May 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 2014

[7Shea]

Today we started our presidential presentations.... 

Eisenhower

• Background
  • Born October 14, 1890
  • Had a 3 year old brother die of diphtheria when he was 6
  • Went to United States Military of Academy in West Point
  • Was top of his class
  • Married Mamie Geneva Doud
  • Appointed Chief Military 
• Elections
• Accomplishments
  • Kept America at peace
  • Ended the Korean War
  • Balanced the budget 3 times (pay off debt)
  • Sponsored and signed the federal aid Highway Act of 1956 (interstates)
  • Sponsored and signed the Civil Rights Bill of 1957
    • Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
  • Signed the housing amendments of 1955
• Legacy
  • Main points
    • Maintain world peace
    • urged necessity of maintaining an adequate military strength
    • Emphasized a balanced budget
    • "People to People" movement

Kennedy

• Background
  • Born May 29, 1917
  • Moved to Bronx (New York City)
  • Went to Choate School for high school years
  • Enrolled at Harvard
    • Member of varsity swimming team
  • Graduated with a Bachelor of Science
  • Military
    • Joined US Navy after being declared medically unfit for the Army
    • Received a Navy and Marine Corps medal
    • Released from active duty due to a back injury
    • Honorably discharged 
    • Received a purple heart and other medals
  • Was in the House of Representatives
    • 1946-1952
  • Senate-1952
    • Was absent from many meetings due to his back surgeries
• Elections
  • Ran for Democratic Vice President in 1956
  • Lost in a narrow decision
  • Election of 1960
    • Closest elections in history
    • Kennedy vs Nixon
    • Nixon won more states
    • JFK won popular vote and electoral college
    • Became first Roman Catholic President
    • Youngest person ever to be elected president
    • Was the first leader born in the 20th century
  • "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country"
  • Assassination
    • Killed on Friday, November 22, 1963
    • Dallas Texas
    • Was there because of political friction in the Democrat Party 
    • Shot in upper back, throat, and head
    • Pronounced dead an hour later
    • Killed by Lee Harvey Oswald
    • Buried in Arlington National Cemetery

• Accomplishments
  • Became the first Catholic president of the US
  • Called for Americans to serve their country
  • Established the Peace Corps
  • Diverted a nuclear war with the Soviet Union and secured the removal of missiles from Cuba
  • Committed to landing a man on the moon, his support of space exploration helped make it happen
  • Nuclear Test ban treaty
  • Area Redevelopment Act
• Legacy
  • Left an "unfinished life". Was a charismatic leader during a challenging time for the American people and government
  • Considered to be the best president in the past 50 years
  • 90% of Americans  approve of his job as president

LBJ

• Background
  • Born August 27, 1902
  • Parents - Sam and Rebekah
  • Attended Southwest State Teacher's College in 1930
  • Firsthand look at poverty
  • Had 2 kids
  • 1931 Congressional Secretary
  • Wife was Claudia (Went by Ladybird)
  • Elected to House of Reps.
  • Re-Elected 5 times
  • Failed to secure a Senate Seat
  • 1948: Elected to Senate
  • Youngest ever to serve as minority leader at age 44
  • Became Senate majority leader
• Elections 
  • 1964
    • Presidential vs Barry Goldwater
    • Landslide win
    • South became Republican and North became Democrat
• Top Ten Accomplishments
  • Established National Endowment for Humanities and Arts
  • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
  • Voting Rights Act
  • Civil Rights Act
  • Medicare/Medicaid
  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act and Higher Education Act
• Legacy
  • Sworn in
  • Swore to maintain Kennedy's vision
  • Battled poverty
  • Fought for civil right/equality
  • Bloody Stalemate
  • Loss of popularity
  • Overshadowed

Nixon

• Early Life
  • Richard Milhous Nixon
  • January 9, 1913
  • Yorba Linda, California
  • Poor family
  • Offered tuition grant to harvard
  • Went to Whittier College, 1934 because his brother was sick
  • Full ride to Duke university
• Before His Presidency
  • Married Thelma "Pat" Ryan
  • Served in Navy during WWII
  • California House of Rep and Senate
  • VP - Eisenhower
  • Ran in 1960 but lost to Kennedy 
• Watergate Scandal
  • June 17, 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the watergate office complex
  • Nixon administration tried to cover up involvement.
  • Bugged the offices of political opponents
  • Harassment of activist groups/political figures
  • Used the FBI, CIA, and IRS
  • This has not been that last time the IRS has been accused of abuse of power. in 2012-2013 they denied conservative
• Popularity
  • 49% 
• Legacy
  • Will always be known for watergate

• Death
  • Died of stroke at 81

Harry S. Truman

Gerald R. Ford

• Background
  • Went to University of Michigan
  • Was offered a professional football career but opted to go to Yale for a degree in economics and law
  • Died December 26, 2006 of cardiovascular disease.
  • Attended political convention
  • Graduated from Yale Law
  • Enlisted in the US Navy in 1942
• Top Ten Accomplishments
  • Cut inflationg in half
  • Decreased unemployment
  • Created more jobs
  • Reduced crime
  • Maintained peace during presidency
  • Survived two assassination attempts
  • Helped farmers
  • Made peace abroad
  • Increased defience budget
  • Alliance with Japan stronger
• Popularity Ratings
  • Started out fairly well
  • Then went down

George H.W. Bush

• Born June 12, 1924
• Milton, Connecticut
• Had 6 children
• Attended Yale
•  Became president in 1989
  • Beat Michael Dukakis
•  Lost his presidency to Bill Clinton in 1992

 Accomplishments

• 1990 Signed Clean Air Act Amendment.
• 1990 Signed Disabilities Act
• Signed Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
• 1989 Invaded Panama to stop Manuel Noriega
• Launched air assault and invasion against Iraq

 Popularity

• High – 89%
• Low – 29%
• Average – 60.9%

 Had one of the most qualified resumes. Started strong with good accomplishments but wasn’t good enough to get re-elected

 

Bill Clinton

•  Born August 19, 1946
• Born William Blythe III
• College and Political Career
• Attended Georgetown and Yale
• Was in Alpha Phi Omega and elected Phi Beta Kappa
• Avoided war by becoming an aide to a US Senator
• Became Senator of Arkansas

Elections

• Economy was Achilles heel for Bush
• Bush promised not to raise taxes but he did
• Clinton won popular and electoral college vote
• Most recent case where incumbent president lost
• Incumbent
• Got economy back on track
• World was at peace
• He won both electoral and popular vote

Accomplishments

• Lied under oath, Impeachment – He was having affairs
• Clinton Peace Accords
• Reformed the Welfare System
• Brady Act Signed
• Connected Schools to the Internet
• Stimulated the economy
• Promoted of affirmative action, abortion rights and gay rights
• National health care
• Protected American Land
• Reduced the national debt

Approval

• Was usually above 50% in both terms
• Average was 55%
• Low point was 37%
• High was 73%
• Well like by public
• First Democratic President
• Called first black president
• After impeachment proceeding his ratings went to his highest ever

Legacy

• Clinton’s presidency was well liked for the most part. During his administration the economy was well off.

 

George W. Bush

•  Born July 6, 1946
• Attended Yale and Harvard Business School

v  Texas Air National Guard

v  Did go back to school 0 got his masters of Administration of Business Degree

v  Married Laura on November 5^th, 1977

v  Had twin daughters Barbara and Jenna

v  Bought the Texas Rangers

v  Governor of Texas

• 1992
• First Governor of Texas to be elected to 4 years

v  Presidency

• 43^rd president
• VP Dick Cheney
• 1^st election
  • 2000
  • Ran against Democrat – Al Gore
  • Called for a recount in Florida
• 2^nd election
  • 2004
  • Ran against John Kerry

v  War on Terror

• Declared war on terror
• Afghanistan
• Iraq

v  Legacy

• Will be remembered for 9/11 and war on terror

v  Accomplishments

• No Child Left Behind – Standardized tests
• Disallow Same-Sex Marriage – some states were legal under Bush but a majority of the country disapproved it
• Hurricane Katrina Relief

 

Barack Obama

• Born August 1st, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii
• His mother and father met in Hawaii
• His father was from Kenya
• Started living with grandparents at age 10
• Went to Harvard
• Studied Law
• Taught at Chicago Law School

• Was elected president 2008
  • VP Joe Biden
• Re-elected 2012
  • defeated Mitt Romney
• Popularity
  • High 65%
  • Low 34%
  • Average 45%
• Accomplishments
  • Obama Care
  • Killing of Osama Bin Laden
  • Stimulus Bill
  • Ending the war in Iraq
  • American Auto Industry Bailout
  • Wall street Reform
  • Establishment of Trade Enforcement Unit
  • Reinstated federal funding
  • Equal pay for equal work
  • Repealed "Don't ask. Don't tell."
• Legacy
  • Helped LGBT people, created Obama care, Won a Nobel Peace Prize, first African American President

Persian Gulf War

• 1990-1991
• Iraq invaded Kuwait
  • They invaded because they believed the Kuwait should belong to Iraq and thought they were stealing oil.
• Operation Desert Shield
• Operation Desert Storm
  • Force victory, Iraqi withdrawl from Kuwait, destruction of Iraqi/Kuwait infrastructure
• Coalition - 482 dead, Iraq - 20,000-35,000
• 1991-2003
  • No-fly zone, weapons inspectors, WMD's
• How did the Persian Gulf War eventually lead to 9-11?

Iraq War 2003-2011

• President Bush told the nation that Saddam Hussein was getting WMD's and was not allowing weapons inspectors into his country
• US invades Iraq in March, 2003
• War ends under President Obama in December, 2011
• Obama pledged to end war.
• US never found and WMD
• President Bush has said he would do the same thing over again as "the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein in it"
• US did end Saddam's reign and established a democratic government
• War in Iraq became very unpopular

al-Qaeda Attacks in the 1990's

War in Afghanistan

• US invaded Afghanistan in October, 2001
• The Taliban, Afghanistan's government from 1995 to 2001, allowed al-Qaeda to train there
• Obama plans to have all troops out by the end of 2014