Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Elector

2008-06-27T18:46:21Z

Malveramenso:

A presidential '''elector''' for the United States of America is a member of the group of individuals which elects the President and Vice President of the United States of America <ref>http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html</ref>. The current procedure for the appointment and voting of the USA presidential electors is outlined in Amendment Twelve of the Constitution for the United States of America<ref>http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html</ref> and in Title 3 of the United States Code<ref>http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t01t04+11142+1++%28%29%20%20</ref>.

==References==
<references/>

Elector

2008-06-27T18:45:51Z

Malveramenso: New page: A presidential '''elector''' for the United States of America is a member of the group of individuals which elects the President and Vice President of the United States of America <ref>htt...

A presidential '''elector''' for the United States of America is a member of the group of individuals which elects the President and Vice President of the United States of America <ref>http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html</ref>. The current procedure for the selection and voting of the USA presidential electors is outlined in Amendment Twelve of the Constitution for the United States of America<ref>http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html</ref> and in Title 3 of the United States Code<ref>http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t01t04+11142+1++%28%29%20%20</ref>.

==References==
<references/>

Theodore Roosevelt

2008-06-27T18:36:01Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Theodore roosevelt.jpg
|seq=26
|term_start=September 14, 1901
|term_end=March 4, 1909<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=None
|vp_dates=1901-1905
|2vp=Charles W. Fairbanks
|2vp_dates=1905-1909
|previous=William McKinley
|next=William Howard Taft
|office2=vice
|seq2=25
|term_start2=March 4, 1901
|term_end2=September 14, 1901
|pres2=William McKinley
|previous2=Garret Hobart
|next2=Charles W. Fairbanks
|birth_date=October 27, 1858
|birth_place=New York, New York
|death_date=January 6, 1919
|death_place=Oyster Bay, New York
|spouse=Alice Hathaway Lee
|spouse2=Edith Kermit Carow
|religion=Dutch Reformed
}}

'''Theodore Roosevelt''' was the 26th [[President of the United States of America]]. He suffered from asthma as a boy but was able to work through it with the assistance of exercise. He worked in both the [[New York Police Department]]<ref>As of July 2007, Theodore Roosevelt is the only President to be born in [[New York City]]</ref> and later, the [[Navy Department]]. He was appointed to the civil service by President [[Benjamin Harrison]].

When the [[Spanish-American War]] started he resigned his assistant secretaryship in the Navy and became a rough rider. Because of his well known assault on San Juan Hill and other patriotic acts he was nominated for Vice-President with incumbent William McKinley. When President McKinley was fatally shot by an [[anarchist]] in 1901, Roosevelt automatically became President, and was reelected against a challenge by the Democratic candidate Alton B. Parker in [[United States presidential election, 1904|1904]].

When Roosevelt's term was up he supported Republican candidate and then Secretary of War [[William Howard Taft]], but later he expressed disapproval of Taft's handling of the presidency and ran against him. He lost the Republican nomination to Taft but ran as an independent on the Bull Moose Progressive party. Both he and Taft lost to Democrat [[Woodrow Wilson]] in the [[United States presidential election, 1912|election of 1912]].<ref>[[Encyclopedia of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt]] By Zachary Kent, Chicago Press</ref> While campaigning in 1912, Roosevelt was shot before giving in a speech in [[Milwaukee]]. The bullet lodged in a copy of the speech located in his breast pocket, saving his life. He gave the speech anyway that day, beginning the speech with the famous line, "I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose."

Roosevelt once declared:<ref>Theodore Roosevelt, "The Children of the Crucible," 14 Annals of America 1916-1928, 129, at 130 (1968).</ref>

:''We must have but one [[American flag|flag]]. We must also have but one [[English|language]]. That must be the language of the Declaration of Independence, of Washington’s Farewell address, of Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech and second inaugural. We cannot tolerate any attempt to oppose or supplant the language and culture that has come down to us from the builders of this Republic.''

After leaving office, Roosevelt took a trip along the [[Amazon River]] and wrote a book about his experience, ''Through the Brazilian Wilderness''. While in [[South America]], Roosevelt contracted [[malaria]] and nearly died. At one point, he requested that his expedition leave him behind. His son, Kermit, helped nurse him back to help, and Theodore credited Kermit with saving his life.
== Notes & References ==

<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Theodore}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States|Roosevelt, Theodore]]
[[Category:Vice Presidents of the United States|Roosevelt, Theodore]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Peace|Roosevelt, Theodore]]
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]

Talk:Old Inauguration Day

2008-06-22T21:10:19Z

Malveramenso: New page: Can anyone produce the actual text and codification of the legal statute which set inauguration day on March 4? Thanks. ~~~~

Can anyone produce the actual text and codification of the legal statute which set inauguration day on March 4? Thanks. [[User:Malveramenso|Mal]] 17:10, 22 June 2008 (EDT)

Presidential election day for the United States of America

2008-06-22T20:59:47Z

Malveramenso:

The '''presidential election day for the United States of America''' is the regularly appointed day on which electors for the President and Vice President of the United States of America cast their votes. The Congress of the United States of America has appointed "the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December next following [the electors'] appointment" as the legal presidential election day<ref>http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t01t04+11148+71++%28%29%20%20AND%20%28%283%29%20ADJ%20USC%29%3ACITE%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20</ref>. The electors of USA President and Vice President are appointed on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of the month of November in the fourth year after the previous USA presidential election. <ref>http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t01t04+11142+71++%28%29%20%2</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Presidential election day for the United States of America

2008-06-22T20:59:14Z

Malveramenso:

The '''presidential election day for the United States of America''' is the regularly appointed day on which electors for the President and Vice President of the United States of America cast their votes. The Congress of the United States of America has appointed "the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December next following [the electors'] appointment" as the legal presidential election day<ref>http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t01t04+11148+71++%28%29%20%20AND%20%28%283%29%20ADJ%20USC%29%3ACITE%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20</ref>. The electors of USA President and Vice President are appointed on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of the month of November in the fourth year after the previous USA presidential election day. <ref>http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t01t04+11142+71++%28%29%20%2</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Presidential election day for the United States of America

2008-06-22T20:55:26Z

Malveramenso:

Presidential election day for the United States of America

2008-06-22T20:54:26Z

Malveramenso:

Presidential election day for the United States of America

2008-06-22T20:53:35Z

Malveramenso: New page: The '''presidential election day for the United States of America''' is the regularly appointed day on which electors for the President and Vice President of the United States of America c...

Gene Amondson

2008-06-22T20:35:27Z

Malveramenso:

{{move|Gene Amondson}}

'''Gene Amondson''' is the [[Prohibition Party]] candidate for the term of the [[president|presidency]] of the [[United States of America]] commencing on January 20, 2009<ref>http://www.geneamondson.com/prohibition-party-2004.html</ref><ref>http://www.opm.gov/operating_status_schedules/fedhol/2009.asp</ref>.

==References==
<references/>

Gene Amondson

2008-06-21T21:09:38Z

Malveramenso: New page: '''Gene Amondson''' is the Prohibition Party candidate for the fifty-sixth presidential term (or the forty-forth, traditionally) of the presidency of the United States of America. Accordin...

'''Gene Amondson''' is the Prohibition Party candidate for the fifty-sixth presidential term (or the forty-forth, traditionally) of the presidency of the United States of America. According to his personal website, it is Gene Amondson's personal mission to "Bring Prohibition Back to America." <ref>http://www.geneamondson.com/mission/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Bill Clinton

2008-06-21T20:58:48Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=billclinton.jpg
|seq=42
|term_start=January 20, 1993
|term_end=January 20, 2001<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic
|vp=Al Gore
|previous=George H. W. Bush
|next=George W. Bush
|birth_date=August 19, 1946
|birth_place=Hope, Arkansas
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=[[Hillary Rodham Clinton]]
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Baptist]]
}}
'''William Jefferson''' "Bill" '''Clinton''' '''(August 19, 1946 - present)''' served two terms as the 42nd [[President of the United States of America]] from 1993-2000, following [[George H. W. Bush]] and preceding [[George W. Bush]].

== Early Life ==

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946 in Hope, [[Arkansas]]. His father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr. died in a car accident while his mother was pregnant with him. Clinton's mother later married Roger Clinton, and the four year-old William was given his stepfather's name.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html</ref>

Clinton was active in high school, participating in various student government organizations as well as playing the saxophone. Roger Clinton, however, made Bill's family life unpleasant by repeatedly abusing Clinton's mother and her children. Bill Clinton would eventually stand up to his stepfather in high school, forcing his stepfather to stop beating his mother and kicking him out of the house.<ref>http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=50652</ref> After Roger Clinton underwent alcohol rehabilitation, he would eventually rejoin the family.

Clinton attended [[Georgetown University]], then [[Oxford University]] after receiving a prestigious [[Rhodes Scholarship]]. He also then earned a Juris Doctorate from [[Yale University]] in 1973. At Yale he met [[Hillary Clinton|Hillary Rodham]], whom he would later marry.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html</ref>

== Early Political Career ==

After returning to live in Arkansas, Clinton was elected [[Attorney General]] of Arkansas in 1976. Two years later, he was elected Governor of Arkansas, becoming the youngest governor in the country at 32 years-old. Though defeated in 1980, Clinton won back the governorship in 1982 and held it until becoming President in 1992.

In December 1989 a three-judge district federal court held Bill Clinton's state-wide legislative reapportionment plan violated Section 2 of the [[Voting Rights Act|Voting Rights Act of 1965]], 42 U.S.C. 1973. 1990 the [[Supreme Court]] of the United States found in the case of ''[[Clinton vs Jeffers]]'' <ref>Findings of the Supreme Court of the United States in [http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/1990/sg900402.txt Clinton vs Jeffers] No. 90-394 (1990) on appeal 730 F. Supp. 196, 198-201 (ED Ark. 1989) (three-judge court), aff'd, No. 89-2008 (Jan. 7, 1991).</ref> the former Arkansas Governor and [[Democratic]] president had violated the Voting Rights Act. The Justices findings were,

{{Cquote|Bill Clinton does not dispute here -- that "violations of the [[Fourteenth amendment|fourteenth]] or [[fifteenth amendment]] justifying equitable relief have occurred in Arkansas."

In May 1990, the district court turned to those claims, holding that "the State of Arkansas has committed a number of constitutional violations of the voting rights of black citizens." J.S. App. A5. In particular, the court determined that the "State has systematically and deliberately enacted new majority-vote requirements for municipal offices, in an effort to frustrate black political success in elections traditionally requiring only a plurality to win." In 1990...Devotion to majority rule for local offices lay dormant as long as the plurality system produced white office-holders. But whenever black candidates used this system successfully -- and victory by a plurality has been virtually their only chance of success in at-large elections in majority-white cities – the response was swift and certain. Laws were passed in an attempt to close off this avenue of black political victory.}}

The court therefore concluded that

{{Cquote|This series of laws represents a systematic and deliberate attempt to reduce black political opportunity. Such an attempt is plainly unconstitutional. It replaces a system in which blacks could and did succeed, with one in which they almost certainly cannot. The inference of [[bigotry|racial motivation]] is inescapable.}}

===Early Scandals===
Clinton was known to have been involved in several scandals while Governor of Arkansas. He allegedly used Arkansas state policemen to arrange for him to meet women outside of marriage.

His close personal business partnerships with James and Susan McDougall in a failed Savings and Loan business venture led to investigation of the [[Whitewater]] affair. Several of the people involved with the sale of land prior to the Clinton presidency were indicted, but prosecutors were never able to charge the Clintons with a crime because Susan McDougall would not cooperate with investigators. Clinton later pardoned Susan McDougall for her role in the Whitewater affair.{{fact}}

== Presidency==
[[Image:Somalia.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Poster to end the "[[racist]] occupation of Somalia"; eighteen US soldiers were killed and some of their bodies were dragged through the streets.<ref>[http://www.netnomad.com/fineman.html The Oil Factor in Somalia]: Four American [[Big Oil|Petroleum Giants]] had Agreements with the African Nation before its Civil War began. They could reap big rewards if peace is restored. By Mark Fineman, ''Times Mirror Company'', January 18, 1993.</ref>]]
Clinton won in the [[United States presidential election of 1992]] with 43% of the popular vote versus President [[George H. W. Bush]]'s 37%, capitalizing on public discontent with a weak economy and public displeasure with Bush's proposed tax increases; third candidate Ross Perot managed 19%.

In his first two years in office, 1993 through 1994, popular outcry against Clinton's [[radical]] health-care "reform" scheme led to failure of the plan. The collapse of the Soviet Bloc only a few years earlier made [[socialism]] unpopular and was credited for the widespread disillusionment with the proposal. The approach consisted of appointing secret members to an [[economic planning|economic planning committee]] to reshape this important sector of the economy.{{fact}} The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] successfully sued to force disclosure of the committee financing, expenses and membership. The program ultimately became so unpopular that after two years, the Democratic-controlled Congress shielded its committee members' records by never bringing it to the floor for a vote.

In 1994, voters expressed their high disapproval of several decades of Democratic control of Congress by giving a victory to Republicans. This event was tagged the "Republican Revolution," and began a series of showdowns with the Republican-led Congress.{{fact}} These showdowns were epitomized by the budget conflict with then-Speaker of the House [[Newt Gingrich]] in 1995. Gingrich refused to pass Clinton's budget proposal, and the latter threatened to shut down the government as Reagan had done in the 1980s. Clinton did not back down, however, and eventually had his budget passed.<ref>http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint082800d.html</ref> This showdown backfired for the Republicans, as it reinvigorated Clinton's flagging approval ratings.<ref>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Clinton_approval_rating.JPG</ref>

In 1994 a [[Pentagon]] researcher in the Clinton Administration requested funding to develop a non-lethal "love bomb" that would chemically alter the state of mind of [[enemy combatant]]s and make them want to have sex with each other rather than fight.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,281217,00.html Air Force Considered Gay 'Love Bomb' Against Enemies], ''Fox'', June 12, 2007.</ref>

In late 1995, President Clinton dispatched some 20,000 U.S. troops to [[Bosnia]].

Clinton is well known for his good economic policies and leaving office with a three trillion dollar surplus, the first surplus since before WWII.

Clinton was known for his positive and outspoken tolerance of [[homosexuality]]. <ref>[http://www.behindthebadge.net/articles/a105.html]</ref>

==1996==

Clinton was reelected in the [[United States presidential election of 1996]] and carried 49.2% of the popular vote against Republican candidate ([[Robert Dole | Bob Dole]]), who won 41%, and "populist" candidate, [[H. Ross Perot]], who won 8%. During Clinton's second term, together with the Republican-controlled Congress, he produced record federal budget surpluses reaching $236 billion by the year 2000, and representing a net federal budget gain of $526 billion.<ref>[http://www.uuforum.org/deficit.htm Congressional Budget Office figures]</ref>

He spent much of the remainder of his presidency combating scandals. A special prosecutor's report was not released until well into Clinton's second term, and brought documented evidence of Clinton giving false testimony in the Paula Jones civil lawsuit while President which resulted in his impeachment and disbarment from the legal profession.{{fact}} The main charge was that he had committed perjury in a civil suit. The perjured testimony directly related to an attempt to defraud the plaintiff of damages. The Senate failed to make clear what constitutes high crimes and misdemeanors.<ref>[http://www.australianpolitics.com/usa/clinton/trial/statements/lieberman.shtml Statement by Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut)], Congressional Record for Friday, February 12, 1999.</ref>

In 1998 the [[Good Friday Agreement]] was signed between Northern Ireland's Nationalist and Unionist parties and the British and Irish governments. Clinton took part in brokering the deal, phoning the participants in negotiations, at Senator Mitchel's behest, and hosted Unionist and Nationalist leaders at the White House.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/10/nclinton.ireland.api/]</ref>

===al-Qaeda bombing===

During Clinton's presidency the [[terrorist]] group [[al-Qaeda]] conducted the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, simultaneous bombings of the US embassies in [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]] in 1998, and the attack on the [[USS Cole]] in 2000. Terrorist leader [[Osama bin Laden]]<ref>[http://www.bannerofliberty.com/OS8-98MQC/8-24-1998.1.html Did Bill Clinton Smooth the Way for Bin Laden to Become the World's Most Successful Terrorist?], Mary Mostert, Original Sources, August 24, 1998.</ref> issued two public [[fatwa]]s declaring War on America.<ref>[http://www.kimsoft.com/2001/binladenwar.htm Bin Laden's Declaration of War], 1998.</ref> In the 1998 fatwa <ref>Bernard Lewis, [http://www.msu.edu/course/iss/325/stein/read-325-3.htm#Lewis License to Kill], Foreign Affairs, November/December 1998.</ref> bin Laden told ''[[Jihad|jihadist]]s'' worldwide,
{{Cquote|Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge, but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal. You have been disgraced by [[Allah]] and you withdrew; the extent of your impotence and weaknesses became very clear. It was a pleasure for the "heart" of every Muslim and a remedy to the "chests" of believing nations to see you defeated in the three Islamic cities of Beirut, [[Aden]] and [[Mogadishu]].<ref>[http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a1097mohamedinterview&scale=0#a1097mohamedinterview October 1997: [[Ali Mohamed]] Tells FBI He Helped Al-Qaeda Kill US Soldiers, But FBI Takes No Action]</ref>}}

Bin Laden told ''ABC News'' at the time, "We do not have to differentiate between military or civilian. As far as we are concerned, they are all targets." <ref>The 9-11 Commission Report, [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/pdf/sec2.pdf2. The Foundation of the New Terrorism], Official Government Edition, GPO, 2004.</ref>
===Cruise missiles to manipulate opinion polls===
Suspicions often arose during Clinton's tenure about the timing of [[cruise missile]] attacks to manipulate public sympathy at crucial points when his approval ratings sagged. On several occasions <ref>[http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NzhjODk1ODg4M2NiODU4Yzc3YWE1OTA1MDNmYWQ5M2Y= The Facts About Clinton and Terrorism], Byron York, ''National Review Online'', September 11, 2006. </ref> generally when the approval ratings dipped to 47%, surprise cruise missile attacks<ref>[http://www.fas.org/news/iraq/1998/12/21/wwwh8d21.html Airstrikes Against Iraq: 'What Happens Now?'], U.S. Information Agency ''Daily Digest'', December 21, 1998.</ref> were launched which resulted in a 10 point gain in the public opinion polls. Nick Gillespie of ''Reason'' remarked,
{{Cquote|Consider, for instance, the relative lack of scrutiny accorded the August 20 cruise missile attacks on Afghanistan and [[Sudan]] … immediately after the bombing, polls showed that close to half of all Americans thought the missile strikes were meant to divert attention from the president's sex life… the Sudanese bombing suggests something else as well: If and when the public's and the media's attention shifts from the president's sex life to wider-ranging inquiries about how he makes deadly serious policy decisions…"<ref>[http://www.reason.com/news/show/30827.html Bombs Away - Troubling questions about the U.S. attack on Sudan], ''Reason'', December 1998.</ref>}}

Clinton also signed into law the [[Violence Against Women Act]], which opened the federal courts to claims of domestic disputes between men and women, which had always been handled under state rather than federal law. Portions regarding civil rights remedies were later found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff was John Podesta between 1998-2001.

Clinton left office with an approval rating of 65%, the highest of any modern president, and remains the only modern president to leave office with a higher approval rating than he had when he took office.<ref>[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/polls/l/bl_historical_approval.htm Presidential Approval Ratings]</ref>

===Impeachment===
On Aug. 17, 1998, after relentless media attention, leaks, and news of White House intern [[Monica Lewinsky]]'s upcoming testimony regarding her extramarital affair with the President, Clinton made history by becoming the first U.S. president to testify in front of a grand jury in an investigation of his own possibly criminal conduct. In an address to the nation, he admitted to having misled the public and a Federal Court over keys elements of testimony. [[Kenneth Starr]], a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the case, was instructed to pursue the matter.

In the second term Clinton was accused of perjury in connection to the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. Clinton adviser and close confidant [[George Stephanopoulos]] said publicly that there would be a "scorched-earth policy" if Clinton were impeached.<ref>[http://www.alamo-girl.com/02742.htm Insight Magazine], J Michael Waller, 6/19/00.</ref> Clinton previously had decried the "politics of personal destruction."<ref>[http://www.jewishworldreview.com/weekly/standard072299.asp Bill Clinton, Historian], Peter Wehner, Jewish World Review July 22, 1999.</ref>

During the impeachment trial, pornographer [[Larry Flynt]], an old friend of Clinton advisers [[James Carville]] and [[Strobe Talbott]], publicly offered a $1 million reward for any information about the personal lives of members of Congress that could be used for the purposes of blackmail. Although a majority of 55 Senators voted to convict, a minority of 45 Senators gained his acquittal, a two thirds majority being necessary to remove him from office.

[[David Gergen]], former White House Communications Director for both Presidents Reagan and Clinton, summarized the sentiments of many regarding the President's conduct:
{{Cquote|The deep and searing violation took place when he not only lied to the country, but co-opted his friends and lied to them....when you have gone over the line, you won't bring others into it...You don't foul the nest."<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/quinn110298.htm In Washington, That Letdown Feeling], By Sally Quinn, ''The Washington Post'', November 2, 1998, Page E01</ref>}}

Clinton lost his law license in Arkansas because he had committed perjury before a Federal judge.

It was during this scandal that Clinton famously stated: "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is".<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21/newsid_2525000/2525339.stm</ref>

===Terrorist pardons===

On August 11, 1999, President Clinton offered clemency to members of the [[Armed Forces of National Liberation]] (FALN) [[terrorist]] group. <ref>[http://rpc.senate.gov/_files/92199CoddlingTerrorists.pdf U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee] testimony available at http://www.senate.gov/~judiciary/wl91599.htm, ''The Tampa Tribune'', S.J.Res. 33 (passed 95-2).</ref> On January 24, 1975 the FALN bombed Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan killing four people. Over a six-year period, the group claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings that took six lives and injured some 130 people.<ref>[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/puertorico/sep4.htm Clinton Pardons Terror], ''New York Post'', August 13, 1999. rtetrieve from http://www.latinamericanstudies.org September 14, 2007.</ref>

== Legacy ==

Clinton has spent much of time since leaving office working for charitable causes such as support and fund-raising for the victims of AIDS and the Asian tsunami. In the case of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he teamed with former president [[George H.W. Bush]] to raise money for relief efforts.

Bill Clinton's wife, [[Hillary_Rodham_Clinton|Hillary Clinton]], was elected Senator to New York in 2000. She was reelected in 2006. While his wife is now seeking financial donations for the [[2008_Presidential_Election#Declared_Democratic_Party_Candidates|Democratic presidential nomination in 2008]] may face a felony conviction that carries with it a five year sentence, according to WorldNetDaily, for receiving $1.9 million to her Senate Campaign in illegal donations,<ref>[http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55320 'Smoking gun' tape indicts Hillary] Art Moore, WorldNetDaily.com, April 21, 2007.</ref> Bill Clinton has refused to make known the identities of financial donors to his Presidential library.<ref>[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/09/clinton-libary-.html Clinton Library Donors Remain Secret], [[ABC News]], September 27, 2007.</ref>

==Involvement in Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign==

Clinton has been criticized by both liberals and conservatives for his actions in his wife's presidential campaign. [[Time Magazine]], hardly a conservative source, referred to him as "his wife's attack dog". <ref>http://media.www.tuftsdaily.com/media/storage/paper856/news/2008/01/28/OpEd/Editorial.On.The.Campaign.Trail.Bill.Clinton.Should.Keep.His.Mouth.Shut-3171498.shtml</ref> Some accused him of racism for comparing [[Barack Obama]] to [[Jesse Jackson]] when Bill Clinton commented on the campaign trail in [[South Carolina]] in 2008: "Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in '84 and '88. Jackson ran a good campaign. And Obama ran a good campaign here." <ref>http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2008/01/jesse_jackson_barack_obama_wha.php</ref> Time Magazine further editorialized that he had broken his strong bond with the African-American community in the process of campaigning. <ref>Time Magazine, February 4, 2008</ref>

Clinton received a "Pants on Fire" award from [[PolitiFact]] for denying that he said the Obama campaign "played the race card." <ref> http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/452/ Denies that he said the Obama campaign "played the race card."
</ref>

Clinton received a second "Pants on Fire" award from [[PolitiFact]] for this false statement to a Boonville, Indiana
crowd on April 10th, 2008. {{cquote| Hillary (Clinton), one time late at night when she was exhausted, misstated and immediately apologized for it, what happened to her in Bosnia in 1995.}} <ref> http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/428/ "Hillary (Clinton), one time late at night when she was exhausted, misstated and immediately apologized for it, what happened to her in Bosnia in 1995."</ref>

==See also==
*[[Institute for Policy Studies]]
*[[Gay Bomb]]

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==

*[http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=625 No evidence of genocide or ethnic cleansing in Kosovo], by Rollie Keith, Global Research, July 2, 2005.
*[http://www.zmag.org/crisescurevts/germandocs.htm Internal Documents from Germany's Foreign Office Regarding Pre-Bombardment Genocide in Kosovo].
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/author/bill-clinton/ What Liberals Say - Bill Clinton], [[Accuracy In Media]].

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Bill}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Arkansas Governors]]

Talk:George H. W. Bush

2008-06-21T20:57:50Z

Malveramenso: /* Term of Office */ new section

== He is considered by many to be one of the greatest presidents ==
I'll freely admit that Bush Senior looks a LOT better now that we've seen Junior at work, but, seriously. You can say that about EVERY president except Millard Fillmore and it'd be true. Are there any non-Democrat presidents Conservapedia DOESN'T like? --[[User:Scrap|Scrap]] 01:40, 17 March 2007 (EDT)

I agree with you on most of your statement (except for the part about Junior at work.) We should avoid that kind of talk about Presidents. --[[User:Additioner]] 15:05, 25 April 2007

George, Sr. was a one term president, George, Jr, is polling equal to Jimmy Carter. I would not consider that one of the great political families. [[User:crshedd|crshedd]] May 6, 2007

*Well thank goodness they didn't do polling back in the days of the Adams men, eh? --[[User:TK|Sysop-TK]] [[User_talk:TK|/MyTalk]] 08:31, 7 May 2007 (EDT)

== Voodoo Economics... ==

Please read the articles. It is mentioned in the campaign section. Please refrain from repeating slogans. --~ [[User:TK|TK]] [[User_talk:TK|MyTalk]] 15:47, 16 April 2007 (EDT)

:No need to be snippy, TK, I didn't mean to hit a nerve. I don't see any mention of "voodoo economics" in the campaign section. I respectfully request that you restore the reference to the GHWB article.

:*Done. Sorry if you thought directness was snippy. I will try to watch that. --~ [[User:TK|Sysop-TK]] [[User_talk:TK|/MyTalk]] 01:31, 18 April 2007 (EDT)

If by "directness" you are referring to your snide suggestion that I read the article, you are misusing the word. Unless you have evidence to the contrary, I would suggest you assume the contributor has read the article. Your comment was evidence that you had not read the article. I thought I was being rather charitable in referring to your comment as "snippy". And what exactly did you mean by "repeating slogans." Rather snide, wouldn't you say? Or condescending? Patronizing? --[[User:NItramNos|NitramNos]] 13:08, 27 April 2007 (EDT)

==Locked?==
Is this article locked? --[[User:Will N.|Will N.]] 08:41, 7 May 2007 (EDT)

*Yes, Will. That is why I added the template saying so is pasted right above. --[[User:TK|Sysop-TK]] [[User_talk:TK|/MyTalk]] 08:43, 7 May 2007 (EDT)

== Link ==

The North American Free Trade Agreement link doesn't work, as the article is titled [[NAFTA]] on conservapedia. The next time edits are allowed, it would be good to change this. ;-) [[User:Learn together|Learn together]] 13:26, 21 May 2007 (EDT)

== Term of Office ==

I'd like to add a citation to George Herbert Walker Bush's term of office section. Is this possible? [[User:Malveramenso|Mal]] 16:57, 21 June 2008 (EDT)

George H. W. Bush

2008-06-21T20:56:19Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Gwtgg.jpg
|seq2=43
|office2=vice
|term_start2=January 20, 1981
|term_end2=January 20, 1989
|party2=
|pres2=Ronald Reagan
|previous2=Walter Mondale
|next2=Dan Quayle
|seq=41
|term_start=January 20, 1989
|term_end=January 20, 1993
|party=
|vp=Dan Quayle
|previous=Ronald Reagan
|next=Bill Clinton
|birth_date=June 12, 1924
|birth_place=Milton, Massachusetts
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=Barbara Bush
|spouse2=
|religion=Episcopalian
}}

'''George Herbert Walker Bush''' (Milton, Massachusetts June 12, 1924-present) is a [[World War II]] veteran who served as the 41st [[President of the United States of America]], serving January 20, 1989 - January 20, 1993.

==Overview==

During most of his public career, George Bush served other presidents loyally in a number of important positions. Not until 1988, after eight years as vice president under [[Ronald Reagan]], did Bush, a self-effacing man, step into the limelight as the Republican nominee for president. For the first time he had an opportunity to articulate his vision for America's future.

Few presidential candidates had entered a campaign so ill defined in the eyes of the American voters. Bush's two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, the only office to which he had been elected, were almost two decades in the past by 1988. His service in appointive positions—as U.S. delegate to the [[United Nations]], chairman of the [[Republican National Committee]], envoy to [[China]], and director of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]—had provided only an occasional hint of his political philosophy. He had sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 as a moderate, but after becoming Reagan's running mate he had taken conservative positions identical to those of Reagan.

== Early life ==

George Bush was born in Milton, [[Massachusetts]] to [[Prescott Bush]] and Dorothy Walker, on June 12, 1924. His father was a wealthy investment banker and later a partner in the Wall Street firm of Brown Brothers, Harriman and Company. Prescott Bush was also a two-term [[Republican Party|Republican]] senator from [[Connecticut]] from 1952 to 1963.

Bush's maternal grandfather, for whom he was named, was George Herbert Walker, a wealthy businessman and important figure in American golf history.

With his sister and three brothers, Bush was raised in Greenwich, [[Connecticut]]. George Bush attended Greenwich Country Day School before entering [[Phillips Academy]] from 1936 to 1942 in Andover, Massachusetts. At Andover, he played Varsity baseball, was captain of the basketball and soccer teams, and president of the senior class. He was also a member of an exclusive fraternity called the A.U.V, or "Auctoritas, Unitas, Veritas" – Latin for "Authority, Unity, Truth". His roommate at the boarding school was a young man named Edward G. Hooker. It was at Phillips Academy that Bush learned of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

== War hero ==

When George Bush graduated from Andover, he had already been admitted to Yale University, but the United States had entered [[World War II]], and he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve on his 18th birthday instead. After completing the 10-month course, he was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve at Corpus Christi at 18 years old, which made him the youngest naval aviator to that date.

Serving in the Pacific theater, he flew 58 combat missions. On one mission over the Pacific, as a torpedo bomber pilot his aircraft was hit by Japanese antiaircraft fire and his engine caught on fire. Despite the fact that his plane was on fire, he completed his attack and released the bombs over his target, scoring several damaging hits. With his engine on fire, Bush flew several miles from the island, where he and one other crew member on the TBM Avenger bailed out of the aircraft.

While Bush waited four hours in his inflated raft, several fighters circled protectively overhead until he was rescued by the lifeguard submarine USS Finback. For this action Bush received the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in action. During the month he remained on the USS Finback, Bush participated in the rescue of other pilots.

== Postwar years ==

While at Yale, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was elected President. He also captained the Yale baseball team. A left-handed first baseman, Bush played in the first College World Series. As a Senior he was, like his son George W. Bush in 1968 and his father Prescott S. Bush in 1917, inducted into the Skull and Bones secret society in 1948, helping him to build friendships and political support.

He married Barbara Pierce on January 6, 1945. George and [[Barbara Bush]] have six children: George W., Pauline Robinson ("Robin") (1949–1953, died of leukemia), John (Jeb), Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy Walker.

In 1964, Bush ventured into conventional politics by running against [[Texas]]' [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator [[Ralph Yarborough]]. However, he lost in the 1964 Democratic landslide. Bush did not give up on elective politics, and was elected in 1966 and 1968 to the House of Representatives from the 7th District of Texas.

Bush lost his second attempt at a Senate seat in 1970 to Democrat [[Lloyd Bentsen]], who had defeated the incumbent Yarborough in the Democratic primary.

== Distinguished career ==

After the 1970 election loss, Bush was nominated and confirmed to the position of United States Ambassador to the [[United Nations]], at which he served from 1971 to 1973.

After President [[Richard Nixon]] was re-elected President in 1972, he asked Bush to become Chairman of the Republican National Committee. After Nixon's resignation in 1974, Bush was considered for appointment as the replacement Vice President, but new President [[Gerald Ford]] chose Nelson Rockefeller instead. Ford appointed Bush to be Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China. (Since the United States at the time maintained official relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan and not the PRC, the Liaison Office did not have the official status of an embassy and Bush did not hold the position of "ambassador" even though he unofficially acted as one.)

In 1975, Ford brought Bush back to Washington to become Director of Central Intelligence. The CIA had been rocked by a serious of revelations about illegal and unauthorized activities, and Bush helped to restore the agency's morale and integrity. In 1999, the CIA headquarters facility in Langley, Virginia was renamed the George Bush Center for Intelligence.

After Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]] took the presidency in 1977, Bush became Chairman of the First International Bank in Houston. He also became a board member of the Committee on the Present Danger.

== 1980 presidential campaign ==

In the 1980 presidential election, Bush ran for the office, stressing his wide range of government experience. In the contest for the Republican Party nomination, despite Bush's establishment backing the front-runner was Ronald Reagan, the former Governor of [[California]], who was now running for President for the second time. The Bush campaign team coined the term "voodoo economics" to describe the supply-side economic theory that Reagan supported, but later he said he became "converted" and supported the policies as Vice President.

Bush won the Iowa caucus to start the primary season. However, Reagan came back to decisively win the following [[New Hampshire]] primary. With a growing popularity among the Republican voting base, Reagan won most of the remaining primaries and the nomination.

After some preliminary discussion of choosing former President Gerald Ford as his running mate, Reagan selected Bush as his Vice President, placing him on the winning Republican Presidential ticket of 1980.

== Vice presidency ==

As Vice President, Bush had influence on Reagan's staffing and was given many foreign affairs responsibilities. Bush was kept busy on overseas diplomatic trips; Bush attended so many state funerals that he famously quipped, "I'm George Bush. You die, I fly."

In 1984, the Reagan/Bush ticket was re-elected in a landslide against the Democrats' Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro ticket.

During his second term as Vice President, Bush had the distinction of becoming the first Vice President to become Acting President when, on July 13, 1985, President Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon. Bush served as Acting President for approximately eight hours.

== 1988 presidential campaign ==

In 1988, after seven years as Vice President, Bush ran for President. Though considered the early front-runner for the nomination, Bush came in third in the Iowa caucus, beaten by winner U.S. Senator [[Bob Dole]] and runner-up televangelist Pat Robertson. However, Bush rebounded to win the New Hampshire primary. Once the multiple-state primaries such as Super Tuesday began, Bush's organizational strength and fundraising lead were impossible for the other candidates to match, and the nomination was his.

Leading up to the 1988 Republican National Convention, there was much speculation as to Bush's choice of running mate. Bush chose little-known U.S. Senator [[Dan Quayle]] of [[Indiana]]. On the eve of the convention, Bush trailed Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, then Massachusetts governor, by double digits in many polls. Bush, often criticized for his lack of eloquence compared to Reagan, surprised many by giving possibly the best speech of his public career, widely known as the "Thousand points of light" speech for his use of that phrase to describe his vision of American community. Bush's acceptance speech and a generally well-managed Convention catapulted him ahead of Dukakis in the polls, and he held the lead for the rest of the race. Bush's acceptance speech at the convention included the pledge, Read my lips: no new taxes.

The Bush-Quayle ticket beat Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen soundly in the [[Electoral College]], by 426 to 111 (Lloyd Bentsen received one vote). In the nationwide popular vote, Bush took 53.4% of the ballots cast while Dukakis gained 45.6%.

== Presidency ==

Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency from its first days. In his January 20, 1989 Inaugural Address upon taking the Presidency, Bush said:

:''"I come before you and assume the Presidency at a moment rich with promise. We live in a peaceful, prosperous time, but we can make it better. For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree. A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken."''

Leading up to the first [[Gulf War]], on September 11, 1990 President Bush addressing the United Nations stated: ''Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective -- a New World Order -- can emerge: a new era'' thus becoming the first President of the United States of America to openly state and work toward global governance.

As President, Bush is perhaps best known for leading the United Nations coalition in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. In 1990, led by [[Saddam Hussein]], [[Iraq]] invaded its oil-rich neighbor to the south, [[Kuwait]]. The broad coalition sought the limited objective of removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait and ensure that Iraq did not invade [[Saudi Arabia]]. Bush summed up his and the entire free world's position succinctly when he said, "This aggression will not stand," and "this is not a war for oil. This is war against aggression."

President Bush achieved his stated objectives of "liberating" Kuwait and forcing Iraqi withdrawal. President Bush's popularity rating in America soared during and immediately after the success of the military operations.

As the [[Soviet Union]] was unraveling, President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev declared a U.S.-Soviet strategic partnership at the summit of July 1991, decisively marking the end of the Cold War. President Bush declared that U.S.-Soviet cooperation during the Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991 had laid the groundwork for a partnership in resolving bilateral and world problems.

Bush's government, along with the Progressive-Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, spearheaded the negotiations of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA), which Bill Clinton signed in 1993.

George Bush resisted efforts by [[American Israeli Political Action Committee]] (AIPAC) and other organizations to secure American loan guarantees to assist Israel in the construction of new settlements in territories Israel occupied after the 1967 [[Six Day War]]. Bush's larger goal was to undermine the [[conservative]] [[Likud]] government and replace it with a [[leftist]] Labor coalition led by [[Yitzhak Rabin]]. Having secured the election of an Israel government more to its liking, Bush gave his support to a new loan guarantee package.

During the 1980s, as President Reagan lead efforts to enable the Soviet Union to collapsed defense spending was increased, which later lead to the end of the Soviet empire as the Soviets could not compete with U.S. military ingenuity. However, in addition to this increase of spending to protect the United States, the Democrat-controlled Congress increased spending on social welfare programs. The resulting increase in the federal deficit helped lead to an economic recession which dogged most of Bush's term in office and was a contributing factor to his defeat in the 1992 Presidential election.

Several other factors were key in his defeat, including siding with Congressional Democrats in 1990 to raise taxes despite his famous "Read my lips: No new taxes" pledge not to institute any new taxes. In doing so, Bush alienated many members of his conservative and libertarian base, losing their support for his re-election. The issue of foreign policy had faded into the background after the collapse of the USSR, courtesy of Ronald Reagan, which rendered it unimportant to voters in 1992. The failure to remove Saddam after Desert Storm later contributed to the perception that it was a failure, after the initially impression of success. While many believe Ross Perot's 1992 candidacy cost Bush re-election, when looking at Ross Perot's pro-homosexual pro-abortion and protectionist stances, combined with Slick Willie's smooth talk and exit poll analyses of Perot's vote, it is clear that President Bush still would have lost without Perot in the race. Bill Clinton was able to capitalize on a Democrat Congress induced poor economy by telling the American public that Bush's tax hike raised taxes on the middle class, which shows 1992 to be a testament as to why Republicans must stick to economically conservative values. Bush's unpopular stance on life also cost him many votes with moderates, along with Pat Buchanan's famous "Culture War speech" which railed against baby-murder, homosexual privilege, and Bill Clinton's draft dodging.

After the election, with the outbreak of war in Somalia, President Bush, a war hero, unlike Bill Clinton committed troops to Operation Restore Hope, and as the American public appreciated what they had, gave him a send off approval rating of 56%.

== Post-presidency ==

Since leaving office, Bush has largely retired from public life. The Bushes live in Houston and their summer home in Kennebunkport, [[Maine]]. He holds his own fishing tournament in Islamorada, an island in the Florida Keys.

In April 1993, the Iraqi Intelligence Service attempted to assassinate former President Bush via car bomb during a visit to Kuwait. However, Kuwaiti security foiled the car bomb plot. On June 26, 1993, the U.S. launched a missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters in retaliation for the attempted attack against Bush.

Bush has never written a memoir of his political life, and says he does not plan to. He has, however, published a book containing a series of collected letters (''All The Best, George Bush'', 1999), and co-authored a book on recent foreign policy issues with his former National Security Advisor, Brent Scowcroft (''A World Transformed'', 1998). He has given a number of paid speeches and participated in business ventures with the Carlyle Group.

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on the Southwest corner of the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas was renamed after the former president in 1997. The tenth ''Nimitz''-class [[aircraft carrier]] will be named USS ''George H. W. Bush'' when it is launched in 2009.

In 2001, he became the first president since John Adams to be father of another president when his son George W. Bush, previously Governor of Texas, took office as President of the United States. During his term of office, George H. W. Bush was simply known as President George Bush, since his son had never held elective office and was not especially well-known to the public. He is now commonly referred to with his initials as "George H.W. Bush" as well as by various nicknames and titles, including "Former President Bush," "Bush the Elder," "the first President Bush," "Bush 41," and simply "41", in order to avoid confusion between his presidency and that of his son. Although the names of the two men are similar, they are not identical—George W. Bush lacks his father's first middle name Herbert—so they are not known as "senior" and "junior."

On June 12, 2004, he went skydiving in honor of his 80th birthday. It was his third parachute jump since World War II. He also made a jump on June 9, 1999, before his 75th birthday, and told reporters then he had also parachuted in [[Arizona]] two years earlier. The day before his 80th birthday jump, he and his son both took part in eulogizing his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, at the latter's state funeral.

On November 22, 2004, [[New York]] Republican Governor George Pataki named Bush and the other living former presidents (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the World Trade Center.

On January 3, 2005, Bush and [[Bill Clinton]] were named by the current President Bush to lead a nationwide campaign to help the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. Bush and Clinton both appeared on the Super Bowl XXXIX pre-game show on FOX in support of their bipartisan effort to raise money for relief of the disaster through the USA Freedom Corps, an action which Bush described as "transcending politics." Thirteen days later, they both traveled to the affected areas to see how the relief efforts are going.

In August 31, 2005, following the devastation of the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina, Bush again teamed with Clinton to coordinate private relief donations. Reports were common that Bush and Clinton had developed a friendship by now, despite the latter having defeated the former in the 1992 election. (Such friendships were not unknown, as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter had developed one despite a similar history.) When Gerald R. Ford died in December, 2006 he became the oldest surviving President.

== Family ==

George Bush was the son of [[Prescott Bush]], US Senator from Connecticut from 1952-1963.

Upon his return from the war, George Bush married Barbara Pierce. Their marriage later produced six children: George Walker Bush, Pauline Robinson Bush, John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, Neil Mallon Bush, Marvin Bush, and Dorothy Bush Koch.

On Dec. 5, 2006 President George H. W. Bush, addressing [[Florida]] lawmakers and others, broke down in tears as he cited his son, Gov. [[John Ellis "Jeb" Bush]], as an example of leadership.[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16053170/]

==External links==
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq10-1.htm War Record of LTJG George Bush]
* [http://www.maam.org/flightsim/news/tbm_history.htm History's Youngest Naval Aviator]
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gb41.html White House biography]
* [http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/ George Bush Presidential Library and Museum]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, George H.W.}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}

George H. W. Bush

2008-06-21T20:54:45Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Gwtgg.jpg
|seq2=43
|office2=vice
|term_start2=January 20, 1981
|term_end2=January 20, 1989<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party2=
|pres2=Ronald Reagan
|previous2=Walter Mondale
|next2=Dan Quayle
|seq=41
|term_start=January 20, 1989
|term_end=January 20, 1993
|party=
|vp=Dan Quayle
|previous=Ronald Reagan
|next=Bill Clinton
|birth_date=June 12, 1924
|birth_place=Milton, Massachusetts
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=Barbara Bush
|spouse2=
|religion=Episcopalian
}}

'''George Herbert Walker Bush''' (Milton, Massachusetts June 12, 1924-present) is a [[World War II]] veteran who served as the 41st [[President of the United States of America]], serving January 20, 1989 - January 20, 1993.

==Overview==

During most of his public career, George Bush served other presidents loyally in a number of important positions. Not until 1988, after eight years as vice president under [[Ronald Reagan]], did Bush, a self-effacing man, step into the limelight as the Republican nominee for president. For the first time he had an opportunity to articulate his vision for America's future.

Few presidential candidates had entered a campaign so ill defined in the eyes of the American voters. Bush's two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, the only office to which he had been elected, were almost two decades in the past by 1988. His service in appointive positions—as U.S. delegate to the [[United Nations]], chairman of the [[Republican National Committee]], envoy to [[China]], and director of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]—had provided only an occasional hint of his political philosophy. He had sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 as a moderate, but after becoming Reagan's running mate he had taken conservative positions identical to those of Reagan.

== Early life ==

George Bush was born in Milton, [[Massachusetts]] to [[Prescott Bush]] and Dorothy Walker, on June 12, 1924. His father was a wealthy investment banker and later a partner in the Wall Street firm of Brown Brothers, Harriman and Company. Prescott Bush was also a two-term [[Republican Party|Republican]] senator from [[Connecticut]] from 1952 to 1963.

Bush's maternal grandfather, for whom he was named, was George Herbert Walker, a wealthy businessman and important figure in American golf history.

With his sister and three brothers, Bush was raised in Greenwich, [[Connecticut]]. George Bush attended Greenwich Country Day School before entering [[Phillips Academy]] from 1936 to 1942 in Andover, Massachusetts. At Andover, he played Varsity baseball, was captain of the basketball and soccer teams, and president of the senior class. He was also a member of an exclusive fraternity called the A.U.V, or "Auctoritas, Unitas, Veritas" – Latin for "Authority, Unity, Truth". His roommate at the boarding school was a young man named Edward G. Hooker. It was at Phillips Academy that Bush learned of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

== War hero ==

When George Bush graduated from Andover, he had already been admitted to Yale University, but the United States had entered [[World War II]], and he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve on his 18th birthday instead. After completing the 10-month course, he was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve at Corpus Christi at 18 years old, which made him the youngest naval aviator to that date.

Serving in the Pacific theater, he flew 58 combat missions. On one mission over the Pacific, as a torpedo bomber pilot his aircraft was hit by Japanese antiaircraft fire and his engine caught on fire. Despite the fact that his plane was on fire, he completed his attack and released the bombs over his target, scoring several damaging hits. With his engine on fire, Bush flew several miles from the island, where he and one other crew member on the TBM Avenger bailed out of the aircraft.

While Bush waited four hours in his inflated raft, several fighters circled protectively overhead until he was rescued by the lifeguard submarine USS Finback. For this action Bush received the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in action. During the month he remained on the USS Finback, Bush participated in the rescue of other pilots.

== Postwar years ==

While at Yale, he joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was elected President. He also captained the Yale baseball team. A left-handed first baseman, Bush played in the first College World Series. As a Senior he was, like his son George W. Bush in 1968 and his father Prescott S. Bush in 1917, inducted into the Skull and Bones secret society in 1948, helping him to build friendships and political support.

He married Barbara Pierce on January 6, 1945. George and [[Barbara Bush]] have six children: George W., Pauline Robinson ("Robin") (1949–1953, died of leukemia), John (Jeb), Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy Walker.

In 1964, Bush ventured into conventional politics by running against [[Texas]]' [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator [[Ralph Yarborough]]. However, he lost in the 1964 Democratic landslide. Bush did not give up on elective politics, and was elected in 1966 and 1968 to the House of Representatives from the 7th District of Texas.

Bush lost his second attempt at a Senate seat in 1970 to Democrat [[Lloyd Bentsen]], who had defeated the incumbent Yarborough in the Democratic primary.

== Distinguished career ==

After the 1970 election loss, Bush was nominated and confirmed to the position of United States Ambassador to the [[United Nations]], at which he served from 1971 to 1973.

After President [[Richard Nixon]] was re-elected President in 1972, he asked Bush to become Chairman of the Republican National Committee. After Nixon's resignation in 1974, Bush was considered for appointment as the replacement Vice President, but new President [[Gerald Ford]] chose Nelson Rockefeller instead. Ford appointed Bush to be Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China. (Since the United States at the time maintained official relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan and not the PRC, the Liaison Office did not have the official status of an embassy and Bush did not hold the position of "ambassador" even though he unofficially acted as one.)

In 1975, Ford brought Bush back to Washington to become Director of Central Intelligence. The CIA had been rocked by a serious of revelations about illegal and unauthorized activities, and Bush helped to restore the agency's morale and integrity. In 1999, the CIA headquarters facility in Langley, Virginia was renamed the George Bush Center for Intelligence.

After Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]] took the presidency in 1977, Bush became Chairman of the First International Bank in Houston. He also became a board member of the Committee on the Present Danger.

== 1980 presidential campaign ==

In the 1980 presidential election, Bush ran for the office, stressing his wide range of government experience. In the contest for the Republican Party nomination, despite Bush's establishment backing the front-runner was Ronald Reagan, the former Governor of [[California]], who was now running for President for the second time. The Bush campaign team coined the term "voodoo economics" to describe the supply-side economic theory that Reagan supported, but later he said he became "converted" and supported the policies as Vice President.

Bush won the Iowa caucus to start the primary season. However, Reagan came back to decisively win the following [[New Hampshire]] primary. With a growing popularity among the Republican voting base, Reagan won most of the remaining primaries and the nomination.

After some preliminary discussion of choosing former President Gerald Ford as his running mate, Reagan selected Bush as his Vice President, placing him on the winning Republican Presidential ticket of 1980.

== Vice presidency ==

As Vice President, Bush had influence on Reagan's staffing and was given many foreign affairs responsibilities. Bush was kept busy on overseas diplomatic trips; Bush attended so many state funerals that he famously quipped, "I'm George Bush. You die, I fly."

In 1984, the Reagan/Bush ticket was re-elected in a landslide against the Democrats' Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro ticket.

During his second term as Vice President, Bush had the distinction of becoming the first Vice President to become Acting President when, on July 13, 1985, President Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon. Bush served as Acting President for approximately eight hours.

== 1988 presidential campaign ==

In 1988, after seven years as Vice President, Bush ran for President. Though considered the early front-runner for the nomination, Bush came in third in the Iowa caucus, beaten by winner U.S. Senator [[Bob Dole]] and runner-up televangelist Pat Robertson. However, Bush rebounded to win the New Hampshire primary. Once the multiple-state primaries such as Super Tuesday began, Bush's organizational strength and fundraising lead were impossible for the other candidates to match, and the nomination was his.

Leading up to the 1988 Republican National Convention, there was much speculation as to Bush's choice of running mate. Bush chose little-known U.S. Senator [[Dan Quayle]] of [[Indiana]]. On the eve of the convention, Bush trailed Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, then Massachusetts governor, by double digits in many polls. Bush, often criticized for his lack of eloquence compared to Reagan, surprised many by giving possibly the best speech of his public career, widely known as the "Thousand points of light" speech for his use of that phrase to describe his vision of American community. Bush's acceptance speech and a generally well-managed Convention catapulted him ahead of Dukakis in the polls, and he held the lead for the rest of the race. Bush's acceptance speech at the convention included the pledge, Read my lips: no new taxes.

The Bush-Quayle ticket beat Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen soundly in the [[Electoral College]], by 426 to 111 (Lloyd Bentsen received one vote). In the nationwide popular vote, Bush took 53.4% of the ballots cast while Dukakis gained 45.6%.

== Presidency ==

Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency from its first days. In his January 20, 1989 Inaugural Address upon taking the Presidency, Bush said:

:''"I come before you and assume the Presidency at a moment rich with promise. We live in a peaceful, prosperous time, but we can make it better. For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. The totalitarian era is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree. A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken."''

Leading up to the first [[Gulf War]], on September 11, 1990 President Bush addressing the United Nations stated: ''Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective -- a New World Order -- can emerge: a new era'' thus becoming the first President of the United States of America to openly state and work toward global governance.

As President, Bush is perhaps best known for leading the United Nations coalition in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. In 1990, led by [[Saddam Hussein]], [[Iraq]] invaded its oil-rich neighbor to the south, [[Kuwait]]. The broad coalition sought the limited objective of removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait and ensure that Iraq did not invade [[Saudi Arabia]]. Bush summed up his and the entire free world's position succinctly when he said, "This aggression will not stand," and "this is not a war for oil. This is war against aggression."

President Bush achieved his stated objectives of "liberating" Kuwait and forcing Iraqi withdrawal. President Bush's popularity rating in America soared during and immediately after the success of the military operations.

As the [[Soviet Union]] was unraveling, President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev declared a U.S.-Soviet strategic partnership at the summit of July 1991, decisively marking the end of the Cold War. President Bush declared that U.S.-Soviet cooperation during the Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991 had laid the groundwork for a partnership in resolving bilateral and world problems.

Bush's government, along with the Progressive-Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, spearheaded the negotiations of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA), which Bill Clinton signed in 1993.

George Bush resisted efforts by [[American Israeli Political Action Committee]] (AIPAC) and other organizations to secure American loan guarantees to assist Israel in the construction of new settlements in territories Israel occupied after the 1967 [[Six Day War]]. Bush's larger goal was to undermine the [[conservative]] [[Likud]] government and replace it with a [[leftist]] Labor coalition led by [[Yitzhak Rabin]]. Having secured the election of an Israel government more to its liking, Bush gave his support to a new loan guarantee package.

During the 1980s, as President Reagan lead efforts to enable the Soviet Union to collapsed defense spending was increased, which later lead to the end of the Soviet empire as the Soviets could not compete with U.S. military ingenuity. However, in addition to this increase of spending to protect the United States, the Democrat-controlled Congress increased spending on social welfare programs. The resulting increase in the federal deficit helped lead to an economic recession which dogged most of Bush's term in office and was a contributing factor to his defeat in the 1992 Presidential election.

Several other factors were key in his defeat, including siding with Congressional Democrats in 1990 to raise taxes despite his famous "Read my lips: No new taxes" pledge not to institute any new taxes. In doing so, Bush alienated many members of his conservative and libertarian base, losing their support for his re-election. The issue of foreign policy had faded into the background after the collapse of the USSR, courtesy of Ronald Reagan, which rendered it unimportant to voters in 1992. The failure to remove Saddam after Desert Storm later contributed to the perception that it was a failure, after the initially impression of success. While many believe Ross Perot's 1992 candidacy cost Bush re-election, when looking at Ross Perot's pro-homosexual pro-abortion and protectionist stances, combined with Slick Willie's smooth talk and exit poll analyses of Perot's vote, it is clear that President Bush still would have lost without Perot in the race. Bill Clinton was able to capitalize on a Democrat Congress induced poor economy by telling the American public that Bush's tax hike raised taxes on the middle class, which shows 1992 to be a testament as to why Republicans must stick to economically conservative values. Bush's unpopular stance on life also cost him many votes with moderates, along with Pat Buchanan's famous "Culture War speech" which railed against baby-murder, homosexual privilege, and Bill Clinton's draft dodging.

After the election, with the outbreak of war in Somalia, President Bush, a war hero, unlike Bill Clinton committed troops to Operation Restore Hope, and as the American public appreciated what they had, gave him a send off approval rating of 56%.

== Post-presidency ==

Since leaving office, Bush has largely retired from public life. The Bushes live in Houston and their summer home in Kennebunkport, [[Maine]]. He holds his own fishing tournament in Islamorada, an island in the Florida Keys.

In April 1993, the Iraqi Intelligence Service attempted to assassinate former President Bush via car bomb during a visit to Kuwait. However, Kuwaiti security foiled the car bomb plot. On June 26, 1993, the U.S. launched a missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters in retaliation for the attempted attack against Bush.

Bush has never written a memoir of his political life, and says he does not plan to. He has, however, published a book containing a series of collected letters (''All The Best, George Bush'', 1999), and co-authored a book on recent foreign policy issues with his former National Security Advisor, Brent Scowcroft (''A World Transformed'', 1998). He has given a number of paid speeches and participated in business ventures with the Carlyle Group.

The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located on the Southwest corner of the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas was renamed after the former president in 1997. The tenth ''Nimitz''-class [[aircraft carrier]] will be named USS ''George H. W. Bush'' when it is launched in 2009.

In 2001, he became the first president since John Adams to be father of another president when his son George W. Bush, previously Governor of Texas, took office as President of the United States. During his term of office, George H. W. Bush was simply known as President George Bush, since his son had never held elective office and was not especially well-known to the public. He is now commonly referred to with his initials as "George H.W. Bush" as well as by various nicknames and titles, including "Former President Bush," "Bush the Elder," "the first President Bush," "Bush 41," and simply "41", in order to avoid confusion between his presidency and that of his son. Although the names of the two men are similar, they are not identical—George W. Bush lacks his father's first middle name Herbert—so they are not known as "senior" and "junior."

On June 12, 2004, he went skydiving in honor of his 80th birthday. It was his third parachute jump since World War II. He also made a jump on June 9, 1999, before his 75th birthday, and told reporters then he had also parachuted in [[Arizona]] two years earlier. The day before his 80th birthday jump, he and his son both took part in eulogizing his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, at the latter's state funeral.

On November 22, 2004, [[New York]] Republican Governor George Pataki named Bush and the other living former presidents (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the World Trade Center.

On January 3, 2005, Bush and [[Bill Clinton]] were named by the current President Bush to lead a nationwide campaign to help the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. Bush and Clinton both appeared on the Super Bowl XXXIX pre-game show on FOX in support of their bipartisan effort to raise money for relief of the disaster through the USA Freedom Corps, an action which Bush described as "transcending politics." Thirteen days later, they both traveled to the affected areas to see how the relief efforts are going.

In August 31, 2005, following the devastation of the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina, Bush again teamed with Clinton to coordinate private relief donations. Reports were common that Bush and Clinton had developed a friendship by now, despite the latter having defeated the former in the 1992 election. (Such friendships were not unknown, as Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter had developed one despite a similar history.) When Gerald R. Ford died in December, 2006 he became the oldest surviving President.

== Family ==

George Bush was the son of [[Prescott Bush]], US Senator from Connecticut from 1952-1963.

Upon his return from the war, George Bush married Barbara Pierce. Their marriage later produced six children: George Walker Bush, Pauline Robinson Bush, John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, Neil Mallon Bush, Marvin Bush, and Dorothy Bush Koch.

On Dec. 5, 2006 President George H. W. Bush, addressing [[Florida]] lawmakers and others, broke down in tears as he cited his son, Gov. [[John Ellis "Jeb" Bush]], as an example of leadership.[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16053170/]

==External links==
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq10-1.htm War Record of LTJG George Bush]
* [http://www.maam.org/flightsim/news/tbm_history.htm History's Youngest Naval Aviator]
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gb41.html White House biography]
* [http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/ George Bush Presidential Library and Museum]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, George H.W.}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}

Ronald Wilson Reagan

2008-06-21T20:54:10Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Aaag.jpg
|seq=40
|term_start=January 20, 1981
|term_end=January 20, 1989<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=George H. W. Bush
|previous=Jimmy Carter
|next=George H. W. Bush
|birth_date=February 6, 1911
|birth_place=Tampico, Illinois, USA
|death_date=June 5, 2004
|death_place=Bel Air, California
|spouse=Jane Wyman
|spouse2= Nancy Davis Reagan
|religion=Presbyterian
}}
'''Ronald Wilson Reagan '''(February 6, 1911- June 5, 2004), [[United States]] president and considered by some to be one of the greatest American Presidents, was the 40th [[President of the United States of America]] from 1981 to 1989, following [[Democrat]] [[Jimmy Carter]] and preceding [[Republican]] [[George H. W. Bush]]. Ronald Reagan is credited with leading America peacefully through the Cold War, lowering taxes, promoting a free economy, and helping bring about the end of [[communism]] in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He was known affectionately to Americans as "The Gipper," harking back to a film where he was cast as All-American George Gip.<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200310290853.asp]</ref>

In one of his most famous challenges to Soviet communism in Europe, Reagan gave a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin in which he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Reagan's economic policies became known as "Reaganomics" based on the idea that tax cuts will spur savings and investment. Reagan was strongly opposed to the concept of big government, advocating a reduction in the size and budget of the federal government. During his terms in office, he faced a divided Congress split between Republican and Democratic control for six of his eight years as President. Reagan was known for forging alliances with the Democratic Speaker of the House, [[Tip O'Neill]], among others, to effectively pass legislation.

==Early Life==
Reagan was born and raised in Illinois and attended Eureka College, where he quickly developed a reputation as a "jack of all trades", excelling in the areas of athletics and theater. In his first year at Eureka, where Reagan earned a degree in economics, the president of the college tried to cut back the faculty. Reagan immediately helped organize a student strike. Reagan enlisted in the military during World War II, but his eyesight was not good enough for combat duty. He used his acting skills to make military training films and promote the sale of War Bonds.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/reagan.obit/index.html</ref>

Reagan became a radio sports announcer, and then a famous actor, leading the Screen Actors Guild. Ironically, Reagan was thus the only president to lead a [[labor union]], traditionally considered bastions of liberalism. Reagan himself was a registered Democrat well into the 1950s, but as head of the Screen Actors Guild he fought against Communist infiltration. Peggy Noonan wrote, "Even in his zeal to purge the communist influence from Hollywood, he fought those who engaged in witch hunts and defended those who had been falsely accused of involvement." Reagan met his second wife, actress Nancy Davis, when she ended up on the "black list" and came to him for help.<ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DavidLimbaugh/2001/11/17/noonan_when_character_was_king]</ref>

==Governor of California==
In 1966, he was elected the 33rd Governor of California, succeeding [[Pat Brown]]. In 1970, he was re-elected. But in 1974, he chose not to seek a third term and was succeeded by [[Jerry Brown]]. Events and achievements during his terms included:

*Called in the National Guard to restore order when People's Park protesters began attacking police, and restored order to California's chaotic university campuses.<ref>http://police.berkeley.edu/about_UCPD/ucpdhistory.html#anchor178048</ref> Reagan authorized the use of violent force against the peaceful protesters in Berkeley,<ref>University of California, Berkeley - Police Department. [http://police.berkeley.edu/about_UCPD/ucpdhistory.html#anchor178048 History Topic: People's Park] August 2006</ref> saying, "If there has to be a bloodbath, then let's get it over with."<ref> ''San Francisco Chronicle'', early morning edition, May 15 1969</ref> In the resulting chaos, police fired buckshot into the crowd, fatally wounding one bystander and blinding another, and injuring hundreds of others.

*Led a comprehensive and far-reaching revision of California's massive public assistance programs, actually increasing benefits to the truly needy.

*Worked well with the Democrats to forge consensus on a variety of issues.

*Opposed the Dos Rios Dam.

==Presidency==
[[Image:Reaganfamily-red-rr-.jpg|left|thumb|275px|President & Mrs. Reagan with their extended family.]]
In 1968, Reagan was a late candidate for president in the Republican primaries. However, [[Richard Nixon]] easily won that nomination. In 1976, Reagan challenged Gerald Ford for the Republican nomination, before withdrawing his name from consideration. Reagan knew if he continued, he would take the nomination away from Ford, and forever be branded as a Party spoiler. This he did not want, so he signaled his wish to be removed from consideration, and gave a very effective speech at the convention in support of Ford. Then, in 1980, he beat [[George H. W. Bush]] in the Republican primaries, and went on to oppose [[Jimmy Carter]] (incumbent) in the general election with G.H.W. Bush as his running mate. A poor economy and the incumbent's failing to deal with several international crises aided Reagan. As he put it, "I'm told I can't use the word depression. Well, I'll tell you the definition. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." In the general election, he received 50.75% of the popular vote and 90.9% of the electoral.

Once in office, Reagan showed he was playing hardball. When the Federal [[Air Traffic Controllers]] struck illegally, Reagan gave them 48 hours before he fired all who hadn't gone back to work (11,359).

In 1984, Reagan won 49 out of 50 states' electoral votes, and the largest public vote in almost 100 years, 58.77%. During his second term, he helped end the [[Cold War]] with the help of [[Margaret Thatcher]] and some assistance from [[Pope John Paul II]] and [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] by recognizing the weakness of the Soviet economy, and spent them out of existence by not being able to compete with defense spending.<ref>[http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/agathon/2661_8.htm#7867The Demise of the Brezhnev Doctrine and the Dismantling of the Warsaw Treaty Organization], " The party leadership gradually came to understand that the sustaining of domestic [[perestroika]] in the USSR was endangered by the inability of an inefficient economy to carry the burdens of excessive overseas military spending in the form of the Warsaw Pact".</ref>

===Economy===
Fueled by an over spending Congress that steadfastly refused Reagan's budget proposals, the national debt increased 160% during his two terms in office. The economic growth that resulted from tax cuts made deficits as a percentage of GDP lower than what they had been in during the previous decade of stagflation.

===Foreign policy===
Reagan's 1983 Strategic Defense Initiative became popularly known as "Star Wars," the name given to it by critics because they thought it was pure fantasy like the popular George Lucas films. This plan was never actually fully instituted. Although billions of dollars have been spent on development, no space-based missile defense was tested successfully until 2006. While many academics claim SDI gave the United States a large amount of leverage in its standoff with the [[Soviet Union]], many political scientists and historians note that Star Wars played a secondary role in the calculus of Soviet policy-making, where internal structural problems were paramount. However, it should be noted that the threat the Soviet Union felt from the initiative was instrumental in making them step-up negotiations, according to many involved with diplomacy at the time. [[Henry Kissinger]] wrote: ''I know it's an axiomatic view of the Left around the world that missile defense is sinful, and that it's desirable to keep each nation as vulnerable as possible. But that's a debatable premise. The U.S. must defend itself against ''whoever'' has missiles that would threaten the United States. And you don't have to be able to name an enemy.''<ref>[http://www.doublestandards.org/dreifus1.html]</ref>
[[Image:300px-ReaganBerlinWall.jpg‎|right|275px|thumb|"Mr.Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"]]

Reagan was president at the time of the shooting down of [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]] by the Soviets on September 1, 1983. He termed the shootown of an innocent straying passenger plane with 269 passengers and crew a "massacre" and the ensuing rage over the tragedy both world-wide and in the U.S. provided support for the deployment of cruise and Pershing ll missiles in West Europe- just six minutes flying time from Moscow.

Upon his death, Margaret Thatcher commented: ''As Prime Minister, I worked closely with Ronald Reagan for eight of the most important years of all our lives. We talked regularly both before and after his presidency. And I have had time and cause to reflect on what made him a great president. Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles - and, I believe, right ones. He expounded them clearly, he acted upon them decisively. When the world threw problems at the White House, he was not baffled, or disorientated, or overwhelmed. He knew almost instinctively what to do. When his aides were preparing option papers for his decision, they were able to cut out entire rafts of proposals that they knew 'the Old Man' would never wear. When his allies came under Soviet or domestic pressure, they could look confidently to Washington for firm leadership. And when his enemies tested American resolve, they soon discovered that his resolve was firm and unyielding. Yet his ideas, though clear, were never simplistic. He saw the many sides of truth. Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion; but he also sensed it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform. Yes, he did not shrink from denouncing Moscow's 'evil empire'. But he realized that a man of goodwill might nonetheless emerge from within its dark corridors. So the President resisted Soviet expansion and pressed down on Soviet weakness at every point until the day came when communism began to collapse beneath the combined weight of these pressures and its own failures. And when a man of goodwill did emerge from the ruins, President Reagan stepped forward to shake his hand and to offer sincere cooperation. Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity - and nothing was more American.''<ref>[http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/thatcher.asp]</ref>

===Soviet Union===
Shortly after taking office in 1981 Reagan issued National Security Decision Directive 11-82, (NSDD 11-82), that explicitly made U.S. defense spending a form of economic warfare against the Soviets. The directive was known more unofficially as the Reagan Initiative. The United States would "exploit and demonstrate the enduring economic advantages of the West to develop a variety of [arms] systems that are difficult for the Soviets to counter, impose disproportionate costs, open up new areas of major military competition and obsolesce previous Soviet investment or employ sophisticated strategic options to achieve this end. Reagan's [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (SDI), or "Star Wars" as the media referred to it, was a costly high tech research and development program designed to make arms spending a "rising burden on the Soviet economy."<ref>Peter Schweizer , [http://www.reason.com/news/show/28929.html ''Reagan's War: The Epic Story of His Forty Year Struggle and Final Triumph Over Communism''], New York: Doubleday, 2002.</ref>
[[Image:Photo 4 250.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Reagan and Gorbachev at Reykjavik]]
The Reagan Initiative was also concerned with aiding nations in active conflict with the Soviet Union. One such group was the [[mujahideen]] of Afghanistan. This armament would be used to combat the Soviet Union, and later used by the Taliban against the United States.

A report by the CIA of the critical domestic economic problems and social discontent Soviet [[CPSU]] General Secretary Gorbachev provided a look what the sources of his principal dilemma-the very reforms needed to deal with the problems would threaten preservation of the [[nomenklatura]] and put at risk Gorbachev’s ability to maintain the power to bring about [[Perestroika]].<ref>CIA Assessments of the Soviet Union: [https://www.cia.gov/csi/monograph/russia/enter.html Chapter 5, Enter Gorbachev ], Douglas J. MacEachin, CIA Publications, 1996.</ref> Gorbachev requested a Summit with Reagan in Reykjavik in October 1986 to discuss the stresses competition from the Reagan’s defense posture was having on Soviet military spending and economy, and Gorbachev’s ability to carryout his plans of restructuring Communist control. Gorbachev told the [[Politburo]] in preparation for the Summit, "Our goal is to prevent the next round of arms race. If we do not do this ... will pulled into an arms race beyond our power, and we will lose this race, for we are presently at the limit of out capabilities."<ref>Notes of Politburo Meeting 4 October 1986, [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/22/documents/reykjavik/ Gorbachev's instructions for the group preparing for Reykjavik]</ref>

By the late 80s, the Soviet Union began unilateral force cuts and troop withdrawals from Eastern Europe, and by May 1989 an unprecedented series of disclosures by senior Soviet officials revealed actual reductions in defense spending for the 1986-1990 and 1991-1995 Five Year Plan periods.<ref> Christopher Wilkinson NATO Review, [http://www.nato.int/docu/review/1991/9102-4.htm Soviet Defense Spending], NATO's Economics Directorate No. 2 - April 1991, Vol. 39 p. 16-22</ref> Genrikh Grofimenko, a former adviser to [[Leonid Brezhnev]], said "Ninety-nine percent of the Russian people believe that [the US] won the Cold War because of your president's insistence on SDI".<ref>Peter Schweizer, ''Reagan’s War''.</ref>

===[[Containment]] and the [[Iran]]ian initiative===
In 1985, after Reagan won reelection to his second term, the focus turned from reviving the domestic economy to several foreign policy matters which had been lingering throughout the decade. One such matter involved Iran, a long time ally of the Western Allies since 1941 that had experienced an Islamic Revolution in 1979 after President Carter announced [[Human Rights]] had superseded [[Containment]] as the primary focus of American foreign policy{{fact}}. Since 1980, Iran had been enmeshed in a brutal trench war with neighboring Iraq which was emerging as a potent military threat in the region to other allies. Members of the National Security Council staff, along with CIA Director [[William Casey]], persuaded Reagan much could be gained and several problems could be addressed simultaneously with an overture to Iran to restore relations.

The objective of the plan was fourfold:
#Take steps to restore good relations with the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]] which was becoming increasingly hostile to the West;
#Take measures to convince Iran that Israel could become a friend and ally;
#Insurance against Iraq becoming too strong which would become a threat to [[Kuwait]] or [[Saudi Arabia]];
#Provide funding for other operations to continue the policy of containment in the Western Hemisphere, most notably [[Nicaragua]], and the violence the Soviet/Cuban/Nicaragua connection was creating in [[El Salvador]] and [[Honduras]].

There were humanitarian aspects to the proposal as well; (1) the Iran-Iraq War had stalemated for nearly six years and Reagan was advised that he was in the unique position as President to help facilitate bringing a senseless war with much suffering to an end; (2) the suffering of the people of the Central American Republics at the hands of Soviet-inspired subversion which had in the decade of the '80s established a beachhead in North America; (3) Iran perhaps could be persuaded to use its good offices to influence hostage takers in Lebanon who had held several Western prisoners, many of them Christian Missionaries, for several years.

Reports had filtered back to Reagan that children as young as nine years old had been used by Iran to clear minefields.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/iran-iraq.htm Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), ''Iraqi Retreats, 1982-84''], Globalsecurity.org, retrieved 20 March 2007.</ref> In weighing Iraq's delicate Sunni/Shia balance and the growing threat of Iranian-sponsored terrorism, the NSC staff and Casey recognized the dangers of an Iraqi collapse as well as the urgent need to dissuade Iran from continuing its ruthless and inhumane tactics.<ref>[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/iraq53.pdf NSDD 139, 5 April 1984].</ref>

The [[Boland amendment]], a Vietnam era-style Congressional impingement on the legitimate foreign policy prerogatives of the Executive via the power of the purse, was used to deny Reagan's recommitment to the [[Truman Doctrine]] which had been adhered to by every President, Democratic and Republican alike since Truman, with the exception of [[President Carter]] whose [[human rights]] policy had brought one of the active belligerents, the [[Ayatollah Khomeini]], to power{{fact}}. In three of the active Soviet fronts, [[Afghanistan]], [[Nicaragua]], and [[El Salvador]], some Congressional Democratic leaders were openly sympathetic to Soviet foreign policy.<ref>[http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/591eifow.asp ''One Weekend in April, A Long Time Ago ... What John Kerry thought about the Sandinista in Nicaragua''], Hugh Hewitt, The Weekly Standard, 09/09/2004.</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060331222819/www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/6/7/234527.shtml ''Kerry: 'I'm Proud I Stood Against Reagan''] Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff, 7 June 2004.</ref> So the decision was made to fund [[Containment]] of Soviet objectives on an active front in North America with sales of TOW missiles to Iran. Israel provided the TOWs because the [[Boland Amendment]] forbade direct US funding and it was a welcome opportunity for Israel to build bridges to a much needed friend in the Middle East.

The operation was known as the "[[Iran-Contra affair]]." After word got out about the operation in November 1986, investigations were made, leading to the convictions of several members of the Reagan administration. President Reagan himself testified before the Tower Commission that he had poor recollection of the details of the operation due in part to the heavy pain medications he had been on in that period.

==Cold War victory==
Reagan is credited for ending the [[Cold War]] in victory for the United States. Historian Tony Judt in ''Postwar'' credits Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], while the political scientist Jan Kubik presents a viewpoint that credits [[Pope John Paul II]].<ref>[http://praguepost.com/articles/2007/02/28/letters-to-the-editor.php]</ref> Other historians contend structural weaknesses within the Communist bloc meant Reagan's actions were inconsequential to the end of [[communism]]. This is the view adopted by [[Russia]]ns themselves, and many political historians, citing ''[[perestroika]]'' and ''[[glasnost]]'' as beginning an inevitable slow fading of central power, and a collapse by irreconcilable differences between the central Soviet [[Politburo]] and the constituent republics, especially the [[Ukraine]].<ref>David Remnick, "Lenin's Tomb</ref> In the end, the consensus seems to point to all of the above, that hastened the demise of the Soviet Union; Internal factors, religious pressure brought by the Pope, Gorbachev's "Perestroika" and the united front of Ronald Reagan and [[Margaret Thatcher]], leading [[NATO]] and [[the West]] to embed a [[missile defense system]] in [[Western Europe]], and the economic superiority of [[Capitalism]], which simply out-spent and out-performed that of the Communist one. One thing that cannot be quantified is Reagan's ability to give [[hope]], his never-ending [[optimism]] that good would indeed triumph over evil. Many see that as key to bringing extra [[confidence]] to those locked behind the "[[Iron Curtain]]" to press even harder for reforms.

Columnist [[Cal Thomas]] wrote about it like this: ''He proved he was right about the big things. Faced with editorial denunciations at home and massive [[demonstration]]s in [[Europe]] against his plan to put missiles there to offset a [[Soviet threat]], Reagan went ahead and did it anyway. The Soviets could not keep pace with the buildup or Reagan's proposed missile defense system (derided by critics as "[[Star Wars]]"). When those critics could not bring themselves to admit they were wrong, they unpersuasively claimed the Soviet Union fell under its own weight. More accurately, Reagan pushed it onto "the ash heap of history," with the able assistance of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and [[Pope John Paul II]]. What Reagan did more than anything else - and it will be his lasting legacy - is replace [[despair]] with hope. Most people, even his detractors, felt a glow from being in his presence. He was the kindest, most gracious president I have met, and I have met them all since JFK. In his presence you felt he was interested in you and not himself. He was a good man.''<ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2004/06/07/ronald_reagans_wonderful_life]</ref>

[[Brian Mulroney]], the Canadian Prime Minister, said of Reagan: ''"Some in the West during the early 1980s believed communism and democracy were equally valid and viable. This was the school of "[[moral equivalence]]." In contrast Ronald Reagan saw [[Soviet communism]] as a menace to be confronted in the genuine belief that its squalid underpinning would fall swiftly to the gathering winds of [[freedom]]. Provided, as he said, that NATO and the [[industrialize]]d democracies stood firm and united. They did. And we know now who was right."''<ref>[http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/mulroney.asp]</ref>

*Former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan paid tribute to the fallen president in a recent ''Wall Street Journal editorial''. In it, Noonan noted: "Ronald Reagan told the truth to a world made weary by lies. He believed truth was the only platform on which a better future could be built. He shocked the world when he called the Soviet Union ‘evil,’ because it was, and an 'empire,' because it was that, too. He never stopped bringing his message to the people of the world, to Europe and China and in the end the Soviet Union. And when it was over, the Berlin Wall had been turned into a million concrete souvenirs, and Soviet communism had fallen. But of course, it didn’t fall. It was pushed. By Mr. Know Nothing Cowboy Gunslinger Dimwit. All presidents should be so stupid."<ref>[http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=1679]</ref>

==Post-presidency==
Reagan retired to California. He would occasionally involve himself in politics, including a speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention. In 1994, he announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative nerve disorder that annihilates the victim's mental capacity. He died at his Bel-Air home on June 5, 2004 at age 93, making him the second-longest lived president in history.

==Miscellaneous Facts==
*Reagan was the first and only labor leader and former President of an AFL-CIO union ever elected US President.
*Reagan was the first and only divorced president.
*Reagan was a lifeguard for seven years growing up, and was said to have saved 77 people.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/reagan/stories/bio.part.one/index.html</ref>
*Reagan was the first president to break the "[[Curse of Tippecanoe]]", ie, the first president elected in a twenty year cycle who did not die in office.
*At 69, Reagan was the oldest man elected to the presidency.
*The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is located in Simi Valley, California.<ref>http://www.reaganfoundation.org/visitorguide/hours_directions.asp</ref>
*Reagan's 1994 announcement that he had Alzheimer's Disease brought large amounts of public attention to the disease.
*Reagan loved jelly beans.<ref>http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/trivia.shtml</ref> The blueberry flavor was made in his honor. [[Jelly Belly]] even created a [http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/bean_art_gallery.shtml Ronald Reagan [[portraits|portrait]] out of jelly beans].
*His speech writer [[Peggy Noonan]] is a columnist for the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]''.
*After his death, some of his closest supporters wished to put him on the $10 bill<ref>http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/08/news/economy/reagan_hamilton/index.htm</ref>

== Quotes ==
*"The house we hope to build is not for my generation but for yours. It is your future that matters. And I hope that when you are my age, you will be able to say as I have been able to say: We lived in freedom. We lived lives that were a statement, not an apology." - January 20, 1981
*"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." - January 20, 1981
*"We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look." - January 20, 1981
*"I've learned in Washington, that that's the only place where sound travels faster than light." - December 12, 1983
*"The challenge of statesmanship is to have the vision to dream of a better, safer world and the courage, persistence, and patience to turn that dream into reality." - March 8, 1985
*"I have only one thing to say to the tax increasers: Go ahead, make my day." —March 13, 1985, in a speech threatening to veto legislation raising taxes.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3638320/</ref>
*"A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough." - December 5, 1990
*"If you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." —Speech at the Berlin Wall, June 12, 1987<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3638320/</ref>
*"...I know it's hard when you're up to your armpits in alligators to remember you came here to drain the swamp." - February 10, 1982
*"There is no question that we have failed to live up to the dreams of the founding fathers many times and in many places. Sometimes we do better than others. But all in all, the one thing we must be on guard against is thinking that because of this, the system has failed. The system has not failed. Some human beings have failed the system." - June 21, 1973
*"The work of volunteer groups throughout our country represents the very heart and soul of America. They have helped make this the most compassionate, generous, and humane society that ever existed on the face of this earth." - Oct. 16, 1973
*"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." - January 20, 1981
*"In America, our origins matter less than our destination, and that is what democracy is all about." - August 17, 1992<ref>http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/quotes/default.asp</ref>

==See also==
*[[How Ronald Reagan won the Cold War]]
*[http://www.conservapedia.com/Ronald_Reagan%27s_speech_on_KAL_007#Text_of_the_speech Ronald Reagan's Speech on KAL 007]
*[[Korean Airlines Flight 007]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External Links==
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040614-646317,00.html Time Magazine Article on ''The All-American President'']
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html White House Official Page]
*[http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=537924&agid=2 The Passing of a Conservative] - by [[Alfred Regnery]]
*[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/ Reagan's Presidential Library]
*[http://imdb.com/name/nm0001654/ Actor Bio At IMDB]
*[http://www.ronaldreaganmemorial.com/ Official Memorial]
*[http://www.reagan.navy.mil/index.html USS ''Ronald Reagan'' CVN 76 official website]
*[http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Ronald_Reagan Quotations by Ronald Reagan]
*[http://reagan2020.us/ Reagan 2020] Reagan 2020 is the Internet's most comprehensive resource on Ronald Reagan.

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Ronald Reagan]]
{{USPresidents}}
[[Category:California Governors]]

Jimmy Carter

2008-06-21T20:53:19Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Carter.jpg
|seq=39
|term_start=January 20, 1977
|term_end=January 20, 1981<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic
|vp=Walter Mondale
|previous=Gerald Ford
|next=Ronald Reagan
|birth_date=October 1, 1924
|birth_place=Plains, Georgia, USA
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=Rosalynn Carter
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Baptist]]
}}
'''James Earl Carter, Jr.''' was the 39th [[President of the United States of America]] following [[Gerald Ford]] and preceding [[Ronald Reagan]]. He was a [[Democrat]] who served from 1977-1981, after being the Governor of [[Georgia]].

Carter is a graduate of the [[United States Naval Academy]], and served in the Navy from 1946 through 1953, rising to the rank of Lieutenant.

His difficulty in overcoming the challenges that were presented to the nation during his time in office helped lead to the election of [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1980. He has been unusually active as an ex-president, serving as an election monitor in many emerging democracies, working with [[Habitat for Humanity]], and as a self-proclaimed "peace advocate", was recognized with the [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]]. In recent years, he has become very controversial because of his alleged [[Anti-Semitism|anti-semitic]] sentiments.

==Early Years==
Carter was born and raised on his father's farm in Georgia. He entered the Naval Academy at [[Annapolis]] and graduated from there in 1946. Shortly afterwards, on July 7, he married Rosalynn Smith. Carter worked in submarines, until he resigned in 1953. He became a peanut farmer afterwards. <ref>[[Encyclopedia of Presidents, Jimmy Carter]], by Linda R. Wade, Children's Press, Chicago, 1989, pp. 11-33. </ref>

==Early Political Service==
Carter entered politics by running for the Georgia State Senate. He almost lost a close race against Homer Moore, but Carter beat him in the final tally. He worked hard in the Legislature and went on to run for Governor of Georgia in 1966. Although he failed in 1966, in 1970 he managed to win the office of Governor. He was known as a supporter of equal rights for blacks and had the picture of Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] hung in the Georgia state capitol. He went on regular trips to Europe and the Middle East. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents, Jimmy Carter]], by Linda R. Wade, Children's Press, Chicago, 1989, pp. 35-40. </ref>

==[[United States presidential election, 1976|1976 Campaign]]==
Carter officially announced his involvement in the race for President. Despite being a relatively politically inexperienced candidate, he turned it to his advantage. He was able to avoid the [[Watergate]] scandal and claim a clean history. He eventually managed to win the Democratic nomination and chose Minnesota Senator [[Walter Mondale]] as his running mate. Carter based his campaign on his reputation, political freshness and being a honest, born-again Christian. His opponent [[Gerald Ford]] campaigned on his record as a Congressman and success in recovering from Watergate. Carter wavered slightly after the first presidential debate, but managed to regain lost ground over the next few appearances. Carter managed to win the general election over Ford.<ref>[[Encyclopedia of Presidents, Jimmy Carter]], by Linda R. Wade, Children's Press, Chicago, 1989, pp. 45-57. </ref>

==Presidency==
Carter's presidency was marked by retrenchment, after the disappointing agony that had been the [[Vietnam War]], and economic [[stagflation]] churning at home.

In the midst of the 1980 campaign, a pro-U.S. monarchy was toppled by the 1979 [[Iran|Iranian]] Revolution and dozens of [[Iran Hostage Crisis|American hostages were taken]] inside the American embassy by Islamic fundamentalist revolutionaries after Carter gave sanctuary to exiled dictator Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. With the international outrage at the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] invasion of [[Afghanistan]] later the same year, Carter was rendered impotent, as America saw its influence declining abroad.

Despite Carter's own Democratic Party controlling both Houses of Congress, and the White House he failed to reform the tax system, and to reduce the size of the government bureaucracy, as promised during the 1976 campaign, or to pass the Martin Luther King holiday.

He has also been criticized for not doing enough to promote his proclaimed human rights foreign policy stance in his administration, such as continuing to support the [[Indonesia]]n government even while it was implicated in the commission of acts of genocide in the occupation of East Timor.

Carter's response to Soviet aggression against Afghanistan was to single out American farmers who suffered terribly when he terminated the Russian Wheat Deal, a keystone Nixon [[Detente]] initiative to establish trade with USSR and lessen [[Cold War]] tensions.

He was defeated in the [[United States presidential election, 1980|1980 presidential election]] by Ronald Reagan by nearly ten percentage points. [[Republican Party|Republicans]] also gained control of the Senate for the first time in twenty-five years. The electoral college vote was a landslide, with 489 votes (representing 44 states) for Reagan and 49 for Carter (representing 6 states and the District of Columbia).

Carter personally opposed [[abortion]] but only recently, more than a quarter of a century after his presidency, expressed his opposition in public.

===Stagflation===
A major issue President Carter failed to deal with was [[inflation]], caused especially by continued high levels of government spending and the rising price of imported oil, which was the major source of energy for many industries. The [[Misery index]], an indicator of economic hardship that Carter popularized and frequently mentioned in the [[United States presidential election of 1976|presidential election of 1976]], rose 50% in four years.

Government spending caused interest rates to rise to unprecedented levels (above 12 percent per year). Inflation and interest rates reached their highest levels since [[World War II]]. The rapid change in interest rates led to disintermediation of bank deposits, which sowed the seeds of the [[Savings and Loan crisis]]. Investments in fixed income were becoming less valuable. Holders of both bonds, and pensions being paid to retired people had their life savings wiped out. The stagnant growth of the economy (causing unemployment), in combination with a high rate of inflation, has often been called [[stagflation]], an unprecedented situation in American economics.

[[Bert Lance]], Carter's appointee to head the [[Office of Management and Budget]] which manages the U.S. federal budget, was forced to resign when his past bank overdrafts and "check kiting" schemes in Georgia were exposed.

==Post-presidency==
[[Image:Palestine peace not apartheid.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Cover of Jimmy Carter's book, ''Peace Not Apartheid'', which accuses [[Israel]] of practicing racism.]]
Carter has been active in foreign affairs since his presidency. His continued work mediating international disputes, organizing election observations, and working with organizations on disease and hunger were cited when he was awarded the 2002 [[Nobel Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]]. In his Nobel lecture, Carter declared his support for "international law":

<blockquote>
Our President, [[Woodrow Wilson]], was honored here for promoting the [[League of Nations]], whose two basic concepts were profoundly important: "collective security" and "self-determination." Now they are embedded in international law. Violations of these premises during the last half-century have been tragic failures, as was vividly demonstrated when the Soviet Union attempted to conquer Afghanistan and when Iraq invaded Kuwait. <ref>[http://jimmycarterlibrary.org/documents/nobel.phtml Text of Carter's Nobel Lecture] Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, 2002.</ref>
</blockquote>

In a October 2000 survey of 132 prominent professors of history, law, and political science, President Carter was grouped in the "Below Average" group, ranked 30th, with a mean score of 2.47 out of 5.00.<ref>Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (New York, Wall Street Journal Book, 2004)</ref> This survey, sponsored by the Wall Street Journal and the conservative Federalist Society, ranked President Carter ahead of Richard Nixon, and below George H.W. Bush.

In 2001 as President Clinton exited office and handed out many dubious and questionable pardons, some to [[terrorist]]s and others which appeared bought and paid for, Carter blasted President Clinton's actions and referred to them as "disgraceful".

In Jimmy Carter's latest book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid", he made the point that any peace accords reached would fundamentally have to be accompanied by the ceasing of terrorist activity towards Israel, he wrote:
<blockquote>
It is imperative that the general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the Roadmap for Peace are accepted by Israel.
</blockquote>
The sentiment was widely criticized. He apologized for the wording of that sentence, but not for his larger message.<ref>Washington Post, January 24, 2007 [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/23/AR2007012301668.html?nav=rss_artsandliving/books]</ref>

*His 2006 book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," has attracted charges of plagiarism. It caused Professor Kenneth Stein to resign from the Carter Center because of its depiction of Israel through three decades of diplomatic and military dealings with the Palestinians. Mr. Stein had served as an aide to Mr. Carter during most of those years. He considers the book deceitful and malicious. As the book's title adumbrates, Jimmy compares Israel with the white supremacist regime of old South Africa. Fourteen members of the Carter Center's advisory board have resigned over the book. In March, Jimmy explained these resignations to an audience at George Washington University by saying, "They all happen to be Jewish Americans." [http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20070524-083911-8313r.htm]

== UFO Sighting ==
[[Image:Carter Sighting Report 2.gif|thumb|right|President Carter's report the planet may have been visited by space aliens.]]
Carter claims to have witnessed an unidentified flying object in 1969; he remains the only U.S. President to have formally reported a [[UFO]]. In 1975 Carter told a ''[[Washington Post]]'' reporter, " A light appeared and disappeared in the sky . . . I think the light was beckoning me to run in the California primary." <ref>[http://www.presidentialufo.com/jimmy.htm Jimmy Carter UFO] </ref> He filed a report with the International UFO Bureau in [[Oklahoma City]] after a request from that organization. <ref>[http://www.presidentialufo.com/carter_ufo_report.htm President Jimmy Carter's Actual UFO Sighting Report]</ref> During his presidential campaign, Carter promised to release the truth about any alleged UFO cover-up.

Through Stanford Research Institute, Mr. Alfred Webre was Principal Investigator for a proposed civilian scientific study of extraterrestrial communication presented to and developed with interested Carter White House staff. This took place during the period from May 1977 until the fall of 1977.

==Voyager Probe==
President Carter placed this official statement on the Voyager space probe <ref>http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features.cfm?feature=555</ref> for its trip outside the solar system on June 16, 1977: "We cast this message into the cosmos . . . Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, some - - perhaps many - - may have inhabited planets and space faring civilizations. If one such civilization intercepts Voyager and can understand these recorded contents, here is our message: We are trying to survive our time so we may live into yours. We hope some day, having solved the problems we face, to join a community of Galactic Civilizations. This record represents our hope and our determination and our goodwill in a vast and awesome universe."<ref>http://www.presidentialufo.com/jimmy.htm</ref>

==See also==
* [[Carter Doctrine]]

==Further reading==
*[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13265 Carter the worst ex-president -- Steven Hayward]
*[http://blogcentral.jpost.com/index.php?cat_id=7&blog_id=59&blog_post_id=935 Jimmy Carter is a liar], Alan Dershowitz, ''Jerusalem Post'', March 13 2007.
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/19/AR2007011901541.html Jimmy Carter's Jewish Problem] by Deborah Lipstadt.

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Jimmy}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States|Carter, Jimmy]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Peace|Carter, Jimmy]]
[[Category:United States Governors]]
[[Category:Georgia]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]

Gerald Ford

2008-06-21T20:52:27Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Ford.jpg
|seq=38
|term_start=August 9, 1974
|term_end=January 20, 1977<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=None
|vp_dates=Aug.-Dec. 1974
|2vp=Nelson Rockefeller
|2vp_dates=1974-1977
|previous=Richard Nixon
|next=Jimmy Carter
|office2=vice
|seq2=40
|term_start2=December 6, 1973
|term_end2=August 9, 1974
|pres2=Richard Nixon
|previous2=Spiro Agnew
|next2=Nelson Rockefeller
|birth_date=July 14, 1913
|birth_place=Omaha, Nebraska
|death_date=December 26, 2006
|death_place=Rancho Mirage, California
|spouse=Elizabeth Bloomer Warren
|spouse2=
|religion=Episcopalian
}}

'''Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr.''' (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.) was the 38th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1974 to January 1977. He was the first person to be appointed President without being elected to either the presidency or vice-presidency. A [[Republican]], Ford also served as U.S. Representative, 1948-73, and was the House Minority Leader in 1964. His most famous and daring decision was to pardon former President [[Richard Nixon]] of any crimes for the good of the nation. Nixon appointed Ford as Vice President on the resignation of [[Spiro Agnew]]. When Nixon subsequently resigned as President, Ford succeeded him.

Ford was born in Omaha, [[Nebraska]], but did not live there long, as his mother left her husband and fled with the child within a month due to domestic abuse. He was not legally adopted by his mother's second husband, but they called him "Gerald Rudolff Ford Jr." He legally changed his name to the one he is known by when he was 22 years old. He was raised in [[Michigan]], and became an Eagle Scout. He attended the University of Michigan, where he was a football star. After this, he attended graduate school at Yale, then served in the Navy during [[World War II]].<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gf38.html</ref>

Gerald Ford in his own words:

Upon assuming the presidency after President Nixon's resignation:

''I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your President with your prayers. And I hope that such prayers will also be the first of many ....''

''Our [[Constitution]] works; our great [[Republic]] is a Government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a Higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.''

''As we bind up the internal wounds ... let us restore the [[Golden Rule]] to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate. In the beginning, I asked you to pray for me. Before closing, I ask again your prayers, for Richard Nixon and his family. May our former President, who brought peace to millions, find it for himself. May [[God]] bless and comfort his wonderful wife and daughters, whose love and loyalty will forever be a shining legacy to all who bear the lonely burdens of the White House ...''

''I now solemnly reaffirm my promise I made to you last December 6; to uphold the Constitution, to do what is right as God gives me to see the right, and to do the very best I can for America. God helping me, I will not let you down.''

Upon announcing his decision to pardon Richard Nixon:

''To procrastinate, to agonize, and to wait for a more favorable turn of events that may never come or more compelling external pressures that may as well be wrong as right, is itself a decision of sorts and a weak and potentially dangerous course for a President to follow. I have promised to uphold the Constitution, to do what is right as God gives me to see the right, and to do the very best that I can for America. I have asked your help and your prayers, not only when I became President but many times since.''

''The Constitution is the supreme law of our land and it governs our actions as citizens. Only the laws of God, which govern our consciences, are superior to it. As we are a Nation under God, so I am sworn to uphold our laws with the help of God. And I have sought such guidance and searched my own conscience with special diligence to determine the right thing for me to do ....''

''I do believe, with all my heart and mind and spirit, that I, not as President, but as a humble servant of God, will receive justice without mercy if I fail to show mercy.''

A Christmas message delivered by President Ford:

''As our Bicentennial Year comes to a close, it is especially appropriate to gather once more around the traditional symbol of family ties and friendly reunions, our Nation's [[Christmas tree]]. In doing so, we combine our year-long celebration of historical events with a personal rededication to timeless values.''

''The message of [[Christmas]] has not changed over the course of 20 centuries. Peace on [[Earth]], good will towards men-that message is as inspiring today as it was when it was first proclaimed to the shepherds near [[Bethlehem]]. It was first proclaimed, as we all know, then. In 1976 America has been blessed with peace and a significant restoration of domestic harmony.''

''But true peace is more than an absence of battle. It is also the absence of prejudice and the triumph of understanding. Brotherhood among all peoples must be the solid cornerstone of lasting peace. It has been a sustaining force for our Nation, and it remains a guiding light for our future.''

''The celebration of the birth of [[Jesus]] is observed on every continent. The customs and traditions are not always the same, but feelings that are generated between friends and family members are equally strong and equally warm.''

''In a few moments I will turn the switch that lights up our national Christmas tree. As beautiful as that tree is, it will be only a symbol if its light is not matched by the glow of love in our hearts. It is my personal prayer on this Christmas of 1976 that the tree which I light tonight is only the beginning, that each of you will also light a flame of love-love that is reflected in the eyes of all our brothers and sisters across the Nation and around the world. Now, Betty joins me in wishing you all a very, very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you, and God bless you.''

==Notes & References==

<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Gerald}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

Richard Nixon

2008-06-21T20:50:46Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Nixon 30-0316a.jpg
|seq=37
|term_start=January 20, 1969
|term_end=August 9, 1974<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=Spiro Agnew
|vp_dates=1969-1973)
|2vp=None
|2vp_dates=Oct.-Dec. 1973
|3vp=Gerald Ford
|3vp_dates=1973-1974
|previous=Lyndon B. Johnson
|next=Gerald Ford
|office2=vice
|seq2=36
|term_start2=January 20, 1953
|term_end2=January 20, 1961
|pres2=Dwight D. Eisenhower
|previous2=Alben Barkley
|next2=Lyndon B. Johnson
|birth_date=January 9, 1913
|birth_place=Yorba Linda, California
|death_date=April 22, 1994
|death_place=New York City
|spouse=Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan
|spouse2=
|religion=Quaker
}}

'''Richard Milhous Nixon''' was the 37th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1969 to 1974. He was the only U. S. President to resign the office. He also served as the 36th [[Vice President of the United States]] of America under President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] from 1953 to 1961.

In 1947, he was elected as a [[U.S. Representative]]. As a Congressman from [[California]], and as a member of the [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]], he investigated Communists and instigated the successful prosecution of [[Alger Hiss]], accused of espionage for spying for the Soviet Union during [[World War II]].

After two terms in the House, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in November of 1950.

After losing his first presidential race to [[John F. Kennedy]] by a narrow margin in 1960, he unsuccessfully ran for Governor of California in 1962, losing to incumbent Edmund G Brown.

In 1968 he was elected president, and was reelected in 1972 by a landslide, but resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974 due to a threat of impeachment by Congress for the [[Watergate Affair]]. The main impeachment charge was that Nixon obstructed justice by telling employees to mislead FBI investigators about the Watergate burglary.

== Childhood ==

Richard Milhous Nixon was born in [[Yorba Linda, California]], on January 9, 1913. Soon after, his family moved to Whittier, California. Nixon's childhood years were not unusual for someone growing up in two small towns near Los Angeles. His parents, Frank and Hannah Nixon, were devout [[Quakers]] Nixon had four siblings and saw two of his brothers die from [[tuberculosis]]. Nixon grew up relatively poor, as his father earned a modest income from his gas station and grocery store. But due to these hard times, he established a quality of determination and strong work ethic. A good student and a hard worker, Nixon excelled scholastically at both Whittier High School and Whittier College.

== Education ==
Nixon attended [[Fullerton High School]], from 1926 to 1928, in [[Fullerton, California]], and later, [[Whittier High School]], from 1928 to 1930, in [[Whittier, California]].

He graduated second in his class from Whittier with honor in the study of [[Shakespeare]] and [[Latin]]. He was awarded scholarships to [[Harvard]] and [[Yale]] University, but declined due to his family's tenacious financial condition. He instead enrolled at [[Whittier College]], a local [[Quaker]] school, where he co-founded the [[Orthogonian Society]], a new organzation to the campus, geared towards working-class students. At Whittier, Nixon, a formidable debater, was elected freshman class president, and served as student body vice president in his junior year and president in his senior year. While at Whittier, he taught Sunday school at [[East Whittier Friends Church]] and remained a member all his life.

A lifelong [[football]] fan, Nixon practiced with the team, but played little. In 1934, he graduated second in his class from Whittier, and went on to [[Duke University School of Law]], where he received a full scholarship, was elected president of the Duke Bar Association, and graduated third in his class.

== Military Service ==
During World War II, Nixon served in the [[Navy]] as a reserve officer. He received his training at Quonset Point, Rhode Island and Ottumwa, Iowa, before serving in the supply corps on several islands in the South Pacific, commanding cargo handling units in the SCAT. There he was known as "Nick" and for his exceptional poker-playing skills, banking a large sum of money that helped finance his first campaign for [[Congress]]. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant commander and resigned in March, 1946.

== Presidency ==

President Nixon established the [[Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) and was the first President to visit the People's Republic of [[China]]. He appointed a conservative ([[William Rehnquist]]), two moderates ([[Warren Burger]] and [[Lewis Powell]]) and a liberal ([[Harry Blackmun]]) to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nixon was from a [[Quakers|Quaker]] family. His foreign policy as president was marked by détente with the [[Soviet Union]] and the opening of diplomatic relations between the United States and the [[People's Republic of China]]. [[Conscription]] into the U. S. military also ended early in Nixon's second term, when he supported abolishing the [[Selective Service Administration]]. This was somewhat controversial at the time, but can be seen as a vote of great confidence in our system as against that of the Soviets, to the extent that our army, like our society, didn't need to be bigger as long as it was better.

His centrist domestic policies combined conservative rhetoric and liberal action in civil rights, environmental and economic initiatives. Nixon considered himself to be a Keynesian, that is, his economic views were shaped by economist [[John Maynard Keynes]]. <ref>http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/hein6.html</ref> As a result of the Watergate affair, Nixon resigned the presidency in the face of likely impeachment by the United States [[House of Representatives]]. His successor, [[Gerald Ford]], issued a controversial [[pardon]] that allowed Nixon to avoid prosecution. Speaking in later life, Ford stated that he felt the pardon was needed to stop a terrible rift developing in American social life.

Nixon inherited the Vietnam war with a promise to bring "peace with honor," one of his 1968 campaign slogans. His Vietnam strategies included "Vietnamization," a policy aimed at reducing U.S. casualties and troops, while also convincing the American public that the Vietnamese people could assume the primary responsibility of waging war. To win support for the war among the [["silent majority,"]] Nixon pursued the [["politics of polarization."]] Instrumental to this cause was Nixon's first vice president [[Spiro T. Agnew]], who criticized opponents of the war as "nattering nabobs of negativism," and an "effete corps of impudent snobs." Nixon also sought to instill in the North Vietnamese the belief that he was volatile and unstable, and willing to use nuclear weapons in the war, a strategy known as the "madman scenario."

On 30 April 1970, ten days after announcing that 150,000 American troops would be withdrawn from Vietnam in the following year, Nixon announced that U.S. troops had invaded Cambodia. This announcement brought widespread protests and violence on college and university campuses across the nation, including four deaths at Kent State University in Ohio and two deaths at Jackson State University in Mississippi. Many campuses shut down, some for the remainder of the academic year. The [[Paris Peace Accords]] were signed on 27 January 1973, signaling the beginning of the peace process that ended with the evacuation of the last American personnel two years later on 29 April 1975.

== Watergate ==

The event that ended the Nixon presidency began on June 17, 1972, when five men, all employees of Nixon's reelection campaign, were caught breaking into rival Democratic headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC. The intruders and two other accomplices were convicted of burglary and wiretapping in Jan. 1973. The [[Watergate affair]] ultimately caused Nixon to resign on 9 August 1974. On 9 September 1974, his successor Gerald Ford granted him "a full, free, and absolute pardon." This effectively ended investigation into the depth of Nixon's involvement in the break-in at [[Democratic National Committee]] headquarters in the Watergate hotel, or any other criminal activities. Former White House Counsel John Dean testified to a Congressional investigating committee of Nixon's involvement in the cover-up.

The Congressional hearings revealed Nixon had tape recorded conversations and telephone calls in his office. These recordings reveal that Nixon's role in the cover-up began as early as six days after the break-in. The tapes also reveal an immense scope of crimes and abuses that predate the Watergate break-in. These include campaign fraud, political espionage and sabotage, illegal break-ins, improper tax audits, illegal wiretapping on a massive scale, and a secret slush fund laundered in Mexico to pay those who conducted these operations. The president, citing [[Executive Privilege]], refused to turn the tapes over to the committee. In Oct. 1973 Nixon ordered Elliot Richardson, the attorney general, to fire Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor who had subpoenaed the tapes, but Richardson resigned in protest. Richardson's assistant, William Ruckelshaus, also refused to fire Cox and was fired by Nixon. Finally, Solicitor General Robert Bork fired Cox. The incident, which was trumped in the press as the "Saturday Night Massacre" led to widespread calls for Nixon's impeachment.

The White House released edited transcripts of the tapes in April 1974, and eventually the tapes themselves, after the Supreme Court rejected Nixon's claim to executive privilege. The House Judiciary Committee issued three articles of impeachment on July 30, 1974.

"In all of this," the articles of impeachment summarize, "Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States." After conferring with Republican Senators Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974. Nixon was succeeded in office the same day by Ford. Gerald Ford later pardoned Nixon.
== Writings ==

*Victory Without War, New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1989.
*Beyond Peace, New York, NY: Random House, 1994.
*Four Great Americans: Tributes Delivered by President Richard Nixon. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1973.
*In the Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat, and Renewal, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
*Leaders New York, NY: Warner Books, 1982.
*Nixon in Retrospect, 1946-1962: Selected Quotations. Silver Spring, MD: Research Data Publishers, 1973.
*No More Vietnams, New York, NY: Arbor House, 1985.
*Real Peace. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
*RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
*Seize the Moment: America’s Challenge in a One- SuperpowerWorld. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1992.
*Setting the Course; The First Year, New York, NY: Funk & Wagnalls, 1970.
*Six Crises. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
*Summons to Greatness: A Collage of Inspirational Though and Practical Ideas from the Messages and Addresses of Richard Nixon, Thirty-:Seventh President of the United States, Washington, D.C.: Friends of President Nixon, 1972.
*The Real War, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1980.

==External Links==

*[http://www.nixonfoundation.org Nixon Birthplace & Library], in Yorba Linda, California

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/

http://www.nixonfoundation.org/

http://www.nixonlibrary.org/

== References ==

<References/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nixon, Richard}}

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]

Lyndon B. Johnson

2008-06-21T20:49:44Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Lyndon johnson.jpg
|seq=36
|term_start=November 22, 1963
|term_end=January 20, 1969<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic
|vp=None
|vp_dates=1963-1965
|2vp=Hubert Humphrey
|2vp_dates=1965-1969
|previous=John F. Kennedy
|next=Richard Nixon
|office2=vice
|seq2=36
|term_start2=January 20, 1961
|term_end2=November 22, 1963
|party2=
|pres2=John F. Kennedy
|previous2=Richard Nixon
|next2=Hubert Humphrey
|birth_date=August 27, 1908
|birth_place=Stonewall, Texas
|death_date=January 22, 1973
|death_place=Stonewall, Texas
|spouse=Lady Bird Johnson
|spouse2=
|religion=Disciple of Christ
}}

'''Lyndon Baines Johnson''' became the 36th [[President of the United States of America]] after the assassination of [[John F. Kennedy]]. He held that position from 1963 until 1969. Though he won election handily in 1964, he decided not to seek re-election in 1968 due to the unpopularity of the [[Vietnam War]].

==Early Life==
Johnson was born in Stonewall, Texas, as one of five children. He graduated from Johnson City High School in 1924, and in 1926 enrolled in Southwest Texas State Teachers' College, graduating in 1931.

==Political Service==
In 1932 Johnson moved to [[Washington, D.C.]] to work as an aide to Congressman Richard Kleberg. He briefly attended law school at [[Georgetown]]. In 1934 Johnson married Claudia Taylor (known as "Lady Bird"), with whom he had two daughters, Lynda (b. 1944) and Luci (b. 1947). In 1935, Johnson returned to Texas to run the Texas National Youth Administration, which created jobs for young people during the [[Depression]]. Including his wife's nickname, Lady Bird, all members of the family had the initials LBJ.

Johnson resigned from his job in 1937 to run successfully for a seat in the [[House of Representatives]] representing [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] and the surrounding area. In 1941 he lost a controversial race for a U.S. Senate seat to the governor of Texas, Pappy O'Daniel. The race was marked by allegations of voter fraud against both candidates. Johnson retained his House seat after the election.

In 1948, Johnson ran in another controversial Senate race, this time against former governor Coke Stevenson. After no candidate won a majority of the votes in the election, Johnson defeated Stevenson in a run-off election. After joining the Senate, Johnson established relationships with several senior senators, including [[Richard Russell]]. Johnson was appointed to the powerful [[Armed Services Committee]] in 1950, which brought him into the public spotlight. He became the leader of the [[Democratic Party]] in the Senate in 1953. Johnson sought the Democratic nomination for president prior to the [[United States presidential election, 1960|1960 election]], but accepted the nomination for vice-president following Kennedy's nomination.

==Presidency==
Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into the [[President of the United States of America|Office of the President]] just hours after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The [[Oath of Office]] took place aboard [[Air Force One]] (en route to [[Washington DC]] from [[Dallas]]), was administered by [[Sarah T. Hughes]] (one of the first justices to hear and write the decision for [[Roe v. Wade]] in favor of [[abortion]]). <ref>University of North Texas Libraries, Sarah T. Hughes Collection, http://www.library.unt.edu/archives/historical-manuscripts/historical-manuscripts-exhibits/hughes/</ref> Also, since no Bible could be found aboard Air Force One, Johnson recited the oath with his hand on a [[Roman Catholic]] [[missal]] instead.<ref>New York Times, "After a Time of Tragedy, a Beginning Toward the 'Great Society,'" January 1973. Online at http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/04/12/specials/johnson-tragedy.html</ref>

As President, Johnson greatly expanded the federal government with his [[Great Society]] programs. He also helped the [[civil rights movement]] win legislative victories and greatly expanded the American role in [[Vietnam]] (see [[Vietnam War]]). Although Johnson won the 1964 presidential election in a landslide over Republican [[Barry Goldwater]], his popularity plunged as the death toll from the conflict in Vietnam steadily increased. In early 1968, faced with plummeting poll numbers and mounting public opposition to his foreign policy, Johnson announced that he would not seek, nor would be accept, his party's nomination for the presidency in 1968. It is widely thought that had he run he would have been trounced in the primaries and the general election, which was eventually won by Republican [[Richard M. Nixon]].

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT: Johnson, Lyndon B.}}

[[Category:Democratic Party]]

John F. Kennedy

2008-06-21T20:48:55Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=John_kennedy.jpg
|seq=35
|term_start=January 20, 1961
|term_end=November 22, 1963<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic
|vp=Lyndon B. Johnson
|previous=Dwight D. Eisenhower
|next=Lyndon B. Johnson
|birth_date=May 29, 1917
|birth_place=Brookline, Massachusetts
|death_date=November 22, 1963
|death_place=Dallas, Texas
|spouse=Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Roman Catholic]]
}}

'''John Fitzgerald Kennedy''' '''(May 29, 1917 - November 22, 1963)''' was a decorated World War II veteran, and the 35th [[President of the United States of America]], the youngest person elected to that position. He died in 1963 when he was assassinated by [[Lee Harvey Oswald]].
{{cquote|And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.|4=John Kennedy's [[John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address|Inaugural Address]]|5=<ref>http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/John_F_Kennedy/5.htm</ref>}}

Kennedy won the [[United States presidential election, 1960|1960 Presidential election]] against [[Richard Nixon]] by a thin margin. An important part of the campaign turned out to be the role of television. When Kennedy and Nixon held their presidential debate, those who listened on radio thought that Nixon won, but those who saw it on television thought Kennedy had won. Kennedy, young, tanned, and wearing discrete makeup for the camera, had a better television presence.

Kennedy was involved in the [[Bay of Pigs]] fiasco, refusing to commit to an invasion to aid the beleaguered exiles. When a year later the [[Soviet Union]] was building a ballistic missile site in [[Cuba]] that could house nuclear missiles, Kennedy handled the ensuing [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] aggressively.

Kennedy authorized the de-segregation of federal housing and proposed the civil rights bill, passed after his assassination. He created the [[Peace Corps]] and also pledged to put a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s, a pledge that was later fulfilled after his death. Likewise he proposed tax cuts, which were approved after his death.

Kennedy appointed one justice to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]], [[Byron White]]. White's rulings did not fit traditional political categories; he dissented in [[Roe v. Wade]] but joined the majority to strike down the death penalty in [[Furman v. Georgia]].

Kennedy's image appears on the American half-dollar coin.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}
== References==

* Professor Thomas C. Reeves, "A Question of Character: A Life of John F. Kennedy." Illustrated. 510 pp. New York: The Free Press. $24.95. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7D9143EF931A35755C0A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all New York Times Book Review]

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, John F.}}

[[Category:Democratic Party]]

Dwight D. Eisenhower

2008-06-21T20:47:03Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Yte7567.jpg
|seq=34
|term_start=January 20, 1953
|term_end=January 20, 1961<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=Richard Nixon
|previous=Harry S. Truman
|next=John F. Kennedy
|birth_date=October 14, 1890
|birth_place=Denison, Texas
|death_date=March 28, 1969
|death_place=Washington, D.C.
|spouse=[[Mamie Doud Eisenhower]]
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
}}

'''Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower''' was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during [[World War II]], and went on to serve as 34th [[President of the United States of America]].

==Early Life==
Dwight D. Eisenhower was born in Texas, but was raised in Kansas. Eisenhower attended the United States Military Academy at West Point (class of 1915), which put him somewhat at odds with his upbringing as a Jehovah's Witness <ref>http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/listofholdingshtml/listofholdingsJ/jehovahwitnessesabilenecongregation.pdf</ref>. (Eisenhower later became baptized into the Presbyterian church, the timing of which made him the first President to become baptized while in office <ref>http://www.classroomhelp.com/lessons/Presidents/eisenhower.html</ref>.) Eisenhower was stationed in Texas during World War I. There he met his future wife, Mamie Geneva Doud.

==First Term==
After [[Harry Truman]] decided against running for a third term in the [[United States presidential election, 1952|1952 Presidential Election]], Eisenhower ran on the [[Republican]] ticket, though he was asked to run as a [[Democrat]] as well. He refused to run as a Democrat because they supported a weak U.S. military. With a large amount of popularity from serving as a [[General]] in [[World War II]], he won the election against former [[Illinois]] governor [[Adlai Stevenson]]. His military experience was deemed important, as the [[United States]] was perceived by many as being under threat. <ref>http://www.utexas.edu/features/archive/2004/election_policy.html</ref> The [[Soviet Union]] had just gotten the [[atomic bomb]] several years before, and the [[Korean War]] was going on.

During this term, the Korean War ended in a stalemate after a treaty was signed. Eisenhower's term in office is also notable for the creation of the Interstate Highway System, which was funded by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 <ref>http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/interstate.html</ref>.

==Second Term==
Eisenhower was re-elected in the [[United States presidential election, 1956|1956 Presidential Election]] and served a second term. A popular President throughout his tenure in office, his popularity did not lead to a coattail effect as his [[Vice President]] [[Richard Nixon]] barely lost his own Presidential bid in the [[United States presidential election, 1960|1960 Presidentail Election]] and the [[Republican Party]] lost 12 seats in the [[U.S. Senate]]. Eisenhower's final speech as President was his most well known, in which he warned of the "military-industrial complex". <ref>http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/indust.html</ref>

==Miscellaneous==
The Eisenhower Presidential Library & Musem is located in Abilene, [[Kansas]]. <ref>http://www.dwightdeisenhower.com/library-museum.html</ref>

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenhower, Dwight D}}

[[Category:World War II Commanders]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]

Harry Truman

2008-06-21T20:45:09Z

Malveramenso:

{{President|
|name=Harry S Truman
|image=HTruman.jpg
|country=the United States
|seq=33
|party=Democratic
|term_start=April 12, 1945
|term_end=January 20, 1953<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|vp=None
|vp_dates=1945-1949
|2vp=Alben Barkley
|2vp_dates=1949-1953
|previous=Franklin D. Roosevelt
|next=Dwight D. Eisenhower
|seq2=34
|office2=vice
|party2=
|term2_start=January 20, 1945
|term2_end=April 12, 1945
|pres2=Franklin D. Roosevelt
|previous2=Henry A. Wallace
|next2=Alben W. Barkley
|birth_date=May 8, 1884
|birth_place=Lamar, MO
|death_date=December 26, 1972
|death_place=Kansas City, MO
|spouse=Bess Wallace Truman
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Baptist]]
}}

'''Harry S Truman''' was the 33rd [[President of the United States of America]], taking over from President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] during the [[Second World War]]. He is perhaps best remembered for his decision to drop [[atomic bomb]]s on the [[Japan|Japanese]] cities of [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]]. Truman failed to repeal promptly the [[wage]] and [[price controls]] of [[WW II]]. Voter dissatisfaction with that failure and widespread [[Labor union|union]] [[strike]]s led to a [[Republican]] capture of [[Congress]] in 1946 and passage of the [[Taft-Hartley Act of 1947]], which curbed union strength.

==Early life==

Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, [[Missouri]]. He attended public school in Independence, Missouri, graduating from high school in 1901. Following a few brief jobs in the Kansas City area, he returned to help run the family farm in Grandview.

During [[World War I]], Truman went to [[France]] as a captain of artillery. After returning home from the war, he married Elizabeth "Bess" Wallace and opened a men's clothing store in [[Kansas City]] with a wartime friend.

In 1922, Truman was elected a judge in the Jackson County court, where his duties were administrative rather than judicial. Although he earned a reputation for being honest and efficient in managing county affairs, he was defeated for reelection in 1924. However, he was subsequently elected presiding judge in 1926, and reelected in 1930.

==Senate==

Truman won election to the [[United States Senate]] in 1934, and during World War II gained national prominence for serving as chairman of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program - referred to as the "Truman Committee".<ref>http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hst-bio.htm</ref>

==Selection for Vice-Presidency==

President Roosevelt had been in ill-health since his return from the [[Teheran conference]]. At the 1944 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, DNC Chairman Bob Hannegan went for instructions to President Roosevelt's private railway car just before the July convention officially began. Roosevelt had decided to dump incumbent Vice-President [[Henry Wallace]]. Worried over dissension on the choice of a successor, Roosevelt told Hannegan: "Go on down there and nominate Truman before there's any more trouble. And clear everything with Sidney." <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,791619,00.html "Clear everything with Sidney"], [[Time magazine]], Sep. 25, 1944.</ref> The President could not make the selection of Truman until [[Sidney Hillman]] <ref>''The Roosevelt Myth'', John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948, Book 2, Ch. 8, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Eight___The_Shock_Troops.htm ''The Shock Troops of the Third New Deal'']</ref>, Director of the Political Action Committee for the Congress on Industrial Organizations (CIO) approved it. <ref> ''Roosevelt Myth'', Book 3, Ch. 10, [http://www.rooseveltmyth.com/book/fdrmyth_Chapter_Ten___Politics__Disease_.htm ''Politics, Disease and History''], Flynn, 1948.</ref> When Harry Truman walked into the smoke-filled room <ref>[http://www.booknotes.org/Transcript/index_print.asp?ProgramID=1109 ''Truman''], Interview with David McCullough, C-Span Booknotes, July 19, 1992. Retrieved August 6, 2007.</ref> of DNC at headquarters at the Stevens Hotel in Chicago, Soviet spies [[John Abt]], [[Lee Pressman]], and [[Nathan Witt]], were on hand." <ref>''The Yalta Betrayal'', Felix Wittmer, Claxton Printers, 1953, pg. 75.</ref>

==Presidency==

Truman succeeded to the Presidency upon the death of FDR on April 12, 1945. Interestingly, Truman rarely met with Roosevelt during his tenure as Vice President <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ht33.html</ref>.

He was elected [[President of the United States of America]] (USA) in the [[United States presidential election of 1948|1948 Presidential Election]] as a [[Democrat]]. During his term as President, he presided over the conclusion of [[World War II]] in both [[Europe]] and [[Japan]]. Truman's decision to use atomic weapons against the Japanese cities of [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]] forced the unconditional Japanese surrender to conclude WWII. As a consequence, the United States canceled a planned invasion of the island nation which had been projected to cause 1,000,000 American and 10,000,000 Japanese casualties, and prevented the annexation of Japan's northern islands by the Soviet Union<ref>http://www.afsc.org/newengland/pesp/DecisionToUseABomb.htm</ref><ref>http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/web/20050902-atom-bomb-hiroshima-nagasaki-enola.shtml</ref>. Prior to Japan's surrender, [[Nazi]] German troops and their Axis allies surrendered in Europe. Truman proclaimed his [[Truman Doctrine]] on March 12, 1947 that was intended to thwart the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republic]]'s designs of expansion in the Near East by committing American aid and troops to that region. Truman also committed troops to the Korean Peninsula in 1950 to halt a [[Communist]] invasion of [[South Korea]]. American troops were part of a coalition of member nations of the newly formed [[United Nations]] ("UN") in 1945. The USA had become a founding member of the newly established UN during Truman's presidency.

The bipartisan statutory [[Moynihan Secrecy Commission]] vested with extraordinary subpeaona powers to look into [[Cold War]] secrecy upon the demise of the [[Soviet Union]] wrote in its Final Report, "President Truman was almost willfully obtuse as regards [[American Communism]]." <ref>Report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy. Senate Document 105-2. 103rd Congress. Washington, D.C. United States Government Printing Office. 1997. [http://www.gpo.gov/congress/commissions/secrecy/pdf/04dpm.pdf Chairman's Forward, pg. 10] pdf.</ref>

During Truman's last four budgets, expenditures on national security increased from $13 billion in 1950 to $50 billion in 1953. <ref>[http://sandiego.indymedia.org/media/2006/10/119975.pdf ''Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time''], Carroll Quigley, Collier-Macmillan, 1966, pg. 936. ISBN 0-945001-10-X</ref>

Truman retired from politics at the conclusion of his presidential term and died on December 26, 1972 in his Independence, Missouri home. His Presidential library is located in Independence.

===China and Korea===
Without committing U.S. combat troops and without supporting a coalition government, the [[Truman Doctrine]] saved Greece from Communism. Greece received weapons and financial support and, most importantly, operational advisers at the battalion level, who ensured that American aid was used effectively. [[George Marshall]] himself testified that such aid might have prevented a [[Comintern]] victory, but General David Barr's military mission to China was specifically instructed not to supply this kind of assistance. <ref>Military Situation in the Far East, Hearings before the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, 82nd Congress (Washington, 1951), p. 558.</ref> General [[Albert C. Wedemeyer]] recommended this approach in his report on his 1947 fact-finding mission, but Marshall personally suppressed the report. <ref>Tang Tsou, ''America's Failure in China, 1941-1945'', Chicago 1964, pg. 457.</ref> Chiang believed that the [[Truman Doctrine]] to [[Containment|contain]] the spread of [[International Communism]] directed from Moscow would be extended to China, and ordered an offensive as soon as word of the new policy reached him. <ref>Richard C. Thornton, ''China: A Political History, 1917-1980'', Boulder CO 1982, pg. 208.</ref> Truman however, made no effort to save China from Communism.

The Korean part of Wedemeyer's report was suppressed. Wedemeyer said:
{{Cquote|American and Soviet forces . . . are approximately equal, less than 50,000 troops each, [but] the Soviet-equipped and trained North Korean People's (Communist) Army of approximately 125,000 is vastly superior to the United States-organized constabulary of 16,000 Koreans equipped with Japanese small arms. The North Korean People's Army constitutes a potential military threat to [[South Korea]], since there is strong possibility that the Soviets will withdraw their occupation forces and thus induce our own withdrawal."<ref>Hearings before the Senate Committee on Armed Services and Committee on Foreign Relations, June 6, 1951.</ref>}}

Wedemeyer warned that this would take place as soon as "they can be sure that the [[North Korea]]n [[puppet government]] and its armed forces . . . are strong enough . . . to be relied upon to carry out Soviet objectives without the actual presence of Soviet troops."

[[Dean Rusk]], Assistant Secretary of State in charge of the Far Eastern Division, said on May 18,1951 what the critics had been saying,
{{Cquote|The independence of China is gravely threatened. In the Communist world there is room for only one master. . . . How many Chinese in one community after another are being destroyed because they love China more than they love [[Soviet Russia]]? The freedoms of the Chinese people are disappearing. Trial by mob, [[democide|mass slaughter]], banishment to [[slavery|forced labor]] in [[Manchuria]] and Siberia. . . . The peace and security of China are being sacrificed by the ambitions of the Chinese conspiracy. China has been driven by foreign masters into an adventure in foreign aggression.}}
John T. Flynn observes that critics of the [[FDR]] and Truman Administrations who had been saying this earlier were denounced as “[[Fascists]].”<ref>''While You Slept: Our Tragedy in Asia and Who Made It'', John T. Flynn, New York: The Devin-Adair Company, 1951, [http://www.mises.org/books/whileyouslept.pdf pg. 161] pdf.</ref> Rusk continued,
{{Cquote|We do not recognize the authorities in [[Peiping]] for what they pretend to be. It is not the government of China. It does not pass the first test. It is not Chinese. . . . We recognize the [[Kuomintang|Nationalist government of the Republic of China]] even though the territory under its control is severely restricted. <ref>Hearings before the Senate Committee on Armed Services and
Committee on Foreign Relations (also known as the Mac Arthur
Inquiry), June 2, 1951.</ref>…we believe it more authoritatively represents the views of the great body of the people of China, particularly their demand for independence from foreign control….That government will continue to receive important aid and assistance from the United States.}}

Conditions inviting the North Korean attack were created by the [[United Nations]] which issued a resolution for withdrawal of both Soviet and American troops. Troops began withdrawing September 15, 1948, leaving only about 7500 Americans lightly armed. This left in South Korea 16,000 Koreans and 7500 Americans, both groups lightly armed, against 150,000 fully armed North Korean Communists. General Roberts, head of the U. S. Military Mission said the South Koreans were not permitted to arm adequately.

[[Chiang Kai-shek]] was caught between two wars—a war on China by [[Japan]] and a war on China by the Soviet Union. American leaders refused to see this and insisted on acting in the illusion that China was fighting the Japanese only and that Soviet Union was an ally. Then came the startling realization that the United States, too, like China, were engaged in two wars in Asia, one against a common enemy, Japan; the other against a common enemy, the Soviet Union. The United States, with its ally China, fought the Japanese. But all the time the Soviet Union, with its satellite Comintern army in China, was fighting both China and the United States. The [[iron curtain]] that, with the [[Yalta agreement]], was rung down over American allies in Europe—[[Poland]] and [[Czechoslovakia]] and other little countries—now fell on China. And this was made possible wholly because of the Soviet Union's allies—conscious and unconscious—in America, in the U.S. government and even in the [[U.S. State Department]].

==Middle Initial==
There is no period after his middle initial, because it doesn't stand for anything. He was named with an "S" so that both his grandfathers could claim him as their namesake. <ref> Encyclopedia of Presidents, Harry S. Truman, by Jim Hargrove, Children's Press, 1987. </ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ht33.html Biography]
*[http://www.trumanlibrary.org Presidential Library]
*[http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/index.php The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb], Truman Library.
*[http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/small/mb12a.htm President Truman to Senator Richard B. Russell], August 9, 1945.

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truman, Harry}}

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Vice Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]

Talk:Franklin D. Roosevelt

2008-06-21T20:31:19Z

Malveramenso: /* Term of Office */ new section

FDR was a socialist, and probably the last US president to describe himself thus.

#FDR was perhaps the most openly socialist leader ever to occupy the White House, and his policies reflected a firm belief that government should control business and redistribute wealth. [http://www.thelibertycommittee.org/update03.22.04.htm The Liberty Committee (a lobbying group)]
#Many attacked Roosevelt as a socialist, but he ardently refuted these accusations and the principles of Marxism. In truth, Roosevelt did not despise big business. In fact, he realized that the trusts in the latter half of the nineteenth century had indirectly increased the standard of living for nearly every American. He did, however, dislike the power of the trusts and the fact that the American public had little control of them. Yet, at the same time, he feared giving too much power to labor. His Square Deal policies attempted to strike a balance between the two. [http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/troosevelt/context.html]

There is controversy over whether he was [[socialist]]. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 05:43, 28 April 2007 (EDT)

Please don't delete the section on his decision to run for a third term before somebody writes an article on the Constitution in exile movement. I see the latter as absolutely central to modern conservatism, which is as much a reaction against Franklin Roosevelt as anything.

By the way, #2 above refers to THEODORE, not Franklin Roosevelt. Ironically, fans of Franklin typically designate Theodore as the last great Republican President. #1 is interesting, but Roosevelt never said, "''We desire not just equality in theory and opportunity, but equality as a fact and a result,''" as Lyndon Johnson did. Of course, Johnson didn't make [[Henry Wallace]] his vice-presidential nominee, either.

I believe it was with FDR that the Democratic Party moved from being a party of the uneducated masses to the representative of those segments of the elite which are pragmatic, yet a little jumpy. Whether one is a Democrat or Republican largely depends on which of the latter two adjectives one believes predominates.--[[User:Amyz]] 16:10, May 7, 2007 (EDT)

What does that thing mean when it says "specialized knowledge"? -[[User:Additioner|Additioner]] 14:10, 9 July 2007 (EDT)

==Disambiguation==

"Roosevelt" should not redirect here. There should be a disambiguation page that can specify which Roosevelt. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 22:43, 21 July 2007 (EDT)
:Agreed. [[User:Bohdan|Bohdan]] 22:47, 21 July 2007 (EDT)
[[Theodore Roosevelt]] was also a famous President for another thing. -[[User:Additioner|Additioner]] 14:02, 23 July 2007 (EDT)

*The whole article needs to be moved. Again. Look at any history book or encyclopedia; he is never referred to as Franklin Roosevelt, but always as Franklin D. Roosevelt. Same for any search...you are taken to Franklin D. on Google when you search plain Franklin. What were you guys thinking in re-directing it here? The template is wrong as well. --[[User:TK|şŷŝôρ-₮K]][[User_Talk:TK|Ṣρёаќǃ]] 05:42, 21 August 2007 (EDT)

==Anatomically impossible act==

This language obviously was cleaned up:

:"In August 1939...Assistant Secretary of State Adolph A. Berle, disclosed that a Soviet espionage cell was operating in the State and Treasury departments that included [[Hiss]] and [[Harry Dexter White]]... The president coldly told Berle to perform an anatomically impossible act [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_47_17/ai_80900413]

In keeping with our family friendly Commandments, should this be included? [[User:RobSmith|Rob Smith]] 22:22, 2 November 2007 (EDT)

*IMO it could be safely paraphrased as "where the sun doesn't shine". Or the like, and link to the historically correct quote in the citations, eh? How is that for family-friendly and diplomacy? --[[User:TK|şyŝoρ-₮K]][[User_Talk:TK|/Ṣρёаќǃ]] 23:11, 2 November 2007 (EDT)

==conservative aspects==

FDR has been described as one of the most conservative presidents, because he made just enough liberal changes to the role of the govt to save conservatism as a whole. Some say that without the changes he made, the U.S. risked a revolution, perhaps communist or fascist, like in several European countries at the time. I need to find a source for this, but I think it is worth adding. [[User:FernoKlump|FernoKlump]] 17:17, 26 March 2008 (EDT)

== Fourth term/ALP ==

The section on Roosevelt's fourth term states, "It was 825,000 votes from Earl Browder and Sidney Hillman's American Labor Party that gave him his majority." This is complete nonsense. Roosevelt's popular vote margin in 1944 was 3,594,987. In the Electoral College, a minimum of 6 additional (large) states would have had to have been carried by Dewey for the Republican to win the presidency. [[User:Dadsnagem2|Dadsnagem2]] 13:55, 3 June 2008 (EDT)

== proof ==

I'd like a citation for this passage-

"Although Mr. Roosevelt was very popular, it has been argued by scholars and analysts then and now that many New Deal relief efforts actually helped to prolong the Great Depression. Mr. Roosevelt started the second wave of the massive expansion of the Federal Government and greatly increased American foreign aid. Some of these policies were coupled with a persistent high level of unemployment "

== Term of Office ==

I would like to add a footnote to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's term of office section. Is there any way that this can be done? [[User:Malveramenso|Mal]] 16:31, 21 June 2008 (EDT)

James Buchanan

2008-06-21T20:27:35Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=James buchanan.jpg
|seq=15
|term_start=March 4, 1857
|term_end=March 4, 1861<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/15th-us-president-james-buchanan.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic
|vp=John C. Breckinridge
|previous=Franklin Pierce
|next=Abraham Lincoln
|birth_date=April 23, 1791
|birth_place=Cove Gap, Pennsylvania
|death_date=June 1, 1868
|death_place=Lancaster, Pennsylvania
|spouse=None (Bachelor)
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
}}

'''James Buchanan''' was the 15th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1857-1861. He was born on April 23, 1791 in Cove Gap, [[Pennsylvania]]. He was President during the unsuccessful raid on Harper's Ferry by [[John Brown]]. He left office shortly before the firing on Fort Sumter and [[Civil War]] started. He died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on June 1, 1868 at age 78. <ref> Encyclopedia of Presidents James Buchanan by Marlene Targ Brill, Children's Press, 1988. </ref>

Buchanan was elected in 1856. The 1856 election was very good for the upstart [[Republican Party]], which was formed in opposition to slavery. Republican candidate [[John C. Frémont]] did not manage to capture enough votes to defeat Buchanan, but the party would seat its next presidential nominee in the [[White House]] four years later. Buchanan also ran against former President [[Millard Fillmore]], who ran as a part of the "Know Nothing Party", a third party formed largely in opposition to immigration and [[Catholic]] influence. <ref>http://www.multied.com/elections/1856.html</ref> Buchanan received 174, Fremont received 116, and Fillmore received 8.

Buchanan's presidency was marred by several disasters stemming from misgauging of public opinion. He did not realize the political weight of the importance of slavery, despite the storm clouds brewing that would soon lead to the Civil War. He felt that the [[Dred Scott]] court decision had settled the issue for good. Also, the newly acquired territory of [[Kansas]] was struggling to decide on a constitution, and several drafts had been proposed, which differed widely on a number of issues, most notably slavery. Buchanan publicly supported the pro-slavery LeCompton Constitution, which was rejected both by most Kansans and by [[Congress]].

Buchanan is notable as being the only bachelor president of the United States.

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, James}}

[[Category:Democratic Party]]

Franklin Pierce

2008-06-21T20:27:00Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Franklin pierce.jpg
|seq=14
|term_start=March 4, 1853
|term_end=March 4, 1857<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/14th-us-president-franklin-pierce.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic
|vp=William R. King
|vp_dates=1853
|2vp=None
|2vp_dates=1853-1857
|previous=Millard Fillmore
|next=James Buchanan
|birth_date= November 23, 1804
|birth_place=Hillsborough, New Hampshire
|death_date=October 08, 1869 (aged 64)
|death_place=Concord, New Hampshire
|spouse=Jane Appleton Pierce
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Episcopalian]]
}}
'''Franklin Pierce''' was the 14th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1853 to 1857. Pierce was a [[Democrat]] and a Northerner known to have Southern sympathies.

Franklin Pierce became President at a time of apparent tranquility. The United States, by virtue of the Compromise of 1850, seemed to have weathered its sectional storm. By pursuing the recommendations of southern advisers, Pierce--a New Englander--hoped to prevent still another outbreak of that storm. But his policies, far from preserving calm, hastened the disruption of the Union.

Born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, in 1804, Pierce attended [[Bowdoin College]]. After graduation he studied law, then entered politics. At 24 he was elected to the New Hampshire legislature; two years later he became its Speaker. During the 1830's he went to Washington, first as a Representative, then as a Senator.

Pierce, after serving in the [[Mexican War]], was proposed by New Hampshire friends for the Presidential nomination in 1852. At the Democratic Convention, the delegates agreed easily enough upon a platform pledging undeviating support of the Compromise of 1850 and hostility to any efforts to agitate the slavery question. But they balloted 48 times and eliminated all the well-known candidates before nominating Pierce, a true "dark horse."

Probably because the Democrats stood more firmly for the Compromise than the Whigs, and because Whig candidate Gen. [[Winfield Scott]] was suspect in the South, Pierce won with a narrow margin of popular votes.

Two months before he took office, he and his wife saw their eleven-year-old son killed when their train was wrecked. Grief-stricken, Pierce entered the Presidency nervously exhausted.

In his Inaugural he proclaimed an era of peace and prosperity at home, and vigor in relations with other nations. The United States might have to acquire additional possessions for the sake of its own security, he pointed out, and would not be deterred by "any timid forebodings of evil."

Pierce had only to make gestures toward expansion to excite the wrath of northerners, who accused him of acting as a cat's-paw of Southerners eager to extend slavery into other areas. Therefore he aroused apprehension when he pressured Great Britain to relinquish its special interests along part of the Central American coast, and even more when he tried to persuade Spain to sell Cuba.

But the most violent renewal of the storm stemmed from the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]], which repealed the [[Missouri Compromise (1820)]] and reopened the question of slavery in the West. This measure, the handiwork of Senator [[Stephen A. Douglas]], grew in part out of his desire to promote a railroad from Chicago to California through Nebraska. Already Secretary of War [[Jefferson Davis]], advocate of a southern transcontinental route, had persuaded Pierce to send [[James Gadsden]] to [[Mexico]] to buy land for a southern railroad. He purchased the area now comprising southern Arizona and part of southern New Mexico for $10,000,000.

Douglas's proposal, to organize western territories through which a railroad might run, caused extreme trouble. Douglas provided in his bills that the residents of the new territories could decide the slavery question for themselves. The result was a rush into Kansas, as southerners and northerners vied for control of the territory. Shooting broke out, and "bleeding Kansas" became a prelude to the [[American Civil War]].

By the end of his administration, Pierce could claim "a peaceful condition of things in Kansas." But, to his disappointment, the Democrats refused to renominate him, turning to the less controversial Buchanan. Pierce returned to New Hampshire, leaving his successor to face the rising fury of the sectional whirlwind. He died in 1869.

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Franklin}}

[[Category:Democratic Party]]

Herbert Hoover

2008-06-21T20:22:12Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Herbert_hoover.jpg
|seq=31
|term_start=March 4, 1929
|term_end=March 4, 1933 <ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=Charles Curtis
|previous=Calvin Coolidge
|next=Franklin D. Roosevelt
|birth_date=August 10, 1874
|birth_place=West Branch, Iowa
|death_date=October 20, 1964
|death_place=New York, New York
|spouse=Lou Henry Hoover
|spouse2=
|religion=Quaker
}}

'''Herbert Clark Hoover'''<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref> was the 31st [[President of the United States of America]] following [[Calvin Coolidge]] and preceding [[Franklin Roosevelt]] and was the [[United States Secretary of Commerce]] under President [[Calvin Coolidge]], his predecessor.

==Early Life==
Hoover was born in a small cottage in Iowa in 1874, and attended Stanford University, <ref>http://www.hooverassociation.org/hooverfesthistory.html</ref>. After graduating with a degree in geology, he pursued a career in engineering. In 1900, this led him to [[China]], where he became caught in the midst of the [[Boxer Rebellion]] <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/hh31.html</ref>.

==Food Controller==
Hoover was requested, by the neutral country of Belgium, to arrange its food supply through [[World War I]]. Hoover accepted the challenge. He was so successful in this position that Wilson asked him to serve as his food administrator. He served in that position successfully until the end of the war. He was among those considered for the Democratic nomination. However, he shut off all hopes by announcing he was a Republican.

==Election to Presidency==
[[Calvin Coolidge]] decided against running for reelection in 1928. As a member of his Cabinet, Hoover was nominated to the [[Republican]] ticket. He was able to use the popularity of the Coolidge Administration to win in the [[United States presidential election of 1928|1928 Presidential Election]].

He held office from 1929 to 1933 during the [[Great Depression]]. Hoover's success in fighting the economic disaster that was upon the US was not evident during his presidency, and that cost him his popularity as well as re-election in the [[United States presidential election, 1932|1932 Presidential Election]].
Unemployment was near 25% by 1932. <ref>http://www.marist.edu/summerscholars/96/ovpe.htm</ref>

==Hoover's popularity takes a hit==
Many people lost their jobs during the Great Depression and were forced to move into "shantytowns" that became known as "Hoovervilles", a mocking tribute to the President whom they blamed for their financial woes. <ref>http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/depwwii/depress/hoovers.html</ref> (This link contains pictures of several "Hoovervilles".) Hoover's popularity took a further hit when a group of veterans from [[World War I]] known as the [[Bonus Army]] marched on [[Washington, D.C.]] to demand their cash bonuses that they were to receive in 1945 for their military service. <ref>http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bonusarmy.htm</ref> Hoover deployed the Army to drive out these marchers, of whom there were up to 10,000, which was a further public relations nightmare. Hoover lost the [[United States presidential election of 1932]] election by a landslide to [[Democrat]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], winning only 59 electoral votes. <ref>http://www.statemaster.com/graph/pre_1932_ele_vot_for_her_hoo-1932-electoral-votes-herbert-hoover</ref>

==Miscellaneous==
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is located in West Branch, Iowa. <ref>http://hoover.archives.gov/</ref>

Hoover's wife, Lou Henry Hoover, served as the president of the Girl Scouts. <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/lh31.html</ref>

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoover, Herbert}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Great Depression]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]

Calvin Coolidge

2008-06-21T20:20:35Z

Malveramenso:

{{President|
|name=John Calvin Coolidge Jr.
|image=460px-Calvin Coolidge photo portrait head and shoulders.jpg
|country=the United States
|seq=30
|party=Republican
|term_start=August 2, 1923
|term_end=March 4, 1929<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|vp=None
|vp_dates=1923-1925
|2vp=Charles G.Dawes
|2vp_dates=1925-1929
|previous=Warren G. Harding
|next=Herbert Hoover
|seq2=29
|office2=vice
|term_start2=March 4, 1921
|term_end2=August 2, 1923
|pres2=Warren G. Harding
|previous2=Thomas R. Marshall
|next2=Charles G. Dawes
|birth_date=July 4, 1872
|birth_place=Plymouth, Vermont
|death_date=January 5, 1933
|death_place=Northampton, Massachusetts
|spouse=Grace Goodhue Coolidge
|spouse2=
|religion=Congregationalist
}}

'''Calvin Coolidge''' was the [[Vice President of the United States of America]] from July 4, 1921 to January 5, 1923 and was the 30th [[President of the United States of America]] from 1923 to 1929 (29th if [[Grover Cleveland]] is counted only once). He was famous for being a man of few words, leading to the nickname ''Silent Cal''. He was a [[Republican]] throughout his political career.

==Accession to the Presidency==
Cal was at his father's house in Vermont when news arrived of President [[Warren G. Harding]]'s death. His father, a notary public, administered the oath of office.

== Distinguishing Features of Coolidge Presidency ==
Coolidge and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] are the only two Presidents not to have been sworn in by the [[Chief Justice of the United States of America]]. Johnson was sworn in by [[Sarah T. Hughes]] on [[Air Force One]] prior to leaving [[Dallas]], [[Texas]] for [[Washington]], [[DC]] on November 22, 1963.

Coolidge shares with Johnson, [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Harry S. Truman]] the distinction of having chosen not to run for re-election at a time when he could have done so without breaking the traditional two-term limit established by [[George Washington]] and later codified by the [[22nd Amendment]] to the [[U. S. Constitution]]. They are the only four 20th century Presidents to do so, although this was a common choice of 19th century Presidents, whom Coolidge may have seen as his model. While Johnson and Truman bowed out because they could not win wars to which they had committed the United States, and Roosevelt because he had a hand-picked successor ready, Coolidge's wife is reputed to have said he had decided not to run because "Cal smells a [[depression]] coming." [[Depression]]s in the pre-[[New Deal]] era were less frequent, but more disruptive than our contemporary [[recession]]s. If genuine, this prediction was on the mark, as Coolidge's successor [[Herbert Hoover]] was unjustly blamed for the [[Great Depression]] and went down to defeat in the [[United States presidential election of 1932|1932 Presidential Election]], which inaugurated the [[Fifth Party System]].

Coolidge is most famous for being pro-[[business]], and famously said, "The business of America is business." Liberals attacked him for continuing what became known as [[Twenties Nullification]] of the [[Progressive]] reforms of [[Woodrow Wilson]]. However, some Federal government activity was congruent with this orientation, particularly the development of the [[U. S. highway system]], a predecessor of the [[Interstate Highway System]] begun by [[Dwight Eisenhower]]. At the beginning of Coolidge's term [[railroads]] were the primary mode of moving goods and people between cities. By the end, it was at least theoretically possible to drive an [[automobile]] to most towns and villages. The modern [[road trip]] is therefore perhaps Coolidge's most significant legacy.

==Silent Cal==
A woman once told Coolidge that she had bet someone that she could get him to say more than two words. He told her, "You lose."

==Autobiography==
Calvin Coolidge is one of the American Presidents to have written an Autobiography.

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coolidge, Calvin}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

Talk:Theodore Roosevelt

2008-06-21T20:17:27Z

Malveramenso:

According to this source (http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/biofamily.htm), President Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. were two different people. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. was apparently the father of the President, and Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. was apparently the President's son (see also http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/tedjr.html). Therefore, based on the evidence, it seems incorrect to state that "Jr." was part of President Theodore Roosevelt's name. If there is no discussion on this matter soon, I will just take care of the matter myself. Thanks. [[User:Malveramenso|Mal]] 15:20, 20 June 2008 (EDT)

What you have is correct, although sometimes Theodore Roosevelt Jr. is referred to as Theodore Roosevelt II.--[[User:Kell|Kell]] 15:39, 20 June 2008 (EDT)

In that case, shouldn't the "Jr." in President Theodore Roosevelt's name in the article be removed? [[User:Malveramenso|Mal]] 16:17, 21 June 2008 (EDT)

Talk:James K. Polk

2008-06-21T20:16:09Z

Malveramenso: /* "imminent Mexican attack on Texas" */

"Unfortunately, Polk was unable to prevent several thousand Mexicans from entering the country and gaining citizenship when the United States annexed California and New Mexico."

What the? They already lived there! We won the land from Mexico in the war! Not to mention they didn't get citizenship until YEARS later, they were treated the same way indians were. Someone needs to re-write this page with some semblance of fact. Also, "an early supporter of the bush doctrine of pre-emptive war"? really... ? [[User:JamesBenjamin|JamesBenjamin]] 17:55, 29 June 2007 (EDT)

A lot of this stuff was put there by users who have been known parodists. I removed some of it. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 17:57, 29 June 2007 (EDT)

== "imminent Mexican attack on Texas" ==

The article states that James Knox Polk "launched an invasion of Mexico to prevent an imminent Mexican attack on Texas." This is historical speculation and should be attributed or removed. In reality, there is no way to prove that an attack was or was not going to occur. To suggest this implies that we have absolute knowledge of the circumstances and human thoughts surrounding the event. Perhaps the wording should be changed to read, "Polk launched an invasion of Mexico to prevent what many USA Congressmembers saw as an imminent Mexican attack on Texas" or whatever the correct attribution may be. I may end up changing this myself. Also, could someone help me out with the footnotes? I'm not sure how to unify two different citations which are from the same source. [[User:Malveramenso|Mal]] 21:16, 19 June 2008 (EDT)

Calvin Coolidge

2008-06-20T19:34:04Z

Malveramenso:

{{President|
|name=John Calvin Coolidge Jr.
|image=460px-Calvin Coolidge photo portrait head and shoulders.jpg
|country=the United States
|seq=30
|party=Republican
|term_start=August 2, 1923
|term_end=March 4, 1929<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|vp=None
|vp_dates=1923-1925
|2vp=Charles G.Dawes
|2vp_dates=1925-1929
|previous=Warren G. Harding
|next=Herbert Hoover
|seq2=29
|office2=vice
|term_start2=March 4, 1921
|term_end2=August 2, 1923
|pres2=Warren G. Harding
|previous2=Thomas R. Marshall
|next2=Charles G. Dawes
|birth_date=July 4, 1872
|birth_place=Plymouth, Vermont
|death_date=January 5, 1933
|death_place=Northampton, Massachusetts
|spouse=Grace Goodhue Coolidge
|spouse2=
|religion=Congregationalist
}}

'''Calvin Coolidge''' was the [[Vice President of the United States of America]] from July 4, 1921 to January 5, 1923 and was the 30th [[President of the United States of America]] from 1923 to 1929 (29th if [[Grover Cleveland]] is counted only once). He was famous for being a man of few words, leading to the nickname ''Silent Cal''. He was a [[Republican]] throughout his political career.

==Accession to the Presidency==
Cal was at his father's house in Vermont when news arrived of President [[Warren G. Harding]]'s death. His father, a notary public, administered the oath of office.

== Distinguishing Features of Coolidge Presidency ==
Coolidge and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] are the only two Presidents not to have been sworn in by the [[Chief Justice of the United States of America]]. Johnson was sworn in by [[Sarah T. Hughes]] on [[Air Force One]] prior to leaving [[Dallas]], [[Texas]] for [[Washington]], [[DC]] on November 22, 1963.

Coolidge shares with Johnson, [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Harry S. Truman]] the distinction of having chosen not to run for re-election at a time when he could have done so without breaking the traditional two-term limit established by [[George Washington]] and later codified by the [[22nd Amendment]] to the [[U. S. Constitution]]. They are the only four 20th century Presidents to do so, although this was a common choice of 19th century Presidents, whom Coolidge may have seen as his model. While Johnson and Truman bowed out because they could not win wars to which they had committed the United States, and Roosevelt because he had a hand-picked successor ready, Coolidge's wife is reputed to have said he had decided not to run because "Cal smells a [[depression]] coming." [[Depression]]s in the pre-[[New Deal]] era were less frequent, but more disruptive than our contemporary [[recession]]s. If genuine, this prediction was on the mark, as Coolidge's successor [[Herbert Hoover]] was unjustly blamed for the [[Great Depression]] and went down to defeat in the [[United States presidential election of 1932|1932 Presidential Election]], which inaugurated the [[Fifth Party System]].

Coolidge is most famous for being pro-[[business]], and famously said, "The business of America is business." Liberals attacked him for continuing what became known as [[Twenties Nullification]] of the [[Progressive]] reforms of [[Woodrow Wilson]]. However, some Federal government activity was congruent with this orientation, particularly the development of the [[U. S. highway system]], a predecessor of the [[Interstate Highway System]] begun by [[Dwight Eisenhower]]. At the beginning of Coolidge's term [[railroads]] were the primary mode of moving goods and people between cities. By the end, it was at least theoretically possible to drive an [[automobile]] to most towns and villages. The modern [[road trip]] is therefore perhaps Coolidge's most significant legacy.

==Silent Cal==
A woman once told Coolidge that she had bet someone that she could get him to say more than two words. He told her, "You lose."

==Autobiography==
Calvin Coolidge is one of the American Presidents to have written an Autobiography.

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coolidge, Calvin}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

Warren G. Harding

2008-06-20T19:31:21Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Jgftyr.jpg
|seq=29
|term_start=March 4, 1921
|term_end=August 2, 1923<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=Calvin Coolidge
|previous=Woodrow Wilson
|next=Calvin Coolidge
|birth_date=November 2, 1865
|birth_place=Near Blooming Groove, Ohio
|death_date=August 2, 1923
|death_place=San Francisco, California
|spouse=Florence Kling Harding
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Baptist]]
}}

'''Warren G. (Gamaliel) Harding''' (November 2, 1865 - August 2, 1923) was an [[Ohio]] [[Senator]] and the 29th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1921 to 1923. After the [[First World War]], his presidency was marked as a "return to normalcy". Mr. Harding and his running mate [[Calvin Coolidge]] were elected by a large majority over James Cox and [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], in large part because of the American people's rejection of the internationalist policies of former President [[Woodrow Wilson]], particularly the [[League of Nations]]. <ref>http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=atb037b09&templatename=/article/article.html</ref>

Harding's undeviating Republicanism and vibrant speaking voice, plus his willingness to let the machine bosses set policies, led him far in Ohio politics. He served in the state Senate and as Lieutenant Governor, and unsuccessfully ran for Governor. He delivered the nominating address for President [[William Howard Taft|Taft]] at the 1912 Republican Convention. In 1914 he was elected to the Senate. An Ohio admirer, Harry Daugherty, began to promote Harding for the 1920 Republican nomination because, he later explained, "He looked like a President." <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wh29.html</ref>

== Key Accomplishments ==

*Eliminated wartime controls
*Slashed taxes
*Established a Federal budget system,
*Restored the high protective tariff
*Imposed tight limitations upon immigration

=== Immigration Control ===

Mr. Harding signed into law the [[Emergency Quota Act]]<ref>http://tucnak.fsv.cuni.cz/~calda/Documents/1920s/QuotaAct1918.html</ref> which sought to control immigration following [[World War I]] and preserve the distinctive American culture by ensuring the majority of immigrants came from the historically compatible cultures of Northern Europe. This law aimed to bring wages of hard working Americans under control by limiting immigration to 3% of the 1910 census. It was followed on by a similar act in 1924, after Mr. Harding's death.<ref>http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/hodgson/Courses/so11/Race/quota_acts.htm</ref>

=== Tulsa Race Riot ===

Harding sought to calm race relations during the [[Tulsa Race Riot]] and events that followed. His wise words helped to calm the nation especially in the Tulsa area at this time of disturbance. His press secretary also sent a telegram to the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] offering the president's support. <ref>http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3812/is_199911/ai_n8854233</ref>

=== Justice ===

Harding pardoned the [[socialist]] [[Eugene Debs]] who was imprisoned during World War I for opposing the war. Despite their political differences, Harding was cordial to him and met with him in the [[White House]], "I have heard so damned much about you, Mr Debs, that I am very glad to meet you personally."<ref>http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/vodebs.htm</ref>

Harding defined the [[Supreme Court]] for two decades, appointing four solidly [[conservative]] justices. Harding's appointments included former President [[William Howard Taft]] to be Chief Justice (1921), [[George Sutherland]] (1922), [[Pierce Butler]] (1923) and [[Edward Terry Sanford]] (1923). Two of these justices (Taft and Sanford) served until 1930. The other two (Sutherland and Butler) served until the late 1930s and stood up to the [[liberal]] policies of President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]].

In particular, Sutherland and Butler were the core of the conservative [[Four Horsemen]] who invalidated key aspects of the [[New Deal]] and drove President Roosevelt to propose his [[court-packing scheme]], which caused him to lose his credibility with [[Congress]] and the public.

In selecting Pierce for the bench, Harding broke with tradition by picking a conservative Democrat even though Harding was a Republican.

=== Fiscal ===

The Bureau of the Budget was created during Harding's tenure. Harding attempted to restrain the federal budget and reduce expenses on wartime armaments. This stimulated the private economy and lead to a period of prosperity experienced in the United States during the 1920s known as the ''Roaring 20s''. Shortly after taking office, Harding also successfully passed promotion of US Agriculture, repeal of the wartime "excess profits" tax and reduction of rail rates.<ref>http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0193620-00</ref> Due in part to Mr. Harding's conservative economic policies, the US experienced a period of profound economic growth in the early 1920s that continued through most of the decade.

=== Military ===

Harding presided over modernization of the U.S. forces including the addition of the experimental [[aircraft carrier]] Langley and the T-2 [[submarine]], as well as the creation of a merchant marine which was critical in early US involvement in WWII via the [[Lend-Lease Act]].<ref>http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0193620-00</ref>

=== Diplomatic ===

Harding avoided entangling alliances that lead to war and defended US interests. Mr. Harding outlined his policy in his inaugural address: "...every commitment must be made in the exercise of our national sovereignty. Since freedom impelled, and independence inspired, and nationality exalted, a world supergovernment is contrary to everything we cherish and can have no sanction by our Republic. This is not selfishness, it is sanctity. It is not aloofness, it is security. It is not suspicion of others, it is patriotic adherence to the things which made us what we are." <ref>http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=25833</ref>

Supported by his conservative colleagues in congress as well as the American people, Harding succeeded at continuing to keep the United States out of the League of Nations. <ref>http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=atb037b09&templatename=/article/article.html</ref>

Harding's administration was successful in negotiating the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited battleships.

=== Labor issues ===
Mr. Harding's administration helped bring about the 40-hour work week which restricted the economic output of the US and restricted small, medium and large businesses alike.

=== Teapot Dome incident ===
Mr. Harding, in a quest to help re-privatize land taken from the American people and industry by their own government, appointed Senator Albert B. Fall of New Mexico as his Secretary of the Interior. Falls misappropriated this effort for his own gain in an abuse of the public trust. Democrats in congress, lead by Senator [[Thomas J. Walsh]] and Republican Senator [[Robert M. LaFollette]] (a former progressive), began an investigation with the support of the [[conservationist]] interests that backed them. They found that Fall had used his privatization efforts to benefit himself to the tune of over $400,000. Mr. Fall also had entangled other businessmen and politicians into his wrongdoing which lead to other indictments of both Democrats and Republicans and continued into the Coolidge administration. Mr. Harding did not know about these dealings until shortly before his death. In later years the petroleum reserves would prove to be less valuable than initially overestimated by the government. <ref>http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0380900-00</ref>

==="The President's Daughter"===
In 1928, Nan Britton published a book entitled "The President's Daughter" claiming that she and Harding had been lovers and had conceived a child in 1919. According to her, the affair continued for six years, and the lovers' meeting-places included a coat closet in the executive offices of the White House.<ref name=taylor>Allen, Frederick Lewis (1931), ''Only Yesterday,'' ch. VI, "Harding and the Scandals"</ref>

== Death ==

The death of President Warren Harding would eventually give rise to a savage case of liberal character assassination. Through allegations made by a political novelist, an alleged adulterous lover of Warren Harding’s, and a criminal who would die in [[Leavenworth]] prison for accepting money in exchange for returning the kidnapped [[Lindbergh baby]], liberal historian Frederick Lewis Allen would plant firmly in the public mind the notions that Harding was murdered by his wife, out of jealousy and fear of political scandal.<ref>Ferrell, Robert H. (1996), The Strange Deaths of President Harding, University of Missouri Press p.31</ref>

Shaken by the talk of corruption among the friends he had appointed to office, Warren and Florence Harding began a tour on June 20, 1923 of the West and Alaska. He hoped to get out and meet people, to shake hands and explain his policies. Although suffering from high blood pressure and an enlarged heart, he seemed to enjoy himself and the food -- especially the seafood in Alaska. On his return journey, he became ill with what was then attributed to food poisoning. The Presidential train rushed to [[San Francisco]], where his condition worsened. He developed [[pneumonia]], and complicated by his heart ailment, died suddenly on August 23, he suffered a [[heart attack]] in the evening, while his wife was reading to him. He died quietly and instantaneously.

After Harding’s death, the reputation of his administration was tarnished by revelations of scandal, primarily the Teapot Dome scandal (mentioned above) and a scandal in the [[Veteran’s Administration]] which was particularly distasteful in that post World War I period. The scandals were pushed forward by congressional hearings, but were greeted by the public with what liberal historian Frederick Lewis Allen concedes was brief resentment at both scandals and scandalmongers, followed by apathy.<ref>http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/ALLEN/ch6.html</ref>

In 1926, author [[Samuel Hopkins Adams]] published the novel “Revelry”, with characters which appeared to be thinly disguised members of the Harding administration. The president in the novel, “Willis Markham” poisons himself by accident, but does not take an available antidote, because he realizes that his death “will wipe out the whole score” of soon to be revealed scandals involving oil and the Veteran’s Administration. The novel was later dramatized .<ref>Ferrell, Robert H. (1996), The Strange Deaths of President Harding, University of Missouri Press p.33</ref>. Adams was a successful writer, and would go on to write the story which would become Frank Capra’s film “It Happened One Night”, and to share screenwriting credits with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on an unrelated film, “The President’s Mystery” in 1936. His fictional account of Harding’s death brought the issue of poison firmly into the public mind.

The publication of Nan Britton’s book "The President's Daughter" in 1928 portrayed the late President as a womanizer, which historians now unanimously agree was true, even if some disputes remain regarding the degree to which Harding was involved with Ms. Britton herself, and as to the paternity of her child.

In 1930, [[Gaston B. Means]], a lifelong criminal who had nonetheless managed to get himself hired as an FBI agent for a brief time during the Harding administration, published “The Strange Death of President Harding, by Gaston B. Means as told to May Dixon Thacker", in which he alleged that Mrs. Harding murdered her husband out of jealousy of Ms. Britton, and out of fear of the soon to be revealed Teapot Dome and Veteran’s Administration scandals. Means was later described by J. Edgar Hoover, who knew Means personally, as “the greatest faker of all time” and “the most amazing figure in contemporary criminal history”. Means, who had been previously acquitted of murder and had been involved in a number of other questionable situations such as possible insurance fraud, was convicted of bootlegging and mail fraud in 1925. While in prison he met May Dixon Thacker, who was interested in the rehabilitation of prisoners, and convinced her that he had been unjustly convicted. He convinced her to help him write a tell-all book about how he was railroaded, but as May Dixon Thacker herself wrote in a subsequent magazine article, he failed to provide her with any of the documentation of his account that he had promised. In the end, she made most of it up.<ref> Ferrell, Robert H. (1996), The Strange Deaths of President Harding, University of Missouri Press pp. 42-43</ref> Means would go on to further criminal enterprise, and would finally be convicted of swindling Florence Harding’s close friend [[Evalyn Walsh McLean]] of over $100,000.00 which he was to use to ransom the kidnapped Lindbergh baby. Means was then sent to Leavenworth, where he died.

No forensic evidence has ever been found to suggest that Warren G. Harding had been poisoned by any person, let alone his wife. The suggestion that she had a motivation to kill the president because of Florence Harding’s jealousy over an affair with Nan Britton makes little sense in light of the nearly unanimous consensus of modern historians that Harding had been a womanizer for many years prior to his election to the Presidency, and his wife had had knowledge of at least some of those affairs. The suggestion that she would murder the President to somehow deflect scandals that would be met by public apathy is similarly unlikely. Yet despite the source of these charges, their utter lack of factual support, and the unlikeliness of the alleged motives of the First Lady, Frederick Lewis Allen would repeat these charges in his very successful book “Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s” in 1931. Coming as it did in the deepest part of the [[Great Depression]], Allen’s book, which depicted all of the Republican presidents of the 1920s as bumbling incompetents, was eagerly accepted by a public looking for someone to blame. Allen’s history remains in print, and continues to provide misinformation quoted in poorly researched histories, articles and encyclopedias down to the present day.

The impact of Allen’s attack on Harding’s character is astounding in its depth. For decades afterward, Harding was routinely rated as the worst president in United States history in polls of professional historians, and the portrayal of Harding as a clueless fool who died one way or another because of political scandals has been accepted, even by many conservatives, as gospel. The success of Allen in damaging the collective memory of Republican presidents, Harding among them, continues to effect the public’s perception of both parties and their relative competence.

== Criticism ==

Harding today has come under criticism by both liberal economists and free trade advocates for [[protectionist]] policies--restrictions on [[free trade]]--which resulted in the collapse of international trade and is widely considered a cause of the worldwide [[Great Depression]] that occurred later in the decade and throughout the 1930s. Most economic historians today, however, follow liberal economist John Kenneth Galbraith’s view that the Great Depression was primarily the result of a bank collapse due to a lack of effective regulation of the loan and credit market<ref>Galbraith, John Kenneth (1954) The Great Crash 1929, Houghton Mifflin</ref> Those economists who believe that high [[tariff]]s were an important cause of the Depression often note that the tariff made it harder for European nations to pay their war debts.

== Trivia ==

* Out of all of the Presidents of the U.S. he had the largest feet.
* He was the first president to visit Alaska.
* He was the first President to speak on the radio and the first to have a radio in the White House.
* Harding and [[John F. Kennedy]] are the only two sitting United States Senators elected to the Presidency.

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Warren G.}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

Woodrow Wilson

2008-06-20T19:29:38Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Pppq.jpg
|seq=28
|term_start=March 4, 1913
|term_end=March 4, 1921<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic
|vp=Thomas R. Marshall
|previous=William Howard Taft
|next=Warren G. Harding
|birth_date=December 28, 1856
|birth_place=Staunton, Virginia
|death_date=February 3, 1924
|death_place=Washington, D.C.
|spouse=Ellen Axson Wilson
|spouse2=Edith Galt Wilson
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
}}

'''Thomas Woodrow Wilson''' <ref>http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1919/wilson-bio.html</ref> (1856 - 1924) was the 28th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1913 to 1921. In 1917 he led the United States' entrance in to [[World War I]]. He was also the only president to have a PhD.

Woodrow Wilson was the son of a preacher who grew up in the south after the [[Civil War]]; his mother was a British woman, Janet Woodrow or [[Carlisle]]. Because of this he knew a great deal about the humiliation, economic ruin and shame that the loser of a war experiences and the hatred that grows from this. This insight helped him make a forgiving plan for peace called the [[Fourteen Points]] to end World War I. It was never adopted the way he had hoped.

"Wilson, a liberal's liberal, was a Presbyterian elder who read the [[Bible]] daily; he felt 'sorry for the men who do not read the Bible every day.' The Bible, he argued, was 'the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life.' Wilson was prone to make explicitly Christian claims about his nation, even excluding the word ''Judeo'' from his characterization of the nation's religious heritage. 'America was born a [[Christian]] nation,' claimed the great liberal in 1913. 'America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.' "<ref>God and George W. Bush (New York: Regan Books, 2004), p. 175</ref>

Wilson also had this to say about the Bible: <blockquote>"The Bible... is the one supreme source of revelation of meaning of life, of the nature of God and the spiritual nature and need of men. It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation.<ref>The Rebirth of America (1986), Arthur S. DeMoss, Pg. 37</ref></blockquote>

Woodrow Wilson has come under scrutiny in recent years for his position on segregation, most notably within for federal jobs.

Woodrow Wilson's most lasting political philosophy was his view that [[democracy]] should be installed around the world. As a major player in setting the terms to end World War I, he helped to break up the [[Austria-Hungary|Austrian-Hungarian Empire]] to advance his goal of installing democracy for each ethnic subpopulation. Similar independence was granted with the breakup of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Many of these new nations were receiving self determination for the first time in centuries. Wilson's view of installing democracy worldwide has since been copied by the [[neoconservatives]]. Wilson was awarded the 1919 [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for his efforts to start the [[League of Nations]].

Wilson's image appeared on the now-withdrawn $100,000 bill.

==References==
<references/>

==Further Reading ==
* ''Woodrow Wilson and the roots of modern liberalism'' / Ronald J. Pestritto. ISBN: 0742515176

{{USPresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Woodrow}}

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Peace]]
[[Category:Children of Clergy]]

Woodrow Wilson

2008-06-20T19:28:47Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Pppq.jpg
|seq=28
|term_start=March 4, 1913
|term_end=March 4, 1921
|party=Democratic
|vp=Thomas R. Marshall
|previous=William Howard Taft
|next=Warren G. Harding
|birth_date=December 28, 1856
|birth_place=Staunton, Virginia
|death_date=February 3, 1924
|death_place=Washington, D.C.
|spouse=Ellen Axson Wilson
|spouse2=Edith Galt Wilson
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
}}

'''Thomas Woodrow Wilson''' <ref>http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1919/wilson-bio.html</ref> (1856 - 1924) was the 28th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1913 to 1921. In 1917 he led the United States' entrance in to [[World War I]]. He was also the only president to have a PhD.

Woodrow Wilson was the son of a preacher who grew up in the south after the [[Civil War]]; his mother was a British woman, Janet Woodrow or [[Carlisle]]. Because of this he knew a great deal about the humiliation, economic ruin and shame that the loser of a war experiences and the hatred that grows from this. This insight helped him make a forgiving plan for peace called the [[Fourteen Points]] to end World War I. It was never adopted the way he had hoped.

"Wilson, a liberal's liberal, was a Presbyterian elder who read the [[Bible]] daily; he felt 'sorry for the men who do not read the Bible every day.' The Bible, he argued, was 'the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life.' Wilson was prone to make explicitly Christian claims about his nation, even excluding the word ''Judeo'' from his characterization of the nation's religious heritage. 'America was born a [[Christian]] nation,' claimed the great liberal in 1913. 'America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.' "<ref>God and George W. Bush (New York: Regan Books, 2004), p. 175</ref>

Wilson also had this to say about the Bible: <blockquote>"The Bible... is the one supreme source of revelation of meaning of life, of the nature of God and the spiritual nature and need of men. It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation.<ref>The Rebirth of America (1986), Arthur S. DeMoss, Pg. 37</ref></blockquote>

Woodrow Wilson has come under scrutiny in recent years for his position on segregation, most notably within for federal jobs.

Woodrow Wilson's most lasting political philosophy was his view that [[democracy]] should be installed around the world. As a major player in setting the terms to end World War I, he helped to break up the [[Austria-Hungary|Austrian-Hungarian Empire]] to advance his goal of installing democracy for each ethnic subpopulation. Similar independence was granted with the breakup of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Many of these new nations were receiving self determination for the first time in centuries. Wilson's view of installing democracy worldwide has since been copied by the [[neoconservatives]]. Wilson was awarded the 1919 [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for his efforts to start the [[League of Nations]].

Wilson's image appeared on the now-withdrawn $100,000 bill.

==References==
<references/>

==Further Reading ==
* ''Woodrow Wilson and the roots of modern liberalism'' / Ronald J. Pestritto. ISBN: 0742515176

{{USPresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Woodrow}}

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Peace]]
[[Category:Children of Clergy]]

Woodrow Wilson

2008-06-20T19:26:41Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Pppq.jpg
|seq=28
|term_start=March 4, 1913
|term_end=March 4, 1921
|party=Democratic
|vp=Thomas R. Marshall
|previous=William Howard Taft
|next=Warren G. Harding
|birth_date=December 28, 1856
|birth_place=Staunton, Virginia
|death_date=February 3, 1924
|death_place=Washington, D.C.
|spouse=Ellen Axson Wilson
|spouse2=Edith Galt Wilson
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
}}

'''Woodrow Thomas Wilson''' <ref>http://www.instructorweb.com/lesson/woodrowwilson.asp</ref> (1856 - 1924) was the 28th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1913 to 1921. In 1917 he led the United States' entrance in to [[World War I]]. He was also the only president to have a PhD.

Woodrow Wilson was the son of a preacher who grew up in the south after the [[Civil War]]; his mother was a British woman, Janet Woodrow or [[Carlisle]]. Because of this he knew a great deal about the humiliation, economic ruin and shame that the loser of a war experiences and the hatred that grows from this. This insight helped him make a forgiving plan for peace called the [[Fourteen Points]] to end World War I. It was never adopted the way he had hoped.

"Wilson, a liberal's liberal, was a Presbyterian elder who read the [[Bible]] daily; he felt 'sorry for the men who do not read the Bible every day.' The Bible, he argued, was 'the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life.' Wilson was prone to make explicitly Christian claims about his nation, even excluding the word ''Judeo'' from his characterization of the nation's religious heritage. 'America was born a [[Christian]] nation,' claimed the great liberal in 1913. 'America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.' "<ref>God and George W. Bush (New York: Regan Books, 2004), p. 175</ref>

Wilson also had this to say about the Bible: <blockquote>"The Bible... is the one supreme source of revelation of meaning of life, of the nature of God and the spiritual nature and need of men. It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation.<ref>The Rebirth of America (1986), Arthur S. DeMoss, Pg. 37</ref></blockquote>

Woodrow Wilson has come under scrutiny in recent years for his position on segregation, most notably within for federal jobs.

Woodrow Wilson's most lasting political philosophy was his view that [[democracy]] should be installed around the world. As a major player in setting the terms to end World War I, he helped to break up the [[Austria-Hungary|Austrian-Hungarian Empire]] to advance his goal of installing democracy for each ethnic subpopulation. Similar independence was granted with the breakup of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Many of these new nations were receiving self determination for the first time in centuries. Wilson's view of installing democracy worldwide has since been copied by the [[neoconservatives]]. Wilson was awarded the 1919 [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for his efforts to start the [[League of Nations]].

Wilson's image appeared on the now-withdrawn $100,000 bill.

==References==
<references/>

==Further Reading ==
* ''Woodrow Wilson and the roots of modern liberalism'' / Ronald J. Pestritto. ISBN: 0742515176

{{USPresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Woodrow}}

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Peace]]
[[Category:Children of Clergy]]

William Howard Taft

2008-06-20T19:23:48Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=William_taft.jpg
|seq=27
|term_start=March 4, 1909
|term_end=March 4, 1913<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=James S. Sherman
|vpdates=1909-1912
|2vp=None
|2vpdates=1912-1913
|previous=Theodore Roosevelt
|next=Woodrow Wilson
|birth_date=September 15, 1857
|birth_place=Cincinnati, Ohio
|death_date=March 8, 1930
|death_place=Washington, D.C.
|spouse=Helen Herron Taft
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Unitarian]]

}}
'''William Howard Taft''' was the 27th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1909 to 1913. He is particularly famous for being the portliest president in history, requiring a special bathtub to be installed in the White House. Taft is the only President to go on to serve as [[Chief Justice of the United States]], in addition to being the first-ever president to toss out the ceremonial [[first pitch]] at a [[baseball]] game. He was also the last [[Unitarian]] President, and the only incumbent President in history to seek re-election only to come in third in the [[popular vote]]. This happened in the [[United States presidential election, 1912|1912 Presidential election]] after Taft's supporters prevented [[Theodore Roosevelt]] from winning the nomination of the [[Republican]] party, leading Roosevelt to form the [[Progressive Party]] and come in ahead of Taft but behind [[Woodrow Wilson]] on election day.

He died on February 3, 1930 at the age of 71. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents, William Howard Taft]] by Jane Clark Casey, Children's Press, 1989. </ref> Along with [[John F. Kennedy]], he is one of only two presidents to be buried at [[Arlington_National_Cemetery|Arlington Cemetery]].

==Notes & References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taft, William Howard}}

[[category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[category:United States Supreme Court Justices]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]

Theodore Roosevelt

2008-06-20T19:22:06Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Theodore roosevelt.jpg
|seq=26
|term_start=September 14, 1901
|term_end=March 4, 1909<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=None
|vp_dates=1901-1905
|2vp=Charles W. Fairbanks
|2vp_dates=1905-1909
|previous=William McKinley
|next=William Howard Taft
|office2=vice
|seq2=25
|term_start2=March 4, 1901
|term_end2=September 14, 1901
|pres2=William McKinley
|previous2=Garret Hobart
|next2=Charles W. Fairbanks
|birth_date=October 27, 1858
|birth_place=New York, New York
|death_date=January 6, 1919
|death_place=Oyster Bay, New York
|spouse=Alice Hathaway Lee
|spouse2=Edith Kermit Carow
|religion=Dutch Reformed
}}

'''Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.''' was the 26th [[President of the United States of America]]. He suffered from asthma as a boy but was able to work through it with the assistance of exercise. He worked in both the [[New York Police Department]]<ref>As of July 2007, Theodore Roosevelt is the only President to be born in [[New York City]]</ref> and later, the [[Navy Department]]. He was appointed to the civil service by President [[Benjamin Harrison]].

When the [[Spanish-American War]] started he resigned his assistant secretaryship in the Navy and became a rough rider. Because of his well known assault on San Juan Hill and other patriotic acts he was nominated for Vice-President with incumbent William McKinley. When President McKinley was fatally shot by an [[anarchist]] in 1901, Roosevelt automatically became President, and was reelected against a challenge by the Democratic candidate Alton B. Parker in [[United States presidential election, 1904|1904]].

When Roosevelt's term was up he supported Republican candidate and then Secretary of War [[William Howard Taft]], but later he expressed disapproval of Taft's handling of the presidency and ran against him. He lost the Republican nomination to Taft but ran as an independent on the Bull Moose Progressive party. Both he and Taft lost to Democrat [[Woodrow Wilson]] in the [[United States presidential election, 1912|election of 1912]].<ref>[[Encyclopedia of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt]] By Zachary Kent, Chicago Press</ref> While campaigning in 1912, Roosevelt was shot before giving in a speech in [[Milwaukee]]. The bullet lodged in a copy of the speech located in his breast pocket, saving his life. He gave the speech anyway that day, beginning the speech with the famous line, "I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose."

Roosevelt once declared:<ref>Theodore Roosevelt, "The Children of the Crucible," 14 Annals of America 1916-1928, 129, at 130 (1968).</ref>

:''We must have but one [[American flag|flag]]. We must also have but one [[English|language]]. That must be the language of the Declaration of Independence, of Washington’s Farewell address, of Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech and second inaugural. We cannot tolerate any attempt to oppose or supplant the language and culture that has come down to us from the builders of this Republic.''

After leaving office, Roosevelt took a trip along the [[Amazon River]] and wrote a book about his experience, ''Through the Brazilian Wilderness''. While in [[South America]], Roosevelt contracted [[malaria]] and nearly died. At one point, he requested that his expedition leave him behind. His son, Kermit, helped nurse him back to help, and Theodore credited Kermit with saving his life.
== Notes & References ==

<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Theodore}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States|Roosevelt, Theodore]]
[[Category:Vice Presidents of the United States|Roosevelt, Theodore]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Peace|Roosevelt, Theodore]]
[[Category:People who were Educated at Home]]

Talk:Theodore Roosevelt

2008-06-20T19:20:38Z

Malveramenso: New page: According to this source (http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/biofamily.htm), President Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. were two different people. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr....

William McKinley

2008-06-20T02:21:56Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=William mckinley.jpg
|seq=25
|term_start=March 4, 1897
|term_end=September 14, 1901<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/25th-us-president-william-mckinley.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=Garret Hobart
|vp_dates=1897-1899
|2vp=None
|2vp_dates=1899-1901
|3vp=Theodore Roosevelt
|3vp_dates=1901
|previous=Grover Cleveland
|next=Theodore Roosevelt
|birth_date=January 29, 1843
|birth_place=Niles, Ohio
|death_date=September 14, 1901
|death_place=Buffalo, New York
|spouse=Ida Saxton McKinley
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Methodist]]
}}

'''William McKinley, Jr.''' <ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch1.asp</ref> was the 25th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1897 until 1901 as a [[Republican]]. He was born in Niles, [[Ohio]]. Before the [[Civil War]], he briefly was a teacher in a country school. He ended up enlisting in the Union Army as a private. His political career did not start until age 34, when he won a seat in the [[House of Representatives]]. His power increased quickly, as he was appointed to the [[Ways and Means Committee]]. <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wm25.html</ref>

He was referred to as the "advance agent of prosperity" due to the fact that he did not advocate the [[silver standard]], as did [[William Jennings Bryan]], against whom he ran in both the [[United States presidential election, 1896|1896 Presidential Election]] and [[United States presidential election, 1900|1900 Presidential Election]]. <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wm25.html</ref> Foreign policy entered the national spolight during the McKinley Administration. His administration was notable for the [[Spanish-American War]] of 1898, which McKinley reluctantly entered after a large amount of public and media pressure. Also, McKinly signed a joint resolution of Congress annexing [[Hawaii]] on July 7, 1898. He was shot by an [[anarchist]], [[Leon Czolgosz]], in [[Buffalo]], [[New York]] on [[September]] 6, 1901. McKinley had received a number of death threats, and despite the objections of his advisors, insisted on meeting the public on this trip to Buffalo. <ref>Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen, "A Patriot's History of the United States" (Sentinel 2007)</ref> He died eight days later, and his Vice President, [[Theodore Roosevelt]], became President.

McKinley appeared on the now-withdrawn $500 bill.

== See also ==

*[[John Wilkes Booth]]

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinley, William}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

William McKinley

2008-06-20T02:19:48Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=William mckinley.jpg
|seq=25
|term_start=March 4, 1897
|term_end=September 14, 1901
|party=Republican
|vp=Garret Hobart
|vp_dates=1897-1899
|2vp=None
|2vp_dates=1899-1901
|3vp=Theodore Roosevelt
|3vp_dates=1901
|previous=Grover Cleveland
|next=Theodore Roosevelt
|birth_date=January 29, 1843
|birth_place=Niles, Ohio
|death_date=September 14, 1901
|death_place=Buffalo, New York
|spouse=Ida Saxton McKinley
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Methodist]]
}}

'''William McKinley, Jr.''' <ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch1.asp</ref> was the 25th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1897 until 1901 as a [[Republican]]. He was born in Niles, [[Ohio]]. Before the [[Civil War]], he briefly was a teacher in a country school. He ended up enlisting in the Union Army as a private. His political career did not start until age 34, when he won a seat in the [[House of Representatives]]. His power increased quickly, as he was appointed to the [[Ways and Means Committee]]. <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wm25.html</ref>

He was referred to as the "advance agent of prosperity" due to the fact that he did not advocate the [[silver standard]], as did [[William Jennings Bryan]], against whom he ran in both the [[United States presidential election, 1896|1896 Presidential Election]] and [[United States presidential election, 1900|1900 Presidential Election]]. <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/wm25.html</ref> Foreign policy entered the national spolight during the McKinley Administration. His administration was notable for the [[Spanish-American War]] of 1898, which McKinley reluctantly entered after a large amount of public and media pressure. Also, McKinly signed a joint resolution of Congress annexing [[Hawaii]] on July 7, 1898. He was shot by an [[anarchist]], [[Leon Czolgosz]], in [[Buffalo]], [[New York]] on [[September]] 6, 1901. McKinley had received a number of death threats, and despite the objections of his advisors, insisted on meeting the public on this trip to Buffalo. <ref>Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen, "A Patriot's History of the United States" (Sentinel 2007)</ref> He died eight days later, and his Vice President, [[Theodore Roosevelt]], became President.

McKinley appeared on the now-withdrawn $500 bill.

== See also ==

*[[John Wilkes Booth]]

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinley, William}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

Benjamin Harrison

2008-06-20T02:18:07Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=000000ed.jpg
|seq=23
|term_start=March 4, 1889
|term_end=March 4, 1893<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/23rd-us-president-benjamin-harrison.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=Levi P. Morton
|previous=Grover Cleveland
|next=Grover Cleveland
|birth_date=August 20, 1833
|birth_place=North Bend, Ohio
|death_date=March 13, 1901
|death_place=Indianapolis, Indiana
|spouse=Caroline Scott Harrison
|spouse2=Mary Scott Lord Dimmick
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
}}

'''Benjamin Harrison''' was the 23rd President of the United States, serving from 1889-1893. He was born August 20, 1833 in North Bend, Ohio. He was the grandson of [[William Harrison]], who was ninth President. He served in between the terms of [[Grover Cleveland]]. Harrison's term was characterized by being full of federal spending and legislation including tariffs and other taxes.He died on March 31, 1901. <ref> [[Encyclopedia of Presidents, Benjamin Harrison]] by Susan Clinton, Children's Press, 1989. </ref>

==Early Political Career==
Harrison's political career was foreshadowed by him being a grandson of late president [[William Henry Harrison]]

Harrison fought in the [[Union]] during the [[American Civil War]]. In 1879 he was elected to [[United States Senate]] as a [[Republican]].

==Significant Events During Benjamin Harrison's Presidency Term==
In 1890, the [[Sherman Antitrust Act]], [[Sherman Silver Purchase Act]], and [[McKinley Tariff]] were passed into law.

The [[Wounded Knee Massacre]] also occurred in 1890.

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT: Harrison, Benjamin}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

Grover Cleveland

2008-06-20T02:13:59Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Grover cleveland.jpg
|seq=24
|term_start=March 4, 1893
|term_end=March 4, 1897<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/22nd-and-24th-us-president-grover-cleveland.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic
|vp=Adlai E. Stevenson
|previous=Benjamin Harrison
|next=William McKinley
|office2=
|seq2=22
|term_start2=March 4, 1885
|term_end2=March 4, 1889<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/22nd-and-24th-us-president-grover-cleveland.htm</ref>
|party2=
|vp2=Thomas Hendricks
|vp_dates2=1885
|2vp2=None
|2vp_dates2=1885-1889
|previous2=Chester A. Arthur
|next2=Benjamin Harrison
|birth_date=March 18, 1837
|birth_place=Caldwell, New Jersey
|death_date=June 24, 1908
|death_place=Princeton, New Jersey
|spouse=Frances Folsom Cleveland
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
}}

'''Stephen Grover Cleveland''' was the 22nd and 24th [[President of the United States of America]], and was unique in that he was the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms. He was the only [[Democrat]] elected to the Presidency in the [[Republican]] dynasty that lasted from 1850s to when [[Woodrow Wilson]] was President. Many contemporary politicians praise him for his commitment to [[conservative]] thinking. Much like modern conservatives he opposed imperialism, corruption, patronage, corporate subsidies, taxes and inflation. It has been said that Cleveland was the last small government presidential candidate the Democrats ever elected. <ref>Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen, "A Patriot's History of the United States" (Sentinel 2007)</ref>

Cleveland was famous for busting the union train saboteurs during the Pullman strike of 1894 which angered the unions. He was also a big supporter of gold and a sworn enemy of silver. Even though he was the sitting President, unions and silver people kicked him out of the party, eventually, signifying a drastic shift of the Democrats to the left and leading to the nomination of [[William Jennings Bryan]] in the [[United States presidential election, 1896|1896 Presidential election]].

==Early Days==

Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey on March 18, 1837. <ref>[Encyclopedia of Presidents, Grover Cleveland, by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1988.</ref> He had five brothers and four sisters. His father was a [[Presbyterian]] clergyman, and moved around a lot. His second brother was hanged for murder in Utah in 1882.

He avoided the draft in the [[Civil War]] by hiring somebody else to take his place.

He graduated from Princeton and became a lawyer in [[Buffalo]] New York. After being a lawyer, he was elected sheriff of [[Erie]] in 1870 and hung many people while in office personally. He was a strong supporter of the Death Penalty.

He was a big friend of [[Teddy Roosevelt]]. When he was 40 he ran for Mayor of Buffalo and won. Many people praised his honesty and he was very popular. In 1882, he was elected Governor.

==As President==
Both Democrats and Republicans voted for Cleveland for President because his opponent, James G. Blaine, was tarnished with allegations of corruption. Part of Blaine's problem centered around a suspicious letter which terminated with the words, "burn this letter." Blaine's detractors would march and chant "Burn, Burn, Burn this letter!"

In a similar manner, Cleveland opponents sought to use the fact that he had an illegitimate child against him. However Cleveland, nicknamed "Grover the Good," proved himself to be a man of integrity; rather than denying the allegations, he owned up to the fact that he had an illegitimate child. Even though Cleveland's opponents would shout, "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?", his supporters had a trenchant rejoinder, "Gone to the White House! Ha Ha Ha!"

===Personal life===
Grover Cleveland in June 1886 was married to Frances Folsom Cleveland in the [[White House]]. This was the second President married in office, and also married in the White House itself. Some were offended that Celveland was marrying somebody who was 21 years old and his legal guardian too. The Clevelands had many children while in office.

===Actions as President===
Cleveland voted against many spending bills and Government ideas, making him the first modern [[Conservative]]. He vetoed a bill to give $10,000 to distribute seed grain among drought-stricken farmers in Texas, and said: "Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character...." He also blocked funding to Civil War veterans, which some said was good but some said went too far. Cleveland used the veto a lot but said he did not like Presidential power and thought the best thing he could do was to stop congress from doing bad things.

In 1886 Geronimo was captured by Grover Cleveland, ending the Indian wars.

The same year in October Cleveland finished the [[Statue of Liberty]] in [[New York]] and read its dedication in fluent French, as a tribute to its creator, Jean Renoir.

Critics criticizing Cleveland criticize him for signing the Interstate Commerce Act this term, the first critical attempt at Federal regulation.

===Against Tarrifs===
In 1887 Cleveland began to battle the tariff. Unlike today [[Republicans]] claimed a high tariff made for high wages, high profits, and fast economic expansion. Cleveland was not able to kill the tariff, and was defeated in 1888 because of it.

===Military Buildup===
A very conservative man, Cleveland did not think the United States should invade another country for any reason. However, Cleveland also was in favor of having a strong national defense, and built up the U.S. navy to a huge extent. [[Teddy Roosevelt]] was his secretary of the Navy.

==1888 campaign==
Cleveland lost the [[United States presidential election, 1888|1888 Presidential Election]] to Republican [[Benjamin Harrison|Benjamin Harrison]], one of the few times the Republican was less conservative than the Democrat. Harrison won the Electoral College by a 204-197 margin, but Cleveland won the popular vote. This was the last campaign prior to the [[United States presidential election, 2000|2000 Bush and Gore presidential election]] that the winner did not receive the popular vote.

==2nd Presidency==
Cleveland campaigned to reduce the tariff and stopping the silver people which had lessened the gold reserves of the U.S. Treasury. Cleveland became the only person ever elected president twice when he was elected again in the [[United States presidential election, 1892|1892 Eresidential Election]].

===As President===
Like [[George W. Bush]], Cleveland was beset by a stock market crash shortly after becoming president. He successfully navigated the country out of that crisis.

1884 was the year of the famous Pullman strike in Chicago, where workers tried to stop delivering the mail. He sent the army to Chicago to battle the unionizers, saying that "If it takes the entire army and navy of the United States to deliver a postcard in Chicago that card will be delivered."

==Second Tarriff War==
Again he tried to kill the tariff in 1893. The "Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act" was very good at first, but when it went through the Senate it became very bad and filled with loopholes. However, the bill eventually was passed and the tarrif was partially killed, but not enough so that Cleveland refused to sign the bill.

Liberals took over the Democrats in 1896 and with the help of Populist firebrand William Jennings Bryan tried to end the use of gold and protectionism. Jennings lost the Presidency in 1896 and 1900, but in 1904 conservatives and Cleveland came back, and nominated successful candidate (although he did not win because of the strong candidacy of Theodore Roosevelt) Alton Parker.

==Military==
Cleveland was good at pushing around the English without evoking war, and did a lot of stuff with the power of his Navy, which he continued to build. This Navy was so strong it helped to bring about a quick American victory in the [[Spanish-American war]] in 1898 when Cleveland was out of office.

At first Cleveland did not support the revolutionaries in Hawaii who in 1894 overthrew the queen and established a Democracy. In fact, he tried to discredit their actions via the controversial Blount Report issued by [[James Henderson Blount]] under his direction. Later, however, he supported the revolutionaries when the Queen demanded the death of every single one.

===Death and Later Life===

Cleveland, nicknamed 'the Growler', retired to [[Princeton]]. There he became enemies with Woodrow Wilson, who was President of the school. Some people wanted him to run again in 1904, but he was too old. Sometimes President Theodore Roosevelt asked him for advice.

Cleveland died on June 24, 1908 from a heart and kidney disease, with his wife at his side. He is buried in the Princeton Cemetery. <ref>Encyclopedia of Presidents by Zachary Kent, Chicago Press, 1988. </ref>

==Honors and memorials==
Cleveland has been on many dollar bills, including the $1000 bill and some of the first $50 bills before Andrew Jackson was put on.

He will be on two dollar coins to be released in 2012 like every other president will, except one for each presidency.

==Trivia==

*He is both the 22nd ''and'' the 24th President because this confused people and he had to be proclaimed both presidents so the issue was cleared up.

*The baseball player Grover Cleveland Alexander was named after him.

* A riverboat known as the Cleveland Steamer was named after him.

*Cleveland's grandson is a Presidential impersonator.

*Cleveland's granddaughter Foot is a philosopher at Oxford.

*Many people said Cleveland was harsh to the poor, but he just favored personal accountability.

*Cleveland was the only police officer to ever become president.

* Grover Cleveland's last words were "I have tried so hard to do right."

==References==
*[http://www.usa-presidents.info/speeches/hawaii.html President Cleveland Message about Hawaii December 18, 1893] - Cleveland's message where he tried to discredit the Hawaiian Revolution. It was contradicted by the Congressionally issued Morgan Report in 1894.

<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Grover}}
[[Category: United States Mayors]]

[[Category:New York Governors]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]

James Garfield

2008-06-20T02:07:57Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=James garfield.jpg
|seq=20
|term_start=March 4, 1881
|term_end=September 19, 1881 <ref>http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/jagarfield.html</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=Chester A. Arthur
|previous=Rutherford B. Hayes
|next=Chester A. Arthur
|birth_date=November 19, 1831
|birth_place=Moreland Hills, Ohio
|death_date=September 19, 1881
|death_place=Elberon, New Jersey
|spouse=Lucretia Rudolph Garfield
|spouse2=
|religion=Church of Christ
}}

'''James Abram Garfield''' <ref>http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/jagarfield.html</ref> (1831-1881) was the 20th [[President of the United States of America]], serving less than a year in office. He was assassinated by a deranged gunman, [[Charles Julius Guiteau]], who may have sought to make the Vice President, [[Chester Arthur]], the next President. Garfield was the only president to serve as a clergyman while in the White House.<ref>http://www.kencollins.com/about/about.htm</ref>

Garfield suffered for weeks from the lodging of the bullet inside him, first in the White House and then at a New Jersey seaside location. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, attempted to find the internal bullet with his own invention, an induction-balance electrical device. All attempts at removing the bullet were unsuccessful, and Garfield died on September 19, 1881 from an infection and internal hemorrhage.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jg20.html</ref> He served as President for six months and fifteeen days

==References==

<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garfield, James}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

James Garfield

2008-06-20T02:06:27Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=James garfield.jpg
|seq=20
|term_start=March 4, 1881
|term_end=September 19, 1881
|party=Republican
|vp=Chester A. Arthur
|previous=Rutherford B. Hayes
|next=Chester A. Arthur
|birth_date=November 19, 1831
|birth_place=Moreland Hills, Ohio
|death_date=September 19, 1881
|death_place=Elberon, New Jersey
|spouse=Lucretia Rudolph Garfield
|spouse2=
|religion=Church of Christ
}}

'''James Abram Garfield''' <ref>http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/jagarfield.html</ref> (1831-1881) was the 20th [[President of the United States of America]], serving less than a year in office. He was assassinated by a deranged gunman, [[Charles Julius Guiteau]], who may have sought to make the Vice President, [[Chester Arthur]], the next President. Garfield was the only president to serve as a clergyman while in the White House.<ref>http://www.kencollins.com/about/about.htm</ref>

Garfield suffered for weeks from the lodging of the bullet inside him, first in the White House and then at a New Jersey seaside location. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, attempted to find the internal bullet with his own invention, an induction-balance electrical device. All attempts at removing the bullet were unsuccessful, and Garfield died on September 19, 1881 from an infection and internal hemorrhage.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jg20.html</ref> He served as President for six months and fifteeen days

==References==

<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garfield, James}}

[[Category:Republican Party]]

Rutherford B. Hayes

2008-06-20T02:04:15Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Rutherford hayes.jpg
|seq=19
|term_start=March 4, 1877
|term_end=March 4, 1881<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/19th-us-president-rutherford-b-hayes.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=William Wheeler
|previous=Ulysses S. Grant
|next=James Garfield
|birth_date=October 4, 1822
|birth_place=Delaware, Ohio
|death_date=January 17, 1893
|death_place=Fremont, Ohio
|spouse=Lucy Webb Hayes
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Methodist]]
}}

'''Rutherford Birchard Hayes'''<ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch1.asp</ref> was the 19th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1877 to 1881. He was born October 4, 1822 in Delaware, [[Ohio]]. He served in the military as Colonel of the 23rd Ohio during the [[U.S. Civil War|Civil War]]. He was wounded at the battle of South Mountain in [[Maryland]]. He was later on promoted to a brigade commander and saw action in the Shenandoah Valley. During the war Hayes was wounded five times and had his horse shot out from under him five times. For his bravery he was promoted to Brigadier General. He resigned from the army on June 8, 1865. After the war he entered into politics in his home state of Ohio. He served in the [[House of Representatives]] and as [[U.S. Governor|Governor]] of Ohio. He was nominated President on the [[Republican]] ticket with [[William Wheeler]] as Vice President. He had a close election against his opponent Samuel Tilden which went all the way to the House of Representatives. He promised to bring troops out of the South which finally won him the election. He did not seek to run another term. He died in Spiegel Grove, Ohio on January 17, 1893. <ref>Encyclopedia of Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1989. </ref>

== References ==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Rutherford B.}}

[[Category:United States Governors]]
[[Category:Ohio]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]

Rutherford B. Hayes

2008-06-20T02:02:07Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Rutherford hayes.jpg
|seq=19
|term_start=March 4, 1877
|term_end=March 4, 1881
|party=Republican
|vp=William Wheeler
|previous=Ulysses S. Grant
|next=James Garfield
|birth_date=October 4, 1822
|birth_place=Delaware, Ohio
|death_date=January 17, 1893
|death_place=Fremont, Ohio
|spouse=Lucy Webb Hayes
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Methodist]]
}}

'''Rutherford Birchard Hayes'''<ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch1.asp</ref> was the 19th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1877 to 1881. He was born October 4, 1822 in Delaware, [[Ohio]]. He served in the military as Colonel of the 23rd Ohio during the [[U.S. Civil War|Civil War]]. He was wounded at the battle of South Mountain in [[Maryland]]. He was later on promoted to a brigade commander and saw action in the Shenandoah Valley. During the war Hayes was wounded five times and had his horse shot out from under him five times. For his bravery he was promoted to Brigadier General. He resigned from the army on June 8, 1865. After the war he entered into politics in his home state of Ohio. He served in the [[House of Representatives]] and as [[U.S. Governor|Governor]] of Ohio. He was nominated President on the [[Republican]] ticket with [[William Wheeler]] as Vice President. He had a close election against his opponent Samuel Tilden which went all the way to the House of Representatives. He promised to bring troops out of the South which finally won him the election. He did not seek to run another term. He died in Spiegel Grove, Ohio on January 17, 1893. <ref>Encyclopedia of Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1989. </ref>

== References ==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Rutherford B.}}

[[Category:United States Governors]]
[[Category:Ohio]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]

Ulysses S. Grant

2008-06-20T01:57:24Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Ulysses grant.jpg
|seq=18
|term_start=March 4, 1869
|term_end=March 4, 1877 <ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/18th-us-president-ulysses-s-grant.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=Schuyler Colfax
|vp_dates=1869-1873
|2vp=Henry Wilson
|2vp_dates=1873-1875
|3vp=None
|3vp_dates=1875-1877
|previous=Andrew Johnson
|next=Rutherford B. Hayes
|birth_date= April 27, 1822
|birth_place=Point Pleasant, Ohio
|death_date= July 23, 1885 (aged 63)
|death_place=Mount McGregor, New York
|spouse=Julia Dent Grant
|religion=[[Methodist]]
}}

'''Ulysses Simpson Grant''' was elected the 18th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1869 to 1877. He was born on April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio. He served as a Union general in the [[Civil War]] and is credited for victory against the south. After his Presidency he had a cancer in his throat and was in great pain for the rest of his life. He struggled to write his memoirs but completed them and they provided money for his family after he died. He died in the morning on July 23, 1885. <ref> Encyclopedia of Presidents - Ulysses S. Grant by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1989. </ref>

His administration is often considered to have been one of widespread governmental [[corruption]].

==Military Career==
An 1843 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Grant served in the Mexican American War. He tried several businesses after the war, but none of them succeeded. However, as the demand for West Point graduates increased after the start of the Civil War, Grant rejoined the army. He was, however, relegated to training duty. Eventually, Grant received a field command. After early successes, his commanding general became jealous and removed him from his command. Eventually, he received another field command, and eventually captured [[Vicksburg]], Misssissippi. Shortly after this victory, Grant received command of the entire United States Army. After a bloody struggle at the [[Battle of the Wilderness]], Grant eventually laid siege to Petersburg, Virginia. After a long siege, [[Robert E. Lee]] eventually surrendered at [[Appomattox Court House]]. Following the conclusion of the war, Grant remained on active duty and was promoted to become the first [[four-star general]] in the history of the United States Army. Commanding the entire Army, Grant was responsible for operations in the Western U. S. against [[Native Americans]] until he resigned his commission to become [[President]] in early March 1869.

==Name==
He was actually named Hiram Ulysses Grant by his parents but when he applied for West Point he was accidentally registered Ulysses Simpson Grant. He liked the name better than Hiram Ulysses Grant because it formed the initials H.U.G.<ref> Encyclopedia of Presidents - Ulysses S. Grant by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1989. </ref> He is often referred to colloquially as U. S. Grant.

==Current Studies==

The Ulysses S. Grant Association, with help from Southern Illinois University, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, is in the process of publishing an exhaustive, annotated series of volumes of Grant documents. Also in the works is a scholarly edition of the ''Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant''. <ref>http://twister.lib.siu.edu/projects/usgrant/</ref>

==References==

<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Ulysses S.}}

[[Category:American Civil War Commanders]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]

Andrew Johnson

2008-06-20T01:52:35Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=Andrew johnson.jpg
|seq=17
|term_start=April 15, 1865
|term_end=March 4, 1869 <ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/17th-us-president-andrew-johnson.htm</ref>
|party=Unaffiliated during Presidency
|vp=None
|previous=Abraham Lincoln
|next=Ulysses S. Grant
|office2=vice
|seq2=16
|term_start2=March 4, 1865
|term_end2=April 15, 1865
|party2=National Union Party
|pres2=Abraham Lincoln
|previous2=Hannibal Hamlin
|next2= Schuyler Colfax
|birth_date=
|birth_place=
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=
|spouse2=
|religion=
}}
'''Andrew Johnson''' was the 17th [[President of the United States of America]]. He was the first President to be [[impeachment|impeached]], but he was acquitted by one vote. The reason for impeachment, ostensibly his violation of the Tenure of Office Act, was only a smoke screen. The real reason for his impeachment was because he had angered the Radical Republicans who controlled Congress. Johnson did technically violate the Tenure of Office Act, which denied him the power to dismiss presidential appointees without the Senate's permission. This act was designed to protect Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of war under president Lincoln who had been held over in Johnson's cabinet.

==Accession to Presidency==
He became President in April 1865 after [[Abraham Lincoln]] was assassinated.

==Impeachment==
He was summoned to trial for "high crimes and misdemeanors." He avoided removal by only one vote. <ref> [[Fandex]], Workman Publishing, 2002. </ref>

==Views on race==

* "This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men. Everyone would, and must, admit that the white race is superior to the black." [http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/post_11.html]

==References==
<references/>

{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT: Johnson, Andrew}}
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Vice Presidents of the United States]]

Talk:Abraham Lincoln

2008-06-20T01:49:22Z

Malveramenso: /* Terms of Office */ new section

"Lincoln was perhaps the only President who appeared to move from being an unbeliever to believer while in office."

Unbeliever/believer of what? This has no context for non-Christians. I get it, but to most other people it probably sounds bizarre.

The word "unbeliever" is also sort of awkward. Someone can be unbelievable, but usually someone isn't an unbeliever. So if you're an "unbeliever" do you "unbelieve" things? I'm not so sure someone can "unbelieve" something; I don't think it works well as a verb or a noun.
--[[User:WOVcenter|WOVcenter]] 12:30, 5 March 2007 (EST)

Good point. I'll clarify now. Thanks.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 12:42, 5 March 2007 (EST)

What about non-believer?--[[User:WOVcenter|WOVcenter]] 12:47, 5 March 2007 (EST)

Ah, it looks good now. Thanks! -[[User:WOVcenter|WOVcenter]] 12:50, 5 March 2007 (EST)

Where is the evidence that Lincoln was a "non-believer?" In almost everything I have read on Lincoln, he certaintly believed in God but held views that were outside the norms. Just because he didn't practice an organized form of Christianity does not mean he was a "non-believer."--[[User:Dave3172|Dave3172]] 23:28, 7 March 2007 (EST)

Lincoln made statements early in his life that indicated a lack of certainty or belief about Christianity, but his views changed over time, and he gave his life to Jesus at Gettysburg, when he was president. Taking statements that he made in his youth and automatically saying that he wasn't a Christian or was a Deist is something that shouldn't be done, and is academically dishonest at worst. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 00:44, 26 November 2007 (EST)

==Picture==
Added a pic of Lincoln taken in 1863, but it won't load into the page properly. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 12:12, 18 March 2007 (EDT)

==Selective quotation==

I replaced the out-of-context quotation which liberals like to tar and feather Lincoln with. They want to make him seem soft on slavery, when he in fact opposed it.

There was, however, one thing he cared more about than the slavery issue: that was '''keeping the union together'''. If he had to pick one over the other, this was the one he'd pick.

As history shows, he managed to get both, even if it killed him. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 22:56, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

== "Lincoln opposed slavery." ==

This page currently contains the quote "Lincoln opposed slavery." This is at best an over-simplification of his later philosophy.

The plain, objective, documented fact, for which citations and quotations are widely available, is that this is a stance that he took considerable time to arrive at. You cannot uphold the credibility of this site by whitewashing this. Those of opposing points of view know this and will use it to discredit this site, and they will be right. I have re-added the quote to hopefully stimulate people into making a truly balanced page, instead of a central-party style hagiography. If you object to the presence of the quote, balance it rather than censor it.

:No, you are right: Lincoln hated slavery but was wary about abolition. He only forced the issue in the last dozen years of his life. But consider this quote:
:*I confess that I hate to see the poor creatures hunted down down, and caught, and carried back to their stripes and unwarranted toils; but I bite my lip and keep quiet. ... It is hardly fair for you to assume, that I have no such interest in a thing which has, and continually exercises, the power of making me miserable.
:Where Liberals and Conservatives disagree is on the meaning of this contradiction. Lincoln debunkers say that his reluctance to support abolition '''implies''' an equal lack of concern about slavery. Their view contradicts Lincoln's view! --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 19:41, 23 March 2007 (EDT)

:I don't worry about people laughing - their merriment is no indication of the correctness of their views. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 19:41, 23 March 2007 (EDT)

The best source material covering Lincoln's own views on slavery and relations between blacks and whites are his own words, period. I've added a link to the "Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln" which is everything that Lincoln ever wrote down. Other primary sources are those works written down by people who actually knew him, and for that Frederick Douglas is at the top of the list.

Carl Sandburg's book should be at the top for secondary source material, as he had interviewed people who knew Lincoln when he wrote his 4-volume biography. After I do the Civil War, I'll commence work on this article. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 15:29, 31 March 2007 (EDT)

So, who exactly claims that Lincoln owned slaves?--[[User:Epicurius|Epicurius]] 14:15, 11 April 2007 (EDT)

I've uploaded a picture of the Lincoln Memorial that I took for this article - DcLincMor.JPG - --[[User:Tash|Tash]] 19:49, 15 April 2007 (EDT)

== External link ==

This is a good one:

http://www.answers.com/topic/abraham-lincoln

== Main Page ==

On the main page it says this article needs to be improved... but it's locked. [[User:GodlessLiberal|GodlessLiberal]] 15:16, 29 April 2007 (EDT)

==Improved==
The article is improved, but at this time it is not finished. I need to work out the references and polish it up; I need to add in his family life; his Gettysburg Address, letter to Mrs Bixby, et al, needs to be added, as well as a few pics. It also needs to be linked to the various other articles releated to Lincoln here on this website. But it's better than it was earlier. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 22:23, 8 May 2007 (EDT)

Added personal life...more to come. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 12:34, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

== Pic missed ==

--[[User:Joaquín Martínez]], [[User talk:Joaquín Martínez|talk]] 09:29, 9 May 2007 (EDT)
[[Image:Lincoln3.jpg|thumb|right|Reward]]

==Among the top articles to be improved==
I think that if you have an article list that says these articles need to be improved then why is this thing blocked? If it is blocked then it shouldn't be on that list (on the Main Page.) Could someone either take it off the list or make the improvements to take it off? -[[User:Additioner|Additioner]] 14:23, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

: We only block articles in response to vandalism or edit war. If blocked, then please propose additions on the talk page. In the case of [[Abraham Lincoln]], I'll unblock it for you now so you can edit directly. Thanks.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 14:32, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

:: I take that back. I see a Sysop protected this entry a mere two hours ago, perhaps in response with vandalism. Please check with [[User talk:Karajou]]. Thanks.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 14:33, 9 May 2007 (EDT)
:::I re-opened it for registered users. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 16:18, 9 May 2007 (EDT)

==Additional edits coming==
Here's what I think it needs:
*Expansion regarding religious beliefs. Currently it says a few things he said about it, but nothing really on what he felt.
*Create a new subheading on the Lincoln-Douglas debates; this really needs some detail.
*Expand and add to his views on slavery. He did think at one time that blacks were inferior, but it changed over time. And mention of Frederick Douglas needs to be here, as Lincoln sought his council on the subject.
*Expand the Civil War.
*Expand his personal life. He was heartbroken over Willie's death, and this affected his belief in God on the plus side.
[[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 13:49, 12 May 2007 (EDT)

== Terms of Office ==

I think that there should be a citation for Abraham Lincoln's terms of office. I would do it myself, but the editing appears to have been disabled. [[User:Malveramenso|Mal]] 21:49, 19 June 2008 (EDT)

James Buchanan

2008-06-20T01:44:19Z

Malveramenso:

{{President
|image=James buchanan.jpg
|seq=15
|term_start=March 4, 1857
|term_end=March 4, 1861<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/a/15th-us-president-james-buchanan.htm</ref>
|party=Democratic
|vp=John C. Breckinridge
|previous=Franklin Pierce
|next=Abraham Lincoln
|birth_date=April 23, 1791
|birth_place=Cove Gap, Pennsylvania
|death_date=June 1, 1868
|death_place=Lancaster, Pennsylvania
|spouse=None (Bachelor)
|spouse2=
|religion=[[Presbyterian]]
}}

'''James Buchanan''' was the 15th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1857-1861. He was born on April 23, 1791 in Cove Gap, [[Pennsylvania]]. He was President during the unsuccessful raid on Harper's Ferry by [[John Brown]]. He left office shortly before the firing on Fort Sumter and [[Civil War]] started. He died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on June 1, 1868 at age 78. <ref> Encyclopedia of Presidents James Buchanan by Marlene Targ Brill, Children's Press, 1988. </ref>

Buchanan was elected in 1856. The 1856 election was very good for the upstart [[Republican Party]], which was formed in opposition to slavery. Republican candidate [[John C. Frémont]] did not manage to capture enough votes to defeat Buchanan, but the party would seat its next presidential nominee in the [[White House]] four years later. Buchanan also ran against former President [[Millard Fillmore]], who ran as a part of the "Know Nothing Party", a third party formed largely in opposition to immigration and [[Catholic]] influence. <ref>http://www.multied.com/elections/1856.html</ref> Buchanan received 174, Fremont received 116, and Fillmore received 8.

Buchanan's presidency was marred by several disasters stemming from misgauging of public opinion. He did not realize the political weight of the importance of slavery, despite the storm clouds brewing that would soon lead to the Civil War. He felt that the [[Dred Scott]] court decision had settled the issue for good. Also, the newly acquired territory of [[Kansas]] was struggling to decide on a constitution, and several drafts had been proposed, which differed widely on a number of issues, most notably slavery. Buchanan publicly supported the pro-slavery LeCompton Constitution, which was rejected both by most Kansans and by [[Congress]].

Buchanan is notable as being the only bachelor president of the United States.

{{USPresidents}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, James}}

[[Category:Democratic Party]]