Liberal and Conservative Raters
The Murray-Blessing 1982 survey asked historians whether they were liberal or conservative on domestic, social and economic issues. The table below shows that the two groups had only small differences in ranking the best and worst presidents. Both groups agreed on the composition of nine of the top ten Presidents (and were split over the inclusion of either Lyndon B. Johnson or Dwight D. Eisenhower), and six of the worst seven (split over Jimmy Carter or Calvin Coolidge). Conservatives placed Democrat Harry S. Truman at a higher ranking.
| Rank | Liberals (n=190) | Conservatives (n=50) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abraham Lincoln | Abraham Lincoln |
| 2 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | George Washington |
| 3 | George Washington | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| 4 | Thomas Jefferson | Thomas Jefferson |
| 5 | Theodore Roosevelt | Theodore Roosevelt |
| 6 | Woodrow Wilson | Andrew Jackson |
| 7 | Andrew Jackson | Harry S. Truman |
| 8 | Harry S. Truman | Woodrow Wilson |
| 9 | Lyndon B. Johnson | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 10 | John Adams | John Adams |
| ... | ||
| 30 | Calvin Coolidge | James E. Carter |
| 31 | Franklin Pierce | Richard Nixon |
| 32 | James Buchanan | Franklin Pierce |
| 33 | Andrew Johnson | Andrew Johnson |
| 34 | Ulysses S. Grant | James Buchanan |
| 35 | Richard Nixon | Ulysses S. Grant |
| 36 | Warren G. Harding | Warren G. Harding |
Read more about this topic: Historical Rankings Of Presidents Of The United States
Famous quotes containing the words liberal and/or conservative:
“The power of consumer goods ... has been engendered by the so-called liberal and progressive demands of freedom, and, by appropriating them, has emptied them of their meaning, and changed their nature.”
—Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922–1975)
“I never dared to be radical when young
For fear it would make me conservative when old.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)