Leadership and History - The President of the United States - Essay Example

One set of presidents, which are a good comparison as far as leadership and seeing the effect on the country is a look at President Dwight D. Eisenhower and President John F. Kennedy.

            There are a couple of different styles of leadership that a leader can use. President Eisenhower was a transactional leader, in that his style of leadership was systematic and was based on the idea of rewards and punishments associated with making decisions. This comes with the fact that he had a military background, which provided him the experience and knowledge base for him to exercise his leadership authority. Many of his actions were the result of defense and competition with the Soviets as his term of presidency was during the period where the United States was operating under the containment policy of trying to prevent the spread of Communism into the democratic sphere. Thus these programs, such as the development of nuclear weapons as well as the start of the NASA program served their purpose as showing the United States’ raw power. As a result, a majority of the way in which he dictated policy both in the United States and as in foreign policy was always based on that of defense and military authority (“Dwight D. Eisenhower”, 2011).

            President John F. Kennedy was an enthusiastic, young leader that was more inexperienced than his predecessor President Eisenhower. He also was a soldier who served as an officer in the United States Navy. However, he had a different style of leadership that was able to lead the countries in ways Eisenhower could not. President Kennedy was a charismatic leader that was able to orate and public speaker to the public as to rally support during a crucial time of world history dealing with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the start of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. One of the greatest testimonies to Kennedy’s leadership was the way in which he handled the Cuban Missile Crisis. Using his personality and negotiating skills, he was able to avert what could have been a major disaster in world history (“John F. Kennedy”, 2010).

            The president carries a great burden of authority. For the longest time, the President of the United States has been the most powerful man on the Earth, responsible for keeping the peace not only within our country but throughout the rest of the world as well. Unlike other forms of government and leadership, direct leadership is extremely important due to the fact that managing the country every day at every time is extremely important. With more globalization and international affairs playing an important role, the President must know everything in order to make appropriate decisions that will affect the country in the most positive way.