This paper presents the emerging role of the United States in mid-20th century world affairs and evaluates the leadership styles Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy in terms of their effectiveness and finds reason for the direct leadership of the President that is very important for the United States. President John F Kennedy was one of starring leaders of the 20th century and his role model was Winston Churchill. There were many similarities between both leaders. He was belonged to an elite family and used his family connections to get into the politics. He was more like a war hero of that time. He was silver-tongued and performed as newspapermen. With his pronounced regional accent, he was said to have the ability to convince apparent rhetorical deterrents into assets. His particular accent made him electrifying public speaker. Kennedy believed that the vision does not necessarily means something that have to spring out of one’s own mind, it should be something subjective. He was so proud of his proved literary talents. His vision was not basically pessimistic. He put forth the idea of spreading freedom throughout the world rather than the freedom in America. His vision and his influential words have made him most prominent leader in the history.
Dwight Eisenhower was among the greatest military commanders. He was the thirty-fourth President of united state. He was a determined political operator. He used to alter his language from context to context. It was one of his verbal leadership practices. His way of thinking was analytic, advancing complicated arguments in clear prose. He tried his best to make his speeches dignified. He used to be relaxed and calm in the news conferences showing his great self control. He put forward moderate Republican policies, which provided him many victories in Congress. He launched the single largest public work program in the history of America named the Interstate Highway System. He possessed a great ability of gaining the respect and affection of the voters. For a decade, he worked day and night with four cigarette packs and cup after cup of coffee, after soon he realized that a leader endures a great strain and tension towards judgment making, because his decisions would affect the lives of thousands of men. He believed that without optimism and enthusiasm in command, victory would be hard to achieve. He was an optimistic leader, who acted hopeful around others. His best quality as a leader was his patience. He was so down to earth. Throughout his career as a leader, he faced many difficulties and failures too. These qualities made him popular among the nation of U.S.
President Kennedy supported the America in the time of the Great Depression. Kennedy knew that people feel good about themselves when they watch their sacrifices as serving higher. His vision was flexible and inclusive, which paved way for him to conciliate both the civvy Peace Corps and U.S Army Special Forces. His forward-looking rhetoric and his motivational speeches are still considered as gold standard. Kennedy had a steadfast power of belief in relation to American purpose in the expression of a planetary challenge to the exemption. He personified his vision, awarding it with enduring force. He was among the rarest of leaders who were blessed with superior communication skills.. He had a very unique style. He had a charismatic persona which also helped him in influencing people and their opinion. These qualities were exceptional through which he managed to get into people’s minds with these outstanding mind skills. He took the charge as president of America in a very heated up situation when there was a conflict of Civil Rights. He was the greatest leader (Hilgendorf, Constanze, et al 2007).
It is because at times when America was involved in the Vietnam conflict, the lack of such leadership created problems for the nation and its leadership as well. That was the need of the hour of presidents to have direct control over the decision making. The involvement of the military was unnecessarily getting escalated. That was also a reason of making the president, chief executive of the nation so he could make direct decisions. It is written in the constitution that, the president of the United States enjoys the powers as chief executive. Though, he is not an absolute ruler. He has to act on behalf of the people. There is no doubt that the ultimate powers of the government rest with the people, but they cannot simply conduct the nation business and decision making process. It was after the Vietnam War that U.S officials recognized the need of a direct leadership, because the controversies and depression during that time drive the government to think about awarding the direct command to the president. As a head of the state the president has a full command over every aspect of the government, but he has to make the decisions according to the welfare of the common man. This is why in the US, the direct leadership of the president so important (Wischmeier, Walter H 1978).
References:
Hilgendorf, C., Ahlin, G., Seithel, A., Artursson, P., Ungell, A.-L., & Karlsson, J. (2007). Expression of thirty-six drug transporter genes in human intestine, liver, kidney, and organotypic cell lines. Drug Metabolism and Disposition: The Biological Fate of Chemicals, 35(8), 1333–40. doi:10.1124/dmd.107.014902
Wischmeier, W. H., & Smith, D. D. (1978). Predicting Rainfall Erosion Losses: A Guide to Conservation Planning (p. 58). Science and Education Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
