Presidents-+Leaders

Madeleine Anderson Abby Belisle Julia Anastos [| Harry S. Truman](1945-1952) Harry Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri on May 8, 1884. Before Truman was elected vice-president for Roosevelt, he was elected to the senate in 1934. When Roosevelt died Harry Truman took over the presidency. Truman had a big weight on his shoulders coming in after Franklin Roosevelt. The second world war had just finished, and we were turning the cold war hot as the arms race escalated with Russia. Being the quiet honest man that he was, people didn’t think he was fit to be president. They thought he was just an average man. Yet in his first year as president, later to be known as a “year of decisions,” is part of what people remember him for. In that year he approved of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan, he wrapped up the war in Europe, and he helped found the United Nations. Later on in his presidency, he went on to wage undeclared war on North Korea, which some Americans were happy about, but some were not so thrilled. Of course, any president during a war can have a low popularity if the war doesn’t get rapped up quick. In the 1948 election, Dewey was running against Truman, and was sure to win. This became very famous, all the newspapers printed saying that Dewey beat Truman, but in fact, Truman had won the election! Everyone, all the politicians, and reporters said it was a sure thing that Dewey was to win, but he lost! After his presidency he went on to live a happy life with his wife Bess, and daughter Margaret, and died December 26, 1972, at the age of 88.

[|Dwight D. Eisenhower] (1952-1961) Dwight D. Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890 in Denison, Texas. He later became Allied Commander in Europe During World War Two. This means that Eisenhower controlled all the troops in Europe. He was elected president in 1953 and was part of the republican party. During his presidency Eisenhower continued the new deal programs to boost the economy. He was president during the "nifty fifties" and saw many new inventions and changes in american culture. This included the addition of rock and roll and TV, which brought the new stars, like Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, to every ones living rooms. Eisenhower believed in not putting much money into the army and arms which held off the cold war for awhile, until he was replaced in 1961. He also made the decision to pull out of the Korean war which left the country divided as it had been when the war had started. Eisenhower thought that money was not needed in the army, it was needed back home, this is why he pulled the army out of Korea. He served two presidencies and keped the nation peacful while in office, due to his knoledge of the horrors of war. Eisenhower died on March 28, 1969 of congestive heart failure. This was the end of a long and very eventful life.

[|John Fitzgerald Kennedy](1961-1963) John F. Kennedy, or JFK, was the 35th president of the United States. Born into a life that was anything but average, his grandfather was Boston's mayor and three-term Congressman. He had private schooling in some of the best private schools in the Northeast, lived in huge mansions and enjoyed a carefree childhood with his nine siblings. John F. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in Brooklyne Massachusetts as the second son of [|Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.], and [|Rose Fitzgerald.]. JFK was elected into the Senate after WW II, When his brother Edward was killed in action, Kennedy picked up the families hopes in the political arena, he represented Massachusetts in the House of Representatives from 1947-1953 then the Senate from '53-1960, when Kennedy was elected president. He was a very charismatic leader and, despite being the youngest president ever elected, at age 43, he led the country with a cool, steady hand. He stayed calm during the scary 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the future of the country and possibly the world was unclear. During his presidency JFK dealt with a project he inherited from Eisenhower, called the Bay of Pigs Invasion which was a complete and total disaster. He also set the stage for the space race, which resulted in a man on the moon. Before JFK 's campaign for reelection could begin, Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, the Pulitzer prize winner and WWII veteran was dead. The whole country mourned for their fallen leader, many can still remember where they were during that exact date and time. [|Lyndon B. Johnson](1963-1969) Lyndon B. Johnson grew up in a low middle class family but slowly made his way up through teaching college to politics. His wife and the first lady, the former Claudia "Lady Bird" Taylor, helped him make his way up the political ladder to the presidency. After six years in the house he moved on to the senate where he became the leader of the democrats. Johnson was sworn in as J. F. Kennedy's vice president and when Kennedy was assassinated Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president of the United States of America. He pursued a civil rights bill and tax cuts and made the Great Society Program which included the 1965 Medicare amendment to the Social Security Act. The great society program was the idea of a perfect society were no one is poor or unemployed and people work in jobs they like, it was basically the fight against poverty. Johnson made it his goal in life to create peace and this is what led to the fact that he tried to wind down the Vietnam war and organize peace talks. Peace talks started when he left office but he did not live to see them due to the fact that he had an untimely heart attack.

[|Richard Nixon](1969-1974) Richard Nixon was president from 1969 - 1974 and is mostly remembered as the only president in the history of the United States to resign from being president while serving mid-term. Nixon resigned because of his likely impeachment, due to the Watergate scandal. The Watergate scandal was when Nixon supposedly sent some of his workers during the 1972 election, into Democratic offices, so he could see what their plans were. While many administration officials resigned immediately, later on some were convicted of trying to cover up the scandal, and participating. Some people couldn't believe that the President would bribe people to keep quiet about his doings! Also, Nixon wasn't always honest. He lied about his political opponents while running against them and called them communist to exploit the American citizens fear of communism. While Nixon made some mistakes, he was a pretty good president. He increased communications with Russia, and China, who we were at faults with at the time. He also helped reduce the use of nuclear weapon testing between the countries. He also settled the Vietnam War. While we did not win, Nixon realized that we had no chance to win, and he used the phase withdrawl method to get the American troops out of Vietnam. Even though we weren't successful with our efforts in Vietnam, we still got out peacefully in the end with Nixon leading the way. A major even that occurred in his presidency, was when the American astronauts landed on the moon in 1969. Yet, after he resigned, and and wrote a few books, he died on April 22, 1994.

[|Gerald R. Ford](1974-1977) Ford had a interesting job to do when he was elected into office. Nixon had just been accused, in a very public manner, of extremely un-presidential discretions. Ford's job was to place the people's trust back in it's government, which would be hard, Nixon had tested the citizen's confidence in their whole idea of government. This trust-worthy congressman would be the man for the job. Being the first president to take office because of the 25th Amendment, many were curious as to what he would do for his country to make up for the horrible things his predecessor. Ford was born July 14, 1913, in Omaha Nebraska. He played football at the University of Michigan and is the only president to have been an Eagle Scout. He started at University of Michigan Law School then moved to Yale Law where he graduated in 1941. He opened a private law office with a colleague then acting after the attack on Pearl Harbor enlisted in the Navy. He stayed in the House of Reps. for 25 years as a Republican and was a house minority leader. After Agnew resigned, the 25th Amendment came into play, and Ford was elected almost unanimously, 97-3, to be the Vice-President that would take Nixon's place. After Ford was sworn in, Ford awarded a full-pardon upon Nixon, clearing him of all crimes he might have committed against the United States. There were many daunting tasks Ford would have to take on. A couple of which were, mastering inflation, reviving a depressed economy, solving chronic energy shortages, and trying to ensure world peace, those problems were hard tasks to complete, and he did a very good job. After losing the '76 election, Ford stayed an active member of the Rebublican party. Until, at the age of 93 and one-half years, Ford died, December 26, 2006.

James Earl Carter(1977-1981) James E. Carter was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. He grew up as a peanut farmer and upon graduating from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland he married Rosalynn Smith and they had three sons and a daughter. Carter served seven years of service as a Naval Officer and then returned home into state politics. He became governor of Georgia and in 1974 he started his campaign for president and a Senator from Minnesota, Walter F. Mondale, was his running mate. They won against Gerald R. Ford by 56 votes. As president Carter worked hard to end the economic hardships of inflation and unemployment. When he retired the unemployment rate had dropped significantly. Another thing Carter focused on was human rights and foreign affairs. He created the department of Education, amped up social security systems, and appointed tons of women, hispanics and blacks to government jobs. As for foreign affairs, Carter helped with the Camp David agreement in 1978, which brought amity between Egypt and Israel and he also helped ratify some Panama Canal treaties. Carter left office in 1981 after a very accomplished presidency.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) Born on February 6, 1911 Ronald Reagan was our 40th president in the United States. Reagan was born in Illinois, and later went on to graduate from Eureka College. After, he became an actor. In the next decade, he appeared in 53 films. Regan married Jane Wyman, and had two children. In his second marriage, with Nancy Davis, he also had two children. In 1966, he was elected to the position of Governor of California, and was re-elected in 1970. In 1980, he won the Republican Presidential Nomination, and selected George Bush as his VP. Reagan won the presidency in a land slide against current president, Jimmy Carter. Reagan came into office at a time of inflation, and troubles in the middle-east. In 1981, only 69 days after being inaugurated into office, Regan was shot, but recovered quickly and returned to office. Ronald worked well in office, and with congress. He helped curb inflation, strengthen our defenses, icrease employment, and stimulate the economy. He worked on cutting taxes, but even when the strenghtening of our defenses lead to a huge deficit, he wouldn't back down. Overall, he increased government spending on the defenses by 35%. In 1984, he was reelected with Bush by his side. During his presidency, the nation enjoyed a time of peace, and lack of recession and depression. Ronald worked on our relations with the Soviet Union and declared war on international terrorism. Overall, Reagan was a successful president and will be remembered as a helper to restoring our countries prosperity. [|George W. H. Bush](1989-1993) Born in Massachusetts, June 12, 1924, George H. W. Bush was the nation’s 41st president. Before Bush was president, he took part in World War II. He was the youngest pilot in the Air force when he got his wings. He flew on 58 combat missions while he served, and was a memorable participant in the war. After the war, Bush went to Yale where he excelled in everything he did. And in 1945, he married Barbara Pierce, with which had six children. After he graduated, he went to live in Texas to work in the oil industry. Later on, like his father, a Connecticut senator, George was interested in politics. He became a two-time Texas representative, served two terms in the senate, Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1980, George ran for president in the republican party, and lost. But, the next election, he ran with Ronald Reagan as Vice President. In 1988, he won the election as president, and came in at a hard time in our country. With the 40 year long Cold War coming to a close, and communism going up in flames, you’d think that our country would be in great shape, but we weren’t. The country was in debt from the Cold War, and crime was becoming more and more of a problem, especially in the cities. Bush, who had said he was all for keeping the taxes low like Reagan, and hold on to the low inflation, raised taxes, to help get the country out of debt. This angered many people, but, when Bush sent troops in to stop Saddam Hussein, people mostly agreed. Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator, had sent his troops in to take over Kuwait. This was when Bush and the United Nations sprung into action. He sent troops to Kuwait, to fight the short Persian Gulf War. Also, after that, when Somalia was having trouble, he sent troops there with food to help the starving Somalians. Over all, some loved Bush, and some strongly disliked him, but he was a great president and is still living today with his wife Barbara.

[|William J. Clinton-](1993-2001) William J. Clinton was born in 1946 in Hope, Arkansas. His dad had died before he was born and his mother married Roger Clinton four years later, in high school William took on the last name of Clinton. In high school he met President Kennedy and this turned him away from his previously music future into a life of public service. In 1973 he received a degree in law from Yale University and then entered into politics in Arkansas. Clinton married Hillary Rodham and they had one daughter, Chelsea. From then on he took on the titles of Arkansas Attorney General, then Governor of Arkansas, and last but not least President of the United States of America. His Vice President was Albert Gore Jr. As president he mostly focused on the economy but also helped to pass bills that created a restrict on handgun sales, an upgrade in education, and protection for parents with sick children. His successful time as president only had one incident, after an issue surrounding his involvement with a young woman he was almost impeached but after an apology the public forgave him and his approval ratings went soaring. He ended his term in 2001 and handed the presidency over to George W. Bush.

Political Leaders Joseph McCarthy Joseph McCarthy was a senator from Wisconsin. McCarthy was an attention seeker, at the time, America was in a frenzy, Russia was under communist rule and The United States didn't know how to handle it. So, America started going crazy accusing anyone who wore red in public of being a communist. McCarthy fed off this fear, that America would be taken over by communists, so he made up a fake list the contained all the names, 205 of them, of people who were "communists" in the government. McCarthy's witch-hunts for communists were almost as bad as the Salem witch hunts more than 200 years previous. Many of the people he accused weren't even guilty of being communist. He fed off the fear of communism and made the Red Menace very real in the hearts off all americans. McCarthy was accused of lying about the list, which he was, and causing trouble. He finally was convicted and removed from public office. That didn't stop the Red Menace, however, the fear of communism raged in America all the way to the 1980's.

Ethnic Leaders César Chávez Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks [|Betty Friedan] There were many ethnic leaders in the 1950's, ranging everywhere from civil rights, women's rights, and farming. Probably the biggest civil rights leader and activist was Martin Luther King Jr. Martin spent his days fighting to end the "separate but equal," ways, which was decided in the Plessy v. Ferguson case earlier on. But Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't just another activist. He wasn't afraid to go to jail, get beaten, or looked down upon. He knew what he believed in was right, and he fought for his cause, and was a leader to many others fighting in his same group. Rosa Parks was also a civil rights activist. Rosa is most commonly known for standing up for herself while on a bus after work. The bus driver told her to move to the back of the bus, like she was supposed to if a white person needed the seat, but Rosa Parks said no. She stood up for herself and her rights. Even though she may have gotten arrested in the process, she will always be looked at as an American hero. César Chávez was also a hero to many. He helped immigrant farmers from Mexico, and other workers, help fight for better work conditions, and pay. He was the head of programs, lead strikes, and more. While these heros were fighting for their rights in various places, women, were working for theirs. Many women helped in the campaign for equality of the genders, but some stood out more then others. Including, Betty Friedan. Ms. Friedan wrote a book published in 1963 called //The Feminine Mystique .// This book basically said what many women were thinking in this time period. That they were being manipulated by our society, and our media, that being a stay at home housewife was what they were supposed to be. Our society made it seem like every women should want to stay at home everyday, cook, clean, and care for the kids while the husband was out at work. But some women, knew better. They knew that women could do everything a man could do if given the chance! So that's is what women started to fight for. Women fought for equal jobs and pay, and just over all acceptance into our society as equals. Of course, for this to happen, it took strength, bravery, and perseverance of everybody who worked for the cause, but those are all traits that all heros of this time period had, and many other Americans who knew that some things, are worth fighting for.