The approach of President’s Day raises the question of what makes a good leader. In a recent interview, George R. Goethals — the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor of Leadership Studies at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies — offered insight into how Americans judge their presidents.

What do Americans look for in presidential leadership? How has that changed? 

Research suggests that across time and culture, human beings have a very general way of making meaning of what they encounter — whether those encounters be with other people, events or situations. We judge very quickly whether those things are strong, active and good.  So potential presidents who are seen to fit that template appeal to the public. Studies further suggest that a small amount of highly visible or salient information triggers that template, or perhaps its opposite. What information becomes salient and how it is evaluated can change. 

While some presidents have consistently ranked as best or worst in surveys, others have shifted in their ratings. Who are some examples, and why?

The presidents who appear at the very top of ratings, and to a lesser extent at the bottom, are remarkably stable. The top three are always George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D.  Roosevelt. Beliefs about what they did to establish, preserve, or protect the nation are unlikely to change. The ones with the lowest ratings are those who let the nation drift into Civil War, or who attempted to undo its legacy: Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Andrew Johnson. In the most recent C-SPAN survey, Donald Trump joins them at the bottom. That may change. Now Trump seems to trigger an image of being strong, active, and bad for many raters. 

Changes in presidential ratings reflect both what has become recently important, and how those elements are evaluated. For example, efforts presidents have made toward racial justice have become more salient as race and justice have become more important for many Americans.  That value combines with what we have recently learned or emphasized about presidents to change some ratings. As a result, Ulysses S. Grant has risen from the very bottom to the upper middle of ratings, while Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson have dramatically fallen. 

What has your research shown to be the most important factors in determining how history judges U.S. presidents?

Our surveys of UR students show that the most memorable presidents include Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon. Assassination and scandal are highly important and memorable.  Lincoln and Kennedy are seen as presidents cut down just at the time they might have been able to make the country a better one. Nixon, for all his achievements, will always be associated with the Watergate scandal.