Thursday, April 18, 2013
Chapter 12 Blog
1. What makes a great President (not which Presidents have been great) . . . what qualities are essential to greatness? Why?
There are many qualities that are essential for a President to be great. A president needs to be trustworthy, accountable, responsive to the needs of the people, caring, able to remain calm in stressful situations, make the right decision in situations, make sure the laws are equal, and be an overall a well-rounded person.
2. Other than Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, which two Presidents have been the greatest and why?
Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy have been great Presidents. Roosevelt was faced with problems as soon as he stepped foot in the office. First he had to deal with the depression. He declared bank holidays which closed all banks; they were then opened a few at a time with government help. He got congress to pass laws which helped farmers, small businesses and people who were about to lose their homes during that time. He changed the course of American government. He did so much and helped the U.S. out of this crisis. Kennedy was a very likable president, which his charismatic charm . He brought many teachers, writers, scientists, and different intellectuals into the government. His speech was great as he called for service to his countrymen. He also established the Peace Corps in order to help the undeveloped nations and was very devoted to working hard for new civil rights laws. He even diffused the tensions between two countries on the verge of war. He was very inspiring, even though he only served as the president for a brief period of time. In this little bit of time, he achieved a lot.
3. Research a President that you're previously unfamiliar with - list at least three things you learned. Was this President effective? Why or why not?
Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president. He began to reform the federal government and at the same time improve civil service to get better workers. He carefully looked at every bill the congress passed and vetoed many of them he thought were not beneficial to the country. He boosted the navy by getting them the best ships as well. When a railroad strike in Chicago interfered with the mail, he sent the federal troops at once to clear up the matter. He worked hard and honestly throughout his term.
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I also did not know a lot about President Grover Cleveland. He was a good president and, I believe, stepped in when it was needed. I think he may have had a better chance with the railroad strike in Chicago if he had listened more to their demands and then made a compromise about the situation. I don't know the whole story though, so I can not say that I would have done anything different than he did. They could have been demanding something that was not able to be given to them at the time. All I know is that President Cleveland is not talked about as much as other president and I think he should be.
ReplyDeleteGreat blogs about FDR and JFK. I agree FDR did have alot on his plte when he steped into office. He made the holday laws which I am sure many employees/employers appreciate to this day! And with Grover was a good paragraph as well. He was smart by increasing his Navy to help his offense/defense in the US. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with each of your answers. FDR and Kennedy were both exceptional presidents that showed their different forms of leadership in different ways. FDR was responsible for quite a bit when World War II began which is why I think he is a great leader. Also, I did not know most of what you mentioned about Cleveland. There are so many presidents that I'm sure most people forget about because they didn't leave quite as big of a mark on US history as so many others did. But theyre all important in our history because they all affected our country in many ways, whether positive or negative.
ReplyDeleteI almost picked JFK just like you did. I chose FDR and I looked into JFK and Eisenhower as well. I think that all of those presidents done great things and accomplished many great things while they were in office. I like what you had to say about all the qualities that a great president needs to have, I think that would define a great president. I did not know a whole lot about President Grover Cleveland. What you said about him was very informative and taught me some things that I did not know about President Cleveland. You provided great info in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see someone agrees that Roosevelt is a top-notch president. Where he basically took the reins of an economic depression and made it work out so that the economy started climbing. Also it is interesting that you picked Grover as I almost did, but I knew him more than some of the others. I did not know he buffed the ships in the Navy though, but I'd say it's a strong move. It's also nice to see that he moved when a strike interfered with the communications lines via mail that he sent in troops to make short work of the mess.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that Franklin D. Roosevelt was a very great president. Franklin Roosevelt helped the people of the United States in a lot of ways. He also helped the country in its time of need, in other words, the Great Depression. Franklin Roosevelt also helped to creature jobs for the people that did not have jobs, and honestly, I do not think that I could have done that for the county. This might be because I do not know much about politics. I did not know that he declared bank holidays where all the banks closed, that is interesting.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that a President needs to be a trustworthy person among other things. I think that everybody needs to be trustworthy but a President who is bestowed up so much power and athority it would only make sence. I also thought that President Franklin Roosevelt was an outstanding President. He did a wonderful job bringing us back around in a time that was faced with so much turmoil, he helped saved the lives of numerous people. I had no idea that President Cleveland was such a good President, Its amazing that we have been blessed with so many wonderful and hard working Presidents, its just a shame we dont always know how great they were until they pass away.
ReplyDeleteI agree that while all of those characteristics that you labeled that define a great president are admirable, I think that perhaps they are too general in definition to be really included. Any president can fake a lot of those qualities, and if it comes down too it, even if the president is honest and nice and all that good stuff but is also quite terrible at handling both domestic and foreign affairs, I'm probably gonna judge him as a president on the fact that he does not seem capable of handling the responsibilities as a president.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Roosevelt was a great president. Not many men would have wanted to step into office and take over a country during the Great Depression. He was faced with many obstacles from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI agree that cleveland sounds like a honest and just president. Really everything you said about all of the presidents that you picked was good.
ReplyDelete