10. Lyndon Baines Johnson
A team of experts recently commissioned by C-SPAN had to definitively scale our 45 presidents from worst to best, and you might not expect their results. Their rankings were decided by a bunch of different factors such as public persuasion, international relations, crisis leadership, and vision while in office.
So which of the presidents since 1774 were the best of the best? We’ve compiled those presidents who made the top 10, and whether you agree with the results or not, here are the results!
Lyndon Baines Johnson, or LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States and scored high on C-SPAN’s survey for keeping good relations with Congress and pursuing equal justice for all during his time in office from 1963 until 1969. LBJ scored low for international relations, but he certainly made up for it domestically.
9. Ronald Reagan
Johnson passed many domestic laws affecting civil rights, gun laws, and welfare, as well as expanded Medicare and Medicaid and passed Social Security into law.
Serving as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 until 1989, the ninth best president in history is none other than Ronald Reagan. President Reagan is well known for his policy of Reaganomics, as well as for ending the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
8. John F. Kennedy
He is also remembered for his iconic speech in West Germany, standing in front of the Berlin Wall, in which he told Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!”.
Coming in at number eight on the list is John F. Kennedy.
7. Thomas Jefferson
Serving as the 35th President of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963, He holds the title of being the first and only Roman Catholic to hold the position of president. He established the Peace Corps and was leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but Kennedy scores highest for his abilities in public persuasion and holding a crystal clear vision for the country.
Founding Father Thomas Jefferson is the 7th best president of the USA. Serving as the nation’s third president from 1801 until 1809, he was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.
6. Harry S. Truman
Jefferson also orchestrated the Louisiana Purchase with France, doubling the size of the United States at the time. While he was an advocate of religious freedom and tolerance, Jefferson falls short because he didn’t pursue equal justice for ALL Americans.
Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States and 6th on our list, served in the US Army during World War I and took office just after the completion of World War II. Holding office from 1945 until 1953, he used his veto power an astounding 180 times.
5. Dwight D. Eisenhower
He unfortunately is also the only president to have used nuclear weapons. He ranks high in the categories of crisis leadership, pursuing justice for all and for performance.
Army-General-turned-politician Dwight D. Eisenhower served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961.
4. Theodore Roosevelt
He scored high for his crisis leadership, as well as his international relations and moral authority. Dwight was responsible for implementing the desegregation of the armed forces, which has consistently put him on the tops surveys as one of the most admired men ever.
No. 4 is Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909.
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Responsible for the creator of the National Parks and Forests system, Roosevelt also expanded the Navy, began the construction of the Panama Canal, and won a Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
The other Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, or FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 until 1945. He, most notably, was the only president who was elected four times.
2. George Washington
FDR led the nation through the roughest times. Navigating the nation in the Great Depression and all the way to victory in World War II, He was a master a crisis leadership and public persuasion. He also established many social and economic reforms as part of the New Deal in an attempt to pull the US out of the Great Depression.
The second highest-ranking president of all time, George Washington was the founding President of the United States. Washington defined the nation as a Founding Father from 1789 to 1797, where he helped establish the seat of government and the tax system, elemental parts of the US government.
He was also the leader of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.