Andrew Jackson
He was The 7th President of U.S. after he won election in 1828. Importance of Andrew Jackson in shaping American history can be justified by role as a general and wartime hero in the 1812 war against the British where he won the Battle of New Orleans. In addition, as the commander of American forces in the Southern District, Andrew Jackson ordered the invasion of Florida. After American forces capture Pensacola and St. Mark’s from the Spanish forces, he claimed the land for the U.S. Jackson’s legacy was tarnished through his silence in the removal of Native American tribes from their federally assigned land in Georgia and forced them to move to west of Arkansas.
Throughout his life, Andrew Jackson played an important role in winning wars and expanding American territory for his country (The White House).
Teddy Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt became the 26th President of America in 1901 and has played a crucial role in shaping America’s future. Teddy Roosevelt was a conservationist; therefore, he was responsible for creating national parks such as the Badlands, the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forests, etc. He also had a pivotal role in development of the Panama Canal, which made trade routes easier, and played an important role in ensuring the European powers understood that America was a world power in its own. Teddy Roosevelt also played an important role in ending the Russo-Japanese War and received the Nobel Peace Prize. Teddy Roosevelt was a Progressive and used government’s power for economic regulation and restrained misuse of workers. Overall, Roosevelt has an important role in both domestic and foreign affairs and made America a global power in the western hemisphere (The White House).
John F. Kennedy
He was the 35th President of U.S. and was elected to the office in 1961. The election of 1961 was one of the first ones to be telecasted on television as the American saw Kennedy and Nixon discuss their policies in several American homes. JFK’s role in shaping American history came in 1962, when diplomatic relations between the USA and USSR were severed after Soviet ballistic missiles were located in the Cuba that sent alarm bells ringing the United States of America. JFK played an important role in calming the situation and managed to persuade the USSR to remove their missiles from Cuba. Post missile crisis, JFK also built diplomatic relations with the Soviets and ensured that such an event was never repeated in the future (The White House).
Intervention and isolation after Civil War
American foreign policy had vacillated between isolation and intervention after the end of the civil war. This condition can be best understood through the First World War as the United States decided to remain neutral initially as the country was made up different ethnic diversities fighting on both sides of the war and the physical isolation of U.S. helped them to be neutral. But, as they learned of Germany’s attempts to convince Mexico to attack the United States and several passenger ships carrying Americans were drowned, the American President (Woodrow Wilson) declared war on Germany (Ferguson 725). Similarly, the United States decided to remain away from war and added the Kingdom of Hawaii and Alaska to their territory through payments and negotiations, whereas Puerto Rico was annexed from Spain.
Works Cited
Ferguson, Niall. "Germany and the origins of the First World War: new perspectives." Hist. J 35.03 (1992): 725. Print.
The White House. Andrew Jackson. The White House. Thewhitehouse. N.d. Web. 16 April 2016.
The White House. John F. Kennedy. The White House. Thewhitehouse. N.d. Web. 16 April 2016.
The White House. Theodore Roosevelt. The White House. Thewhitehouse. N.d. Web. 16 April 2016.
