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The top US presidents (UK Poll)?
According to the institute for the study of the Americas and on the BBC, Franklin D Roosevelt has topped the poll as the 'top U.S president' So the top five (5) is:
1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-45)
2. Abraham Lincoln (1861-65)
3. George Washington (1789-97)
4. Thomas Jefferson (1801-09)
5. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09)
Not suprising President Bush was in the bottom 10 along with some Pre and post civil war presidents (i am not a historian but i only know a single name on the list):
36. Andrew Johnson (1865-69)
37. John Tyler (1841-45)
38. Warren Harding (1921-23)
39. Franklin Pierce (1853-57)
40. James Buchanan (1857-61)
What do you guys make of this list? Bear in mind that this is from the British perspective and is totally different from the American one. Obama cannot be scored yet as he is still in term but it will be interesting to see where he finishes when his term is up
These polls was carried out by academics from universities across the UK specialising in American history
7 Answers
- willieLv 61 decade agoFavorite Answer
F.D.R. number 1? when i saw that, i went to your link to see what type of things were being asked... they all seemed progressive, which wasn't a surprise. Thomas Jefferson was clearly the best U.S. president as far as adherence to the constitution (except for that purchase of land from france, but what the hey, it was a bargain he couldn't pass on). Gover Cleveland is my personal favorite because he vetoed just about everything that operated outside the bounds of the constitution. Cleveland held to his office true...
To list F.D.R. above George Washington is an insult. FDR prolonged the depression with his power grab, and social programs. that's a fact that has been proven but not widely spread by the media.
To list FDR above Lincoln is another head scratcher.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
My guess is that FDR's relationship with England during the war puts him ahead of American's view of his presidency. If he was so great, why did we impose presidential term limits right after he died? Even without constitutional limits, Washington knew that he should leave after two terms. I just wish that Roosevelt had been that gracious and thoughtful and had put his country's interests first.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
I'm glad that you said term, singular, when referring to Barry. I can't wait until this guy is gone.
As for the poll, though, it's absurd to put FDR ahead of Washington and Lincoln....or even in the top five. I've never seen a U.S. list that puts him at the top.
- GrillparzerLv 71 decade ago
They rated George W. Bush entirely too high and Washington should be first, but other then that I think it's accurate.
- How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- ?Lv 51 decade ago
Teddy should be number 1.
edit: And I think it's an outrage that Woodrow Wilson is 6th. The guy was a horrible president, and set the civil rights movement back 50 years.
- Anonymous1 decade ago
I am not sure what the criteria is for determining who the top President was, so I do not necessarily agree with those listed..
I do know, that Obama WILL certainly be on the bottom of the list for the next 500 years.
- 1 decade ago
I think Clinton should be number 1 since he was able to lie and the public still liked him.
