Domestic morale & national mood
All 16 modern US presidents ranked by their net score on this single sub-criterion. Good and harm are scored 0–10 independently; net is good minus harm. Click a name for the full scorecard.
Lifted nation from 1933 despair through Fireside Chats and visible activism. Wartime morale extraordinary. Death (April 1945) was a national grief event.
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- good·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
FDR maintained 60-80% Gallup approval through most of his presidency despite a decade of crisis; nationwide grief at his death indicated extraordinary morale impact.
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1984 'Morning in America' campaign defined era of restored national confidence. End-of-term Gallup approval ~63% (one of highest end-of-term ratings since Eisenhower). Olympic-era cultural moment (1984).
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Reagan ended his term with 63% Gallup approval — among the highest end-of-term ratings since Eisenhower; consistently high approval despite Iran-Contra and inequality criticisms.
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Gallup approval averaged ~65% across term. 'I Like Ike' era of generally positive national mood. Sputnik (1957) and U-2 (1960) tensions but no major morale crisis.
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Eisenhower averaged ~65% Gallup approval across his presidency, one of the highest term-averaged approvals on record.
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High approval (~70% average). Camelot-era national optimism. Assassination devastating but during-term morale strong.
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Kennedy maintained ~70% Gallup approval throughout term; among highest sustained approval ratings of modern era.
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Inherited Great Recession depressed mood. Recovery boosted. End-of-term ~59% Gallup approval. Polarization affected; Republicans uniformly hostile, Democrats supportive.
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Obama averaged ~48% Gallup approval, ending at 59%; partisan gap in approval (Democratic vs Republican) was largest measured by Gallup at that point.
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Strong economic-era morale. End-of-term ~65% Gallup approval — highest exit rating since Eisenhower. Lewinsky scandal hurt institutional trust.
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Clinton ended term with 65% Gallup approval — highest end-of-term rating since Eisenhower; economic prosperity drove approval despite impeachment.
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Restored civic confidence post-Watergate but stagflation and Vietnam end dragged. End-of-term ~53% approval.
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Ford averaged ~47% approval; pardon caused immediate ~20-point drop; ended term ~53%.
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Gulf War-era national unity (March 1991 peak 89% approval — highest in Gallup history to that point). Recession-era morale collapse.
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Bush 41 reached 89% Gallup approval in March 1991 (highest recorded approval to that point); subsequently declined to ~56% by election due to recession.
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Mixed: postwar prosperity boosted morale, but Korean War, McCarthyism, and end-of-term scandals dragged. 22% Gallup approval at end of term, lowest since polling began.
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Truman ended term with 22% Gallup approval, the lowest of any president measured at end-of-term to that point.
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Started high (post-Kennedy assassination). Vietnam, 1968 violence destroyed morale. End-of-term Gallup ~49%.
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LBJ approval ranged from 80% peak (early 1964) to 35% (late 1967); ended at ~49% — substantial deterioration from peak.
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COVID-era residual + inflation depressed morale. Polarized approval. End-of-term ~40% Gallup approval. Cognitive concerns affected late-term.
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Biden averaged ~42% Gallup approval term-overall; end-of-term ~40% reflected inflation concerns, age questions, and partisan polarization.
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Vietnam war exhaustion throughout term. Oil shock (1973) added economic distress. Watergate destroyed remaining national morale. End-of-term Gallup approval ~24%.
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Nixon's approval fell from 67% peak (post-1972 election) to 24% at resignation; one of the largest declines in presidential approval history.
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Brief 9/11 unity (90% peak approval October 2001) gave way to Iraq War polarization. Katrina depressing. 2008 crisis devastating. End-of-term ~34% approval.
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GW Bush approval peaked at 90% after 9/11 (highest Gallup approval ever recorded); ended at 34%, one of largest declines in presidential approval history.
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Stagflation, hostage crisis, energy crisis combined to produce 'malaise' national mood. End-of-term Gallup ~34%.
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Carter ended term with 34% Gallup approval; misery index reached postwar highs; Iran Hostage Crisis defined late-term national mood.
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Polarized approval. Base strongly supportive. Opposition intensely opposed. Mid-term ~45% approval. Tariff/economic concerns rising.
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Trump T2 approval averaging ~45% across major polling aggregators in early term; partisan gap remained historically wide.
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Highly polarized approval. Strong base loyalty + intense opposition. COVID-era and Jan 6 depressed national mood. End-of-term ~34% Gallup approval.
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Trump T1 averaged ~41% Gallup approval (lowest term-average since systematic polling began); end-of-term 34% — lowest end-of-term rating since Carter.
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