What is Presidential Greatness? Greatness is a subjective value. Some people think that greatness is humility or compassion. For this topic on presidents, I think greatness is five things. Integrity, Impact, Courage, Vision, and Self-Awareness. A president needs to have these five values to be considered great. Integrity is the value of morals and trustworthiness. Impact is the positive change they make in office, for their time frame and for the future of America. Impact is necessary because a President can have every other value, but not have the opportunity to use them or not use them to their full potential. Impact is visual evidence of hard work and real progress. Courage is overall bravery and confidence when faced with challenges, physical …show more content…
Finally, self-awareness is a must. Presidents need to know their strengths, weaknesses, and have humility in their place of leadership for successful leadership and popularity among the states. A combination of all of these qualities results in Presidential Greatness, and there is one President that perfectly fits the role, George Washington. George Washington, even before his Presidency, exhibited and exercised these qualities. As the Commander-in-Chief of the continental army, he was required to have exceptional courage and unquestionable integrity. These two in specific because they not only made him respectable, but also reliable and someone his troops could trust fully in his decisions. With his combination these two merits and his demand for discipline, he adeptly led an army with many disadvantages, compared to the opponents, to victory. George Washington was courageous as long as we know it. Proving his bold military tactics on multiple occasions, such as Trenton and Princeton. He was clever when needed, but also jumped the gun when needed. He had a perfect balance of patience and action, keen
...didn’t over step his authority or attempt to subvert the army for his own purposes. Instead, George Washington sets the example of the military commander who was subservient to civilian political leadership. He also showed patience and coolness in the face of adversity. On many occasions in the book, the author cites Washington’s expressions of doubt and fears of failure, yet Washington never showed fear or doubt in action in front of his troops.
Washington's selection to be the leader of the Continental Army was the wisest choice that the newly formed Continental Congress could have made. Washington's selection as Commander of the Continental Army did more to win the Revolutionary war than any other decision made during the conflict. His personal character epitomizes perfectly the five traits required in a successful general: wisdom, sincerity, humanity, courage, and strictness. (Sun Tzu p. 65) These five crucial traits will become apparent and Washington's strategy to win the War of Independence is elaborated on further
George Washington was selected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army because of his courage and bravery, his ability to motivate and command respect from his followers, and his strategic ability in battle. His reputation as a daring and successful leader inspired confidence and loyalty in his followers. If it weren't for George Washington, it would be a different America today. Washington's military experience started when he was selected by Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to travel to the Ohio Valley to tell the French to leave. He was only twenty-two years old, inexperienced, and naive.
Theodore Roosevelt was a man uniquely fitted to the role that he played in American
He suffered from stage fright and often “blushed and faltered”, (18) even at his inauguration as President, “he trembled and several times could scarce make out to read his speech” (18) This weakness of his is often glossed over as it doesn’t seem to fit in with his image as the towering, imposing “founding father”. Yet today, it is essential for a President to be able to deliver impressive and clear speeches to the whole country. Finally there are some criticisms that he was not as effective General as is often believed. Thomas Paine claimed that he was a bad general whose strategy consisted of “doing nothing” (19). Although Paine had a personal agenda in condemning George Washington as he resented not being appointed Postmaster-General, and then later by not being rescued from French persecution by the government, it is true that George Washington did lose more battles than he won (20) and often did seem to do nothing for long periods of time. There is also the issue of his harsh treatment towards his own soldiers, any who were caught deserting or plundering were “flogged” (21) and he even a “Gallows near forty feet high erected” to terrify the rest into obedience.
A fantastic president would always be trying to come up with new ideas that won't affect people in a bad way. They would need to be great public speakers, honest, powerful, persuasive, and respectful. Most importantly though, they need to be able to lead their country through the specific problems facing them
George Washington had character and was extraordinary. Ellis described Washington as an "incalculable asset." His leadership skills were unique. His actions were performed for his country, not for political gain. He was also directly associated with every major event of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress, and the building of the new republic. Even the country 's new capitol had his name. These were some of the things that made him so special. Washington was not prideful and not easily led. He offered suggestions and warnings to his replacements and told the government to expand in a way that would keep the country standing; he was well aware of how dainty the country was. The United States would never have survived without him.
When it comes to United States Presidents, everyone has an opinion of each president’s effectiveness. It takes character and talent to hold up to the stress of the White House. One aspect of a leader that measures their effectiveness is their capability to handle a crisis; another is their ability to make decisions for the betterment of whomever they lead, while still taking in all opinions. One example of an extremely effective president that successfully used those qualities was Abraham Lincoln.
middle of paper ... ... Washington had to try extremely hard during this period. He would find himself pondering things that could be done, but given the time and lack of communication, success seemed impossible. This was difficult for George Washington to do, but he kept both feet on the ground and continued to be the leader that everyone knows him to be.
George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, led the Continental Congress in the development of the United States Constitution and served as the first United States President. His enduring contributions were far reaching and greatly impacted the course of American and world history. While Washington is the epitome of a strategic leader, he was not without his weaknesses. As a military commander, Washington made serious mistakes, however, his most significant strength was his ability to survive his mistakes and learn from them. Setbacks early in life, coupled with disappointment at the start of his military career set the foundation for Washington to emerge as America’s most iconic strategic
Despite his image as a leader was immediately tarnished in the eyes of the Continental Congress as he blatantly broke Article 9 of the 69 Articles of War, his perseverance and later successes during the Revolutionary War washed away the blemish on his persona. Washington made the right decision by preserving his public façade, and the image of the military, which ultimately led to the success of the Continental Army and his election as the first President of the United States of America.8 However, to become a great leader you have to have the intestinal fortitude to stand up for your core beliefs, if George Washington didn’t do just that, we may not live in the great nation as we know it, the United States of
George Washington was born February 22, 1732 into a Virginia farming family that is considered middle class now a days. George Washington’s father, Augustine, who was a leading planter in the area, died when george was eleven. George's mother, Mary, had a hard time holding their home together after the death of her husband. Her two sons from a previous marriage were there to help. Even when he was young, George displayed a gift for mathematics. Even though the highest level of education he received was elementary. His skill with numbers as well as his ambition and social skills, caught the attention of Lord Fairfax, head of one of the most powerful families in Virginia. At the age of sixteen, Lord Fairfax employed George as one of his surveyors. The young George would travel deep into the wilderness for weeks at a time which is one of the reasons why he wasn’t able to finish his education.
Ranking presidential greatness is a process, which is largely based upon opinion and personal judgment. With any ranking system, whether based on subjective or objective criteria, judgment and opinion is required to determine which factors best serve as indicators or measurements of greatness. While opinion serves as a major part of the decision-making process, a factual framework is also intrinsic to the process of ranking presidential greatness. This framework serves as the basis on which comparisons are made and can include factors such as those related to historical events, presidential accomplishments, presidential performance, personal characteristics, etc. The central focus of the paper is to discuss presidential greatness. I will begin by examining the American public's general conception of presidential greatness and their apparent views regarding the subject. In the second half of the discussion, I will examine how scholars have attempted attempt to define greatness and rank presidents; I will also include my analysis and criticism their arguments. The subsequent focus of this paper is to present my own definition of presidential greatness and the categorization and ranking processes that I have devised. I will conclude by presenting the president who according to my definition qualifies as the greatest president.
Throughout his years leading the Continental Army, there are scores of examples of his courage, both big and small. Arguably one of the greatest instances was his gift of providing courage for those around him as well as for himself. Even through the bleakest of circumstances for himself and his army, he was able to provide strength and courage for them all. In a British attack on New York, “Washington’s army was routed and suffered the surrender of 2,800 men. He ordered the remains of his army to retreat across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania” (“George Washington Biography”). Washington could have surrendered with the vast majority of his army, but instead he showed courage and decided to fight another day. Washington and his army faced affliction and suffering particularly during the harsh winters they had to undergo. Conditions were horrible due to various reasons: disease outbreaks; frostbite because of lack of housing; and rarely enough food, ammunition, or clothing. Many men deserted the army, but miraculously Washington was able to show courage and bravery in order to keep his army together. With his sheer will and determination, “the soldiers felt perfect confidence in the wise leadership of the Commander in Chief, and his splendid courage, foresight, and marvelous ability to endure won the final liberty of the long-suffering Colonies” (“George Washington: The Commander In Chief”). Finally, under his rule and his valor, the army captured British soldiers at Yorktown, Virginia. “Washington was declared a national hero” (“George Washington”). Washington not only exhibited amazing courage in battles, but he also showed deep courage in simply becoming president. There had never before been a president to the new country, therefore he had no previous examples or precedents. In records of
George Washington is brave because he had the ability to risk is life for the life of the U.S. which might not have made it. He takes control of the army because the U.S. was hurt. The U.S. did not know how to function by itself so without Washington there would be no U.S. Washington left his hobby of farming to go fight a war that did not ask him to. We was brave enough to risk his life to speak in front of every enemy we fought. Furthermore George Washington helped inspire people with the amount of things he said. One of the bigger things that he said was “Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.” This was a big part in the startup of the U.S. With the hero’s that are courage and are strong enough to move