No. Washington had enormous official duties, including the setting of many important precedents, but his personal life—during the 1790s—was relatively untroubled. Franklin D. Roosevelt had overcome many adversities by the time the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, but he had almost no personal trials concerning family or friends during the four years that he was the active commander-in-chief. Then, too, Franklin D. Roosevelt had the advantage of a first-class education.

George Washington carried out the immense work of setting the nation on a course. Woodrow Wilson guided the nation through the First World War and attempted to navigate the free world through the peace that followed. Franklin D. Roosevelt carried the economic struggles of the nation during the 1930s and the military struggles of the 1940s, but he did not have to do them at the same time. No, Lincoln stands alone, at the top of his august company.