Semester II Final

Part A:

1. Before doing any research, I predict the three most highly ranked presidents in US history will be: President Abraham Lincoln provided a way to create unity in the United States while progressing the moral values of the country. George Washington would likely be near the top of that list due to the work he put forward in creating the nation. Jefferson would also be considered a successful president after making the Louisiana perchance which vastly expanded US territory. and the worst might be, when evaluating by public opinion, are the most recent presidents due to the increasingly dividing political climate. Nixon is also remembered as one of the worst presidents due to his involvement in Water Gate.

2. According the the C-Span Survey the presidents who are consistently in the top 4 are: Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt. While there were no two presidents who went back a forth in the 4th and 5th slots as Theodore Roosevelt was ranked 4th in all three surveys, there were two presidents who went back and forth between 5th and 6th. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman.

3. An interesting observation is that out of all four presidents who were assassinated in office 3 of them ranked in the top 50%. Also two of the presidents, JFK and Abraham Lincoln, ranked in the top 10 with Lincoln at the top of the list. This is interesting because the fact that these men were assassinated would seem to indicate that they did a poor job as president whereas the data would indicate the opposite.

4. All the participants were of an educated background with professions in the fields of history or a form of political science. The shows why the survey is credible as it was conducted by people who are experts in the field.

5. The 10 categories listed in the C-Span Survey are:
Public Persuasion
Crisis Leadership
Econimic Management
Moral Authority
International Relations Administrative Skills
Relations with Congress
Vision / Setting an Agenda
Pursued Equal Justice For All
Performance within context of times

6. "Each of the ten categories was given equal weighting in arriving at a president's total score."

7. My top three categories would be Economic Management, Vision / Setting and Agenda, Pursued Justice for all. I chose these three because I believe that they have the greatest effect on the average citizen and bettering the lives of their citizens should be the most prominent factor in deciding who is a great president.

8. My initial for the top 3 presidents were fairly accurate with Jefferson being lower than I anticipated. What I did not expect is for modern presidents to be ranked so high and for the presidents near the bottom of the list being mostly unknown to me.

Part B:

"On March 16 we celebrate the anniversary of James Madison's birthday. Madison, traditionally viewed as the Father of the United States Constitution, is also seen by many as a defender of open government. He once wrote, "[a] popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps, both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." In a similar vein, he asserted that "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge" is "the only Guardian of true liberty." (Department of Justice justice.gov - Celebrating James Madison and the Freedom of Information Act)

9. March 16th marks the birthday of James Madison who was crucial in the creation of the Constitution. However, another achievement is efforts in keeping a transparent government. James Madison believed that a government elected by the people without a means of those people acquiring information dooms a government to a future of an unsuccessful government or to dire consequences. Madison believed that the only way to have success in a government where the people choose their leaders is to have the appropriate knowledge with regard to that decision.

" . . . [K]nowledge of our own history is essential in the making of Americans. The reasons for this belief may be summed up under four main heads. History makes loyal citizens because memories of common experiences and common aspirations are essential ingredients in patriotism. History makes intelligent voters because sound decisions about present problems must be based on knowledge of the past. History makes good neighbors because it teaches tolerance of individual differences and appreciation of varied abilities and interests. History makes stable, well-rounded individuals because it gives them a start toward understanding the pattern of society and toward enjoying the artistic and intellectual productions of the past. It gives long views, a perspective, a measure of what is permanent in a nation’s life. " (American Historical Association historians.org - Chapter 2: Why Should Americans Know Their Own History?)

10. The essential argument for Madison is that any form of knowledge no matter how small is essential in creating a well functioning society. Madison states that this is the 'Guardian of Liberty' AHA agrees with this in their first two points stating that knowledge of the past gives the people a sense of identity which is essential in creating a cohesive populace and nation. Their second point being that knowledge of the past gives information to make well informed decisions when voting in a government.

The second and thirds reasons stated by the AHA are not mentioned in James Madison's writing although from the value he places on making well informed decisions it is likely he agreed with AHA with in that Knowledge makes a good neighbor and individual. Madison and the AHA are in accord on the value of knowledge as am I to a certain degree. I agree that having specific knowledge of the past is important to asses similar situations, I also believe that those who rely to heavily on looking to the past lose sight of new possibilities. Finding precedent in past decisions is helpful to make quick decisions but loses the opportunity to make new and better systems.

11. Through this year in US history I have grown in my ability to research and asses information to find accurate and meaningful connections. The ability to find information has also improved. Knowing how to quickly find credible sources has been a skill which humanities classes have been teaching me since early middle school and I have grown more and more proficient with every year. Plagiarism has been a topic in humanities classes for several years but has had much less practical use in previous classes. This year I learned how to properly paraphrase and cite my sources.

12. I did not manage my time well on the Film Project and spent too much time on one aspect - the invitation. I enjoyed the process of making the invitation which is likely why I dedicated so of my work time to it. I enjoyed the creativity in choosing the style and all of the nuances like the location and time of the party.

13. Max Millers blog post on the menu at his dinner party I found to be fun to read, creative, and gave important information in an engaging way. (Max's Blog blogspot.com)

14. A topic which has always interested me in US history is the Cold War while we did discuss the surface of the Cold War this year I would love to take a deeper dive into the complex global relations and tension that identified those decades as well as the fascinating technology developed.

15.