Superior School Of Commerce Nicolae Kretzulescu

THE RISE AND THE FALL OF AMERICA

Student : Gheorghe Alexandra

Class : 12 F.

Prof.coord. :Cuatu Georgeta

Bucharest
2011

Table of contents

ARGUMENT
Chapter One TOP TEN OUTSTANDING PRESIDENTS
Chapter Two TOP TEN OUTSTANDING PRESIDENTS
CONCLUSION
Anexes
Bibliography

ARGUMENT
When Maistre wrote this famous aphorism in 1811, he was serving as the
King of Piedmont-Sardinias envoy to Russian Czar Alexander I. At that
time, Alexander was introducing reforms that were moving Russia
toward a European-style constitutional government. Its ironic that
Maistres quote is now commonly used to suggest that citizens should get
more involved in politics, actively push for more democratic
governments and rebel against tyrants. Maistre disliked democracy and
believed that hereditary monarchies were a divinely-sanctioned, superior
form of government.
However, it is not the purpose of this paper to analize in any way how
and why meanings of words change in time neither is it to make a
strong academic point.
I chose to write about the rise and fall of America as the United States
are still a great political, military and economic power of this world and
whatever path they choose to take, it will eventually afect us, whether we
want it or not.

CHAPTER ONE
TOP TEN OUTSTANDING PRESIDENTS
1. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
Abraham Lincoln became the president when everything was going wrong for the USA. 2.
2.Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
Woodrow Wilson was an admirable principled president. He got congress to lower the tariff and
he reformed the national banking system.
3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)
FDR was faced with the immediate problem of depression as soon as his arrival to the oval
office. He declared bank holidays which closed all banks; they were then opened a few at a time
with government help.
4. James Knox Polk (1845-1849)
James Polk was one of the few presidents who made his agenda clear and actually went on to
accomplish every one of his preplanned goals .
5 Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest ever president when he took the oath and he brought
his exuberance into the office as expected. He controlled trusts so that small businesses and

6. Grover Cleveland (1885-1889 and 1893-1897)

Grover Cleveland was a tremendously hard working president. He began to reform the
federal government and at the same improved civil service to get better workers.
7. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
Thomas Jefferson cared passionately about his country and put the interests of the people
before his. He cut down on the army and the navy as he thought that a country should be
run cheaply as possible so there would always be money for bigger developments when the
need came.
8. James Monroe (1817-1825)
James Monroes presidency became known as the era of good feeling.
9. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
Andrew Jackson was a fearless president right from the beginning. He easily was the best
president ever to serve the army going well past the excellence of George Washington,
smashing the British in the war of 1812 .
10. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
John F. Kennedy was one charismatic president. He brought many teachers, writers,
scientists and different intellectuals into the government. His inaugural speech was one of
the modern greats as he called for service to his countrymen.

CHAPTER TWO
TOP TEN OUTSTANDING PRESIDENTS
1. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
He was an ineffectual and indecisive leader who played poker while his friends plundered
the U.S. treasury.
2. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
Andrew Johnson has risen in scholarly dis-esteem since the publication of Arthur
Schlesinger's 1948 poll probably because the post-Civil War Reconstruction has enjoyed a
thorough scholarly face-lift.
3. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)
Extending the list of timid pre-Civil War compromisers, Pierce was a Jackson Democrat
from New Hampshire whom Whig foes called "doughface"a northerner with southern
principles.
4. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)
The 13th president came to office on the coattails of a popular war hero, Zachary Taylor,
who died in office a little over a year after becoming president.
5. John Tyler (1841-1845)
At sixth worst, Virginian John Tyler was the first president to rise by succession from the
vice presidencywhen William Harrison succumbed to pneumonia only 30 days after being

6. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

Ulysses S. Grant has risen from No. 2 on the 1948 Schlesinger list probably because of the
same revisionist take on Reconstruction that lowered Johnson in the eyes of historians.
7. William Harrison (1841)
He was president for all of 30 days after contracting pneumonia during his interminable
inaugural.
8. Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
Though politically gifted, he will forever be associated with the Watergate scandal and his
resignation.
9. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
He was known as a poor communicator who fueled trade wars and exacerbated the
Depression.
10. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)
A political novice, the war hero is entirely forgettable as president.
Zachary Taylor was more a forgettable president than a failed one .

THE RISE AND THE FALL OF AMERICA

Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an
invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a
purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure.
As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.
Abraham Lincoln
(1861-1865)

CONCLUSION
A nation can fall as a result of one flaw and that one flaw can be the loss of a
fundamental value or principle that has guided it throughout decades. What
Abraham Lincoln said more than 150 years ago served as a guiding line for his
people. There have been insignificant presidents, corrupted or simply inefficient,
yet on the long run, the U.S. as a whole managed to follow the same path that of
democracy and respect of human rights. It took more than a century and the death
of great leaders such as Martin Luther King for the Afro-Americans to be finally
accepted even if they had been officially considered free people after the Civil War
yet now they finally have their right place in the society.
In my opinion, should this fall come, it will be caused by a too strong selfconfidence. No one is always right and, more than that, no one should consider
themselves as the universal keeper of justice, the worlds watch-dog, as power
corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is no other feeling closer to
extasy than knowing you have the power to influence ones life in ways that cannot
be imagined then what can be said about those who now do have the power to
change the life of entire nations?
History will tell, in years to come.

Anexes

Bibliography:

Books:
William A. Degregorio - The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents
Websites:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents
2. http://listverse.com/2008/07/10/top-10-outstanding-us-presidents/
3. http://www.usnews.com/news/history/features/the-10-worstpresidents