In his time, there was no way of knowing whether or not Washington was a good president, because there had been no predecessors before him. A historian named Richard Norton Smith said that all George Washington gave us was “our country as we know it today” (Young). He also went on to say, “Washington did not have Thomas Jefferson’s ability to turn an iconic phrase or James Madison’s penchant for coming up with profound concepts” (Young). However, Washington was the most quintessential president in American history, and without him, America would not be the Republic that it is …show more content…
Roosevelt became president 36 years after Roosevelt left office. He was known for his strong leadership skills even prior to presidency and he stopped at nothing to create a strong, united, nation (Elliott). The man that admired Roosevelt so greatly was Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States. Before his Presidency, Reagan pursued an acting career, starring in multiple movies. However, he quickly switched over to politics becoming the Governor of California and it was noted that “He surprised liberal Democrats and alienated the far right of the Republican Party by showing a proclivity for compromise” (Cannon). It was clear from the very beginning of his career that Reagan was anti-communism and pro-unionization amongst Americans, as he supported Franklin Roosevelt greatly in many of his foreign affairs (Schaller 3). Reagan’s most influential and seemingly devastating domestic affair was his tax bill in 1981. It was a bill that would cut taxes and was predicted to help the Federal budget deficit that was already occurring (Cannon). This bill was part of Reagan’s popular economic plans called ‘Reaganomics’. Reaganomics refers to the economic policies that were promoted by Ronald Reagan during the 1980s (Cannon). Luckily, this bill created more money to spend as unemployment rates went down, which helped with national debt (Cannon). However, Reagan’s career reached an incredibly low point in the Iran Contra-Scandal,