Updated Presidential rankings – 2022 edition

President Biden has turned his presidency around, I need to update this.

Ranking of American Presidents

1. Lyndon Baines Johnson is ranked as the greatest president in history because of his efforts in combating poverty, his willingness to lead the country with his bully pulpit, he created Medicare, Medicaid, and the Peace Corps. The Higher Education Act of 1965 continues to expand access to college for tens of millions of Americans a year, and to top it all of he signed 3 separate civil rights acts. Just one of these laws I am mentioning would easily earn him the top spot on his list individually. He did all of them. His Great Society lifted millions out of poverty and fundamentally shifted the social contract of the United States, making us the most powerful country in the world. No other 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 despite Richard Nixon undermining his negotiation efforts. I do not rank presidents lower for factors out of their control. 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. He always respected human rights.
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 which makes him rank lower than LBJ.
3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt – For his efforts and success in setting a strong foundation for the 20th-century economy. Banking regulation kept the economy relatively stable for half a century until it was repealed, especially compared to before his Presidency. He created the WPA. The massive expansion of electricity to millions of households. He fought Nazis. He is demoted from first place because 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 escalated the cold war. He set the stage for LBJ’s legislative accomplishments.
5. Barack Obama – The Affordable Care Act is his signature accomplishment. He ended the Iraq war, didn’t start new wars but didn’t lose any either, improved education, and environmental regulation, harming Social security benefits which bought OASI more time, passed historic financial regulation, and was the second most progressive social issues president in history, opened travel to Cuba, gay marriage, and campaigned for free community college.
6. John Quincy Adams – For his economic wisdom, respect for Native Americans, establishing colleges, abolitionism, and expanding infrastructure. He was 100 years ahead of his time with the policies he signed into law.
7. Benjamin Harrison – For his advocacy of civil rights, signing of important civil rights bills, and reformation of the civil service.
8. Dwight David Eisenhower – For his diplomacy, protection of the economy, and prophetic farewell speech. He set in motion the careers of Nixon and other high-ranking Republicans who would later harm America, which is why he ranks lower.
9. 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, but that’s a complicated issue.
10. Joe Biden – He passed a stimulus at the beginning of his presidency, but didn’t enforce rules to end the pandemic, which became worse over his first year. Lost Afghanistan to the terrorists which led to it becoming the least free and most tyrannical place in the world. Infrastructure privatization under BIF. In 2022 he passed major legislation on climate change, codified same-sex marriage, rejoined the Paris agreement, and stood with our democratic allies in solidarity with Ukraine. If it wasn’t for the Afghanistan withdrawal, he would be in the top 5.
11. George Washington – for his formation of treaties and respect for Native Americans. He ranks lower for signing the Fugitive Slave Act. He set standards and norms for the Presidency which made our country successful. He was masterful in his navigation of foreign relations which protected the United States from foreign invasion for our first 20 years.
12. Warren G. Harding – for supporting the 8-hour work day, child labor laws, opposition to lynching, and good neighbor policy
13. Thomas Jefferson – For his exploration of the American west, preserving trade in the Mediterranean, and diplomacy, ranks lower because of slavery.
14. Ulysses S. Grant – For his continuation of Reconstruction and supporting equal rights. Corruption was rife in his cabinet.
15. Theodore Roosevelt – For his valiant efforts in preserving America’s treasures and national parks, he is ranked lower for his interventions in Latin America.
16. William McKinley – He advocated human rights at home and abroad. His high tariffs weakened America.
17. 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
18. Zachary Taylor – He attempted to set up the Western states as free states, despite being a slaveholder.
19. 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.
20. James Madison – he opposed the national bank which hurt our economy, he started the War of 1812 and protected Native American treaty rights.
21. 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.
22. 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,
23. John Adams – His largest accomplishment was the Alien and Sedition Acts
24. Bill Clinton – he passed no great laws and he signed the Commodities Futures Modernization Act, DOMA, and 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.
25. James K. Polk – He was extremely expansionist, was a slaveholder, and exacerbated tensions increasing the odds of war.
26. Woodrow Wilson – For his breaking his promise on World War I, anti-German sentiment, and his support of the League of Nations keeps him from falling further.
27. Gerald Ford – environmental regulations, strengthened AMTRAK, but he pardoned Nixon which set in motion future Republican extremism and set a precedent that the President is above the law.
28. Grover Cleveland – He was racist, opposed labor rights, and was an imperialist
29. Herbert Hoover – He was obsessed with the deficit, created protectionist policies, and had a limited response to the great depression.
30. Calvin Coolidge – His small-government rhetoric and lack of leadership made his Presidency unsuccessful albeit popular. He is totally insignificant.
31. William Howard Taft – He attacked President Roosevelt’s environmental policy
32. Richard Nixon – EPA, improved relations with China, set up AMTRAK and worked against the Vietnam peace agreement which was treason. He entered the office and destroyed the economy with a deflationary monetary policy.
33. John Tyler – His refusal to form a national bank in the face of an economic collapse drove America further into depression.
34. Franklin Pierce – His unsuccessful compromise with the Kansas-Nebraska Act set the stage for the Civil War.
35. Rutherford B. Hayes – He ended Reconstruction
36. Andrew Johnson – He opposed Reconstruction.
37. Millard Fillmore – He passed the Fugitive Slave Act
38. James Buchanan – His unwillingness to use his power to keep the Union together led us into civil war.
39. Andrew Jackson – His deportation of Native Americans, and his fiscal policy which crashed the economy make him one of the least successful presidents we will ever have.
40. George H.W. Bush – For vetoing every good bill that came his way and using the United States military for his personal financial 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.) He was corrupt to the core.
41. 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 a deflationary economic policy. His negotiations with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan betrayed America, making his administration a literal state sponsor of terrorism. He created the highest inflation rate since World War II and the highest unemployment from 1950 to 2019. Utter disaster.
42. Donald Trump – Made America’s tax code more regressive, had constant racist rhetoric, first President to restrict American travel to another country in decades, a trade war with China, and shut down the government because Democrats won’t give him everything he wants. He paused student loan payments, the only good thing out of his terrible presidency. Most of his policies except his tax code were done through an executive order, so
43. George W. Bush – He attacked Iraq, and destabilized the financial markets, the PATRIOT ACT, No Child Left Behind Act, and the Real ID Act meant that he made a negative impact on America’s liberty, prosperity, and standing in the world for a longer period of time than any other President in American history. All of his major bills are still law to this very day.

In summary, we can rank our presidents into several basic bins:

The Great 9:

These are the Presidents who didn’t own slavery, improved human rights, and presided over strong economies. They made America great, and are the presidents who have made America the strongest country in the world. Lyndon Johnson, Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Kennedy, Obama, JQ Adams, Benjamin Harrison, Eisenhower, and Truman. It’s hard not to respect these Presidents for their service to our country.

Strong but flawed:

These presidents made America better, but not without serious flaws. Biden, Washington, Harding, Jefferson, Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, McKinley, Van Buren, Taylor, Arthur, Madison, Carter, Monroe, and John Adams.

Flawed presidents:

These Presidents had serious flaws which negated the good they did, but didn’t make things worse. Clinton, Polk, Wilson, Ford, Cleveland, Hoover, Coolidge, and Taft.

Crooks:

These Presidents made America weaker on the world stage and harmed either human rights or our economy: Nixon, Tyler, Pierce, Hayes, Andrew Johnson, Fillmore,

The irredeemable:

These Presidents were the worst Presidents we had, wither few if any accomplishments. These are the presidents who set the clock back: Buchanan, Andrew Jackson, George H.W. Bush, Reagan, Trump, George W. Bush