You know what is interesting? The original intent of the framers of the Constitution was for the Legislative Branch (a.k.a. Congress) to be the most powerful part of the Federal Government. Their reasoning was Congress is the only national body that is directly elected by the people. Remember: the Electoral College technically elects the president and the president nominates Supreme Court judges who are then approved or denied by a Senate Committee. The House of Representatives and the Senate are directly linked to the people of America.
As our country grew, however, the president assumed more and more power. The trouble is, the power being assumed by the office was not always a part of their Constitutional job description. When ambitious men like Jefferson and Jackson made decisions beyond the scope of the Constitution, the precedent was set that our president could basically do whatever he wanted as long as it was justifiable.
So as we take a day off school for President's Day, I ask myself: "Why do our presidents matter?" In your comments this week I would like to see two things: 1) Answer the question "Why do our presidents matter?". 2) Search the internet for funny/interesting/random presidential trivia and post your favorite. There will be three prizes awarded this week: First Post, Best Post and Best Presidential Fun Fact.
The first thing that popped into my mind when I read the question "why do presidents matter?" was that presidents matter because they run our country. The president is kind of like a mom of the country. They look out for our country. The president tries to do what is best for our nation and they love our nation. Sometimes the "mom" has to do hard things to protect us but they do it because they love us. The president, from the very beginning, has helped our nation. The random fact I found was Abraham Lincoln was the only U.S President to also be a licensed bar tender. (108)
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I thought was: Presidents don’t exactly ‘run’ the country; they’re more of a figure head. Furthermore, this is a democracy, but Presidents sure do have a big influence on the choices and laws Congress makes. Like for example, Abraham Lincoln. His Presidency helped influence people that slavery was wrong, and yes, his opinion’s price was his life, but it saved many African-Americans from slavery. Presidents are very important people, and if they weren’t, they wouldn’t have so many campaigns and so many people ‘in the running’ for the role of the President. As we learned last year, they have many roles: Chief of State, Director of Foreign Policies, etc. Also, I seriously don’t think a normal, unimportant person would have seven important jobs!
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The random fact I found was: Harry Truman was a haberdasher. A haberdasher (HAB-er-dash-er) is someone who deals in men's clothing and accessories.
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I think presidents matter because if we didn’t have presidents then we would all run wild like monkeys. We need someone to guide and lead us through this crazy society. If there were no presidents then people would try and be “the boss” of everyone else and that would lead to more wars than we have now. Presidents also form the laws that we live today. If there weren’t any laws then we would not know how fast to go on the street or whether to wear a seatbelt when we ride in the car and many other examples. My fun presidential fact that I found was that Abraham Lincoln's son Tad once fired on the Cabinet after receiving a pretend military commission. (123)
ReplyDeleteThe presidents matter because they are what keep our nation running. If we had no presidents then our country would be a mess. We need a leader to organize things for us. Even though we may not always like each president, each one helps our country in some way. Each president deserves respect-running our country would be extremely hard work. The president has to make decisions, pass laws, take care of foreign affairs, etc. Even though they don't always make the right decision we have to remember that they are human too. Presidents are very important for our country. Without them, we'd be a mess. The funny fact I found was that Ulysses S. Grant was fined 20$ for speeding…with his horse and buggy. (125)
ReplyDeleteWhen America was 1st estblished we wanted nothing to do with a king in our country. We thought kings had too much power. America was built so that people could choose who they wanted and them not be ruled by a dictator. So we said we would elect a president and he/she would only serve 4 years unless he/ she did a good enough job to be re-elected. Predidents are important because they are the head of our government. He is the Commander in Chief. He/She is the leader of our executive and legislative brach. The president is to lead our country by example; which they do not really do anymore. I will say though that with all of these jobs almost everything that our president does he has to get it approved by other people in the government, which is a good thing that he does not have that much power. But, if the people in the government have exactly the same beliefs/morals wether they are good or bad that is not exactly fair to the people who have different views. The president also matters because whether or not the whole country likes him we tend to look and respond the way he does in tough situations. Ex. After 9 11 we all looked to President Bush and he handled it very well. Fact: President Gerold Ford was known for hitting spectators with a golfball while trying to golf. (239)
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I thought of when I heard the question:"why do our presidents matter", was a pretty general answer, "well, they run our country". As I thought about this more, my answer changed a lot. I always hear people talking about how bad the presidents were/are, but very few people think about how difficult that job would be. It's not a lucky, rich, snobby person flying around and playing golf and kissing babies :), it is THE SINGLE MOST stressful job there is. Everyone in the country is looking up to you to make the right decision to help them and their family, but there are so many people, not everyone is going to get what they want, which means you are going to have people that aren't going to like you. This makes you want to do right for everyone, and it's where you would have to stick to YOUR beliefs and not try to do what everyone else wants. All of this would make the job incredibly difficult. These are some reasons why I think presidents are so important. Lastly, I think people need to look at President's Day, not as a day off, but as a day to respect and pray for the president to make the right decision, because their job is NOT easy. Fact: Barack Obama is our 44th president, but there actually have only been 43 presidents: Cleveland was elected for two nonconsecutive terms and is counted twice, as our 22nd and 24th president. (252 words)
ReplyDeleteOur presidents matter a ton! They have the hardest job in our country. The president is the guy that tells other countries if we want to go to war or not. He has a lot of stress on him during the day and everything. I say the president in the days where presidents 1-10 had the hardest time I think. We were just a new country right then so every country thought we were weak. So we really had to stay neutral no matter what. The president keeps everyone safe no matter what. They make the decisions for our country.100 My fact: Before Theodore Roosevelt came to office the White House was not even called the White House it was called the President's Palace, President's House, and Executive Mansion. (129)
ReplyDelete"Why do our Presidents matter?" is a relatively easy question to answer. Without them, America would be in trouble. Humans need leaders to help them through tough times, make hard decisions, and negotiate problems between people. If FDR was not President during the time of the Great Depression, where would America be? He created jobs, social security, and helped the banks get on their feet. Imagine life without the President. There would be no order and no one to look up to. No one would know who to look to for guidance. The government would probably be very violent with shifts of power frequently. (104)
ReplyDeleteMy fact: Andrew Jackson's pet parrot, Poll, could whistle and even talk, but sometimes the bird wasn't exactly polite. Poll had to be taken away from his funeral service because she was cussin' up a storm!
I think that the president really does matter. For the amount of time that he or she is in office they are the “face of America.” The president had to sign the laws. He is also the leader of the armed forces. The president runs the country even if they do a “good” or “bad” job. A lot of people disrespect the president, including me, but we shouldn’t because God brings up leaders and puts them down.
ReplyDeleteRandom Fact: Benjamin Harrison had the White House wired for electricity, but because he was afraid of getting shocked, he would not touch the switches![102]
I think that the President matters a lot. Sometimes people don't give our President enough respect just because they may not believe the same things that he does. If we didn't have a President the people would run around going crazy. They wouldn't follow any rules. Even if the President makes decisions that aren't right we still need him or her in charge. The President has do deal with a lot of decisions to make. He also has a lot of different jobs to handle. We need to start treating him with more respect because God chose to make him our President; he has a plan for him too.
ReplyDeleteRandom Fact: Martin Van Buren is credited for creating the expression "ok." (121 words)
Our presidents matter for several reasons. First of all if we did not have a president, who would represent our country? Without a president how would we prevent Congress from gaining too much power, or who would make major decisions? Unfortunately now days the president seems to just be someone to criticize or blame if anything at all goes wrong. People seem to have a hard time understanding that the president cannot just instantly fix everything for everyone. Nobody is perfect.
ReplyDeleteMy presidential fun fact is that Abraham Lincoln said that it was ok for Texas to secede from Mexico or anyone from any country. (105)
If we had no presidents our nation would be a disaster. If we did not have any presidents, nothing would get done. With no leaders America would be in big trouble. They have to the make decisions that make up our nation. They may not always choose the right decision that we like or what God likes, but he put him there for a reason. We should take a day off to recognize and appreciate what they have done. The funny fact that I would was that George Washington’s mouth was full of dentures. So he made sure that all six of his horse’s teeth were brushed daily. (108)
ReplyDeleteWhy do our presidents matter? Well first off all they lead and represent our country. He or she who serves the role of president not only serves that role but also has a parental role over our country. The president helps American grow and keep in order. Just like a lot of parents of children they make mistakes but our here for us no matter what. Like most children we don't always agree with them. We have to remember though that God put not only the president but our parents and other leaders in charge of us for a reason and we need to trust God and know He knows what's best for us.
ReplyDeleteMy funny president fact was that John Adams married his third cousin, Abigail Adams. (129 words)
In my opinion, being president does matter. To be the President of the United States is an honor; one that also carries great responsibility. However, I think the presidents in the past few decades have become more focused on politics and their own gain. The president should be elected by the people, not by electoral votes. One who holds this office should really listen to the people of our country and take into consideration what is best for everyone instead of what is best for the politicians. At the same time, they should uphold our constitution and laws. The president should be a strong leader who tries to guide the people, not control them.
ReplyDeleteFact: George H.W. Bush survived 4 plane crashes in WWII. (124)
Why do our presidents matter? I had to think about this question for a while, and as I read through all the other comments I came across some good points which made me think even more. Our president serves mainly just as a leader, someone for the whole country to look up to and depend on. He is constantly under lots and lots of pressure. As well as being a role model for the entire country, the president has many important decisions to make, more than I think we give him credit for. Although some presidents do make bad decisions, we need to remember that they're human and all humans are going to make mistakes, that they also make good decisions and we just don't notice them, and that God put them there for a reason.
ReplyDeleteMy fact: Barack Obama does not like ice cream as a result of working at an ice cream shop as a teenager.(158)