Essay On Washington's Leadership

510 Words3 Pages
Washington’s leadership, while a good one, was not what I would call the ideal leadership. He did very well while he was a commander, and made some good decisions for the country. However, once he was president, he made some choices that I personally do not agree with. First, I would like to talk about the things that I do like about Washington. For starters, he was charismatic, which I believe is a key component in being a leader. If you don’t look the part, chances are people are going to believe that you aren’t the part. He also gave leeway to officers and didn’t mind them taking control over their own men, as long as they weren’t going against orders. Next, he was a humble man, not too afraid or prideful to admit he made mistakes. While…show more content…
He was tolerant of others, yet he let them know what he wanted and what they could get away with. He knew how to handle their weaknesses and how to enhance their strengths. When picking people for his cabinet, he covered his own weaknesses by surrounding himself with people who did well in those areas. He also surrounded himself with people who had opposing views from him, which led him to make decisions that were better for the country and not for his image. After all this praise of Washington, I want to draw your attention to a few things he did that I can’t say I agree with. While he had a good grasp of politics, his strengths/weaknesses, and how to commandeer and army, I don’t care for how he treated one race of people: the Iroquois. While I do not deny that the Iroquois were becoming pests and causing harm to the newly born U.S.A., it doesn’t say anywhere that the government tried to negotiate with them. To me, if one of the first acts of a new country is to wipe out a civilization, that says very bad things about their character. If it were me, I would have tried to negotiate. Overall, Washington did a great job of the first presidency, but I wish he had been more lenient to the Native
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