What makes an effective president An effective president is someone who must possess certain characteristics to be able to lead the country in the best way. Such things would include being the best in: economic, foreign and domestic affairs, party leader, chief executive and commander in chief. I believe this because some of our presidents in the past have demonstrated these things in some form. An effective president is one who gets the job done with all kinds of measures. I believe that to care about the United States, a person also has to be a little conniving. George Washington was the best CEO who understood that his every action would set a precedent for future administrations and that his mistakes could harm the young United States. Washington has managed to give the presidency a dignified but unpretentious tone. Washington saw the need to establish the primacy of the federal government over the states. He established the rule that presidents seek the advice and consent of the Senate not before or during negotiations, but only after the making of a treaty. Thomas Jefferson was the most effective in economic matters. The most dramatic action was the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which added more than 6,000,000 square miles of land to the United States. Jefferson did not have the constitutional authority to purchase the territory from France, but he considered land ownership and agriculture essential to the country's future. Jefferson called the purchase "an act beyond the Constitution," but Congress ultimately appropriated the funds and approved the land deal. Jefferson's vision of a greater and more prosperous country combined with his political pragmatism to produce an act of exceptional presidential leadership. The courageous decision to put the most serious crisis in the nation's history at the center of the paper. Lincoln responded by exercising his presidential authority to the fullest. Without congressional approval, he increased the military beyond statutory limits and spent millions of dollars for which no congressional appropriations had been made. Lincoln also emancipated slaves in the rebellious Southern states and issued presidential decrees to begin Reconstruction, the process of rebuilding the South's worn-out political and economic system. An effective president will always be a unifier rather than a divider. He must also have a certain stubbornness and dislike, to maintain his position. Even though times of war may arise, their ultimate goal should be peace. People want peace, dignity, equality and opportunity. Overall the president has the most control over the country.