Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, guided his country through the most devastating experience in its national history--the CIVIL WAR. He is considered by many historians to have been the greatest American president.
Early LifeLincoln was born on Feb. 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Hardin (now Larue) County, Ky. Indians had killed his grandfather, Lincoln wrote, "when he was laboring to open a farm in the forest" in 1786; this tragedy left his father, Thomas Lincoln, "a wandering laboring boy" who "grew up, literally without education." Thomas, nevertheless, became a skilled carpenter and purchased three farms in Kentucky before the Lincolns left the state. Little is known about Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Abraham had an older sister, Sarah, and a younger brother, Thomas, who died in infancy.
In 1816 the Lincolns moved to Indiana, "partly on account of slavery," Abraham recalled, "but chiefly on account of difficulty in land titles in Kentucky." Land ownership was more secure in Indiana because the Land Ordinance of 1785 provided for surveys by the federal government; moreover, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 forbade slavery in the area. Lincoln's parents belonged to a faction of the Baptist church that disapproved of slavery, and this affiliation may account for Abraham's later statement that he was "naturally anti-slavery" and could not remember when he "did not so think, and feel."
Indiana was a "wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods." The Lincolns' life near Little Pigeon Creek, in Perry (now Spencer) County, was not easy. Lincoln "was raised to farm work" and recalled life in this "unbroken forest" as a fight "with trees and logs and grubs." "There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education," Lincoln later recalled; he attended "some schools, so called," but for less than a year altogether. "Still, somehow," he remembered, "I could read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three; but that was all."
Lincoln's mother died in 1818, and the following year his father married a Kentucky widow, Sarah Bush Johnston. She "proved a good and kind mother." In later years Lincoln could fondly and poetically recall memories of his "childhood home." In 1828 he was able to make a flatboat trip to New Orleans. His sister died in childbirth the same year.
In 1830 the Lincolns left Indiana for Illinois. Abraham made a second flatboat trip to New Orleans, and in 1831 he left home for New Salem, in Sangamon County near Springfield. The separation may have been made easier by Lincoln's estrangement from his father, of whom he spoke little in his mature life. In New Salem, Lincoln tried various occupations and served briefly in the Black Hawk War (1832). This military interlude was uneventful except for the fact that he was elected captain of his volunteer company, a distinction that gave him "much satisfaction." It opened new avenues for his life.
Illinois LegislatorLincoln ran unsuccessfully for the Illinois legislature in 1832. Two years later he was elected to the lower house for the first of four successive terms (until 1841) as a Whig. His membership in the Whig Party was natural. Lincoln's father was a Whig, and the party's ambitious program of national economic development was the perfect solution to the problems Lincoln had seen in his rural, hardscrabble Indiana past. His first platform (1832) announced that "Time and experience . . . verified . . . that the poorest and most thinly populated countries would be greatly benefitted by the opening of good roads, and in the clearing of navigable streams. . . . There cannot justly be any objection to having rail roads and canals."
As a Whig, Lincoln supported the Second Bank of the United States, the Illinois State Bank, government-sponsored internal improvements (roads, canals, railroads, harbors), and protective tariffs. His Whig vision of the West, derived from Henry CLAY, was not at all pastoral. Unlike most successful American politicians, Lincoln was unsentimental about agriculture, calling farmers in 1859 "neither better nor worse than any other people." He remained conscious of his humble origins and was therefore sympathetic to labor as "prior to, and independent of, capital." He bore no antagonism to capital, however, admiring the American system of economic opportunity in which the "man who labored for another last year, this year labors for himself, and next year he will hire others to labor for him." Slavery was the opposite of opportunity and mobility, and Lincoln stated his political opposition to it as early as 1837.
Lawyer and U.S. RepresentativeEncouraged by Whig legislator John Todd Stuart, Lincoln became a lawyer in 1836, and in 1837 he moved to Springfield, where he became Stuart's law partner. With a succession of partners, including Stephen T. Logan and William H. Herndon, Lincoln built a successful practice. Lincoln courted Mary Todd, a Kentuckian of much more genteel origins than he. After a brief postponement of their engagement, which plummeted Lincoln into a deep spell of melancholy, they were married on Nov. 4, 1842. They had four sons: Robert Todd (1843-1926), Edward Baker (1846-50), William Wallace (1850-62), and Thomas "Tad" (1853-71). Mary Todd Lincoln was a Presbyterian, but her husband was never a church member.
Lincoln served one term (1847-49) as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he opposed the Mexican War--Whigs did everywhere--as unnecessary and unconstitutional. This opposition was not a function of internationalist sympathy for Mexico (Lincoln thought the war inevitable) but of feeling that the Democratic president, James Polk, had violated the Constitution. Lincoln had been indifferent about the annexation of Texas, already a slave territory, but he opposed any expansion that would allow slavery into new areas; hence, he supported the Wilmot Proviso, which would have barred slavery from any territory gained as a result of the Mexican War. He did not run for Congress again, returning instead to Springfield and the law.
The Slavery Issue and the Lincoln-Douglas DebatesLincoln "was losing interest in politics" when the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by Congress in 1854. This legislation opened lands previously closed to slavery to the possibility of its spread by local option (popular sovereignty); Lincoln viewed the provisions of the act as immoral. Although he was not an abolitionist and thought slavery unassailably protected by the Constitution in states where it already existed, Lincoln also thought that America's founders had put slavery on the way to "ultimate extinction" by preventing its spread to new territories. He saw this act, which had been sponsored by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, as a new and alarming development.
Lincoln vied for the U.S. Senate in 1855 but eventually threw his support to Lyman Trumbull. In 1856 he joined the newly formed Republican Party, and two years later he campaigned for the Senate against Douglas. In his speech at Springfield in acceptance of the Republican senatorial nomination (June 16, 1858) Lincoln suggested that Douglas, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, and Democratic presidents Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan had conspired to nationalize slavery. In the same speech he expressed the view that the nation would become either all slave or all free: "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
The underdog in the senatorial campaign, Lincoln wished to share Douglas's fame by appearing with him in debates. Douglas agreed to seven debates: in Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy, and Alton, Ill. Lincoln knew that Douglas--now fighting the Democratic Buchanan administration over the constitution to be adopted by Kansas--had alienated his Southern support; and he feared Douglas's new appeal to eastern Republicans now that Douglas was battling the South. Lincoln's strategy, therefore, was to stress the gulf of principle that separated Republican opposition to slavery as a moral wrong from the moral indifference of the Democrats, embodied in legislation allowing popular sovereignty to decide the fate of each territory. Douglas, Lincoln insisted, did not care whether slavery was "voted up or voted down." By his vigorous showing against the famous Douglas, Lincoln won the debates and his first considerable national fame. He did not win the Senate seat, however; the Illinois legislature, dominated by Democratic holdovers in the upper house, elected Douglas.
Election to the PresidencyIn February 1860, Lincoln made his first major political appearance in the Northeast when he addressed a rally at the Cooper Union in New York. He was now sufficiently well known to be a presidential candidate. At the Republican national convention in Chicago in May, William H. Seward was the leading candidate. Seward, however, had qualities that made him undesirable in the critical states the Republicans had lost in 1856: Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and New Jersey. As a result Lincoln won the nomination by being the second choice of the majority.
He went on to win the presidential election, defeating the Northern Democrat Douglas, the Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, and the Constitutional Union candidate John Bell. Lincoln selected a strong cabinet that included all of his major rivals for the Republican nomination: Seward as secretary of state, Salmon P. Chase as secretary of the treasury, and Edward Bates as attorney general.
By the time of Lincoln's inauguration in March 1861, seven states had seceded from the Union. His conciliatory inaugural address had no effect on the South, and, against the advice of a majority of his cabinet, Lincoln decided to send provisions to Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. The fort was a symbol of federal authority--conspicuous in the state that had led secession, South Carolina--and it would soon have had to be evacuated for lack of supplies. On Apr. 12, 1861, South Carolina fired on the fort, and the Civil War began.
The Civil WarAs a commander in chief Lincoln was soon noted for vigorous measures, sometimes at odds with the Constitution and often at odds with the ideas of his military commanders. After a period of initial support and enthusiasm for George B. McClellan, Lincoln's conflicts with that Democratic general helped to turn the latter into his presidential rival in 1864. Famed for his clemency for court-martialed soldiers, Lincoln nevertheless took a realistic view of war as best prosecuted by killing the enemy. Above all, he always sought a general, no matter what his politics, who would fight. He found such a general in Ulysses S. Grant, to whom he gave overall command in 1864. Thereafter, Lincoln took a less direct role in military planning, but his interest never wavered, and he died with a copy of Gen. William Sherman's orders for the March to the Sea in his pocket.
Politics vied with war as Lincoln's major preoccupation in the presidency. The war required the deployment of huge numbers of men and quantities of materiel; for administrative assistance, therefore, Lincoln turned to the only large organization available for his use, the Republican party. With some rare but important exceptions (for example, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton), Republicans received the bulk of the civilian appointments from the cabinet to the local post offices. Lincoln tried throughout the war to keep the Republican party together and never consistently favored one faction in the party over another. Military appointments were divided between Republicans and Democrats.
Democrats accused Lincoln of being a tyrant because he proscribed civil liberties. For example, he suspended the writ of habeas corpus in some areas as early as Apr. 27, 1861, and throughout the nation on Sept. 24, 1862, and the administration made over 13,000 arbitrary arrests. On the other hand, Lincoln tolerated virulent criticism from the press and politicians, often restrained his commanders from overzealous arrests, and showed no real tendencies toward becoming a dictator. There was never a hint that Lincoln might postpone the election of 1864, although he feared in August of that year that he would surely lose to McClellan. Democrats exaggerated Lincoln's suppression of civil liberties, in part because wartime prosperity robbed them of economic issues and in part because Lincoln handled the slavery issue so skillfully.
The Constitution protected slavery in peace, but in war, Lincoln came to believe, the commander in chief could abolish slavery as a military necessity. The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation of Sept. 22, 1862, bore this military justification, as did all of Lincoln's racial measures, including especially his decision in the final proclamation of Jan. 1, 1863, to accept blacks in the army. By 1864, Democrats and Republicans differed clearly in their platforms on the race issue: Lincoln's endorsed the 13TH Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery, whereas McClellan's pledged to return to the South the rights it had had in 1860.
Lincoln's victory in that election thus changed the racial future of the United States. It also agitated Southern-sympathizer and Negrophobe John Wilkes Booth, who began to conspire first to abduct Lincoln and later to kill him. On Apr. 14, 1865, five days after Robert E. Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Lincoln attended a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington. There Booth entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln. The next morning at 7:22 Lincoln died.
Lincoln's achievements--saving the Union and freeing the slaves--and his martyrdom just at the war's end assured his continuing fame. No small contribution was made by his eloquence as exemplified in the Gettysburg Address (Nov. 19, 1863), in which he defined the war as a rededication to the egalitarian ideals of the Declaration of Independence, and in his second inaugural address (Mar. 4, 1865), in which he urged "malice toward none" and "charity for all" in the peace to come.
same with kennedy most of lincoln is in the note book and text book. here are just soem extra things about his beside presidency
Thursday, April 29, 2010
President J.F. Kennedy - LiAnne Weller
John F. Kennedy
On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullets as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was the youngest man elected President; he was the youngest to die.
Of Irish descent, he was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1917. Graduating from Harvard in 1940, he entered the Navy. In 1943, when his PT boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, Kennedy, despite grave injuries, led the survivors through perilous waters to safety.
Back from the war, he became a Democratic Congressman from the Boston area, advancing in 1953 to the Senate. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953. In 1955, while recuperating from a back operation, he wrote Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer Prize in history.
In 1956 Kennedy almost gained the Democratic nomination for Vice President, and four years later was a first-ballot nominee for President. Millions watched his television debates with the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote, Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic President.
His Inaugural Address offered the memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." As President, he set out to redeem his campaign pledge to get America moving again. His economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II; before his death, he laid plans for a massive assault on persisting pockets of privation and poverty.
Responding to ever more urgent demands, he took vigorous action in the cause of equal rights, calling for new civil rights legislation. His vision of America extended to the quality of the national culture and the central role of the arts in a vital society.
He wished America to resume its old mission as the first nation dedicated to the revolution of human rights. With the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps, he brought American idealism to the aid of developing nations. But the hard reality of the Communist challenge remained.
Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a band of Cuban exiles, already armed and trained, to invade their homeland. The attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a failure. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign against West Berlin. Kennedy replied by reinforcing the Berlin garrison and increasing the Nation's military strength, including new efforts in outer space. Confronted by this reaction, Moscow, after the erection of the Berlin Wall, relaxed its pressure in central Europe.
Instead, the Russians now sought to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. When this was discovered by air reconnaissance in October 1962, Kennedy imposed a quarantine on all offensive weapons bound for Cuba. While the world trembled on the brink of nuclear war, the Russians backed down and agreed to take the missiles away. The American response to the Cuban crisis evidently persuaded Moscow of the futility of nuclear blackmail.
Kennedy now contended that both sides had a vital interest in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and slowing the arms race--a contention which led to the test ban treaty of 1963. The months after the Cuban crisis showed significant progress toward his goal of "a world of law and free choice, banishing the world of war and coercion." His administration thus saw the beginning of new hope for both the equal rights of Americans and the peace of the world.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information about President Kennedy, please visit
John F. Kennedy Library and Museum
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Learn more about John F. Kennedy 's spouse, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy.
timeline
1917-1963
MAY 29, 1917: Born in Brookline, Mass., the son of Joe and Rose Kennedy (Fitzgerald) and the great-grandson of Irish immigrants.
JUNE 1940: Graduates cum laude with a bachelor of science degree from Harvard University.
JULY 1940: Kennedy's college thesis "Appeasement in Munich," about Britain's failure to prepare itself against Nazi Germany, is published as a book titled Why England Slept.
SEPTEMBER 1941: At age 24, he is sworn in as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.
MARCH 1943: Given command of PT-109 as a lieutenant.
AUG. 3, 1943: While on active duty in Blackett Strait, North Solomon Islands in the Pacific, PT-109 is sunk by the Japanese. Kennedy performed heroically in rescuing his crew.
JUNE 11, 1944: Awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and Purple Heart for his actions while in command of PT-109.
AUG. 12, 1944: Kennedy's older brother, Joe Kennedy Jr., is killed when his Air Force plane explodes shortly after take-off.
MARCH 1, 1945: Honorably discharged from the Navy with the full rank of lieutenant.
NOV. 5, 1946: Elected as a U.S. representative for the 11th Congressional District in Boston at age 29. He is re-elected in 1948 and 1950.
NOV. 4, 1952: Elected as senator from Massachusetts and re-elected in 1958.
JAN. 3, 1953: Evelyn Lincoln starts work as Kennedy's personal secretary.
SEPT. 12, 1953: Marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, R.I. She is the daughter of John Vernon Bouvier III and Janet Lee Bouvier.
OCT. 21, 1954: Undergoes surgery for a back injury he received during the PT-109 incident.
FEBRUARY 1955: Undergoes a second back operation during which he almost dies. During his recovery, he writes Profiles in Courage, which won a Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1957.
AUG. 17, 1956: Loses his bid for the Democratic nomination for vice president.
AUG. 23, 1956: The Kennedys' daughter, Arabella, is stillborn in Newport, R.I.
NOV. 27, 1957: Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is born at Cornell Medical Center, New York.
JAN. 2, 1960: Announces his candidacy for president of the United States.
JULY 13, 1960: Receives the Democratic nomination for president.
NOV. 8,1960: Defeats Richard M. Nixon to become the 35th president of the United States. Kennedy wins by a margin of 2/10 of 1 percent with 49.75 percent of the votes. Nixon receives 49.55 percent.
NOV. 25, 1960: John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. is born at Georgetown University Hospital.
JAN. 20, 1961: At age 43, takes the oath of office to become the 35th president of the United States. He is the youngest elected president and the first president to be Roman Catholic. In his inaugural speech, Kennedy speaks these words: "And so, my fellow Americans ... ask not what your country can do for you ... ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world ... ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."
MARCH 1, 1961: Signs a bill creating the Peace Corps.
APRIL 17, 1961: The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Kennedy supports the invasion to oust that country's Communist leader, Fidel Castro, but the invasion fails. Kennedy is heavily criticized.
JUNE 3-4, 1961: Meets with Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna on international issues. The focus of the meeting is disarmament, Germany, Laos and nuclear testing. They fail to agree on certain problems but issue a joint statement that they agrees to "maintain contact on all questions of interest to the two countries and for the whole world." After this meeting, the Soviets build a wall between East and West Berlin during the summer.
SEPT. 12, 1962: Delivers a speech at Rice University, pledging that the United States will put a man on the moon "before the end of this decade." Seven years later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.
OCT. 16-28, 1962: U.S. intelligence discovers that the Russians are building missile sites in Cuba, thus beginning the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy orders a naval and air quarantine on all shipments of weapons to Cuba. Armed conflict seems imminent; however, the Soviets retreat and promise not to set up the missiles. The United States agrees not to attack Cuba.
JUNE 11, 1963: Sends the Alabama National Guard to the University of Alabama to protect two African-American students who won a court order to attend the college. Kennedy speaks on television later in the day and expresses his support for the civil rights movement.
JUNE 23-26, 1963: During a visit to Germany, Kennedy speaks to an enormous crowd at Schoneberger Rathaus in the Rudolph Wilde Platz on June 26. Kennedy's stirring words on freedom excite the crowd: "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner.' "
JUNE 26-29, 1963: Visits Ireland and delivers a speech to the Irish Parliament in Dublin.
AUG. 7, 1963: The Kennedys' second son, Patrick, is born five weeks premature and dies Aug. 9.
OCT. 7, 1963: Signs the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in Washington, D.C.: "with our courage and understanding enlarged by this achievement, let us press onward in quest of man's essential desire for peace."
NOV. 15, 1963 (FRIDAY): Visits the family home in Palm Beach.
NOV. 16, 1963 (SATURDAY): Visits Cape Canaveral. Ten days after his visit, the cape was renamed Cape Kennedy. Today it is known as the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.
NOV. 17, 1963 (SUNDAY): Returns to Palm Beach. He is scheduled to visit Tampa, Miami and several cities in Texas in the coming week.
NOV. 18, 1963 (MONDAY): Arrives at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa. His first stop is Al Lopez Field, where he delivers a speech. He then travels to the State Chamber of Commerce meeting and delivers another speech at a meeting at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory. Then he flies to Miami to speak at a Democratic rally at the airport and at the Inter-American Press Association in Miami Beach. He returns to Washington late in the evening.
NOV. 19, 1963 (TUESDAY): Sends a presidential statement to be read at the Centennial Ceremony in Gettysburg National Military Park, where Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
NOV. 20, 1963 (WEDNESDAY): Kennedy discusses the prospect of a single global commercial space communications system. He transmits to Congress an annual report on the United Nations. He signs a bill authorizing medals commemorating the founding of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (his last bill). That evening Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy host a cocktail party at the White House.
NOV. 21, 1963 (THURSDAY): Kennedy begins his tour of Texas. His destinations are San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas and Austin.
NOV. 22, 1963 (FRIDAY): John Fitzgerald Kennedy is shot at 12:30 p.m. while riding in an open-top limousine in a motorcade through downtown Dallas. He is pronounced dead at 1 p.m. at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Eighty minutes after the assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested. Later Oswald is charged with murder.
NOV. 24, 1963 (SUNDAY): Jack Ruby fatally shoots Lee Harvey Oswald.
NOV. 25, 1963 (MONDAY): John Fitzgerald Kennedy is buried in Arlington National Cemetery with his son Patrick and his daughter Arabella.
NOV. 29, 1963: President Lyndon B. Johnson appoints the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination.
SEPT. 29, 1964: The Warren Commission publishes a report with its findings. It finds that the lone gunman was Lee Harvey Oswald. They find no evidence "of any conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy."
MAY 19, 1994: Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis dies of cancer. She is buried next to John F. Kennedy and their children in Arlington.
JULY 16, 1999: John F. Kennedy Jr. dies when his small plane crashes while flying from the Essex County Airport in Fairfield, N.J., to Martha's Vineyard. With him are his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister, Lauren Bessette. All three are later buried at sea.
Peace Corps
As one of his first presidential acts, Kennedy created the Peace Corps. Through this program, Americans volunteered to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, health care and construction.
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Troubled by the long-term dangers of radioactive contamination and nuclear weapons proliferation, Kennedy pushed for the adoption of a Limited or Partial Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atomic testing on the ground, in the atmosphere, or underwater, but did not prohibit testing underground. The United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union were the initial signatories to the treaty. Kennedy signed the treaty into law in August 1963.
Source(s):
1. Wikipedia
2. I am a History teacher
3. The scariest is that I remember that era.
The Space Program and he got a nuclear test ban treaty with the United Kingdom and the former USSR which banned nuclear explosions in the air or under water. President Kennedy was an advocate for civil rights. He helped get Martin Luther King Jr. out of jail early and proposed the "Civil Rights Act of 1964." Too bad he was killed before he reached his full potential.
PRESIDENT KENNDY HAD A GREAT DEAL OF ACCMPLISHMENTS AND POLITICAL EVENTS THAT IT WAS TOO LARGE TO TYPE. THESE ARE JUST THE MOST IMPORTANT AND THE WELL KNOWN INFO INCLUDING HIS TIMELINE. (NOT COMPLETELY COMPLETE)
On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullets as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was the youngest man elected President; he was the youngest to die.
Of Irish descent, he was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1917. Graduating from Harvard in 1940, he entered the Navy. In 1943, when his PT boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, Kennedy, despite grave injuries, led the survivors through perilous waters to safety.
Back from the war, he became a Democratic Congressman from the Boston area, advancing in 1953 to the Senate. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953. In 1955, while recuperating from a back operation, he wrote Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer Prize in history.
In 1956 Kennedy almost gained the Democratic nomination for Vice President, and four years later was a first-ballot nominee for President. Millions watched his television debates with the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote, Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic President.
His Inaugural Address offered the memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." As President, he set out to redeem his campaign pledge to get America moving again. His economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II; before his death, he laid plans for a massive assault on persisting pockets of privation and poverty.
Responding to ever more urgent demands, he took vigorous action in the cause of equal rights, calling for new civil rights legislation. His vision of America extended to the quality of the national culture and the central role of the arts in a vital society.
He wished America to resume its old mission as the first nation dedicated to the revolution of human rights. With the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps, he brought American idealism to the aid of developing nations. But the hard reality of the Communist challenge remained.
Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a band of Cuban exiles, already armed and trained, to invade their homeland. The attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a failure. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign against West Berlin. Kennedy replied by reinforcing the Berlin garrison and increasing the Nation's military strength, including new efforts in outer space. Confronted by this reaction, Moscow, after the erection of the Berlin Wall, relaxed its pressure in central Europe.
Instead, the Russians now sought to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. When this was discovered by air reconnaissance in October 1962, Kennedy imposed a quarantine on all offensive weapons bound for Cuba. While the world trembled on the brink of nuclear war, the Russians backed down and agreed to take the missiles away. The American response to the Cuban crisis evidently persuaded Moscow of the futility of nuclear blackmail.
Kennedy now contended that both sides had a vital interest in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and slowing the arms race--a contention which led to the test ban treaty of 1963. The months after the Cuban crisis showed significant progress toward his goal of "a world of law and free choice, banishing the world of war and coercion." His administration thus saw the beginning of new hope for both the equal rights of Americans and the peace of the world.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information about President Kennedy, please visit
John F. Kennedy Library and Museum
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Learn more about John F. Kennedy 's spouse, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy.
timeline
1917-1963
MAY 29, 1917: Born in Brookline, Mass., the son of Joe and Rose Kennedy (Fitzgerald) and the great-grandson of Irish immigrants.
JUNE 1940: Graduates cum laude with a bachelor of science degree from Harvard University.
JULY 1940: Kennedy's college thesis "Appeasement in Munich," about Britain's failure to prepare itself against Nazi Germany, is published as a book titled Why England Slept.
SEPTEMBER 1941: At age 24, he is sworn in as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.
MARCH 1943: Given command of PT-109 as a lieutenant.
AUG. 3, 1943: While on active duty in Blackett Strait, North Solomon Islands in the Pacific, PT-109 is sunk by the Japanese. Kennedy performed heroically in rescuing his crew.
JUNE 11, 1944: Awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and Purple Heart for his actions while in command of PT-109.
AUG. 12, 1944: Kennedy's older brother, Joe Kennedy Jr., is killed when his Air Force plane explodes shortly after take-off.
MARCH 1, 1945: Honorably discharged from the Navy with the full rank of lieutenant.
NOV. 5, 1946: Elected as a U.S. representative for the 11th Congressional District in Boston at age 29. He is re-elected in 1948 and 1950.
NOV. 4, 1952: Elected as senator from Massachusetts and re-elected in 1958.
JAN. 3, 1953: Evelyn Lincoln starts work as Kennedy's personal secretary.
SEPT. 12, 1953: Marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, R.I. She is the daughter of John Vernon Bouvier III and Janet Lee Bouvier.
OCT. 21, 1954: Undergoes surgery for a back injury he received during the PT-109 incident.
FEBRUARY 1955: Undergoes a second back operation during which he almost dies. During his recovery, he writes Profiles in Courage, which won a Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1957.
AUG. 17, 1956: Loses his bid for the Democratic nomination for vice president.
AUG. 23, 1956: The Kennedys' daughter, Arabella, is stillborn in Newport, R.I.
NOV. 27, 1957: Caroline Bouvier Kennedy is born at Cornell Medical Center, New York.
JAN. 2, 1960: Announces his candidacy for president of the United States.
JULY 13, 1960: Receives the Democratic nomination for president.
NOV. 8,1960: Defeats Richard M. Nixon to become the 35th president of the United States. Kennedy wins by a margin of 2/10 of 1 percent with 49.75 percent of the votes. Nixon receives 49.55 percent.
NOV. 25, 1960: John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. is born at Georgetown University Hospital.
JAN. 20, 1961: At age 43, takes the oath of office to become the 35th president of the United States. He is the youngest elected president and the first president to be Roman Catholic. In his inaugural speech, Kennedy speaks these words: "And so, my fellow Americans ... ask not what your country can do for you ... ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world ... ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."
MARCH 1, 1961: Signs a bill creating the Peace Corps.
APRIL 17, 1961: The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Kennedy supports the invasion to oust that country's Communist leader, Fidel Castro, but the invasion fails. Kennedy is heavily criticized.
JUNE 3-4, 1961: Meets with Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna on international issues. The focus of the meeting is disarmament, Germany, Laos and nuclear testing. They fail to agree on certain problems but issue a joint statement that they agrees to "maintain contact on all questions of interest to the two countries and for the whole world." After this meeting, the Soviets build a wall between East and West Berlin during the summer.
SEPT. 12, 1962: Delivers a speech at Rice University, pledging that the United States will put a man on the moon "before the end of this decade." Seven years later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.
OCT. 16-28, 1962: U.S. intelligence discovers that the Russians are building missile sites in Cuba, thus beginning the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy orders a naval and air quarantine on all shipments of weapons to Cuba. Armed conflict seems imminent; however, the Soviets retreat and promise not to set up the missiles. The United States agrees not to attack Cuba.
JUNE 11, 1963: Sends the Alabama National Guard to the University of Alabama to protect two African-American students who won a court order to attend the college. Kennedy speaks on television later in the day and expresses his support for the civil rights movement.
JUNE 23-26, 1963: During a visit to Germany, Kennedy speaks to an enormous crowd at Schoneberger Rathaus in the Rudolph Wilde Platz on June 26. Kennedy's stirring words on freedom excite the crowd: "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner.' "
JUNE 26-29, 1963: Visits Ireland and delivers a speech to the Irish Parliament in Dublin.
AUG. 7, 1963: The Kennedys' second son, Patrick, is born five weeks premature and dies Aug. 9.
OCT. 7, 1963: Signs the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in Washington, D.C.: "with our courage and understanding enlarged by this achievement, let us press onward in quest of man's essential desire for peace."
NOV. 15, 1963 (FRIDAY): Visits the family home in Palm Beach.
NOV. 16, 1963 (SATURDAY): Visits Cape Canaveral. Ten days after his visit, the cape was renamed Cape Kennedy. Today it is known as the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.
NOV. 17, 1963 (SUNDAY): Returns to Palm Beach. He is scheduled to visit Tampa, Miami and several cities in Texas in the coming week.
NOV. 18, 1963 (MONDAY): Arrives at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa. His first stop is Al Lopez Field, where he delivers a speech. He then travels to the State Chamber of Commerce meeting and delivers another speech at a meeting at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory. Then he flies to Miami to speak at a Democratic rally at the airport and at the Inter-American Press Association in Miami Beach. He returns to Washington late in the evening.
NOV. 19, 1963 (TUESDAY): Sends a presidential statement to be read at the Centennial Ceremony in Gettysburg National Military Park, where Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
NOV. 20, 1963 (WEDNESDAY): Kennedy discusses the prospect of a single global commercial space communications system. He transmits to Congress an annual report on the United Nations. He signs a bill authorizing medals commemorating the founding of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (his last bill). That evening Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy host a cocktail party at the White House.
NOV. 21, 1963 (THURSDAY): Kennedy begins his tour of Texas. His destinations are San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas and Austin.
NOV. 22, 1963 (FRIDAY): John Fitzgerald Kennedy is shot at 12:30 p.m. while riding in an open-top limousine in a motorcade through downtown Dallas. He is pronounced dead at 1 p.m. at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Eighty minutes after the assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested. Later Oswald is charged with murder.
NOV. 24, 1963 (SUNDAY): Jack Ruby fatally shoots Lee Harvey Oswald.
NOV. 25, 1963 (MONDAY): John Fitzgerald Kennedy is buried in Arlington National Cemetery with his son Patrick and his daughter Arabella.
NOV. 29, 1963: President Lyndon B. Johnson appoints the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination.
SEPT. 29, 1964: The Warren Commission publishes a report with its findings. It finds that the lone gunman was Lee Harvey Oswald. They find no evidence "of any conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy."
MAY 19, 1994: Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis dies of cancer. She is buried next to John F. Kennedy and their children in Arlington.
JULY 16, 1999: John F. Kennedy Jr. dies when his small plane crashes while flying from the Essex County Airport in Fairfield, N.J., to Martha's Vineyard. With him are his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister, Lauren Bessette. All three are later buried at sea.
Peace Corps
As one of his first presidential acts, Kennedy created the Peace Corps. Through this program, Americans volunteered to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, health care and construction.
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Troubled by the long-term dangers of radioactive contamination and nuclear weapons proliferation, Kennedy pushed for the adoption of a Limited or Partial Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atomic testing on the ground, in the atmosphere, or underwater, but did not prohibit testing underground. The United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union were the initial signatories to the treaty. Kennedy signed the treaty into law in August 1963.
Source(s):
1. Wikipedia
2. I am a History teacher
3. The scariest is that I remember that era.
The Space Program and he got a nuclear test ban treaty with the United Kingdom and the former USSR which banned nuclear explosions in the air or under water. President Kennedy was an advocate for civil rights. He helped get Martin Luther King Jr. out of jail early and proposed the "Civil Rights Act of 1964." Too bad he was killed before he reached his full potential.
PRESIDENT KENNDY HAD A GREAT DEAL OF ACCMPLISHMENTS AND POLITICAL EVENTS THAT IT WAS TOO LARGE TO TYPE. THESE ARE JUST THE MOST IMPORTANT AND THE WELL KNOWN INFO INCLUDING HIS TIMELINE. (NOT COMPLETELY COMPLETE)
The Nixon years - LiAnne Weller
Election of 1968: Richard Nixon entered the Republican convention as the front runner. He won the nomination on the first ballot. In his acceptance speech he stated:" When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down for four years in a war in Vietnam with no end in sight, when the richest nation in the world cannot manage its economy, when the nation with the greatest tradition of the rule of law is plagued by unprecedented racial violence, when the President of the United States cannot travel abroad, or to any major city at home, then itäs time for new leadership for the United States."
The Democrats went through a grueling primary campaign. Eugene McCarthy, an early opponent of the war in Vietnam, almost upset President Johnson in the New Hampshire primary. This convinced Johnson not to run for re-election. At that point Vice President Humphrey announced his candidacy for the nomination. A primary battle followed, with Robert Kennedy pulling in the lead until his assassination. At this point Humphrey was able to sew up the nomination. He was nominated on the first ballot at a tumultuous convention in Chicago. The rioting and the police actions outside the convention hall dominated the news coverage and did not get the Humphrey campaign off to a good start.
Nixon began the campaign as the front runner, with a clear lead. He campaigned against rising crime and claimed he would restore "law and order". Nixon also instituted the Southern policy, taking advantage of Southern voters resentments at civil rigths legislation passed by the Johnson administration it successful received support from what had been a solidly democratic south. Toward the end of the campaign as Humphrey became more critical of Johnson's handling of the war, the lead narrowed. It did not narrow enough to stop a Nixon victory however
Nixon- kissinger Foregin Policy
ap text book
roe v wade
Roe v. Wade, case decided in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Along with Doe v. Bolton, this decision legalized abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. The decision, written by Justice Harry Blackmun and based on the residual right of privacy, struck down dozens of state antiabortion statutes. The decision was based on two cases, that of an unmarried woman from Texas, where abortion was illegal unless the mother's life was at risk, and that of a poor, married mother of three from Georgia, where state law required permission for an abortion from a panel of doctors and hospital officials. While establishing the right to an abortion, this decision gave states the right to intervene in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy to protect the woman and the “potential” life of the unborn child. Denounced by the National Council of Bishops, the decision gave rise to a vocal antiabortion movement that put pressure on the courts and created an anti-Roe litmus test for the judicial appointments of the Reagan and Bush administrations (1981–93). In a 1989 case, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, the court, while not striking down Roe, limited its scope, permitting states greater latitude in regulating and restricting abortions. Then in 1992, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court reaffirmed the abortion rights granted in Roe v. Wade, while permitting further restrictions.
watergate scandal
see nixion presidency
The Democrats went through a grueling primary campaign. Eugene McCarthy, an early opponent of the war in Vietnam, almost upset President Johnson in the New Hampshire primary. This convinced Johnson not to run for re-election. At that point Vice President Humphrey announced his candidacy for the nomination. A primary battle followed, with Robert Kennedy pulling in the lead until his assassination. At this point Humphrey was able to sew up the nomination. He was nominated on the first ballot at a tumultuous convention in Chicago. The rioting and the police actions outside the convention hall dominated the news coverage and did not get the Humphrey campaign off to a good start.
Nixon began the campaign as the front runner, with a clear lead. He campaigned against rising crime and claimed he would restore "law and order". Nixon also instituted the Southern policy, taking advantage of Southern voters resentments at civil rigths legislation passed by the Johnson administration it successful received support from what had been a solidly democratic south. Toward the end of the campaign as Humphrey became more critical of Johnson's handling of the war, the lead narrowed. It did not narrow enough to stop a Nixon victory however
Nixon- kissinger Foregin Policy
ap text book
roe v wade
Roe v. Wade, case decided in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Along with Doe v. Bolton, this decision legalized abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. The decision, written by Justice Harry Blackmun and based on the residual right of privacy, struck down dozens of state antiabortion statutes. The decision was based on two cases, that of an unmarried woman from Texas, where abortion was illegal unless the mother's life was at risk, and that of a poor, married mother of three from Georgia, where state law required permission for an abortion from a panel of doctors and hospital officials. While establishing the right to an abortion, this decision gave states the right to intervene in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy to protect the woman and the “potential” life of the unborn child. Denounced by the National Council of Bishops, the decision gave rise to a vocal antiabortion movement that put pressure on the courts and created an anti-Roe litmus test for the judicial appointments of the Reagan and Bush administrations (1981–93). In a 1989 case, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, the court, while not striking down Roe, limited its scope, permitting states greater latitude in regulating and restricting abortions. Then in 1992, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court reaffirmed the abortion rights granted in Roe v. Wade, while permitting further restrictions.
watergate scandal
see nixion presidency
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Supreme Court Cases - APStudy Notes
AP U.S. History Supreme Court Cases
Marbury v. Madison (1803, Marshall). The court established its role as the arbiter of the constitutionality of federal laws, the principle is known as judicial review
Fletcher v. Peck (1810, Marshall). The decision stems from the Yazoo land cases, 1803, and upholds the sanctity of contracts.
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819, Marshall). The Court ruled that states cannot tax the federal government, i.e. the Bank of the United States; the phrase "the power to tax is the power to destroy"; confirmed the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States.
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819, Marshall). New Hampshire had attempted to take over Dartmouth College by revising its colonial charter. The Court ruled that the charter was protected under the contract clause of the U. S. Constitution; upholds the sanctity of contracts.
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824, Marshall). Clarified the commerce clause and affirmed Congressional power over interstate commerce.
Johnson v. McIntosh (1823, Marshall). Established that Indian tribes had rights to tribal lands that preceded all other American law; only the federal government could take land from the tribes.
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831, Marshall). "The conditions of the Indians in relation to the United States is perhaps unlike that of any two people in existence," Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, "their relation to the United States resembles that of a ward to his guardian. . .(they were a) domestic dependent nation." Established a "trust relationship" with the tribes directly under federal authority.
Worcester v. Georgia (1832, Marshall). Established tribal autonomy within their boundaries, i.e. the tribes were "distinct political communities, having territorial boundaries within which their authority is exclusive."
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837, Taney). The interests of the community are more important than the interests of business; the supremacy of society’s interest over private interest.
Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842). Declared that labor unions were lawful organizations and that the strike was a lawful weapon.
Scott v. Sanford (1857, Taney). Speaking for a widely divided court, Chief Justice Taney ruled that Dred Scott was not a citizen and had no standing in court; Scott’s residence in a free state and territory had not made him free since he returned to Missouri; Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in a territory (based on the 5th Amendment right of a person to be secure from seizure of property), thus voiding the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
Ex parte Milligan (1866). Ruled that a civilian cannot be tried in military courts while civil courts are available.
Civil Rights Cases of 1883. (A single decision on a group of cases with similar legal problems). Legalized segregation with regard to private property.
Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois (1886). Declared state-passed Granger laws that regulated interstate commerce unconstitutional.
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Co. v. Minnesota (1890). Found that Granger law regulations were violations of the 5th Amendment right to property.
Pollock v. The Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co. (1895). Declared the income tax under the Wilson-Gorman Tariff to be unconstitutional.
U. S. v. E. C. Knight Co. (1895). Due to a narrow interpretation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Court undermined the authority of the federal government to act against monopolies.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of "separate but equal."
"Insular Cases" / Downes v. Bidwell (1901). Confirmed the right of the federal government to place tariffs on good entering the U. S. From U. S. Territories on the grounds that "the Constitution does not follow the flag."
Northern Securities Co. v. U. S. (1904). Re-established the authority of the federal government to fight monopolies under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
Lochner v. New York (1905). Declared unconstitutional a New York act limiting the working hours of bakers due to a denial of the 14th Amendment rights.
Muller v. Oregon (1908). First case to use the "Brandeis brief"; recognized a 10-hour work day for women laundry workers on the grounds of health and community concerns.
Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918). Declared the Keating-Owen Act (a child labor act) unconstitutional on the grounds that it was an invasion of state authority.
Schenck v. U. S. (1919). Unanimously upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 which declared that people who interfered with the war effort were subject to imprisonment; declared that the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech was not absolute; free speech could be limited if its exercise presented a "clear and present danger."
Adkins v. Children’s Hospital (1923). Declared unconstitutional a minimum wage law for women on the grounds that it denied women freedom of contract.
Schechter v. U. S. (1936). Sometimes called "the sick chicken case." Unanimously declared the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) unconstitutional on three grounds: that the act delegated legislative power to the executive; that there was a lack of constitutional authority for such legislation; and that it sought to regulate businesses that were wholly intrastate in character.
Korematsu v. U. S. (1941). The court upheld the constitutionality of detention camps for Japanese-Americans during World War 2.
Ex parte Endo (1944). The court forbade the internment of Japanese-Americans born in the U. S. (Nisei)
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954, Warren). Unanimous decision declaring "separate but equal" unconstitutional.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963). Extends to the defendant the right of counsel in all state and federal criminal trials regardless of their ability to pay.
Escobedo v. Illinois (1964). Ruled that a defendant must be allowed access to a lawyer before questioning by police.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966). The court ruled that those subjected to in-custody interrogation be advised of their constitutional right to an attorney and their right to remain silent.
Roe v. Wade (1973). The court legalized abortion by ruling that state laws could not restrict it during the first three months of pregnancy. Based on 4th Amendment rights of a person to be secure in their persons.
U. S. v. Richard Nixon (1974). The court rejected Richard Nixon’s claim to an absolutely unqualified privilege against any judicial process.
Bakke v. Regents of the University of California (1978). Ambiguous ruling by a badly divided court that dealt with affirmative action programs that used race as a basis of selecting participants. The court general upheld affirmative action, but with a 4/4/1 split, it was a very weak decision.
Clinton v. Jones (1997). Rejecting an appeal by Pres. Clinton in a sexual harassment suit, the Court ruled that a sitting president did not have temporary immunity from a lawsuit for actions outside the realm of official duties.
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000). The Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America could dismiss a troop leader after learning he was gay, holding that the right to freedom of association outweighed a New Jersey anti - discrimination statute.
Bush v. Gore (2000). The court ruled that manual recounts of presidential ballots in the Nov. 2000 election could not proceed because inconsistent evaluation standards in different counties violated the equal protection clause. In effect, the ruling meant Bush would win the election.
Marbury v. Madison (1803, Marshall). The court established its role as the arbiter of the constitutionality of federal laws, the principle is known as judicial review
Fletcher v. Peck (1810, Marshall). The decision stems from the Yazoo land cases, 1803, and upholds the sanctity of contracts.
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819, Marshall). The Court ruled that states cannot tax the federal government, i.e. the Bank of the United States; the phrase "the power to tax is the power to destroy"; confirmed the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States.
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819, Marshall). New Hampshire had attempted to take over Dartmouth College by revising its colonial charter. The Court ruled that the charter was protected under the contract clause of the U. S. Constitution; upholds the sanctity of contracts.
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824, Marshall). Clarified the commerce clause and affirmed Congressional power over interstate commerce.
Johnson v. McIntosh (1823, Marshall). Established that Indian tribes had rights to tribal lands that preceded all other American law; only the federal government could take land from the tribes.
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831, Marshall). "The conditions of the Indians in relation to the United States is perhaps unlike that of any two people in existence," Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, "their relation to the United States resembles that of a ward to his guardian. . .(they were a) domestic dependent nation." Established a "trust relationship" with the tribes directly under federal authority.
Worcester v. Georgia (1832, Marshall). Established tribal autonomy within their boundaries, i.e. the tribes were "distinct political communities, having territorial boundaries within which their authority is exclusive."
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837, Taney). The interests of the community are more important than the interests of business; the supremacy of society’s interest over private interest.
Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842). Declared that labor unions were lawful organizations and that the strike was a lawful weapon.
Scott v. Sanford (1857, Taney). Speaking for a widely divided court, Chief Justice Taney ruled that Dred Scott was not a citizen and had no standing in court; Scott’s residence in a free state and territory had not made him free since he returned to Missouri; Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in a territory (based on the 5th Amendment right of a person to be secure from seizure of property), thus voiding the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
Ex parte Milligan (1866). Ruled that a civilian cannot be tried in military courts while civil courts are available.
Civil Rights Cases of 1883. (A single decision on a group of cases with similar legal problems). Legalized segregation with regard to private property.
Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois (1886). Declared state-passed Granger laws that regulated interstate commerce unconstitutional.
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Co. v. Minnesota (1890). Found that Granger law regulations were violations of the 5th Amendment right to property.
Pollock v. The Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co. (1895). Declared the income tax under the Wilson-Gorman Tariff to be unconstitutional.
U. S. v. E. C. Knight Co. (1895). Due to a narrow interpretation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Court undermined the authority of the federal government to act against monopolies.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). Legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of "separate but equal."
"Insular Cases" / Downes v. Bidwell (1901). Confirmed the right of the federal government to place tariffs on good entering the U. S. From U. S. Territories on the grounds that "the Constitution does not follow the flag."
Northern Securities Co. v. U. S. (1904). Re-established the authority of the federal government to fight monopolies under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
Lochner v. New York (1905). Declared unconstitutional a New York act limiting the working hours of bakers due to a denial of the 14th Amendment rights.
Muller v. Oregon (1908). First case to use the "Brandeis brief"; recognized a 10-hour work day for women laundry workers on the grounds of health and community concerns.
Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918). Declared the Keating-Owen Act (a child labor act) unconstitutional on the grounds that it was an invasion of state authority.
Schenck v. U. S. (1919). Unanimously upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 which declared that people who interfered with the war effort were subject to imprisonment; declared that the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech was not absolute; free speech could be limited if its exercise presented a "clear and present danger."
Adkins v. Children’s Hospital (1923). Declared unconstitutional a minimum wage law for women on the grounds that it denied women freedom of contract.
Schechter v. U. S. (1936). Sometimes called "the sick chicken case." Unanimously declared the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) unconstitutional on three grounds: that the act delegated legislative power to the executive; that there was a lack of constitutional authority for such legislation; and that it sought to regulate businesses that were wholly intrastate in character.
Korematsu v. U. S. (1941). The court upheld the constitutionality of detention camps for Japanese-Americans during World War 2.
Ex parte Endo (1944). The court forbade the internment of Japanese-Americans born in the U. S. (Nisei)
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954, Warren). Unanimous decision declaring "separate but equal" unconstitutional.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963). Extends to the defendant the right of counsel in all state and federal criminal trials regardless of their ability to pay.
Escobedo v. Illinois (1964). Ruled that a defendant must be allowed access to a lawyer before questioning by police.
Miranda v. Arizona (1966). The court ruled that those subjected to in-custody interrogation be advised of their constitutional right to an attorney and their right to remain silent.
Roe v. Wade (1973). The court legalized abortion by ruling that state laws could not restrict it during the first three months of pregnancy. Based on 4th Amendment rights of a person to be secure in their persons.
U. S. v. Richard Nixon (1974). The court rejected Richard Nixon’s claim to an absolutely unqualified privilege against any judicial process.
Bakke v. Regents of the University of California (1978). Ambiguous ruling by a badly divided court that dealt with affirmative action programs that used race as a basis of selecting participants. The court general upheld affirmative action, but with a 4/4/1 split, it was a very weak decision.
Clinton v. Jones (1997). Rejecting an appeal by Pres. Clinton in a sexual harassment suit, the Court ruled that a sitting president did not have temporary immunity from a lawsuit for actions outside the realm of official duties.
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000). The Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America could dismiss a troop leader after learning he was gay, holding that the right to freedom of association outweighed a New Jersey anti - discrimination statute.
Bush v. Gore (2000). The court ruled that manual recounts of presidential ballots in the Nov. 2000 election could not proceed because inconsistent evaluation standards in different counties violated the equal protection clause. In effect, the ruling meant Bush would win the election.
Washington to Jackson -Jessica Pham
Jessica Pham
April 21, 2010
Washington to Jackson
5. How were the branches of the Federal Government strengthened during Jefferson’s Presidency?
- The Judiciary Act, passed by the Federalists in their last days of Congressional domination in 1801, packed newly created judgeships with
Federalist-backing men, so as to prolong their legacy
- Marbury v. Madison (1803): William Marbury had been one of the “midnight judges” appointed by John Adams in his last hours as president. He had been named justice of peace for D.C., but when Secretary of State James Madison decided to shelve the position, Marbury sued for its delivery. Marshall dismissed the case, but he said that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional, thus suggesting that the Supreme Court could determine the constitutionality of laws
- Jefferson finally decided to go through with the deal anyway, even though nothing in the Constitution talked about land purchases. Jefferson had been a strict interpreter of
the Constitution, but he was now using a loose interpretation. New Orleans and the land west of it, Louisiana, for a bargain of $15 million, thereby abandoning his dream of a French North American empire.
- The Embargo Act of late 1807 forbade the export of all goods from the United States to any foreign nation, regardless of whether they were transported in American or foreign ships
- Marshall, however, had a greater goal in mind. By overturning part of a congressional law, he established the Supreme Court's power of judicial review—the power to declare federal laws invalid if they violated the Constitution.
10. What led to the issuing of the Monroe Doctrine and what were its future consequences?
- Monroe Doctrine – non colonization and nonintervention
- Second War for Independence – fear that monarchy would take over New World again
- Britain was still in control of the seas
- Dedicated primarily to Russia in the West, Monroe said that no colonization in the Americas could happen anymore and also, European nations could not intervene in Latin American affairs.
- In return, the U.S. would not interfere in the Greek democratic revolt against Turkey.
- The monarchs of Europe were angered, but couldn’t do anything about it, since the British navy would be there to stop them, further frustrating them.
- Monroe’s declaration made little splash in Latin America, since those who knew of the message also recognized that it was the
- U.S. was doing this only to protect its own hide.
- Not until 1845 did President Polk revive it.
- The Monroe Doctrine might better be called the Self-Defense
Doctrine, since Monroe was concerned about the safety of his own
country, not Latin America.
- The doctrine has never been law, a pledge, or an agreement.
- It was mostly an expression of post-1812 U.S. nationalism, gave a
voice of patriotism, and added to the illusion of isolationism.
- Monroe had publicly warned the Old World powers to stay away.
15. What programs by John Quincy Adams were doomed to failure? Why?
- Construction of roads and canals – public reaction was prompt and unfavorable. Grubbing out stumps, astronomical observatories was a waste of public funds
Beginnings to Constitution
2. For what three reasons did Native Americans side with France during the French and Indian War?
- Fur trade
- rivalries for land and power
- protect their lands
7. In what ways did the colonists attempt to unite and/or share information?
- The colonies, in order to spread propaganda and keep the rebellious moods, set up Committees of Correspondence which was a network of letter-writers and forerunner of the Continental Congress; the first committee was started by Samuel Adams. They were key to keeping the revolution spirit rolling.
- The First Continental Congress
o In Philadelphia, from September 5th to October 26th, 1774, the First Continental Congress met to discuss problems.
o While not wanting independence yet, it did come up with a list of grievances, which were ignored in Parliament.
o 12 of the 13 colonies met, only Georgia didn’t have a representative there.
o Also, they came up with a Declaration of Rights.
- The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10,
1775, with no real intention of independence, but merely a desire to
continue fighting in the hope that the king and Parliament would
consent to a redress of grievances.
o It sent another list of grievances to Parliament.
o It also adopted measures to raise money for an army and a navy.
o It also selected George Washington to command the army.
o In 1776, Thomas Paine published the pamphlet Common Sense, which
urged colonials to stop this war of inconsistency, stop pretending
loyalty, and just fight.
12. What documents were most influential during the Revolutionary War? What was the purpose of each?
- In 1776, Thomas Paine published the pamphlet Common Sense, which
urged colonials to stop this war of inconsistency, stop pretending
loyalty, and just fight. Nowhere in the universe did a smaller body control a larger one, so
Paine argued, saying it was unnatural for tiny Britain to control
gigantic America.
- On June 7, 1776, fiery Richard Henry Lee urged for complete independence, an idea that was finally adopted on July 2, 1776.
- To write such a statement, Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson,
already renown as a great writer, to concoct a Declaration of
Independence.
o He did so eloquently, coming up with a list of grievances against
King George III and persuasively explaining why the colonies had the
right to revolt. His “explanation” of independence also upheld the
“natural rights” of humankind (life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness).
- Source of inspiration to revolutionary movements against arbitrary authority.
17. What were the positions of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists
- Federalists
o Favored strong federal government
o Enjoyed the support of commanding figures like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin
o Controlled the press
- Anti-Federalists
o Opposed stronger federal government
o Feared that a central government would force them to pay off their debts
o Thought Constitution was a plot from the upper class to steal power from the common folk
o Believed the Constitution was drawn by the aristocratic elements and so it was antidemocratic
o Sovereignty of states and freedom of individuals were reduced and endangered with no bill of rights
o Condemned the dropping of annual election for congressional representatives, the erecting of a federal stronghold ten miles square, creation of army, omission of reference to God, and procedure of ratifying with only two-thirds of the states
April 21, 2010
Washington to Jackson
5. How were the branches of the Federal Government strengthened during Jefferson’s Presidency?
- The Judiciary Act, passed by the Federalists in their last days of Congressional domination in 1801, packed newly created judgeships with
Federalist-backing men, so as to prolong their legacy
- Marbury v. Madison (1803): William Marbury had been one of the “midnight judges” appointed by John Adams in his last hours as president. He had been named justice of peace for D.C., but when Secretary of State James Madison decided to shelve the position, Marbury sued for its delivery. Marshall dismissed the case, but he said that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional, thus suggesting that the Supreme Court could determine the constitutionality of laws
- Jefferson finally decided to go through with the deal anyway, even though nothing in the Constitution talked about land purchases. Jefferson had been a strict interpreter of
the Constitution, but he was now using a loose interpretation. New Orleans and the land west of it, Louisiana, for a bargain of $15 million, thereby abandoning his dream of a French North American empire.
- The Embargo Act of late 1807 forbade the export of all goods from the United States to any foreign nation, regardless of whether they were transported in American or foreign ships
- Marshall, however, had a greater goal in mind. By overturning part of a congressional law, he established the Supreme Court's power of judicial review—the power to declare federal laws invalid if they violated the Constitution.
10. What led to the issuing of the Monroe Doctrine and what were its future consequences?
- Monroe Doctrine – non colonization and nonintervention
- Second War for Independence – fear that monarchy would take over New World again
- Britain was still in control of the seas
- Dedicated primarily to Russia in the West, Monroe said that no colonization in the Americas could happen anymore and also, European nations could not intervene in Latin American affairs.
- In return, the U.S. would not interfere in the Greek democratic revolt against Turkey.
- The monarchs of Europe were angered, but couldn’t do anything about it, since the British navy would be there to stop them, further frustrating them.
- Monroe’s declaration made little splash in Latin America, since those who knew of the message also recognized that it was the
- U.S. was doing this only to protect its own hide.
- Not until 1845 did President Polk revive it.
- The Monroe Doctrine might better be called the Self-Defense
Doctrine, since Monroe was concerned about the safety of his own
country, not Latin America.
- The doctrine has never been law, a pledge, or an agreement.
- It was mostly an expression of post-1812 U.S. nationalism, gave a
voice of patriotism, and added to the illusion of isolationism.
- Monroe had publicly warned the Old World powers to stay away.
15. What programs by John Quincy Adams were doomed to failure? Why?
- Construction of roads and canals – public reaction was prompt and unfavorable. Grubbing out stumps, astronomical observatories was a waste of public funds
Beginnings to Constitution
2. For what three reasons did Native Americans side with France during the French and Indian War?
- Fur trade
- rivalries for land and power
- protect their lands
7. In what ways did the colonists attempt to unite and/or share information?
- The colonies, in order to spread propaganda and keep the rebellious moods, set up Committees of Correspondence which was a network of letter-writers and forerunner of the Continental Congress; the first committee was started by Samuel Adams. They were key to keeping the revolution spirit rolling.
- The First Continental Congress
o In Philadelphia, from September 5th to October 26th, 1774, the First Continental Congress met to discuss problems.
o While not wanting independence yet, it did come up with a list of grievances, which were ignored in Parliament.
o 12 of the 13 colonies met, only Georgia didn’t have a representative there.
o Also, they came up with a Declaration of Rights.
- The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10,
1775, with no real intention of independence, but merely a desire to
continue fighting in the hope that the king and Parliament would
consent to a redress of grievances.
o It sent another list of grievances to Parliament.
o It also adopted measures to raise money for an army and a navy.
o It also selected George Washington to command the army.
o In 1776, Thomas Paine published the pamphlet Common Sense, which
urged colonials to stop this war of inconsistency, stop pretending
loyalty, and just fight.
12. What documents were most influential during the Revolutionary War? What was the purpose of each?
- In 1776, Thomas Paine published the pamphlet Common Sense, which
urged colonials to stop this war of inconsistency, stop pretending
loyalty, and just fight. Nowhere in the universe did a smaller body control a larger one, so
Paine argued, saying it was unnatural for tiny Britain to control
gigantic America.
- On June 7, 1776, fiery Richard Henry Lee urged for complete independence, an idea that was finally adopted on July 2, 1776.
- To write such a statement, Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson,
already renown as a great writer, to concoct a Declaration of
Independence.
o He did so eloquently, coming up with a list of grievances against
King George III and persuasively explaining why the colonies had the
right to revolt. His “explanation” of independence also upheld the
“natural rights” of humankind (life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness).
- Source of inspiration to revolutionary movements against arbitrary authority.
17. What were the positions of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists
- Federalists
o Favored strong federal government
o Enjoyed the support of commanding figures like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin
o Controlled the press
- Anti-Federalists
o Opposed stronger federal government
o Feared that a central government would force them to pay off their debts
o Thought Constitution was a plot from the upper class to steal power from the common folk
o Believed the Constitution was drawn by the aristocratic elements and so it was antidemocratic
o Sovereignty of states and freedom of individuals were reduced and endangered with no bill of rights
o Condemned the dropping of annual election for congressional representatives, the erecting of a federal stronghold ten miles square, creation of army, omission of reference to God, and procedure of ratifying with only two-thirds of the states
PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON- LIANNE WELLER
Richard Nixon’s unfortunate legacy pg 331
Promise he could end war in Vietnam
Appealed to silent majority; middle class Americans.
Opposed to big government – his idea
Foreign affairs dominate presidency
Rejected cultural and social direction.
Cabinet was of no open mindedness. White Christian male. (???)
Faced with immediate economic troubles from Johnson’s Great Society and programs along with war in Vietnam. Leads to inflation
Economy worsened cut government spending and attempt to increase consumer spending.
Keynesian solution in which us would make products affordable to other countries ultimately boosting the economy back.
Attempt to show integration in government but failed.
biggest accomplishment;
Voting years to 18
Apollo 11 lands on moon for the first time in history
Watergate Scandal:
CREEP (committee to re-elect the president) would do anything even breaking the law to relect president Nixon
Plumbers were caught breaking into democratic offices leaking information.
Watergate Scandal Indepth:
In June of 1972 in Washington, D.C. an event occurred, a burglary, which ended up holding worldwide importance. It was on this date that five people broke into the Democratic National Headquarters to bug their telephones. These men were members of the "˜Plumbers', a group of anti-Castro Cuban refugees, former FBI agents and former CIA agents among others. The group was strongly Republican. The place they broke into was The Watergate Hotel.
Many people remember the name Watergate as a blanket term used to describe the fall of President Richard Nixon. But do you remember the specifics of those events? It has taken years filled with books and interviews to begin to understand what the scandal and its complications truly were. This article will attempt to be a "˜primer', a starting point from which you may go and research further this event.
In the early 1970's America was still reeling from its turbulent time in the 1960's. One of the issues that was greatly contested in the 60's, Vietnam, had carried it's self over into the new decade. By this time though, the opinions and thoughts of many concerning the war had started to change. Daniel Ellsberg was one of these individuals. A former defense department analyst, his thoughts on the war had turned and in 1971 he turned over a secret Pentagon report concerning the history of the war to the New York Times. The Times immediately began publishing these "˜Pentagon Papers' which greatly infuriated many of those in charge of the country, including President Nixon. When Nixon became unable to stop the publication of the papers through legal channels, he turned in another direction for help.
The Plumbers were a "˜secret' unit created and maintained by the White House with the expressed purpose of "˜fixing leaks' in the administration. The Plumbers were immediately charged with going after Ellsberg. The thought was that if the papers publication could not be stopped, the next step would be to discredit the man who provided those papers. This included breaking into Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office to dig up what they could.
They worked tirelessly at their goal and were soon rewarded with another job in the following election year: derailing the Democratic ticket. On June 17, 1972 a group of men broke into the DNC Headquarters to find what they could and to bug the offices. A sharp-eyed security officer saw the break in, called the police and the burglars were quickly taken into custody. Over the next few days and months, amazing insights into these men came out. One of the burglars used to be a GOP security aide, another was found to have a 25,000$ check that was supposed to have gone to Nixon's re-election campaign. In fact, it turned out that all of the burglars were on the payroll of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (C.R.E.E.P.).
As this unfolded, Nixon went on to win the presidential election in one of the biggest landslides in history. It would be Nixon's last big win. Following his re-election the repercussions from the Watergate break-in grew larger. Several of the burglars went to jail. As the connection between these burglars and the Republican White House grew stronger, several White House staffers were forced to resign and White House Chief Counsel John Dean resigned. Rumors swirled about the break-in, the similar events that many believed had also occurred and Nixon's involvement in it all. In May of 1973 the Senate opened up hearings on the Watergate break-in and under intense pressure, Nixon had Archibald Cox appointed as Special Prosecutor to the case.
The Senate investigation went forward and immediately became damaging to the President in June as John Dean became the first (former) White House staff member to admit that he had discussions with the President concerning Watergate and how to cover it up. In July things got worse as it was revealed in the Senate hearings that Nixon had a sophisticated taping system set up in the Oval Office with which he had taped all of his conversations. The Senate Committee and Special Prosecutor Cox immediately requested that Nixon hand those tapes over. Citing everything from National Security to Executive Privilege, Nixon refuses to hand over the tapes.
The pressure on Nixon continued to grow strong, so much so that on October 20, 1973 he was moved to commit the "˜Saturday Night Massacre'. Unable to shake Cox's pressure, Nixon contacted Attorney General Elliott Richardson and ordered him to fire Cox. Richardson refused and was himself immediately fired. Nixon then turned to the Assistant Attorney General to fire Cox. He too refused and was fired. Nixon finally found someone who would fire Cox but the resulting backlash forced Nixon to have a new Special Prosecutor appointed. Leon Jaworski was given that task and immediately began pressing Nixon to hand over the tapes.
Throughout the rest of 1973 the country stood by breathlessly as Nixon, the Senate and the prosecutors went round and round. First Nixon said that one of the key tapes which the prosecutors wanted had an 18 ½ minute gap on it, then Nixon tried to send written (and heavily edited) transcripts of many of the taped conversations in lieu of the actual tapes. The pressure continued to be placed on Nixon though to hand over the tapes.
In July of 1974 Jaworski had no other choice but to name Nixon as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the obstruction of justice over the Watergate matter. Nixon continued to claim Executive Privilege in his refusals to hand the materials over. The matter was taken up by the Supreme Court who unanimously rejected Nixon's argument and ordered that he turn the tapes over. When he refused, the House of Representatives, three days later, voted to impeach the President.
Nixon now realized that he was into a corner from which there was only one way out and so it was that on August 8, 1974 Richard M. Nixon became the first United States President to resign. Gerald Ford, who had become Vice President upon the resignation of Nixon's Original VP Spiro T. Agnew, assumed the highest office of the land. Days after becoming President, Ford pardoned Nixon completely. Nixon was the only "˜Watergate conspirator' who spent no time in jail.
The lessons learned by these events are enormous. The story of Watergate is a complex and deep one full of intrigue and back room deals, public politics and personal motivations. It is a deeply American event that touched the world.
Promise he could end war in Vietnam
Appealed to silent majority; middle class Americans.
Opposed to big government – his idea
Foreign affairs dominate presidency
Rejected cultural and social direction.
Cabinet was of no open mindedness. White Christian male. (???)
Faced with immediate economic troubles from Johnson’s Great Society and programs along with war in Vietnam. Leads to inflation
Economy worsened cut government spending and attempt to increase consumer spending.
Keynesian solution in which us would make products affordable to other countries ultimately boosting the economy back.
Attempt to show integration in government but failed.
biggest accomplishment;
Voting years to 18
Apollo 11 lands on moon for the first time in history
Watergate Scandal:
CREEP (committee to re-elect the president) would do anything even breaking the law to relect president Nixon
Plumbers were caught breaking into democratic offices leaking information.
Watergate Scandal Indepth:
In June of 1972 in Washington, D.C. an event occurred, a burglary, which ended up holding worldwide importance. It was on this date that five people broke into the Democratic National Headquarters to bug their telephones. These men were members of the "˜Plumbers', a group of anti-Castro Cuban refugees, former FBI agents and former CIA agents among others. The group was strongly Republican. The place they broke into was The Watergate Hotel.
Many people remember the name Watergate as a blanket term used to describe the fall of President Richard Nixon. But do you remember the specifics of those events? It has taken years filled with books and interviews to begin to understand what the scandal and its complications truly were. This article will attempt to be a "˜primer', a starting point from which you may go and research further this event.
In the early 1970's America was still reeling from its turbulent time in the 1960's. One of the issues that was greatly contested in the 60's, Vietnam, had carried it's self over into the new decade. By this time though, the opinions and thoughts of many concerning the war had started to change. Daniel Ellsberg was one of these individuals. A former defense department analyst, his thoughts on the war had turned and in 1971 he turned over a secret Pentagon report concerning the history of the war to the New York Times. The Times immediately began publishing these "˜Pentagon Papers' which greatly infuriated many of those in charge of the country, including President Nixon. When Nixon became unable to stop the publication of the papers through legal channels, he turned in another direction for help.
The Plumbers were a "˜secret' unit created and maintained by the White House with the expressed purpose of "˜fixing leaks' in the administration. The Plumbers were immediately charged with going after Ellsberg. The thought was that if the papers publication could not be stopped, the next step would be to discredit the man who provided those papers. This included breaking into Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office to dig up what they could.
They worked tirelessly at their goal and were soon rewarded with another job in the following election year: derailing the Democratic ticket. On June 17, 1972 a group of men broke into the DNC Headquarters to find what they could and to bug the offices. A sharp-eyed security officer saw the break in, called the police and the burglars were quickly taken into custody. Over the next few days and months, amazing insights into these men came out. One of the burglars used to be a GOP security aide, another was found to have a 25,000$ check that was supposed to have gone to Nixon's re-election campaign. In fact, it turned out that all of the burglars were on the payroll of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (C.R.E.E.P.).
As this unfolded, Nixon went on to win the presidential election in one of the biggest landslides in history. It would be Nixon's last big win. Following his re-election the repercussions from the Watergate break-in grew larger. Several of the burglars went to jail. As the connection between these burglars and the Republican White House grew stronger, several White House staffers were forced to resign and White House Chief Counsel John Dean resigned. Rumors swirled about the break-in, the similar events that many believed had also occurred and Nixon's involvement in it all. In May of 1973 the Senate opened up hearings on the Watergate break-in and under intense pressure, Nixon had Archibald Cox appointed as Special Prosecutor to the case.
The Senate investigation went forward and immediately became damaging to the President in June as John Dean became the first (former) White House staff member to admit that he had discussions with the President concerning Watergate and how to cover it up. In July things got worse as it was revealed in the Senate hearings that Nixon had a sophisticated taping system set up in the Oval Office with which he had taped all of his conversations. The Senate Committee and Special Prosecutor Cox immediately requested that Nixon hand those tapes over. Citing everything from National Security to Executive Privilege, Nixon refuses to hand over the tapes.
The pressure on Nixon continued to grow strong, so much so that on October 20, 1973 he was moved to commit the "˜Saturday Night Massacre'. Unable to shake Cox's pressure, Nixon contacted Attorney General Elliott Richardson and ordered him to fire Cox. Richardson refused and was himself immediately fired. Nixon then turned to the Assistant Attorney General to fire Cox. He too refused and was fired. Nixon finally found someone who would fire Cox but the resulting backlash forced Nixon to have a new Special Prosecutor appointed. Leon Jaworski was given that task and immediately began pressing Nixon to hand over the tapes.
Throughout the rest of 1973 the country stood by breathlessly as Nixon, the Senate and the prosecutors went round and round. First Nixon said that one of the key tapes which the prosecutors wanted had an 18 ½ minute gap on it, then Nixon tried to send written (and heavily edited) transcripts of many of the taped conversations in lieu of the actual tapes. The pressure continued to be placed on Nixon though to hand over the tapes.
In July of 1974 Jaworski had no other choice but to name Nixon as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the obstruction of justice over the Watergate matter. Nixon continued to claim Executive Privilege in his refusals to hand the materials over. The matter was taken up by the Supreme Court who unanimously rejected Nixon's argument and ordered that he turn the tapes over. When he refused, the House of Representatives, three days later, voted to impeach the President.
Nixon now realized that he was into a corner from which there was only one way out and so it was that on August 8, 1974 Richard M. Nixon became the first United States President to resign. Gerald Ford, who had become Vice President upon the resignation of Nixon's Original VP Spiro T. Agnew, assumed the highest office of the land. Days after becoming President, Ford pardoned Nixon completely. Nixon was the only "˜Watergate conspirator' who spent no time in jail.
The lessons learned by these events are enormous. The story of Watergate is a complex and deep one full of intrigue and back room deals, public politics and personal motivations. It is a deeply American event that touched the world.
1st set of Questions - Elizabeth Phan
Beginnings to Construction
1. Even though the Albany Plan to Union was not successful, why was it an important precedent? (113)
• Americans had revealed an astonishing lack of unity.
• In 1752, the British government summoned an intercolonial congress at Albany, New York where Travel-weary delegates from only seven of the thirteen colonies showed up. The immediate purpose was the keep the Indians loyal to the British in the spreading war. The purpose of the Alban Congress was to achieve greater colonial unity and thus bolster the common defense against France.
• The Albany Plan, purposed by Benjamin Franklin at the Albany Congress, the Albany delegates unanimously adopted the plan but the individual colonies spurned it, copies were then sent to the Colonial assemblies and the British Board of Trade in London.
• Franklin’s plan of union was one of the several put forth by various delegates of the Albany Congress. Franklin also published his famous “Join or Die” cartoon featuring a snake in pieces, symbolizing the colonies.
• The Albany Plan was an early attempt at forming a union of the colonies “under one government as far as might be necessary for defense and other general important purposes” during the French and Indian War.
• The Plan called for the general government to be administered by a President General appointed and supported by the Crown, and a Grand Council to be chosen by the representatives of the colonial assemblies.
• The Plan was promptly rejected by both sides. “The colonial assemblies and most of the people were narrowly provincial in outlook, mutually jealous, and suspicious of any central taxing authority.”
• British government preferred the colonists’ focus remain on the forthcoming military campaign. The Board of Trade never sought official approval for the Plan from the Crown.
• States were reluctant to give up their sovereignty or power.
• It was the first step toward unity and served as an inspirational primer for the writing of the Articles of Confederation.
6. What poor choices made by the British eventually heightened the pre-Revolutionary era conflict? (CH.7)
• The British embraced a theory that justified their control over the collies called mercantilism, severely handcuffing American trade:
o A country’s economic wealth could be measured by the amount of gold or silver in its treasury.
o To amass gold and silver, a country had to export more than it imported (it had to obtain a favorable balance of trade).
o Counties with colonies were at an advantage, because the colonies could supply the mother country with raw materials, wealth, supplies, a market for selling manufactured goods etc…
o For America, that meant giving Britain all the ships, ships’ stores, sailors, and trade that they needed and wanted.
o Also, they had to grow tobacco and sugar for England that Brits would otherwise have to buy from other countries.
• The Navigation Laws restricted commerce from the colonies to England (and back) to only English ships, and none other.
• Other laws stated that European goods consigned to America had to land first in England, where custom duties could be collected.
• Colonial laws could be voided by the Privy Council, though this privilege was used sparingly (469 times out of 8,563 laws), it infuriated colonists by its use.
• Prime Minister George Grenville ordered that the Navigation Laws be enforced, arousing resentment of settlers. He also secured the Sugar Act of 1764, which increased duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies; after numerous protests from spoiled Americans, the duties were reduced.
• The Quartering Act of 1765 required certain colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops.
• The Stamp Act mandated the use of stamped paper or the affixing of stamps, certifying payment of tax in order to raise money for new military forces.
• In 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but passed the Declaratory Act, proclaiming that Parliament had the right “ to bind” the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”
• The Townshend Act in 1767 was persuaded by Charles “Champaign Charley” Townshend to Parliament, putting light taxes on lead, paper, paint and tea, which were later repealed, except for tea.
• Tea was smuggled so British sent troops to America.
• The Boston Massacre was on March 5th, 1770, where a crowd of about 60 townspeople in Boston harassed some ten redcoats, where the redcoats open fire wounding or killing eleven “innocent” citizens including Crispus Attucks, a former-slave and the “leader” of the mob, becoming a symbol of freedom, only two redcoats were prosecuted.
• Parliament passes the “Intolerable Acts”, in 1774, by huge majorities, Parliament passed a series of “Repressive Acts” to punish the colonies, namely Massachusetts. These were called the Intolerable Acts by the Americans:
o The Boston Port Act closed the harbor in Boston
o Self-government was limited by forbidding town hall meetings without approval.
o The charter to Massachusetts was revoked.
• The Quebec Act:
o A good law in bad company, it guaranteed Catholicism to the French-Canadians, permitted them to retain their old customs, and extended the old boundaries of Quebec all the way to the Ohio River.
o Americans saw their territory threatened and aroused anti-Catholics were shocked at the enlargement that would make a catholic area as large as the original 13 colonies. Plus, Americans were banned from this region through the Proclamation Line of 1763.
11. John Adams once claimed that 1/3 of the colonists were for revolution, 1/3 were against, and 1/3 didn’t really care. What types of people fell into each category? (CH.8)
• Loyalists: (Tories) Those who were loyal to the king during the Revolutionary era. A popular definition of a Tory among the Patriots betrayed bitterness: “A Tory is a thing whose head is in England, and its body in America, and its neck out to be stretched.”
• Patriots: (Whigs) America rebels who were for revolution.
• Neutral: The societal group that didn’t care about the revolutionary era.
16. What compromises needed to be made for the Constitution to be successful? (CH.9)
• The Great Compromise was worked out so that Congress would have two houses, The house of Representatives, where representation was based on population, and the Senate, where each state got two representatives.
• The Commerce Compromise was the result of the North and South whether slaves are counted for tax and representation.
• Slaves would count as 3/5 of a person in census counts for representation.
• The election of the president would go through the Electoral College, rather than by the people directly. The people were viewed as too ignorant to vote.
Washington to Jackson
4. What elements of Adams and Jefferson’s presidencies foreshadowed future conflicts between political parties and geographic regions? (182 + internet)
• Adams was a federalists and federalists believed in a strong government such like we have today.
• Jefferson was, at the time, called antifederalists which is now called democratic republican. He believed the states should be supreme and the federal government limited power.
• Now in the present day, we have political parties, the democrats vs. the republicans.
• For geographic regions, the Civil War divided up the union like the political parties did, the North fought to preserve the Union which is the federal government. The Southern states were fighting because they felt State’s Rights should be supreme and were being infringed upon.
9. What factors led to the Panic of 1819? Which of these factors would lead to additional recessions in future years? (243 + internet)
• The War of 1812 caused widespread foreclosures, bank failures, unemployment, and a slump in agriculture and manufacturing.
• Government borrowed heavily to finance the War of 1812 which caused tremendous strain on the banks.
• Partially due to international events. European demand for American foodstuff was decreased because agriculture in Europe was recovering from the Napoleonic Wars, which had decimated European agriculture.
• War and revolution in the New World destroyed the supply line of precious metals from Mexico and Peru to Europe. This caused American bankers and businessmen to start issuing false banknotes and expand credit.
• The additional recession would be the Great Depression because the stock market dropped and banks have failed us once more, closing and taking the money with them.
14. What about 1824 and 1828 elections forever changed election campaigns? (CH.13)
• 1824: John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825.
• The Federalist party died out. The people who ran for President was John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford, and Henry Clay.
• Andrew Jackson clearly had the strongest personal appeal, especially in the West, and polled almost as many popular votes as his next two rivals combined, but failed to win a majority of the electoral vote. The house of Representatives are forced to choose, Clay was eliminated for having the lowest vote.
• As Speaker of the House, he disliked Jackson, and Crawford fell into a stroke so he was left to influence the house upon Adams instead. Later Adams wins hands down and the Jacksonians accused this corruption as “the corrupt bargain”.
• The outcry over Adam’s election showed that change was in the wind, What had once been common practice was now condemned as furtive, elitist, and subversive of democracy. The next president would not be chosen behind closed doors.
• 1828: Jackson became president after John Quincy Adams lost to a second term, Jackson won easily in the popular vote and the electoral votes.
• He became the icon for the “common man”, showing that political people don’t have to come from a wealthy, aristocratic background because Jackson himself was viewed as a “common man” as well.
• Jackson’s inauguration became filled with the common people and now the people felt like their rights were gonna be heard and presented by Jackson’s position.
1. Even though the Albany Plan to Union was not successful, why was it an important precedent? (113)
• Americans had revealed an astonishing lack of unity.
• In 1752, the British government summoned an intercolonial congress at Albany, New York where Travel-weary delegates from only seven of the thirteen colonies showed up. The immediate purpose was the keep the Indians loyal to the British in the spreading war. The purpose of the Alban Congress was to achieve greater colonial unity and thus bolster the common defense against France.
• The Albany Plan, purposed by Benjamin Franklin at the Albany Congress, the Albany delegates unanimously adopted the plan but the individual colonies spurned it, copies were then sent to the Colonial assemblies and the British Board of Trade in London.
• Franklin’s plan of union was one of the several put forth by various delegates of the Albany Congress. Franklin also published his famous “Join or Die” cartoon featuring a snake in pieces, symbolizing the colonies.
• The Albany Plan was an early attempt at forming a union of the colonies “under one government as far as might be necessary for defense and other general important purposes” during the French and Indian War.
• The Plan called for the general government to be administered by a President General appointed and supported by the Crown, and a Grand Council to be chosen by the representatives of the colonial assemblies.
• The Plan was promptly rejected by both sides. “The colonial assemblies and most of the people were narrowly provincial in outlook, mutually jealous, and suspicious of any central taxing authority.”
• British government preferred the colonists’ focus remain on the forthcoming military campaign. The Board of Trade never sought official approval for the Plan from the Crown.
• States were reluctant to give up their sovereignty or power.
• It was the first step toward unity and served as an inspirational primer for the writing of the Articles of Confederation.
6. What poor choices made by the British eventually heightened the pre-Revolutionary era conflict? (CH.7)
• The British embraced a theory that justified their control over the collies called mercantilism, severely handcuffing American trade:
o A country’s economic wealth could be measured by the amount of gold or silver in its treasury.
o To amass gold and silver, a country had to export more than it imported (it had to obtain a favorable balance of trade).
o Counties with colonies were at an advantage, because the colonies could supply the mother country with raw materials, wealth, supplies, a market for selling manufactured goods etc…
o For America, that meant giving Britain all the ships, ships’ stores, sailors, and trade that they needed and wanted.
o Also, they had to grow tobacco and sugar for England that Brits would otherwise have to buy from other countries.
• The Navigation Laws restricted commerce from the colonies to England (and back) to only English ships, and none other.
• Other laws stated that European goods consigned to America had to land first in England, where custom duties could be collected.
• Colonial laws could be voided by the Privy Council, though this privilege was used sparingly (469 times out of 8,563 laws), it infuriated colonists by its use.
• Prime Minister George Grenville ordered that the Navigation Laws be enforced, arousing resentment of settlers. He also secured the Sugar Act of 1764, which increased duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies; after numerous protests from spoiled Americans, the duties were reduced.
• The Quartering Act of 1765 required certain colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops.
• The Stamp Act mandated the use of stamped paper or the affixing of stamps, certifying payment of tax in order to raise money for new military forces.
• In 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but passed the Declaratory Act, proclaiming that Parliament had the right “ to bind” the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”
• The Townshend Act in 1767 was persuaded by Charles “Champaign Charley” Townshend to Parliament, putting light taxes on lead, paper, paint and tea, which were later repealed, except for tea.
• Tea was smuggled so British sent troops to America.
• The Boston Massacre was on March 5th, 1770, where a crowd of about 60 townspeople in Boston harassed some ten redcoats, where the redcoats open fire wounding or killing eleven “innocent” citizens including Crispus Attucks, a former-slave and the “leader” of the mob, becoming a symbol of freedom, only two redcoats were prosecuted.
• Parliament passes the “Intolerable Acts”, in 1774, by huge majorities, Parliament passed a series of “Repressive Acts” to punish the colonies, namely Massachusetts. These were called the Intolerable Acts by the Americans:
o The Boston Port Act closed the harbor in Boston
o Self-government was limited by forbidding town hall meetings without approval.
o The charter to Massachusetts was revoked.
• The Quebec Act:
o A good law in bad company, it guaranteed Catholicism to the French-Canadians, permitted them to retain their old customs, and extended the old boundaries of Quebec all the way to the Ohio River.
o Americans saw their territory threatened and aroused anti-Catholics were shocked at the enlargement that would make a catholic area as large as the original 13 colonies. Plus, Americans were banned from this region through the Proclamation Line of 1763.
11. John Adams once claimed that 1/3 of the colonists were for revolution, 1/3 were against, and 1/3 didn’t really care. What types of people fell into each category? (CH.8)
• Loyalists: (Tories) Those who were loyal to the king during the Revolutionary era. A popular definition of a Tory among the Patriots betrayed bitterness: “A Tory is a thing whose head is in England, and its body in America, and its neck out to be stretched.”
• Patriots: (Whigs) America rebels who were for revolution.
• Neutral: The societal group that didn’t care about the revolutionary era.
16. What compromises needed to be made for the Constitution to be successful? (CH.9)
• The Great Compromise was worked out so that Congress would have two houses, The house of Representatives, where representation was based on population, and the Senate, where each state got two representatives.
• The Commerce Compromise was the result of the North and South whether slaves are counted for tax and representation.
• Slaves would count as 3/5 of a person in census counts for representation.
• The election of the president would go through the Electoral College, rather than by the people directly. The people were viewed as too ignorant to vote.
Washington to Jackson
4. What elements of Adams and Jefferson’s presidencies foreshadowed future conflicts between political parties and geographic regions? (182 + internet)
• Adams was a federalists and federalists believed in a strong government such like we have today.
• Jefferson was, at the time, called antifederalists which is now called democratic republican. He believed the states should be supreme and the federal government limited power.
• Now in the present day, we have political parties, the democrats vs. the republicans.
• For geographic regions, the Civil War divided up the union like the political parties did, the North fought to preserve the Union which is the federal government. The Southern states were fighting because they felt State’s Rights should be supreme and were being infringed upon.
9. What factors led to the Panic of 1819? Which of these factors would lead to additional recessions in future years? (243 + internet)
• The War of 1812 caused widespread foreclosures, bank failures, unemployment, and a slump in agriculture and manufacturing.
• Government borrowed heavily to finance the War of 1812 which caused tremendous strain on the banks.
• Partially due to international events. European demand for American foodstuff was decreased because agriculture in Europe was recovering from the Napoleonic Wars, which had decimated European agriculture.
• War and revolution in the New World destroyed the supply line of precious metals from Mexico and Peru to Europe. This caused American bankers and businessmen to start issuing false banknotes and expand credit.
• The additional recession would be the Great Depression because the stock market dropped and banks have failed us once more, closing and taking the money with them.
14. What about 1824 and 1828 elections forever changed election campaigns? (CH.13)
• 1824: John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825.
• The Federalist party died out. The people who ran for President was John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford, and Henry Clay.
• Andrew Jackson clearly had the strongest personal appeal, especially in the West, and polled almost as many popular votes as his next two rivals combined, but failed to win a majority of the electoral vote. The house of Representatives are forced to choose, Clay was eliminated for having the lowest vote.
• As Speaker of the House, he disliked Jackson, and Crawford fell into a stroke so he was left to influence the house upon Adams instead. Later Adams wins hands down and the Jacksonians accused this corruption as “the corrupt bargain”.
• The outcry over Adam’s election showed that change was in the wind, What had once been common practice was now condemned as furtive, elitist, and subversive of democracy. The next president would not be chosen behind closed doors.
• 1828: Jackson became president after John Quincy Adams lost to a second term, Jackson won easily in the popular vote and the electoral votes.
• He became the icon for the “common man”, showing that political people don’t have to come from a wealthy, aristocratic background because Jackson himself was viewed as a “common man” as well.
• Jackson’s inauguration became filled with the common people and now the people felt like their rights were gonna be heard and presented by Jackson’s position.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
