What Makes A Good Ruler Essay, Research Paper

What Makes A Good Ruler

In history, the main reason why a nation prospers is because of its leader. A man named Niccolo Machiavelli stated his opinions on what makes a good ruler in his book The Qualities of the Prince. I believe that a leader should be intelligent, strong, caring and devoted to his people. Although people have different opinions in the qualities of a good ruler, all believe that a leader should help their nation grow and thrive, leaders such as Caesar and Lincoln did this for their nation.

In his book The Qualities of the Prince Niccolo Machiavelli stated his opinion on what makes a good ruler. He believed that a leader shouldn t think about his luxuries so much and learn knowledge about commanding and leading. This takes a lot of training and hard work, but by doing this he will maintain the rein of his family rule. If he ignores this, he will surely lose his position as ruler of the nation. One of the most important qualities that Miachiavelli stated a ruler should have is knowledge of warfare. One thing that s bad about not being trained in knowledge of warfare is that it makes the prince look weak. This makes the people feel uneasy and unsafe, which leads to conspiracies against him. He believed that a ruler should exercise his practice in warfare. Especially during peacetime, there are two ways that a prince should do to gain more knowledge in warfare, actions and by mind. Machivelli s meaning of actions was that a ruler could discipline himself in knowing the surrounding environment and keep his soldiers disciplined.

His meaning of mind was having a better understanding of the country to defend it and comprehend the characteristics of any other terrain around his country. He believed that a ruler should study the history of other great leaders, to learn how they won and how they lost battles, and try to avoid their mistakes. Machiavelli says that a prince in warfare should be like a fox and a lion, a fox to show tactical and cunning during battle, while being a lion shows great strength and brings fear to his aggressors. A wise ruler will always follow these methods. He must always practicing even in peace times in to prepare for war, hoping that it will led to victory.

Machiavelli also had opinions of human nature. For the most part he believed that human nature was bad. He s saying that no human being is perfect no matter how hard they try to be good, they will always in counter difficulties that will stop them.

When Machavelli said I conclude, therefore, that a prince must be concerned with conspiracies when people are well disposed toward him taken care not to anger the nobles and to satisfy the common people and the keep them contented. By stating this Machavelli meant that a ruler should be aware of what s going around and not to trust the people. Machavelli also said that a ruler should have both internal and external qualities. Internal qualities of a ruler are generosity, leadership, intelligence and a kind heart. External qualities if a prince are his reputation of strength and to show no mercy.

One of the greatest rulers that demonstrate Machavelli s statement was Julius Caesar who lived from 100 B.C-45 B.C. Caesar helped his nation grow and thrive. He ruled as a dictator even though the government laws stated that he could only do so in times of dire emergencies. Another power that gave Caesar god-like power was the he was the head of the state religion in the Roman Empire, but the main thing that gave him most of his power was his total command of the armies in the empire. As a ruler Caesar help benefit his people in many ways. Throughout his empire he extended Roman citizenship, helped the colonies of veterans, and eliminated the highly corrupt tax system. In his home country of Italy he increased the number of senators and even reorganized the court system. By changing the calendar, he gave Rome a balanced way of recording time. Although Caesar did a lot of good for his country, a number of senatorial assemblies feared all of his powers would corrupt him into becoming a king. Amongst these men were two of Caesars most trust men, including Gaius Cassius and Marcus Junius Brutus. To prevent this from happening the senators of the group plotted an assassination. On March 15 45 B.C of that year, when Caesar entered the Senate house, the group killed him.

Another great ruler that helped his nation grow and prosper after Machiavelli wrote his book was Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States. He was born in Hardin Country, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. During his childhood he mostly educated himself by borrowing books and newspapers. He was also fond of talking and listening to other people. When Lincoln was at the age of twenty-one he went to practiced law in Springfield, Illinois for twenty-four years, where he earned a reputation as one of the State s best trail lawyers. Certain issues such as slavery, which he believes was wrong, drew him into national politics. In 1858 Lincoln ran for United States Senate, his opponent was Stephen A. Douglas, who was not against slavery won the election. In 1860 Lincoln s reputation was so impressive that to Republican Party nominated him to represent their party for President. On February 8, 1861 just one year after Lincoln became President the Civil War had begun. For four years the North and the South fought the bloodiest war in American history. Lincoln only wanted the war to end. As the war was coming to a close, the North would be victorious over the South. Lincoln was saddened by the four years of death and suffering of both sides. His strong will and great determination helped preserve the Union (North) during the long harsh Civil War, but he didn t live to lead it through times of peace. On April 15, 1865 during a performance of a play, John Wilkes Booth, an actor who sympathized with the Southern cause, shot Lincoln on the head. The whole nation was in shock. His goodness, honesty and compassion would be remembered forever. Lincoln died at the age of fifty-six.

All in all they re many different ways a leader can achieve prosperity and have qualities of a good ruler. Machiavelli stated his opinions of what makes a good ruler, even some great rulers in history showed some similarities to Machiavelli. Great rulers such as Caesar and Lincoln had both similarities and differences of ruling their nations, but both had the same goal, to have their nation grow and thrive.