Transcript True to Their Word PPT

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
O 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.
O 2 places to look:
O The Miller Center for
Public Affairs.
O The American
Presidency Project
The Common Core Standards
Initiative
O The Exemplar Texts
from the Common
Core Standards
Initiative lift HEAVILY
from these sources.
Where they don’t –
it’s a great way to
expand the
knowledge base!
Why Inaugurals and State of the
Unions?
O They happen (usually) regardless of history.
O 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.
O 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?
O Not really. I can be modified to do so.
O The reason I LOVE this resource is because it
can introduce the BIG HISTORY that I know Ill
cover.
O 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
O This activity is not used to portray Presidents as liars or
deceptive figures.
O 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
James Madison – March 4, 1813
O Under the benign influence
O On the issue of the war are staked
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
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. Not
to contend for such a stake is to
surrender our equality with other
powers on the element common
to all and to violate the sacred
title which every member of the
society has to its protection.
So . . .
O How about teaching the War of 1812 with a
human voice instead of the typical
introduction?
O 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
O 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)
O 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.
O The consequences of a speedy removal will be
important to the United States, to the individual states,
and to the Indians themselves.
O 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
O That second State of the Union is INCREDIBLE!
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
non-white 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.
Grover Cleveland: First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1885
O 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
O
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. We shall
not be permitted to take our case,
but shall continue to be required to
spend our days in unremitting toil.
The actions of the Government must
command the confidence of the
country. Without this, our prosperity
would be lost.
Bill Clinton, Address Before a Joint Session of
the Congress on the State of the Union
January 27, 2000
O 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
O What comes next?
O Examine the events during the Coolidge
Administration that caused the Great
Depression?
O 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 stockmarket 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?
O Was he true to his word?
Well – If my students did some
digging . . .
O 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
Inaugural Address: 3/4/33
1st
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
Inaugural Address: 1/20/37
2nd
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:
O The State of the Union in 1935 is very short
and concentrates almost solely on domestic
issues.
O 1936 begins with a rather lengthy assessment
of international affairs and then delves into
domestic economic and employment policy.
O 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
O 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.
O 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.
O That is why the future of all the
American Republics is today in
serious danger.
O 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
O
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?
O Truman
O Eisenhower
O Kennedy
O Johnson
O 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
O How are people reacting to the President and
his policies?
O What are the pitfalls of using the cartoons?
O (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)
O You’ve seen examples of this subtly
throughout the presentation.
Yes Virginia, there are videos!
O 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
O Inaugurals, State of the Unions, White House
Tapes, policy speeches, etc.
O http://millercenter.org/scripps
O Credit to Dr. Marc Selverstone for this
incredible resource.
What about Extension activites?
O The American Presidency Project also contains
the Party Platforms:
O Has the President remained true to the Party
Platform?
O What is the position of the opposite party? Is
there compromise in the actual politics? Who,
What, When, Where, Why? (How)
FURTHER EXTENSION
O How about matching a President’s Speeches to their
Vetoes to see if they have held to their beliefs?
O 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!!!!