American history seems marked by cycles. 

From the puritans to today, there have been periods of religious rebirth. From Salem to McCarthyism, etc., there have been recurring spates of witch hunts. 

There are theories on 30-year cycles, which claim American history repeats certain trends every three decades.

Again, these are all theories, based on historians’ observations.

Let me add one more cyclical theory to the heap: The theory of America’s 70-year need for a great president. 

And, in many ways, we should hope it’s true though it could mean that things are about to get tougher before they get better.

Again, this is merely theory — speculation, really — based on an observation. There is nothing scientific about it and it’s all likely just coincidence. Full disclosure: I first proposed it several years ago.

Still, here we go.

The majority of historians agree that our three greatest presidents have been George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

This doesn’t mean other presidents aren’t listed by some historians and Americans as great or near-great. These presidents include Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Ronald Reagan, but again, it is Washington, Lincoln and FDR who tower over the rest.

A great president is one who not only defines his times and his nation but sets the tone for years to come. A great president’s actions are not only felt while he is in office but in the years and decades that follow. And a great president is one whose actions save the nation at times of great peril.

Washington helped forge the nation before ever becoming the first president. Serving as president from 1789-97, Washington not only established what a president should be but he refused to seek a third term. He oversaw the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next, something we usually take for granted, though not this year, but a peaceful transfer of power was a revolutionary concept at the time.

Lincoln served as president from 1861-65, during the Civil War years. He emancipated the slaves and preserved the Union. Yet, had Lincoln failed, had there been two United States in the years to come, one must wonder in the fog of historical what-ifs, how those two nations would have fared against the Nazis and the Japanese in World War II?

Which brings us to FDR. From 1933-45, Roosevelt led the nation through the Great Depression and World War II. Agree with him or disagree with him, FDR was a catalyst of the world we’d live in for the next several generations.

Bringing us back to my cyclical theory: It would seem every 70-some years, America gets a great president. From Washington to Lincoln to FDR, 70-some years between each one, and it’s been 70-some years since the death of FDR.

Perhaps, if there is any credence to these historical cycles, it is time again for a great American president. A pandemic, social unrest, economic calamity, a diminished standing in the world, we could use a great president.

Also, the presidencies prior to Lincoln and FDR – James Buchanan and Herbert Hoover, respectively – are considered two of the worst. And coming after a president who was twice impeached … 

A great president is shaped as much by his times as he shapes those times. 

Would Washington have been as great had he not been the first when America struggled to become a nation? Would Lincoln be considered great if not for the Civil War? How would we remember FDR if not defined by the Great Depression and World War II?

Our times could define the essence of another great president and he those times. It could also be a time that defines us. For the era of the greats are times that call upon sacrifices of the American people, from Gettysburg to Iwo Jima, to keeping the homefires burning with whatever has been rationed, to simply wearing a mask and listening to one another.

Seventy years or not, our time calls for a great American president. 

Can our new president rise to the challenges that would make him great? 

More importantly, can the American people rise again to the challenge of greatness?

Dean Poling is an editor with The Valdosta Daily Times.