Description Of Machiavelli's Ideal Ruler

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Question: Give an example of a leader or political figure who embodies the descriptions of Machiavelli's ideal ruler. This person can be fictional or historical. Use textual evidence to support your argument. Answer: According to the text Machiavelli’s ideal ruler is someone who is ruthless and willing to be dishonest, to tell people what they want to hear rather than speaking the truth. The ideal figure head who fits this description would be President Nixon. During President Nixon’s term (January 20, 1969- August 9, 1974) Nixon had some great accomplishments like desegregating schools in the south, ending the war in Vietnam, and creating the Environmental Protection Agency and Clean Air Act. But besides his accomplishments our president was a crook and a liar. He put this …show more content…

It is stated that Nixon had fundraisers to help fund money to cover up his involvement with the scandal as well as the actual burglars who committed the crime. Nixon also took steps of firing employees who did not cooperate with him and destroying the evidence before being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The text describes that a prince, or President, can be high and mighty one day and the next in ruins. The text says, “A prince may be seen prospering today and falling in ruin tomorrow, though it does not appear that he has changed his nature of any of his qualities.” (Pg.187, Chapter 25). This quote from the text describes Nixon and his rise and fall as the president. President Nixon was high and mighty with all of his accomplishments one day and the next everything he did didn’t matter because of the scandal. In the end the truth was brought to the light that Nixon indeed did have a role in the Watergate Scandal. Nixon would be described as the ideal ruler because he gave and told the people what they wanted, but behind the title of president he was nothing but a lying

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