Chapter 12

1.)  I believe that it takes many qualities to make a good President.  They must be honest and should have a firm stance in their beliefs and not be wishy-washy in their political views whether they be economic or social issues.  I also believe that the President should not let his or her religion affect the decisions made or their beliefs while in office.  The President should strive for equality of all citizens in the United States and make sure he does everything within his power to ensure that equality for all is instituted.  He should also be gracious and humble; no one likes an arrogant leader.  They should try to implement fair policies and tactics that would better our nation as whole and not just certain groups within it.  The President should also have firm beliefs in national security, not necessarily aggressive ones, but, for lack of a better description, more of a take-no-crap approach but have the skills to negotiate and be diplomatic with other countries to prevent as many national security threats as possible.

2.) I believe that two of our greatest presidents have been Jimmy Carter and Thomas Jefferson. Jimmy Carter, the thirty-ninth 1.)    president of the United States was a soft spoken man with strong political beliefs and stood firm in those belief's throughout his presidency.  He also believed in equality for all American citizens and once said, "Human rights is the soul of our foreign policy, because human rights is the very soul of our sense of nationhood." . He accomplished a great deal during his presidency including the SALT II treaty which sought to reduce strategic nuclear weapon production by the Soviet Union and the United States.   He also played a large role for peace in the Middle East when he signed the Camp David Accords.  The negotiations directly resulted in the Egypt-Israel peace treaty and he was hailed for being able to negotiate between these two countries which were known for their shaky relations.  He also played a large role in the Iran Hostage Crisis.  This crisis was between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days.  Just minutes after the inauguration of President Reagan  these hostages were released and President Reagan got most of the credit for the release even though Carter was the president in office during the crisis.  Many believe that this crisis not being resolved at the time of the election was the reason that Jimmy Carter was not re-elected.  Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, is still considered one of the brightest and most intellectual people of his time.  He was a very well educated man in many fields of study.  He is known as one of the framers and founders of the United States and was at the forefront of the revolution.   He also drafted the US constitution.  Without Thomas Jefferson and his influence during the Revolution it is safe to say that things could have turned out very differently and America would not be the great nation that it is today.  

3.) I was very unfamiliar with out tenth president John Tyler of the Whig Party. Mr. Tyler had  the most children out of any other President with a total of 15 children, the last when he was 70 years old. He also held many other political offices; US Representative, Senator, Governor of Virginia and also the Vice President to President  William Henry Harrison.  President Harrison caught a cold while standing in the rain during his inauguration  and died one month after being sworn in as president leaving the presidency to Tyler.  I do not believe that Tyler was a very effective president as many of his views were regressive for the US at that time.  Tyler was very pro-slavery which angered many slavery abolitionists.  As president he vetoed many of the Whig Parties proposals which made many of his cabinet members resign  and resulted in him being expelled from the Whig Party.  The Civil War began 16 years after Tyler's term as president and to no surprise he sided with the Confederates  and served in the Confederate House of Representatives shortly before his death.  The biggest achievement was the annexation of Texas, which  he devoted his last two years of office to accomplish.  

I commented on 

Nathan Tollett

Dexter Pelfrey

Rebecca Zuchowski