Transcript True to Their Word Miami 2012x

True to Their Word
Important
O This power point presentation is for
educational purposes. It may contain
copyrighted material. Please do not
post, redistribute or copy without the
permission of the American Institute for
History Education.
Using State of the Unions and
Inaugural Addresses in your
classroom
• These speeches are
excellent ways of
inserting artificial
benchmarks in history
to provide peeks into
the goals and vision of
the United States of
America.
• 2 places to look:
• The Miller Center
for Public Affairs.
• The American
Presidency
Project
Why Inaugurals and State of the
Unions?
• They happen (usually) regardless of history.
• Other speeches have historical reasons for
their occurrence. While they can be used,
we want a bird’s eye view of history –
popping in the see how things are doing.
• It’s an EXCELLENT way for students to
become less chronologically impaired
without constantly memorizing dates.
(more analytic than rote.)
Do I use this to teach the
obscure?
• Not really. I can be modified to do so.
• The reason I LOVE this resource is because
it can introduce the BIG HISTORY that I
know I’ll cover.
• I go into my curriculum and figure out what
events are BIG, then I go look in the
speeches to see if there is an interesting
comment.
WARNING
• This activity is not used to portray
Presidents as liars or deceptive figures.
– It is designed to allow their speeches to
serve as windows into administrative
aspirations; the tone and mood of the
American people; and the various challenges
that government faces in enacting their
plans.
Here’s how to start . . .
O Begin with the broad topic
that you’d like to cover –
American prosperity, war,
economic troubles, significant
social movements.
O Then pick the speeches during
and around the events so that
you get a sense of where the
country was.
O You can examine
foreshadowing, or a lack of
seeing what is coming.
O Once you pinpoint a speech,
take a look outward about 3
years to see how the world
was before and after.
And stay away
from William
Henry Harrison!
We all know the
story of the
inauguration and
the rain and the
death – but go
ahead – try to live
through the
speech. I dare you.

What a difference 4 years makes!
James Madison – March 4, 1809
• Under the benign influence
of our republican
institutions, and the
maintenance of peace with
all nations whilst so many
of them were engaged in
bloody and wasteful wars,
the fruits of a just policy
were enjoyed in an
unrivaled growth of our
faculties and resources
James Madison – March 4, 1813
• On the issue of the war are
staked our national
sovereignty on the high
seas and the security of an
important class of citizens,
whose occupations give the
proper value to those of
every other class.
So . . .
• How about teaching the War of 1812 with a
human voice instead of the typical
introduction?
– Look at causes and historical significance
through the speech to give students a research
topic.
James Monroe – Inaugural Address 3/4/1817
How does he view the American people? Are we
True to his word?
O The Government has been in the hands of the people. To the people,
therefore, and to the faithful and able depositaries of their trust is the credit
due. Had the people of the United States been educated in different
principles, had they been less intelligent, less independent, or less virtuous,
can it be believed that we should have maintained the same steady and
consistent career or been blessed with the same success? While, then, the
constituent body retains its present sound and healthful state everything will
be safe. They will choose competent and faithful representatives for every
department. It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when
they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the
sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon
found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own
debasement and ruin. Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to
preserve it in full force. Let us by all wise and constitutional measures promote
intelligence among the people as the best means of preserving our liberties.
We all know the Monroe Doctrine:
O Well – look at his 7th Annual Message to
Congress (1823)
O The Four Principles are in that address.
O Future Colonization by Any European Powers
O Neutrality
O The Political System of the Allied Powers is Essentially
different. (highlighting the similarity of our political
condition and the difference with Europe.
O The consequences of Europe not respecting the three
above principles.
Andrew Jackson 3/4/1829
• It will be my sincere and constant desire to
observe toward the Indian tribes within our
limits a just and liberal policy, and to give
that humane and considerate attention to
their rights and their wants which is
consistent with the habits of our
Government and the feelings of our
people.
Have students
compare the
words with the
picture!
FASCINATING
indeed!
Andrew Jackson’s Second
State of the Union (1830)
• It gives me great pleasure to announce to
Congress that the benevolent policy of the
Government, in relation to the removal of the
Indians beyond the white settlements is
approaching a happy consummation.
• The consequences of a speedy removal will be
important to the United States, to the individual
states, and to the Indians themselves.
• It will relieve the whole state of Mississippi and
the western part of Alabama of Indian
occupancy, and enable those states to advance
rapidly in wealth and power.
WOW
• That second State of the Union is
INCREDIBLE!
So – On to 1850
Anyone venture to guess who this is?
Abigail Fillmore
• Millard Fillmore established the White
House library – and due to her frail
health, Abigail spent most of her time
selecting books for that library.
– You really need to check out our currency.
Such great history!!
Millard Fillmore First Annual Message
December 2, 1850
•
The annexation of Texas and the acquisition of California and New Mexico have
given increased importance to our Indian relations. The various tribes brought
under our jurisdiction by these enlargements of our boundaries are estimated to
embrace a population of 124,000. Texas and New Mexico are surrounded by
powerful tribes of Indians, who are a source of constant terror and annoyance to
the inhabitants. Separating into small predatory bands, and always mounted, they
overrun the country, devastating farms, destroying crops, driving off whole herds of
cattle, and occasionally murdering the inhabitants or carrying them into captivity.
The great roads leading into the country are infested with them, whereby traveling
is rendered extremely dangerous and immigration is almost entirely arrested. The
Mexican frontier, which by the eleventh article of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
we are bound to protect against the Indians within our border, is exposed to these
incursions equally with our own. The military force stationed in that country,
although forming a large proportion of the Army, is represented as entirely
inadequate to our own protection and the fulfillment of our treaty stipulations with
Mexico. The principal deficiency is in cavalry, and I recommend that Congress
should, at as early a period as practicable, provide for the raising of one or more
regiments of mounted men.
James Buchanan: Inaugural
Address
March 4, 1857
O What a happy conception, then, was it for Congress to apply this
simple rule, that the will of the majority shall govern, to the settlement
of the question of domestic slavery in the Territories. Congress is
neither "to legislate slavery into any Territory or State nor to exclude it
therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and
regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to
the Constitution of the United States."
O As a natural consequence, Congress has also prescribed that when the
Territory of Kansas shall be admitted as a State it "shall be received
into the Union with or without slavery, as their constitution may
prescribe at the time of their admission."
O A difference of opinion has arisen in regard to the point of time when
the people of a Territory shall decide this question for themselves.
O This is, happily, a matter of but little practical importance. Besides, it is
a judicial question, which legitimately belongs to the Supreme Court
of the United States, before whom it is now pending, and will, it is
understood, be speedily and finally settled.
Dred Scott v. Sanford
O On March 6, 1857, Chief Justice Roger
B. Taney delivered the explosive
majority opinion. Taney ruled that:
O Any person descended from Africans,
whether slave or free, is not a citizen of
the United States, according to the
Declaration of Independence.
O The Ordinance of 1787 could not
confer either freedom or citizenship
within the Northwest Territory to nonwhite individuals.
O The provisions of the Act of 1820,
known as the Missouri Compromise,
were voided as a legislative act, since
the act exceeded the powers of
Congress, insofar as it attempted to
exclude slavery and impart freedom
and citizenship to non-white persons in
the northern part of the Louisiana
Purchase.
Typically O In the early 1860s
– we are covering
the Civil War.
BUT – if I look at
Abraham
Lincoln’s State of
the Union
Addresses – he
devotes a
significant
amount of time to
Native Americans
– and yes – a ton
in 1862.
1862
• The Indian tribes upon our frontiers have during the past
year manifested a spirit of insubordination, and at several
points have engaged in open hostilities against the white
settlements in their vicinity. The tribes occupying the
Indian country south of Kansas renounced their allegiance
to the United States and entered into treaties with the
insurgents. Those who remained loyal to the United States
were driven from the country. The chief of the Cherokees
has visited this city for the purpose of restoring the former
relations of the tribe with the United States. He alleges
that they were constrained by superior force to enter into
treaties with the insurgents, and that the United States
neglected to furnish the protection which their treaty
stipulations required.
More 1862
• In the month of August last the Sioux Indians in Minnesota attacked the
settlements in their vicinity with extreme ferocity, killing indiscriminately
men, women, and children. This attack was wholly unexpected, and
therefore no means of defense had been prodded. It is estimated that not
less than 800 persons were killed by the Indians, and a large amount of
property was destroyed. How this outbreak was induced is not definitely
known, and suspicions, which may be unjust, need not to be stated.
Information was received by the Indian Bureau from different sources
about the time hostilities were commenced that a simultaneous attack
was to be made upon the white settlements by all the tribes between the
Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. The State of Minnesota has
suffered great injury from this Indian war. A large portion of her territory
has been depopulated, and a severe loss has been sustained by the
destruction of property. The people of that State manifest much anxiety
for the removal of the tribes beyond the limits of the State as a guaranty
against future hostilities. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs will furnish
full details. I submit for your especial consideration whether our Indian
system shall not be remodeled. Many wise and good men have
impressed me with the belief that this can be profitably done.
1863
• The condition of the several organized Territories is generally
satisfactory, although Indian disturbances in New Mexico have
not been entirely suppressed. The mineral resources of
Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, and Arizona are
proving far richer than has been heretofore understood. I lay
before you a communication on this subject from the governor
of New Mexico. I again submit to your consideration the
expediency of establishing a system for the encouragement of
immigration. Although this source of national wealth and
strength is again flowing with greater freedom than for several
years before the insurrection occurred, there is still a great
deficiency of laborers in every field of industry, especially in
agriculture and in our mines, as well of iron and coal as of the
precious metals. While the demand for labor is much
increased here, tens of thousands of persons, destitute of
remunerative occupation, are thronging our foreign consulates
and offering to emigrate to the United States if essential, but
very cheap, assistance can be afforded them. It is easy to see
that under the sharp discipline of civil war the nation
Ulysses S. Grant: First
Inaugural Address
March 4, 1869
• The proper treatment of the original
occupants of this land – the Indians – is
deserving of careful study. I will favor
any course toward them which tends to
their civilization and ultimate citizenship.
Ulysses S. Grant: Second Inaugural
Address
March 4, 1873
• …and, by a humane course, to bring the aborigines of the
country under the benign influences of education and
civilization. It is either this or war of extermination: Wars of
extermination, engaged in by people pursuing commerce
and all industrial pursuits, are expensive even against the
weakest people, and are demoralizing and wicked. Our
superiority of strength and advantages of civilization should
make us lenient toward the Indian. The wrong inflicted
upon him should be taken into account and the balance
placed to his credit. The moral view of the question should
be considered and the question asked, Can not the Indian
be made a useful and productive member of society by
proper teaching and treatment? If the effort is made in
good faith, we will stand better before the civilized nations
of the earth and in our own consciences for having made
it.
Rutherford B. Hayes
First Annual Message December 3, 1877
• The report of the Secretary of War shows that the Army has
been actively employed during the year, and has rendered very
important service in suppressing hostilities in the Indian country
and in preserving peace and protecting life and property in the
interior as well as along the Mexican border. A long and arduous
campaign has been prosecuted, with final complete success,
against a portion of the Nez Perce' tribe of Indians. A full
account of this campaign will be found in the report of the
General of the Army. It will be seen that in its course several
severe battles were fought, in which a number of gallant officers
and men lost their lives. I join with the Secretary of War and the
General of the Army in awarding to the officers and men
employed in the long and toilsome pursuit and in the final
capture of these Indians the honor and praise which are so
justly their due.
The Chase of the Nez Perce
•
"Tell General Howard I know his
heart. What he told me before, I have
it in my heart. I am tired of fighting.
Our chiefs are killed; Looking Glass
is dead, Too-hul-hul-sote is dead.
The old men are all dead. It is the
young men who say yes or no. He
who led on the young men is dead. It
is cold, and we have no blankets; the
little children are freezing to death.
My people, some of them, have run
away to the hills, and have no
blankets, no food. No one knows
where they are—perhaps freezing to
death. I want to have time to look for
my children, and see how many of
them I can find. Maybe I shall find
them among the dead. Hear me, my
chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick
and sad. From where the sun now
stands, I will fight no more forever."
Grover Cleveland: First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1885
• The conscience of the people demands that
the Indians within our boundaries shall be
fairly and honestly treated as wards of the
Government and their education and
civilization promoted with a view to their
ultimate citizenship . . .
The Nation’s Ward
1885
Grant Hamilton
Prosperity:
the hubris of prosperity
Silent Cal
Bill Clinton
American Prosperity
Calvin Coolidge
Sixth Annual Message
December 4, 1928
•
The country is in the
midst of an era of
prosperity more extensive
and of peace more
permanent than it has
ever before experienced.
But, having reached this
position, we should not fail
to comprehend that it can
easily be lost. It needs
more effort for its support
than the less exalted
places of the world
Bill Clinton, Address Before a Joint
Session of the Congress on the
State of the Union
January 27, 2000
• We are fortunate to be
alive at this moment in
history. Never before has
our Nation enjoyed, at
once, so much prosperity
and social progress with
so little internal crisis and
so few external threats.
Never before have we
had such a blessed
opportunity.
The Great Depression/ New Deal
(Which I guess isn’t that new anymore)
Calvin Coolidge
Sixth Annual Message December 4, 1928
No Congress of the United States ever assembled, on surveying the state of the
Union, has met with a more pleasing prospect than that which appears at the
present time. In the domestic field there is tranquility and contentment,
harmonious relations between management and wage earner, freedom from
industrial strife, and the highest record of years of prosperity. In the foreign
field there is peace, the good will which comes from mutual understanding, and
the knowledge that the problems which a short time ago appeared so ominous
are yielding to the touch of manifest friendship. The great wealth created by our
enterprise and industry, and saved by our economy, has had the widest
distribution among our own people, and has gone out in a steady stream to
serve the charity and the business of the world. The requirements of existence
have passed beyond the standard of necessity into the region of luxury. Enlarging
production is consumed by an increasing demand at home and ail expanding
commerce abroad. The country can regard the present with satisfaction and
anticipate the future with optimism.
Anchor this speech to a large event
• What comes next?
• Examine the events during the Coolidge
Administration that caused the Great
Depression?
– It is a human gateway into history.
The Stock Market Crash
O October, 1929
O What do we know?
O What were the causes?
O What were the immediate effects of the crash?
O I would ask my students some basic leading questions:
O Around when did it occur?
O Were there significant events before and after that we can
easily identify?
O Who was the President OR are there any Presidents that you
associate with this event?
Herbert Hoover
State of the Union December 3, 1929
Fortunately, the Federal reserve system had taken
measures to strengthen the position against the day
when speculation would break, which together with
the strong position of the banks has carried the whole
credit system through the crisis without impairment.
The capital which has been hitherto absorbed in
stock-market loans for speculative purposes is now
returning to the normal channels of business. There
has been no inflation in the prices of commodities;
there has been no undue accumulation of goods, and
foreign trade has expanded to a magnitude which
exerts a steadying influence upon activity in industry
and employment.
He said what?
• Was he true to his word?
Well – If my students did some
digging . . .
– In fact – the Dow Jones Industrial
Average did see partial improvement
in November and December; possibly
accounting for a rosier outlook than
we would have imagined with the gift
of knowing what comes next!
A New Deal for Christmas?
Give FDR Goalpoasts:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1st Inaugural Address: 3/4/33
O Finally, in our progress,
toward a resumption of
work we require two
safeguards against a
return of the evils of the
old order; there must be a
strict supervision of all
banking and credits and
investments; there must
be an end to speculation
with other people’s
money, and there must be
a provision for an
adequate but sound
currency.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
2nd Inaugural Address: 1/20/37
O To hold to progress today,
however, is more difficult.
Dulled conscience,
irresponsibility, and ruthless
self-interest already reappear.
Such symptoms of prosperity
may become portents of
disaster! Prosperity already
rests the persistence of our
progressive purpose. Let us
ask again: Have we reached
the goal of our vision of that
fourth day of March 1933?
Have we found our happy
valley?
Just a quick note about his
first administration:
• The State of the Union in 1935 is very short
and concentrates almost solely on
domestic issues.
• 1936 begins with a rather lengthy
assessment of international affairs and
then delves into domestic economic and
employment policy.
– Even without knowing the specifics – students
can figure out shifting priorities.
The “Spiral” of Uncertain
Times
Franklin D. Roosevelt 3 - Annual Message
to Congress on the State of the Union
January 6, 1941
• The first phase of the invasion of this
Hemisphere would not be the
landing of regular troops. The
necessary strategic points would be
occupied by secret agents and their
dupes- and great numbers of them
are already here, and in Latin
America.
• As long as the aggressor nations
maintain the offensive, they-not
we—will choose the time and the
place and the method of their
attack.
• That is why the future of all the
American Republics is today in
serious danger.
• That is why this Annual Message to
the Congress is unique in our history.
George Bush, Address Before a Joint
Session of the Congress on
Administration Goals
February 27, 2001
O Our Nation also needs a clear
strategy to confront the threats of
the 21st century, threats that are
more widespread and less certain.
They range from terrorists who
threaten with bombs to tyrants in
rogue nations intent upon
developing weapons of mass
destruction. To protect our own
people, our allies, and friends, we
must develop and we must deploy
effective missile defenses.
O A strong America is the world's best
hope for peace and freedom.
HMMMM – Multimedia Addition
Listen closely and pay attention to the date it was recorded!!!
You can even compare a president within the
term of office.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, State of the Union Address.
January 6, 1942
Exactly one year ago today I said to this Congress: "When the
dictators. . . are ready to make war upon us, they will not wait
for an act of war on our part. . . . They—not we—will choose
the time and the place and the method of their attack."
We now know their choice of the time: a peaceful Sunday
morning— December 7, 1941.
We know their choice of the place: an American outpost in the
Pacific.
We know their choice of the method: the method of Hitler
himself.
Harry S. Truman
State of the Union January 21,1946
O “In his last Message on the State of the Union,
delivered one year ago, President Roosevelt said:
O “This new year of 1945 can be the greatest year of
achievement in human history.
O 1945 can see the final ending of the Nazi-Fascist reign of
terror in Europe.
O 1945 can see the closing in of the forces of retribution
about the center of the malignant power of imperialist
Japan.
O Most important of all – 1945 can and must see the
substantial beginning of the organization of world peace.
Harry S. Truman
State of the Union: January 21, 1946
O I believe it possible that effective means can be
developed through the United Nations Organization
to prohibit, outlaw, and prevent the use of atomic
energy for destructive purposes.
O The power which the United States demonstrated
during the war is the fact that underlies every phase
of our relations with other countries. We cannot
escape the responsibility which it thrusts What we
think, plan, say, and do is of profound significance to
the future of every corner of the world.
Continued:
O Our Nation has always been a land of great
opportunities for those people of the world who
sought to become part of us. Now we have become a
land of great responsibilities to all the people of all
the world. We must squarely recognize and face the
fact of those responsibilities. Advances in science, in
communication, in transportation, have compressed
the world into a community. The economic and
political health of each member of the world
community bears directly on the economic and
political health of each other member.
No More Tears?
Andrew Johnson
First Annual Message
December 4, 1865
O It is one of the greatest acts on record to
have brought 4,000,000 people into freedom.
The career of free industry must be fairly
opened to them, and then their future
prosperity and condition must, after all, rest
mainly on themselves. If they fail, and so
perish away, let us be careful that the failure
shall not be attributable to any denial of
justice. In all that relates to the destiny of the
freedmen we need not be too anxious to read
the future; many incidents which, from a
speculative point of view, might raise alarm
will quietly settle themselves. Now that
slavery is at an end, or near its end, the
greatness of its evil in the point of view of
public economy becomes more and more
apparent. Slavery was essentially a monopoly
of labor, and as such locked the States where
it prevailed against the incoming of free
industry.
Lyndon B. Johnson
Annual Message to the Congress on the State
of the Union. January 8, 1964
•
Let me make one principle of this
administration abundantly clear: All of these
increased opportunities--in employment, in
education, in housing, and in every field-must
be open to Americans of every color. As far as
the writ of Federal law will run, we must abolish
not some, but all racial discrimination. For this
is not merely an economic issue, or a social,
political, or international issue. It is a moral
issue, and it must be met by the passage this
session of the bill now pending in the House.
What about tracing Civil
Rights chronologically?
•
•
•
•
•
Truman
Eisenhower
Kennedy
Johnson
Use the Inaugurals
and State of the
Unions around the
passing of key
legislation or events
to get a sense of how
things play out.
What about a non-textual way?
Cartoon from December 19, 1929
Find a cartoon just before or
after these speeches are
given
• How are people reacting to the President
and his policies?
• What are the pitfalls of using the cartoons?
– (not to say don’t use them – but make sure
the students get the bias and all that good rich
information fit for a top-notch discussion)
– You’ve seen examples of this subtly
throughout the presentation.
Yes Virginia, there are videos!
• The Miller Center for Public Affairs (located
at the University of Virginia) has amassed a
TON of video and audio files of these
speeches. Some with that neat bouncing
ball technology
– Inaugurals, State of the Unions, White House
Tapes, policy speeches, etc.
– http://millercenter.org/scripps
– Credit to Dr. Marc Selverstone for this
incredible resource.
What about Extension activites?
• The American Presidency Project also
contains the Party Platforms:
– Has the President remained true to the Party
Platform?
– What is the position of the opposite party? Is
there compromise in the actual politics? Who,
What, When, Where, Why? (How)
FURTHER EXTENSION
• How about matching a President’s
Speeches to their Vetoes to see if they have
held to their beliefs?
• Social History through Speeches: In
contemporary speeches, guests have been
highlighted. Ask students to find out about
these people and do research into their
S.P.E.C.ifics and link them to the trending
American values.
How can we alter this strategy
to fit our classrooms?
O Modifications are where it’s at!!!
O A Textbook Scavenger Hunt
O Elementary teachers?
O Handing your students a lengthy speech probably
isn’t something that you’re going to do . . .
O Based on the Presidents you teach:
O stick to the inaugurals.
O Use excerpts and link them to the big-ticket events of the
presidency
O What type of activities can we develop????
Thank You!!!!