Leadership Under Fire

ADAM SMITH was a Scottish philosopher who developed a theory of government that would promote his free market capitalistic ideas. This system, if followed carefully would create the wealthiest and most successful country ever. His book called The Wealth of Nations, which described his proposed system, was published in 1776. Our founding fathers read and studied his writings over the next ten to twelve years, melded it with our Declaration of Independence and produced our constitution. Alexander Hamilton, perhaps our most intelligent founding father, spent most of his years as Secretary of the Treasury under President Washington developing and implementing policies that would facilitate and promote Smith's ideas. Over the next 125 years our country closely followed Smith's teachings and we did become the richest most powerful country the world had ever seen. This treatise examines the lives of the presidents, giving insight into what in their formative years helped shape their philosophy of leadership. It also addresses how well they followed Smith's teachings while in office. Since 1913, we have had four significant turns away from Smith's guidance, which have cost us much blood and treasure. The last turn began in 1988, and we are still dealing with its ill effects.This is a concise history of the United States as seen through the lens of the lives and times of the presidents. -GERALD DALTAN, Retired attorney, Fredericksburg, Virginia.The theme of the book seems to be that knowledge is power, which produces confidence and courage, which leads to good decisions on difficult issues. On the other hand lack of knowledge is weakness, which leads to fear and anxiety, which elicits poor decisions. The better prepared a president is before he enters office the better he will perform while in office. This work spells out what good preparation is all about! -ESTELLE BRRENTINE, Former teacher and coach, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.Some of the information revealed in this text may cause many readers to re-evaluate some of their favorite presidents. This treatise should be used as a guide for the selection of candidates for the office of President of the United States and other high level positions in the federal government. Educators of government should find this book to be an excellent resource. -CAROL MURRAY, Former educator, Fairfax County, Virginia.The excellent summary of the characteristics of the presidents as shown in the charts will hopefully encourage further investigation of the importance of history as related to the political choices we make. The charts will enable teachers to easily assign classroom activities such as debates and to encourage lively discussions, all relating to the results of the various categories. It may even spark renewed interest in the works of Adam Smith.-JUDY JEFFERSON, Former teacher, Cobb County, Georgia