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The Five Greatest Presidents in the History of the United States The United States governments functioning is based on the principle of democracy, which dates back to ancient Greece. According to this concept, the government officials cannot be anything else, but the representatives of the people, on whose behalf they work for. Ideally, the situation when they exercise too much influence on states internal and foreign affairs is intolerable, as it contradicts the most fundamental principle of democracy - peoples self governing. Yet, in the history of United States there are many examples of our presidents being not just top executives, but also being able to shape up the nations spiritual agenda, according to their wishes. This proves the correctness of individualist concept of history, which states that even democratic nations are not spared from the influence of strong men. The greatest five U.
S. presidents that are going to be discussed in this paper, had undoubtedly possessed the qualities of strong politicians. Some of their critics even used to refer to them as tyrants. Nevertheless, they were the ones that contributed the most towards America becoming of what it is today. In my opinion, the figure of George Washington ( (1789 - 1797) stand out from the rest of presidents, as a founder of this nation. His role in helping Americans to get rid of colonial mentality cannot be overestimated.
It was on April 30, 1789 when the new Constitution of United States was being enacted. In the same day Washington has taken his oath as President. As the first of every thing, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles (Washington). The first president of United States had the vision of America being a strong unified country. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Washington was well aware that there was only one way to accomplish this: establishing a federation.
In many of his speeches he used to point out that the idea of overall nations well-being needs to be put ahead of states secular interests: The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations (Washington). It is important to understand that it is only the deploying of the abstract idea of freedom on a practical level, which has enabled America to become the greatest country on Earth. The most important element of freedom is the individuals right to openly express their opinions, without the fear of prosecution. The freedom of speech is essential to the proper functioning of democracy in any country.
Yet, the first American to realize this fact was George Washington: If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter (Washington). It is very sad to see that in present day America, the freedom of speech is being undermined by so called political correctness, which is nothing but a form of thought control. Ronald Reagan is the second greatest President in American history. The years of his presidency (1981 - 1989) are now commonly referred to as the years of American glory.
All the time from the outbreak of Cold War until the collapse of the Soviet Union, Americans used go to bed without being sure whether they were going to wake up next morning. The continuous threat of Soviet nuclear attack was the cause. Numerous attempts to appease Soviet leaders, on the part of previous American presidents, did not work, as the Russians only seemed to understand the language of naked force alone. Ronald Reagan had rightfully decided to beat the Soviets on their own ground, by increasing military spending.
He was well aware that they wouldnt be able to keep up with America, since their economy suffered form the shortage of hard currency. Even though that fact up until now has left some left-wing politicians to refer to Reagan as a crazy warmonger, it is him who we thank for thwarting the Soviet nuclear threat by simply eliminating the country that posed it. Also, we now associate Reagan with the revival of the American economy. He was able to accomplish it through the drastic lowering of taxes and waging a bitter fight against American bureaucracy, which he considered as the second greatest threat to this nation, besides Soviets: Government growing beyond our consent had become a lumbering giant, slamming shut the gates of opportunity, threatening to crush the very roots of our freedom.
What brought America back? The American people brought us back -- with quiet courage and common sense; with undying faith that in this nation under God the future will be ours, for the future belongs to the free (Reagan). It is very symbolic that even though Reagan was being regarded as profane in politics and economy by countless experts, he proved himself as a very wise politician, while dealing with these issues. Reagan simply relied upon common sense, while making decisions. It is something that our contemporary politicians still have a great deal to learn about.
The third greatest president, in my opinion, is George W. Bush. He was sworn into the office on 2001 and reelected on 2004. There is still ongoing controversy surrounding his name. It probably wont be an exaggeration to say that there are no American citizens, whose attitude towards him is neutral. George Bush is loved or hated and there is nothing in between.
Critics point out to the fact that he is not very bright, because of how he talks. It is a true that he mixes terms sometimes and lacks a literature finesse. Still, history shows us that politicians most important quality is his decisiveness and George Bush have it in abundance. I think he would do even a greater service to his nation if he reconsiders his unquestionable support of Israel, which provokes Arabs to commit acts of terror against US. Bush's presidency shows that America gradually enters the stage of an empire, the way it happened to the Roman Republic. American citizens enjoy less and less civil freedoms, in exchange of security.
Yet, this appears to be the evolutionary process and therefore natural and necessary. George W. Bush appears to be the right kind of individual to lead America through turbulent times and this is why he was being reelected for the second term. We can only hope that he wont yield to the demands of the international community to respect other countries and will continue to pursue American geopolitical interests around the globe, regardless of public opinion from abroad. One ancient saying goes: The naked force will always be able to disguise itself as something else and not the other way around. George W.
Bush seem to be well aware of it, as he continues with his aggressive international policies. Despite critics opinion this works, now it is only a matter of time before the Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, despite hysterical Russian protests. Thus, American geopolitical influence continues to spread around the world unchallenged. I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people said George W.
Bush in one of his speeches and we all trust that he will. Theodore Roosevelt (1901 - 1909) is another example of an American president being able to contribute to its nations progress, without considering it as his foremost objective. Basically, he was just a representative of American industrialists and all his policies were directed towards stimulating the growth of the American economy. But at the same time, they also helped America becoming one of the major powers in the world. We demand that big business give the people a square deal; in return we must insist that when anyone engaged in big business honestly endeavors to do right he shall himself be given a square deal wrote Theodore Roosevelt in his letter to Sir Edward Gray on November 15, 1913. In my opinion, the biggest Theodore Roosevelt accomplishment is building the Panama Canal and insuring American control over it until 1998.
He was also the first president to introduce the active defensive strategy, which became a backbone of American military doctrine in later years and had insured the safety of American civilians, even during the years of war. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1960 - 1963) is the fifth on our list of American most greatest presidents. His presidency was short and tragic, yet it was also very memorable. He was able to accomplish a lot during his years in the office. We associate his name with two the most crucial events in American history in twentieth century, the Cuban missile crisis and the beginning of the American moon landing program. In 1961 Soviet leader Khruchev thought that the young American president would lack the stamina to face the open military confrontation with USSR, after it began shipping nuclear missiles to Cuba.
Yet, despite his expectation, John Kennedy proved that he was ready to face a challenge and that he wouldnt hesitate to begin war with Soviet Union, if it was necessary to protect the integrity of American nation. Despite his resolute attitude towards protecting American freedoms, Kennedy was a very peace loving individual. He used to continuously stress out the importance of maintaining the peace on Earth: Today every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate that day when this planet may no longer be habitable. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or madness. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us (Kennedy). John Kennedy was always be remembered for his role in bringing hope back to the American people and revitalizing their spirit with his youthful optimism.
Bibliography: George Washington Quotes (2003). U. S. Presidents Web Ring.
Retrieved May 7, 2005 from web George W. Bush (2005). The White House. Retrieved May 7, 2005 from web Popular Quotations of John F. Kennedy (January 15, 2005).
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library. Retrieved May 7, 2005 from web Ronald Reagan (2005). The White House. Retrieved May 7, 2005 from web Theodore Roosevelt (2005). The White House.
Retrieved May 7, 2005 from web
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