The Best (And Worst) Presidents In History According To Historians
Where does your favorite president rank?
Every few years, C-SPAN conducts a survey of historians from around the country, asking them to rank all of the US presidents. The survey is extremely in-depth and each president is given a composite score that tracks their performance. The scores are then ranked, and the results are released.
C-SPAN has conducted this survey four times since the year 2000. Every cycle, more respondents are added. The most recent survey, given in 2021, had over 140 participants. Most of the participants in the survey are academics who teach and hold positions at various universities around the country.
Here is where historians rank the US presidents based on a comprehensive survey of their performance.
Top 5
The top 5 best presidents have some solid names and some surprises. The top three are Lincoln, Washington, and Roosevelt, in that order. Lincoln and Washington were consensus #1 and #2. After FDR, the list features Teddy Roosevelt and Ike Eisenhower. Both are interesting selections.
