Franklin D. Roosevelt a Man of Determination - Assignment Example

A man of determination and self-confidence, Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted that every citizen in the world live in freedom – freedom from fear, freedomfrom want, freedom of the way they want to worship God and freedom of speech and expression. While he strived to bring America out of the Great Depression, Roosevelt helped the people to gain faith in themselves. He was more of a guide to the people than a mere political leader. He maintained his promise of prompt and vigorous action and even though he was initially misunderstood, he did manage to bring recovery to business and agriculture, and even to the unemployed. He was a dedicated leader and served the nation without any selfish motives. He believed that the wealthy should be taxed and this fund should be used to aid the poorer section of the society. He sought not only to strengthen and unify the United States but supported with aid any nation that was threatened and attacked. He had the vision that every individual and every nation should enjoy the freedom which is the birth right of every human being. He believed in total democracy and did not believe in remaining stuck to the past. He believed in learning lessons from the past failures and shaping a better future for the people. He prioritized the policies and actions and was organized in his actions. He was cognizant of the developments and the need of the hour. Roosevelt always adjusted to the demands of the time and knew how to get cooperation from his people. He was ahead of his time and steered the country out of the economic crisis although the question still lurks whether it was dictatorship that he aimed at since he served for four terms despite his physical ailments. President Harry S. Truman had the capability to handle and accept challenges. He had the opportunity of making some of the most crucial decisions for the nation and he came out brilliantly. When pleas do not work one should resort to the ultimate, is what Truman believed in and he did so in his decision to drop the atomic bombs over two Japan cities. This demonstrates the confidence he has in his actions and is prepared to accept responsibility for his actions. He was an efficient leader and manager and was known for his honesty in all his dealings. He believed in signing agreements and treatise between and across nations and worked ceaselessly towards the attainment of peace for all. Even though he dealt with the foreign affairs with efficiency, he concentrated in the development of his own county. He fought for the cause of the Jews and he did pass law for equality of treatment and opportunity in the armed forces irrespective of race and color. Truman believed in participatory management but wherever necessary he took the final decisions. He invited suggestions from colleagues, took their support but the final decision rested with him. He perhaps felt that an authoritative power is essential to make things happen the right way. The administration of a nation differs from a cooperative venture, which requires certain policies and procedures to be in place. He played his plan well taking into considerations the different forces that affect the decisions in international affairs. All these demonstrate that he was a powerful administrator and a strong personality. President Eisenhower believed in delegation of duties and hence he asked the local businessmen to handle the domestic affairs leaving him free to concentrate on international affairs. He had a different system to attaining objectives and goals. For instance, he worked behind the scenes for any controversial issues and perhaps this was the reason that many thought he neglected duties and was busy in personal affairs. He made attempts to control illegal immigration as it affected the domestic salaries and employment levels which indicate his concern for the nation. He was a dedicated worker and continued to work even though he was physically not in the right condition. As far as racism is concerned, he wanted to ensure racial justice. He wanted equal treatment for the black Americans and he fought for their cause. We may assert that it was a bold initiative to appoint a black as a staff at White House, which proves his determination to end racism. This is where he stood out against his predecessors. He was sincere in his deeds and honored his own commitments. Miracles cannot and do not happen and one has to toil for success, is what he preached. One has to find a balance in life and work towards it. While he urged the people to be prepared for any eventuality, he was against the misuse of power to attain goals. Power should be used for the progress of the mankind and not for destruction and this is what he urged his fellowmen to do. This is the reason perhaps why he never led the country to war. He deserves to be praised for not taking any action because this too was planned. "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country" – these words of President Kennedy have gone in history and have left and indelible impression on the minds of the people. This first Roman Catholic President did something for the people of the world. He was different – he put an end to war and violence. Kennedy appears to have been lucky in getting the right advisers on economic affairs as the recession in America faded by the end of the first year of his being in office. Perhaps this success or luck gave him the confidence to propose new social programs. These programs did not fetch him much success. For instance, the medical program for the elderly was not accepted. One wonders whether these programs did not have the support of his advisers in office. He nurtured a vision that America should be the leader in every field and hence he fought for equal rights. While he fought for equal rights, he did not want to anger the white people. Does this imply that wanted to maintain a balance? Another intriguing part of his career was the decision to send astronauts to the moon. Why was he insistent on this? Was it to attain credit to be the first President to have such insights? What did he really expect to achieve out of this? Was it right to have spend public funds in space research and finally the maiden voyage? Or was it meant to end the decades-long cold war with the Soviet Union? Richard Nixon was a man who came under criticism for different issues regularly. It started from the time he was running for governor and announced his health care plans. Nixon was a whimsical person and jumped to conclusions, which is very unbecoming of the President of the country. He formed an idea of a person or an issue based on his intuition or presumptions. For instance, he assumed what the Pope would speak at the Catholic University. Nixon appears to be a mysterious person sending the wrong signals. Getting to meet Nixon was something that was found to be very difficult as his aides would not allow people to meet the President. One wonders why he maintained a low profile publicly too which further gave endorsement to the idea that the President preferred to remain isolated. Why did one have to walk through a number of barriers or doors to reach the President? Why only a handful of executives were allowed direct communication with him? Nixon gave more importance to paper notes and reports than to interacting with people which was another cause of criticism. He did not like to suddenly meet strangers and ensured he was well prepared for any meeting. Does this mean he was not updated on important affairs and needed to prepare himself? He may have organized his people so that he was free to concentrate on more important and serious issues concerning the larger interest of the nation but all of these gave an image of an isolated and an unapproachable person. William McKinley, an absolute contrast to Nixon, as he interacted with people and was least concerned about his personal security. He was an excellent administrator and was responsible for reducing the tariffs to increase international trade relations. He wanted the American goods reach every country and strived to change the trade regulations. He was the first in many ways – the first to use telephone for campaigning. Thus, he wanted to get rid of the conventions and shackles. He was a progressive leader and was dead against wars but he had to give in under pressure on one or two occasions. He felt wars were not the solution to problems. Any problem could be resolved with a feeling of mutual trust and friendship. With his evolutionary ideas he brought all round progress of the nation. He brought about revival of business, agriculture and overall prosperity. He was an exemplary character and served as a role model for many. He was a friend rather than a dictator or administrator and these characteristics of his helped in the growth of business and the prosperity of the nation. He was an ardent believer in God and turned to the innerself to seek solutions. He treated every situation with maturity and dexterity. The way he arrived at a decision to retain Philippines, shows how calculated he was in his decisions. When he did not get any answers from his own people or from the opposition, he turned to God. He knew one cannot fight against nature and Philippines came as a gift to the Americans. He was a simple and graceful leader who took the nation to great heights through his policies. Read More