I do not mean extramarital affairs. We cannot forget that hundreds of thousands of natives still inhabited this new country called America. Of course, it was their land in the first place.
One of Washington's primary goals/concerns while in office was the problem of dealing with irritated/furious tribes who felt encroached upon by Americans (who could blame them?). Read this article on Washington and his attitude toward the natives. Do you agree with him? Does this change your view of him?
Monday, January 28, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
First President:First Precedents
George Washington had a tremendous weight on his shoulders when he assumed office in April 1789. Not only was this experiment in republican government on shaky ground, but history would record his every move as president. If America was to succeed, it would largely be because of his leadership. Fall apart and he gets the blame.
Historians tend to categorize Washington's presidency by using the term "precedent". You know, of course, that precedents are examples set by someone for those who will follow. Watch this video on GW's precedents. In the comments section make an argument for the one you consider most important. That is...if Washington had NOT done (whichever precedent you choose) our country would have been much worse off.
Historians tend to categorize Washington's presidency by using the term "precedent". You know, of course, that precedents are examples set by someone for those who will follow. Watch this video on GW's precedents. In the comments section make an argument for the one you consider most important. That is...if Washington had NOT done (whichever precedent you choose) our country would have been much worse off.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
First In Everything: The Legacy of George Washington
As we embark upon the new constitutional era of American history, we begin our presidential history. Many people are fascinated by everything surrounding our presidents and I understand why. Think about it...of ALL the men since 1789 that have been eligible to run for president, less than 50 have gained that office. Let's just say the number of eligible men since 1789 was 100,000,000 (a low estimate by the way), then the percentage of Presidents:Potential Presidents would be .000043% of our population! That's incredible!
So what makes these men (and hopefully one day women) so special? Are the rest of us too dumb to be president? Do those people have more connections and opportunities than the rest of us? Are we too poor to be president? Were some of them elected out of sheer dumb luck? The answer is probably "Yes" to varying degrees to each man we call president.
This leads us right to George Washington. As our nation's first president under the Constitution, everything he did was going setting a precedent for future leaders. A precedent is like "setting an example for others to follow". Think about the pressure that would bring!
We will discuss during Chapter 8 the many legacies Washington left behind. For now, visit this website for at least 30 minutes and learn as much as you can about the man. Check every video, picture, artifact and link available and then in the comments section record the 20 most interesting things you learned.
So what makes these men (and hopefully one day women) so special? Are the rest of us too dumb to be president? Do those people have more connections and opportunities than the rest of us? Are we too poor to be president? Were some of them elected out of sheer dumb luck? The answer is probably "Yes" to varying degrees to each man we call president.
This leads us right to George Washington. As our nation's first president under the Constitution, everything he did was going setting a precedent for future leaders. A precedent is like "setting an example for others to follow". Think about the pressure that would bring!
We will discuss during Chapter 8 the many legacies Washington left behind. For now, visit this website for at least 30 minutes and learn as much as you can about the man. Check every video, picture, artifact and link available and then in the comments section record the 20 most interesting things you learned.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Articles of Confederation: For Dummies
Not that you guys are dummies. Far from it. It's just the title of the video you'll be watching for this week's blog. Let's call it..."Articles of Confederation For Those Previously Unfamiliar With This Document".
I will say, this guy (who you should remember from last year's hand signals for the Bill of Rights) is a little zany. He uses some strange illustrations and voices (but if you recall so do I). Don't let his weirdness deter you from the really good information he's giving you.
In the comments section this week, use your 100 words to discuss which part of the video was the most informative/cleared up a confusing section for you/was the most interesting etc.
PS-Ignore every time he mentions "the exam" or "multiple choice" or "New York state exams" etc. He made this video for kids at a different school. That part does not apply to you obviously. Do not ignore, however, his clear explanation of the AoC...because, you know, it's the point of the blog.
PPS-At the end of the video he chooses to use a phrase he could have done without. I wanted you to know that, unlike the Jamestown article from first semester that contained a curse word I was unaware of, I am aware of his poor choice of words. Some of you may not even notice it while you are watching, and it probably is not as bad as the Jamestown word, but I wanted you to know I'm aware of it. I'm still assigning this video because of all the great content, his funny teaching style and how well it fits into our current class topics. If you think you might be offended by it or don't want to hear it, stop the video at the 12:00 mark. You will not need to tell me whether you did or did not watch the whole thing. Don't include your opinion on the phrase in the blog etc. Just handle this with maturity please. Thanks!
I will say, this guy (who you should remember from last year's hand signals for the Bill of Rights) is a little zany. He uses some strange illustrations and voices (but if you recall so do I). Don't let his weirdness deter you from the really good information he's giving you.
In the comments section this week, use your 100 words to discuss which part of the video was the most informative/cleared up a confusing section for you/was the most interesting etc.
PS-Ignore every time he mentions "the exam" or "multiple choice" or "New York state exams" etc. He made this video for kids at a different school. That part does not apply to you obviously. Do not ignore, however, his clear explanation of the AoC...because, you know, it's the point of the blog.
PPS-At the end of the video he chooses to use a phrase he could have done without. I wanted you to know that, unlike the Jamestown article from first semester that contained a curse word I was unaware of, I am aware of his poor choice of words. Some of you may not even notice it while you are watching, and it probably is not as bad as the Jamestown word, but I wanted you to know I'm aware of it. I'm still assigning this video because of all the great content, his funny teaching style and how well it fits into our current class topics. If you think you might be offended by it or don't want to hear it, stop the video at the 12:00 mark. You will not need to tell me whether you did or did not watch the whole thing. Don't include your opinion on the phrase in the blog etc. Just handle this with maturity please. Thanks!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The Articles of Confederation: America's First Attempt at Self-Government
Welcome back one and all! I hope you had a restful and rejuvenating Christmas Break. I know I did.
Let's reset the scene, shall we? After years of salutary neglect, the British rulers in England are imposing their will (and their taxes, troops etc) on the colonies. Infuriated (especially those in New England where the taxes hurt the most), the colonists begin to fight back. The War for Independence begins in April 1775 and ends with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
While the fighting is taking place, certain men known as the Continental Congress begin to devise a plan for self-government. What good is it to gain our freedom yet have no plan to take care of each other? Most people think the Constitution, which is still used to, came first but that is not so. Agreed upon in Congress in 1777 and ratified in 1781 (making it the law of the land), The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first governing body in America. While it was a step in the right direction, the document left much to be desired and was eventually scrapped for the Constitution.
For this week's blog, you need to visit this site. There are three main parts to this site: background info, the actual words of the AoC and brief biographies of the "forgotten" confederation presidents. You need to read each section carefully (this may take you a while) and then answer the following questions in the comments section.
-What were some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles?
-Overall was the AoC a good plan or a waste of time?
-What did you learn, that you didn't know before, about America's "first presidents"?
Let's reset the scene, shall we? After years of salutary neglect, the British rulers in England are imposing their will (and their taxes, troops etc) on the colonies. Infuriated (especially those in New England where the taxes hurt the most), the colonists begin to fight back. The War for Independence begins in April 1775 and ends with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
While the fighting is taking place, certain men known as the Continental Congress begin to devise a plan for self-government. What good is it to gain our freedom yet have no plan to take care of each other? Most people think the Constitution, which is still used to, came first but that is not so. Agreed upon in Congress in 1777 and ratified in 1781 (making it the law of the land), The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first governing body in America. While it was a step in the right direction, the document left much to be desired and was eventually scrapped for the Constitution.
For this week's blog, you need to visit this site. There are three main parts to this site: background info, the actual words of the AoC and brief biographies of the "forgotten" confederation presidents. You need to read each section carefully (this may take you a while) and then answer the following questions in the comments section.
-What were some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles?
-Overall was the AoC a good plan or a waste of time?
-What did you learn, that you didn't know before, about America's "first presidents"?
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