When it comes to honoring the most popular Presidents of all time, Mount Rushmore seems to have hit the nail on the head. (No pun intended)

In 2009, CSPAN conducted the most recent and comprehensive ranking of United States Presidents. It polled historians, professors and political scientists and asked them to rank every President from the best to the worst. All agreed that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt  (the four faces that grace Mount Rushmore) are among the most popular and respected Presidents of all time.

Lincoln came in at No. 1, followed by Washington at No. 2. In fourth place was Roosevelt, and in seventh, Jefferson.

If Mount Rushmore were sculpted today, however, there's a chance that two Roosevelts would appear on the mountainside. This is because most historians consider Franklin D. Roosevelt (Teddy's nephew) to be among the top-3 Presidents in the nation's history.

Ohio, known as the Mother of Presidents, has sent eight men to the Oval Office. The state is tied with Virginia as the most presidential state. In fact, one-third of all Presidents have come from either Ohio or Virginia.

However, as history shows, being a President from Ohio isn't necessarily a good thing. Some people might even consider it a curse.

Most of Ohio's Presidents are at the bottom of the CSPAN list, including William Henry Harrison, who had the worst rating of any Ohio President at No. 39 out of 43.

Only one man made the top-20 list. That was William McKinley, who ranked in at No. 16. But even he had to face the terrible reckoning of Ohio's presidential curse.

The last President to hail from Ohio was Warren G. Harding. The CSPAN poll ranked Harding at No. 38. (Although many historians consider him to be the worst President in US history — worse even than James Buchanan, whom the poll ranked at No. 43.)

Harding's service, or lack there of, to the United States is probably why the nation hasn't elected another President from Ohio in more than 80 years.

While it's safe to say that Harrison, and to some degree James Garfield (ranked at No. 28), deserves a pass for his low ranking (he died of a cold in his 32nd day of office and never really had a chance to prove himself one way or another) Harding, and others that followed him were around long enough to implement policy. Unfortunately, or unwisely,  most surrounded themselves with corrupt politicians, which ultimately ended up ruining their careers and their good names. 

Harding was among the unwise.

Although Harding — a newspaper man from Marion — signed the peace treaty that officially ended World War I for the United States, and also established the Veteran's Bureau (known today as the Department of Veteran's Affairs), his Presidency was rocked with scandal, including one that involved Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall. Fall was convicted of accepting bribes and illegal no-interest personal loans in exchange for the leasing of public oil fields to business associates. He was later jailed in what became known as the Teapot Dome scandal. Fall was was the only tip of the iceberg in Harding's corrupt cabinet.

It has never been proven whether or not Harding gained personally from any of his cabinet members' illegal activities, but in June 1923, he set out on a cross-country "Voyage of Understanding" in which he planned to meet and greet the average citizens of the country and explain his policies. (During this trip he became the first President to visit Alaska). While traveling down the West Coast, Harding became ill, and on Aug. 2, 1923, he died of a heart attack. There is actually some dispute surrounding Harding's death. Some historians believe he died from food poisoning and others — only a handful — that his wife had him killed. It has been widely noted that Harding engaged in a number of extramarital affairs, including one that may have led to an illegitimate daughter named Elizabeth Ann Blaesing.

An Ohio President that had great things in store for him also surrounded himself with the wrong people.

As the victorious General of the Union Army during the Civil War, in 1868 Ulysses S. Grant  easily won the bid for the Presidency and was even re-elected for a second term. Historians note that, if it were not for a corrupt cabinet, Grant would probably be considered one of the best Presidents in the country's history.

Born near Cincinnati along the Ohio River, Grant enforced Civil Rights for African Americans and was the signer of the Treaty of Washington (strengthening ties between the United Kingdom and the United States). He also gave the world Yellowstone National Park and helped rebuild a shattered country from ashes and rubble of the Civil War.

Unfortunately, Grant's reputation suffered from scandals that were caused by the men he appointed to office. The financial Panic of 1873 also didn't help his reputation in history.

However tainted Grant's reputation may have been, the people of the United States couldn't get enough of Ohio.

From 1869 (when Grant took office) until 1881, the Oval Office was filled by men from Ohio. After Grant there was Rutherford B. Hayes and then James Garfield.

Hayes was known for being an honest man, which the nation wanted after witnessing the corruption of Grant's cabinet. He actually lost the popular vote in 1876, but won the Presidency by one electoral vote. Needless to say, Hayes didn't get much accomplished. Even worse, in 1877 the Great Railroad Strike took place, which caused riots. Under Hayes' command, federal troops (for the first time in US history) opened fired on striking workers, killing more than 70 people and, ultimately ending Hayes' political career — not to mention trust in the government. 

After Hayes came Garfield, who was only a little luckier than Harrison.

Garfield was assassinated six months after his inauguration and it took two months for him to die. It has been proven that Garfield would have lived (the bullet missed his spine and lodged in muscle tissue) if doctors would have washed their hands before reaching inside the President. He died in horrible agony. 

After going through the Presidency of Chester A. Arthur, which was quite forgettable, and Grover Cleveland, Ohio finally got a prominent, noteworthy President — William McKinley.

McKinley was born in Niles, OH and, before becoming the 25th President of the United States, was Governor of the state and also served in the US House of Representatives.

McKinley is honored for upholding the Gold Standard (coveted today by economists who oppose the Federal Reserve's creation of money out from thin air) and promoting pluralism (individual freedoms/beliefs) among ethnic groups. He annexed Hawaii into the United States, as well as the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam. He led the country through tough times, including the often forgotten Spanish-American War and through the anti-American Boxer Rebellion in China. The economy also flourished under McKinley, including business, agriculture and overall wealth for the average person. This has been attributed to the Gold Standard and the trust people felt in his Presidency.

Unfortunately, the curse of Ohio got the best of McKinley. On Sept. 6, 1901, while in Niagara Falls, NY, McKinley was assassinated. He died on Sept. 14. If one could take something good from this situation, it's that Teddy Roosevelt (his Vice President) took office and led the the country through prominent times.

To this day, many people believe that McKinley's death was actually the work of central bankers who opposed the Gold Standard. Less than 15 years after his death, the Federal Reserve Act (which created the private Federal Reserve and gave it the power to print the country's money) was passed. Eventually the Gold Standard was taken away. Today, the Dollar is backed by nothing — except consumer confidence. Many people long for not only the Gold Standard, but also the trust that McKinley brought to the Oval Office.

Out of all of Ohio's Presidential tourist destinations, McKinley's hometown of Nile is by far the most interesting.  Nile is home to the McKinley Birthplace Home & Research Center (an amazing place for history buffs), the impressive McKinley Memorial Library and the glorious Court of Honor, plus more. All of these locations are currently open to the public. To plan a trip to the area, visit www.mckinley.lib.oh.us.

Niles is located about 250 miles east of Miami and Shelby County, just north of Youngstown.

There are monuments, markers and museums for all of Ohio's Presidents. A simple search online can find plenty of information for tourists.

The following information was derived from the CSPAN poll in 2009 and does not include the current President.

Ranking of Ohio's Presidents

Ulysses Simpson Grant — 22

Rutherford B. Hayes — 33

James A. Garfield — 28

Benjamin Harrison — 30

William McKinley — 16

William Howard Taft — 24

Warren G. Harding — 38

The Top 10 worst Presidents of all time

1. James Buchanan — D

2. Franklin Pierce — D

3. Andrew Johnson — D

4. William Henry Harrison — Whig

5. Warren G. Harding — R

6. Millard Fillmore — Whig

7. George W. Bush — R

8. John Tyler — Whig

9. Herbert Hoover — R

10. Rutheford B. Hayes — R

The Top 10 best Presidents of all time

1. Abraham Lincoln — R

2. George Washington — Independent

3. Franklin Roosevelt — D

4. Theodore Roosevelt — R

5. Harry Truman — D

6. John F. Kennedy — D

7. Thomas Jefferson — Dem-Republican

8. Dwight D. Eisenhower — R

9. Woodrow Wilson — D

10. Ronald Reagan — R