The 8 Worst Presidents in U.S. History

Historians say these presidents were the worst to lead the nation.

How do you determine who the worst presidents in U.S. history are? Asking some of the most notable presidential historians is a good place to start. In 2017, C-SPAN issued their third in-depth survey of presidential historians, asking them to identify the nation's worst presidents and discuss why. For this survey, C-SPAN consulted 91 leading presidential historians, asking them to rank the United States' leaders on 10 leadership characteristics. Those criteria include a president's legislative skills, his relations with Congress, performance during crises, with allowances for historical context. Over the course of the three surveys, released in 2000 and 2009, some of the rankings have changed, but the three worst presidents have remained the same, according to historians. Who were they? The results just might surprise you!

1. James Buchanan

When it comes to the title of the worst president, historians agree James Buchanan was the worst. Some presidents are associated, directly or indirectly, with major Supreme Court rulings of their tenure. When we think of Miranda v. Arizona (1966), we might lump it together with Johnson's Great Society reforms. When we think of Korematsu v. United States (1944), we can't help but think of Franklin Roosevelt's mass internment of Japanese Americans.

But when we think of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), we don't think of James Buchanan — and we should. Buchanan, who made the pro-slavery policy a central tenet of his administration, boasted in advance of the ruling that the issue of slavery expansion was about to be resolved "speedily and finally" by his friend Chief Justice Roger Taney's decision, which defined African Americans as subhuman non-citizens.

2. Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson is one of only two presidents to be impeached (Bill Clinton is the other). Johnson, a Democrat from Tennessee, was Lincoln's vice president at the...Read more...

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