Best:
1. Abraham Lincoln-- He kept together our divided nation.
2. George Washington-- So far, he's about the only major leader of a revolution not to accept totalitarian powers; also, he establish the real-world application of our constitution.
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt-- Carried us through the Great Depression and WWII.
4. Theodore Roosevelt-- He was a major factor in our country's ascension as a superpower.
5. Woodrow Wilson-- Like Theodore Roosevelt, he was a leader who made our country a player in world events. Also, I think of Wilson as one of the many Cassandras of world history- few shared his views on world peace until it was too late.
Honorable mention: Harry Truman, Thomas Jefferson, Dwight D. Eisenhower
Worst:
5. Warren G. Harding-- Scandal-ridden, do-nothing president.
4. Ulysses Grant-- His administration included the majority of Reconstruction, which led to the alienation of the South that still separates that region from the rest of us today. Also, Grant was a weak leader whose subordinates repeatedly broke the law.
3. Millard Fillmore-- part of a long string of inept leaders whose weaknesses lead up to the Civil War.
2. Calvin Coolidge-- His economic policies and personal sloth allowed for the mass of excesses on the stock market that led to the Great Depression.
1. James Buchanan-- Inept in economic matters, unable to hold the nation together.
Dishonorable Mention: Franklin Pierce, John Adams, Richard Nixon.
Most Over-rated:
Ronald Reagan-- He provided a strong face for the people to follow, but his economic record is exaggerated, and most people seem to have forgotten the rampant corruption that ran throughout his administration, culminating in the Iran-Contra scandal.
John Kennedy-- He paid lip service and little else to civil rights while cleaning up his own messes in foreign affairs. Most of the accomplishments he's given credit for were really the work of Lyndon Johnson.
Thomas Jefferson-- I think his administration was strong, and he rectified the excesses of the Adams administration. However, all of his greatest work came before his presidency.
Most Under-rated:
Rutherford B. Hayes-- He ended the period of Reconstruction, a failed experiment that alienated the South without advancing civil rights.
William Taft-- He has the strongest monopoly-busting record of any president, and he was a strong advocate of world peace.
Jimmy Carter-- The economy actually improved under Carter (albeit slightly); his administration helped restore integrity to the White House, and made human rights a focus of foreign policy.
Strongest Foreign Policy Presidents:
George Bush (the elder), Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon, Harry Truman
Strongest Social Policy Presidents:
Lyndon Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson,
Grover Cleveland
Strongest Economic Policy Presidents:
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, Theodore Roosevelt, Grover Cleveland
"We are going to build a great society..."