by Jude Coyle

Created on: November 14, 2009   Last Updated: November 15, 2009

I am not a teacher, nor am I a historian. I am a reader, and lover of American history, with a basic high school education. In spite of that, I feel that I can give a fairly accurate accounting of who I consider to be in the list of top ten Presidents of the United States, and why they should be considered so. So, in my humble opinion, I would consider the following to be at the top of the list:

1. George Washington of Virginia, served from 1789 thru 1797. George Washington was the only U.S. President to be elected unanimously, and also the only President not to represent any political party. He began his career with a incredibly well written document based on an untested theory, and with no history or model to live up to.

He set the standards. Under his Administration, land was set aside between Maryland and Virginia with the intention of building a National Capitol. Although he never had the opportunity to serve from there, his hand influenced every aspect of planning the city named for him, and the District of Columbia. George Washington is the only President to have a State named for him.

2. Abraham Lincoln, a Republican from Illinois, served from 1861 thru 1865. He is more closely identified with his stand on slavery than any other issue. Prior to his election, several Southern States declared they would leave the Union if he won. Eleven States seceded.

Abraham Lincoln was considered a rube, inept and crude, even by his own Cabinet. In spite of that, he held the rest of the Nation together by use of some innate wisdom most didn't recognize until after his passing, and an incredible understanding of the use of language.

His Gettysburg Address is considered one of the greatest speeches made by an American President. His most memorable act was the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves.

What most people today don't realize is that he was as mistrusted for his stance on the expansion of the railroads as he was for his stance on slavery. Because of his Administration, trains crossed the Continent, which was possibly the largest contributor to the expansion of the United States.

3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a Democrat from New York, served from 1933 until his death in 1945. He was the single longest serving American President in U.S. history. He ran against the incumbent, Herbert Hoover, promising America a 'New Deal.'

At that time, we were one year into the worst depression in American and world history. Roosevelt decided that 'laze faire', or

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