Updated Presidential Rankings

Ranking of American Presidents

1. Lyndon Baines Johnson – For his efforts on combating poverty, willingness to lead the country with his bully pulpit, and signing the civil rights act. His Great Society lifted millions out of poverty. No president comes close to his astonishing human rights record. Vietnam escalated under his presidency but he did everything in his power to end the conflict. He had the ability to get people to do what had to be done. His biggest blunder was not letting Americans know that Nixon was committing treason.
2. Abraham Lincoln – for his effort in keeping the United States together and the Emancipation Proclamation. He respected the constitution with the suspension of Habeas Corpus. He didn’t free slaves in the North.
3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt – For his efforts and success in setting a strong foundation for the 20th century economy. He was responsible for the incarceration of thousands of Japanese Americans.
4. John Fitzgerald Kennedy – For his efforts towards science and combating poverty, and the second best human rights record in our history after his successor, but blundering foreign policy
5. Barack Obama – For his efforts towards universal health care, ending the Iraq war, and standing up to warmongerers, improving education, environmental regulation, he harmed Social security benefits, improved financial regulation, second most progressive social issues president in history, opened travel to Cuba
6. John Quincy Adams – For his economic wisdom, respect of Native Americans, establishing colleges, abolitionism, and expanding infrastructure
7. George Washington – for his formation of treaties and respect of Native Americans. He ranks lower for signing the Fugitive Slave Act.
8. Thomas Jefferson – For his exploration of the American west, preserving trade in the Mediterranean, and diplomacy
9. Dwight David Eisenhower – For his diplomacy, protection of the economy, and prophetic farewell speech. He set up the foreign policy blunders of the next decade.
10. Harry Truman – For his continuation of building the foundation for the 20th century his predecessor built. He is ranked lower for his dropping of the bombs. He helped escalate the Cold War.
11. Warren G. Harding – for supporting the 8 hour work day, child labor laws, opposition to lynching, and good neighbor policy
12. Benjamin Harrison – For his advocacy of civil rights, reformation of the civil service, and
13. Ulysses S. Grant – For his continuation of Reconstruction and supporting equal rights. Corruption was rife in his cabinet.
14. Theodore Roosevelt – For his valiant efforts in preserving America’s treasures and national parks, he is ranked lower for his interventions in Latin America.
15. William McKinley – For his advocacy of human rights at home and abroad
16. Martin Van Buren – his cowardice in face of anti-Mormonism which he opposed demotes him, he kept peace with Mexico, advocated free trade, and opposed slavery
17. James Earl Carter – for his strong efforts towards peace around the world and attempts to gain energy independence for America. However, he signed the establishment of the NSA.
18. James Madison – he opposed the national bank which hurt our economy, he started the War of 1812, and protected Native Americans.
19. Zachary Taylor – For his attempts to set up the Western states as free states
20. James Monroe – He started the Seminole Wars, did the Missouri compromise meaning each slave state had to be matched with a free state, his expansionist Monroe doctrine,
21. Chester Alan Arthur – For his signing of the Pendleton Act which put rules against favors, he opposed Mormon polygamy (bad), opposed racism against the Chinese (good), and favored better relations with Native Americans.
22. John Adams – His largest accomplishment was the Alien and Sedition Acts
23. Bill Clinton – he passed no great laws and he signed the Commodities Futures Modernization Act, DOMA, DADT, and failed to pass meaningful health care reform. But he balanced the budget and didn’t hurt Medicare, which prevents him from falling further. He was led by pollsters and didn’t lead, he followed.
24. James K. Polk – He was extremely expansionist,
25. Woodrow Wilson – For his breaking his promise on World War I, anti-German sentiment, his support of the League of Nations keeps him from falling farther.
26. Gerald Ford – environmental regulations, strengthened AMTRAK, pardoned Nixon
27. Grover Cleveland – For racism, opposition to labor, and imperialism
28. Herbert Hoover – For his obsession with the deficit, protectionist policies, and limited response to the great depression.
29. Calvin Coolidge – His small government rhetoric and lack of leadership made his Presidency unsuccessful albeit popular
30. William Howard Taft – for his attacks on President Roosevelt’s environmental policy
31. Richard Nixon – EPA, improved relations with China, set up AMTRAK, worked against the Vietnam peace agreement which was treason. He entered office and destroyed the economy with deflationary monetary policy.
32. John Tyler – For his refusal to form a national bank in the face of an economic collapse
33. Franklin Pierce – For his unsuccessful compromise with the Kansas-Nebraska Act
34. Rutherford B. Hayes – For ending Reconstruction
35. Andrew Johnson – For his opposition to Reconstruction
36. Millard Fillmore – For passing the Fugitive Slave Act
37. James Buchanan – For his unwillingness to use his power to keep the Union together
38. Andrew Jackson – For his deportation of Native Americans, and his fiscal policy which crashed the economy.
39. Ronald Reagan – For negotiating with terrorists to hold Americans hostage until he was President, selling arms to Nicaraguan terrorists, attack on Grenada, and deregulation of the financial sector. As soon as he entered office he destroyed the economy with deflationary economic policy. His negotiations with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan betrayed America, making his administration a literal state sponsor of terrorism.
40. George H.W. Bush – For vetoing every good bill that came his way and using the United States military to his benefit (an oilman used the US military to defend a major oil exporter with dreadful human rights, I’m sure there is no conflict of interest.)
41. George W. Bush – For attacking Iraq, destabilizing the financial markets, the PATRIOT ACT, No Child Left Behind Act,
42. Donald Trump – Made America’s tax code more regressive, constant racist rhetoric, first President to restrict American travel to another country in decades, trade war with China, shutting down the government because Democrats won’t give him everything he wants.