Most of America’s 10 favorite US presidents served over 100 years ago

Today marks the 147th annual Presidents Day in the US — and while George Washington’s (federally recognized) birthday means a three-day weekend for many modern Americans, for Andrew Jackson nearly 200 years ago, it meant cracking into a 1,400-pound wheel of cheese.

But for all their 18th-century quirks, from keeping pet bears to sporting hippo dentures, it seems that US adults today are often more fond of the nation’s earliest heads of state than they are of modern presidents.

Presidents’ precedence

A new YouGov survey, conducted February 2 through 5, asked Americans to rate 20 US presidents on a scale from outstanding to poor, and found that the top rated overall was Abraham Lincoln, with a 71% net positive rating.

Behind Honest Abe — whose legacy lives on in landmark legislation, the preservation of a unified country, and, as of late, the walls of a steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan — was John F. Kennedy (61% net positive), then George Washington (60%), followed by three more Founding Fathers to help round out the top 10.

Per YouGov, recent presidents have “more detractors” than presidents earlier in history, with six of the 11 presidents with negative net ratings having held office in the last 50 years. Still, earlier presidents saw greater shares of Americans reporting being “unsure” about their impact — which might suggest that some responses are perhaps based more on vibes than for any specific policy opinions.

Indeed, it’s perhaps no coincidence that James Madison received the greatest share of “unsure” responses and the second-lowest share of negative ratings... while also having more places named after him than most other US presidents.