Barack Obama ranked highly by historians

Barack Obama and his deputy, Joe Biden (file)
Barack Obama and his deputy, Joe Biden (file)

Barack Obama's only been out of the job a month, but historians are already calling his presidency one of the United States' best.

He's made his debut on C-SPAN's annual ranking of the country's leaders in 12th place, just behind Woodrow Wilson - who was President during World War I - and Lyndon Johnson, who oversaw civil rights legislation and most of the Vietnam War.

The non-profit cable network surveyed dozens of historians to come up with the list, the third time it has done so since 2000.

Abraham Lincoln, who oversaw the end of slavery and the ensuing American Civil War, has topped the list every time.

Donald Trump salutes a statue of Abraham Lincoln (Reuters)
Donald Trump salutes a statue of Abraham Lincoln (Reuters)

Franklin D Roosevelt, who led the country through World War II and won four elections, rose to second - pushing George Washington, the country's first President, into third place.

Rounding out the top 10 are Theodore Roosevelt (winner of the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize), Dwight D Eisenhower (set up NASA), Harry S Truman (authorised the atomic bombing of Japan), Thomas Jefferson (wrote the Declaration of Independence), John F Kennedy (peacefully resolved the Cuban Missile Crisis), Ronald Reagan (kickstarted neoliberal economics) and Lyndon Johnson (outlawed racial discrimination and ended segregation).

Woodrow Wilson drops out of the top 10 to 11th, his views on segregation and civil rights becoming increasingly difficult to justify in the modern era.

Woodrow Wilson (Reuters)
Woodrow Wilson (Reuters)

Mr Obama's entry at #12 puts him three places ahead of fellow Democrat Bill Clinton, and well above most other recent Presidents, including both George Bushes, Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon.

At this early stage, Mr Obama's legacy is likely to be his healthcare reform, stewardship of the economy during the Great Recession, expansion of LGBT rights and his status as the first African-American to hold the job.

In all three polls since 2000, James Buchanan has come last. His leadership saw the US crumble, leading to the Civil War - luckily for the union, he was followed by Abraham Lincoln.

Dwight Eisenhower (Getty)
Dwight Eisenhower (Getty)

The full list can be found on C-SPAN's website.

Newshub.