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Machiavelli and his Arguments in America's History
In chapter sixteen, Machiavelli explains that a good leader is one who is willing to be known as shrewd rather than generous. This is evident throughout the United States' history. An example this is during the leadership of ex-President, Lydon B Johnson. During the years of 1964 to 1966, Lydon Johnson attempted to create a better society, and attempted to eliminate poverty throughout the United States. In 1964, Johnson introduced the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, which would promote general welfare. In 1965, he then introduced a Medicare amendment to the Social Security Act. What Johnson attempted was to improve the economic welfare of many, a sort of act of generosity. Although, it was a great attempt, in cost a lot of money. In 1966-1967, Johnson began to feel a backlash from these act. He had managed to spend so much, the federal deficit had risen enough for him to raise taxes by six percent in order to cover expenses. This of course angered people, and as a result lost one of his supporting states. His strong supported also lost faith in him, and the democratic party, the party he was in, lost three seats in the senate. In chapter sixteen, Machiavelli also examines those who rose to power through generosity, but ended it after reaching power. Current president, George W. Bush, can be used as an example. During his first term, he cut taxes, which mainly benefited the upper class. Although he was already in power, this helped him keep it, because surely the upper class returned the favor during the 2004 presidential campaign. Also this example could be used to support Machiavelli's first point. This tax cut supports only a few, and this angers many. This evident in his low approval rating, although admittedly, this is mainly due to the Iraq War.



__**Bibliography**__

"The Forum of Julius Caesar." AncientWorlds. Dec 7. 2007 ____

Machiavelli, Nicolo. "1515 The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli." The Prince. Oregon State University. 6 Dec 2007 <[|http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/prince/prince.html#CHAPTER%20XVIII>.]

__"Lyndon B. Johnson."__ Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia__. 2 December 2007. 7 Dec 2007.__ 

Steve Stack. __Class Warfare and Tax Cuts__. 8 December 2007. __<[|http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/ClassWarfareTaxCuts/TaxCuts/Best/sack.jpg>__]

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