Since the early days of the business, pollsters have asked
Americans to rate their presidents. For the pollsters and for us, it is an
amusing and sometimes enlightening exercise. Here’s how it began.

In 1938, Gallup asked people whether “in fifty years”
Franklin or Teddy Roosevelt would be rated as the greater president. Fifty-eight
percent picked FDR and 42 percent, Teddy. In 1945, Gallup asked who was
greater, Lincoln or Washington. Lincoln easily outdistanced Washington by 42 to
22 percent, with 28 percent volunteering they were equally great. In 1960,
Gallup used another formulation which is popular among pollsters today when the
pollster asked how Eisenhower would go down in history. Twenty percent said he
would go down as a great president, 46 percent a good one, and 26 percent fair.

Lou Harris provided a more nuanced look 50 years ago in 1972.
That year, Harris asked people to assess the past seven presidents on different
dimensions. John Kennedy barely edged out Franklin Roosevelt as having done the
best job in the White House (26 to 23 percent). Before his fall from grace,
Nixon followed at 20 percent. Kennedy had a stronger lead on inspiring the most
confidence (38 to 26 percent for FDR), and he was by far the most appealing
personality (66 percent to the next nearest competitor, Gerald Ford, at 10
percent). Richard Nixon also led on handling foreign affairs (34 to 26 percent
for JFK).

In the first decade of this century, Gallup asked people
simply whom they regarded as the greatest US president. In 2000, JFK took top
honors followed by Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan. In 2003, JFK led, followed closely
by Lincoln and Reagan. In 2005 and 2007, Lincoln and Reagan were the top
choices.

In Pew Research Center polls from 2018 and 2021, with Barack
Obama in the mix, the 44th president edged out Reagan as having done the best
job. Still, like FDR and JFK before him, Reagan has had staying power even
though many younger respondents know him and them only through the history
books.

For almost as long as there have been polls on general
public impressions, there have been surveys of elite opinions. In 1948 in Life
magazine, Harvard historian Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. wrote about a survey he
conducted of 55 colleagues in history and government asking them to rate
presidents. Many others including his son extended the franchise. In Sr.’s
survey, there was substantial agreement on the six great presidents (Lincoln,
Washington, FDR, Wilson, Jefferson, and Jackson.) Only Lincoln received the
votes of all 55. The failures in the survey, Grant and Harding, both had administrations
riddled with corruption. Schlesinger looked at what the greats had in common.
He said they were all strong party men and strong leaders. Most found
themselves in conflict with the courts. These strong leaders also aroused
strong opposition, sometimes within their own parties. All found dealing with
the press challenging.

The passage of time can produce reassessments of presidential reputations among academics and the public, too, as both learn new things about them and their times, exorcise partisan distortions, and better understand many complex dimensions of presidential leadership.

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