American Politics, USA | Experts rank America’s best and worst presidents

The online newspaper has asked a historian and a researcher to rank America’s best and worst presidents of all time, and which presidents are their favorites.

The two US experts highlight many of the same presidents, but still stand out on some points.

Further down, you can also vote on who you think is the best president in the United States.

Typical variables

Senior researcher Hilmar Mjelde at the NORCE research center says that feats, crisis leadership, scandals, morale, re-election and early death are typical variables used to rank US presidents.

– Moreover, a key question is why US presidents have performed so differently, despite the fact that they have been resourceful and experienced people. Historian Stephen Skowronek has argued convincingly that the time you become president has a lot to say, Mjelde tells Nettavisen.

Mjelde cites Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan as examples of how time for the presidency can be so important.

Carter became president when Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” policy sang in the last verse. He had a hopeless task in continuing it even a little longer. Reagan, on the other hand, had optimal conditions for exercising leadership, because the country was ready for something new after 50 years of New Deal policy. But this must not be interpreted as historical determinism – that is, that everything should be predetermined by over-individual factors. Every president is given the opportunity to make choices and to exercise a certain leadership, says Mjelde.

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Lahlum’s four on the top list

Historian and author Hans Olav Lahlum ranks the four best American presidents in this order.

– I probably stand out a little from what is the norm here, and especially in the US. I have Franklin D. Roosevelt as number one. Most have probably ranked Lincoln as number one, followed by Washington and Roosevelt. These are the great presidents of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, respectively, who were all inextricably linked to great conflicts. Many have probably put Lincoln first because of the Civil War and slavery, but I put Roosevelt first because of World War II and the Depression. He is also the only president who has served longer than two terms, says Lahlum to Nettavisen.

– I put Washington in second place ahead of Lincoln because in many ways he was the creator of the presidency and a founder of the United States. Lincoln ends up in third place. He had some shadowy sides, but by all means he was a great and historic president with the liberation of the slaves and the preservation of the union, says Lahlum.

– The fourth on my list is James K. Polk, who was president from 1845 to 1849. I know that he is strongly controversial among the few who have heard of him. But if you look at the map of the United States today, you will see the meaning of Polk. He rode a nationalist wave and used war as a tool, but was able to carry out, among other things, the largest ever expansion of US territory, he says.

– Who are your favorites, Lahlum?

– My assessment is that it differs little from the historically best presidents. It is possible that there are some presidents I personally like better, but I still consider them close to the historically best presidents, he says.

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Reported four on the top list

Mjelde ranks the four best American presidents in this order.

– I rank George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan as the best. In that order. Washington played a crucial role in the founding of the United States – in the American Revolution, the work on a new constitution (although James Madison was the main architect here) and as the first president, says Mjelde.

– Lincoln kept the United States together through the Civil War. He showed exceptional leadership here. Roosevelt introduced the welfare state in the United States and led the United States and the world through World War II. His leadership was important in getting the United States out of the Depression, says Mjelde.

– I think Reagan does not get enough credit from historians. His political and moral leadership in the Cold War had a major impact on its outcome. His conservatism also brought the United States closer to its original political ideals, that is, classical liberalism, he says.

Mjelde highlights the following as personal favorites:

– Personally, Lyndon B. Johnson, George HW Bush and John F. Kennedy are my favorite presidents. Johnson as the great horse dealer, Bush as the great statesman and Kennedy as the elegant communicator and first TV president, he says.

America’s worst presidents

Both Mjelde and Lahlum go back about 170 years in time to bring out some of America’s worst presidents. But experts do not completely agree on where Trump should be placed in this landscape.

– Who are the worst American presidents of all time, Lahlum?

– It is a bit demanding because it is a big methodological problem that arises related to Trump. There are good arguments for placing him in the bottom layer as it looks now, but the methodological problem is that he is so close in time. We do not know if he will return, if he will be nominated and elected for a second term. Or what will come out of these ongoing lawsuits. I think it is too early to draw firm conclusions about him. That is why I end up mentioning three presidents from the time leading up to the Civil War: Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. The 1850s and the road to the Civil War were a very dark chapter. None of them managed to show any leadership in all the misery, says Lahlum.

Mjelde also highlights the presidents of the 1850s, but eventually lands on Trump.

– In general, the presidents of the 1850s do not fare well, especially James Buchanan, due to their lack of leadership in the run-up to the civil war. However, Trump has pushed Buchanan aside after 160 years at the top. Trump ran a propaganda campaign with misinformation about the election against his own people, and attempted self-coup. A suicide is an incumbent president’s illegitimate attempt to remain in power. History will remember it as both anti-democratic and deeply un-American, says Mjelde.