The greatest US presidents (C-SPAN historians' ranking)
The top 3 according to 60 votes from people: Abraham Lincoln · Ronald Reagan · Barack Obama. (Updated Sep 19, 2026.)
The top 20 of C-SPAN's 2021 Presidential Historians Survey, in which 142 historians rated every president on ten qualities of leadership. Lincoln came first for the fourth survey in a row.
Top 20
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1
Abraham Lincoln
16th, 1861-1865. Preserved the Union in the Civil War and ended slavery.
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2
Ronald Reagan
40th, 1981-1989. Presided over the end of the Cold War.
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3
Barack Obama
44th, 2009-2017. The first African-American president; the Affordable Care Act.
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4
James Monroe
5th, 1817-1825. The Monroe Doctrine.
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5
Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd, 1933-1945. The New Deal and World War II; elected four times.
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6
Dwight D. Eisenhower
34th, 1953-1961. Former Allied commander; built the Interstate highways.
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7
John Quincy Adams
6th, 1825-1829. Son of John Adams.
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8
Ulysses S. Grant
18th, 1869-1877. The Union general who won the Civil War.
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9
James Madison
4th, 1809-1817. "Father of the Constitution".
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10
George Washington
1st, 1789-1797. Commander of the Revolution and the first president.
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11
Theodore Roosevelt
26th, 1901-1909. Trust-buster and creator of national parks.
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12
Harry S. Truman
33rd, 1945-1953. Ended WWII and launched the Marshall Plan.
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13
Thomas Jefferson
3rd, 1801-1809. Author of the Declaration of Independence; the Louisiana Purchase.
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14
John F. Kennedy
35th, 1961-1963. The Cuban Missile Crisis and the race to the Moon.
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15
Lyndon B. Johnson
36th, 1963-1969. Civil Rights Act and the Great Society.
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16
Woodrow Wilson
28th, 1913-1921. Led the US in WWI and proposed the League of Nations.
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17
Bill Clinton
42nd, 1993-2001. Presided over the economic boom of the 1990s.
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18
William McKinley
25th, 1897-1901. Assassinated in 1901.
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19
James K. Polk
11th, 1845-1849. Expanded the US to the Pacific.
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20
George H. W. Bush
41st president (1989-1993), who oversaw the end of the Cold War and the Gulf War.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 20… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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21
Grover Cleveland
22nd and 24th president, the only one besides Trump to serve two non-consecutive terms.
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22
Andrew Jackson
7th president (1829-1837), founder of the Democratic Party; his ranking has fallen over the years.
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23
John Adams
2nd, 1797-1801. Founding Father and first vice-president.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (4)
Missing George H. W. Bush and Grover Cleveland in this list.
And Andrew Jackson, though he keeps dropping in the rankings.
Lincoln at #1 in every C-SPAN survey since 2000.
Eisenhower at #5 seems high, but historians love him.