This Is the Worst President of All Time, According to Historians
Each leader from George Washington to Donald Trump was ranked based on a broad set of criteria.
![The south lawn of the White House](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/white-house-worst-president-history.jpg?quality=82&strip=1&resize=640%2C360)
Being elected to the highest office in the land is a job that comes with immense responsibility. Whether it was guiding the U.S. through its earliest days of independence, attempting to reunite a nation torn apart by the Civil War, weathering financial crises, or avoiding escalating conflict during the Cold War, every commander in chief has tackled obstacles and made decisions that form their legacy. But just like any job—and in many ways, more than any other job—how they handle their time in office is open to analysis and criticism, including the former presidents who performed poorly enough to be considered among the worst to ever sit in the Oval Office.
A recent survey of 142 presidential historians conducted by C-SPAN continued the tradition of ranking former executives based on a wide range of criteria. Each respondent issued a score from 1 (meaning "not effective") to 10 (meaning "very effective") in 10 categories that encompass presidential leadership: crisis leadership, public persuasion, economic management, moral authority, international relations, administrative skills, pursuing equal justice for all, relations with congress, vision or setting an agenda, and their performance within the context of the times. The average of each president's responses was then added to rank them overall, with each category given equal weighting.
New questionnaires are issued at the beginning of every new administration so that only former presidents are included in the rankings, meaning you won't see current President Joe Biden on this list. The latest survey also invited dozens more respondents to participate so as to create "new diversity in race, gender, age and philosophy" in the results, C-SPAN said. (Here is a full list of the historians surveyed.)
Each time the survey is conducted, presidents rise and fall among the ranks, and this year is no different. With everything considered from impeachment to landing on the moon, here is every former president of the United States ranked from best to worst, according to historians.
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1
Abraham Lincoln
![abraham lincoln, amazing coincidences](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/05/shutterstock_239400094.jpg)
Final score: 897
2
George Washington
![George Washington](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/geoerge-washington.jpg)
Final score: 851
3
Franklin D. Roosevelt
![fdr bobby kennedy](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/05/franklin-delano-roosevelt.jpg)
Final score: 841
4
Theodore Roosevelt
![Theodore Roosevelt](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/05/shutterstock_242814457-e1505315125262.jpg)
Final score: 785
5
Dwight D. Eisenhower
![Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 1952 portrait](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/09/Dwight-D.-Eisenhower.jpg)
Final score: 734
6
Harry S. Truman
![harry truman success quotes](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/05/Harry_S_Truman_bw_half-length_photo_portrait_facing_front_1945-e1505317448663.jpg)
Final score: 713
7
Thomas Jefferson
![thomas jefferson, amazing coincidences](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/11/thomas-jefferson.jpg)
Final score: 704
8
John F. Kennedy
![US president John F. Kennedy after his arrival on 26 June 1963 for a four days visit in Germany adressing an enthusiastic crowd in Cologne.](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/jfk.jpg)
Final score: 699
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9
Ronald Reagan
![President Ronald Reagan](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/07/shutterstock_777492514.jpg)
Final score: 681
10
Barack Obama
![Former President Barack Obama with the US flag in the background as he delivers a speech at a campaign rally for the presumptive democratic nominee in Charlotte.](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/barack-obama.jpg)
Final score: 664
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11
Lyndon B. Johnson
![Lyndon B. Johnson getting sworn in next to Jackie Kennedy Jackie Kennedy Pink Chanel Suit](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/07/jackie-kennedy-lyndon.jpg)
Final score: 654
12
James Monroe
![A portrait of President James Monroe](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/president-james-monroe-worst.jpg)
Final score: 643
13
Woodrow Wilson
![Woodrow Wilson](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/10/Woodrow-Wilson_shutterstock_238810414.jpg)
Final score: 617
14
William McKinley
![A photo portrait of President William McKinley](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/president-william-mckinley-worst-survey.jpg)
Final score: 612
15
John Adams
![President John Adams](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/02/John-Adams.jpg)
Final score: 609
16
James Madison
![James Madison](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/james-madison.jpg)
Final score: 604
17
John Quincy Adams
![u.s. president john quincy adams](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/11/john-quincy-adams.jpg)
Final score: 603
18
James K. Polk
![A portrait of president James Polk](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/james-polk-worst-president-survey.jpg)
Final score: 599
19
William J. Clinton
![Bill Clinton 90s](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/08/president-bill-clinton-in-the-90s.jpg)
Final score: 594
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20
Ulysses S. Grant
![President Ulysses S. Grant](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/ulysses-grant-worst-president-survey.jpg)
Final score: 590
21
George H. W. Bush
![george h.w. bush](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/11/george-h-w-bush.jpg)
Final score: 585
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22
Andrew Jackson
![Andrew Jackson, by Thomas Sully, 1845, American painting, oil on canvas. This 1845 painting is based on a 1824 Thomas Sully a portrait of Andrew Jackson.](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/andrew-jackson.jpg)
Final score: 568
23
William Howard Taft
![President William Howard Taft](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/president-william-howard-taft.jpg)
Final score: 543
24
Calvin Coolidge
![President Calvin Coolidge. Ca. 1923-1928. From 1907 to 1920, Coolidge worked his way up Massachusetts State politics to election as Governor in 1918.](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/01/Calvin_Coolidge_-_NARA_-_532050.tif.jpg)
Final score: 535
25
Grover Cleveland
![Former President Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th US President in 1903 photo by Frederick Gutekunst.](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/grover-cleveland.jpg)
Final score: 523
26
Jimmy Carter
![Jimmy Carter Famous People Who Used to be Teachers](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/10/jimmy-carter.jpg)
Final score: 506
27
James A. Garfield
![President James Garfield](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/james-garfield-worst-president-survey.jpg)
Final score: 506
28
Gerald R. Ford
![Gerald Rudolph Ford, born Leslie John Lynch, Nixon's Vice-President and 38th President of the United States of America (1973-1974) when Nixon resigned](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/01/Gerald_Ford_hearing2.jpg)
Final score: 498
29
George W. Bush
![George W Bush](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/george-w-bush.jpg)
Final score: 495
30
Chester A. Arthur
![Chester Arthur, 21st President of the United States, (1881 - 1885).](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/chester-a-arthur.jpg)
Final score: 472
31
Richard M. Nixon
![Richard Nixon hottest celebrity the year you were born](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/richard-nixon-watergate.jpg)
Final score: 464
32
Benjamin Harrison
![President Benjamin Harrison sitting for a portrait](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/benjamin-harrison-worst-president-survey.jpg)
Final score: 462
33
Rutherford B. Hayes
![President Rutherford B. Hayes](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/rutherford-b-hayes-worst-president-survey.jpg)
Final score: 456
34
Martin Van Buren
![President Martin van Buren](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/president-martin-van-buren.jpg)
Final score: 455
35
Zachary Taylor
![Zachary Taylor (1784-1850), U.S. President (1849-1850)](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/zachary-taylor.jpg)
Final score: 449
36
Herbert Hoover
![Herbert Hoover](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/herbert-hoover.jpg)
Final score: 396
37
Warren G. Harding
![President Warren G Harding](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/president-warren-g-harding.jpg)
Final score: 388
38
Millard Fillmore
![Millard Fillmore (1800-1874), U.s. President (1850-1853)](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/Millard-fillmore.jpg)
Final score: 378
39
John Tyler
![President John Tyler 1790-1862 succeeded William Harrison after his death from pneumonia. His landmark accomplishment the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas.](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/12/John-Tyler.jpg)
Final score: 354
40
William Henry Harrison
![President William Henry Harrison](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/president-william-henry-harrison.jpg)
Final score: 354
41
Donald J. Trump
![Donald Trump at a campaign rally in August 2018](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/12/trump.jpg)
Final score: 312
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42
Franklin Pierce
![President Franklin Pierce](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/franklin-pierce-worst-president-survey.jpg)
Final score: 312
43
Andrew Johnson
![Andrew Johnson, 17th President, ca. 1860s.](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/07/andrew-johnson-1.jpg)
Final score: 230
44
James Buchanan
![James Buchanan](https://bestlifeonline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/james-buchanan-.jpg)
Final score: 227
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