Best Presidents In History - 2008 Harris Poll

Harris Interactive conducted an online poll within the United States last month. They asked over 2000 adults: Which one of the following presidents do you think was the best overall president in our history?

The list included all presidents since Franklin Roosevelt, along with some of the more famous from earlier in American history – George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge.

Scores were tallied by adding the percentage of those who answered “best” and “second best” for each president. Among modern leaders, Ronald Reagan ranked highest, but even his cache could not compete with the mighty Abe Lincoln, who was named the top president by 20 percent of those surveyed.

Abraham Lincoln, who is at the center of this rare photo, delivers his inaugural address from the Capitol's east portico.

Here are the results:

1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Ronald Reagan
3. Franklin Roosevelt
4. John Kennedy
5. George Washington
6. Bill Clinton
7. Thomas Jefferson
8. Harry Truman
9. Theodore Roosevelt
10. George W. Bush
11. Dwight Eisenhower
12. Jimmy Carter
13. Richard Nixon
14. George H.W. Bush
15. Lyndon Johnson
16. Gerald Ford
17. John Adams
18. Andrew Jackson
19. Woodrow Wilson
20. Calvin Coolidge