Compare And Contrast Jefferson And Harry S. Truman

There are few words in the English language that are difficult to define. Successful is one of those words considering everyone has their own definition of what it truly means to be successful in life. The word successful becomes even harder to define when paired with the word President. Every President had different qualities that made them successful during their terms. These qualities would be necessary in both times of peril and in times of peace. Americans tend to have a hard time trying to find the few genuinely successful presidents among the masses. Two Presidents that were truly successful were Thomas Jefferson and Harry S. Truman. These men had such an impact on politics on both the national and global levels. Jefferson and Truman

They genuinely wanted what was best for the United States. Few would consider running for President in this country, with its checks and balances, if they did not care about the best things for the nation as a whole. Jefferson, for example, was the author of the Declaration of Independence and had been in George Washington’s cabinet. Jefferson did this before he was ever President and it is hard to imagine a man would dedicate that much time and energy in something he did not care whole heartedly about. Harry S. Truman did not have a complicated history in politics, as a former senator, and was thrust into the presidency after Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. He never went looking to be the President of the United States. It just fell on him suddenly as did an entire throng of issues that were currently going on especially with World War Two. He too genuinely cared for the country and the outcome of these events going on in the world around them. Neither of these men were in office purely to have power, they were in office because they cared about the world around them. Both Jefferson and Truman expanded the United States albeit in very different areas. Jefferson physically grew the United States with the Louisiana Purchase, which nearly doubled the land of the nation. Truman on the other hand expanded the defense of the nation as well as the international dealings in

The Cold War began and Truman worked to contain communism. The Soviets had put a containment around Berlin and therefore the American’s could not get in supplies to the democratic people there. Truman then got the daring idea to do an airlift to get supplies to the people there and it was highly successful. This was a brave action because of a few reasons. The nation was scared of another world war with the Soviet Union and Truman had the lowest approval ratings he had ever had. This action had a chance of causing retaliation from the Soviet Union and was therefore highly risky. He also had reelection coming up which required the public’s approval and this action could risk getting that approval. While this showed bravery for the previously stated reasons it also showed his compassion for people. He made sure these people were taken care of with very few excuses. This event also led to an expansion in the defense department in the United States. This growth of the defense department continued for several years and continued to provide some protection throughout the Cold War. While it can be difficult to see exactly how this effected the rest of the Cold War but it can be argued that it definitely helped the side of democracy in the world. Both bravery and compassion are great traits for a successful President, so it is no surprise that he was so