Obviously the ripple effects of a presidency can last forever, but how long after a president's term ends should scholars wait before they can honestly, genuinely evaluate the legacy and the full positive/negative impacts of that president's administration? 20 years 30 years? More than that?
While studying at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Jimmy Carter was once viciously beaten by a northern-born upperclassman because he refused his demand to sing "Marching Through Georgia", a Civil War song commemorating the March to the Sea by General Sherman through Carter's home state.