Semester ll Final!
Part A:
Before doing any research, I predict the three most highly ranked presidents in US History will be John F Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson, while the worst might be Jimmy Carter, Andrew Johnson, and John Quincy Adams. After reviewing the Presidential Overall Rankings, I have found that the top four presidents have continuously been Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt. Despite these presidents being supposedly the top four to ever control the United States of America, there has been debate on the two presidents, Dwight D Eisenhower and Harry S Truman for the 5th place presidential rating. This rating has gone back and fourth for these two presidents from years 2000-2017.
After further reviewing this data, I have noticed other interesting observations such as how the last three presidents on the list, other known as Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and James Buchanan have continuously been on the bottom. I can't help but wonder what makes these three presidents be on the bottom or further what generally makes a good president. If I were to do further research beyond this exam, I feel like it would be extremely interesting to research what was so bad about these three presidents, along with what makes a great president.
Another observation I made after analyzing this data is the change in rankings throughout the years of 2000-2017. For example, President Woodrow Wilson went from being the 6th best overall president of the United States in the year 2000 to the 11th ranked president in the year 2017. This change in ranking could have been to the different presidents that served between the 17 years these rankings were taken place. This could have also shown what great work the presidents after his serving of president did that was considered better than the work he did while president. I find this again extremely interesting that a president could move down over 5 overall spots just in 17 years. If I were to do further research, I would love to find out what were the reasons Woodrow Wilson was moved so far down in the presidential ratings.
Lastly, another observation I made through this data is how some presidents were consistently the same number of ranking throughout these 17 years of history. I find this extremely interesting due to the fact that majority of the presidents on this list were constantly being moved higher and lower in these rankings through these years. These presidents that consistently stayed the same ranking were Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. Again, if I were to do further research on this topic, I would love to learn what made the United States believe these presidents deserved the number ranking they had for 17 years straight. I would love to enjoy what made these presidents great, and how they were able to maintain their spots not only consistently, but in the higher rankings of such presidents.
In terms of professions, the participants who completed the survey on their opinions of the best presidents through the years 2000-2017 seemed to be college professors or important historians/journalists who were considered to be historians and other professional observers of the presidency. C-SPAN has most likely included this information to show the public who is viewing this survey that the people who created the presidential results were reliable sources. If C-SPAN had not included these sources of where they got this presidential information, I would most likely find myself questioning whether the results I was viewing were trustworthy and if the people who wrote this article were truly certified to do so. Due to the survey participants generally having impressive professions and are considered a professional in the fields they are studying due to their university, it makes me have no doubt that this source is reliable.
Here is an image that shows the 10 Individual Leadership Characteristics that determined where the presidents were ranked in the survey.
After some further digging through the survey website, I found that the methodology that was used to create the 10 Individual Leadership Characteristics for these presidents was created by the C-SPAN academic advisors, other known as Douglas G Brinkley, Edna Green Medford, and Richard Norton Smith. These advisors stated that there were 91 historical and other observers of the presidency that participated in this survey and were asked to rate these 10 leadership characteristics which were all weighted equally. After completing said survey, their answers were analyzed and the survey was further created.
If I were to create this survey again, I believe I would weight these 10 leadership characteristics and make Public Persuasion, Pursued Equal Justice For All, and Administrative Skills the top three most important skills to look for in a president. Firstly, I believe it is very important to have public persuasion skills because I think it would be very hard to be the president if nobody in your country believed in or liked what you were doing as president. With persuasion skills, you will be able to smoothly run your country along with having support while doing it. Secondly, I believe it is so important to pursue equal justice for all. If everyone is not equal in your country, I simply don't believe that is fair. We are all humans with opinions and I believe that no matter who you are, you should be allowed to say and pursue in what you believe in. If you have equal justice for all in your country, your country will run more as "one" rather than being divided, which I believe to be considered a strong country. Lastly, I believe it would be important to look for Administrative Skills in a president. Without administrative skills, it would be extremely hard to run a country for it would lead to disorganization along with weak leadership. As president of a country, it is extremely important to rule with administrative qualities such as strong opinions, excitement to do work along with organization skills to keep your country running strong. All of these three key characteristics I believe will make an effective president and will lead to a successful country.
When comparing my opinions to the C-SPAN data, I was surprised when I found that some of my predictions were correct. If I am being honest, I don't know as much about our presidents and our country as I may like, and picked presidents that I have heard of through their "popularity", such as Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. These presidents have been extremely talked about in the history classes I have taken through high school and this is the real reason I chose such presidents for I figured they are so well talked about for a reason. As for the last popular presidents, I found that my predictions were not so accurate. I found it was difficult to come up with a list of bad presidents for I believe I don't know enough about these men to say that they were the "worst presidents of the United States". If I were to do further research, I would love to find out why Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and James Buchanan were considered to be the lowest ranked presidents through the years 2000-2017.
Part B:
"On March 16 we celebrate the anniversary of James Madison's birthday. Madison, traditionally viewed as the Father of the United States Constitution, is also seen by many as a defender of open government. He once wrote, "[a] popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps, both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."1 In a similar vein, he asserted that "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge" is "the only Guardian of true liberty."
Through further analyzing this quote from Madison, I believe that the importance of the quote was to emphasize what a memorable man that James Madison was. He was considered to be the Father of the United States Constitution, and because of this on the anniversary of his birthday, he was reminisced on by viewing several of his famous quotes. These famous quotes consisted of him stating his opinions on the government and the importance of knowledge that the government would enquire, along with power in which knowledge can give the government and the United States of America. These opinions he gave were considered extremely valuable to the Country which is why people believed it was important to celebrate James on the anniversary of his birthday.
" . . . [K]nowledge of our own history is essential in the making of Americans. The reasons for this belief may be summed up under four main heads. History makes loyal citizens because memories of common experiences and common aspirations are essential ingredients in patriotism. History makes intelligent voters because sound decisions about present problems must be based on knowledge of the past. History makes good neighbors because it teaches tolerance of individual differences and appreciation of varied abilities and interests. History makes stable, well-rounded individuals because it gives them a start toward understanding the pattern of society and toward enjoying the artistic and intellectual productions of the past. It gives long views, a perspective, a measure of what is permanent in a nation’s life. "
After analyzing this quote from the American Historical Association, I believe this article states that knowledge of history is one of the most important factors that American's encompass. This quote further goes into detail why this knowledge is considered to be so important. For example, some of these reasons include because by knowing history you can be familiar with patriotism along with intelligent voters and neighbors for our country. This article as a whole states the importance of knowing your country which will insure a successful future.
To compare and contrast these two quotes, I found that the second quote from the American History Association was far easier to understand and comprehend. Although these two quotes had similarities, I found that the American Historical Association elaborated more on their opinions which to me made for a better and more interesting article to read. Both pieces of text both stated the importance of knowledge for a country is, but unlike James Madison, the American Historical Association provided heavy examples of why they believe knowledge of your country is so important. James Madison's quote seemed to be more opinion based for there was not further elaboration on why he believed knowledge was important. James essentially stated what he believed in and proceeded to make any other opinion seem wrong, for he stated it would be a "tragedy" to disagree. I found this interesting because the American Historical Association was able to prove all of James Madison's points from his quote, along with giving historical benefits such as knowing patriotism along with intelligent voters and neighbors for our country. Overall, I again believe that the American History Association article was more successful for it had good examples which provided evidence of why knowledge of your country is important.
Part C:
I do believe that this class has allowed me to grow as a researcher this year. After analyzing my first blog post of why Christmas is the Best Holiday, and my last post regarding the movie Dead Man Walking, I can firstly see differences in my reliability of sources, along with myself learning how to better analyze data as the year progressed. I can see a huge change in these two article through knew skills of analyzing data, and creativity when it comes to formatting my blog posts. I have throughout the year tried to progressively make my blog posts more pleasant to look at, whether that was through colors, symmetrical formatting, or interesting pictures to view on each post, and I think this is another skill that has shown my growth as a researcher throughout the year.
Another skill I have learned through this year in history is how to properly site my sources. By looking at other beginning blog posts throughout the year, such as my Thirteenth Amendment blog post or my Puritan post, you can see that this is when I first started to learn how to link and source my sources while also learning to comprehend data in my own words. In these posts you can see that this is when I first started using hyperlinks along with a proper sources section at the bottom of all of my blogs. Throughout this year, I have learned the importance of making my work my own along with how to properly showcase this work.
Looking at my own work from the film-history project, I would say the 5 parts of the project that I am most proud of is my color coating that I was able to incorporate with my theme, my meal plan that I was able to make represent different emotions in the film, the intense data I was able to comprehend on such as a murder and rape case, my invitation design, and lastly my ability to analyze what I learned throughout the project in my in-class write. I believe that all of these 5 qualities I showed in this project helped me show my creativity I used in my project, along with my new abilities I was able to learn this year such as analyzing information and turning it into something of my own. This project and these 5 characteristics of my project showed the growth I have made as a researcher for this year of taking US History through thoughtfulness of decision making and careful data analyzation.
One person in our class who I believe also did an amazing job on this project is Ava Bryant. Ava was able to analyze the terrifying murder of John F Kennedy along with encapsulating his wife, Jackie Kennedy's luxurious lifestyle. Ava's blog was different from any others that I viewed because it made me feel as if I was taking an extremely interesting tour of Jackie's life. This included some of her very fashion forward outfits to learning about her insane diet where she would sometimes only eat one potato a day. Ava was able to use these interesting facts to catch her viewers attention, making for a very successful blog to view.
Another topic in US History that I would love to learn more about is the Ku Klux Klan. After doing further research on civil rights this year, along with an extremely memorable field trip, I would love to learn more about civil rights and anti-support groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. I would find it extremely interesting to find out why this group had the terrifying opinions that they did and what impact they had on the United States.
Exhibit:
Before doing any research, I predict the three most highly ranked presidents in US History will be John F Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson, while the worst might be Jimmy Carter, Andrew Johnson, and John Quincy Adams. After reviewing the Presidential Overall Rankings, I have found that the top four presidents have continuously been Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt. Despite these presidents being supposedly the top four to ever control the United States of America, there has been debate on the two presidents, Dwight D Eisenhower and Harry S Truman for the 5th place presidential rating. This rating has gone back and fourth for these two presidents from years 2000-2017.
After further reviewing this data, I have noticed other interesting observations such as how the last three presidents on the list, other known as Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and James Buchanan have continuously been on the bottom. I can't help but wonder what makes these three presidents be on the bottom or further what generally makes a good president. If I were to do further research beyond this exam, I feel like it would be extremely interesting to research what was so bad about these three presidents, along with what makes a great president.
Another observation I made after analyzing this data is the change in rankings throughout the years of 2000-2017. For example, President Woodrow Wilson went from being the 6th best overall president of the United States in the year 2000 to the 11th ranked president in the year 2017. This change in ranking could have been to the different presidents that served between the 17 years these rankings were taken place. This could have also shown what great work the presidents after his serving of president did that was considered better than the work he did while president. I find this again extremely interesting that a president could move down over 5 overall spots just in 17 years. If I were to do further research, I would love to find out what were the reasons Woodrow Wilson was moved so far down in the presidential ratings.
Lastly, another observation I made through this data is how some presidents were consistently the same number of ranking throughout these 17 years of history. I find this extremely interesting due to the fact that majority of the presidents on this list were constantly being moved higher and lower in these rankings through these years. These presidents that consistently stayed the same ranking were Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. Again, if I were to do further research on this topic, I would love to learn what made the United States believe these presidents deserved the number ranking they had for 17 years straight. I would love to enjoy what made these presidents great, and how they were able to maintain their spots not only consistently, but in the higher rankings of such presidents.
In terms of professions, the participants who completed the survey on their opinions of the best presidents through the years 2000-2017 seemed to be college professors or important historians/journalists who were considered to be historians and other professional observers of the presidency. C-SPAN has most likely included this information to show the public who is viewing this survey that the people who created the presidential results were reliable sources. If C-SPAN had not included these sources of where they got this presidential information, I would most likely find myself questioning whether the results I was viewing were trustworthy and if the people who wrote this article were truly certified to do so. Due to the survey participants generally having impressive professions and are considered a professional in the fields they are studying due to their university, it makes me have no doubt that this source is reliable.
Here is an image that shows the 10 Individual Leadership Characteristics that determined where the presidents were ranked in the survey.
After some further digging through the survey website, I found that the methodology that was used to create the 10 Individual Leadership Characteristics for these presidents was created by the C-SPAN academic advisors, other known as Douglas G Brinkley, Edna Green Medford, and Richard Norton Smith. These advisors stated that there were 91 historical and other observers of the presidency that participated in this survey and were asked to rate these 10 leadership characteristics which were all weighted equally. After completing said survey, their answers were analyzed and the survey was further created.
If I were to create this survey again, I believe I would weight these 10 leadership characteristics and make Public Persuasion, Pursued Equal Justice For All, and Administrative Skills the top three most important skills to look for in a president. Firstly, I believe it is very important to have public persuasion skills because I think it would be very hard to be the president if nobody in your country believed in or liked what you were doing as president. With persuasion skills, you will be able to smoothly run your country along with having support while doing it. Secondly, I believe it is so important to pursue equal justice for all. If everyone is not equal in your country, I simply don't believe that is fair. We are all humans with opinions and I believe that no matter who you are, you should be allowed to say and pursue in what you believe in. If you have equal justice for all in your country, your country will run more as "one" rather than being divided, which I believe to be considered a strong country. Lastly, I believe it would be important to look for Administrative Skills in a president. Without administrative skills, it would be extremely hard to run a country for it would lead to disorganization along with weak leadership. As president of a country, it is extremely important to rule with administrative qualities such as strong opinions, excitement to do work along with organization skills to keep your country running strong. All of these three key characteristics I believe will make an effective president and will lead to a successful country.
When comparing my opinions to the C-SPAN data, I was surprised when I found that some of my predictions were correct. If I am being honest, I don't know as much about our presidents and our country as I may like, and picked presidents that I have heard of through their "popularity", such as Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. These presidents have been extremely talked about in the history classes I have taken through high school and this is the real reason I chose such presidents for I figured they are so well talked about for a reason. As for the last popular presidents, I found that my predictions were not so accurate. I found it was difficult to come up with a list of bad presidents for I believe I don't know enough about these men to say that they were the "worst presidents of the United States". If I were to do further research, I would love to find out why Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and James Buchanan were considered to be the lowest ranked presidents through the years 2000-2017.
Part B:
"On March 16 we celebrate the anniversary of James Madison's birthday. Madison, traditionally viewed as the Father of the United States Constitution, is also seen by many as a defender of open government. He once wrote, "[a] popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps, both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."1 In a similar vein, he asserted that "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge" is "the only Guardian of true liberty."
Through further analyzing this quote from Madison, I believe that the importance of the quote was to emphasize what a memorable man that James Madison was. He was considered to be the Father of the United States Constitution, and because of this on the anniversary of his birthday, he was reminisced on by viewing several of his famous quotes. These famous quotes consisted of him stating his opinions on the government and the importance of knowledge that the government would enquire, along with power in which knowledge can give the government and the United States of America. These opinions he gave were considered extremely valuable to the Country which is why people believed it was important to celebrate James on the anniversary of his birthday.
" . . . [K]nowledge of our own history is essential in the making of Americans. The reasons for this belief may be summed up under four main heads. History makes loyal citizens because memories of common experiences and common aspirations are essential ingredients in patriotism. History makes intelligent voters because sound decisions about present problems must be based on knowledge of the past. History makes good neighbors because it teaches tolerance of individual differences and appreciation of varied abilities and interests. History makes stable, well-rounded individuals because it gives them a start toward understanding the pattern of society and toward enjoying the artistic and intellectual productions of the past. It gives long views, a perspective, a measure of what is permanent in a nation’s life. "
After analyzing this quote from the American Historical Association, I believe this article states that knowledge of history is one of the most important factors that American's encompass. This quote further goes into detail why this knowledge is considered to be so important. For example, some of these reasons include because by knowing history you can be familiar with patriotism along with intelligent voters and neighbors for our country. This article as a whole states the importance of knowing your country which will insure a successful future.
To compare and contrast these two quotes, I found that the second quote from the American History Association was far easier to understand and comprehend. Although these two quotes had similarities, I found that the American Historical Association elaborated more on their opinions which to me made for a better and more interesting article to read. Both pieces of text both stated the importance of knowledge for a country is, but unlike James Madison, the American Historical Association provided heavy examples of why they believe knowledge of your country is so important. James Madison's quote seemed to be more opinion based for there was not further elaboration on why he believed knowledge was important. James essentially stated what he believed in and proceeded to make any other opinion seem wrong, for he stated it would be a "tragedy" to disagree. I found this interesting because the American Historical Association was able to prove all of James Madison's points from his quote, along with giving historical benefits such as knowing patriotism along with intelligent voters and neighbors for our country. Overall, I again believe that the American History Association article was more successful for it had good examples which provided evidence of why knowledge of your country is important.
Part C:
I do believe that this class has allowed me to grow as a researcher this year. After analyzing my first blog post of why Christmas is the Best Holiday, and my last post regarding the movie Dead Man Walking, I can firstly see differences in my reliability of sources, along with myself learning how to better analyze data as the year progressed. I can see a huge change in these two article through knew skills of analyzing data, and creativity when it comes to formatting my blog posts. I have throughout the year tried to progressively make my blog posts more pleasant to look at, whether that was through colors, symmetrical formatting, or interesting pictures to view on each post, and I think this is another skill that has shown my growth as a researcher throughout the year.
Another skill I have learned through this year in history is how to properly site my sources. By looking at other beginning blog posts throughout the year, such as my Thirteenth Amendment blog post or my Puritan post, you can see that this is when I first started to learn how to link and source my sources while also learning to comprehend data in my own words. In these posts you can see that this is when I first started using hyperlinks along with a proper sources section at the bottom of all of my blogs. Throughout this year, I have learned the importance of making my work my own along with how to properly showcase this work.
Looking at my own work from the film-history project, I would say the 5 parts of the project that I am most proud of is my color coating that I was able to incorporate with my theme, my meal plan that I was able to make represent different emotions in the film, the intense data I was able to comprehend on such as a murder and rape case, my invitation design, and lastly my ability to analyze what I learned throughout the project in my in-class write. I believe that all of these 5 qualities I showed in this project helped me show my creativity I used in my project, along with my new abilities I was able to learn this year such as analyzing information and turning it into something of my own. This project and these 5 characteristics of my project showed the growth I have made as a researcher for this year of taking US History through thoughtfulness of decision making and careful data analyzation.
One person in our class who I believe also did an amazing job on this project is Ava Bryant. Ava was able to analyze the terrifying murder of John F Kennedy along with encapsulating his wife, Jackie Kennedy's luxurious lifestyle. Ava's blog was different from any others that I viewed because it made me feel as if I was taking an extremely interesting tour of Jackie's life. This included some of her very fashion forward outfits to learning about her insane diet where she would sometimes only eat one potato a day. Ava was able to use these interesting facts to catch her viewers attention, making for a very successful blog to view.
Another topic in US History that I would love to learn more about is the Ku Klux Klan. After doing further research on civil rights this year, along with an extremely memorable field trip, I would love to learn more about civil rights and anti-support groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. I would find it extremely interesting to find out why this group had the terrifying opinions that they did and what impact they had on the United States.
Exhibit:
After learning more about civil rights this year and history, followed by my interest in further research on the KKK, I thought that it would be a good idea to showcase how far our world has come regarding civil rights. I hope to encapsulate the journey that was taken during this process of civil and human rights, along with what it may have looked like during this time period.
First we have an image of an African American protest. These were held quite often as it was a chance for african american men and women to share opinions on heartbreaking laws against their kind. Here you can see what one of these protests may have looked like along with what bravery these people exemplified to do what they thought was right.
As you continue to walk down my exhibit, you will see a picture of a man named Martin Luther King. MLK was a civil rights leader and I think is extremely important to recognize. Similar to people who protested for their rights, MLK was so incredibly brave to publicly stand up for his race being that his opinion was not the popular one of the time period. Martin Luther King was definitely a role-model for the whole african american community, and is to me greatly considered an achievement in history.
Lastly, as we exit the exhibit, you will come across a news paper article that announces new civil rights laws stating that all races now have civil rights. This was an extreme landmark for the US history and was an amazing achievement due to the new peace that was established in our country. I hope you enjoyed my mini civil rights exhibit!
Sources:
cnn.com , "Uncovering the hidden archives of the civil rights movement": Here is where I found my image of the civil rights protest.
urbanmatter.com , "Chicago's civil rights leaders" : Here is where I found my image of Martin Luther King.
african-american-civil-rights.org , "Events and Dates" : Here is where I found the image of the newspaper article that showcases the new US laws against racism.
c-span.org , "Presidential Historian Survey" : Here is where I found information of presidents and where along with why they were ranked in the specific places that they were placed.
justice.gov , "FOIA Post" : Here is where I got the quote to analyze for James Madison.
historians.org , "Why Should Americans Know Their Own History?" : Here is where I got the quote to compare and contrasts this article with James Madison's quote.
Ava Bryant Blog : Here I was able to view Ava's blog and analyze why I believe she did a great job on our last in-class project.
c-span.org , "Presidential Historian Survey" : Here is where I found information of presidents and where along with why they were ranked in the specific places that they were placed.
justice.gov , "FOIA Post" : Here is where I got the quote to analyze for James Madison.
historians.org , "Why Should Americans Know Their Own History?" : Here is where I got the quote to compare and contrasts this article with James Madison's quote.
Ava Bryant Blog : Here I was able to view Ava's blog and analyze why I believe she did a great job on our last in-class project.
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