President

On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States. “As the first of every thing, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent,” he wrote James Madison, “it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles. ” Born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite for an 18th century Virginia gentleman. He pursued two intertwined interests: military arts and western expansion.

At 16 he helped survey Shenandoah lands for Thomas, Lord Fairfax. Commissioned a lieutenant colonel in 1754, he fought the first skirmishes of what grew into the French and Indian War. The next year, as an aide to Gen. Edward Braddock, he escaped injury although four bullets ripped his coat and two horses were shot from under him. From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Married to a widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, he devoted himself to a busy and happy life.

But like his fellow planters, Washington felt himself exploited by British merchants and hampered by British regulations. As the quarrel with the mother country grew acute, he moderately but firmly voiced his resistance to the restrictions. When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years. He realized early that the best strategy was to harass the British.

He reported to Congress, “we should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn. ” Ensuing battles saw him fall back slowly, then strike unexpectedly. Finally in 1781 with the aid of French allies–he forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Washington longed to retire to his fields at Mount Vernon. But he soon realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787.

When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President He did not infringe upon the policy making powers that he felt the Constitution gave Congress. But the determination of foreign policy became preponderantly a Presidential concern. When the French Revolution led to a major war between France and England, Washington refused to accept entirely the recommendations of either his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who was pro-French, or his Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who was pro-British.

Rather, he insisted upon a neutral course until the United States could grow stronger. To his disappointment, two parties were developing by the end of his first term. Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired at the end of his second. In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit and geographical distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances. Washington enjoyed less than three years of retirement at Mount Vernon, for he died of a throat infection December 14, 1799. For months the Nation mourned him.

Theodore Roosevelt was an energetic and dynamic leader who gave the nation a square deal. During his presidency to a position of internatio nal leadership. Roosevelt belonged to an aristocratic New York family. He attended Harvard Univerity. Theodore Roosevelt fought in the Spanish-American war with the Rough Riders at the battle of San Juan Hill. He had served as police commissiores of New York, assistant secretary of the navy, governor of New York, and vice president of the United States.

When president McKinley was assassinated on September 14, 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became, at the time, the youngest (43 ears) president in hist ory. The president saw himself as a man of the middle who would meditate the struggle between capital and labor. He said that business must be protected against itself and he tended to favor regulatory commissions that provided nonpartisan supervisi on by experts of business practices. As president he succeeded in getting additional authority over the railroads for the interstate commerce commission.

He was also instrumental in the passage of the meat inspection act and the pure food and drug act. Ro attitude toward the poor and owards the labor movement was that of an enlightened conservative. He supported many labor demands such as shorter hours for women and children, employers’ liability laws and limitations on the use of injunctions against workers in labor disputes. In reform, Roosevelt wanted gradual change. He moved in the direction of the reformers and ended up as the candidate of the progressive party in the Bull Moose presidential campaingn in 1912.

He had broken with the Repub lican party. In 1907 immigration reached its all-time high 1,285,000 in one year. Theodore Roosevelt said, “There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have ro om but for on language here and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality; we have room for but one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people. ” Ro l ed the United States into continous armed interventions in the caribbean.

In 1906 an insurrection in Cuba caused the United States to intervene in its affairs. The American government withdrew its power when ordr was restored. In the Philippines c ivil government was put into operation, and a communications cable was laid across the Pacific. Roosevelt intervened in the war betwwen Russia and Japan. He invited the Russian and Japanese governments to send peace commissioners to America where a peace treaty was sighned in 1905. The following year the president was awarded the nobel peace prize. People had wanted a canal connectiong the Atlantic and Pacific for hundreds of years.

A French company, which went bankrupt, had started the pro ject. The company sold the panamanian rights to build the canal to the United States government. Colombia, whose territory included Panama, didn’t agree to the terms offered by the Uninted States. Ro did not think much of he of Latin Americans to begin with. He called he colombians “foolish and homicidal corruptionits. ” The Roosevelt administration supported a revolt by the Panamanians against Colombia. The new country of Panama signed a canal treaty favorable to the United States in 1903. The Pana ma canal was completed August 15, 1914.

In this paper I’ll go over his presidency, focusing on both the highs and the lows of his two terms in office, from 1829-1837. The issues that I’ll focus on are states’ rights, the tariff, the spoils system, Indian removal and banking policies; these controversies brought forth strong rivalry over his years of president. He was known for his iron will and severe personality, and strong use of the powers of his office that made his years of presidency to be known as the “Age of Jackson.

Jackson served as delegate to Tennessee in the 1796 Constitutional convention and a congressman for a year (from 1796-97). He was elected senator in 1797, but financial problems forced him to resign and return to Tennessee in less than a year. Later he served as a Tennessee superior court judge for six years starting in 1798. In 1804 he retired from the bench and moved to Nashville and devoted time to business ventures and his plantation.

In 1814 Jackson was a Major General in the Tennessee Militia, here he was ordered to march against the Creek Indians, who were pro-British in the war of 1812. Eventually he forced all Indians out of the area. His victory’s impressed some people in Washington and Jackson was put in command of the defense of New Orleans. This show of American strength made Americans feel proud after a war filled with military defeats. Jackson was given the nickname “Old Hickory”, and was treated as a national hero.

In 1822 the Tennessee Legislature nominated him for president and the following year he was elected the U. S. senate. He also nearly won the presidential campaign of 1824. However as a result of the “corrupt bargain” with Henry Clay, he ended up losing. In 1828 Andrew Jackson became the seventh President to the United States. Instead of the normal cabinet made up by the president, he relied more on an informal group of newspaper writers and northern politicians who had worked for his election.

I believe that this made him more in contact with the people of the United States, and with the public opinion and feelings toward national issues. President Jackson developed the system of “rotation in office. ” This was used to protect the American people from a development of a old political group by removing long-term office holders. His enemies accused him of corruption of civil service for political reasons. However, I think that it was used to insure loyalty of the people in his administration. States rights played an important part in Jackson’s policy’s as president.

In the case of the Cherokee Indians vs. The State of Georgia, two Supreme Court decisions in 1831 and 1832 upholding the rights of the Cherokee nation over the State of Georgia who had wanted to destroy Cherokee jurisdiction on it’s land because gold had been found on it, and the state seeing the Indians as enants on state land decided to kick them out. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that Georgia had no jurisdiction to interfere with the rights of the Cherokee and removal of them would violate treaties between them and the U. S. Government.

However, Jackson, not liking these decisions. Jackson was and always will be an Indian fighter. I think he just liked pushing around the Indians because he knew that whatever resistance they had was no match for the U. S. army. The question of the tariff was a major controversy in the United States around the years of Jackson’s Presidency and his strong upport for a unified nation over states rights would hold the country together in this national crisis. The Second Bank of the United States was not made into an issue of his election in 1828.

However he decided the bank, which is not a government bank, but chartered by it in 1826, had failed to provide a stable currency, and had favored the Northern states, and few loans were granted to the southern and western areas because they were a larger risk and the bank didn’t see it in it’s interest to make such a gamble with it’s money. And in his mind the bank was in violation on the Constitution. Even though the bank’s charter wasn’t due to expire until 1836, Jackson’s political enemies pushed a bill through congress granting the banks re-charter, Jackson vetoed the bill. The “Bank” issue was a major item in his re-election in 1832.

In his second term Jackson decided to remove federal deposits from the bank into “pet banks” which virtually took away Nicholas Biddle’s power as president of the Second National Bank, which left him and anti-Jackson people very upset with what they called the abuse of his powers. The increase in loans from the state chartered caused a land boom and gave the federal government a surplus, which was split up amongst the states, the increase in loans brought on the use of paper currency that was issued by the state banks, Jackson prohibited the use of paper money to by federal land or pay federal debts.

This demand for coins called specie led to many bank failures in the Panic of 1837. I don’t think he knew what he got himself into when he did this, and could of handled the situation a little better, but not all the blame should fall on his shoulders, ecause it wasn’t his fault the private state-chartered banks issued the paper money when they didn’t have the specie to back it up. Jackson’s foreign policy showed a strong interest in making the French to pay long-overdue spoliation claims and reopening the British West Indian Trade.

Even thought he personally agreed with the rebellion of Texas against Mexico. He didn’t recognize the Lone Star republic until the day before he left office in 1837, and left the problem of Texas takeover to Martin Van Buren. Jackson was a powerful voice in the Democratic party even after retired. He died on June 8, 1845 on his plantation, the Hermitage, in Nashville Tennessee.

Andrew Jackson was the first “peoples president. This comes from his youth in a frontier territory and his “people qualities” which helped him to be more touch with the people of the United States, and therefore the people of the United States took a more active role in the Government. He even went so far as to call himself the elected representative of all American people. I think that Jackson’s strengthening of the powers of the presidency are the iggest influence to this day.

He used the power of the veto 12 times (more times than all of his successors combined). I only wish that their was a candidate like that running for election in ’04. When you gave this project, I though Jackson was a mean tempered Indian fighter who trashed the White House and found his way to office because he took over Florida and defended New Orleans Successfully. But I grew to learn that he was really a great president and did a lot for the presidency of the United States of America.

Throughout the history of our great United States of America we have seen many presidents some great and some insignificant, some impacting the nation in a positive way, others negatively, and some, seemly accomplishing very little in their four year term as president. Ronald Regan was a popular president, a former Hollywood actor he was reelected to a second term in 1985. President Regan was the oldest man elected president. He was the first President to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor.

Ronald Regan once said, What I’d really like to do is go down in history as the President who made Americans believe in themselves again. I see President Ronald Regan as a great president. According to the constitution of the United States, it is required the president must preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The President is duly responsible for the execution of laws; he has the ability to grant pardons and reprieves in criminal cases. As the Commander in Chief of the military, the president must also repel against foreign invasion.

Former President Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Ill. , on a Monday February 6th 1911 and is living today, in his homeland state of California. President Reagan was the first Hollywood actor to be elected President. He was a sports announcer for WOC, a radio station in Iowa when that job led him to acting he later served in the U. S. Army. Being a Republican leader Ronald Reagan led a campaign aimed to restore The great confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism.

Reagan focused his campaign on the poor economic policies of President Carter. And then President Cater called Reagan “trigger-happy” and said he would lead the country to a war. Elected in 1981 as our 49th President, he served a full two terms in the Presidency stepping down in 1989. On President Ronald Reagans inauguration day, Jan. 20, 1981, 52 American hostages who had been held by the revolutionary government of Iran for 444 days were released. Reagans inaugural address had a strong impact on our country with many promises to change the nation.

The opening paragraph of the address are my favorite portions because he very graciously thanks the past president, while giving insight as to what is wrong with the economy as well as the nation with terrific solutions to these problems. Sadly, 69 days after Regan took office, an assassination attempt put the president in the hospital. After a quick recovery President Regan began to rally legist ration to stimulate the economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment and strengthen national defense.

And change an economy that was suffering from very high inflation. The president cut taxes and government expenditures. Regan ordered Naval escorts in the Persian Gulf War. Reagans main domestic policy was known as “Reaganomics. This was a series of tax cuts and laws passed by legist ration that would boast the economy. He also created an innovative program known as the Regan Revolution, which he hoped would reinvigorate the American people. Allowing them, to once again rely on their government.

Reagans view on foreign policy was one of Peace Through Strength. During both of his terms he increased defense spending by 35% while improving relations with the Soviet Union. Regan declared war on terrorism, sending bombers to Libya after evidence came forward of an attack on American solders in West Berlin. Regan achieved much in the talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva. Including a treaty Regan never actually led our country into war, but he did get us out of the cold war with military invasions as well as peace talks.

The American political scandal of 1985 and 1986 was known as the Iran-Contra Affair because high-ranking members in Reagans administration arranged the secret sale of our arms to Iran in a violation of existing U. S. laws. All profits ($30 million) were then provided to the Nicaraguan right wing contra guerillas to use against Sandinista government also violating U. S. laws. No evidence was even concluded that Reagan had broken the law, every person views Regan differently, some loved him, some hated him, and some love to hate our former president.

President Regan was a good president in my mind; because he tried to do what he felt was best for our country. He did raise the spirit of the country and began the truce in the cold war with the Soviet Union. Regan would handle todays war on terrorism, just as he did in his Presidency forcibly. As a popular president he would have the support of all Americans, much like the patriotism of today. I believe he would have captured and killed Osama Bin Laden and his people by this time because he is one of the few American Presidents who took serious action.

Politics have been the family business for more than one family in the United States. The familiar family of several generations is the Kennedy family who remains in the political spotlight for fifty-three years and running. As Elizabeth Dole attempts to gain the Republican nomination for the 2000 presidential race she hopes to continue the forty-nine year Dole family streak. Coming close to twenty-five years in politics Bill Clinton prepares to turn the scepter over to Hillary Clinton as she prepares for a possible seat in the United States Senate. Perhaps the most interesting dynasties are those carried on by father-son teams.

Both John Adams and John Quincy Adams were United States Presidents. It also appears as though former President George Bush may be able to watch one of his two Governor sons take the presidential oath in the near future. His namesake child, the current governor of Texas, has recently announced his bid for the Republican nomination on the 2000 ballot. However, even if he makes it past the primaries it will take more than a “brand name” to win this election. According to the June 21, 1999 issue of Newsweek 65% of voters they polled still knew nothing or little of George W. Bush.

When looking at a possible future President of the United Sates of America it is not uncommon to start with their past and work forward to see their progress and failures. George W. Bush attended a preparatory school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Like many young men he was interested in sports and he selected to the men’s basketball team at Phillips Academy. Envied by his peers the young man was chosen to be part of a team that was exclusive to the best. However young George sat on the bench that year and only played one game.

The next year he opted not to try out for football and instead became the head cheerleader. He made many friends at this elite school considered to be the toughest in the country at that time. He successfully finished and the following year attended Yale. During George’s time at Yale he barely seemed to notice his father had been elected to Congress (1966). George, “W” as many refer to him, was not interested in any of the political organizations at the University. George W. Bush seemed to be more concerned with social matters than political matters.

He knew stories about most people that would pass him by on the campus and was a fan of his school’s sports teams. In the late 1960’s he joined a fraternity of Delta Kappa Epsilon, a fraternity for sportsmen and those who loved to watch them. They were called Dekes. This brings about a controversy that Bush himself may have been involved in overseeing harmful hazing rituals such as branding. Both Bush and other members of the fraternity have denied these rumors. Most members say the branding was a scare tactic that never actually happened. What did happen?

A close friend of Bush’s at the time stated, “…there was a lot of watching sports, girls, and beer drinking (Duffy). ” This is also where Bush had his first encounter with the law. Bush stated, “ We had a little too much Christmas cheer and for some reason we really thought we needed that wreath (Duffy). ” George and some of the other members of the Dekes were charged with theft as a misdemeanor and the misdemeanor was later dropped. During Bush’s junior year at Yale he surprised his family by announcing his engagement to a young woman from Rice University named Cathryn Wolfman.

They engagement did not last long after George decided that he was too young to settle down. While attending a Princeton, Yale’s rival, versus Yale football game in which Yale won, George encountered his second encounter with the law. As friends were leaving the game they turned around to see young George standing in the middle of the goal posts as he and his friends tore them down on the Princeton field. The mayor of Princeton, New Jersey told the young men as punishment to leave Princeton and never return and he has not to this day.

After graduating Yale George moved to Houston to live at the ritzy Chteaux Dijon, a popular place for late baby bloomers to live in the 1970’s. Not only was he changing girlfriends rapidly he was also changing jobs frequently. When he joined the Air National Guard in Texas he was criticized by many that he was allowed to override the long waiting list. The young man denied receiving any special favors from the Guard because of his father’s status. George worked in for an agriculture company at this time and then left calling the work dull and boring.

He then worked for a group that mentored young minority athletes but also left that job not being fulfilled. After applying for University of Texas Law School and being denied he applied to Harvard School of Business. George W. Bush graduated from Harvard with his Masters in Business in 1975. After Harvard George returned to Midland, Texas where he grew up. There he thought that he would try his hand at the oil business. He had no experience in this field yet he insisted on jumping into to it without working his way up the ranks. At the same time he started the oil firm he married a young lady by the mane of Laura Welch, a quiet librarian.

Laura and her new husband spent much of their honeymoon on the campaign trail. In Midland George thought that he might run for Congress and in the 1977 race he went up against Kent Hance. He won much support in the Midland area but Hance took a huge lead in Lubbock and won the 1977 election. That wasn’t the only misfortune he experienced during that period in his life. The gas prices were plummeting causing the price of oil to be forced down. Many people in the Midland area were losing jobs and very few oil companies could survive on their own. In 1982 George W. Bush sold 10% of his oil firm to a Panamanian investor.

As prices began to fall further Bush began drinking heavier and more steadily. In 1984 he merged the rest of his company with Spectrum 7. Even after Bush took 25% pay cut the oil prices continued on a downward spiral. Now Spectrum’s best offer was to be bought by an energy company by the name of Harken. In return Bush received $320,000 in stock and was retained as a consultant at a salary of $80,000 a year, $5,000 more than what he was previously earning (Pooley 36). He also convinced Harken to employ most of his former employees and he found jobs for the employees that were not taken on by Harken.

Other changes were also taking place in his life. After a joint 40th birthday party in Colorado Bush woke up with a hangover severe enough to cause him to quite drinking cold turkey. He also had twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, to take care of. Now that he had money and no day job he was free to think on an offer that had been made to him several months before the Harken deal. In 1985 Lee Atwater spoke to George Bush about helping run his father’s (the Vice President of the United States from 1984-1988) presidential campaign. In 1987 Bush packed up his family in Midland and moved to Washington, D. C. to help his father.

The younger George spent countless hours defending his father from harsh journalist, unfaithful staff, and critics. He acted as a surrogate speaker on behalf of his father around the country. All of his hard work on the campaign not only helped his father win the 1988 presidential election; it also brought him in to the political spotlight as a serious man for the first time. After the elections Bush and his family returned to Dallas, Texas. After being in Dallas for a few years he received a hot tip that the Texas Rangers Baseball team was for sale.

Quickly Bush rounded up a group of investors and purchased a portion of the team and was made a manager. The money he used to buy the team he borrowed from a Midland bank where he was a director using his Harken stock as collateral. His initial $500,000 investment grew to $606,000 and his final return was over $15 million (Pooley 36). He was finally in the spotlight as a politician, a businessman, a sportsman, a family man, and as a down home man. He attended all 80 Ranger home games. He would often stay hours after the game to sign autographs and he did wonders for the stadium.

He and his partners renovated The BallPark in Arlington with bond money. His public relations were rising but things in Dallas were not going as smooth as in Arlington. When Bush sold all 212,140 of his Harken stocks in June of 1990 he received $848,569, more the 2 the original value (Pooley 41). Less than two months later Harken made the quarterly report and they stated that the company lost more than $23 million dollars. Bush says he did not know that Harken was going to announce the loss yet he was still criticized by many who said that as a director he should have know.

He compounded the problem by not filing a SEC form. After a SEC investigation he was cleared of all charges. One month later Bush resigned from Harken and declared for Governor. George took a leave of absence from the Rangers to spend time campaigning for Governor. He traveled the state as a well-known man separate from his father, at least in personality. George’s social circle drew him crowds of the elite oil and businessmen to the down home baseball fans throughout Texas. George also gained a tart sense of humor when his sister died in 1953 of leukemia.

His mother said that since more was expected from George, the oldest son, he diverted their attention by wisecracks and nicknames, a trait that he carries with him to this day. According to the June 1999 issue of Texas Monthly that may also of helped people relax and relate to him as a man and not just a politician while on his campaign trail. After George won the Governor election to Ann Hutchinson he put all of his Rangers assets in to a blind trust and did not sell the team until 1998.

In 1998 he received over $14. illion dollars for his share of the team. As a second term Governor of Texas George W. Bush has had a well-kept record. Although the governor of Texas has very little power he and legislation passed the largest tax cut in the states history. He has won praises from teachers by allowing for large teacher pay raises. Crime rate is down and although he did not back a hate-crimes bill the President Clinton urged him to sign his inclusive rhetoric and multicultural appointments have please the Hispanic and African American communities.

His pulling together of political factions saying it is better to work together than to work alone has impressed many leaders of both major parties. Bush is quoted in Time magazine saying, “I’m proud to be a compassionate conservative. I welcome this label, and on this ground, will make my stand (Duffy). ” According to the Washington Post’s Governors Guide strong families, local control, individual responsibility, and limited responsibility are principles guiding Governor Bush’s major initiatives. He continually states the importance of family and education in society.

He says that education is his number one priority. He believes for our society to become compassionate and responsible we must first teach children to read and comprehend. According to this page he says, “Government is necessary, but not necessarily government. ” His staff knows that any proposal brought before him must encourage personal responsibility, local control, and fiscal responsibility. He has encouraged a voluntary clean up program for companies and individuals to participate in that has brought back $170 million dollars in property and has created 3,000 jobs.

Since his first term 115 older companies have reduced emissions by 100,000 each year. To make Texas a safer place he has aided in passing anti-stalking laws and no sex offender is allowed to live in Texas without registering first with local authorities. He has declared a zero tolerance for violent crimes on school grounds. If any youth is found in violation of a violent of sexually orientated law he or she must be reported to the teachers of that school and he or she pose a threat they may be placed in alternative education programs.

He supports the legal drinking age of 21 and has implemented one of the nations toughest anti-youth-smoking laws. He believes in the death penalty for those who have committed “horrible” crimes. He also believes that Texas prisons are a place of work and punishment. All prisoners in Texas work either building houses for the needy, farming for food banks, making road signs, Braille books, government furniture, or laundry detergent.

He also supports welfare reform, creating jobs and not dependency for those in need, yet his 1997 legislation passed a bill not allowing government to interfere with private charity help for these people. Now Governor Bush will be able to make his stand on a national level. On June 12, 1999 Governor Bush announced he would run for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. He already has the backing of 15 Republican Governors. Even Kent Hance who beat him in the 1977 congressional elections has contributed money (Hance switched parties in 1985).

Although Bush has a long way to go until the elections he is already miles ahead of the other Republicans and Democrats (Vice President Al Gore and former Senator Bill Brady) hoping to earn the nomination for his or her party. In the Republican race for presidential nomination he faces Elizabeth Dole, Dan Quayle, Steven Forbes, and John McCain. In a Time/CNN poll 55% of those polled would vote for Bush, and 42% for Al Gore, however George Bush has the Republican nominee vote 40% ahead of the runner-up, Elizabeth Dole, who has 14% of the vote according to the Time/CNN poll.

Governor Bush still has a long time before the 2000 election, if he is chosen as the GOP nomination. He has matured a lot form his past and has impressed enough people in high places to earn the most money in the shortest amount of time ever in an United States presidential campaign according to June 30,1999 edition of the Corpus Christi Caller Times. According to the Caller Times Bush has earned $20 million in just four months (Van Natta A-12).

Fortunate for Bush he has made a connection with many Americans and not including those who know nothing about him most like him…they just don’t know why. For Bush supporters it is not the “name brand” that they believe will win him the Presidency, it is the values and policies he stands for. Right now the Republican Party’s worst nightmare is that if it is the name and if the name wares off their “school house built of straw will weaken and blow down. ” With the aide of family, Texas governor’s office veterans, and his fathers old aides, he hopes to prove them wrong before February.

Andrew Jackson, in the authors words, was “mild, polite, polished, benevolent, and democratic. ” It would not be in anyones favor to question the validity of the his words, but to understand them with unrestrained faith in those words will help to insure complete insight into the book. Moreover, this book stresses the immortal fact that Jacksons private life had as much irony and agony as his political/outside life did. With those factors understood, Jacksons life and the times he lived in, will become clear to all.

The important point to understand about most things in this world is the nature of their origins, Andrew Jackson is no different. Born with no idea as to what his father looks like, Andrew Jackson Jr. , third son from Elizabeth and Andrew Jackson Sr. , will be raised at the home of Elizabeths sister and brother-in-law, the Crawfords in the state of South Carolina. Andrew Jackson Sr. descended from a long line Ulster families that were thrown out of Ireland, seeking refuge in the United States, made their home in South Carolina.

Jackson Sr. ying suddenly before his sons birth, left Andrew to grow up without a male parental figure. Living in the Crawfords gave young Andrew little rewards; he was given very little schooling of basic reading, writing, and figuring. So, how, in fact, does a man that receives less education than the average American at that time, not to mention the likes of John Adams or Thomas Jefferson, be, in the many historians minds, greater than Adams or Jefferson? The long answer to that question will start when “Andy” as the young, and slim Jackson is called, attains to the age of 13.

The year was 1780, British troops had taken South Carolina, Andys oldest brother had joined the American regiment fighting in their home town, but died due to heat exhaustion in battle. At the sight of his deceased brother Hugh, Jackson joins the army as a mounted messenger. After the fighting halted, both Andrew Jackson and his brother Robert (who had also joined the American army by now) went back home to the Crawfords. Even though official battles had been temporarily stopped, the “civil war” raged on as Patriots fought Tories in the towns of South Carolina, catching young Andrew Jackson in the midst of the fight.

In one bloody encounter, Jackson and his brother were taken prisoner by British dragoons. A British officer ordered Andrew to clean his boots. The boy refused, claiming his right as a prisoner of war not to be treated like a servant. The furious officer whipped out his sword and slashed at the boys head. Luckily for Jackson, his stealth saved him from certain death, but leaving him with scars on his left hand and head which he carried with him his whole life, along with a hatred for the British.

Thrown into prison camp, Elizabeth Jackson would not let her sons rot in British cells, and making deals for exchange of prisoners, got her sons in the trade. Alas, Robert died during the trip home, and Elizabeth was barely able to save Andrew. Being the courageous woman that she was, Elizabeth Jackson made a journey to Charlestown Harbor, where she intended to help American soldiers sick in British prison ships, but while nursing the plague-ridden men, she caught cholera herself and died. Andrew Jacksons response, “I felt utterly alone”, was all that needed to conclude his feelings about events at that time.

The following years after that, until he ventured into politics, included going from city to city in South Carolina seeking the horse-race and drinking his heart out. Uncontrolled and unrestrained by anyone or anything besides money, Andrew would come to see and do almost everything imaginable at that time in the United States. He had also gone into various professions, from teaching to law. It was at law where he began his rise to politics. On the road to becoming a lawyer, Jacksons first stop was be apprentice to Spruce MaCay, in North Carolina.

But simply being apprentice wasnt enough, Jackson left MaCay after two years, and when he finally got admitted to the state bar, he began drifting about the local courts, taking a case here and there. It wasnt until an old friend made him the public prosecutor of the new Western District of North Carolina that he got his first major break as a lawyer. Now in his twenties, Jackson finally gains wealth and becomes a indispensable lawyer to the speculators in Nashville, N. Carolina. It was also during this time, that Andrew Jackson takes a wife.

He had an intimate relationship with the landladys daughter Rachel that he lived with during his time in Nashville but could not move in on her because she was married. Her husband left her, and by the fall of 1790, rumor had spread that he was ready for divorce. Andrew and Rachel then got married, but this event became an issue because of the fact that Rachels husbands divorce was only a rumor, where, in later years, in the great game of politics, the issue would be brought up over and over again that Andrew Jackson committed ungentlemen-like bigamy. Marriage had brought Jackson a few miles ahead in the road through politics.

Being the very influential family that Rachel Donelson was from, she helped provide Jackson with enough political and economic boost to become one of the richest men on the Western Frontier. Due to his vast holdings, and his leadership on this new state called “Tennessee”, Andrew Jackson landed a seat in the U. S. Senate. Showing very little political ambition, and not accomplishing a whole lot, Jackson soon resigns his seat. It was after his senate resigning that Jackson would become major general of the militia of Tennessee and where his great accomplishments in the battle field start.

During the War of 1812, General Jackson, with his troop of 2,500 men, was to march to Natchez, at the tip of the Mississippi, to prepare strikes on either Pensacola, Mobile, or New Orleans. But unfortunately the War Department in Congress recalled his troops, and along the hardship-filled way back (through Indian territory, without pay, transportation, or medicine) to Nashville, Jackson received the nickname that would cling to him forever-Old Hickory-because of his willingness to walk alongside his troops in support, comforted the sick, encouraged the weary, and doled out rations.

Shortly after he had received the Old Hickory name came Jacksons greatest victory courtesy of the battle of New Orleans which ended the War of 1812. The time was following Napoleon Bonapartes defeat in France, Great Britain had now assembled a troop of 14,000 men to attack the U. S. in three directions: top from Lake Champlain, Chesapeake Bay in the middle, and New Orleans in the south. The Lake Champlain and Chesapeake Bay campaigns were easy victories for Britain, but the most important battle rested in New Orleans, even with their victories, the tide can turn with a win by General Jackson in New Orleans against the British.

Recruiting two regiments of African Americans, dastardly employing pirates, it is still known as a miracle today that he pulls off this great win considering that the odds of 7:3 against the Americans which make this battle even more memorable. “New Years Day, 1815, General Edward Pakenham of Great Britain commands his (7,000) troops to begin a heavy bombardment of the American positions. In two hours of steady fire, the British were outgunned; they failed to breach the American line. Pakenham then came up with an unworkable plan.

He would hurl all his power straight ahead through the Americans well-prepared fortifications. It meant committing thousands of his redcoats to a frontal assault in the hop that their superior numbers would shatter the American resistance. Fighting starts at dawn on the eighth of January, the files of soldiers made two direct attacks in the face of deadly rifle and artillery fire. All the Americans had to do was shoot them down as them came. The British broke completely and fled the field. ”

Some years after that great victory in Orleans, once he regains his health in his Hermitage, Jackson enters politics in the form of assuming the newest state (Florida) to enter the Unions governorship. And after a few years of that, at the age of 55, but, “looking 65”, he is once again elected into the U. S. Senate. The interesting event that occurs during his third stint on the Senate is that now, the idea of Andrew Jackson as the next president of the United States has suddenly crept into everyones mind. The stage was now set for the greatest election the world has known in that time.

Jacksons candidacy had come from state legislatures due to the collapse of the party caucus system. Backed by one of the best politician in the U. S. at that time (William B. Lewis) and one of the wealthiest men (John Overton), his campaign was destined to be a success. His opponents were John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, who was the Secretary of State; Henry Clay of Kentucky, majority leader of the House of Representatives; Secretary of War from South Carolina, John C. Calhoun, and William Crawford of Georgia, the Secretary of the Treasury.

Due to lack of support for himself, and the apparent overwhelming support for Jackson, Calhoun withdrew from the race and joined Andrew Jacksons forces as the vice-presidential candidate. As the campaign went on, Jacksons men had to sway voters by saying one thing in one state, while his men in another state would contradict that same statement, making him seem like a vote-monger in the eyes of many people and to which his opponents used as a weapon against him. But, alas, Jackson was not to be denied votes since he stood so firmly on the issue of slavery.

Defending slavery caused him to finish with the most popular votes overall, but did not get enough votes to win the electoral college. Upon which case, the irony of this election started. It so happened that Henry Clay wound up as the last of the candidates to have a chance at the presidency, and since Jackson, Adams, and Crawford now needed to win by vote in the House of Representatives, Clay, being Speaker of the House, struck a deal with his least hated person out of the three, which was Adams. So therefore, Adams getting the support of the leader of the House, wins the election of 1824, much to the dismay of Jackson.

At this point in time, angry Old Hickory makes plans to usurp and defeat Adams in 1828 following the possible “corrupt bargain” that was struck between Clay and Adams. Andrew Jackson and his followers now formed the Democratic Party. With men such as Martin Van Buren and John C. Calhoun campaigning and propagandizing on his behalf, he found Campaign 28 to be an easy victory, despite vast accusations about his personal life from opponents that led to the saddest day in Andrew Jacksons life when Rachel, reacting to pamphlets about her alleged affair with Andrew, and other assorted gossip, grows ill and dies.

This event shocked and made Jackson utter the words, “I feel utterly alone” once again in his life: but he strives on, being the Old Hickory that he is, and inaugurates as the 7th President of the United States of America. One of the most memorable items during Jacksons terms was his “Kitchen Cabinet”, which consisted of Francis P. Blair, Amos Kendall, Isaac Hill and William Lewis; all of whom are newspaper editors with the exception of Lewis. The four men would assist in close matters with Jackson, who does not really trust the competence of his Congressional Cabinet.

These mens ideas helped shape Jacksons administrative policy, but in no way did they dictate what Jackson said or did, because he was “master in his own White House”. That label would soon come to bestow upon him the honor of being one of the most “king-like” presidents in history, due to his over-excessive use of the veto power. Andrew Jacksons greatest battle in the political ground also resulted in his re-election when he started his War against the Bank (of the United States).

The Banks story begins with Alexander Hamilton, who made Congress pass the Banks charter in 1791, it was meant to stabilize the governments finances and establish its credit. Partly private, partly government-financed and -controlled, it became the cornerstone of the American economy by providing a safe place to deposit the governments funds, lend the government money when needed, regulate state banks lending, issue bank notes, and collect taxes. The Banks charter had ended in 1811, but in 1816, President Madison rechartered the Bank for twenty years.

By the Panic of 1819, when (land) speculative fever pushed people to the brink of bankruptcy and failure, state and local banks also arrived at that point because they made loans that they did not have equal amounts in gold or silver to back up. Distrust everywhere, by mostly everyone in the system of the Bank had arrived at an all time high. But a resurgence by the bank in the 1820s, led by its young, handsome, and energetic president, Nicholas Biddle, allowed it to survive. Biddle continues to do well until the early 1830s, when he tries to recharter the bank. He tried to appeal to Jackson for recharter.

It is interesting to see that what fueled Jacksons anger towards the Bank of the United States was his own misfortune at the hands of it: during a time where he had planned to open a merchandise store, but a land-speculating deal gone awry, mainly because of Bank of the United State bank notes, forced him to forfeit his plans on the merchandise store, and left him in poverty for a time. And so with that hatred, Jackson makes this great fight against the bank, charging that the bank was the beneficiary of special privilege, granted a monopoly of the governments business by charter.

That monopoly worked for the aristocrats, and hurt the common man. Not only was the bank evil, but it was also unconstitutional. With that said, President Jackson rallied the people behind him in the stand on the Bank of the U. S. So in the election of 1832, Henry Clay, the opponent of Jackson, supports the Banks recharter, and therefore loses the election. With his last breadth at a time of his greatest power, Clay gathers enough votes in Congress to pass a recharter of the Bank; but Jackson vetoes it, and that ended the life of the first Bank of the United States.

With that beening his greatest use of the veto power, President Andrew Jackson becomes “King Andrew I” that so many people portrayed him to be. In the totally contradicting statement, he cannot be that because him and his followers started the democratic party, which was essentially the party for the people! Ending, it is interesting to see how his early childhood and wife shaped him, from being juvenile teenager, to the Old Hickory millions have come to praise. Knowledge/Insights The new knowledge that Ive gained from this book complements the ones Ive received reading Hofstadter.

Where Hofstadter tells me mainly of the political side into the life of Jackson, this book gave me feelings and emotions towards Jacksons life. In a sense, Hofstadter has a touch of “coldness” about his works, whereas the author of this book gives Andrew Jackson a heart. Also, I see the great detail implemented in this book, or lack thereof from our text books which causes me to wonder about the quality of our textbooks, and that maybe I should always read a biography of a character in American History every time someone famous is mentioned in the textbooks.

My insight into this book is that as most biographies go, this one is truly exemplary. Not only does it tell of one of the most interesting men that ever graced this earth, it tells it in a melodramatic way, from the unparalleled reactions of Jacksons shooting of Charles Dickinson to Jackson hopeless mourning over the corpse of his dead wife, as he “(hopes) vainly for signs of returning life(in her)”. Jacksons pure energy, raw emotion, as shown in the Battle of new Orleans, where even sick, he can give orders to win the battle, is truly mind-boggling.

Also, being the first ever “self-made” man and president, he is truly a character that seems almost fictional in the way he can transcend from one thing to another. His survival at the hands of several duels, and to live to the incredible age of 78 with several bullets lodged in his chest from duels, truly shows how incredible a man Jackson had been. The statement that he was “born poor and died rich” fits Andrew Jackson perfectly. My most important insight into this book is that if you take away the politics and egotistical displays of power, and make the Battle of New Orleans the focus, Jackson would make a great hero for young kids.

Also, if you strip away his machinations with battle and fighting, you could make Jackson to be the true self-made man that Abraham Lincoln is, in the rise to politics. Relationship Between Book & 19th Century American History This books intricate relation to developments of the 19th century include the rights and questions of slavery, the American Frontier and its ideals of the “self-made” man, and questions about the rights of Indians to their lands. Regarding the slavery issue, the book tells clearly of Andrew Jacksons dealings as a “average” slave holding.

By “average”, I mean that he would probably not do anymore or less to hurt or command his slaves around than anyone else would in other plantations. To that end, what he cannot possibly condone was runaways; he would pay extra for slave catchers to have the runaways lashed in the effort to teach obedience. Andrew Jackson is a very commanding and forceful person by nature, and when slaves step out of line, he had the right to punish them, so he feels no sorrow for either peoples-black or red-only contempt.

In one time, during a raid on a Negro Fort before Florida had joined the Union, Jackson and his soldier massacred free blacks, just because of the “slave-holders desire to enslave or kill blacks enjoying their lives in freedom. ” Slave trading contributed to those ideas that regarded him as the first “self-made” man/president. Abraham Lincoln mightve been the best example of a “self-made” man, but Andrew Jackson was the forefather of that ideology. Having born into poverty, and struggled most of his life through poverty, he climbed the first step in the ladder of success by knowing that the step was in the practice of law.

After some years of practice, it paid off, eventually leading to his marriage into aristocracy to Rachel Donelson. Out of all three of these relationships into 19th century American History, Andrew Jacksons thoughts and acts towards the Native Americans is the most intensified subject. In this field, Jackson typified the “white man that would cheat the Indian out of land he did not own in the first place! ” President Jacksons greatest action towards Indian removal came in the form of the Trail of Tears.

This started in the state of Georgia, where the Cherokee nation was “catching” up to the white man, and as a measure of defense or out of fear, as Calhoun states, “The whole trouble with the Cherokees, , was precisely their progress in civilization. ” Jackson, whom sometime ago made treaties and talked of peace with the “5 civilized tribes” of the Southeast, is now driving the Cherokees out of land that the “white, middle-classed” man wants. And so, with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Cherokee Indian population was forced to move from Georgia into what is now Oklahoma, losing about 1/4th of the total population along the way.

Merits and Assessment My assessment as to the merit of this book is that it is one of great moral and intellectual integrity. It cannot stress more on the moral side as it unbiasly tells the reader the whole truth about Andrew Jacksons love life, family life, war life, and political life. This book is intellectually stimulating, making you feel the urge to somehow, some way, relive the life of Jackson, but you know that is not possible, so you go and reread the book again. Andrew Jackson and His America clearly depicts emotions, and even though there is no open dialogue, you get a sense of what the characters feel during trying times.

During the administration of Andrew Jackson, the United States was a nation of change both politically and socially. American society was a society of opportunity. Americans felt that, given a chance, they could make a better life for themselves. This was the era of the common people, the era of democracy. Andrew Jackson appealed to the American people because he stood for values many regarded with favor. However democratic Jackson may seem, he was more tyrant-like than any of his predecessors.

His major offerings to the nation included majority rule and a popular presidency, however offered no benefits to women, African Americans, nor Native Americans. Jacksonian Democracy was in no way democratic. Before Jackson’s time, voters expected public officials to use their own best judgment in electing. Under Jacksonian Democracy, the people came to believe that officials should act according to the demands of the people. To make government respond more directly to the popular will, state and local governments began to fill some positions such as judges, constables, and public surveyors by election rather than appointment.

The terms of office were also shortened so that popular opinion had a more direct effect on the actions of elected officials. Thus, the government under Jackson became the people’s government, although he retained a tight grasp, using his veto often. As new voters made demands on government, they learned the power of political organization. National issues became as much topics of conversation as local issues had always been. As national parties built stronger state and local ties, they began to rely upon a growing number of “professional politicians. ” These changes helped to initiate the spoils system.

This practice of appointing people to government positions based on party loyalty and party service was not an entirely new development, but Jackson was the first to oust large numbers of government employees in order to appoint his followers to office. He argued that there should be a rotation in office. Some believed that the spoils system set a poor precedent. Jackson amplified presidential power by using the veto more than all previous presidents. On the “Women’s Rights” issue, Jacksonian Democracy did nothing to further the female cause. Only in sparse states were women allowed to control property, and nowhere were they allowed to vote.

There were few schools for women and they were assumed subordinate to men. Whereas some women in some states made some strides under Jackson’s rule, Native Americans and African Americans did not. Jacksonian Democracy had nothing to offer these two minorities. Most Americans believed that the area between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains, “The Great American Desert,” would provide a permanent Native American reservation. Jackson often spoke about protecting the Native Americans from fraud and of how humane the government’s removal policy was, but the policy as carried out was cruel.

In Georgia, the Cherokee Indians had developed a lifestyle that included schools, mills, and turnpikes. In the 1820’s, under pressure from the state to give up their lands, they wrote a constitution, hired lawyers, and sued in the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall upheld the rights of the Cherokee against Georgia. However, Jackson refused to carry out the decision that ordered Georgia to return Cherokee lands. He is quoted as to have said, “Marshall has made his opinion, now let him enforce it. ” When the Cherokee resisted the governments “generous” offer of lands farther west, Jackson sent in the army.

Forced from their homes to what is now Arkansas and Oklahoma, 4,000 Native Americans died of starvation, disease, or exposure on the march that the Cherokee called the “Trail of Tears. ” This is in no way democratic, but it seems very much like despotism. By 1840, the government had moved the entire Indian population still living east of the Mississippi to reservations. Although most citizens supported Jackson’s Native American removals, a few leaders, like Henry Clay, said that Jackson’s attitude stained the nation’s honor. Religious denominations, especially Methodists and Quakers, also denounced the harsh treatment of Native Americans.

The inhumane and despicable treatment of the Native Americans who turned to the government for help were only further spurned by that same government. There are many documents supporting the belief that Jacksonian Democracy was hardly democratic, including Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, the South Carolinian Legislature’s “Address to the People of The United States,” Jackson’s own message vetoing the recharter of the Bank of the United States, and Edward Everett’s speech before congress regarding the inhumane removal policies of the United States.

All of these documents, as has been aforementioned above, show that Jacksonian democracy was in not democratic. His veto of the recharter of the bank of the United States was only denying the people of an efficient way to fund their living government and to keep their delegates incomes on record. It is apparent that Jackson had a problem with this. Maybe he did not want his spending to be monitored. He says, “It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Perhaps “King Andrew I” was not especially wealthy, but he did have power.

With this power he undermined the people and our nation to further his own selfish privileges. He should have followed his own advice. Jackson’s own vice-president, John C. Calhoun, proposed the Nullification issue. It seems that distrust of Jackson’s motives reached up into the lofty tiers of the government. Calhoun wanted to reassert the states rights over Jackson’s maniacal regime out of fear that “King Andrew I” might become a tyrant.

The legislature of Calhoun’s own South Carolina stated this desire quite clearly in the following quote. “We hold, then, that on their separation from the Crown of Great Britain, the several colonies became free and independent States, each enjoying the separate and independent right of self-government . . . ” Andrew Jackson even went against the decisions of the Supreme Court, thus violating the rock on which our government was built, the Constitution. He completely disregarded Marshall’s decree and sent the army in to force the Indians from their native homes in Georgia.

This disgusting display of the broad sword of government is a disgrace to our nation’s legacy. Tocqueville, a foreigner, came to the United States to study American prison reform, but was so disgusted with the way our society was and how our government functioned under Jackson that he changed the focus of his study to an analysis of democracy. He saw democracy by our example as “far from accomplishing all it projects with skill” and that “Democracy does not give people the most skillful government. Jackson’s example of democracy was horrible.

Jacksonian Democracy seems to be a zeugma, two contrasting things put together to make a comparison. Andrew Jackson never had any intention of broadening our democracy, only to make his ends meet. Through the way he treated Native Americans, African Americans, women, and many other minority groups, Jackson showed his ignorance in fulfilling one of the most pressing tasks of the president, to represent the people. To no extent was Jacksonian Democracy democratic.

President Woodrow Wilson regarded himself as the personal representative of the people. “No one but the President,” he said, “seems to be expected … to look out for the general interests of the country”(Internet 1). He developed a program of progressive reform and asserted international leadership in building a new world order. In 1917 he proclaimed American’s entrance into World War I a crusade to make the world “safe for democracy. ” Wilson had seen the difficulties of war. He was born in Virginia in 1856.

The son of a Presbyterian minister who during the Civil War as a pastor in Augusta, Georgia, and during Reconstruction a professor in the charred city of Columbia, South Carolina. After graduation from Princeton (then the College of New Jersey) and the University of Virginia Law School, Wilson earned his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University and entered upon an academic career. In 1885 he married Ellen Louise Axson. Wilson advanced rapidly as a conservative young professor of political science and became president of Princeton in 1902. His growing national reputation led some conservative Democrats to consider him Presidential material.

First they persuaded him to run or Governor of New Jersey in 1910. In that campaign he asserted his independence of the conservatives and of the machine that had nominated him, endorsing a progressive platform, which he pursued as governor. He was nominated for President at the 1912 Democratic Convention and campaigned on a program called the New Freedom, which stressed individualism and states’ rights. In the three-way election he received only 42 percent of the popular vote but an overwhelming electoral vote. Wilson dealt with Congress very effectively in his presidency. On April 2,1917, he asked Congress for a declaration of war on

Germany. Massive American effort slowly tipped the balance in favor of the Allies. Wilson went before Congress in January 1918, to pronounce American war aims through a a series of ideas he had known as the Fourteen Points, this would establish a general association of nations indubitably guaranteeing political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike. After the Germans signed the Armistice in November 1918, Wilson went to Paris to try to build an enduring peace. He later presented to the Senate the Versailles Treaty, containing the Covenant of the League of Nations.

The Versailles Treaty was seven votes shy of being ratifid by the senate. The President, against the warnings of his doctors, had made a national tour to mobilize public sentiment for the treaty. President Wilson had aswell have many interventions in countries such as: New Mexico, Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua Exhausted, he suffered a stroke and nearly died. Tenderly nursed by his second wife, Edith Bolling Galt, he lived until 1924. The League of Nations was a former international organization that was formed after WORLD WAR I to promote international peace and security.

The League of Nations was provided int he use of the Fourteen Points. The basis of the League, the Covenant, was written into the Treaty of Versailles and other peace treaties and provided for an assembly, a council, and a secretariat. A system of colonial mandates was also set up. The U. S. , which failed to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, never became a member. Based in Geneva, the League proved useful in settling minor international disputes, but was unable to stop aggression by major powers, Japan’s occupation of Manchuria (1931), Italy’s conquest of Ethiopia (1935-36), and Germany’s eizure of Austria (1938).

It collapsed early in World War II and dissolved itself in 1946. The League established the first pattern of permanent international organization and served as a model for its successor, the UNITED NATIONS. The Treaty of Versailles, signed on 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War by Bismarck. France was forced to give up most of Alsace and Lorraine, pay a large indemnity, and accept a German army of occupation. The Versailles Treaty of 1919 is the most famous of the treaties because it was the chief one ending World War I.

The Big Four negotiating it were President WIlson, Premier Clemenceau, Prime Minister Llyod George, and Premier Oralndo. The treaty called for the creation of the League of Nations. It forced on Germany the burden of reperations and placed limits on German armed forces. It restored Alsace and Lorraine to France, gave Prussian Poland and most of West Prussia to Poland, made Danzig a free city, put Germany’s colonies under the League of Nations, placed the Saar under French administration, called for plebiscites in various territories newly freed from the Central Powers, mand called for the emilitarization of the Rhineland.

American opposition to the League of Nations resulted in the refusal of the U. S. Senate to ratify the treaty. In 1935, Adolf Hitler unilaterally abrogated most of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Paris was one of the most important treaties signed at or near Paris. The Treaty of 1763 was signed by Great Britain, France, and Spain. Together with the Treaty of Hubertusburg it ended the Seven Years War. “France lost Canada to Britain, Cuba and the Philippines were restored to Spain, and India in effect passed to Britain”(Internet 2).

From this treaty dated the colonial and maritime supremacy of Britain. In the Treaty of 1783 Great Britain formally acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies as the U. S. The treaty also fixed the boundaries of the new nation. In addition, the warring European powers-Britain against France and Spain, with the Dutch as armed neutrals-effected a large-scale peace settlement. Spain reacquired the Floridas and Minorca from Britain, and Britain relinquished its restrictions on the French port of Dunkirk. Otherwise, the territorial dispositions of the 1763 Treaty of Paris were reaffirmed.

The Treaty of 1814 was concluded between France on the one hand and Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia on the other after the first abdication of NApoleon I. Its provisions never went into effect owing to the return of Napoleon from Elba and the resumption of the war. The Treaty of 1815 was signed after Napoleon’s final surrender. Many provisions of the treaty of 1814 and the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna remained binding. France was reduced to its 1790 borders and was forced to pay 700 million francs in reparations plus the costs of an army of occupation for five years. After World

War I severeal treaties were signed (1919-20) in or near Paris, the most important of which was the Treaty of Versailles After World War II separate treaties were signed (1947) by the Allies at or near Paris with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland. Woodrow Wilson had interventions with New Mexico. President Wilson had two fronts to worry about; Mexico and Europe. Below his country, the Mexican Revolution was in full swing. Wilson had made his moves in accordance to what he had felt was best for his country and its people. The same went for Europe. He was doing all he could do by just keeping the United States out of the war.

However, in relation to Europe and the World War, Wilson knew that the United States was not going to be able to stay out of the war forever. After all, the Germans were taking a greater toll on the merchant ships in the Atlantic. To truely see the situation, one must look back at the election of 1916. Presidents don’t win elections by telling the people what they don’t want to hear. Wilson was up for re-election that year. He had been campaigning on the platform of peace. His opponent, Charles Hughes, had favored teh idea of the United States getting involved into World War I. Wilson used every political tactic he knew to bring Hughes down.

Hughes was called the “war candidate”(Biography of Woodrow Wilson). Later, Wilson would even use the slogan “Wilson and Peace with Honor, or Hughes with Roosevelt and War? (Internet 1)” So Wilson did what he had to do in order to stay in office. By 1916, Wilson began to realize where his country stood in relation to those that were fighting. He had been paying attention to the press to see the results of the events that were unfolding. In particular, the Battle of the Somme struck President Wilson with deep concern. At this battle, the British were on the offensive against the Germans.

The British command called for a five day assualt with heavy cannon. After the shelling, the soldiers were expected to simply walk over claim the land. The offensive failed and as a result, the British suffered casualties near 70,000 in just a few days time. At that time, the United States military personel numbered less than 150,000. The United States, at that rate, would have only been able to last for a few days if they entered the war. This brings us to the main point of this article; Wilson had to et his armed forces up in numbers without breaking his campaign promise to his people. How was Wilson suppossed to do this?

The answer was Pancho Villa. Pancho Villa was a very predictable man. After the events down in Agua Prieta, Villa was on a one course action, death to all Americans. Villa made his first move in January of 1916. Engineers from El Paso were on their way to open up a mine down in Mexico. They had been given assurances that there was nothing to fear. While enroute by way of rail, the engineers were stopped and pulled off the train. All were put down on their knees and shot in the back of the head. Villa had begun to deliver his promise to the Americans. Wilson was aware of this. All he had to do was to wait for the right moment.

Wilson’s chance came in early March of 1916. Sometime around the 6th of March, U. S. intelligence began to send reports to Washington that Villa and his men had been seen along the border near Columbus. These reports would continue up until the 9th of March when Villa finally made his attack. Although history plays the attack as a suprise, events leading up to the attack suggest that the U. S. government knew of Villa’s location and intentions. Just prior to the attack, Lieutenant George Patton, who was being stationed at Columbus, was ordered, along with the remaining officers, to leave for a polo match near Deming, New Mexico.

Patton would later remark in his diary that he had never played the sport before. Also, when the attack did occur, the press made a big deal about the machine guns being still in their storage cases. Had Columbus known of Villa’s location, it would have been likely that the machine guns would probably had been readied. Throughout his presidency, Wilson showed a pattern of bullying and deception, and great desire o involve the American people in wars that they had no desire to get into. The first example is Mexico.

Wilson had an intense personal hatred of Mexico’s President, General Victotiano Huerta, because he had suppressed a left-wing revolution. This hatred led Wilson to try to provoke a war with Mexico. He got his chance when a small number of Americans where arrested in Mexican port of Tampico. Knowing that Wilson was looking for an exuse for war, Huerta immediately ordered the release of the Americans, and personally apologized to them for the incident. But Wilson would not let the situation end at that. He emanded more apologies, and even worse demanded that some of the Mexicans involved salute the American flag!

Imagine if you were a soldier in the American Army and were ordered by a foreign leader to salute a foreign flag. Of course the Mexicans refused, so Wilson got his chance to start a war, and launched a surprise attack on the barely defended Mexican city of Vera Cruz. Fortunately for the youth of both countries, Huerta was not as eager for war as Wilson. So he got several Latin American governments to intercede. Wilson demanded that any peace be on the condition of Huerta stepping down as president of Mexico.

Like any hall of fame, its inductees are the best in whatever they do, from baseball or football to something like being President. If you are a member of any hall of fame (including the one for the Presidents), it means that you have done something special or have a certain quality about yourself that makes you worthy to be in a hall of fame. My nominee for the Presidents hall of Fame is our seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson. I’ll go over his presidency, focusing on both the highs and the lows of his two terms in office, from 1829-1837.

The issues that I’ll focus on are states’ rights, ullification, the tariff, the spoils system, Indian removal and banking policies; these controversies brought forth strong rivalry over his years of president. He was known for his iron will and fiery personality, and strong use of the powers of his office that made his years of presidency to be known as the “Age of Jackson. ” Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in a settlement on the border of North and South Carolina. He was orphaned at age 14. After studying law and becoming a member of the Bar in North Carolina later he moved to Nashville Tennessee.

Their he became a member of a powerful political faction led by William Blount. He was married in 1791 to Rachel Donelson Robards, and later remarried to him due to a legal mistake in her prior divorce in 1794. Jackson served as delegate to Tenn. in the 1796 Constitutional convention and a congressman for a year (from 1796-97). He was elected senator in 1797, but financial problems forced him to resign and return to Tennessee in less than a year. Later he served as a Tennessee superior court judge for six years starting in 1798.

In 1804 he retired from the bench and moved to Nashville and devoted time to business ventures and his plantation. At this ime his political career looked over. In 1814 Jackson was a Major General in the Tennessee Militia, here he was ordered to march against the Creek Indians (who were pro-British in the war of 1812). His goal was achieved at Horseshoe Bend in March of 1814. Eventually he forced All Indians from the area. His victory’s impressed some people in Washington and Jackson was put in command of the defense of New Orleans.

This show of American strength made Americans feel proud after a war filled with military defeats. Jackson was given the nickname “Old Hickory”, and was treated as a national hero. In 1817 he was ordered against the Seminole Indians. He pushed them back into Spanish Florida and executed two British subjects. Jackson instead that his actions were with approval of the Monroe administration. His actions helped to acquire the Florida territory, and he became a provisional governor of Florida that same year.

In 1822 the Tennessee Legislature nominated him for president and the following year he was elected the U. S. senate. He also nearly won the presidential campaign of 1824 however as a result of the “corrupt bargain” with Henry Clay. Over the next four years the current administration built a strong olitical machine with nationalistic policies and a lack of concern of states rights. In 1828 through a campaign filled with mud slinging on both sides, Andrew Jackson became the seventh President to the United States. Instead of the normal cabinet made up by the president, he relied more on an informal group of newspaper writers and northern politicians who had worked for his election.

I believe that this made him more in contact with the people of the United States, more in contact with the public opinion and feelings toward national issues President Jackson developed the system of “rotation in office. This was used to protect the American people from a development of a long-standing political group by removing long-term office holders. His enemies accused him of corruption of civil service for political reasons. However, I think that it was used to insure loyalty of the people in his administration. States rights played an important part in Jackson’s policy’s as president.

In the case of the Cherokee Indians vs. The State of Georgia, two Supreme Court decisions in 1831 and 1832 upholding the rights of the Cherokee nation over the State of Georgia who had wanted to destroy Cherokee jurisdiction n it’s land because gold had been found on it, and the state seeing the Indians as tenants on state land decided to “kick them out”. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that Georgia had no jurisdiction to interfere with the rights of the Cherokee and removal of them would violate treaties between them and the U. S. Government. However, Jackson, not liking these decisions was reported of saying “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.

It seems to me like a slap in Justice Marshall’s face, that Jackson was and always will be an Indian fighter. I think he just liked pushing around the Indians because he new hat whatever resistance they had was no match for the U. S. army. To emphasize his po int, in 1838 (one year after Jackson left office), a unite of federal troops rounded up the 15,000 Cherokee who resisted relocation and remained in Georgia and during the cold and rain of winter forced them to march to their lands in the west, this was known as the “Trail of Tears” since about 25% of the people died in route of either disease, starvation, and exposure to the cold.

Even though Jackson wasn’t in office at the time and is not a part of his presidency, his effluence still existed through his predecessor, Martin Van Burin. The question of the tariff was a major controversy in the United States around the years of his Presidency and his strong support for a unified nation oven states rights would hold the country together in this national crisis. Jackson had promised the south a reduction in duties to levels established in 1828, which were acceptable to southerners as opposed to the higher rates since then.

In 1832 his administration only sliced away a little bit of the duties, not close to what the south expected he would do. In retaliation of this insulting lack of concern of the South’s voice in government, South Carolina cting on the doctrine of Nullification which stated that the union was made up of the states and that the states had the right to null or void a law if they didn’t agree with it, declared the federal tariff laws of 1828 and 1832 invalid and prohibited collection of tariff’s after February first of 1833.

Jackson’s response to this came on his Nullification Proclamation on December 10, 1832. He declared his intent to enforce the law and was willing to seek and agreement in a lowering of tariff’s. In 1833 congress passed a compromise bill which set a new tariff, when the other southern states accepted the new tariff the threat f S. Carolina breaking away form the union was brought to a “happy” end. The Second Bank of the United States was not made into an issue of his election in 1828 by Jackson.

However he decided the bank, which is not a government bank, but chartered by it in 1826, had failed to provide a stable currency, and had favored the Northern states, and few loans were granted to the southern and western areas because they were a larger risk and the bank didn’t see it in it’s interest to make such a gamble with it’s money. And in his mind the bank was in violation on the Constitution. Even though the bank’s charter asn’t due to expire until 1836, Jackson’s political enemies pushed a bill through congress granting the banks re-charter, Jackson vetoed the bill. The “Bank” issue was a major item in his re-election in 1832.

In his second term Jackson decided to remove federal deposits from the bank into “pet banks” which virtually took away the power Nicholas Biddle’s power as president of the Second National Bank, which left him and anti-Jackson people very upset with what they called the abuse of his powers. The increase in loans from the state chartered caused a land boom and gave the federal government a surplus which it split up amongst the states), the increase in loans brought on the use of paper currency that was issued by the state banks, Jackson prohibited the use of paper money to by federal land or pay federal debts.

This demand for coins called specie led to many bank failures in the Panic of 1837. I don’t think he knew what he got himself into when he did this, and could of handled the situation a little better, but not all the blame should fall on his shoulders, because it wasn’t his fault the private state-chartered banks issued the paper money when they didn’t have the specie to back it up. Jackson’s foreign policy showed a strong interest in making the French to pay long-overdue spoliation claims and reopening the British West Indian Trade.

Even thought he personally agreed with the rebellion of Texas against Mexico. He didn’t recognize the Lone Star republic until the day before he left office in 1837, and left the problem of Texas annexation to Martin Van Buren. Even though Jackson switched support form his successor Martin Van Buren to James K. Polk (probably due to Van Burins failed economic policy). Jackson was a powerful voice in the Democratic party even after retired. He died on June 8, 1845 on his plantation, the Hermitage, in Nashville Tennessee. Andrew Jackson was the first “peoples president.

This comes from his youth in a frontier territory and his “people qualities” which helped him to be more touch with the people of the United States, and therefore the people of the United States took a more active role in the Government. He even went so far as to call himself the elected representative of all American people. I think that Jackson’s strengthening of the powers of the presidency are the biggest influence to this day. He used the power of the veto 12 times (more times than ll of his successors combined).

And his use of the powers of removal and of executive orders made a standard for a modern American Presidency. I only wish that their was a candidate like that running for election in ’96. The closest to someone like Jackson would of probably been Colin Powel, unfortunately he decided not to run. When you gave this project, I though Jackson was a mean tempered Indian fighter who found his way to office because he took over Florida and de fended New Orleans Successfully. But I grew to learn that he was really a great president and did a lot for the presidency of the United States of America.

I have decided to write my research paper on the topic of Ronald Reagan’s Domestic and Foreign Affairs. The reason that I choose this topic was because I have always been personally interested in Ronald Reagan’s time in office and the national crisis he had to deal with. Reagan was awesome when it came to foreign policy because he knew how to negotiate with foreign leaders and their countries to get what he wanted. There were several instances during his time in office that he had the chance to use his ability to get the country out of danger. Domestic Affairs is another part of Reagan’s presidency that was very important.

He was able to take the country, which seemed to be in an economic slump and turn their economic status around. The economic growth of the United States is still holding true today. There is only one question that I wanted to answer with this paper. Was Ronald Reagan an effective leader when it came to domestic and foreign affairs? Domestic Affairs From the day that Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States, in November 1980, he had a huge task ahead of him, to develop an economic plan or policy to implement into the national economy.

President Reagan felt that he needed to base his economic program on the basis of supply side economics (Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica. com, 2000). This theory is a very complex idea that President Reagan developed himself, so many people gave it the name of Reaganomics (Encyclopedia American, gi. grolier. com , 2000). The theory of Reaganomics called for a significant reduction in all forms of taxes and an adequate cutback on governmental spending so there will be more money in the hands of the American citizens.

The main goal of the supply side economic theory is to give a boost to the United States economy, which would cause the economy to expand. This economic expansion and boost would occur through citizens who would spend the extra tax money on products and services in their geographical region or who would invest money into businesses in their area. The only problem for the government using this theory would be the initial revenues that the government would lose from the tax cuts.

In theory the economic growth would eventually increase taxable incomes, this increase in taxable incomes should cause the governmental revenues to grow in the long run. With the idea of Reaganomics in mind President Reagan persuaded Congress to pass the Economic Recovery Tax Act, which is the first major step in his plan. This Tax Act called for a 25 percent tax cut that was implemented over a three-year period (David Mervin, 1990, 133-7). The only problem with this tax cut is the fact that it mainly benefited the upper – income taxpayers and large corporations.

The reason that these groups were targeted is because there is more of a chance that they will invest their money in business programs that will promote economic growth. After this tax cut took effect the American people in the lower – income tax brackets were not pleased with the results. They seemed to be faced with an increase in their tax rates even though most of them were in the income categories below the national average. On the other end of the spectrum the people that were in the upper tax brackets were experiencing significant tax cuts.

The largest tax break that the upper class experienced was about 6 percent. The second part of Reagan’s plan was to cut government spending on a variety of different programs. I have listed some of the most significant and recognizable programs: job training, college loans, medical programs, child daycare centers, and nursing homes (Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica. com, 2000). The main reason that Reagan targeted these programs was because he felt that they made individuals more dependent on governmental support and in turn was weakening the structure of American families.

President Reagan, after long speeches and deliberations, persuaded congress to lift some of the many regulations that were placed on industries. The main objective of this deregulation was to help the industries save money as well as time when it came to complying and meeting the government’s regulations. To go along with this deregulation President Reagan also lifted environmental and safety standards. His reason for lifting these regulations was due to the time and expense that the industries spent complying with these regulations caused hardships for the American businesses.

All these actions seemed to reverse the growing trend of more governmental legislation and regulatory bodies designed to help protect and improve the quality of the environment. Reagan then appointed Anne Burford, a woman who opposes many regulations on air quality and the disposal of toxic waste, to be the head of the EPA (Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica. com, 2000). The initial EPA stands for Environmental Protection Agency. Reagan also had many people on his administrative staff that believed in little fewer government regulation so the businesses will be able to flourish with will in-turn help the economy.

After all Reagan’s policy and plans over tax cuts, deregulation, and relaxing of the governments regulations on environment and safety standards were implemented the economy flourished. This time of economic growth started a growth in the stock market that lasted through the decade. The main reason for the stock market explosion was the fact that many investors realized that they could make money by investing it into high-risk businesses. This investment was not allowed under the old government regulations. The stock market surge was intensified by billion dollar mergers and company takeovers (Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica. com, 2000).

As a result of the Reagan Era many Americans prospered, especially the upper class, who benefited the most from the tax cuts. Critics charged the tax cuts and the fruits of economic growth benefited mainly the wealthy, and that the gap between rich and poor grown wider (Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica. com, 2000). Iran Contra Affair The last two years of Ronald Reagan’s presidency were spent dealing with the Iran Contra Affair. The Iran Contra Affair was an American political scandal, that took place in 1985 and 1986, where high-ranking officials in President Reagan’s administration made secret arrangements for the sale of arms to Iran.

Encyclopedia American, gi. grolier. com , 2000) This sale of guns and supplies directly violated United States policy and law. This scandal, in the public’s eye, turned attention to the effectiveness of Reagan’s leadership style and severely damaged his reputation. The profits earned from the illegal sale of arms went directly to the Nicaraguan right-wing guerrillas to help purchase supplies and arms to use in the battle they were fighting against the leftist Sandinista government (Encyclopedia American, gi. grolier. com , 2000).

The action of supplying the Nicaraguan guerrillas with funds is also a direct violation of U. S. policy. This policy came about in 1979 and 1980 as a result of the Iranian hostage crisis. The U. S. Congress labeled Iran as a terrorist country and then outlawed all sales of arms and supplies to any Iranian governmental agency. The main person behind these sales was Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. He was a military aide to the National Security Council. Lieutenant Colonel North did not come up with the plans himself; the Israeli government aided him in his efforts. The sale of these weapons was initially expected to improve the relationship between the United States and Iran.

North thought that his improved relationship with Iran would increase the chances of rescuing the American hostages that were initially held in Lebanon by Iranian terrorists. Lieutenant North was very sneaky when it came to setting up a system for providing the needed support to the contras, with the use of their own ships, airplanes, airfields and secret bank accounts in their own name. In late November 1986, a Lebanese magazine and an American Newspaper printed that the United States government had sold weapons to Iran in hopes it would help gain Iranian support in releasing the U. S. hostages in Lebanon by Iran friendly Lebanese terrorists.

After the leak of this secret information, the U. S. Attorney General, Edwin Meese, admitted that millions of dollars from these sales had been sent directly to the contras in Nicaragua (George C Edwards III and Stephan J. Wayne, 1999, 160). These actions were in direct violation of the Boland Amendment. Congress passed this Amendment in 1984 to prevent the U. S. government or any U. S. military agency from directly or indirectly aiding Iran in any way (David Mervin, 1990, 156-7).

This particular incident was detrimental to Ronald Reagan and his administration because they took a strong public stand against governments that helped support terrorism and had been urging other governments not to deal with nations that supported terrorists. As this scandal continued to emerge the U. S. government started a series of congressional and legal investigations. As these investigations continued President Reagan denied any knowledge of the diversion of funds to the Contras, along with the claim that it did not involve negotiations over hostages in Lebanon.

Reagan claimed that the weapons deal with Iran was an attempt to open a dialogue with modern elements in the Iranian Government. In February 1987 a special group of investigators, headed by a former U. S. Senator John Tower, issued a report attacking President Reagan and his advisers for their lack of control over the National Security Councils actions. This committee was called the Towner Commission (Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica. com, 2000). This committee collected more than 300,000 documents, conducted 500 investigations and depositions, and listened to 28 witnesses in 40 days of public hearings.

In November 1987 the Towner Commission reported that President Reagan took the ultimate responsibility for the administrations actions but they found no evidence that he knew of the diversions of funds to the contras. An independent prosecutor, Lawrence Walsh, published a report on the investigation of the Iran Contra Affair. Walsh’s findings showed that there was absolutely no evidence that President Reagan had broke the law in any way, but he did conclude that Reagan may have participated in or knew about a cover up operation that took place.

Involvement in the Middle East During Presidents Reagan’s time in office, he dealt with a lot of problems in the Middle East. Several of these times Reagan had to send troops to the aid of the people. In the early 1980’s a conflict broke out between a Muslim group and the Christian government. In 1982 Reagan sent U. S. marines to the Middle East in hopes to help improve the strength of the Christian government. In late 1983 a bomb exploded at the Beirut headquarters that killed around 250 marines and other American servicemen (Lou Cannon, 1991, 389-93).

After this incident President Reagan withdrew American troops from Lebanon, which left their government in a bad situation. The bombing that took place at the Beirut headquarters outraged the American citizens and this sparked a strong reaction against any terrorists in the U. S. , especially the Middle East based groups. In 1986 several American soldiers were killed in a bombing that took place in a West German dance club. After the extensive investigation the United States concluded that Libya was responsible for the bombing and other terrorists activities that were taking place in that area during the same time.

President Reagan and his administration decided to take action by bombing several Libyan cities on April 15, 1986. They figured if they did not take action the terrorist attacks would not stop. In 1987 the Kuwaiti government requested the United States naval presence so they could insure that its shipping activities during this time of war would be safe. The American government had a direct interest in the shipping of natural resources because several billions of dollars of oil are shipped out of Kuwait to the United States every year. The Reagan administrations main goal with this involvement was to help prevent Iran from defeating Iraq.

They feared that the defeat of Iraq would demolish the U. S. influence in that area of the world. Conclusion Ronald Reagan spent a very successful eight years in the white house. He was faced with several national crises and he handled them with a calm and cool attitude. As we learned in class every U. S. President has special powers that only he can exercise and some of the include; Commander in Chief, Treaty making power, Judicial appointment power, and Chief Administrator. He had to exercise a few of these special powers when it came down to him dealing directly with foreign affairs and policy.

Chief Administrator and the judicial appointment powers are used in Domestic Affairs. The other major way that this paper is related to class is the fact that Ronald Reagan was the 40th president in United States history. This class, the books, and the lectures all dealt with the American Presidents and how they handled their time in office. Ronald Reagan had a very high approval rate from the American public. He handled his time in office and the issues that came up while he was in office with great success. He is definitely one of the Greatest American Presidents in history.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the third president of the United States and a creator of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson was a philosopher, politician, scientist, architect, inventor, musician, and writer. Thomas Jefferson was also one of the smartest leaders in history. His father was named Peter Jefferson, a very rich Farmer from Virginia. Thomas’s Mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, was part of the Randolph family. The Randolph Family was a big part of Virginia history, and also very rich also.

Peter and Jane Jefferson moved to Goochland county, because Peter had just gotten 400 acres of land there. Thomas Jefferson was born in the log cabin in which the family lived. Thomas Jefferson was the third child out of four brother and six sisters. Two years after Thomas was born, William Randolph, a cousin of Mrs. Jefferson and a close friend of the family, died. His will requested that Peter Jefferson move to his estate, take care of the house and land, and make sure Randolph’s four children get educated. The Jefferson’s remained at Randolph’s estate for seven years.

The estate was called Shadwell. Thomas Jefferson was quite the little intelligent boy. At age nine, Thomas Jefferson Started Latin, Greek, and French Studies at a boarding school. Thomas liked to Horse back ride, Canoe, Hunt, and fish. When Thomas was fourteen years old, his father passed away. Thomas Jefferson was the oldest son, so Thomas had to take care of the family. Jefferson was a tall, slender boy with sandy reddish hair and fair skin that freckled and sunburned easily. A serious student, Thomas also enjoyed the lighter aspects of the education of a Virginia gentleman.

Jefferson learned to dance and play the violin. Weekends and holidays Thomas spent either at Shadwell entertaining guests or at his After two years at William and Mary (A College in Virginia’s capital city), Jefferson left to study law. Thomas still studied French, Italian, and English history and literature. In 1767, Jefferson was chosen to the practice of law in Virginia. Jefferson’s main source of income was his land. That’s because most lawyers didn’t make enough On New Year’s Day, 1772, Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton, a 24-year-old widow.

Patty (That’s Jefferson called her) shared her husband’s love of music and played the harpsichord and piano. The marriage was happy, except Mrs. Jefferson’s ill health. Of their six children, only two, both of them girls, lived to maturity. Martha Jefferson died in 1782. The death of his wife had a profound effect on Jefferson and probably influenced his return to politics, which Thomas Jefferson had considered leaving. On June 21, 1775, Jefferson took his seat in Congress. The following summer, Jefferson sat in Congress as an elected delegate, not as an alternate.

It was at this session that Thomas Jefferson wrote his most famous document, the Declaration of On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted. The connections with America with Great Britain were broken. Within a few days the declaration was being read to people throughout the colonies, and it was received with Jefferson managed to spend considerable time with his family. Thomas took up building projects at Monticello and continued to develop his land. Jefferson was a philosopher a architect, and an inventor.

Thomas invented the dumbwaiter, a swivel chair, a lamp-heater, and an improved plow. In May, 1784, Congress appointed Jefferson a diplomat. Jefferson was to go to France. There Thomas Jefferson was to help the other ministers, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, in arranging commercial treaties with various European countries. When Franklin retired in 1785, Jefferson replaced him as the U. S. diplomatic representative to One of Jefferson’s most important functions in France was to report home how “the vaunted scene of Europe … struck a savage of the mountains of America. ” Thomas Jefferson was not well impressed.

Thomas Jefferson urged his friend, Congressman James Monroe, to come and see for himself what France was like. It wasn’t as bad as they thought, but they did not have land like America did. The Bill of Rights was one of the biggest documents to ever be written. Based on Jefferson’s suggestions, James Madison proposed a Bill of Rights, consisting of the first ten amendments, which was added to the Constitution in 1791. Jefferson toured much of Europe, taking note of its architecture and studying its scientific achievements. However, Thomas Jefferson longed to return to the United States, and permission finally came in September, 1789.

When Jefferson returned to the United States, President Washington asked him to become Secretary of State. Although Jefferson wanted to return to American life, Thomas Jefferson accepted the president’s request. Jefferson became Vice-president when Thomas Jefferson was 54 years old. Thomas Jefferson was the Vice-president under President Adams, Even though they did not agree on all subjects. The Republicans nominated Jefferson for president in 1800. For Vice-president they nominated Aaron Burr. President Adams was the Federalist candidate. There was a tie in the electoral vote.

This caused one of the weirdest crises in American history. The electors, in voting for Jefferson or Burr, had not specified whether their vote was for President or Vice-president. Therefore, despite his being his party’s Vice-presidential candidate, Burr had as many votes for the office of President as The Constitution provides that in case no candidate in a presidential election wins a majority of the electoral votes, the election must go to the House of Representatives, in which each state has one vote. To win, Jefferson or Burr had to have the support of a majority of the 16 states.

To further complicate matters, this was a lame-duck Congress, meaning that many of its members had been defeated in the recent election and were in office only because their terms had not expired. Congress was dominated by Federalists who had to choose between two Republican candidates. From February 11, when the voting began, to February 16, neither Jefferson nor Burr could win the required nine states. Because Jefferson disliked Burr even more than Thomas Jefferson did Jefferson, Hamilton favored Jefferson, but most Federalists abhorred Jefferson.

The crisis was resolved when a group of Federalists, led by James A. Bayard of Delaware, came to the realization that if an orderly transfer of government power was to be achieved, the majority party must have its choice as President. Therefore, on February 17 the deadlock was broken. On the 36th ballot, Jefferson won the support of ten states and was elected President. Burr, who had the support of only four states, As a result of this election, the 12th Amendment was added to the Constitution. This amendment specified that electors were to name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-president.

Jefferson was inaugurated on March 4, 1801, the first President to be inaugurated in Washington, D. C. Jefferson was accompanied by a small crowd of people and a company of artillery. The outgoing president, John Adams, considered Jefferson a dangerous radical and did not attend the inauguration. Jefferson’s inaugural address, one of a small number of truly memorable addresses by Presidents of the United States, attempted to dispel the notion held by many onservatives that democracy would lead to mob rule and anarchy. “The will of the majority in all cases is to prevail,” Jefferson said.

However, “the minority possess their equal rights which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression. ” Jefferson sought also to unite the country. “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists,” Thomas Jefferson proclaimed. Furthermore, his program was moderate enough to win the support In January, 1803, half a year before the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson proposed his idea to Congress. In order to conceal its expansionist aims from England, France, and Spain, Thomas Jefferson suggested that the journey be presented as a “literary pursuit. ” Congress gave its approval.

Jefferson chose his secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to lead the expedition, and Lewis selected William Clark, a frontiersman, as his Partner. Jefferson instructed them to observe and note down the physical features, terrain, soil, climate, and wildlife of the land and the language and customs of its inhabitants. In 1806 Lewis and Clark returned with their valuable journals. They had successfully breached the mountain barrier of the West, built a fort on the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River, nd mapped and explored much of the American Northwest.

Moreover, they had secured the friendship of a number of Native American peoples and given the United States a claim At the age of 65, Jefferson was at last free to return to his beloved mountaintop estate in Virginia. Thomas Jefferson devoted much of his energy to repairing and rebuilding his estate, but Thomas Jefferson yet found time to design houses for his friends. Thomas Jefferson furnished Monticello with rare and beautiful objects and with his own remarkable inventions, so that the estate was much talked about and frequently visited.

Thomas Jefferson also worked to advance agricultural science, and Thomas Jefferson filled his account books with observations of all kinds. Jefferson’s leisure time was spent in reading. Ancient history especially interested him, but Thomas Jefferson also continued his study of philosophy, religion, and law. In 1815 Thomas Jefferson sold his 6500-volume collection to the federal government as the nucleus of the restored Library of Congress, which was being built up again after its destruction in the British burning of Washington in the War of 1812. However, immediately afterward, Jefferson set about buying a new collection.

Political differences had long ago broken up the friendship between Jefferson and John Adams. Now, a mutual friend, Dr. Benjamin Rush, brought about a reconciliation. Jefferson and Adams began a lively correspondence that touched on many subjects. “I cannot write volumes on a single sheet,” Adams wrote plaintively, “but these letters of Jefferson and his friend Adams, both of whom had played such great parts in the winning of independence, died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826. Jefferson left detailed instructions for his burial in the graveyard of his estate. A simple monument was to mark his resting place.

Thomas Jefferson specified that the monument was to be made of coarse stone so that “no one might be tempted hereafter to destroy it for the value of the materials. ” Thomas Jefferson wrote his own epitaph: Author of the Declaration of American Of the Statute of Virginia for Religious And Father of the University of Virginia These achievements were to be inscribed on the monument, and “not a word more … because by these, as testimonials that I have lived, I wish most to be Jefferson’s wishes were carried out, but vandals later overturned and broke the stone. A careful reproduction now marks Jefferson’s grave.

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most profound and important figures in American History. Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States of America, a diplomat, statesman, architect, scientist, and philosopher. No leader in this period of American History was as articulate, wise, or aware of the problems and consequences of a free society as Thomas Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, a tobacco plantation in Virginia. His father, Peter Jefferson, was an extremely smart man, not to mention a self-made success, all despite the fact he was formally uneducated.

His mother, Jane Randolph was a member of one of the most distinguished families in Virginia. Peter Jefferson died when Thomas was 14, leaving him many valuable properties and lands. As a result of being formally uneducated himself he demanded his son Thomas be schooled. He studied with Reverend Mr. Maury, a classical scholar, for two years, and in 1760 he attended William and Mary College. After graduating from William and Mary in 1762, Jefferson studied law for five years under George Wythe. In January of 1772, he married Martha Wayles Skelton and made himself a home in Monticello to raise a family.

When he and Martha moved to Monticello, only a small one room building was completed for them to stay Jefferson was thirty years old when he first began his political career. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgess in 1769, where his first action was an unsuccessful bill allowing owners to free their slaves. The continuing problem in British-Colonial relations overshadowed routine action of legislature. In 1774, the first of the Intolerable Acts closed the port of Boston until Massachusetts paid for the Boston Tea Party, of the preceding year.

Jefferson and other younger members of the Virginia Assembly ordained a day of fasting and prayer to demonstrate their sympathy with Massachusetts. As a result, Virginias Royal Governor Dunmore once again dissolved the assembly (Koch and Peden 20). The members met and planned to call together an inter-colonial congress.. Jefferson began writing resolutions which were more radical and better written than those from other counties and colonies. Although his resolutions were considered too revolutionary, and not adopted, they were printed and widely circulated.

Because of these resolutions all important writing assignments were entrusted When Jefferson arrived in Philadelphia in June, 1775, as a Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress, he already possessed, as John Adams remarked, a reputation for literature, science, and a happy talent of When he retired in 1776, he was appointed to a five-man committee, including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, which was given the most momentous assignment ever given in the history of America: the drafting of a formal declaration of independence from Great Britain (Daugherty 109).

Jefferson was responsible for preparing the draft. The document, was finally pproved by Congress on July 4, 1776. Cut and occasionally altered by Adams or Franklin, or the Congress itself, the declaration is almost completely Jeffersons, and is the triumph and culmination of his early career. At this time, had he wanted to be a political leader, he could have easily attained a position in government. Instead, he chose to return to Monticello and give his public service to Virginia. Returning to the Virginia House of Delegates in October 1776, Jefferson set to work on reforming the laws of Virginia.

He also proposed a rational plan of statewide education nd attempted to write religious toleration into the laws of Virginia by separating Church and State by writing the Bill for Establishing Religious In June of 1779, Jefferson was elected Governor of Virginia. He continued his career as a public executive, confident of his abilities, of the respect, and the affection of his common wealth. However, he took up his duties at a time when the British were raiding Virginia. General George Washington did not have resources available to send to Virginia.

Jefferson, during one of the raids, narrowly escaped capture at the hands of the British Troops, and the legislatures were forced to flee from their new capital city of Richmond. Jefferson, as head of state, was singled out for criticism and abuse. At the end of his second term, he announced his retirement. General Washingtons approval of Jeffersons actions as Governor made in contrast to the charges of betraying his duty, made by certain members in legislature. After Washingtons approval, the legislature passed a resolution officially clearing Jefferson of all charges (Smith 134, 135).

Jefferson returned home to Monticello in 1781, and buried himself in writing about Virginia. The pages of text turned into a manuscript later known as the Notes of Virginia. This book went into great detail about the beauty of external nature as in its clarification of moral, political, and social issues, was read by scientist of two continents for years to come (Smith 142). His wife, ill since the birth of their last daughter, died in September 1782. In sorrow for his wife, Jefferson decided to turn down numerous appointments.

In June 1783, he was elected as a delegate to the Confederation Congress where he headed important committees and drafted many reports and official papers. He preferred the necessity of stronger international commercial relations, and in 1784, wrote instructions for ministers negotiating commercial treaties with European nations. In May 1784, he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary of the united States to assist Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, both of whom had preceded him to Europe to arrange commercial agreements (Koch and Peden 24).

He traveled throughout Europe and every place he went, he was not only an American diplomat, but a student of the useful sciences. He took notes on making wine, cheese, planting and harvesting crops, and raising livestock. He sent home to America information on the different cultures, the actual seeds of a variety of grasses not native to America, olive plants, and Italian rice. He remained in Paris until late 1789 (Smith 170). When he got back from Europe President Washington asked Jefferson to be Secretary of State. Jefferson accepted the post and found himself disagreeing with the Seceratary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton.

Jefferson thought that all of Hamiltons acts were dominated by one purpose: to establish government by and for a privileged few. Jefferson repeatedly thought of retiring from the abinet position in which he was constantly arguing against Hamilton, the power-hungry man in the capitol. After negotiating the countrys foreign problems, Jefferson once again retired to Monticello. During retirement, Jefferson supervised the farming of his many lands and designed a plow which revolutionized agriculture; he tended library like a garden. e changed the architectural plans for Monticello, and supervised the construction.

After three rather active years of retirement, Jefferson accepted the Republican Partys nomination in 1796 for president. He lost by three votes, which nder the prevailing system meant he was elected Vice President and the Federalist, John Adams, was elected president. The Federalist Administration turned upon its political opponents by passing the Alien Act, to deport foreign radicals, liberal propagandists, and agitators, also the Sedition Act, to hold the press.

The Sedition Act gave the Administration the power to fine, imprison, and prosecute any opposing writer, so therefore the Republicans were kept quiet in the remaining years of Adams Administration (Randall 523, 528). In 1800, Jefferson and Aaron Burr ran for office. The electoral vote, n contrast to the popular vote, resulted in a tie between Jefferson and Burr. The Federalist threatened Jefferson to bargain with them or they would elect Burr. Jefferson, however, stood firm and made no promises, until the Federalists gave up.

As president, Jeffersons first project was to remove the bias which had recently infected America. His policy of general reconciliation and reform, and his success in freeing the victims of the Alien and Sedition laws were generally supported by a favorable Congress (Randall 549). His popularity during his first term was greater than at any time during is career. In this term he was confronted with the most important problem of his career. Spain transferred to France its rights to the port of new Orleans, and the section of land controlling the province of Louisiana.

Louisiana in the strong hands of the French rather than the weak hands of Spain placed an almost overwhelming obstacle in the path of American growth and prosperity. It was extremely important that America control the Louisiana territory, either through peaceful negotiation or by war. When French dictator Napoleon, suddenly offered to sell for fifteen million dollars, ot only the port of New Orleans, but also the entire piece of French owned land from the Mississippi to the Rockies, Jefferson was faced with the problem of taking the offer or wait for a Constitutional amendment authorizing such an act.

After much thinking, Jefferson authorized the purchase (Smith 266). Therefore his first term ended in a blaze of glory. The people, happy with the good fortune of their nation, almost unanimously sent Jefferson back for a second term. Busy as he was during these years, Jefferson had found time to follow his favorite intellectual pursuits. He had ot only aided in establishing a National Library, but had made many valuable additions to his own private collection. His second term was full of difficulties.

To avoid war, Jefferson promoted the Non-Intercourse Act of 1806 and the Embargo of 1807. The Embargo was heavily criticized and had not been effective. To make matters worse, the domestic front was full of defections and desertions. When his term expired on march 3, 1809, he was thrilled to be leaving politics and returned to Monticello (McLaughlin 376). Jeffersons daughter Martha said that in retirement her father never bandoned a friend or principle. he and John Adams, their earlier political differences reconciled, wrote many letters.

Jefferson frequently complained about the time consumed in maintaining his ever increasing friendship, but could not resist an intellectual challenge, or turn down an appeal for his opinion, advice, or help. He continued to discuss with quick thinking and a brilliant clarity such divers subjects as anthropology and political theory, religion, and zoology (Koch and Peden 40). Jeffersons major concern during his last years was education and educational philosophy. He considered knowledge not only as a means to an end, but an end in itself. He felt education was the key to life as it was to happiness.

He reopened his campaign for a system of general education in Virginia. Through his efforts, the University of Virginia, the first American University to be free of official church connection, was established and was Jeffersons daily concern during his last seven years (Koch and Peden 39). He sent out an agent to select the faculty, he chose books for the library, drew up the curriculum, designed the buildings, and supervised their construction. The University finally opened in 1825, the winter before his death. Despite his preoccupation with the University, he continued to pursue a multitude of other tasks.

In his eightieth year, for example, he wrote on politics, sending President Monroe long expositions later known to the world in Monroes version as the Monroe Doctrine (Daugherty 326). Among all his interests, there was one flaw on his time and thought which caused Jefferson endless embarrassment. His finances, always shaky, finally collapsed. Jefferson had frequently advanced money to friends who ared much more for possessions than he, and occasionally had been forced to make good on their notes when they found it impossible to do so.

He spent money lavishly on his libraries and the arts, on Monticello, and on his childrens education. His passion for architecture cost him a small fortune. At the final stage of his financial distress, Jefferson petitioned the Virginia legislature to grant him permission to dispose of Monticello and its farms by lottery. The almost immediate response of private citizens, in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, on hearing this news was to donate a sum of ver sixteen thousand dollars to aid the leader who had devoted his industry and resourcefulness to all America for half of a century (Smith 304).

On July 4, 1826, Jefferson died at Monticello. He was buried on the hillside beside his wife. He had written the script for his headstone himself: Author of the Declaration of American Independence of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom and father of the University of Virginia. With absolute brilliance and an unbelievable sense of what was best for the American people Thomas Jefferson established himself as one of the best and most contributive leaders in American history.

The votes were in; the election was over. On the 20th of January 1989, Republican George Herbert Walker Bush became the forty-first president of the United States. After serving two previous terms as Ronald Reagan’s Vice President, he defeated Governor of Massachusetts Michael S. Dukakis to earn his new title. Bush had become President at a time when many Americans were uncertain about their country’s future. The federal government was intensely in debt due to prior years of budget deficits.

Imported foods were more valuable then exports which questioned the United State’s economic standing. Foreign policy was also a topic well discussed by Americans. Bush seemed to be doing a good job with it all and in the midst of his presidency a second term seemed to be a sure thing for him. However, the 1992 election marked the end of his reign; he lost by a great margin to democrat William J. Clinton who may I add was later impeached! George Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts to Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush.

Prescott Bush worked in an investing firm, but ended up moving his family to Connecticut where he later on developed a strong interest in politics which led to his position as Senator of Connecticut. Bush had three brothers and one sister who were all brought up strictly and well-mannered. He attended private Greenwich Day School and exclusive Phillips Academy where he was indeed popular. Along with his good grades, Bush was president of the senior class, captain of the baseball and soccer teams, and also played varsity basketball.

After graduating prep school in 1942, his original plans of attending Yale University had been delayed due to the U. S. interest in World War II. He enlisted in the U. S. National Reserve where he received flight training and became the Navy’s youngest pilot. In 1942, he flew the U. S. S. San Jacinto in the Pacific Ocean where he took part in dangerous fighting. His plane was shot down, but luckily, unlike his two crew members, he was rescued by the U. S. S. Finback, a U. S. submarine.

Bush was recognized for his brave, heroic efforts by receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross, and after recovery served at the Oceana Naval Air Station until the end of the war in August of 1945. Shortly before the end of the war, George Bush married Barbara Pierce, a lady he once met at a Christmas dance. His marriage did not stop him from furthering his education though; George had entered Yale in the fall of 1945. There he was captain of the baseball team, a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and elected to participate in Skull and Bones which was one of Yale’s secret societies.

Bush graduated in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. At this time Bush’s father was still involved in the banking business and he wanted to recruit his son. George however passed up the opportunity by moving to Texas and going into the oil business where he indeed “struck it rich”. His father had become senator in 1952 and that is when politics started to interest Bush as well. In 1962, he was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Harris County, which lies mostly in Houston, Texas.

In 1964, he was the Republican candidate for the U. S. senate, but was defeated by Democrat Ralph Yarborough. Two years later, Bush ran and won a seat in the U. S. House of Representatives, which he had for two terms. In 1970 however, President Nixon encouraged him to try the Senate again which he did. Unfortunately he was defeated by Democrat Lloyd Bentsen. After Bush’s loss in the senate election, President Nixon appointed him as the U. S. ambassador to the UN. When Nixon was re-elected in 1972, he then bumped up Bush to being the chairman of the Republican National Committee.

A year later, the Watergate Scandal incident took place which lead to Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Gerald R. Ford took over the presidency and eventually supported Bush’s choice of becoming the head of the United States Liaison Office in Beijing. A year later he came back to Washington to serve as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, as per Nixon’s request. When President Jimmy Carter was elected to office, Bush resigned his position in the CIA. The 1980 Presidential election was now three years away and George Bush had intentions of entering the race.

In the nominating process, his opponent Ronald Reagan seemed to have an advantage which in due time caused Bush to drop out. Reagan then invited Bush to be his Vice Presidential candidate which worked out well after they defeated Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. On March 30, 1981, Reagan was shot in an attempted assassination and Bush won public respect due to the smooth ways he handled public duties during the Presidents recovery. The duo was then re-elected by a landslide for yet another term together. George Bush now felt once again he should run for presidency.

Joining him for Vice-President was Dan Quayle, Senator of Indiana. The two destroyed Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen in the race by receiving 426 of the 538 electoral votes. As President, Bush faced a dramatically changing world, as the Cold War ended after 40 bitter years, the Communist empire broke up, and the Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union ceased to exist; and reformist President Mikhail Gorbachev, whom Bush had supported, resigned.

While Bush hailed the march of democracy, he insisted on restraint in U. S. licy toward the group of new nations. In other areas of foreign policy, President Bush sent American troops into Panama to overthrow the corrupt regime of General Manuel Noriega, who was threatening the security of the canal and the Americans living there. Noriega was brought to the United States for trial as a drug trafficker. But, Bush’s greatest test came when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, then threatened to move into Saudi Arabia.

Vowing to free Kuwait, Bush rallied the United Nations, the U. S. eople, and Congress and sent 425,000 American troops. They were joined by 118,000 troops from allied nations. After weeks of air and missile bombardment, the 100-hour land battle dubbed Desert Storm routed Iraq’s million-man army. Despite unprecedented popularity from this military and diplomatic triumph, Bush was unable to withstand discontent at home from a faltering economy, rising violence in inner cities, and continued high deficit spending. In 1992 he lost his bid for reelection to Democrat William Clinton.

Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th president of the United States, was born January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California. Nixon was one of the most controversial politicians. He used the communist scare of the late forties and early fifties to catapult his career, but as president he eased tension with the Soviet Union and opened relations with Red China. He was president during the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. Nixon came from a southern-California Quaker family, where hard work was emphasized.

A terrific student, he was invited by Harvard and Yale to apply for scholarships, but his older brother’s illness and the Depression forced him to stay near home. He attended Whittier College, where he graduated second in his class in 1934. He went on to law school at Duke University. He graduated third in his class, and applied for jobs with both large Northeastern law firms and the FBI. His applications were all rejected, however, his mother helped get him a job at a friend’s local law firm.

At the outbreak of WWII, Nixon went to work for the tire rationing section the Office of Price Administration in Washington, DC. Eight months later, he joined the Navy and was sent to the Pacific as a supply officer. He was popular with his men, and such an accomplished poker player that he was able to send enough of his comrades money back home to help fund his first political campaign. After returning from the war, Nixon entered politics, answering a Republican party call in the newspaper for someone to run against the five-term Democratic Congressman, Jerry Voorhis.

Nixon seemed the perfect man for the job, and he was welcomed generously by the California Republican party. The style of Nixon’s first campaign set the tone for the early part of his political career, where he achieved fame as a devout anti-Communist. He accused Congressman Voorhis of being a communist. This sort of straightforward communist-bashing was new at the time. Nixon defeated Voorhis with sixty percent of the vote. Nixon later said “Of course I knew Jerry Voorhis wasn’t a communist, but I had to win. ”

Nixon became the junior member of the House Committee on un-American Activities. Nixon’s pursuit of Alger Hiss, a former adviser to Franklin Roosevelt, gave him national exposure. Hiss had been accused of being a communist and of transmitting secret State Department documents to the Soviets. Hiss was convicted and jailed. At the age of thirty-five, Nixon was a national figure, and he used this fame to an easy victory in his senate race against three-term Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas in 1950, once again adopting a communist-bashing campaign.

He accused Ms. Douglas, who opposed the un-American Activities Committee, of being “pink right down to her underwear. ” In return, Douglas gave Nixon with his nickname, “Tricky Dick. ” Nixon was in the US Senate for a year-and-a-half when the Republican national convention selected him to be General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s running mate. Much of Nixon’s success had been built on the political destroying of his Democratic foes, and Nixon was expected to do much of the dirty work of campaigning.

Nixon performed his task admirably, casting doubt on the abilities and patriotism of his and Eisenhower’s Democratic opponent, Adlai Stevenson. Nixon himself had to deal with scrutiny during the campaign. The New York Post announced that he had received secret campaign contributions, he was nearly off the ticket. Instead of giving up, Nixon went on national television and appealed to the voters. He delivered the “Checkers Speech,” showing his financial situation and saying that he was not a wealthy man. The only contribution he claimed to have kept was a dog named Checkers.

The speech was a success. Nixon remained on the ticket and became vice-president when Eisenhower defeated Stevenson. When Eisenhower was to run again in 1956, he was not sure he wanted Nixon with him. Nixon pressured the president into making a decision, refused Eisenhower’s offer of a cabinet position, and the Republican ticket once again had Richard Milhous Nixon as the vice-presidential candidate. In the second campaign, Nixon moved away from his muck-raking, communist-bashing techniques, and the press began speaking of a “New Nixon.

Because of Eisenhower’s apparent support, Nixon was considered by many the Republican heir, and he became more active in his second term. Eisenhower sent him to South America, where his motorcade was spat upon and attacked, and the Soviet Union, where Nixon challenged Nikita Kruschev to a debate in a kitchen. Nixon was unanimously nominated at the Republican convention in 1960, and only fourteen years after first running for office, he was one election away from the presidency.

Many were confident of Nixon’s ability to win the election easily, being a national figure running against the young, inexperienced John F. Kennedy. Kennedy took advantage of modern campaigning techniques, which employed the television more than personal contact, and he was given a big push by the first-ever televised presidential debates. The attractive, charming Kennedy came off as strong, confident, and in control, while Nixon, who refused to wear make-up, looked haggard, almost ghost-like.

The election was down to the wire, with Kennedy winning by only 100,000 votes nationwide. Some of the most crucial votes came in Cook County, Illinois, which was controlled by party boss Richard Daley, and many suspected election fraud, but Nixon refused to demand a recount, stating that it would be political suicide if he lost. Nixon ran for governor of California in 1962, but he had never been a locally active politician and his years in Washington had made him out of touch California. He lost to incumbent Pat Brown.

In a press conference shortly after Nixon claimed that this would be his last press conference. He stated, “You don’t have Nixon to kick around anymore. ” He took a job as a Wall Street lawyer, but soon tired of private life and took to the campaign trail in 1966, stumping successfully for Republican congressional candidates and bringing himself once again into the heart of Republican party affairs. After a world tour during, he familiarized himself with foreign affairs, Nixon was back in the electoral arena again, running for president a second time in 1968.

Nixon avoided the tricky issue of the Vietnam War, stating that he would find an “honorable end” to the war. Democrats, split over the war, tear themselves apart, further setting himself apart by running on a “Law and Order” campaign that blamed America’s most visible, problems on the liberal Democrats. Nixon’s appeal to the “forgotten Americans,” who felt ignored in the upheavals of the sixties, brought him victory over Hubert Humphrey. Nixon pledged that he would bring America together, but his margin of victory had been slim and based on white, middle-class voters.

As president, he concentrated on foreign affairs, hoping to bring about a generation of peace and a new world order. Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and John Erhlichman, Nixon’s closest advisor, handled much of domestic policy, leaving Nixon to concentrate on foreign policy. Nixon often by-passed the Defense and State Departments, instead working closely with National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, a former Harvard professor and newcomer to official foreign policy. The Vietnam War was the major obstacle to the new president.

Even before his inauguration, Nixon had Kissinger spoke in secret with North Vietnam, hoping a speedy American withdrawal from Vietnam. Nixon announced replacement of American forces with South Vietnamese,planning to have all American troops out of Vietnam by the end of 1970. Nixon did not want to be the first opposition: an anti-war movement, and he appealed to the “silent majority,” another version of his “forgotten Americans,” who he felt supported his foreign policy. He pledged not to back down, and in early 1970 escalated the war, authorizing bombings on North Vietnam and attacks on Cambodia.

After his reelection, Nixon again ordered an increase in the bombings. Two weeks after the bombings began, Nixon announced that peace negotiations were soon to resume, and by January 28,1973, a cease fire was established that allowed the removal of remaining 23,700 troops Nixon used price cutting policies. These policies were initially successful, causing exports to become cheaper, when the wage and price commissions began to give way to pressures from both labor and business interests, inflation rose, causing a decade-long rise in the cost of living.

Nixon is remembered for his foreign policy achievements, despite his failure to bring an “honorable” end to the Vietnam War, and Kissinger’s inability to end the Middle East tensions that were brought on by Israel’s victory over Arab countries in the Six-Day War of 1967. Perhaps this notoriety is based on the fact that Nixon was one of the few presidents in American history who practiced foreign policy by design, setting certain goals and moving on. He became the first US president to visit the Soviet Union. He traveled to Moscow in May of 1972.

He sought peace with Russia and negotiated with the Soviet Union to limit nuclear weapons, which resulted in the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT). At the same time, he was making secret contact with the People’s Republic of China, which he visited publicly in February, 1972, opening official diplomatic relations with China for the first time since the communist takeover in 1949. Despite the final peaceful outcome of the Vietnam situation, and his accomplishments overseas, Nixon’s blatant scoffing of the anti-war movement had ignited domestic upheavals, including the shooting of fifteen students at a Kent State anti-war demonstration.

The public dissatisfaction with the president brought out Nixon’s insecurity and his “dark side. ” This led Nixon to form the Special Investigations Unit, known as the “plumbers,” an outfit illegally equipped by the CIA. They were sent on missions to discredit Democratic opponents. He also made the Committee to Reelect the President (CREEP), which collected $60 million, violating campaign laws, and funded tapping the phone of the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Nixon did not need this help to get reelected in 1972, as he faced a split Democratic party. Nixon won the election with 60. 7 percent of the vote.

A bunch of revelations in 1973 hurt Nixon’s presidency and brought him to resign. The involvement of the CIA, under Nixon’s direction, in a military effort that overthrew Chile’s Salvador Allende. Vice-President Agnew was forced to resign when it was revealed that he had cheated on his income taxes and had taken more than $100,000 in payoffs from contractors between 1966 and 1972. The IRS also said that Nixon owed more than $400,000 in back taxes, and critics pointed out that Nixon’s administration had raised subsidies to milk producers, who donated over a half-million dollars to the Republican party.

The final blow came when Nixon’s involvement in the plumbers’ Watergate burglary was revealed by investigative reporters. Nixon’s involvement was documented on audio tapes of White House conversations, which Nixon refused to turn over to investigators. Nixon cited “executive privilege” and national security as reasons for keeping the tapes, but his appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected. Days later, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach the president on three counts.

Nixon finally released the incriminating tapes, and over the next few days both Republican and Democratic Senators, enough to get a conviction, indicated that they would vote against the president if articles of impeachment were offered by the House. On August 9, 1974, before the House could vote to impeach him, Nixon resigned the presidency, the first incumbent ever to do so. After taking office Ford granted Nixon a pardon for any crimes he might have committed as president. Nixon never went to jail, some of his aides did. After resigning the presidency, Nixon wanted to be looked upon as an elder statesman.

He wrote five books on US foreign policy: The Real War (1980), Real Peace (1983), No More Vietnams (1985), 1999: Victory without War (1988), Seize the Moment (1992), and Beyond Peace (1994). By the 1990s, much of the scandal had been forgotten, and Nixon was once again hailed as a genius of foreign policy and jokingly considered a possible Republican presidential candidate. T-shirts and bumper stickers appeared bearing the motto “He’s tan, he’s rested, and he’s ready: Nixon in ’92. ” Richard Milhous Nixon died of severe stroke April 22, 1994, at age 81, but I suggest to you: today, if Nixon were living he might be president.

“First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty” by Bill Minutaglio, details the history and upbringing of this year’s Republican candidate and gives insight as to the impact his family heritage has had on him as a person, and who and what has influenced him as a politician. The biography is mostly nonjudgmental towards George W. Bush, but does paint an image of him and his family that is exactly what he has been trying to deny throughout his whole political life: he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and has led a largely unremarkable life that has left him unqualified as a candidate for President of the United States.

George W. ’s grandfather Prescott Bush was the first Bush to attend Yale. George W. saw him as a living legacy of the family’s success. While at Yale, he was a golfer, football player, and baseball player, and a member of the glee club. He served in Word War I as well, as an army captain assigned to a field artillery unit in France. By 1921, Prescott had married Dorothy Walker and they settled in Greenwich, Connecticut where they raised five children, among them George W. ’s father. Prescott’s second son, George Herbert Walker Bush, attended the finest prep school in the country, Philips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

He would graduate and then immediately enlist in the Navy, where he became a fighter pilot and was rewarded with the Distinguished Flying Cross after being shot down by Japanese anti-aircraft fire and being rescued by an American submarine. Once returning home, he followed in his father’s footsteps and enrolled in Yale. While there he majored in economics, was a captain of the baseball team, and was also chapter president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. George and Barbara Bush married in January of 1945 and they moved into a small house in New Haven, Connecticut.

George Walker Bush was born a little over a year later on July 6, 1946. George W. ’s father continued his studies at Yale after his son was born, and would graduate two years later in the spring of 1948. The day after graduation, the elder Bush set off for West Texas and a job at the International Derrick and Equipment Company in Odessa, Texas; his wife and son arrived two weeks later. Odessa was a blue-collar town, where pipe-layers and roughnecks lived. Odessa’s white-collar sister city was Midland, where the oil deals were made, and the company headquarters were established.

More importantly, this is where George H. W. aspired to be. But for now the couple moved into a small apartment in Odessa, where instead of dealing with oilmen they had to deal with another couple with whom they shared their bathroom. The family temporarily moved to California in 1949, but returned to the Texas after a year. But they did not move back to Odessa; instead they moved into a small wooden bungalow in Midland. It was while living here that Bush and John Overbey began to consider the possibility of starting their own oil company, and by 1950 the Bush-Overbey Oil Development Company, Inc. , was a reality.

The company did business buying and selling oil-drilling royalty rights in the Permian Basin. Big George directed the local chamber of commerce, helped draw up the papers for the Midland Commercial Bank and Trust Company, sat in on planning sessions for the YMCA, was on the local cancer board, and also taught George W. ’s Sunday school class at the First Presbyterian Church, where the Bush family attended weekly. At the church, he eventually became a church deacon and church elder. The entire time he was involved with these activities, he was also gathering people to convert to the Republican Party.

He was involved in countless activities, and was home less and less as time wore on. In February of 1953, George W. ’s brother Jeb was born, and it was at this time that their parents realized that something was not right with their sister Robin. She was soon diagnosed with leukemia, and died in October later that year. George W. Bush recalls this time as his first vivid memory of his childhood. After their daughter’s death, Barbara’s position as the disciplinarian became clearer. George H. W. Bush had mellowed even more and would not become upset toward his sons; he would simply seem disappointed in them.

By the late 50’s and early 60’s, the Texas oil boom was finally slowing down, but George H. W. Bush and his new multimillion-dollar drilling company Zapata were ahead of the trend. They were already positioned to move offshore along the Gulf Coast and then around the world. The elder Bush was constantly commuting back and forth to Houston, and soon it was necessary for the Bush family to move to Houston. In 1959, George W. began a two-year tenure at the Kinkaid school, considered to be one of the most exclusive private schools in Texas.

At the suggestion of his parents he then transferred to Philips Academy at Andover, an alma mater of his father. While in his first year at Andover, Bush played both junior varsity baseball and basketball, and by his second year had realized he was not going to live up to his father’s athletic prowess at the school. He decided instead that his legacy at Andover was going to be something completely different from his father’s. He was good at bringing diverse groups together, more of a figurehead.

Other students attending Andover at the same time stated that George W. s in the popular crowd, but unlike them he had no outstanding characteristic to make him popular. He simply was. After graduating from Andover, George W. was off to Yale. At the same time his father decided to enter politics, running for a senate seat in Texas. 18 year old George W. traveled along on the campaign trail with his father getting his first real look at Texas, and his first real look at politics from the inside. George W. was very enthusiastic in support of his father, and had his father’s confidence in all that he did. George H. W. s expected to win the Senate race, but he lost instead as his opponent pushed the stereotype of Bush not being a “true” Texan.

The younger Bush was heartbroken, but did not make a single mention of the loss upon his return to Yale. The elder Bush would run for office again before his son graduated from Yale, and on his second attempt he was successful. While at Yale Bush majored in history and did not exactly excel in his studies, but he also never really expected to. Instead, he thrived on the people and the environment, social situations and knowing what was going on.

He was popular at Yale the same way he was at Andover, seemingly able to attract people with his magnetism. And foreshadowing one of his innate abilities he would often use in the future, he was able to avoid situations that were complicated or ambiguous, any circumstance that could turn into difficult issues. Police picked up Bush twice during his college years, but nothing ever came of either incident. Both George W. and Jeb described their father as “a beacon,” but George W. was the first son and the namesake and it was unspoken knowledge that he would be the one to emulate their father.

The elder Bush encouraged his son to follow in his footsteps and his family and close friends saw George W. doing exactly that. He participated in intramural sports, but not varsity sports as his father had. He eventually became president of the DKE house and joined the Skull & Bones Society, both former activities that his father had also been in. By the end of his years at Yale Bush was not relishing the rest of his time there; instead he was aching to be free of the campus, and what he called it’s “intellectual arrogance. ”

Upon graduation in 1968, George W. ved to Houston and joined the 147th Fighter Group in the Texas Air National Guard. It was well known that most recruits joining this unit would most likely not be sent to Vietnam. This period of his life would later draw great scrutiny as to whether or not he was able to pull strings to be selected and avoid being sent to Vietnam. Evidence is given that Bush passed a rigorous battery of tests, and was clearly qualified to fly, though there was some dispute as whether he was vaulted past other candidates on a waiting list to join this squadron.

Bush gained respect among his fellow pilots for his flying ability, but also for his humor, intelligence, quickness of wit, and of course just as at Andover and Yale, his ability to entertain an audience. Upon his completion of pilot training in midsummer of 1970, George W. pondered over what to do next. He applied to the University of Texas law school, was turned down, and decided to continue on active duty for a little while longer. By 1971 George was hired as an all-purpose assistant to executives by Bob Gow, a former employee under his father at Zapata.

Gow was a partial owner and founder of Stratford, a company that ran large scale farming operations throughout the south. Bush referred to this position as a “stupid coat and tie job,” and was constantly looking for other opportunities. He conferred with other employees about the value of his family name, how he could possibly use it to get ahead, to prosper as his father and grandfather had. He briefly considered running for a seat in the Texas House or Senate in District 15, but wisely decided it was too early.

An opportunity arose soon enough as in 1972 there was an important Senate race evolving in Alabama, and Bush was hired by the GOP as a paid political director for Red Blount’s campaign. It was a great learning experience for the young Bush, campaigning in a state that was not yet ready to accept the Republican Party. Blount was crushed in the election but that was not the significant part of the experience for George W. ; he gained much insight into anti-Washington bias, the conservative Christian world, big government, and big taxes.

In the fall of the next year, George W. quested an honorable discharge from the Texas Air National Guard and enrolled in Harvard business school. He was not sure exactly what he wanted to accomplish in his time there; his family hoped it would drive discipline and sense into the 27-year old. They thought he was still much too young to consider running for office, especially considering he had yet to hold a job for longer than a year. While there he avoided political involvement on campus, even as his father was becoming a more prominent figure in the White House.

The summer following his graduation in 1975 George W. ft the Northeast to return to his roots: the Midland-Odessa region. He promptly began looking up favors and old friends and soon formed his own company, “Bush Oil,” developing oil leads and passing them on at a price. In 1977, with Democratic Representative George Mahon from the 19th Congressional District abdicating, Bush saw the political opportunity he had been waiting for. With the entire Bush-Walker clan backing him financially, George W, announced his candidacy in July, and was seen by some as the best chance for the GOP in that district in decades.

During this campaign period, he met his wife Laura Welch, and they were married in less than three months. Bush won the Republican nomination, fending off accusations of being a carpetbagger from the Northeast using him name for political gain, of having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and never having worked a day in his life. These same accusations of being an outsider were his downfall a few months later in 1978, as he lost the election to Kent Hance. Bush took the loss as a learning experience, and resolved to spend more time and money in the hundreds of small towns littered across Texas to get his message out.

Throughout the 1980’s, as George H. W. Bush served Ronald Reagan as Vice President, George W. was networking throughout Texas and participating in numerous activities that would strengthen his political resume. He continued his involvement in the oil business, starting the Bush Exploration Company and overseeing its merger with Spectrum 7 oil. He also served as his father’s right hand man, always checking on the loyalties of his father’s people, making sure none were swaying in their loyalty to the Bush Family.

During his father’s 1988 campaign and subsequent presidency, George W. rved as a senior advisor, and was responsible for conveying his father’s displeasure with anyone in the media or campaign. He was also his father’s main link to the Christian Right; serving to waylay their fears of not being heard, and strengthen his father’s conservative image to the skeptical Right. Once his father was removed from office, George W. saw the time as being perfect for a run at the governorship of Texas. His opponent would be the formidable Ann Richards, who was a nationally known political figure.

For once, George W. would be able to use his heritage to his advantage; he seemed to be more of a true Texan than did Richards. Bush ran on a simple platform of four issues: tort reform, crime, education, and welfare reform. His tactics were to stick to these four issues, and “hammer on them, hammer on them, hammer on them. ” He was able to fend off accusations of having a phantom campaign, not having any real initiatives, and of illegal activities in his oil dealings.

In the final count George W. Bush became only the second Republican Governor of Texas since Reconstruction, winning by over 335,000 votes, the widest margin in 20 years. By 1996 George W. ’s was among those mentioned as a possible running mate for Bob Dole, but he realized he would need more than one term as an elected Texas official first. It was in 1998 that he seriously began looking into the possibilities of running for president in the 2000 election. He began raising funds, taking polls to gauge the public’s view of his possible candidacy, but still would not publicly admit any presidential aspirations.

By crushing opponent Garry Mauro in the 1998 governor’s race, he solidified his base for a run at the presidency. He soon began gathering backers and declared himself a candidate for 2000 presidential race, as all his close friends had been sure he would. I found “First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty” to be a very informative writing about this year’s Republican candidate. It did not go into any controversial issues about Bush’s past, instead treating it much as Bush himself did, by saying he had done irresponsible things when he was younger but that those days were long in the past.

With Bush’s drunk driving charge coming out recently, I was surprised that Ann Richards had told her campaign to find evidence of Bush getting a DUI, but did not find any. Also, he does not rely on the rumors of George W. ’s cocaine use and instead only hints at what might have went on as opposed to assuming the worst. Minutaglio spends a large portion of the book describing how being part of a “political dynasty” affected almost every political action he took throughout his life.

It doesn’t charge that he deliberately used his family name to avoid the Vietnam draft or to obtain special favors, but instead that he simply took what was given to him. I found it interesting that Bush saw his family name as a liablility. It is mentioned as a factor in almost every important decision he made in his life, starting in college and continuing through his run at the presidency. He pointedly kept his father away from his campaigns as much as possible, fearing the accusations of riding on his father’s coat tails.

The book drives home George W. ’s strengths and weaknesses by pointedly remarking on them throughout different situations. He has had to work hard on his public speaking and his temperament. His family members were shocked by the changes that he made in order to be a better politician. He realized the things he needed to do in order to have a successful political career, and he was determined to succeed. Perhaps the most important item I learned about George W. is that he realizes he is not the smartest, most knowledgeable, perfect candidate.

He instead realizes his faults and lets more knowledgeable people instruct him in the areas in which he needs help. He despised politics throughout much of his own life, and he is dealing with people who have lived and breathed politics their whole life. He prefers to be viewed as a regular guy, a businessman, not someone who had everything handed to him throughout his whole life. He believes that what is best for private business is also what’s best for the country, and I couldn’t agree with this view more. That is the impression that I get from this book, and also the impression that I get from seeing Bush speak.

I am a Bush supporter, and this book did nothing to sway me away from that stance but did give me a solid overview of his life and past experiences in a mostly partisan view. I do believe he will be a respectable and also exceptional president. He has been involved with politics all his life, but I do not believe he has a “Washington” type attitude. He knows his own limits, and will surround himself with skilled people, and will be able to organize and lead these people the way he has done throughout his life, as illustrated by Bill Minutaglio in “First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty. ”

When the President of the United States is sworn into office on his inaugural day in January, he is sworn to faithfully execute the supreme laws of the land, our constitution. We elect a new President every four years to run our nation, represent the country, and uphold the constitution of the United States. The President of the United States is the most powerful man in the world and therefore we place trust in him. When the people find out that their elected President lies to them, a bond is broken. That bond is impossible to replace and therefore the president must be impeached or resign.

In 1974 the Nation witnessed its first president to resign from office. Due to the mounting evidence of President Nixon role in the 1973 Watergate scandal, (burglars broke in to the National Democratic Headquarters. ) Richard Nixon resigned from office, his resignation August 8th due to proof on the following charges including obstruction of justice, abuse of presidential power, and the refusal to obey house subpoenas. Did Richard Nixon resign because he knew that he lost the faith of the Republican Party and most important of all, American people?

The American people felt that they were lied to, because of the President denying all charges brought against him. Nixon did the right thing by stepping down and letting the country move on. Richard Nixon saved himself the embarrassment of impeachment hearings and the country more humiliation. Today, once again, a new scandal has broken out in the White House and that is the Monica Lewinsky affair. The story broke out on January 7th and the public was shocked. Many people did not know what to believe because of the nature of the incident.

The incident was to be blown into something that was to embarrass a nation for years to come undoubtedly. President Clinton denied having an affair with Ms. Lewinsky for seven months. When asked once if he had an affair, Clinton responded “I did not have sexual relations with that woman. ” He fooled everyone, he lied to the world, lied to his own country. President Clinton lied to our faces. Clinton did not just lie to our faces but also lied under oath about his relations with Ms. Lewinsky. In my opinion he is not to be trusted anymore and he needs to resign immediately.

Alone with the lying under oath offense, Clinton also faces other charges including some of those similar to that of the Watergate scandal including obstruction of justice, tampering with witnesses, and abuse of power. This is the man who also took oath an on the Bible to execute these laws with the help of God and all he has done is embarrass the nation and himself. The President has lost his integrity by doing something so stupid that causes everyone to wonder if he has lied about something so petty, what else has he lied about?

Why should we go on and trust Bill Clinton? What reason due we have to keep that man in office if he has lied to our faces? The President needs to step down and let the country move on to 21st century with a clear moral conscious that we have seemed to have lost in this incident. If he does not step down, we need to impeach the president to convey a message: in the United States you will be punished for your crimes no matter who you are. The bottom line is that if you commit a crime in any sort you must face the consequences.

While seated in the Oval Office of the White house, January 28, 1986 President Ronald Reagan delivers his speech The Challenger Disaster; hours after the space shuttle The Challenger explodes while in take off. Thousands witnessed this horrifying event live in person and on television. This mission was very unique allowing the first civilian to ever be allowed in space during a mission. She was aboard The Challenger as an observer in the NASA Teacher in Space Program. Ironically, nineteen years before this disaster, three astronauts were tragically lost in an accident on the ground.

President Reagan remembers those astronauts that were lost not only the day of the disaster, but also those who were lost nineteen years before. He conducts this speech not only to mourn the death of The Challenger astronauts, but for the families and those who were impacted from this event. He especially calls out to the schoolchildren of America who were watching this event live as the shuttle took off. As the President of the United States, Reagan earned the nickname “The Great Communicator” due to his ability to convey his beliefs concerning economic and domestic policies to the public.

This speech is just one example of how well Reagan spoke to the American public on a personal level and profoundly influenced the nations confidence in itself after this tragic event. Reagan used his speaking ability to explain the important policies of his administration. Speaking directly to the American people as a “citizen-president,” Reagan delivered addresses that conveyed his views of national security, the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), economic policies, and the nation’s war on drugs.

Delivered with sincerity uncharacteristic of the stereotypical politician (http://reagan. webteamone. com). The Challenger Disaster is just another example of Reagans profound speaking abilities. This speech has meaning, excites emotions and reaches out to all, which makes it a great speech. Although Reagan chooses to ignore his administrations responsibility in The Challenger disaster, he concentrates instead on reassurance of the nation which makes this speech uplifting to the American people. Invention

To do a rhetorical analysis of this speech we would follow the Neo-Aristotelian approach. The Neo-Aristotelian approach consists of five canons which are invention, organization, style, memory and delivery. First I will start off with Invention. According to Foss the critics concern in applying the canon of invention is with the speakers major ideas, line of argument, or content (29). Invention is divided into two categories: external proofs and internal proofs. External proofs include sources used by the author but does not create, including testimony of eyewitnesses (Foss 29).

I will focus on the internal proofs of this speech, which are logos or logical argument; ethos, the appeal of the speakers character and pathos, emotional appeal. In the speech of The Challenger Disaster Reagan does not necessarily present an argument, but rather a speech to console and find meaning. He starts the speech by recognizing the terrible accident that happened nineteen years ago and relates it to The Challenger disaster. The events are factual and therefore are logical to be included in the opening of this speech.

To begin the speech by referring to another tragic incident of this kind was very effective and draws some attention from The Challenger disaster. He also acknowledges that although this type of event has occurred before, the nation did move on and overcame the pain of the event. Reagans opening in my opinion captures the audience and prepares the audience for a brighter tomorrow without being disrespectful to the families of those who were lost in the disaster. Another positive statement he makes is no one is mourning this event by themselves, he says we mourn their loss as a nation together.

This brings people together to share the pain not individuality, but a nation as a whole. The second form of internal proof is ethos, which we call today, speaker credibility. This deals with the effect or appeal of the speakers character (Foss 29). Ethos is determined by three characteristics: moral character or integrity, intelligence and good will. As stated before Reagan was known as the great communicator. Reagan was not afraid to speak his mind about controversial issues. He was not afraid to speak on school prayer and abortion, though his aides warned him it hurt him in the polls.

He cared about the polls but refused to let them silence him (http://reagan. webteamone. com). This proved that Reagan stood up for what he believed showed the American people his moral character. In doing all this, in taking the actions he took at home and abroad, in using words and conviction and character to fight, he produced the biggest, most successful and most meaningful presidency since Franklin Roosevelt’s(Reagan 2001). Reagan stood up for America and fought for what the people wanted.

He was intelligent and the American people thought and spoke very highly of him and his years in the oval office. When Reagan lost, he gave a valiant speech to his followers in which he spoke of the cause and signaled that he’d be back ( Reagan 2001). Not only did Reagan profess moral character and intelligence he gained rapport with the American people. The last internal proof is pathos. Pathos concerns appeals designed to generate emotions in the audience (Foss 29). Pathos strives to discover what emotions were generated by the outcome of the speech.

From the very beginning Reagan generates emotions for those who lost their lives in the space shuttle incident that had happened nineteen years before The Challenger Disaster. I feel emotions are generated in the conclusion of the speech. Reagan says that while the Challenger crew died, they achieved their aspirations in the service of their country and they were able to explore the universe. They were presented with a challenge and they met it with joy. Organization The second Neo-Aristotelian method is organization or the arrangement of the speech.

Foss states the critics task here is to determine the general arrangement adopted for the rhetoric (30). The organization of this speech is very simplistic. From the beginning Reagan states the purpose of the speech and captures the audiences attention. He gives proper respect to those who were lost in the incident by addressing their names and recognizes the families of the seven. He brings our attention to the schoolchildren who might have been watching the disaster via television in their classrooms.

He does this to bring awareness to teachers and parents of the impact of this on the children who may not understand the realism of this event. As President of the United States he immediately assumes the credibility of his position. This speech is arranged in a topical manner, identifying the problem and reassuring the nation that the problem was not without justification. Style The next canon I want to address is that of style. The canon of style deals with the language used by the rhetor (Foss 30).

Reagan chooses to pursue a personal approach in this speech rather than a technical analysis of just what happened and why. His choice of a personal approach in my opinion reaches out to the nation on a personal level and not just the president addressing the nation after a horrible disaster. He chooses his words carefully not to disrespect the families of the seven. And perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly.

He focuses not on the negative aspects of this disaster, but tries to focus on the positive aspects. Saying they were aware of the dangers, but they died doing what they loved and did it brilliantly. In his conclusion, he once again restates his main point that the Challenger crew were not only valued, but were pursuing their life long dreams. Memory While memory is not an important aspect in this rhetorical analysis, Reagan does not appear to be reading off cue cards, but to have memorized this speech. The last line of Reagan speech leaves us with a hope that the nation will recover and everything will be alright.

We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God. Delivery Reagans delivery is one of the most important aspects of this speech and, indeed, most of his speeches. According to Foss; the canon of delivery is concerned with the speakers manner of presentation (31). In a recent pole Ronald Reagan, along with Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, was identified as one of the greatest presidents.

Reagan became president not because of his family background, but because of his speaking skills and actions. He rose to the most powerful position in the world and held that position with dignity. The challenger speech was no doubt written very quickly and very informally on scraps of paper hours after this disaster. Reagan puts his thoughts together into a profound speech that reassures the nation. We have the good fortune to have been given an inside peek into Reagans speech writing habits by the man himself in his recent publication of Reagan, In His Own Hand (Reagan 2001).

Although his administration could have been linked to this disaster, Reagan was able to use his skills as a speaker to take an even firmer grasp on American hearts. In conclusion, through Reagans organization of the speech, delivery method, style and strong speaking skills, he makes this a memorable speech which will always be remembered by those who watched horrible explosion of The Challenger. Reagans goal to reassure the nation of a better, safer tomorrow was met in his delivery of this speech. He effectively addresses the families of the seven, the school children and the nation in a respectable way.

Politics have been the family business for more than one family in the United States. The familiar family of several generations is the Kennedy family who remains in the political spotlight for fifty-three years and running. As Elizabeth Dole attempts to gain the Republican nomination for the 2000 presidential race she hopes to continue the forty-nine year Dole family streak. Coming close to twenty-five years in politics Bill Clinton prepares to turn the scepter over to Hillary Clinton as she prepares for a possible seat in the United States Senate. Perhaps the most interesting dynasties are those carried on by father-son teams.

Both John Adams and John Quincy Adams were United States Presidents. It also appears as though former President George Bush may be able to watch one of his two Governor sons take the presidential oath in the near future. His namesake child, the current governor of Texas, has recently announced his bid for the Republican nomination on the 2000 ballot. However, even if he makes it past the primaries it will take more than a “brand name” to win this election.

According to the June 21, 1999 issue of Newsweek 65% of voters they polled still knew nothing or little of George W. Bush. When looking at a possible future President of the United Sates of America it is not uncommon to start with their past and work forward to see their progress and failures. George W. Bush attended a preparatory school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Like many young men he was interested in sports and he selected to the men’s basketball team at Phillips Academy. Envied by his peers the young man was chosen to be part of a team that was exclusive to the best. However young George sat on the bench that year and only played one game.

The next year he opted not to try out for football and instead became the head cheerleader. He made many friends at this elite school considered to be the toughest in the country at that time. He successfully finished and the following year attended Yale. During George’s time at Yale he barely seemed to notice his father had been elected to Congress (1966). George, “W” as many refer to him, was not interested in any of the political organizations at the University. George W. Bush seemed to be more concerned with social matters than political matters.

He knew stories about most people that would pass him by on the campus and was a fan of his school’s sports teams. In the late 1960’s he joined a fraternity of Delta Kappa Epsilon, a fraternity for sportsmen and those who loved to watch them. They were called Dekes. This brings about a controversy that Bush himself may have been involved in overseeing harmful hazing rituals such as branding. Both Bush and other members of the fraternity have denied these rumors. Most members say the branding was a scare tactic that never actually happened. What did happen?

A close friend of Bush’s at the time stated, “…there was a lot of watching sports, girls, and beer drinking (Duffy). ” This is also where Bush had his first encounter with the law. Bush stated, “ We had a little too much Christmas cheer and for some reason we really thought we needed that wreath (Duffy). ” George and some of the other members of the Dekes were charged with theft as a misdemeanor and the misdemeanor was later dropped. During Bush’s junior year at Yale he surprised his family by announcing his engagement to a young woman from Rice University named Cathryn Wolfman.

They engagement did not last long after George decided that he was too young to settle down. While attending a Princeton, Yale’s rival, versus Yale football game in which Yale won, George encountered his second encounter with the law. As friends were leaving the game they turned around to see young George standing in the middle of the goal posts as he and his friends tore them down on the Princeton field. The mayor of Princeton, New Jersey told the young men as punishment to leave Princeton and never return and he has not to this day.

After graduating Yale George moved to Houston to live at the ritzy Chteaux Dijon, a popular place for late baby bloomers to live in the 1970’s. Not only was he changing girlfriends rapidly he was also changing jobs frequently. When he joined the Air National Guard in Texas he was criticized by many that he was allowed to override the long waiting list. The young man denied receiving any special favors from the Guard because of his father’s status. George worked in for an agriculture company at this time and then left calling the work dull and boring.

He then worked for a group that mentored young minority athletes but also left that job not being fulfilled. After applying for University of Texas Law School and being denied he applied to Harvard School of Business. George W. Bush graduated from Harvard with his Masters in Business in 1975. After Harvard George returned to Midland, Texas where he grew up. There he thought that he would try his hand at the oil business. He had no experience in this field yet he insisted on jumping into to it without working his way up the ranks. At the same time he started the oil firm he married a young lady by the mane of Laura Welch, a quiet librarian.

Laura and her new husband spent much of their honeymoon on the campaign trail. In Midland George thought that he might run for Congress and in the 1977 race he went up against Kent Hance. He won much support in the Midland area but Hance took a huge lead in Lubbock and won the 1977 election. That wasn’t the only misfortune he experienced during that period in his life. The gas prices were plummeting causing the price of oil to be forced down. Many people in the Midland area were losing jobs and very few oil companies could survive on their own. In 1982 George W. Bush sold 10% of his oil firm to a Panamanian investor.

As prices began to fall further Bush began drinking heavier and more steadily. In 1984 he merged the rest of his company with Spectrum 7. Even after Bush took 25% pay cut the oil prices continued on a downward spiral. Now Spectrum’s best offer was to be bought by an energy company by the name of Harken. In return Bush received $320,000 in stock and was retained as a consultant at a salary of $80,000 a year, $5,000 more than what he was previously earning (Pooley 36). He also convinced Harken to employ most of his former employees and he found jobs for the employees that were not taken on by Harken.

Other changes were also taking place in his life. After a joint 40th birthday party in Colorado Bush woke up with a hangover severe enough to cause him to quite drinking cold turkey. He also had twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, to take care of. Now that he had money and no day job he was free to think on an offer that had been made to him several months before the Harken deal. In 1985 Lee Atwater spoke to George Bush about helping run his father’s (the Vice President of the United States from 1984-1988) presidential campaign. In 1987 Bush packed up his family in Midland and moved to Washington, D.

C. to help his father. The younger George spent countless hours defending his father from harsh journalist, unfaithful staff, and critics. He acted as a surrogate speaker on behalf of his father around the country. All of his hard work on the campaign not only helped his father win the 1988 presidential election; it also brought him in to the political spotlight as a serious man for the first time. After the elections Bush and his family returned to Dallas, Texas. After being in Dallas for a few years he received a hot tip that the Texas Rangers Baseball team was for sale.

Quickly Bush rounded up a group of investors and purchased a portion of the team and was made a manager. The money he used to buy the team he borrowed from a Midland bank where he was a director using his Harken stock as collateral. His initial $500,000 investment grew to $606,000 and his final return was over $15 million (Pooley 36). He was finally in the spotlight as a politician, a businessman, a sportsman, a family man, and as a down home man. He attended all 80 Ranger home games. He would often stay hours after the game to sign autographs and he did wonders for the stadium.

He and his partners renovated The BallPark in Arlington with bond money. His public relations were rising but things in Dallas were not going as smooth as in Arlington. When Bush sold all 212,140 of his Harken stocks in June of 1990 he received $848,569, more the 2 the original value (Pooley 41). Less than two months later Harken made the quarterly report and they stated that the company lost more than $23 million dollars. Bush says he did not know that Harken was going to announce the loss yet he was still criticized by many who said that as a director he should have know.

He compounded the problem by not filing a SEC form. After a SEC investigation he was cleared of all charges. One month later Bush resigned from Harken and declared for Governor. George took a leave of absence from the Rangers to spend time campaigning for Governor. He traveled the state as a well-known man separate from his father, at least in personality. George’s social circle drew him crowds of the elite oil and businessmen to the down home baseball fans throughout Texas. George also gained a tart sense of humor when his sister died in 1953 of leukemia.

His mother said that since more was expected from George, the oldest son, he diverted their attention by wisecracks and nicknames, a trait that he carries with him to this day. According to the June 1999 issue of Texas Monthly that may also of helped people relax and relate to him as a man and not just a politician while on his campaign trail. After George won the Governor election to Ann Hutchinson he put all of his Rangers assets in to a blind trust and did not sell the team until 1998.

In 1998 he received over $14. illion dollars for his share of the team. As a second term Governor of Texas George W. Bush has had a well-kept record. Although the governor of Texas has very little power he and legislation passed the largest tax cut in the states history. He has won praises from teachers by allowing for large teacher pay raises. Crime rate is down and although he did not back a hate-crimes bill the President Clinton urged him to sign his inclusive rhetoric and multicultural appointments have please the Hispanic and African American communities.

His pulling together of political factions saying it is better to work together than to work alone has impressed many leaders of both major parties. Bush is quoted in Time magazine saying, “I’m proud to be a compassionate conservative. I welcome this label, and on this ground, will make my stand (Duffy). ” According to the Washington Post’s Governors Guide strong families, local control, individual responsibility, and limited responsibility are principles guiding Governor Bush’s major initiatives. He continually states the importance of family and education in society.

He says that education is his number one priority. He believes for our society to become compassionate and responsible we must first teach children to read and comprehend. According to this page he says, “Government is necessary, but not necessarily government. ” His staff knows that any proposal brought before him must encourage personal responsibility, local control, and fiscal responsibility. He has encouraged a voluntary clean up program for companies and individuals to participate in that has brought back $170 million dollars in property and has created 3,000 jobs (Gov.

George). Since his first term 115 older companies have reduced emissions by 100,000 each year. To make Texas a safer place he has aided in passing anti-stalking laws and no sex offender is allowed to live in Texas without registering first with local authorities. He has declared a zero tolerance for violent crimes on school grounds. If any youth is found in violation of a violent of sexually orientated law he or she must be reported to the teachers of that school and he or she pose a threat they may be placed in alternative education programs.

He supports the legal drinking age of 21 and has implemented one of the nations toughest anti-youth-smoking laws. He believes in the death penalty for those who have committed “horrible” crimes. He also believes that Texas prisons are a place of work and punishment. All prisoners in Texas work either building houses for the needy, farming for food banks, making road signs, Braille books, government furniture, or laundry detergent.

He also supports welfare reform, creating jobs and not dependency for those in need, yet his 1997 legislation passed a bill not allowing government to interfere with private charity help for these people. Now Governor Bush will be able to make his stand on a national level. On June 12, 1999 Governor Bush announced he would run for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. He already has the backing of 15 Republican Governors. Even Kent Hance who beat him in the 1977 congressional elections has contributed money (Hance switched parties in 1985).

Although Bush has a long way to go until the elections he is already miles ahead of the other Republicans and Democrats (Vice President Al Gore and former Senator Bill Brady) hoping to earn the nomination for his or her party. In the Republican race for presidential nomination he faces Elizabeth Dole, Dan Quayle, Steven Forbes, and John McCain. In a Time/CNN poll 55% of those polled would vote for Bush, and 42% for Al Gore, however George Bush has the Republican nominee vote 40% ahead of the runner-up, Elizabeth Dole, who has 14% of the vote according to the Time/CNN poll.

Governor Bush still has a long time before the 2000 election, if he is chosen as the GOP nomination. He has matured a lot form his past and has impressed enough people in high places to earn the most money in the shortest amount of time ever in an United States presidential campaign according to June 30,1999 edition of the Corpus Christi Caller Times. According to the Caller Times Bush has earned $20 million in just four months (Van Natta A-12).

Fortunate for Bush he has made a connection with many Americans and not including those who know nothing about him most like him…they just don’t know why. For Bush supporters it is not the “name brand” that they believe will win him the Presidency, it is the values and policies he stands for. Right now the Republican Party’s worst nightmare is that if it is the name and if the name wares off their “school house built of straw will weaken and blow down. ” With the aide of family, Texas governor’s office veterans, and his fathers old aides, he hopes to prove them wrong before February.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy 35th president of the United States, the youngest person ever to be elected president. He was also the first Roman Catholic president and the first president to be born in the 20th century. Kennedy was assassinated before he completed his third year as president. Therefore his achievements were limited. Nevertheless, his influence was worldwide, and his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis may have prevented war. Young people especially liked him. No other president was so popular. He brought to the presidency an awareness of the cultural and historical traditions of the United States.

Because Kennedy expressed the values of 20th-century America, his presidency was important beyond its political achievements. John Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second of nine children. Kennedy announced his candidacy early in 1960. By the time the Democratic National Convention opened in July, he had won seven primary victories. His most important had been in West Virginia, where he proved that a Roman Catholic could win in a predominantly Protestant state.

When the convention opened, it appeared that Kennedy’s only serious challenge for the nomination would come from the Senate majority leader, Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. However, Johnson was strong only among Southern delegates. Kennedy won the nomination on the first ballot and then persuaded Johnson to become his running mate. Two weeks later the Republicans nominated Vice President Richard Nixon for president and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. , who was ambassador to the United Nations and whom Kennedy had defeated for the Senate in 1952, for vice president. In the fast-paced campaign that followed, Kennedy made stops in 46 states and 273 cities and towns, while Nixon visited every state and 170 urban areas.

Another important element of the campaign was the support Kennedy received from blacks in important Northern states, especially Illinois and Pennsylvania. They supported him in part because he and Robert Kennedy had tried to get the release of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. King, who had been jailed for taking part in a civil rights demonstration in Georgia, was released soon afterward. The election drew a record 69 million voters to the polls, but Kennedy won by only 113,000 votes. Kennedy was inaugurated on January 20, 1961.

In his inaugural address he emphasized America’s revolutionary heritage. 2″The same … beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe,” Kennedy said. 3″Let the word go forth from this time and place to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans-born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage-and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Kennedy challenged Americans to assume the burden of “defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. ” The words of his address were, 4″Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country. ” Kennedy sought with considerable success to attract brilliant young people to government service. His hope was to bring new ideas and new methods into the executive branch. As a result many of his advisers were teachers and scholars. Among them were McGeorge Bundy and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. , both graduates of Harvard.

Kennedy’s most influential adviser was Theodore C. Sorenson, a member of Kennedy’s staff since his days in the Senate. Sorenson wrote many of Kennedy’s speeches and exerted a strong influence on Kennedy’s development as a political liberal, 5 a person who believes that the government should directly help people to overcome poverty or social discrimination. The president and Mrs. Kennedy attempted to make the White House the cultural center of the nation. Writers, artists, poets, scientists, and musicians were frequent dinner guests.

On one occasion the Kennedy’s held a reception for all the American winners of the Nobel Prize, people who made outstanding contributions to their field during the past year. At the party the president suggested that more talent and genius was at the White House that night than there had been since Thomas Jefferson had last dined there alone. At a meeting with the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Nikita Khrushchev, Kennedy asked the name of a medal Khrushchev was wearing.

When the premier identified it as the Lenin Peace Medal, Kennedy remarked, 6″I hope you keep it. ” On another occasion he told a group of Republican business leaders, 7″It would be premature to ask for your support in the next election and inaccurate to thank you for it in the past. ” Even in great crises, Kennedy retained his sense of humor. Kennedy’s first year in office brought him considerable success in enacting new legislation. Congress passed a major housing bill, a law increasing the minimum wage, and a bill granting federal aid to economically depressed areas of the United States.

The most original piece of legislation Kennedy put through Congress was the bill creating the Peace Corps, an agency that trained American volunteers to perform social and humanitarian service overseas. The program’s goal was to promote world peace and friendship with developing nations. The idea of American volunteers helping people in foreign lands touched the idealism of many citizens. Within two years, Peace Corps volunteers were working in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, living with the people and working on education, public health, and agricultural projects.

However, after his initial success with Congress, Kennedy found it increasingly difficult to get his programs enacted into law. Although the Democrats held a majority in both houses, Southern Democrats joined with conservative Republicans to stop legislation they disliked. The Medicare bill, a bill to make medical care for the aged a national benefit, was defeated. A civil rights bill and a bill to cut taxes were debated, and compromises were agreed to, but even the compromises were delayed. A bill to create a Cabinet-level Department of Urban Affairs was soundly defeated, partly because Kennedy wanted the economist Robert C.

Weaver, a black man, to be the new secretary. Southern Congressmen united with representatives from mostly rural areas to defeat the bill. Kennedy did win approval of a bill to lower tariffs and thus allow more competitive American trade abroad. Congress also authorized the purchase of $100 million in United Nations bonds, and the money enabled the international organization to survive a financial crisis. Further, Congress appropriated more than $1 billion to finance sending a man to the moon by 1970 which was accomplished in 1969.

The major American legal and moral conflict during Kennedy’s three years in office was in the area of civil rights. Black agitation against discrimination had become widespread and well organized. Although Kennedy was in no way responsible for the growth of the civil rights movement, he attempted to aid the black cause by enforcing existing laws. Kennedy particularly wanted to end discrimination in federally financed projects or in companies that were doing business with the government.

In September 1962 Governor Ross R. Barnett of Mississippi ignored a court order and prevented James H. Meredith, a black man, from enrolling at the state university. On the night of September 29, even as the president went on national television to appeal to the people of Mississippi to obey the law, rioting began on the campus. After 15 hours of rioting and two deaths, Kennedy sent in troops to restore order. Meredith was admitted to the university, and troops and federal marshals remained on the campus to insure his safety. In June 1963, when Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama prevented two blacks from enrolling at the University of Alabama, Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard to enforce the law.

The students were enrolled at the university. Three months later, Kennedy again used the National Guard to prevent Wallace from interfering with integration in the public schools of Birmingham, Tuskegee, and Mobile. Kennedy also asked Congress to pass a civil rights bill that would guarantee blacks the right to vote, to attend public school, to have equal access to jobs, and to have access to public accommodations. Kennedy told the American people, 8″Now the time has come for this nation to fulfill its promises … act, to make a commitment it has not fully made in this century to the proposition that race has no place in American life or law. ”

Public opinion polls showed that Kennedy was losing popularity because of his advocacy of civil rights. Privately, he began to assume that the South would oppose him in the next election, but he continued to speak out against segregation, the practice of separating people of different races. To a group of students in Nashville, Tennessee, he said, 9 “No one can deny the complexity of the problem involved in assuring all of our citizens their full rights as Americans.

But no one can gainsay the fact that the determination to secure those rights is in the highest tradition of American freedom. ” In 1959, after several attempts, a revolution led by Fidel Castro finally overthrew the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar. During the next two years, Castro was to become increasingly hostile to the United States. The new regime’s agricultural reform laws provoked U. S. companies that operated sugar plantations. Companies that were not controlled by Cuban stockholders were not allowed to operate plantations, and sugar production was de-emphasized in favor of food crops.

In 1960 the Castro government nationalized, or took over ownership of, an estimated $1 billion in properties owned by U. S. companies and citizens, and the Eisenhower administration imposed a trade embargo. When Castro began to proclaim his belief in Communism, Cuba became part of the Cold War, or struggle between the United States and its allies and the nations led by the USSR that involved intense economic and diplomatic battles but not direct military conflict. Many Cubans fled to the United States.

During the Eisenhower administration the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had begun to train Cuban exiles secretly for an invasion of Cuba. When Kennedy became president, he approved the invasion. In April 1961 more than 1000 Cuban exiles made an amphibious landing in Cuba at a place called the Bay of Pigs. Their plan was to move inland and join with anti-Castro forces to stage a revolt simultaneously, but instead Castro’s forces were there to meet the invaders. The revolt in the interior did not happen, and air support, promised by the CIA, never came.

The exiles were defeated and the survivors were taken prisoner. On December 25, 1962, 1113 prisoners were released in exchange for food and medical supplies valued at a total of approximately $53 million. Most other Latin American countries had the same bad social, economic, and political conditions that had led to Castro’s success in Cuba. Many of these nations seemed ripe for a revolution that could easily be exploited by the Communists. Upon taking office, President Kennedy looked for a program that would accelerate change in Latin America by strengthening democratic institutions.

In March 1961 he introduced the Alliance for Progress, and in August it was established by the charter of Punte del Este. The Alliance for Progress was to be a Latin American version of the Marshall Plan, the United States plan to fund a cooperative, long-term program to rebuild Europe following World War II. All Latin American nations except Cuba joined the Alliance for Progress, pledging 10″to bring our people accelerated economic progress and broader social justice within the framework of personal dignity and individual liberty. ” The United States promised $20 billion for the first ten years.

The Alliance for Progress and President Kennedy’s particular concern for democratic institutions brought the United States renewed popularity in Latin America. On June 3, 1961, in Vienna, Austria, Kennedy and Khrushchev met and reviewed relationships between the United States and the USSR, as well as other questions of interest to the two states. Two incidents contributed to hostility at the meeting. The first was the shooting down of a U. S. spy plane in Soviet air space, and the second was the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in early 1961.

The results of the conference made it clear that Khrushchev had construed Kennedy’s failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion as a sign of weakness. No agreements were reached on any important issues. In fact, the Soviet premier made it clear that the Soviet Union intended to pursue an even more aggressive policy toward the United States. Kennedy’s last words to Khrushchev in Vienna were, 11″It’s going to be a cold winter. ” He reported to the American people that the Soviet premier was a “tough-minded” leader who did not understand the intentions of the United States.

The leaders had spent a “very sober two days. ” In August 1961, to prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West, the Communists ordered a wall built on the border between East and West Berlin. West Berlin had been under the control of the United States, France, and Britain since the end of World War II, although the city lay deep inside East Germany, a state that was an ally of the USSR. Kennedy and other Western leaders protested, but the wall was built. Kennedy had already asked for more military spending and had called up reserve troops for duty in Europe.

When East German soldiers began blocking the Allied route through East Germany into Berlin, Kennedy sent a force of 1500 soldiers marching along the route into West Berlin. The troops went uncontested. Communist interference stopped, allowing Allied forces travel to and from Berlin . Amongst other problems President Kennedy faced, none was more serious than this one. The Cuban Missile Crisis was perhaps the world’s closest approach to nuclear war. In 1960 Soviet Premier Khrushchev decided to supply Cuba with nuclear missiles that would put the eastern United States within range of nuclear missile attack.

Khrushchev, when asked, denied that any missiles were being supplied to Cuba, but in the summer of 1962 U. S. spy planes flying over Cuba photographed Soviet-managed construction work and spotted the first missile on October 14. For seven days President Kennedy consulted secretly with advisers, discussing the possible responses while in public his administration carried on as though nothing was wrong. Finally, on October 22, Kennedy told the nation about the discovery of the missiles, demanded that the Soviet Union remove the weapons, and declared the waters around Cuba a quarantine zone.

Kennedy called upon Khrushchev 12″to halt and eliminate this clandestine, reckless and provocative threat to world peace and to stable relations between our two nations” and warned that an attack from Cuba on any nation in the western hemisphere would be considered an attack by the USSR on the United States itself. At the same time, United States troops were sent to Florida to prepare for invading Cuba, and air units were alerted. American vessels blockaded Cuba with orders to search all suspicious-looking Soviet ships and to turn back any that carried offensive weapons.

For several tense days Soviet vessels en route to Cuba avoided the quarantine zone, while Khrushchev and Kennedy discussed the issue through diplomatic channels. Khrushchev, realizing his weak military position, sent a message on October 26 in which he agreed to Kennedy’s demands to remove all missiles. The following day, before the United States had responded to the first note, Khrushchev sent another, trying to negotiate other terms. Kennedy decided to respond to the first message, and on October 28, Khrushchev agreed to dismantle and remove the weapons from Cuba and offered the United States on-site inspection.

In return Kennedy secretly promised not to invade Cuba and to remove older missiles from Turkey. Kennedy called off the blockade but Cuba, angry at Soviet submission, refused to permit the promised inspection. However, U. S. spy planes revealed that the missile bases were being dismantled. Nuclear war had been avoided. This was perhaps Kennedy’s greatest moment as president. Many felt that both World War I and World War II had begun because of weak responses to acts of aggression, and Kennedy may have prevented World War III by displaying courage and strength.

On November 22, 1963, President and Mrs. Kennedy were in Dallas, Texas, trying to win support in a state that Kennedy had barely carried in 1960. As the motorcade approached an underpass, two shots were fired in rapid succession. One bullet passed through the president’s neck and struck Governor Connally in the back. The other bullet struck the president in the head. Kennedy fell forward, and his car sped to Parkland Hospital. At 1:00 PM, he was pronounced dead. He had never regained consciousness.

Less than two hours after the shooting, aboard the presidential plane at the Dallas airport, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States. That afternoon, Lee Harvey Oswald, who was employed in the warehouse, was arrested in a Dallas movie theater and charged with the murder. On November 24 the body of President Kennedy was carried on a horse-drawn carriage from the White House to the Rotunda of the Capitol. Hundreds of thousands of people filed past the coffin of the slain president. The grave was marked by an eternal flame lighted by his wife and brothers.