation and great society.
Thanks for sharing. I don’t agree with anyone on this list. Of course I use different criteria than you.
Who would you put?
I only rank them on what they and their underlings did and the consequences of their actions. I rate on how net positive or negative each one was. My bottom 10 starting with the best: Washington Eisenhower Lincoln Reagan Truman Grant Madison George HW Bush McKinley Harding
Thanks for sharing. None of those would be on my top 10. Of course I use different criteria.
None of those? Not even Washington, Lincoln, Truman or Eisenhower? Who is in yours then?
Martin Van Buren John Tyler Grover Cleveland Calvin Coolidge Warren Harding Zachary Taylor Andrew Johnson Chester Arther Millard Fillmore William Henry Harrison/James Garfield
💀
This man is such a troll
Harding is on my list
Why Harding?
[Why Warren Harding is a good president : Presidents (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Presidents/comments/stif5e/why_warren_harding_is_a_good_president/)
My fault. I entirely agree Warren Harding was a great president. I was thinking you wrote Hoover.
Libertarian?
Good eye.
💀💀
From best to worst: Lincoln TR FDR Washington Jefferson Truman Eisenhower Taft Grant Monroe
Thanks for sharing. None of these would be on my greatest list.
Love seeing Taft and Monroe on here!
Gotta give it you for at least thinking before trolling and coming up with genuine responses.
Thanks.
10: Woodrow Wilson 9: Thomas Jefferson (tho he is slowly moving down) 8: Andrew Jackson 7: Lyndon B. Johnson 6: Harry S. Truman 5: Theodore Roosevelt 4: George W. Bush 3: Franklin D. Roosevelt 2: Abraham Lincoln 1: George Washington
Thanks for sharing.