Semester II Final

Part A:
1. Before doing any research, I predict the three most highly ranked presidents will be Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Obama, while the three worst presidents might be JFK, Nixon, and Hoover.

2. The top four presidents were Lincoln, Washington, FDR, and Roosevelt T. Four and Five seem to be Roosevelt T. and Truman.

3. Looking at it some more I saw that L. B. Johnson was the 10th highest president for the 2000 survey, and 2017 survey, and was only moved to 11th for the 2009 survey. George H. W. Bush was 20th in the survey for the 2000 and 2017 survey, with 18th in the 2009 survey, and Jefferson was voted as the 7th highest for all three Surveys.

4. After looking at the survey participant list, I saw that all the participant were educated enough to make good judgement calls, If the survey did not have this, the survey itself could be subject to bias in it's votes and could risk having an outcome that was not supported by facts.

5. The Survey used the following criteria as a way to judge the effectiveness of the presidents,  "Public Persuasion," "Crisis Leadership," "Economic Management," "Moral Authority," "International Relations," "Administrative Skills," "Relations with Congress," "Vision/Setting An Agenda," "Pursued Equal Justice for All," and "Performance Within the Context of His Times."

6. The Survey weighted all the categories the same, not letting any count more than the other.

7. If I were conducting the Survey, I would weight Crisis Leadership, International Relations, and Economic Management more than the other categories, because these are important features that a president should have going into office, and what we should look at when seeing of the president was successful or not.

8. My initial predictions were fairly close to spot on. My top three worst were as much as my best, but my best I judged off of who had accomplished something that in a way changed the course of history, which is why I was almost spot on.

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 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. In a similar vein, he asserted that "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge" is "the only Guardian of true liberty."

9. The Excerpt above says that, As we remember James Madison's birthday on March 16th, know that he is usually seen as one of the front runners of the American Constitution. He's also looked at as a protector of the government, since he wrote, a government without knowledge or the desire to learn will surely fall. those with knowledge will always lead those without it, and those who lead themselves only must use the strength that knowledge allows them to have. He also stated that constantly expanding our knowledge is the only way to be truly free.

10. " . . . [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. "

The excerpt above is similar to the quote from James Madison, because they both communicate the importance of knowledge, and how it is essential to the future of our country. Madison points out that we will only be free as long as we strive to obtain knowledge, while the quote above communicates this same idea through patriotism, and how knowledge of our past is a necessity in not repeating it.

Both quotes also touch upon the importance of knowledge within leadership, or important roles. James pointed out that the intelligent always govern the ignorant, and with that he's saying that the U.S. should always be on top not through force but through intellect. and the quote above is communicating that through the fact that knowledge of ourselves in the past, can help us better ourselves moving towards the future.

Part C

11. This year, I have bettered myself in the art of paraphrasing, along with researching events and comparing them to events that might've happened in the same time period or even to events that are happening today. I've seen the mistakes of the past and how they've effected our world today, along with the effects of one man or whole movements that changed the course of history in our country.

12. From my film project I think that I picked a great subject to research, and that I found a lot of important information to use going into the future. I also liked my paper, I felt like I put a lot of good information into it that tied in events from the war to the movie. I thought the food was an interesting part of the project, and I found that to be somewhat fun, along with invitations list.

13. I found Joshua's blog post on the Freedom Riders to be excellent work, because he dove deep into the heart of the movement, and how this effected our country.

14. A quote that I really admire from America's history, is a quote by Steve Prefontaine. He was an american distance runner who broke many records, not only at home but at the Olympics as well. 
His quote is "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."
I find this to help in my everyday life, because I know that I won't live forever, and it's better to give everything I have to everything that I do all the time because I never know when it could be my last time.

15. 

Steve Prefontaine is one of the men I admire most in my running career and going into my daily life. He lived his life to the fullest up until the end and that's what I find inspiring.

Avenged Sevenfold is an american heavy metal band, and while it may seem strange to look up to them, they've overcome challenges that make them the type of people to admire. With the loss of their drummer during the recording of their 4th album, many thought this would be the end of the band, but they overcame their grief for their fans and continued to live out the dream that their friend only had a taste of, and to me that seems like enough to be admired for.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a man many people in our country today respect and honor. I respect him because while many spread hate around and just tried to beat others into the ground with hateful words or gestures. Dr. King was one of the first to step out and use his voice, not using hate speeches, but by knowing his rights as a American and using them to push towards the end of segregation in out country.