Notes over the presidents:
Truman- Fought in WWI. Missouri State Senator. Vice Pres for FDR. Took over for FDR when he died in April, 1945. Most unpopular president, ratings dropped to 22% at one point. Has improved greatly over the past 60 years. Last president to not have a college degree. President when WWII ended with Germany and Japan. Potsdam Conference/Declaration. Decided to use the atomic bomb on Japan. Had to deal with the transition from wartime economy to peacetime economy. Helped organize and later join the United Nations. Desegregated the US military. Took a hard-line stance against communism and the Soviet Union-Policy of Containment. Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan were passed. Created the CIA and National Security Council. His famous quote, "The buck stops here". The Fair Deal (did not get passed, it was suppose to help with; civil rights, housing, social security, minimum wage, health, labor, education, and agriculture). Recognized Israel as a home place for the Jews. Got the US involved in Vietnam by giving aid to France. Berlin Airlift. NATO established. Chinese Civil War ends. McCarthyism. Korean Conflict and firing of General Douglas MacArthur. Assassination attempt over Puerto Rican independence.
Eisenhower- Famous WWII general. Decided the Republican Party after WWII. Nixon was his VP. Diagnosed with Crohn's Disease and had a minor stroke while he was president. Dominated by the Cold War-Containment Policy. Used CIA to do covert ops to to disrupt communism governments abroad. Opened relations with Spain. End the Korean Conflict as promised. Defensive alliances were signed with South Korea and Taiwan. SEATO was formed. Increased US involvement in Southeast Asia(Vietnam). Developed the idea nukes can be used for defense. NASA was created due to Soviet Sputnik launch. US spy plane was shot down over USSR. Allowed McCarthy to do his thing but privately did not approve. Eisenhower Doctrine. Believed in laissez-faire. Believed in a balanced budget. Deported around 1 million illegal immigrants. Sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to help in the desegregation of all public schools. Helped pass the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 created the United States' Interstate Highways.
Kennedy- Born in Brookline, Mass. on May 29, 1917. Age of three he had scarlet fever and was admitted to the hospital, he was there for two months. From Childhood to teenage years he had diphtheria, appendicitis, whooping cough, jaundice, asthma, and pneumonia. Brother was suppose to be president, but he was killed at war. Graduated from Harvard. Served in WWII. Was in the Navy. When his PT boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer in 1943, he led the survivors to safety despite his injuries. Advanced to Senate in 1953. Married Jacqueline in 1953. At age 43, he was youngest to have been elected to the office. Second youngest president. Only Roman Catholic president. Only one to have won a Pulitzer Prize. He was democratic, beat Nixon who was Republican. He won 303 to 219 in electoral votes. Was the first election to include all 50 of the current states. JFK promised to get America moving again. Nixon promised to keep peace and prosperity. JFK had a rating of 70.1% and was very popular. Domestic program promising federal funding for education, medical care for the elderly, economic aid to rural regions, and government intervention to halt the recession of the time. Abolished the federal death penalty. Initiated the first manned expedition to the Moon. Laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in order to limit nuclear tests by the nuclear powers. Shot by Lee Harvey Oswald on Elm Street. Governor Connally hit by the same bullet. While being escorted to court, he was shot by Jack Ruby.
Johnson- Born on August 27, 1908 in TX. 3 sisters 1 brother. Married Claudia Alta Taylor. Operating elevators. Teacher. Became director of the NYA. Brought electricity to Texas Hill Country. Signed educational acts. Civil rights acts. Signed the first black person to be a Supreme Court justice. National Endowment for Humanities and Arts. Programs for poverty like food stamps. Presided over the first manned flight to the Moon. Served on a tour of the South Pacific and flew one combat mission. Had to come back from mechanical difficulty but received a Silver Star. Immigration Act of 1965. Increased involvement in Vietnam following the Gulf of Tonkin. 44 states voted for him. His opponent was Barry Goldwater. Approval rating was at a high of 74.2. His low areas were because of Vietnam. Extended New Deal. Created Medicare and Medicaid, help to old people and poor people.
Nixon- Born on January 9, 1913. Yorba Linda, California. Father owned gas station. Mother was a Quaker. Won senate seat in 1950. Selected by Eisenhower to be running mate. Ran against JFK in 1960 and lost. Won against Humphrey in 1968. Won again in 1972. His overall average approval rating was about 49%. Highest rating was 67% and lowest was 24%. Equal Rights Amendment. Apollo 11 moon landing. Environmental Protection Agency. Office of management and Budget. Occupation Safety and Health Administration. Nuclear arms control agreements with Soviet Union. Anti-ballistic-missile agreement. The Nixon Doctrine. We will aid those who ask us to help them out. Watergate Scandal- 5 men broke into office of DNC. Connected to Nixon's reelection campaign. Caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. We're still unsure if Nixon knew about operation before it happened. Resigned rather than be faced with impeachment. Very green president.
Ford- Nixon's VP. Took over when Nixon resigned. Only VP and President to never be elected. Had two assassinations attempts within three weeks. Granted Nixon full free pardon to Richard Nixon. Real dad was not a good guy. Went to Michigan University. Great athlete. Was gonna be drafted to the NFL but opted to politics.
Reagan- Was democratic, became republican. Was gov of California. Was president for 2 terms. Reaganomics. Air Traffic controllers strike. Surviving an assassination attempt. Escalation of the cold war. War on drugs. Immigration Reform and Control Act. Challenger disaster. End of the Cold War. Highest approval rating overall was 73%. He got Alzheimer's at the age of 69.
H. W. Bush- Let into Phillips Academy, Andover, MA. Since the not was "for not self". 18 enlisted in the Navy. Yale in 1948. Millionaire at age 40. Married Barbara Pierce. They ended up having six children. One become the president. Ambassador to the UN. House of Reps. Director of CIA. Republican. VP for Reagan. war on drugs- prohibit drugs, military aid, and military intervention. Increased taxes. Decreased dept. Ordered Military operations in Panama. Increased Welfare. Additional benefits for unemployed workers. Improved the ISS. Signed american with disabilities act. Clean air act. Immigration act. Persian Gulf war. Iran and Iraq. Iraq invaded Kuwait. Berlin wall came down during his watch but Reagan had more to do with that than he did.
Clinton-
W. Bush-
Obama- Born in Hawaii. His father left when he was 2. Occidental College for 2 years. Civil Rights attorney. Married for 21 years. 2 daughters. Ran for two terms. Still the president. 4.1 million jobs opened. Obama care. Credit card act. Recapitalized banks.
Comments