Most impactful U.S. presidents of all time

Most people have a favorite president. The question of which presidents have had the greatest impact in the history of the United States is one which has been asked and answered many times.

The results are nearly always controversial, although those presidents in the upper echelon of the lists generally remain consistent from one survey to the next (virtually all of them have George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Woodrow Wilson, and both Roosevelts in the top six).

In many ways, the answer to the question is dependent upon the criteria used in asking the question.

In 2008, Alvin Felzenberg published a book that turned the presidential ratings game upside down. Rather than rely upon highly subjective, although well-respected, surveys, Felzenberg evaluated the presidents by rating them according to six categories on a scale of one to five. He then averaged the results of all six categories for each president to create a composite score and proceeded to objectively rank the presidents.

In this new answer to an old question, a president’s impact is assessed based upon two of Felzenberg’s six categories: “character” and “preserving and extending liberty.”

Calvin Coolidge (Republican, 1923)

Coolidge wasn’t a man who was afraid of sweat. He believed an honest day’s work came before an honest day’s wage. As president, he responded to the concerns of average citizens. He fought against the prejudices of his generation.

Felzenberg documents that when a Secret Service agent referred to Coolidge’s valet as a “fine, colored gentleman,” Coolidge was quick to reply, “Brooks isn’t a colored gentleman — he’s just a gentleman.”

He was also a proponent of tolerance, a quality as precious today as it was in Coolidge’s era. Coolidge believed, “Our greatest need is to live in harmony, in friendship, and in good-will, not seeking an advantage over each other but all trying to serve each other.”

He lived as he preached and advocated civility in the political arena. In what must have been refreshing after the shame of the Warren G. Harding administration, Coolidge was never tarnished with scandal. He was a man of character.

“Liberty is not collective, it is personal," are fitting words for the president who was born on the Fourth of July. Nicknamed “Silent Cal” for his reticent ways and ridiculed by many, Coolidge nonetheless worked towards both preserving and extending liberty. His example was so poignant in the mind of Ronald Reagan that one of the first things he did after taking office was to remove Coolidge’s portrait from the Grand Hall and place it next to Jefferson’s in the Cabinet Room.

Coolidge fought against corruption and worked to restore order in the aftermath of the Harding administration. He also fought against racism. Felzenberg notes, “(Coolidge) called for the enactment of a federal anti-lynching law in each of his six State of the Union addresses.”

A supporter of Howard University, Coolidge worked to provide training and education for African Americans. While without the grandeur of a Lincoln or a Washington, Coolidge nonetheless worked tirelessly to preserve and extend liberty.

Harry Truman (Democrat, 1945)

When Truman left office in 1953, his approval ratings were awful. Time has vindicated him in the minds of the American people — in large measure because of his character. One of his biographers, David McCullough, says of Truman, “He stood for common sense, common decency.”

Truman embodied what many think of as old-fashioned morality. He abhorred adultery and shunned selfish pride. When selecting George Marshall as his Secretary of State, he was warned that people might say that Marshall would be a better president than he would. Truman responded that Marshall would be a better president, but that the office had come to him and he wanted the best colleagues he could find.

Truman believed in honesty, hard work, stewardship and cheerfulness in difficulty. He was not afraid or embarrassed to stand up for principles of religion, nor did he talk the talk without walking the walk.

“We must remember that the test of our religious principles lies not just in what we say,” remarked Truman, “but in what we do for others.”

Near the end of World War II, Truman made one of the most difficult decisions a president may have ever faced. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, led to the end of the war and helped restore peace.

When the war was over, he fought for civil rights and against the Ku Klux Klan. Although Truman shared many of the prejudices he fought against, he believed that the founding principles of the Constitution were greater than he was. He was also among the first to advocate for Israel and quickly offered diplomatic recognition.Felzenberg declares, “Because (of Truman), dreams of freedom became closer to reality for millions both home and abroad.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican, 1953)

Eisenhower was a man of character. Stephen Ambrose states, “Whenever associates described Eisenhower, there was one word that almost all of them, superiors or subordinates, used. It was trust.”

When there was credit to be had, Eisenhower gave it. When there was blame to be taken, he took it. Virtually the only time he used the word “I” in a speech was when he drafted a message to be presented in the event the allied landings in France were unsuccessful. He worked hard, but knew when to ask for help. When Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson recommended that they open their meetings with prayer, Eisenhower agreed that it was a good idea to call upon heaven for guidance.

Eisenhower helped preserve and extend liberty when segregation was outlawed. He was committed to the rule of law, whether he agreed or not.

“If the day comes when we can obey the orders of our courts only when we personally approve of them,” he said, “the end of the American system, as we know it, will not be far off.”

Eisenhower supported the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education and worked to make the process of integration run smoothly. When there was trouble at a high school in Little Rock, Ark., Felzenberg states, “Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division to escort nine black students… after an unruly mob had denied them entrance.”

He continued to advocate for civil rights in his dealings with Congress. He ended the war with Korea. He was an advocate for liberty and worked to that end for much of his life.

George Washington (Federalist, 1789)

Comparing Washington with other presidents, Felzenberg writes, “None possessed a more exemplary character.” Great character was not something that Washington achieved by chance, but rather by conscious effort. He worked at it consistently throughout his life.

Time after time, he came to the aid of his countrymen. When King George learned that Washington would return to his farm after securing his independence, he exclaimed, “If he does that he will be the greatest man in the world.”

Washington did do that, creating a precedent for the presidency that would remain until the era of Franklin Roosevelt. Washington used power for good but did not lust after it, nor did he believe it should be attained at any cost. In his final farewell address, he warned against the dangers of partisanship, setting an example that remains relevant and admirable to this day.

Washington helped plant the seeds of liberty. He played an instrumental role in defeating the British and securing independence. Time after time, he set the example for others to follow, whether in spirit or deed. He is thought by some to have been the first to sign the Constitution. He was the first to be elected president, the first to make appointments to the Supreme Court, and so on. He lobbied for the ratification of the Bill of Rights and ultimately gave up his power willingly to ensure that liberty would be a right of the people and not the gift of a king.

Abraham Lincoln (Republican, 1861)

Lincoln led a life of character that is worthy of envy. When Lincoln first aspired to politics, he expressed, “I have no other (ambition) so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men.”

He suffered greatly from depression and yearned for the acceptance of others. Yet time after time, his political efforts ended in futility. Not only did Lincoln fail for so long to achieve the esteem he so desperately craved, he also faced constant opposition as he fought against slavery.

For one already so full of self-doubt, these attacks must have been heartbreaking. But Lincoln was no bandwagon abolitionist. He opposed slavery early in his political career and did so for the remainder of his life: “I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free,” he stated.

And he was true to his word. He took the nation to the brink of collapse and nursed it back to health, stronger than it was before. Without Lincoln’s almost stubborn adherence to character, America would not be the beacon of light that it is today.

Washington helped to forge our country, and Lincoln worked to save it. Although the country was nearly lost, Lincoln achieved victory in the Civil War, thereby preserving liberty and freedom for generations to come. He used the power of his office to help pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

His rhetorical brilliance continues to inspire liberty. Perhaps his sole blemish was that of choosing Andrew Johnson as vice president. Yet had it not been for an assassin’s bullet, even that mistake may have been overcome. Lincoln worked tirelessly to both preserve and extend liberty to the American people.

When it comes to character and efforts to both preserve and extend liberty, five of America’s most impactful presidents are Coolidge, Truman, Eisenhower, Washington, and Lincoln.

Kurt Manwaring is pursuing a graduate degree in public administration at the University of Utah. He is the owner of Manwaring Research & Consulting and maintains a personal blog at www.kurtsperspective.blogspot.com.

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