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Alyssa Lake
Mr. Hawkins
U.S. Government, Period 5
22 October 2015
Qualities of a Successful President
In the 239 years the U.S. has been an independent country; it has had a fair share of
leaders. Some are remembered as good, some corrupt, some are hardly remembered. There are
those few, however, who are remembered as truly great, those presidents who didnt bend under
pressure, the men with the presence of mind to make the hardest decisions in the most trying
moments. These are the men who have represented this country and represented it well, and they
all display the qualities that are attributed to the best of humanity. A good president may have
many estimable qualities, but the three most important qualities are intelligence, self-assurance,
and good character.
Without intelligence, a president would not be able to keep up with the vast amount of
responsibilities he inherits with his position. President Abraham Lincoln is a prime example of
political intelligence. In spite of having very little education, Lincoln was able to interpret the
powers that the Constitution grants him. Without this quality, it is more than likely that the 13th
amendment-banning slavery-would not have passed at this time in history, and the U.S. would be
a very different place. Very few of Lincolns advisers and peers supported his conviction that
slavery was an atrocious, violent blight on the record of America as a free country. Even fewer
felt that banning slavery was more important than ending the Civil War, which had raged for four

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bloody years. Lincoln utilized both his vast intellect and his innate understanding of the
Constitution to sway Congress in favor of passing the Amendment. George Washingtons time in
office was another example of great intelligence and political skill. His political skill is little
known today, but he was a truly great politician. He was elected as leader of the Constitutional
Convention, a legendary moment in the history of the U.S. government for many reasons, but the
most prominent was his well-respected intellect. He was chosen by the minds behind the
founding document of the U.S. government because of his upstanding ideas about the
Constitution, and the roles of the Government. These inspired ideas were woven into the core of
the Constitution, along with the ideas of other political demigods, as Jefferson phrased it.
Without Washingtons steadfast political ideas and inclinations, the Constitution would be
missing key elements. Franklin D. Roosevelt, or F.D.R. as hes more commonly referred to, was
yet another example of the quick intelligence a president requires. In 1940 he was elected for a
second presidential term, his re-election was based on his assurance to keep the U.S. out of
WWII. Isolationism was becoming a heated topic across the country, and though F.D.R.
supported joining the war, he was aware that his position in the eyes of Americans was
precarious in that moment. He could not jeopardize his presidency by going against his own
assurances while the country was so split. Instead of plunging the country into an unpopular war
as he might have, Roosevelt waited until the event that united the country. F.D.R. had the
presence of mind to realize that until the nation was unified, a war effort would be ineffective.
This Unifying force came in the form of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and in the wake of
this traumatic event, he announced the U.S. entrance into the war. If Roosevelt had not realized
the monumental importance of choosing the moment for drastic action carefully, the entire
outcome of the World War II could have been different.

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Another crucial quality in a president is self-assurance. Presidents often face situations in

which they must make very difficult decisions. In these moments, although support and advice
are beneficial, a president must be confident in what they believe to be the best course of action.
There are times when presidents have had to trust what they believe in spite of what the people
around them believe. President Abraham Lincoln is a great example of this quality, as his entire
presidency reflects confidence and conviction. Four years into the Civil War Lincoln was
convinced that ending slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment was more important than winning
the war. Lincolns advisers and peers were baffled by his conviction to the Amendment, but
Lincoln did not back down. Most were completely focused on ending the war, even those who
did not support the cruelty of slavery. Lincoln stood his ground, with almost no support for what
he was doing, Lincoln refused to accept less than what he believed to be necessary. Many
criticized him for abusing his power, but he interpreted the power vested in him by the
Constitution, and he stood by his interpretation. Had Lincoln been less confident that he was
doing the right thing, he would have been easily swayed by his many adversaries. It was his
assurance in his beliefs that made him such a great man and such an influential president.
Another example of self-assurance is John F. Kennedys presidency. Kennedys advisers were
prompting him to start a nuclear war against the Soviets. The Berlin Crisis began in 1958, when
Soviet leaders demanded the U.S. pull their troops out of West Berlin. Tensions between the
Soviets and the U.S. escalated until nuclear war was laid on the table. Kennedys advisers were
convinced that nuclear war was necessary to solve the situation. Kennedy listened to their
proposal, but realized that any nuclear attack would quickly spin out of control. He was wise
enough to know that use of nuclear weapons was far too dangerous, and his confidence in his
beliefs saved millions of lives. Franklin D. Roosevelt is another prime example of the importance

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of self-assuredness in a president. Roosevelts presidency was fraught with polarized opinions.

Many people loved his methods; many criticized him for abuse of power. Roosevelt was elected
in 1933, a few years into the Great Depression. He used his influence as president to create jobs
and spur the economy into motion, at the cost of creating a huge national deficit. Perhaps in any
other time period, F.D.R.s actions could be considered an abuse of power, but in this desperate
moment in U.S. history, Roosevelt was exactly what the county needed. He was so sure that he
was not going beyond his powers that he continued to create public works programs and a series
of experiments known as the New Deal. He was highly praised and brutally criticized, but he
paid little attention to others influence, completely confident in his decisions. Roosevelt created
some much-needed relief for this dark time, and gave hope to the many impoverished and
hopeless in the country.
Good Character is another extremely important quality in a U.S. president. President
Abraham Lincolns entire presidency reflects this quality. Lincoln was faced with a Civil War,
yet also took it upon himself to end a horrific installment in the U.S. social and economic
system: slavery. Lincoln believed that slavery was a blight on the record of the U.S., and he
decided to end it at all costs. He politicked his way through the many adversaries the Thirteenth
Amendment (ending slavery) faced. It was not just Lincolns steadfast effort to end slavery that
is commendable, but most of all, his refusal to give up or give in. When the entire country cried
out for an end to the war, Lincoln managed to simultaneously end slavery, and bring an end to
the war. Had Lincoln been a man of less impeccable character, both the end of the war and the
end of slavery would have been far more chaotic, or worse, non-existent. While on the topic of
men of good character, it would be best to show how lack of such character affects a presidency.
The first president to come to mind when speaking of questionable character is usually President

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Richard Nixon, elected in 1969. Nixon did little to note for the politics of the country during his
presidency, or perhaps he did, but whatever occurred during his presidency is completely
overshadowed by the massive scandal uncovered in 1973. Apparently Nixon had a few of his
men break into a government building in order to steal classified documents and put illegal taps
on telephones. These men were caught, and it was discovered that not only was Nixon in on this
scheme, but he had tapes of conversations held on these tapped telephones, and he had not been
forthcoming about the extent of his involvement in the scandal. Nixon resigned in 1974, in the
face of impeachment. Had Nixon been a man of good character, he would have had more time to
focus on politics and less on court cases, and he also would have had more time in office to
affect change. Lack of moral character makes a president ineffective and unable to fulfill the role
they take as leader of the country. President Harry Truman took office in 1945, as problems with
the Soviets began to escalate in Europe. In 1948 the Soviet Union blocked all ability to travel to
and from West Berlin, effectively cutting off supplies and contact with the outside world. Truman
and a few other countries began participating in an airlift service, where thousands of planes with
supplies for West Berliners. Without U.S. participation in the Airlift, the people of West Berlin
would not have been able to survive the months in which all supplies coming on land were
blocked. Truman accepted the loss of resources and made the decision to support people in need.
Had Truman been a man of weaker character, the fate of these people may have been overlooked
as a somewhat unimportant detail. It was his good character that made this period in history far
less dark than it may have been had the U.S. had a different president.
The three most important qualities in a U.S. president are intelligence and political skill,
self-assurance, and good character. When these three qualities are combined in a leader, they
form a man ready to take on any political, economic, or social battle this country may face. A

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great leader must be skilled in the technical aspects of their role. They must also trust their
beliefs and convictions, and they must have good, determined character. There are other qualities
in a leader that are beneficial, but they are superfluous if these qualities already exist. The U.S.
has had many leaders, but a few stand out as the great, influential leaders to this day because of
the principal characteristics they displayed.

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The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
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"Lead like John F. Kennedy." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 27
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"Richard M. Nixon." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
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