Semester II Final

Part A:

1. Before doing any research, I predict the three most highly ranked presidents in US history will be George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy and the worst might be Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.

2. The presidents that have consistently be ranked the top four presidents are Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt has been ranked as the fourth best president in every survey and no other president has been ranked that. The president that has consistently been ranked around the number five spot is Harry S. Truman. He has been ranked at the number five spot two out of the three times the survey was done.

3. It is surprising that out of the recent presidents Barack Obama is the highest ranked president at number twelve, this is surprising because according to this data we have not had any presidents that would be considered to be in the top ten in many years. The data shows that presidents that have lead our country through the darkest times are at the top of the list. Abraham Lincoln is at the number one spot, George Washington is number two, and Franklin D. Roosevelt is number three. All of these men have lead our country through its darkest times and it is shown on the rankings. The data also shows that in the very early years of the US. we did not have the best presidents. In the top ten, there is only two presidents from the early years.  

4. Almost every participant in the survey is either a historian or a college professor. They have included this information to show that the participants in the survey are credible and and reliable. If they did not include this information, I would be more skeptical of the results because of the lack of knowledge I would have about the participants. Every participant of the survey has very credible professions and have enough knowledge on the subject to be very credible participants.

5. The ten categories are "Public Persuasion," "Crisis Leadership," "Economic Management," "Moral Authority," "International Relations," "Administrative Skills," "Relations with Congress," "Vision/Setting An Agenda," "Pursued Equal Justice for All," and "Performance Within the Context of His Times."

6. No they did not. All of the categories were weighted the same.

7. My top three weighted categories would be "Performance Within the Context of His Times", "Economic Management", and "Crisis Leadership" in that order. Performance within the context of his time is my number one weighted category because I believe that presidents should be judged on success not a popularity contest. Economic Management is number two because getting the economy to flourish is a hard task that the best presidents can go. Crisis Leadership is number three because one major aspect of a good president is to work under the extreme stress and pressure of a Crisis. The best presidents that we have had have always worked through a crisis and have always made the best decisions for the United States.

8. My initial prediction for the top presidents were some what accurate. I predicted the top two presidents and my third prediction was number eight. This is because the presidents at the top of the list are the greatest to ever do it so they are the ones that get talked about the most. My prediction for the worst presidents was not accurate at all. The presidents at the bottom of the list were men that I had never heard of. This is the reason that my prediction was so inaccurate because the worst presidents that we have had do not get talked about or taught at school.


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."1 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. In a similar vein, he asserted that "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge" is "the only Guardian of true liberty."

9. We will celebrate the late James Madison's birthday on March 16. Most think of Madison as the Father of the United States Constitution. Madison was also known as a defender of open government. Madison said that a government that has lots of information but the citizens are unable to acquire it is something that leads to Farce or a Tragedy. Information leads to ignorance and people that want to govern over themselves must have the power that information and knowledge gives someone. Madison also said that the progress and freedom that knowledge brings is the only thing protecting true liberty.

" . . . [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. "

10. Both statements by Madison and the AHA voice the opinion that information and knowledge is the most important thing. The passage from the AHA mainly focused on how information of the past is needed for the present and for the future. The AHA is claiming that information about the past is the best teacher for the present, while Madison is claiming that information and knowledge is important in keeping the foundation of our country. Madison also talks about how knowledge is the only protector of liberty while the AHA focuses less on the importance of it for protecting our country from falling apart.

While I believe that both Madison and the AHA are making very good claims, I agree more with Madison. Without information and knowledge we have nothing. We would not live in a truly free country if that were the case. Madison believes that that without knowledge the country would fall apart and I agree with him on that.


Part C:

11. I have grown in many ways as a researcher this year. At the beginning of the year I was not a good researcher and I would not use completely credible sources. Over the course of the year I improved a lot in this aspect. At the beginning of the year  I had a hard time identifying credible sources and I would just use the URL to decide. Now I can quickly look over a source and decide if it is a credible source of not.

My note taking this year has also improved a ton. At the beginning of the year my notes were sloppy and unorganized. My skill of note taking was not strong at the time and I would often has notes that were close to being plagiarized. Now I am able to take very clear and organized notes about sources. These notes are very clear, organized, and in my own words. 

12. I am most proud of my annotated sources. I feel that this part of the project shows my growth over the year in my note taking skills and my ability to find and use credible sources.

13. JC's in class write on Thirteen Days: I chose this piece of work because it brilliantly demonstrates great work. Every answer that he had was fully thought out and prepared. JC also does an excellent job at supporting all of his claims with evidence. It is obvious through reading it that he was very prepared for the in class write and had very good and thoughtful notes with him.

14. "If you take no risks, you will suffer no defeats. But if you take no risks, you win no victories." - Richard Nixon

This quote is very inspirational to me because it is how I try to live my life. I enjoy taking risks because I know that I won't be able to get through life without taking them.

15.

The moon landing - I chose the moon landing because it was one of if not the greatest achievement ever accomplished by the United States.

 

The Revolutionary War - I chose the Revolutionary War because it won our country its independence and showed that we could defeat the British.

Winning World War Two - I chose the end of World War Two because after the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan and won World War Two it became the most powerful country on the planet and the country had stayed there ever sense.