Lincoln Resumes Position as Americans' Top-Rated President

PRINCETON, NJ -- Since noted historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. declared Abraham Lincoln to be the country's best president in his 1948 poll of 55 historians, similar polls of scholars have consistently placed Lincoln among the top three presidents in U.S. history.

The American public agrees. In each of seven surveys Gallup has conducted on this topic since 1999, Lincoln has been one of the top three presidents named by Americans. Lincoln ranked first or tied for first in two 2003 Gallup Polls, but slipped into second place behind Ronald Reagan in 2005. Reagan enjoyed a surge of public esteem in 2005, left over from the publicity following his death the previous year.

According to a Feb. 9-11, 2007, Gallup Poll, Lincoln is back at No. 1 with Americans. Still, he holds this position based on responses from a fairly small percentage of the public. Eighteen percent of Americans today name Lincoln as the greatest U.S. president. He is closely followed by Reagan, with 16%, and John F. Kennedy, with 14%. Bill Clinton (13%) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (9%) round out the top five.

Americans Lean Toward Modern-Day Presidents

In general, however, Americans' conception of who is the nation's greatest president does not appear to be highly influenced by the pronouncements of academic experts; otherwise, one might expect more widespread public agreement that Lincoln was among the greatest. Also, academic rankings are top-heavy with other historical names like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Andrew Jackson; none of these are at the top of Americans' rankings.

One of the more recent academic polls on presidents was conducted by The Wall Street Journal in 2005. In that poll, Washington was rated No. 1, followed by Lincoln and then Franklin D. Roosevelt. Washington and Roosevelt also made the top three in Schlesinger's original poll.

Modern presidencies that people have experienced are more likely to be top-of-mind or impressive to the public than those learned about in history books. A majority of the responses to Gallup's survey are for presidents who have served in office since the 1930s, including Reagan, Kennedy, Clinton, Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Jimmy Carter, Dwight Eisenhower, and George W. Bush. Also, rather than focusing on the historians' favorites, Americans name a wide array of presidents, many of whom are mentioned by no more than 5% of Americans.

Who do you regard as the greatest United States president?

 

By contrast, of the top three presidents on The Wall Street Journal poll's list, only one, Franklin Roosevelt, is from the modern period. Further down, Reagan, ranks 6 ^th, Truman 7 ^th, Eisenhower 8 ^th, George W. Bush 19 ^th, and Clinton 22 ^nd.

Clinton Tops With Democrats; Reagan No. 1 With Republicans

In addition to personal knowledge of and experience with a president, partisan politics also inform whom Americans consider to be the greatest. The top-rated presidents among Democrats are Clinton (mentioned by 25%) and Kennedy (20%). Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt tie for third among Democrats. Similarly, among Republicans, Reagan is No. 1, with a substantial 32% of all mentions. Lincoln ranks second with Republicans, followed by Kennedy, Washington, and George W. Bush.

More generally, the plurality of Republicans and Democrats name a president associated with their own political party. This affinity is 66% for Democrats and 47% for Republicans.

Only a small fraction of members of either party name a president of the opposing party (15% of Republicans and 6% of Democrats). About 3 in 10 Americans mention a president not affiliated with either the Republican or Democratic Parties as they are defined today. This includes 21% of Democrats and about a third of Republicans.

Interestingly, while Lincoln ranks first overall, he does not rank first with the members of either political party. Rather, he is the second or third choice for both parties, which earns him the top spot when the views of all Americans are considered.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,006 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Feb. 9-11, 2007. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

3. Who do you regard as the greatest United States president?