The Best President of U.S.Of A.

The Presidency of the United States of America is the world's most powerful seat. Every decision, big or small, has the potential to benefit millions of people across the world. The Presidency also has the power to wreak havoc and suffering on a massive scale. That is why there are people and countries who are admirers of the United States Presidency, and there are detractors who vividly hate it. But one thing that everybody, friend or enemy, has for the Presidency is - Respect.

When we speak of who is the best President, we are faced with a difficult choice because to rate one President above another would be to show disrespect to the power of the Presidency, by valuing the person more than the seat. By that standard, the best President would be the one who understood that the power comes from the position, and showed that respect by enhancing the power and presitge of the United States Presidency. Who would that be? Read on...

Let's take a little course in history. From ancient civilizations upto the British imperial empire, power meant the military conquests across the oceans. Today, might is measured in terms of economic power. New York is the world's financial capital. Trillions of dollars flow through congress every year. One signature or press conference in the oval office turns world markets upside down. America leads, the world follows. When did the measure of power change from armies to stock markets? Which President signed off on policies which led to this siesmic shift and a break with thousands of years of history?

To learn that, we have to go back 110 years - to 1897. That was the year William McKinley Jr. was elected as the 25th President of the United States of America. McKinley's Presidency was a critical turning point for a number of issues, which went on to be the base of America's thrust and rise as superpower. The most important of these issues was McKinley's promise to nurture industry and banking, by means of the import tarriff imposed on all imported goods, which lead to a resurgence in domestic industry. McKinley managed the unique feat of bringing together both big business and labor unions in his support, and against a common enemy - Overseas business. While the Democrats ruled over the smoking ruins in the South, McKinley's Republicans built the foundation for a shining new America in the North. Where capitalism, individual freedom and path breaking research and innovation were mixed into a heady broth of ecomonic success and a new way of life.

The world was still living under the British yoke, but the beginning of the end was around the corner - With the advent of the first world war. While America built and built and consolidated, old Europe was gearing up to tear itself apart. The next 50 years were a steady drip-drip-drip of power flowing across the Atlantic - From the business end of a rifle into the cash counters of America's manufacturing boom.

Today, when we speak of China or India as behemoths, we do not think about their military power. We think about their growing financial muscle. Russia is resurgent. We worry not about their nuclear warheads, but about the petro dollars they are gobbling up. Despite all this, the United States still remains the world's only superpower. Because on the 4th of March,1897, William McKinley was sworn in as the 25th President, and he set off the race to industrialize America. That set the standard which we take for granted today. But back then, money was a secondary factor, which came as a bonus, after military conquests led to acquisition of new markets.

Was he the best President? I don't know. All I can say is, if he had not been elected, there would be no Detroit, no Silicon Valley, no Wall Street. And no Hubpages.