Derek Thompson

Franklin D. Roosevelt came into office when the U.S. was facing one of its worst economic crises ever. And more than a decade later, he'd remade the federal government and the U.S. economy with the U.S. bestriding the planet on the verge of total victory in World War II at the pinnacle of our geopolitical power. Those are three excellent, excellent choices.

But according to the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Daniel Walker Howe, the answer to the question, who is America's most successful president, might be none of the above. If success means articulating your goals and achieving all of them, none of those three are perfect fits. George Washington's negotiations with Britain failed to secure the recognition of US maritime rights.

But according to the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Daniel Walker Howe, the answer to the question, who is America's most successful president, might be none of the above. If success means articulating your goals and achieving all of them, none of those three are perfect fits. George Washington's negotiations with Britain failed to secure the recognition of US maritime rights.

But according to the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Daniel Walker Howe, the answer to the question, who is America's most successful president, might be none of the above. If success means articulating your goals and achieving all of them, none of those three are perfect fits. George Washington's negotiations with Britain failed to secure the recognition of US maritime rights.

FDR's court packing plan famously and infamously backfired. And while it seems kind of mean, absurd to blame Abraham Lincoln for his own assassination, I don't think it's debatable that his second term was a failure by his own standards, since his vice president, Andrew Johnson, who became president, had policies that were totally at odds with Lincoln's vision of reconstruction.

FDR's court packing plan famously and infamously backfired. And while it seems kind of mean, absurd to blame Abraham Lincoln for his own assassination, I don't think it's debatable that his second term was a failure by his own standards, since his vice president, Andrew Johnson, who became president, had policies that were totally at odds with Lincoln's vision of reconstruction.

FDR's court packing plan famously and infamously backfired. And while it seems kind of mean, absurd to blame Abraham Lincoln for his own assassination, I don't think it's debatable that his second term was a failure by his own standards, since his vice president, Andrew Johnson, who became president, had policies that were totally at odds with Lincoln's vision of reconstruction.

No, if success means achieving every single major thing you set out to do, then identifying the most successful president forces us to look a little bit further. In 1845, James K. Polk, newly elected president by a whisker-thin margin, confided to a friend, George Bancroft, the four goals of his four years in the White House.

No, if success means achieving every single major thing you set out to do, then identifying the most successful president forces us to look a little bit further. In 1845, James K. Polk, newly elected president by a whisker-thin margin, confided to a friend, George Bancroft, the four goals of his four years in the White House.

No, if success means achieving every single major thing you set out to do, then identifying the most successful president forces us to look a little bit further. In 1845, James K. Polk, newly elected president by a whisker-thin margin, confided to a friend, George Bancroft, the four goals of his four years in the White House.

Number one, acquire Oregon from Great Britain.

Number one, acquire Oregon from Great Britain.

Number one, acquire Oregon from Great Britain.

Number two, acquire California from Mexico. Number three, reduce the tariff. And number four, establish an independent treasury.

Number two, acquire California from Mexico. Number three, reduce the tariff. And number four, establish an independent treasury.

Number two, acquire California from Mexico. Number three, reduce the tariff. And number four, establish an independent treasury.

As Howe writes in his book, What Hath God Wrought, quote, judged by these objectives, Polk is probably the most successful president the United States has ever had.

As Howe writes in his book, What Hath God Wrought, quote, judged by these objectives, Polk is probably the most successful president the United States has ever had.

As Howe writes in his book, What Hath God Wrought, quote, judged by these objectives, Polk is probably the most successful president the United States has ever had.

In fact, if you really wanted to press the case, Polk's term was even more successful than his objectives. By winning the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848, he didn't just acquire what we now think of as California. He acquired what is now West Texas, most of Arizona and New Mexico, half of Colorado, and all of modern Utah and Nevada.