What is Historical rankings of presidents of the United States?
{{no sources|date=June 2019}} Historians (and sometimes political scientists) are surveyed and asked to give [[President of the United States|presidents of the United States]] number ratings on their overall performance or on different aspects of their leadership. Several different factors are considered in deciding what makes one a good or bad president. These include their character, their vision for the country, their relations with congress, their relations with foreign leaders (diplomacy), how they managed the economy, how they managed the military, and their overall political skill. To make sure the rankings are fair, many surveys equally balance the opinions of [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]]. It is sometimes difficult to accurately rank a president because all of the presidents faced completely different challenges. Historical opinions of U.S. presidents may change over time. For example, [[Harry S. Truman]] had very low approval ratings after he left office, but many historians now consider him among some the greatest presidents. == General findings == ===Highly ranked=== [[File:Abraham Lincoln head on shoulders photo portrait.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Abraham Lincoln is rated as one of the best presidents for his leadership during the [[American Civil War]] and his eloquence in speeches such as the [[Gettysburg Address]].]] The following presidents are usually ranked highly: *[[George Washington]] (the first president of the United States and helped the country win the [[American Revolutionary War]]) *[[John Adams]] (oversaw the [[Quasi-War]]) *[[Thomas Jefferson]] (partly because of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] and for being the author of the [[Declaration of Independence]]) *[[James Madison]] (led the United States through the [[War of 1812]]) *[[James Monroe]] (expanded the United States and supported the founding of colonies in [[Africa]] for free [[African Americans]]) *[[James K. Polk]] (President during the [[Mexican American War