Best leader in American history?

Question

I'm curious as to who people think the best leader in American history, living or past, is. This topic can be debated extremely so please back up your answer with solid details. Thank you.

Answer 1

Franklin Delano Roosevelt forced people to play on his field he did this was an artful blend of charm & ruthlessness. FDR forged alliances even with people determined to oppose him. Most likely FDR was America's brainiest President. FDR would not be defeated and when he retreated on an issue it was merely a feint, tackling the problem from a different direction. In his heart & soul he was compassionate & realistic and sincerly believed he was here on Earth to accomplish great things.

Abraham Lincoln was equally adept at confounding his enemies and accomplishing the impossible. Lincoln overcame equally grave handicaps in his rise to power. Many times on this Y & A site the question has arisen wether Lincoln was a good war president and what gets ignored is the fact that without Lincoln there might not have been a Civil War. Many Americans were quite willing to let the South go. It was Lincoln who was determined to keep America intact.

As a child I thought Woodrow Wilson was 'cool,' later learned he was deeply flawed, that said he was a 'brilliant leader,' in the sence that he defied lots of enemies and did things his way - - - despite a surface aversion to the war raging in Europe, it is unlikely that America would have intervened without Wilson's leadership.

Peace.....

Note Geo Washington has already been spoken for and no one should ignore John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and later on Andrew Jackson and James K Polk.

Teddy Roosevelt equally impressive...

Answer 2

Abraham Lincoln was the best to date, with Ronald Reagan being second. I think FDR does not belong on this list. My reasons are as follows.

Had Lincoln been any less determined as a leader, the North could very easily have given up on the war and the US would have been split in two. Lincoln was guided by a greater authority than himself he thought, and he did not waver from his goals. He was also very practical. He didn't try to do what couldn't be done. And he was a very good communicator. His speeches are some of the best, not only in American history, but in world history.

Reagan was viewed by some of his enemies as a simpleton. He wasn't. He knew that over-thinking could complicate a problem to the point where inaction is the result. He was like Truman in that regard - get the facts, make a decision and then move on to the next one. If you want to see what over-thinking does, look at the Carter administration. And Reagan was also a great communicator.

As for FDR, he too was an excellent communicator. But he wasn't a great leader because his domestic policies not only didn't work, they sowed the seeds for the disaster the US is facing now. For instance, his economic recovery plan didn't work. He inheritied a depression, true. But seven years later it was still going on! That can't be considered a success. The US didn't get out of the depression until they went to a war-time economy. FDR was saved by World War II. (I am not saying he caused - don't get me wrong there.)

Look at his social security plan. He left a disaster for future generations. When it started, there were 15 workers for 1 recipient. Today it is approaching 2 to 1 and the system is nearing bankruptcy. FDR instituted a system with a fatal flaw and left it for future generations to fix. Not good.

So Lincoln and Reagan deserve high marks for leadership in that they were good at leading and they succeeded. FDR was good at leading but he failed domestically, although he succeeded internationally.

Answer 3

I have always admired Abraham Lincoln and feel he was a great leader. There are many reasons. First, he was pretty much self educated during a time when it was very difficult for someone of his background and family's lifestyle, to receive an education. Schooling was very basic, if offered at all. The fact he was able to obtain books and make the time to read and study is pretty amazing given that his family struggled daily just to survive. It now is an excepted fact that he suffered from depression for most of his life and at times this depression became severe. There was no help for this illness at the time he lived. He had to battle it alone and yet led our nation during perhaps its most trying time and his determination is greatly responsible for our country remaining united and also for the end of the appalling institution of inslaving other human beings. I just think with all that he had to overcome to become a successful lawyer and the president of the country, it is amazing what he accomplished. He had so many personal tragedys in his life, yet guided the nation through a horrible time that just standing at his tomb the one time I visited it many years ago, was such a thrill, like standing in the presence of greatness.

Answer 4

FDR from a political stand point. The man was a genus. Military I'm gonna agree with Robert E Lee He was an amazing military commander and one of the reasons that the Virgin army was such an admirable opponent besides the fact that the army of the Potomac was an embarrassment to the US army.

Answer 5

George Washington

Answer 6

FDR
1.He was the leader in one of the most taxing times in human history with the Great Depression and the rise of totalitarianism in Europe and Asia.
2. He took on his shoulders the burden of the nation with one of the best first 100 days ever by a President. The New Deal was a sparkling revolution compared to the former Hoover administration who meant well but was entrenched under his party and religion which believed in the self-made man and lack of government control.
3. He showed the empathy of the noblisse oblige . He showed a face of compassion. I believe after he contacted polio this influence began to flourish in his life. Although he refused to have his photograph being in a wheelchair because he did not want pity but allegiance to his cause.
4.He played the political genius when it came to European militarism. He was well aware of the isolationalistic and neutral outlook that he dared not rock the boat too hard unless we were attacked first..This neutrality and isolationalism can be seen in the way we tend to avoid the rise of Hitler taking over the lands of Austria, Czechoslovakia and the land of Poland , the Lowlands and France.
5. FDR's timing was magnificent for the most part. We can say the US was involved in the Second World War before Pearl Harbor with Lend-Lease to Britain.
6. We see FDR' leadership during the war and the conferences with Churchill and Stalin showed him to be an ally yet trying his best for the Us. We must remember at Yalta that Stalin held the cards and FDR was ill. For the most part FDR lead by holding his opponents in the palm of his hand.
He was the people's president and their soldier.

Answer 7

As a political leader, I'd have to say FDR or Thomas Jefferson.
Military leader goes hands down to Robert E Lee...The Union army thought so much of him that the US offered him command of the Army during the Civil War

Answer 8

Martin Luther King Jr.

he not only fought, but died to turn America on the path to become a better place for all people. which is by definition, what America is supposed to be, and was always supposed to be from the moment the founding fathers declared independence.

John Adams, if you take to heart what he did during the Boston Massacre trials, it might come to your mind that he was actually the most American of all the rebel colonists. not because he defended his enemy, but because he proved that he was willing to do what he believed was right and refused to allow his decisions to be controlled by another person. and even though his friends became enraged that he was taking sides with the enemy, they eventually realized that he was displaying to them his independence as an individual to make his own decisions despite threats, just as they were trying to display to Britain themselves.

Answer 9

Ronald Reagan. He was a simple man, but was inteligent enough to stop the downward trend of the West. Because he saved your country from decline and provoqued the colapse of the Soviet Union. Millions of people in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas owe him their liberty (and also to Mrs Tatcher and John Paul II).

Answer 10

We've had many truly great leaders, and I absolutely agree with FDR, Lincoln, and Washington. All of them seemed to be sent to us by Providence at a particular time for a particular purpose. But my vote goes to Thomas Jefferson. Brilliance, vision, courage, compassion, loyalty to his nation, humility. How many leaders have ALL of those qualities? And when our nation could have been devastated by the fear of developing political parties, he managed to persuade us that it was good for - and, in fact, vital to - democracy. How I wish we had a Thomas Jefferson among us today.