Roberts list of greatest presidents

1. George Washington He is the father of the country and a symbol of liberation and belief in a republican government. He sought to use the national government to improve the infrastructure, open the western lands, promote commerce, found a permanent capital, reduce regional tensions and promote a spirit of nationalism.
2. Abraham Lincoln He is famous for preserving the Union while ending slavery and promoting economic and financial modernization. His Gettysburg Address of 1863 became the most quoted speech in American, and his Emancipation Proclimation made him an icon of libery, equal rights and democracy.
3. Thomas Jefferson Jefferson was one of the most important founding fathers, having written the Declaration of Independence and eing influential in getting the Bill of Rights. He founded Jeffersonian democracy, bought the Louisiana territory, and created the Democratic-Republican party, which domnated politics for the next 25 years.
4. Ronald Reagan Reagan was a cultural icon in the 1980s. He had great success in foreign policy like beating the Soviet Union and endng the Cold War, and success in economic policy by cutting taxes and encouraging business growth, leading to over 25 years of economic prosperity.
5. Dwight Eisenhower Just like how Reagan embodies the 80s, Eisenhower was 1950s personified. He was conservative, respected, and prosperous. He started NASA, invested in the country's infrastructure by signing the Federal Highway Act in 1956, and helped African Americans by enforcing desegregation.
6. Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge was famous for being a small government conservative who let his actions talk for him. After the many scandals of the Harding administration, Coolidge managed to restore faith in the White House, and created a decade of prosperity during his 6 years as president.
7. James K. Polk Arguably one of the greatest one term presidents of all time, Polk was famous for being able to successfully stand by his agenda. In his one term, Polk managed to nearly double the size of the United States by annexing Texas, compromising with Britain for the Oregon territory, and winning the American Southwest in the Mexican American War.
8. Grover Cleveland Cleveland was praised by some, but hated by most for his hardline positions. He opposed Free Silver, high tariffs, imperialism, subsidies, and inflation. That and the Panic of 1893 made him very unpopular at the time, but he is now seen as a very popular conservative icon who stood by for what he believed in.
9. William McKinley McKinley was overshadowed by his successor, but he was the one who put America on the map as a world power. By defeating Spain in the Spanish American War, America added many new territoris like The Phillippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, in addition to the annexed Hawaii.
10. John F. Kennedy Kennedy was a charismatic young face who was immediately faced with the challenges of the Cold War. Luckily, he was able to steer America out of a nuclear war by negotiating with Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev. He also expanded NASA and expanded civil rights for African Americans.
11. Teddy Roosevelt Roosevelt was the face of American imperialism. He was responsible for creating the Panama Canal by helping Panama gain indepence from Columbia and negotiated the end of the Russo-Japanese war. He was also an ardent conservationist, fought against business monopolies and supported social progress.
12. James Monroe Monroe was the man who created America's foreign policy by announcing the Monroe Doctrine, effectively expelling European powers from the Americas. In his two terms, he eased poliical tension even through issues like the Panic of 1819 and the admission of Missouri in 1820.
13. James Madison Madison was considered the "Father of the Bill of Rights" due to him crafting the first ten amendmends in the Constitution. He and Jefferson created the Democratic-Republican Party in order to fight back against John Adams, Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Party.
14. John Adams Adams was an important Founding Father. He and Alexander Hamilton led the Federalist Party against Jefferson, Madison and the Democratic Republican Party. He built up America's army and navy and peacefully ending the Quasi War against France.
15. Harry Truman After FDR died, Truman was faced with a tough decision on whether or not to nuke Japan. He made the right decision, however, as he managed to avoided millions of possible casualties from both sides. In addition, the Truman Doctrine advocated containment of communism, a very effective method, and the Marshall Plan rebuilt Europe after World War II.
16. Rutherford B. Hayes Under Hayes' presidency, US troops were withdrawn from the South, and Reconstruction was ended. He tried to mend relations between the North and the South and created equal meritocracy regardless of race. He oversaw great industrial growth in as the Second Industrial Revolution hit America.
17. John Quincy Adams In his only term, Adams proposed legislation that would help modernize America and create advancement in education. He was an ardent nationalist and was committed to America's republican values. He was also a strong diplomat, as he was instrumental in writing the Monroe Doctrine.
18. George W. Bush He may not have been the most popular president when he left office, but he had achieved a lot during his two terms as president. He did a good job handling 9/11 and even though the subsequent Afghan War was expensive, it was justified as it was a hotped for terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and Taliban. He also passed the Bush tax cuts, which helped continue the economic success of the 80s and 90s.
19. Andrew jackson Andrew Jackson was a very polarizing politician in the Second Party System. However, he did many great things as president. He supported states rights, and stood up for popular democracy. His many battles against the national bank solidified him as a strong president who fought for small government.
20. George H.W. Bush During Bush's presidency, foreign policy was an important issue. On his watch, the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union was dissolved. Also, there other conflicts like the Gulf War, and the US invasion of Panama. He also was a leader in America's space program, and passed civil rights laws benefiting the handicapped.
21. Chester A. Arthur Arthur's most important achievement was the Pendleton Civil Serviice Reform Act, which made the government a meritocracy. Arthur also presided over the re-emergence of the US Navy and vetoed the costly Rivers and Harbors Act. However, he was also critiscized for not spending any of the surplus money accumilated after the Civil War.
22. Martin Van Buren Van Buren was an important figure of Jacksonian democracy. He was against the annexation of Texas because he was against the spread of slavery. Relations between Britain and the US were strained by the Caroline affair and the Aroostook War. He was also blamed by many for the Panic of 1837, and failed to be re-elected as a result.
23. Gerald Ford Ford moved towards detente between the US and Soviet Union by signing the Helsinki accords. However, his pardoning of Richard Nixon made him very unpopular. That, in addition to the tumbling economy and the defeat of South Vietnam, made him lose re-election.
24. Ulysses S. Grant Grant was a Civil War hero who became the first president to get re-elected since Andrew Jackson. He left office avery unpopular due to the many scandals in his administration. However, he is also appreciated for progress in civil rights for newly freed African Americans.
25. Benjamin Harrison Harrison was famous for being the first president to spend a billion dollars annually. The spending was funded by tariffs like the McKinley tariff, which became very unpopular and led to Harrison failing to get re-elected.
26. William Howard Taft Taft was popular due to suport from his predecessor. He was a trust buster and passed the 16th amendment, which enabled Congress to levy an income tax. He also tried to further the economic development of Latin America. However, his alienation of Republican pinciples caused him to lose the election in 1912.
27. Richard Nixon In his first term, Nixon managed to decrease American influence in Vietnam, and improved US-China relations. These actions got him re-elected by all but one state. However, the Watergate scandal cost him most of his political suport, causing him to resign as president.
28. Zachary Taylor A war hero from the Mexican-American War, Taylor took a moderate stance on slavery, angering many Southerners. He also urged California and New Mexico to apply for statehood, which resulted in the Compromise of 1850, which made California a free state and delayed a possible civil war.
29. John Tyler Tyler opposed nationalism, and supported state rights, which heated regional tensions in the US. He beat the Seminoles in the Second Seminole War, and signed treaties with Britain and China. However, he failed to achieve anything domestically due to the lack of support from both the Democrats and the Whigs.
30. Bill Clinton After trying to enact universal healthcare, Clinton lost a Democratic Congress majority. However, he managed to pass many bipartisan bills, like NAFTA and welfare reform. Even though his second term was marred by scandal, he managed to have a budget surplus in his last three years in office.
31. Millard Fillmore Fillmore supported slavery in the Southwest and supported the Bloodhound Law in the Compromise of 1850. He furthered US trade with Japan, and clashed with France and Britain over their interests in Hawaii and Cuba respectavily.
32. Andrew Johnson When Johnson became president, he wanted to reincorporate the Southern states back into the Union. In order to appease them, he vetoed many civil rights bills, and was hostile towards the freedmen's causes, leading to his impeachment by the Republican majority.
33. Herbert Hoover Hoover believed that inefficiency was a big problem in government. When the Wall Street Crash of 1929 struck, Hoover tried to combat the ensuing Great Depression by spending more money on public projects like the Hoover Dam, and by raising taxes, both unsuccessful.
34. Warren Harding When Harding became president, he swore to return America to normalcy following World War I. He created child welfare and signed peace treaties with Germany and Austria. However, he had a very corrupt administration, and the many scandals in his Cabinet ruined his image and his legacy.
35. Franklin D. Roosevelt FDR began his presidency by passing the New Deal. His big government ideas led to the Great Depression lasting until World War II. The biggest New Deal programs were FDIC and Social Security. However, because of World War II, unemployment fell from a high of 25% to as little as 2%, ehich turned the US economy around.
36. Franklin Pierce Pierce's presidency deepened the political tension between the North and the South. The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Ostend Manifesto led to the expansion of slavery, and slave related conflicts like Bleeding Kansas. His support for the expansion of slavery discredited the Manifest Destiny and popular sovereignty as pro-slavery talk.
37. Barack Obama Obama capitalized on Bush's unpopularity to become US president. However, his passage of universal health care and the trillion dollar stimulus made him very unpopular, and led to the forming of the Tea Party. Even though he saw some success in foreign policy with the killing of Osama bin Laden, his approval rating is under 40 percent.
38. James Buchanan During the politically turbulent 1850s, Buchanan tried to ease the political polarity caused by his predecessor. However, all he did was fan the flames for the imminent Civil War. He faced opposition from both Republicans and Democrats by standing pat against the sharply partisan environment.
39. Woodrow Wilson Wilson was the father of progressivism, as he made the government bigger, supported strong labor unions and dramatically increased the income tax. He entered America into World War I, and wrote the 14 Points. As a result of Wilson's policies and the post-war economic bust, the US entered its shapest ever recession in 1920.
40. Jimmy Carter When Carter entered office, he was expected to be America's savior. However, his popularity fully eroded by 1980. His creation of the Department of Education and Department of Energy extended the federal government where it didn't belong. The Iran hostage crisis was the final straw as he failed to get re-elected in 1980.
41. Lyndon B. Johnson Johnson became US president after an assasin killed Kennedy for him. This jumpstarted the counterculture movement, which led to a general distrust in everything organized. He wanted to recreate the New Deal by creating the Great Society with Medicare, Medicaid, and Public Broadcasting. He also extended US influence in Vietnam, and took credit for the civil rights legislation in the 1950s which he originally voted aagainst. This makes him the WORST president of all time.

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