America has been blessed with visionary leaders

America has been blessed with visionary leaders

Who is James Polk?

James K. Polk (1795-1849) who served as eleventh US president and among the one term presidents (1845-1849) had a greater vision of expanding American territories. Polk extended the US territory cumulatively over his period of reign by more than 1/3. Among the regions that he acquired include; the state of Oregon, he settled a dispute that existed between the British and the Americans leading to the annexation of Oregon. In 1846-48 he acquired California from the Mexican when he led America into war with Mexican (Mexican-American war). At the end of his first term in office, Polk kept his promise of not seeking the second term as he had promised during the campaigns in 1845. Additionally and more significantly, in 1847 he introduced reforms in the banking system while introducing bills that sought to reduce trade tariffs so as to encourage trade (Leonard, 2001) America has been blessed with visionary leaders.

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Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the vice president of President Abraham Lincoln (1808-1875). He deputized President Lincoln from 1861 to 1865 and then he assumed office after Lincoln’s murder in 1865. As a democrat president he supported populist interests while making sure that states interest comes first in his decisions. During his presidency, he took a moderation in dealing with the South Union issues of slavery and in the process he clashed with republicans.

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor (1784-1850) served in the military forty years. He led the Americans during the famous war Mexican-American war as a commander of the army. He was elected president in 1848 at a time when the issue of slavery was very emotive. He resorted to hold the nation together a resolve that would make him employ any means to have it done. He however died after two years of serving as president in 1850 America has been blessed with visionary leaders.

Nicholas Biddle

James Biddle (1786-1844) was the president of the Bank of America before it was dissolved by President Andrew Jackson in 1833. President Jackson vetoed a bill that sought the extension of the contract of the second bank. Nicholas Biddle was not happy about the move by the president and he undertook measures with a view to cripple the economy. He recalled credits and stopped giving out credit among other measures America has been blessed with visionary leaders.

John brown

John Brown earned himself a name of ‘radical abolitionist’ due to his radical actions of fighting slavery in the US and more so in the Southern States. His faith as Christian gave him impetus to act as he termed slavery as inhuman and a sin. By 1849 he had developed an army which made of slaves he had freed and those who are willing to join their movement against slavery. In 1859 Brown and 21 of his radical team/supporters attacked and occupied the Harper’s Ferry where Federal Arsenal was being kept. He was however captured after the military intrusion on the arsenal and he was hanged in 1859 (Horwitz, 2011) America has been blessed with visionary leaders.

Martin Van Buren

Unlike his predecessors who were not born in the US, President Van Buren (1782-1862) was born and raised in the US. He became the president of the US between the years 1836 to 1840. His bid of re-election however received a major blow after he failed to win nomination of his party, New Democratic Party. During his one term tenure Van Buren who was a member of Free Soil Movement before and after his election as the US president supported the freeing of slaves. In 1840 Van Buren brought a number of changes in a bid to reorganize the government. He also fought slavery by supporting Free Soil Movement (Cole, 1984) America has been blessed with visionary leaders.

Both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had vision for the future of America by 1794.  Thomas Jefferson being a leader in the post independent American era (1776) contributed immensely to the writing of American independence (1776), and advocated free public education (1779) among many other contributions set the pace for American leadership (Barrette, 2011). Alexander Hamilton on the other hand contributed more on the legal-economic fronts. Hamilton architected America’s economy in (1789-1793) and he was a driving for the America’s manufacturing development (1791-1795) among many other contributions (Ambrose, 2007). James Polk extended America’s boundaries by 1/3 thereby expanding on Jefferson’s vision of expansion. James Polk toed the line of the Hamilton and Jefferson more than Van Buren and Brown. James’ leadership decisions were more of a reality and in line with the dreams of Jefferson and Hamilton. Jefferson had a vision of free America, where everybody’s rights will be respected and every citizen would strictly observe the rule of law. Additionally, Jefferson advocated for free public education. Jefferson’s vision was more of a reality in 1877 because by then a number of issues had been resolved which include; free education, adherence to the rule of law, and the expansion of America, what was however lacking was freedom for all because the issue of slavery had not been resolved America has been blessed with visionary leaders.

Generally, America had a number of leaders in its formative years (1776-1800) who had diverse visions and how modern America will be. Some of the leaders discussed above had chances of leading in different fronts, presidency, army commanders, and activists. Their shaping of the modern America regardless of how small or great their contributions were, they meant good for America. Leaders who served in the position of presidency however had immense contribution to America due to the influence and power that comes with the position.  America in 1800 is the America in the vision of American leaders of 1776 onwards America has been blessed with visionary leaders.

Reference

Ambrose, D., & Martin, R. W. T. (2007). The many faces of Alexander Hamilton: The life & legacy of America’s most elusive founding father. New York: New York University Press.

Barrett, M. (2011). Meet Thomas Jefferson. New York: Random House.

Cole, D. B. (1984). Martin Van Buren and the American political system. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.

Horwitz, T. (2012). Midnight rising: John Brown and the raid that sparked the Civil War.

Leonard, T. M. (2001). James K. Polk: A clear and unquestionable destiny. Wilmington, Del: SR Books America has been blessed with visionary leaders.