Every few years, organizations like Siena College and C-SPAN ask historians, political scientists, and presidential biographers to rank the best U.S. presidents. The results invariably spark debate among academics and the public alike, and the whole exercise has become an amusing, if somewhat cynical, pastime.
Daniel N. Gullotta is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom at the University of Mississippi. His first book, focusing on religious politics and the rise of Andrew Jackson, will be published by Yale University Press.
