Part A.
1. Before doing my research, I predict the three most highly ranked presidents in US history to be Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln and the worst might be Nixon, George H. W. Bush and Trump.
2. The presidents that have been consistently identified as the top 4 presidents are Lincoln, Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt. No presidents have gone back and forth between the 4th and 5th spot.
3. William Howard Taft was ranked 24th best president all three times the poll was conducted. Jefferson was ranked 7th best president every time the poll was taken. Pierce, Johnson and Buchanan were almost always ranked in the bottom 3 presidents.
4. In this survey the participants seem to almost all be professors at colleges or historians. C-SPAN most likely included this information to show how the people taking the poll were knowledgeable in the topic and now just random people polling. Some questions that can arise from not including this information is how educated the people who were giving answers were. Since the overwhelming majority of participants are either a professor at a college or a historian this makes the results of the poll much more credible because the people taking it are educated enough to give valid answers.
5. The 10 qualities for which the presidents are ranked 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
Performance Within Context of Times
https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2017/?page=participants (found on the left side of the page)
6. C-SPAN did not weigh some categories more than others.
https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2017/?page=methodology#advisors
7. If the surveyed was weighed based on my decisions my top 3 categories would be Crisis Leadership, Economic Management and Moral Authority. Crisis Leadership because many presidents can be considered a good president when there is nothing bad going on but to be considered a good president in times of crisis is something that is worth a lot. Economic Management because so many times the economy is talked about throughout US history as an important topic and to be able to keep a well managed economy is something that is very important. Moral Authority because many times presidents lose sight of their moral values in exchange for selling out to other people and the public so having consistent moral values is important because it shows that you are not afraid to do what you think is right in the presence from pressure from other people.
8. My initial predictions for the top presidents was right except Jefferson was slightly lower but still in the top 7. My bottom 3 were wrong and I mainly think this because there has not been a poll conducted since Trump has been elected president and I also was for the most part unaware on what made a president "bad"
Part B.
9. "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."
https://www.justice.gov/oip/blog/foia-post-2008-celebrating-james-madison-and-freedom-information-act
James Madison was born on March 16 and his birthday anniversary is often celebrated to look back upon the legacy that he left behind. He is often looked back upon and seen as the Father of the United States Constitution. Not only this but he is publicly known to be a avid defender of open government. He has been quoted before stating that"[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." Along with this he also goes on to state that "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge" is "the only Guardian of true liberty."
Madison is saying how a Government that is popular with the people but does not have the knowledge or common sense to be run efficiently is doomed from the start. He is also trying to say how knowledge is a powerful weapon that can be used to control people and if used correctly is the foundation of liberty.
10." . . . [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. "
https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/american-history-in-schools-and-colleges/chapter-2-why-should-americans-know-their-own-history
In this excerpt it states that having the knowledge of Americas History is necessary for someone to be considered a good citizen. Compared to Madison's article this article is much more docile as is states how knowledge is something that makes well-rounded individuals and productive patriotic citizens of the United States. Madison takes a little more aggressive stance on it saying how if you have the lack of knowledge and no means or acquiring it you are doomed from the very beginning and how knowledge can be used as a weapon to free thinking people along with how a knowledgeable Government can rule over people who do not posses such knowledge as they are viewed as ignorant and inferior.
In my opinion I think that both of these articles are valid in expressing how knowledge is productive in creating a good Government and good Citizens of that Government. I also agree with the second article and how it states that knowing the history of the United States is essential for Citizens. I think all citizens should posses knowledge of some kind of the history of the United States for the same reasons that the article highlights. I also agree with Madison's point on how if something like a Government is built on a platform of ignorance it is doomed from the start. I also agree with his statement stating that knowledge is power which I believe it is but to go so far and say that it is the "only Guardian of true Liberty" I do not agree with because I think that many other aspects go along with liberty not just knowledge.
Part C.
11. Throughout this year I have most definitely improved my skills as a researcher. At first I was using articles that were dubious at best, not citing them properly and cleanly and doing my best attempt at paraphrasing them. Now I can locate scholarly sources and incorporate them into my work seamlessly which is a big stride for me as I didn't feel like I knew how to do that before. I was mainly focused on how many sources I had at the beginning of this class and not focusing on the quality of such sources. Now I am much more aware of the quality of the sources I use and how that can affect the final outcome of my work quality drastically. I think the biggest stride that I made was that I am now completely comfortable with my ability to find good sources which to me is a huge improvement.
12. Looking back at the film-history project I am most proud of my menu items, my 3rd response to the in class write, my post 4 annotated sources, and my invitation guests. I am proud of my menu items because I feel like I was very creative with them and although it took me a lot of time to create I feel like the end product was very entertaining and interesting. My response to the 3rd question in the in class write because while I was writing It i noticed now knowledgeable I was on the topic, I felt like I was an expert because of all of my research and could answer anything. My post 4 annotated sources because I took an extremely long time doing all of that and making it good and it was nice to have it be noticed after I put all of that work into it. And my invitation guests I am also proud of because I took a long time to pick out every guest and I think it came together very well.
13. I admired Brandon's Invitation for the Film-History project because I found it to be very concise along with being creative and getting everything done.
https://brandons-cool.blogspot.com/2019/04/211-invitation-argo.html
14.
In class we watched Cinderella Man a movie that was set in the Great Depression. I know that a large part of what caused the Great Depression was the Stock Market Crash of 1929. I have heard about the stock market crash but I ever knew why it crashed and what exactly before, during and after in detail. I have always found money and global economics interesting which is why I am curious about why the crash happened and how that affected so many people, along with what could have been done to prevent it if anything and if anything was done at all. This goes along with the economic crisis that happened in 2008 that is referred to many times in politics. I watched an extremely interesting and exceptionally good movie on it called The Big Short which focuses on it and grew my interest in the topic. Overall I find it very interesting why both of these events happened and the details surrounding them.
15.
 | |
| “The Gadget” bomb, part of the trinity nuclear bomb tests- world's first atomic bomb. AtomicHeritage.org |
I chose this image because It displays Americas transition into a dominant world superpower. The US was the first country to create a super weapon which pushed them into the center of the world stage because no other country possessed such a weapon the US was now a world superpower and help create the country that we are today.
 | |
| World War 2 Poster image - National Archives |
This will be displayed because it shows one of the country's greatest achievements and struggles, Victory in the world largest conflict. Showing how through much struggle in World War 2 the war was finally won and is something that we will never forget.
 |
| Moon Landing Photos-NASA photo library |
The Moon landing is without a doubt, one of, if not the greatest scientific achievement in our country's history. It not only shows our great scientific ability, but is also shows how if the country puts its mind to something then the sky's the limit, or maybe even the moon.
No comments:
Post a Comment