Best U.S. Presidents

Ronald Reagan made America great. I rank presidents based on the prosperity of the American people. Ronald Reagan did more for this country than any other leader in US history. Period. By ending communism Reagan made the world safer than in any time in human history.

Never has been and never will be a better President than Ronald Reagan, end of argument.

I'm British and I remember how popular Ronald Reagan was with the British people when he visited in the 1980s. I wish Britain had a leader half as good as Mr Reagan.

Best president by a long way. No one else comes close to this great man.

President Reagan is the best ever , PERIOD

I wish we had another Ronald Reagan today. He united our country, opposed evil in the World and gave us hope for the future. Greatest President in modern times.

My family prospered more under Reagan than under any other president. Best president EVER!!!

funny how the "guests" are the only ones ripping Mr. Reagan so let me the first guest to agree with the fact the he was far and away the best president in the past century. I remember vividly the 80's and the fact that anyone who wanted to work, DID! Anyone could make a good living in the 80's if they wanted to. This isnt an opinion or a speculation by any means. I was there. I lived it. I watched Reagan and how well he did first hand! WE NEED HIM NOW!!!!

Great man, great president. My personal favorite, and probably the greatest modern president.

He was a very good president!

Best That I have seen

very good man

great

Good man!

You are a fool, he was great!

I liked him a lot

Best in my 50 years

Easily the best ever! Nobody brought this country together as one better then him.

Great President!!

As diplomatic as they come. Reagan never felt the need to apologize for the US especially to those countries that the US bailed out of more than one jam. He deserves the top spot.

Great President that got the country believing in itself again.

Reagan wasn't responsible for the spread of ADS. Any assertion to the contrary is part in parcel with why so many died. They didn't bother to take precautions. Statistically, few died through no fault of their own.

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

How is Reagan this far down? He's the best President we've had in over 50 years.

Reagan gave us 25 years of prosperity. Nixon, Ford and Carter had the country poised to be in worse shape than it is today. In the 70s, Howard Ruff was predicting the kinds of things that people are predicting today. When Ruff was asked why his predictions didn't come true, he said he didn't foresee Reagan's election. Reagan should be in the top five.

WHAT?!?! He's number 39?!?! Who wrote this? In my books, which in my opinion outranks this particular list, he's 1st or 2nd or 3rd. I don't know just yet. I mean he's fighting with Teddy Roosevelt and JFK. That's pretty hard.

How can you people possibly call him a bad president? He tore down the Berlin wall! He ended communism! He is more than a national hero, he's an international hero. I fully expected him to be in the top ten, and am completely appalled to find him this low on the list. RIP Ronald Reagan.

Wow. Guest really hates Reagan. And historical fact.

Best president ever brought us out of the worst economic shape our country was ever in (besides the Great Depression)

HAHAHA! I love how nobody's had the guts in two years (or just hated him) to comment on this guy! This man was the best president we've ever had!! Ever!!

Set a fine example for other presidents, adhered to the Constitution he became president under, and got all the big decisions right.

The best

To those that say that he wasnt president during the independe of US...he was. An looking of the definition of President is strictly states that he is a leader, and nonetheless as General he was just that. He wanted to be the leader of his people and wasn't going to be sitting behind a desk giving order like the King of Britian, he was a fighter and thats that. He is hands down a great president and leader.

In most lists on the Internet and in countless newspaper and magazine articles when the question of who was the greatest American President has been asked, Lincoln has invariably been voted the greatest president. Personally I believe that Lincoln had the more difficult task as he was trying to hold together a rapidly disintegrating country and the outcome of the Civil War was in the balance for most of the 4 years of conflict. Sadly Lincoln was to pay the ultimate price.

Washington was by far the best President in our history hands down. The person before me did such a good job, I can only say ditto!

Washington, as President, setup many of the presendents that we take for granted. He stepped aside from power twice, as general and then as President. World leaders were impressed that a man would step aside - no one had ever done that. Washington established that the U.S. Constitution must govern, that we are a country of laws and not of men, meaning that while other rulers had always subordinated their legal documents to their wishes, Washington subordinated the Presidency to the Constitution. He set other precedents that might seem trivial, but actually have importance, such as addressing the President as Mr. President rather than your Excellency. He held together the fragile young country as no other man could have at the time.

golden123 makes a very valid point. This list IS about the best U.S. presidents and not its generals. I really cannot think of a single thing that Washington achieved as president that would highlight his tenure in office.

@Bignelly2: In case you haven't noticed the title of this list is 'Best U.S. Presidents-Top Presidents of the United States" and George Washington may have helped us win the War that made us a free nation but he didn't do that as President he did that as a General and this list isn't called top U.S. Generals.

frist off there were no americans before washigton, you were brittish colonists who lived in Brittish North America, only after the revolution were you americans. and i agree with tboneya that without washington you whould have gottin independance, probably at the same time as canada as one nation not two. so yes, america as you know it whuld be very different.

I especially love the way he worded the Treaty of Tripoli and boldly stated that "the united states of America is in no sense founded on christianity." Also. he hated the jews.

Quite obviously, tboneya ,we have diametrically opposing views on Washington's impact on the the shaping of America as a country. I maintain that America would have taken a similar course and arrived at where it is today whether Washington was at the helm or not. I also believe that there have been more influential leaders of our great country than Washington, FDR to name but one. Please don't misunderstand me, I have great respect for what Washington did for the fledgling United States, but for me, personally, I place others above him.

Now....I'm in no way disrespecting or trying to limit the pioneering spirit or fighting ability of my ancestors. My family fought in the American Revolution. I know that it was through the great character of those people that Independence was not only attained, but made to endure. Still, any movement has to have a leader who binds them together, inspires them, and persuades them to stay the course in the low times. Who else could have taken the leadership role? Gates, Lee, Arnold? Those were the leading officers who tried to replace or betray Washington at one time or another. All were at least complete failures, at most traitorist scum. Washington was the right man in the right place at the right time. Through defeat, low morale, massive desertion and attrition, and having to deal with defeatist characters not only in the Continental Congress, but in his own officer corps, he was the constant rock the Revolution always leaned on. Let us also not forget the contribution he made in leading a new nation while it got on it's feet. He could have arguably been a military dictator, or even King George I, if he so desired. The seeds for self determination that had already taken root in the collective consciousness of the American people manifested itself in Washington and leaned on him when many other popular causes in history have withered and died on the vine. While I'm not saying that this part of our world wouldn't have eventually achieved some type of Canadian-like status, I assure you, America would be a very different place if not for Washington.

Sure it's true. Washington was the key catalyst in Americans attaining Independence. There was a very large percentage of Colonists who wanted to remain loyal to the king. When you add in the 1/3 or so who just didn't give a damn, then the majority of Americans didn't support Independence, at least at first. In fact, many of the members of the Continental Congress were very reluctant to take a stand against the king. It was only through King George's stubborn, arrogant attitude toward the Colonies that they were driven to support the Independence movement.....continued below.....

That is simply not true. By attributing much of the positives aspects of American history and society to the influence of Washington is,in my opinion, demeaning the huge debt of gratitude we all owe to the pioneering spirit of the Americans who came before and after Washington. Washington certainly wasn't the catalyst for change that most people believe him to be; the seeds for self determination had already taken root in the collective consciousness of the American people long before Washington appeared on the scene.

Assuming anything, when it comes to history, leaves open a very wide and diverse range of possibilities. Thanks to cable, books, and other methods of mass media and communication, Washington's "warts" as well as those of many of the other Founding Fathers are well known. So much so that Americans forget how important they were not only to American, but World History that followed. Much of what the American People became, happened because of Washington. Things would look very different today if not for him.....

Oh,I'm sure,knowing the American people, that there WOULD have been a United States sooner or later,with or without the presence of Washington. Whilst my intention was not to demerit his achievements, I felt that a more rounded profile of the man was needed;warts and all.

Every American, who prides themselves in being an American (United States Citizen), should have a picture of Washington in their home. There would be no United States if not for him. His perserverance as a General, and his steady, firm and unselfish guidance as President, enabled the United States to not only gain it's independence, but survive long enough to make it stick. Like any man, he had his shortcomings, but they pale compared to the positive aspects of the man. Like I always tell my students, he deserves the title "Father of His Country." A true American Cincinnatus.

Washington owned many slaves and , apparently ,didn't treat them very well; he was a hard taskmaster. He may have been America's saviour in the Revolutionary War, but he hard a darker side which few Americans actually know about. I believe that he has been too highly rated and doesn't deserve his lofty position in this list.

A great man and a great president.

the best president

Few other presidents faced a greater challenge, and as such no other president accomplished as much as Lincoln did, and managed to keep the country together and end slavery.

Great president and a great human being who genuinely cared about his fellow man. He absolutely hated the terrible loss of life of the Civil War, but there was no way that it could be avoided.

awesome president

First Modern Day Republican president

@golden123 Lincoln issued the Proclamation under his authority as "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy" under Article II, section 2 of the United States Constitution.[3] As such, he had the martial power to suspend civil law in those states which were in rebellion. He did not have Commander-in-Chief authority over the four slave-holding states that had not seceded: Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware. The Emancipation Proclamation was never challenged in court. To ensure the abolition of slavery everywhere in the U.S., Lincoln pushed for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. Congress passed it by the necessary 2/3 vote in February 1865 and it was ratified by the states by December 1865.[4]

okay Lincloln should so be first he did so many amazing things and he was really honest!

@golden123, how can you hate the man that had to take charge of the US during its worse time in history. Who on earth at the time would've done better than Lincoln. None. He preserved that US in the brink of its end, how much better can a President get? And yes the war wasnt on slavery alone other things were going down but it was that issue that truly divided the country at the time. He was a genius that saved this country!

Good president. Had to govern in troubling times.

He Started the fight to help end slavery he keep our countryin one peace and all you racist sons of biches who disagree go suck a dick and go to hell

Along with Martin Luther King jnr, one of the finest human beings ever to grace the planet.

President at worst time in American history. Despised and ridiculed, often marks of the truly great.

I strongly agree with dah comment before mine! Without Lincoln we would still be in slavery!

Helped prevented slavery. Without him, we could've been the worst country ever. GO LINCOLNNNNN

Abraham Lincoln was a really good president, who deserves to be ranked number 1! Shame on you who disagrees!

@golden123 I know I'm feeding a troll here, but just in case. The Civil War started because states succedded from the union, and to allow parts of your country to just leave would send a very poor message to your people, risking even more succesion. The states that succeded did so because for many reasons, but mainly because they thought the national governtment had to much power compared to states (under a confederacy the states have the bulk of the power) and, slavery. If it were not for slavery then they would not have succeded, as Lincoln would have never tried to repeal it, witch is what caused the large debate that led to succession in the first place. (i am a different person then the previous guest)

@guest: Do your research before making a fool of youself with your comments because the war wasn't about slavery. People did not go into the war because of slavery. There was states on the union sides who had slaves, and guess what when Abraham Lincoln originally wrote the Emancipation Proclomation it was just a war strategy nothing more or less. The Emancipation Proclomation didn't apply to the slave states on the union side they just applied to the slave states on the confederacy that way the slaves in the south would go on strike and it was supposed to affect the confederacy then after the war Abe passed the thirteenth admenment mostly so this greedy man could "keep a reputaton".

Abraham Lincoln was the best president ever. He not only beat Johnny Rebel's butt, but he even in the midst of the war he setup the transcontinental railroad, the transatlantic cable, and had many other accomplishments. He ended slavery, which was the only reason the Confederacy was ever formed. If you say we when talking about the Confederates, then you say that slavery was right. Lincoln ended it and was indeed the greatest president ever.

plus he started the republican party! thanks alot abe

Abe was one of worst presidents to exist in the USA the Confederates should of been kept in peace and the Union should have taken there soilders out of Fort Sumter when we (notice I say we) became our own country. In my eyes he is the selfish dude that wanted to preserve his name and get the power the, but I will say he had nothing to do with the Confederacy being treated badly before the war because the war started almost as soon as he got into office

I really don't think that Lincoln deserves to be up this high on the list. He did an amazing thing in preserving the union. However as a president, he made some questionable decisions aside from the civil war.

He was a good president!!!

Good President.

Good President but not in top 5. Probably around 10th.

Great Presdient!!

How long have you been a colostomy bag with ears?

I think teddy deserves to be a little higher than this

With reference to the previous contributor's posting: Difficult to take seriously someone who is only able to provide a one sentence critique of my post, when you are not prepared to tell us how much research you have done into TR's tenure as president. I suspect that the reason you are not prepared to expand on that single sentence is because you don't possess the debating skills with which to do it.

Forgot to mention that I too can't put up a cogent argument pro or con about TR. It's because I am a colostomy bag with ears.

To the last poster: When you can engage in an intelligent, fact-based, logical debate, instead of presenting a typically wishy-washy, empty response,which is totally devoid of any effort to activate your limited thought processes, then your comments might be worth reading.

Great President despite what the myopic previous poster would have you believe.

With respect,the guy who posted that charwoody and the truth are total strangers obviously knows very little about the real Teddy Roosevelt. I find it bizarre that people make inane and vacuous comments without bothering to research the people they make comments about.

The more you read about the political history of our great country the more you discover that many of our leaders are a mishmash of personalties. Two books I have read about the life of TR do not paint a very rosy picture of the man. He most certainly wasn't the likeable ,fun-loving person his outward persona often portrayed. The guy who posted the comments starting with " Grew up a rich kid", in part gives a pretty accurate description of the man. I urge more Americans to read more about the men who shaped our country in to get a more rounded picture of the individual. If you don't research the people you comment about in these posts then how can you post accurate assessments about them?

TR was a great president, his tough and bloodlust made it easier for him to bring down the monopolies in the US and cared for the work force...he redefined the "Carry a Big Stick" policy and it worked. He was a great guy, and who know were we'd be in McKinley was President...problably corrupt and running with Monopolies!

Grew up a rich kid whose parents told him he would be the greatest person who ever lived. By 10, he was an expert on birds, and would tell you so. Egomaniacal and a shameless self-promoter, TR's own myth about what he did with the Roughriders (they didn't actually have horses) on San Juan Hill was debunked and an application for his Medal of Honor was denied. He then got elected New York governor, but the N.Y. Republican bosses got tired of his five-hour spiels about the red-crested finch and begged the national GOP to pair him with McKinley and get this motormouth out of Albany already. Then McKinley gets his ass shot up, and TR's president by amazing luck. He wins the Nobel Peace Prize -- odd for a gleeful warhawk -- starts national parks, probably to protect the birds, and gets the Panama Canal built although he first had to meddle in Colombia's internal affairs to do it. He got a lot done, and he'd tell you that. After the White House, TR soon misses being everyone's center of attention and so runs again on his own ticket, thus splitting the Republicans and handing the Democrats the presidency for the first time in a generation. Then TR goes to Africa and shoots up defenseless animals who are headed for the endangered list just to say that he did it -- this, by supposedly a nature lover. In his final years Teddy is a pathetic figure, droning on and on about birds on the beach to his grandchildren, who seem to be the only ones who will listen and that's because they have to. The rumor that on his deathbed, TR yelled "Put me on Mount Rushmore!" and then expired, is not true. But it could have been.

charwoody and the truth are total strangers.

Puffed-up, self- important and at times quite obnoxious, individual and those are his good points. His military career outshone his tenure as president. Probably should be rated in the mid twenties.

He was vastly overrated. Shouldn't even be in the top 30.

There were many better presidents than Teddy Roosevelt

In my books, he's at number 1. I mean he had the choice to either go on a sarfi, or strike a peace treaty with Russia and Japan. He did BOTH. I can go on and show just how lame I am, but I won't force you through that.

charwoody-Teddy Roosevelt niece was Eleanor Roosevelt, distant cousin to FDR

He President, he was very highly regarded. He established the National Parks System, promoted social welfare, updated the military, and promoted a progressive agenda

He was the first to try to reform healthcare.

For your information golden123. Hunting for food is one thing, contributing to almost decimate a species, such as the buffalo is quite another. Perhaps you can explain why he felt the need to travel to many parts of the world to shoot and kill all kinds of animals in order to display them as trophies. It was only in his later years that he came to realise that his actions in killing all those animals was wrong,but far too late in my opinion. As president he is not very highly regarded and would never be considered as one of the best. If not for the assassination of President William Mckinley in 1901, Roosevelt might never have become president,which would have been no great loss.

@Charwoody: explain to me why his 'bloodlust 'has anything to do with him being president. He liked to hunt GOD GAVE US the creatures around us for several reasons one of them being food.

Nothing could slake this horrible man's bloodlust. There wasn't a creature on the planet that Roosevelt hadn't killed at one time or another. May have been distantly related to FDR, but not in the same league as a president.

Oh? You think conservatives cared for Bush?

I served in Iraq and the people there(for the most part) thanked us for helping us defeat an evil dictator in Saddam. Saddam killed millions of people, millions of his own and even children

Well they couldn't agree with any of the puerile tripe that you continue to spout,that's for sure.

Changed my mind. Obama is easily the worst.

History will prove he was right.

He was not afraid to do the right thing.

He kept America safe from terrorists.

Hmmm, Bush is to Hoover as FDR is to Obama. Maybe we should learn from our mistakes guys.

Right you are Ranglku86, but Bush got almost everything wrong so that's why he deserves a spot at the bottom. You're a sympathetic person who deserves respect, though, so I wont hold you to it.

I know he did some questionablle things, but from what I have read in all these comments that every single president did something wrong. The problem is that no offense to anybody we are never happy. We say oh I really want this president in office so we vote him and he does great for a while then on mistake turns him in worse president ever. Is he really worse than Clinton? How long is it going to take before Obama is the worst president ever? its really all up to opinion in the end. Try to keep it respectful guys its just website.

As with Obama, WAYYY too soon to judge. Political kneejerking at its worst.

This dude was great!!!

"Liberals and democrats should wake up... Illegal Iraq war?!!!??? give me a break... He is not the greatest president ever but he sure as hell is not the worst...." quote/ Thank you for whoever said this, I fully agree with you!

Yep,it's true, George junior's real reason for invading Iraq was for regime change. He wanted to get rid of Sadman Insane, sorry Saddam Hussein.

Liberals and democrats should wake up... Illegal Iraq war?!!!??? give me a break... He is not the greatest president ever but he sure as hell is not the worst....

Why is Bush at the bottom? Screw that! Obama should be down here. Bush is way better then Obama.

wasnt a bad president by a long shot

he helped this country with the Louisiana Purchase..... ( DOUBLED THE SIZE OF THE COUNTRY)

Perhaps the greatest principles and ideals of any US president. Unfortunately, they did not transfer into actions during his presidency.

That wasn't the only thing that was complex about him. If you look back into history you will find that Jefferson was a good man with good intentions, and even good political theories. However, he contradicted himself at almost every turn when he became president, manly because when he tried to implement his political theories he would find that they didn't work in every situation.

He DID NOT HATE all religions. He just had complex religious views.

Love this man. He hated all religions and especially christianity.

For the person above I wouldn't exactly call him a bad president because of the Lousiana Purchase, eventhough we were offered most of it out of our surprise, but I loved his theories on how the government should work, he is my favorite founding father.

Good founding father, philosopher, and governmental theorist; bad president

Sort of like those acts that had to follow the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, Adams had a rough time of it after succeeding The Father of Our Country, and wouldn't anybody? He rebuilt the military quickly when war with France threatened to break out, and, instead, peace broke out. He had lots of disputes with Thomas Jefferson's crowd, who hadn't dared to challenge the intimidating Washington on his constitutional powers but viewed Adams as a guy who didn't quite measure up -- literally. Adams was maybe 8 inches shorter. In fact, he was the George Costanza of his day: short, bald, neurotic (probably wouldn't have gone as far in life without the undying support of wife Abigail, who was highly literate and one smart cookie when it came to politics), and rumpled (he'd neglect to change his clothes from day to day, unless Abigail reminded him to). Adams and Jefferson had this love-hate relationship for 50 years. They'd argue about everything. Or nothing. Sort of like George and Jerry on "Seinfeld," in fact. And Jefferson was his opposite: tall with thick red hair, presenting himself just so, and self-confident to the point of seeming condescending to everybody. Plus, Adams was an urbanite who hated slavery and Jefferson was country squire with lots of slaves. When these two went at it, it must have been very entertaining. Hey, all they needed was someone to be Kramer, and the show would have gone prime-time.

A great thinker and patriot, Adams was. A great president? Not so much. He signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which cracked down on free speech and were so unpopular that they are credited with making Adams a one-termer and strengthening the hand of his rivals, the Democratic-Republicans. As soon as his successor, Thomas Jefferson, took office, Jefferson pardoned everyone serving jail time due convictions under the Sedition Act.

He endured ferocious attacks by the other party, especially Jefferson, but also from his bitter opponent in his own party, Hamilton. With Washington, he set many precedents for the presidency, the government, and the country that we still use.

He called for federal expenditures on canals and roadways to link the United States. He also proposed government support for scientific research. The Jefferson crowd (the Democratic-Republicans) opposed him on these things, but then championed them when Jefferson was elected.

John Adams kept us out of war with France and normalized relations with both Britain and France.

Theodore Roosevelt should be ranked number four! What did John Adams do!

#4- ???

Mason

i liked this president the best.

He established nationwide protection of Indian tribes and lands against land grabs by the states. Unfortunately, his successor, Jackson, reversed these protections.

His policy was to use federal power to make freedom a concrete reality for all people. he South was afraid that his program of national power might lead to the abolition of slavery.

As the Secretary of State under Monroe, he was responsible for formulating what became known as the Monroe Doctrine. As the President that succeeded Monroe, he shaped that doctrine even more. He succeeded in creating treaties of reciprocity with Denmark, Mexico, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Prussia, Austria, and other countries.

Got Congress, controlled by the other party, to pass the Tariff of 1828. The goal of the tariff was to protect industries in the northern United States which were being driven out of business by low-priced imported goods by putting a tax on them. The British were using predatory practices, selling goods under cost to put American producers out of business. The tariff was vehemently opposed in the south, but averted an economic collapse.

He proposed that the Federal Government bring the sections together with a network of highways and canals, and that it develop and conserve the public domain, using funds from the sale of public lands. At the end of his presidency, he broke ground for the 185-mile C & 0 Canal (1828).

He supported internal improvements including the extension of the Cumberland Road.

John Adams' son , but I totally disagree with this!

Still like Ike.

helped establish nasa

Great man!

good

wish we had him now!

Great Man!

The right man at the right time.

Eisenhower was a good president, despite the several recessions that happened during his presidency. Other than that, he is one of the best Republican presidents.

Horribly underrated. He presidency was peaceful and economically successful. He should be, at least, in the bottom of the top ten. But it wasn't of the colorful variety and thus easy to ignore. Who, with any knowledge of history, could rate him lower than Carter, Obama, Taylor, Grant, Clinton, McKinley, or JQ Adams

You know why he isn't rank higher? Cause most people on here aren't smart enough to open a book, look to through the past and see what a great man he was.

His policies allowed the Great Depression to last longer than it really should have.

charwoody is unfit to be around people.

The top three rated presidents on this list is,in my opinion, exactly right. The problem, it seems to me, is the alignment of presidents further down the list.

Hoover started none of it. Hoover said the government should do nothing to help the people. And socialist? Not on your life. But he did believe that government could be used for the good of the people.

Hoover actually started most of those plans.

Augutus of the moden age.

Overrated socialist.

I'm guessing all of those who said that FDR was the reason we were in the Depression, have never actually found out the real facts. The Depression started far before FDR even entered office. Does the Stock Market Crash of October 1929 ring any bells? How about toward the latter days of the 20's with overspeculation into the stock market, buying on margin, and the Federal Reserve Bank keeping interest high and doing nothing for the people when the crash occured? If you do have to blame a president for the Depression, blame Hoover. He and his administration did nothing for the common man. Because of his firm belief that the U.S. would eventually just magically start to recover as part of the Business Cycle, without any direct aid, is as big of a blunder as you can get. Hoover never left Washington D.C. or met those who were unemployed which consenquently was something FDR frequently did. There was a reason that the 12 million homeless called their shacks Hoovervilles. Hoover knew he was doing a bad job at controlling the situation and was a bitter/paranoid man towards the end of his presidency. However, I won't be a complete bigot because every president has his ups & downs. Hoover did administer food during WWI, but that doesn't mean crap when you get into the White House, experience one of the worst economic crisis in history, yet feed steak to your dog and ignore the cries of the American people. FDR had his failures concerning his New Deal, but you can't say it was in vain. It created thousands of jobs for people and gave the common man the courage to not give up during those hard times. He's my favorite president not only because he got us through the Great Depression, but because he gave Americans courage through the darkest days of the Depression, all the way to the horendous attack on Pearl Harbor. And plus...he gave us one of the greatest quotes in history : There's nothing to fear but fear itself.

Let us not blame the WHOLE depression on FDR. Instead, his adminstritation (at least the controllable part of the ecconmy). He did well with WWII and had a smart VP. Without Truman, who knows what would have happened in the Pacific.

Good president, but overrated, particularly for his 'ending the depression'. Many of his policies actually extended the depression. And the four elections he won (understandable not to change leader in time of war) led to the 22nd amendment limiting the president to two terms. Anybody thinking this was a bad idea can think of a third Clinton or Bush term.

You've got your facts wrong. FDR inherited a deficit, but up until WWII had eliminated the national debt...the last president to do so. He did leave a debt, but that was because WWII was expensive. He was a great president, the only one elected 4 times (and that will remain because the jealous Republicans then demanded the two term limit).

FDR did not get us out of the great depression...the incredible amount of jobs that were created due to our involvement in WWII created SOOOO many jobs and boosted our economy...it was certainly not FDR's "new deal" all that did was send our national deficit through the roof...and obama is about to do the same thing!

He prolonged the Great Depression.

i like FDR, but not his isolationist apporch to the war, it was just as bad as chaimberlins appeisment polices towards hitler. but he did lead the U.S. out of the "Great Depression" so he's definatly up there for best president

I think the New Deal only temporaily halted the Depression but it sure did keep the country from deeper turmoil. WW2 actually solved many problems.It was still the best FDR could do and it was fairly better than Hoover's hand-off policy.

Thank the Good Lord that the vast majority of Americans are decent, sane and law abiding citizens,but as in every society there are people who are obviously deranged and should be institutionalised . It is one thing to disagree with the policies of a particular party or its Chief Executive, and quite another to spew out blasphemous and defamatory remarks that prove just one thing. YOU ARE NOT FIT TO CALL YOURSELF AN AMERICAN!

FDR was a total bastard and knew the attack on Pearl Harbor was coming and left our men there without warning. Some of us access the FOIA and face the truth of our rotten government. He provoked the attack in order to go to war to get richer, he was a scum sucking jew bastard.

Absolutely agree with you,tboneya. No question about it FDR has been universally acclaimed as one of the greatest US presidents. A great president and also a great human being. Certainly deserves his place in history.

To blame the "Great Depression" on FDR is akin to blaming a snow storm on a weather man. God knows not only where the U.S. would be, but where the world would be without FDR in office at that time. Without a doubt the greatest American president of the 20th Century.

May I remind you that all the countries had a depression during that time, and it was only the "great" depression for the U.S.A. cause of him. 17 years of depression because of him.

Without doubt the greatest president of them all.Got people back to work after the Great Depression and helped to revitalize the country once again.

Began to bring the country out of the great depression. Returned hope to a desperate people, and led us through one of the worlds most horrible conflicts.

He was better than the son

he was OK

Same ones who elected Carter & Obama in.

A very good president.

the Monroe Doctrine was written by Adams, but monroe helped

I agree

Monroe should be way higher on the list. Era of good feelings mean anything? No president has ever been elected in such a landslide. Population boomed and he kept us out of war

Gave us the Monroe Doctrine, which was actually developed by his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams.

Great General but bad president, unlike Washington. But it wasnt really all his fault, his own cabinet turned against him and he trusted the. He was their puppet, poor guy. But still he did nothing to fix things, so that bad. Question: How he get on the 50 dollar bill?

hes just in the top 20 because of the civil war

Good general, but a terrible president.

Grant attempted to quash the Ku Klux Klan (suspending habeas corpus in South Carolina and ordering mass arrests) and supported for the Civil Rights Act of 1875. Both were controversial and may have produced only short-lived gains for African-Americans, but Grant's intentions were laudable and brave. He also worked for the good of American Indians, instituting the reservation system as an imperfect, last-ditch effort to protect them from extinction.

A fantastic military mind and a GREAT President. I see lots of reasons showing why he was good. If you think he was bad, state your reasons (as in his policies or actions).

A fantastic military mind, an awful president.

His greatest accomplishment might have been the Treaty of Washington, which demilitarized the border with Canada, made it disadvantageous for the US, England, or Canada to fight each other, and has led to the 139 years of peace on the longest non-military border in the world.

He presided over much of reconstruction and, though his successor ended it abruptly, was making great progress when he left office. He won passage of the 15th Amendment, which gave freedmen the right to vote. He worked hard to reverse governmental policy on Native American lands and tried to protect them from encroachment through westward expansion, though he had to fight Congress to do so.

On the bad side, his presidency was riddled with various scandals and he drank to excess. However, he was a very popular president, partially because of his leadership as the general who eventually ended the war, but also because his accomplishments while President.

Everyone says "this guy was the best," "this guy was the worst." How about backing it up with historical facts?

What. Ulysses Grant this high on the list? He is without doubt the worst president we ever had.

His declaration of war wasn't a bad thing. He was tired of the British harrassing him in the great lakes, and he thought "we beat you once and we will fight you again." It gave Americans a sense of patriotism.

Believe me there are many far worse presidents than JFK on this list

Kennedy doesn't belong in the top 1/3. Middle 1/3 is about right.

I've just read Seymour Hersh's expose of the Kennedy White House years entitled " The Dark Side of Camelot" and, frankly, it paints a very sordid picture not just of JFK, but of the entire Kennedy clan. The old man ,Joe Kennedy , was a truly loathesome individual who was actively involved in corruption and undoubtedly bought the 1960 presidency for his son with the aid of organized crime. He(Joe) was also depicted as a coward, having fled Britain, when he was US ambassador, as soon as Hitler's bombs started falling on London. Hersh's research for his book was gleaned from several reputable sources including named Secret Service personnel who were present in the White House during Kennedy's time. Hersh also obtained much source material as a result of the Freedom of Information Act. The book makes truly riveting reading and Kennedy has certainly gone way down in my estimation as a president.

If StainBuster had lived in Salem,Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials he would have been burned at the stake for being able to predict the future. What a shame they don't have witch trials today!

Rated way too high. Loved only in death. Most of his dreams were carried out by Johnson, including Vietnam!

"Didn't really do much." Those are the most profound and all-encompassing words ever uttered by a human being whose intellect knows no bounds.

Didn't really do much.

Oh JFk youre number one#1 always youre my romodel. if you didnt get assasinated. you wouldve changed many things, we would of be in the next frontier already but Lee Harvey had to shoot you.......

Highly overrated. May he rest in peace, but if he had not be assassinated, he would be rated as a very mediocre president.

he should not be #7...

I personally think he was a great president but not the best. maybe 10 on the list. Dont get me wrong still a great president.

HI, I'm from up there aways. JFK is number 2.

WHAT!? "I would rank JFK down because he did not serve a whole term". Forgive me, but I don't think that it was his idea to get assassinated and not finish a full term lol!

I would rank JFK down because he did not serve a whole term. He was a good President though and I'm sure if he was not assassinated, he would be higher ranked.

Mrbuddhafreak needs to actually read history. Eisenhower started our involvement in Vietnam. The buildup happened under Lyndon Johnson. And only through revisionism does anyone say that deride the Kennedy presidency that way. Avoid full out nuclear war when the US military was demanding it - that is a minor accomplishment? And everything ran smooth under Eisenhower? Try McCarthyism, with Eisenhower showing no moral leadership. Get your facts straight.

#6???? - This rating must have come from the same people who thought Barrack Obama earned the Nobel Peace Prize. The Kennedy presidency was a succession of scandals and crises. He was definitely a breath of life after the Eisenhower presidency, where everything ran well and smoothly. But, #6????. Can anybody voting for him spell Viet Nam?

my opinion is seperate to everyone else around the world i recon that he was the best by a smidge alongside linclon but his strength of character and purpose delivered us for what well have been a nuclear conflict during the Cuban Missile conflict.

Memo 263, which Kennedy signed in October 1963.Kennedy's national security adviser, Robert McNamara, has expressed the opinion that Kennedy would have withdrawn from Vietnam and not gone ahead with the war there. President Kennedy knew in 1964 it was wrong for the usa to be in Vietnam. It took the other presidents to 1975 understand we should not be there and to end the war.

Executive Order No. 11110 this was an attempt made to strip the Federal Reserve Bank of its power to loan money to the government at interest. President Kennedy was on his way to putting the Federal Reserve Bank of New York out of business.Kennedy brought nearly $4.3 billion in U.S. notes into circulation called silver certificates. If enough of these silver certificates were to come into circulation they would have eliminated the demand for Federal Reserve notes. This is because the silver certificates are backed by silver and the Federal Reserve notes are not backed by anything. Good bye Federal Reserve.

If you do the research, you will find that the not going through with the Bay of Pigs was the Joint Chief's call. He took the political heat for the chief's call. If anything, Kennedy learned from this that he needed to not trust the chief's, which served him well during the Missile Crisis.

For not going through with the Bay of Pigs I will rank him down.

Frankly, guest, you have just revealed your complete lack of knowledge of American history with your obtuse statement ,and I quote : 'HE DIDNT DO ANYTHING''. You are alive today thanks in no small measure to John Fitzgerald Kennedy's strength of character in forcing down that Russian tyrant Khruschev over the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. Thanks to JFK an almost certain Nuclear War was averted. Perhaps you should learn a little more about the history of your country and cease making such erroneous and idiotic statements. You should be ashamed of yourself.

You know this guy was voted in the top 3 over evaluated presidents, HE DIDNT DO ANYTHING! (Apart from get assassinated) no offence.

Oh my apoligies Tboneya, I assumed you were talking about Andrew because people often put Nixon and him in the same sentence if you know what I mean, but I'm pretty sure Nixon resigned before he could ever be impeached.

Golden123, I was referring to LBJ, not Andrew Johnson. Andrew Johnson wasn't president during the Cuban Missle Crises.

I might be wrong, but I assume tboneya is referring to L.B. Johnson and not Andrew Johnson.

Now before anybody talks bad about President Johnson find out what he did first. What he acutally got impeached for might surprise you.

I like JFK, I really do, but he shouldn't be # 7 on this list, IMO. Still, I shudder to think what would have happened if Nixon or Johnson would have been president during the Cuban Missle Crisis. We might not be here right now......

Although his morals leave a lot to be desired, his strength of character and purpose delivered us for what well have been a nuclear conflict during the Cuban Missile conflict.

You're kidding right? The man was a moron incapable of self restraint and he plunged the us into WWI

very good

His first term was one of the best by any president.

Is that first comment for real? The way Nixon got the US out of Vietnam was completely political and totally undignified. His detente policies were the complete opposite of Reagan's get tough policies. Truman and Kennedy were the ones who set the standard for dealing with the Soviets that the led to the Soviet regime's downfall.

Nixon was a crook and a liar, as proven in Watergate. He was paranoid and that paranoia ran throughout his administration. His foreign policy was terrible. He sold out our Chinese allies in Tawaiin to curry favor from the Reds, he said that no President should be reelected if he could not end the Vietnam War in his first term and he took 5 years to pull us out, and he fanned the flames of hate in the Middle East. He slandered Edmund Muskie, who would have beat him in 72 and destroyed the bond of trust between the President and the American people. Calling his foreign policy brilliant is either uninformed or dishonest.

What a waste. Could have been a great president, brilliant in foreign policy. However, did much more harm than good by being involved in Watergate, enemies lists, lying, leaving domestic policy to advisors, and being paranoid in general. His forced resignation is a blow the country will never fully recover from.....

Despite Watergate, Nixon brought us out of a political war in a very dignified, unpolitical manner. He also laid the foundation for Reagan's work in bringing down the U. S. S. R. by establishing peaceful negotiation, similar to China, which he helped to open up to the West

He actually did a lot. Many of his programs were carried on by FDR and yet FDR gets credit for them.

wallstreet was to blame

true

The depression was NOT his fault. it was wall streets!

Brilliant man.

A great humanitarian.

good man

He deserves a little higher! I mean he did invent the Model T.

Ford was basically honest and direct, which helped heal the nation after Watergate. But the aroma of an alleged deal with Nixon (I'll make you president if you agree to pardon me, Gerry) permeated his presidency. I am a great admirer, however, of the recently deceased First Lady, Betty Ford, whose courage in coming forward with her alcohol problems helped lift the stigma and led countless others to face up to theirs. Before Betty Ford, most people hid their battles with the bottle. Betty fought the good fight with humor and candor, and lived to be 93. A great lady!

Ford helped out country heal from our great national nightmare.

His daughter Margaret couldn't sing. Now I'm waiting for a phone call from Heaven, in which Harry will give me Hell! (Hint to the uninformed: this actually happened to a newspaper music critic who commented on Margaret's singing, except that Harry was alive at the time.)

Taking over the presidency in the dark after FDR died, President Truman ended WWII by deciding to drop the bomb, helped found the United Nations, founded NATO, and was respected by world leaders. He desegregated the military service and the civil service. He stood up to communism in Europe with the Berlin Airlift when others said it couldn't be done and others said we should let Berlin go. He stood up to the communists in Asia in Korea and paid a terrible price for it, his opponents later said he was right and all of South Korea lives in freedom because of his actions. His whistle-stop campaigns were amazing; everyone thought Dewey would win, but he proved everyone wrong.

In hind sight, we can see he did the right thing over and over again, though most of the time it was not popular at the time.

When he died someone broke the news to Dorothy Parker the well-known newspaper columnist,who when hearing that Coolidge was dead replied," How can they tell?" A reference to Coolidge's taciturn nature. In another story that was well documented, someone bet Coolidge that they could get him to speak more than two words. His reply was, "You lose!"

Hey this guy's pretty cool. He had a pet raccoon named Rebecca.

He vetoed farm relief and bonuses to World War I veterans. Various economic experts warned him that the economy was overheating and that speculation in the market made it so that the prosperity of the time was based on weak foundations. Though their pleas concerned him, he did nothing to address the problem, relying instead on public pronouncements to bolster confidence. When the crash came, Coolidge had left the White House.

He didn't talk much and didn't do much, except put us on an economic course that led to the Great Depression under Hoover.

Silent Cal Coolidge; didn't talk much... go figure! But he was one of the best.

I love William Howard Taft! You are amazing! Hey, did you know that he got stuck in a bath tub, when he was in the White House!

Changed the GOP from the party of Lincoln and TR to one for the Wall Street fat cats.

Ha Ha people always talk about the Federal Reserve but yet only learn about it when watching Glenn Beck or Rush Limbagh? or whatever. Conservatives loved this idea ever since the beginning of our country with Hamilton and the B.U.S. so just hating it now is prob cause A LIBERAL president signed it.

Interesting comment. Almost all Republicans in both houses voted for the Federal Reserve Act, an act which stabilized what had formerly been a boom or bust economy. A Great President.

You've got to be kidding!!! He sold us out to the central banksters. Without a doubt, his signing of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913 was the most treasonous act ever committed by a US president. His signature on that bill paved the way for the creation of the IRS and instantly sentenced all Americans and our children to be debt slaves for life. He should be at or near the bottom of this list.

The gold standard was abolished and the federal reserve established. THe federal reserve is neither federal or reserved. This rogue organization is unconstitutional. Our constitution states that our currency will be based on the gold standard and not on credit. The IRS was also established under Wilson. The IRS is how the Federal Reserve gets its money. What this has created is spending beyond our means instead of spending based on what we possess in gold. Its merely a means of the federal government controlling every aspect of our lives. Wilson destroyed the last great vestige of the republic. Jefferson stated that he feared bankers more than standing armies. Wilson betrayed this country.

Huh? You never check a fact! Coolidge, Hoover, Harding - all segregationists. How about non-presidents Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond, George Wallace (Republicans). Can

The last segregationist president.

Was one of the best, Like that guy said he gave women vote, helped save the world, tried to veto prohibition though, regulated the us currency, attacked monopolies and made it a better life for all the industrial workers and farmers

Gave women the right to vote, got us through WWI, started the League of Nations, and imposed the Income Tax. Also signed prohibition into law.

Pardoned child molester Mel Reynolds on last day of office who went on to do sex crimes again

charwoody is jealous of Monica Lewinsky.

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." --President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." --President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

He wasn't a good president. Humidor stocks went up though.

If he had been a Republican the liberal news media would have called for his resignation.

Disgraceful behavior.

There's a great book about Clinton by Christopher Hitchens called "No One Left to Lie To." Hitchens is a flaming liberal, but the only person he hates more than Bill Clinton is Dick Morris. I liked Clinton because he was absolutely unprincipled. Although he is a progressive, his presidency was to right of both Bushes. Read Hitchens' book.

At least he gave smelling cigars a whole new meaning... otherwise he was just in it for the chicks.

That is not true. Clinton told them to get him, but the army chain of command took so long getting the orders to the pilots that Bin Laden was gone. The US successfully thwarted Al Qaeda attacks in LA and Seattle on NYE to 2000 without the fanfare and scare tactics of the next administration. Clinton left plans for the Bush that Kindofsleezy Rice admitted she did not read until September 12, 2001. Clinton left them Richard Clarke, the US top expert on Al Qaeda and Bush demoted him because he wasn't a Republican. Clinton was combating Al Qaeda and the Bush Adminstration ignored them 9 months. Don't blame Clinton. In 8 years, Bush never got Bin Laden either.

I don't believe Clinton deserves this ranking. Aside from all the above mentioned actions, our military had Osama dead to rights and Clinton told them to let him go.

Lets not forget that it was a republican majority congress that was in place during slick willie's term. but the dumbocrats wouldn't give them any credit now would they?

Bill Clinton does not deserve this at ALL! He the worst president through out history!

Only sitting president to be accused of rape. Only president to get away with perjury. For last commenter, the president who was in office for the longest economic expansion in US history, was Dubya, though admittedly it was more of a re-expansion after the pop of the dot-com bubble of the Clinton years and the contraction after 9/11.

@charwoody. I agree with you

i love this "I did not have sexual relations with that woman..... at least what i thought was a woman"

@golden123. Bahahahahahahaha. That is all.

Tell me, what did this man do besides pay off the national debt that old man bush ran up. Of course after Clinton, bush jr racked it back up again. Like father, like son i guess. Oh, Clinton was one of the best peace negoaticators around, Other presidents have used him to calm things down all over the world. If your 40+, you probably made the same money then as you are today, it went alot further then tho. I beieve he should be #1.

In his defense that is the hardest letter to pronounce I didn't pronounce that correctly till about 13 yrs of age, but anyways who dubbed him this nickname and how long has it applied.

Whose Dubya he isn't a president I can recall?

I agree. Dubya should be occupying this position!

I don't know what Clinton did to deserve this.

He threatened to hang secessionists, including his own son-in-law, Jefferson Davis.

He died just 16 months into his presidency.

Zachary Taylor was a slave owner, but strongly supported the annexation of California and New Mexico as free states. He was a firm supporter of the Union and threatened to lead the army personally if secession occurred, but his daughter was married to Jefferson Davis and his son would serve as an officer in the Confederate Army.

was the worst president until Obama beat him out of that title!

Good person, but a bad president.

Worst president of the twentieth century, if not of all time. I am going to miss old Jimmy. He is wrong on every issue. I wish he gave advice on the stock market. I could become a billionaire by shorting his picks.

Worst president of the twentieth century, if not of all time. I am going to miss old Jimmy. He is wrong on every issue. I wish he gave advice on the stock market. I could become a billionaire by shorting is picks.

Nobody, except the most partisan Democrat could pull Carter out of the bottom ten, let alone into the top ten.

The worse president of my lifetime, including Nixon.....

He is the worst

On the list for winning the "Title" of president only. Voted down!

Hillary would have been the smarter choice!

very bad

He did not handle the Gulf oil spill well. I am an environmentalist. The accident happened, but it was just that, an accident. However ,When Obama refused to repeal the "Jones act", he disallowed many other nations ships from coming in to help. This could have saved many many sea creatures.The Delay has caused a great deal of poverty to the fisherman in the area also. James Carville, A huge Democrat, blasted Obama's handling on this issue, he lives there.Obama played politics and we all lost!

I Think he needed more experience

He will be remembered because he was the first black president. That's it.

Terrible President. The debt will continue to soar under him.

its not to soon to say that Obama is a horrible president. to me everything he is doing is messing with the economy. Obama is taking everthing bush has done and flipped it arround thinking that if he undid what bush did that america would be better? but he isnt thinking about how everything he is doing to booost the economy is really destroying it. and so many people have lost alot becouse of everything he is doing ..... i hope to god this man NEVER gets re-elected! He is going to be the downfall of this nation.

I think its a little to soon to be putting him on this list!

The worst president I can ever recall,and I'm 63. I agree that George Bush was not much good as president,but dear Barack is way out on a limb,in fact he is in a different tree to everyone else.

How is he rated this high? he has had no major accomplishments and his foreign policy is a carbon copy of George Bush's. So far he's been an overrated community organizer.

Really hasn't done anything to be rated this high. It will be interesting to see what happens if he is re-elected.

This guy is a loser and all of his disciples as well.

A Christian in favor of partial birth abortion? America is supposed to be a federation of states. His social agenda is putting us on the brink.

How can Obama be anywhere near the top ten? He promises change, but we are still spending just as much as before, and his change is change for the worse. Health care reform? are you kidding me? That is absurd. It would cause many businesses to fail, and put the U.S. further into debt (if that's possible) we're not freakin communists or socialists we're America.

Out of simple curiousty, what did this man do to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize last year?

Why not blame him for the oil spill, GWB was blamed for Katrina and 9/11. (no, I don't believe Obama caused the oil spill.)

Obama and Carter #9 and #10? They should both be last. Holy crap is this ridiculous. Please name anything they have done to help the United States? Jimmy Carter left us with the largest inflation ever...that is until Obama got here.

Too early to tell.

Obama needs to be at the bottom! He is terrible!

WAYYYYY too soon to tell, and far too soon to rate top ten. Political, not logical rating.

Obama will be remembered for giving a bail out to the banks and wall street during America's worst depression and having the American tax payer pay the bill. Destroying America's poor middle class!!!!!!

Nerve of steal ..the gulf is full of oil and unemployment 10 % but he still can play a good game of golf.

Forced health care reform on the American people, While 64%of the voters oppose the legislation.

Your joking right?Obama needs to be at the bottom hes that horrible.

@alexkhan... I see it as two possibilities, 1.), he is president for his terms and then goes out of office like any normal president, and then is remembered as the greatest president to have ever walked the earth (though that is a lie)........ Probably not..... or 2.) He gains too much power and decides not to give it up when his terms end, he then becomes the Leader of the U.N., (probably during the time of crisis when millions or billions of people and all children of the world suddenly vanish into thin air) and therefore, leader of the world. He then will be killed (assassinated to be more precise), and after three days, he will rise, and will then proclaim himself as the messiah, and the savior of the earth. He will try to annihilate all Christians everywhere, he will say it is because they are endangering his world peace plan, and they are spreading seeds of doubt and are terrorists, but his real reason will be because they know the truth and can save people from his lies... (more likely)........ Almost all the biblical prophecies needed for the end of the world to come, have come. And it is a dangerous game to be against God, but if you are still here here when people start vanishing, then remember this slight bit of knowledge, and use it wisely....

You have GOT to be kidding???!!??

The USA's first Evil Religion president. He may not be a practising Muslim, but it's been made pretty obvious that he sympathises with the Evil Religion and sees Muslims as "his people."

I don't know what he did to become 6th.

Obama and W shouldn't even be considered on this list since their legacies are still works in progress and cannot be judged fairly and without bias until history runs its course.

@sweet250: It's funny how you atoumatically forget that Presidents don't control spending that that's Congress's job and you forget that congress was mostly Democrats fo the last 2 years of George W. Bush's Presidency, and you skip right to the part were it's supposed to be Bush's fault. Oh and Both Obama and the 2nd Bush will be remembered but not because of what you said because what you said is acutally a small detail in 50 years time Bush will be remembered because he was president during 911 and a war becaus of 911 and Obama will be remembered for being black (not be racist but he will be remembered for that.

Huh? He was assassinated by Charles Guiteau, who said that he was responsible for Garfield's election and demanded an ambassadorship. He said that God had told him to kill Garfield.

One of several US presidents murdered by the Rothschild banker cartel. He openly declared his support for restoring the issuance of US currency to congress, and removing it from the hands of the central bank. Shot after only 4 months in office.

Johnson was actually a Southerner (Tennessee) and a Democrat who suddenly became president when the Civil War ended, and being either was unpopular. He had none of Lincoln's political acumen, hated any criticism and, to correct the above statement, did sometimes drink excessively. Nonetheless, he was committed to Lincoln's plan to quickly reconcile with the defeated South. But the majority Republicans wanted the South to pay the price for the Civil War. This conflict led to a politically motivated impeachment of Johnson. Compared with the great Lincoln, he wasn't a good president, but to be fair he was in a no-win situation with a Congress that was suspicious of him from the start.

Johnson is unfairly knocked because he tried to be humane, fair, and even lenient to the south, as Lincoln had planned, but many northerners wanted retribution. He, like Lincoln, wanted one Union and did not want the south to be treated as a conquered people.

What an argument, basically, "He should rank low because others ranked him low." Please state your reasons, not just that he should be low. What policies or actions justify this?

He ranks low in presidential polls by most scholars, so this ranking is a bit disputed.

That is Andrew JACKSON not JOHNSON at the bottom of the list. This is not a repeat.

This is a repeat. He is near the bottom of this list.

Johnson tried to put it back together. He truly tried to implement Lincoln's plan of reconciliation, but the Congress of that day fought him and wanted retribution. When he didn't acquiesce, they decided to impeach him. Also, Grant was a drunk, not Johnson.

I always say "Lincoln saved the Union while Johnson put it back together"

He was a drunk and one of the worst presidents.

He fought to keep Lincoln's plans for reconstruction on track. He faced impeachment hearings that were politically motivated and not earned. Some did not like how conciliatory he was with the conquered south, but he did wonders to heal the nation.

Arthur took the lead in creating the civil service system. This helped cut down on nepotism and corruption that was rampant at the time. He had a pretty clean administration too. His achievements were modest, but nobody expected much from him after becoming president by accident. Arthur did look pretty weird with the mutton chops, but he was a meticulous dresser and women of the time seemed to think him very handsome.

This guy had some weird facial hair, but other than that he didn't do to well during his presidency.

just like clinton

He was an ineffectual and indecisive leader who played poker while his friends plundered the U.S. treasury.

Harding rewarded friends and political contributors with financially powerful positions. His administration was filled with scandals and corruption. Several cabinet members, referred to as the Ohio Gang, were tried, convicted and sent to prison for bribery and fraud.

Just because his name sounds cool doesn't mean he wasn't one of our most controversial presidents in his own time, and certainly our most corrupt.

He made a deal with the devil to get elected and ended reconstruction, pulled out Union troops from the south, and southern black people vulnerable to the violence and degradation of the next 80 years. What a jerk.

He prematurely ended the rebuilding from the Civil War and has to be considered one of the worst.

way better than Obama

Advance my relative up a couple places.

Hardly. He fueled the flames toward war. When Zachary Taylor died as President, Fillmore succeeded him. His support of the Compromise of 1850 was in direct contrast to Taylor's views. The Compromise of 1850 included the Fugitive Slave Law.

helped stop the civil war for a little bit longer.

Pro-slavery President who took over when anti-slavery Zachary Taylor died in office.

Even Polk stated that was an awful president.

The most under-rated president of all.

Without which we wouldn't have much of our current land in the Southwest.

He launched an unprovoked attack against Mexico and seized one-third of its territory for the US.

He increased the tensions that led to the Civil War.

He got us into a war that won us the southwest. Whether you like that kind of thing or not, he could have done a lot worse.

One of the few presidents who actually did what he said he would do.

During the Civil War (after his presidency), he was completely discredited when his correspondence with the rebel leader, Jefferson Davis, were discovered and Pierce publicly professed support for the rebels.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act also repealed the Missouri Compromise that restricted slavery to below to the south.

A northern Democrat who sought to preserve southern slavery, Pierce antagonized the growing abolitionist movement by signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 that gave the two territories the option of permitting slavery or freedom. The Kansas-Nebraska Act and its aftermath made civil war likely, if not inevitable; and Pierce's apology for southern actions served only to widen the rift.

He was awesome

He was great sin was his long-windedness. He gave the longest inaugural address ever given on one of the coldest and nastiest weather days ever for an inaugural. He died of pneumonia just 29 days later and his presidency was the shortest ever.

It's hard to rate a guy who died less than a month into his Presidency.

Once Tyler became president, he turned his back on the platform his party stood for, including a national bank. One fellow Whig accused Tyler of reviving "the condemned and repudiated doctrines and practices of the worst days of Jackson's rule." His entire cabinet resigned, and there was an attempt to impeach him.

Implemented the vile Jackson's Indian Removal Act when he achieved office. Equally culpable of inflicting all the suffering and degredations on the Native Americans during the heinous Trail of Tears. Along with Jackson, Van Buren is undoubtedly one of the worst presidents in US history.

Jackson's lapdog who was just as lousy a president as Jackson. Compared to Van Buren and Jackson, Nixon was a saint.

Martin Van Buren gets a bad rep. He inherited a pretty bad situation. On the other hand, he had a silly name and a sillier haircut...

The Trail of Tears and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands Seminole Indian should have him erased from U.S. History...

Indeed he is in the bottom 15 presidents. But there are easily ten people worse than him namely Buchanan, Harding, Pierce and Tyler.

Well, he's not. He's #4. Deal with it!!

This guy was the worst of the lot and boy there have been so bad ones.

Yep, Old Hickory was a poor president and reneged on most of his pledges. He was a liar, and in today's world he would be considered a tyrant bordering on dictator.

Jackson should be at the bottom of this list not Bush. He was a rubbish president.

Jackson was universally despised while he was president and there were numerous plots afoot to have him removed from office, and also four known botched attempts to assassinate him. He probably made more enemies during his two-term administration than all the other presidents put together.

Without any doubt the WORST president of all time.

the first badass president.

His elimination of the Bank of the US cost the country dearly, leading the country into economic chaos. He closed it and therefore broke the law that Congress had passed. He also thumbed his nose at the Supreme Court and at the same time showed himself to be a tyrant, proceeding with the Trail of Tears. He was disloyal, with many of the Indians who fought with him in military battles being sent on that terrible march. He was like a giant baby; we wanted what he wanted right now, regardless that the Constitution gave certain powers to the other two branches of government.

Old Hickory should be in the top five. He fought the criminal central banksters out in the open with greater courage than any other president in our history. He said: "You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the eternal God, I will rout you out." They attempted to assassinate him, but the assassin's pistols misfired. He proclaimed his greatest accomplishment to be written on his tombstone: "I killed the bank". Unfortunately, his accomplishment didn't last, and the monster eventually came back in another form after his death.

Why is he on our 20 dollar bill? Let's have Sacagawea or Sitting Bull on it, just to apoligize to native americans for the suffering Jackson put them through.

How about this for bizarre! Jackson is the ONLY president to believe that the world is flat. That is actually true.

He will NEVER be forgiven for his callous and ruthless treatment of the Native Americans in the early part of the 19th century. One of the worst presidents.

The Trail of Tears was not right if our current president did that to the Native Americans today it would be plainly and simply considered racist. He also killed a man in a battle for FUN which now he would of been locked away for life. Lastly he won the battle of New Orleans, before he was president in the war of 1812, after the war was over but I don,t critisize for that because Comunication was bad back then and he didn't know it was over. Also he did a couple other bad things but can not think of them at the moment.

Jackson was responsible for one of the worst injustices ever perpetrated on the Native American people: The Trail of Tears. May have won the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, but his reputation was irreparably damaged with later events.

allowed Southern states to secede...

One of the worst presidents ever. His ignorance led to the civil war because he gave a blind eye to the developing segregation

In his inaugural address, the 15th president tacitly encouraged the Supreme Court's forthcoming Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress had no power to keep slavery out of the territories.

He sided with the constitution of the pro-slavery side in Kansas, when a clear super-majority of Kansas residents were against slavery. When South Carolina announced succession, he said it was illegal, but did nothing.

A giant loser. Who knows if the Civil War could have been averted, but at least he could have tried.

He wasn't a giant, he was a worm. He was given the Presidency and he did nothing with it.

By far, the worst President ever. He did nothing while the country moved toward the Civil War. He didn't even try to avoid it.

His White House staff and aides have said that he was a foul mouthed bully who could not string two sentences together without them being peppered with expletives. If your own staff and members of your Cabinet dislike you then what message does that send to the country.

Terrible president. He really did lie to go to war in Viet Nam. The Tonkin Gulf incident never happened and he knew it never happened. He declared war on poverty and we lost.

If Lincoln, Washington and FDR were our best presidents,then LBJ was,in my opinion, one of the worst. Few people remember the fact that he allowed North Korea to humiliate the US during the USS Pueblo affair in 1968. Johnson refused to order any retaliation and even ADMITTED that the Pueblo had been spying on North Korea when it was proved that the ship was in international waters. The crew of the Pueblo had to endure 11 months of incarceration in that hellhole called North Korea and suffered starvation and physical and mental abuse. Johnson was a lousy president and a foul- mouthed bully.

Actually, Kennedy was getting us out of Vietnam (by the way, it is one word). Johnson escalated it. I know you like to make up your own facts, but it just ain't so.

34???. Is that for continuing Kennedy's Viet Nam war. Reality check.

He took us into an undeclared war that cost 57,000 Americans their lives and many more Vietnamese lives. What's worse, he and Sec of Defense McNamara said, as recorded on LBJ's own recording device, that the war was not winnable- and that was before the escalation. While his Great Society could have been truly great, his Vietnam record made it ineffective.