This week in class we will talk about the Presidency. Next Monday, the nation
celebrates George Washington's birthday, commonly known as President's Day. So,
in honor of our first President, I decided to blog this week about the men who
have served our nation as "Commander in Chief".
Some of our Presidents
have had great courage. George Washington and Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded
troops in battle in two of the most important wars in our nation's history.
Without their courage, it is hard to say if America as nation would be where it
is today.
Some of our Presidents have been great scholars. Thomas
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, which remains a model of
democratic thought and is studied in political science classes around the world
to this day. Woodrow Wilson was the only President to earn a doctorate degree,
which he earned in political science.
Some of our Presidents have been
great orators. John Adams was considered the "voice" of the revolution. John
Kennedy's inauguration address inspired a new generation of Americans to serve
their communities. Ronald Reagan was known as "The Great Communicator" and is
credited with helping to end the Cold War.
My question to you this week
is "Throughout history, who do you think would've made a great President that
never held the office?" My answer is Benjamin Franklin. We all know of Benjamin
Franklin's famous lightening rod experiment, but did you know he invented many
other things including the Franklin stove, bifocals, batteries and the glass
'armonica'? He also formed our nation's first library and fire departments, and
founded the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin was a great statesmen, diplomat
and politician. He is credited with developing the ideals of the American
character. Had he not been so advanced in age, it is possible he would've added
'President' to his long list of accomplishments. So, "Who do you think would've
made a great President that never held the office?" Answers are due no later
than Sunday, February 17th, 2013.
I would have liked to see how Al Gore would have done. He is a big enviromentalist, it would be good for this country. I feel like we need a dramatic change in our life styles including our transportation and consumption of reasources. I don't have the answers, but I would love to see a shift of some sort, keeping the same issues is boring.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mariah. Al Gore seemed as though he knew exactly what the world needs and still needs today and he wants to help everyone out. Not just one country like our own but other ones around the world as well. I like how much of an environmentalist Al Gore is and it melts my heart to see someone that had so much power put it to great use.
ReplyDeleteAl Gore 2014!
Mariah took my answer, I was going to say Al Gore. After seeing the video it's clear that Al Gore unlike many presidents feels the need to undertake efforts that will really change the world and not just make him look good or line his pockets with cash. I like that in the video that we watched how human and approachable he felt it was interesting to see all of the time and research he puts into pushing to inform people about global warming. I'm sure there are other great people but, Al Gore will always be the great president that never was. Just imagine our lives without George bush.....
ReplyDeleteI agree with the three people above me. Al Gore knew what he wanted and he had a pretty strong idea of what he wanted to do in office. With his ideals and beliefs I think our country would have learned and excepted not always thinking about yourself or the material things in life but to look at the big picture and want better for other people, our children, and our children's children. I think you could almost compare the Earth being damaged and polluted with the fact that people are so greedy and selfish. A good example of this is the government quitting Global Warning because it would cause some major players in the political game that are also the CEO's of these major companies that aren't wanting to change their ways because it could possibly mean a loss of money; but I believe Al Gore knew this needed to be changed and he wanted to.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I still think Hillary Clinton should run for president again in 2014. I think she was a major factor in Bill Clinton's Presidency and our government hasn't look so good since. She knows what she is doing and I think both Hillary and Bill make a great team in office.
Benjamin Franklin is the obvious choice in my eyes. He was so deeply ingrained in the founding of our country that he would have had extensive knowledge of how to run the new country. The man was quite brilliant as you can tell by his vast library of inventions. He seemed to me like he would've been a very inquisitive person and would've spent plenty of time working out solutions to various problems. Who knows if the office would have detracted from his inventing and other ventures. So when you look back at it I think he contributed just as much, if not more, than any of the other founding fathers. To me that means he didn't need the office of President to achieve the things he wanted so maybe it all worked out for the best
ReplyDeleteKiernan Stillabower
Al Gore, He was very intelligent and looked outside the box that many candidates talk about. I think voters should of gave him a chance because Im pretty sure he would of been on his word about helping our society.
ReplyDeleteDream Scenario For The GOP: Dr. Ben Carson, Republican Presidential Nominee
ReplyDeleteHis bio is a remarkable one: Raised by an illiterate single mother who held three jobs to make ends meet in inner-city Detroit, Today, he’s arguably the most renowned person in medicine as Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, earning that esteemed position at age 33.As someone who critiques the performance of cable news guests for sport and has played the role more than a few times, I can say without ambiguity that Dr. Carson is as comfortable in his own skin and confident as an unrehearsed speaker as we’ve seen in a long time. It’s that poise, intelligence and sheer stamina in articulating common-sense conservative positions that has Republicans as excited about the prospects of Dr. Carson as Democrats were with Mr. Obama nine years ago. If Dr. Carson were to announce plans to run for higher office, the reaction out of liberal media would be pure (and unintentional) entertainment.
Nic Cage! No, not really. Like most of the people above me, I think Al Gore and Ben Franklin would have done well. Both are and were intelligent. Ben Franklin was an inventor...Al Gore uses facts to back up what's happening to our environment. Maybe a keen knowledge of science should be a requirement to run for president.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the people above, with Al gore, and of course Ben Franklin. A fun one I would like to add to the might be list is Thomas Edison. Inventors always fascinate me. Even if you don't think of them usually as president material. But what was brought to mind was that he failed around 1000 times to make a light bulb, but still had the positive perspective that he found 1000 ways to not make one instead of failure. Maybe if you applied that concept to the US, it might have been better. Example: 1000 ways to not run a country. And then learn from your mistakes instead of trying to justify them like so many presidents have done in the past.
ReplyDeleteSean Brown
I would say Thomas Paine. Although I am by far no expert on the man, it seems to me that he held ideals that should have been manifest in our country far earlier than it happened. He was an opponent of slavery and of the majority of organized religion. He was so outspoken about his beliefs that he was arrested and almost executed in France. Nonetheless he never wavered in his opinions.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of anyone who could have been a great president that never was. I agree that candidates such as Al Gore, and great inventors as Ben Franklin could have been president, but I'm not really sure they would have been "great" presidents.
ReplyDeleteLike Stephanie mentioned in class, all our past presidents have left something behind for their legacy. Most of the things they have left behind are things that we have needed, if we had another president besides them who knows what they would have left or just overlooked.
If I had to think back on who could have been a "great" president but didn't really have their chance, I would choose Alexander Hamilton. He was the Secretary of the Treasury, and a founding father. He was an economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers. He became the leader of the Federalist Party, and was opposed by the Democratic-Republican Party. Obviously he did something right if he ended up on our $10 bill.
Inventors, such as Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison, were innovative and they knew what was needed in the nation to make it more productive. They had minds unlike other and people like Henry Ford, gave back to the U.S. by creating jobs for the working Americans.
Of course they probably wouldn't know what to do when a crisis hit America, but they obviously were great at logical thinking and strategy. They didn't really need Military training or to be a state governor to realize what America needed. Even though they were rich American's they still innovative and willing to create jobs and inventors to help America any way they could.
Even though I agree with Al Gore on global warming, I still feel that if he would have won against George Bush that he wouldn't have known what to do about the war. He was, for a lack of better terms, an environmentalist. He put environment first, yes for a better cause down the road. Maybe that is what we needed, maybe not.
like most everyone, it would've been nice seeing Al Gore in office. Though, I was ten years old and didn't care or didn't even know who he was. In politics the best smooth talker always wins and George W. Bush is good at that, we all know.
ReplyDeleteI don't really remember the environment being a big issue twelve years ago, but I was more focused on how I was going to spend my allowance at the time.
Though, if I lived back in the 1840s or 50s I would've wanted Ralph Waldo Emerson to give presidency a shot. Either Emerson or Samuel Clemens, but maybe let Mark Twain grow a little before he ran. Two men who probably wouldn't dare run for president. Emerson a great speaker and lecturer opened America's eyes to individualism. He was the father of Transcendentalism that sparked so much creativity and in depth thought about everything. I have a book with all his major writings and I think of it as MY bible. It's a great read to learn or even base your life from.
Mark Twain was just honest and I try to look at the world the way he did. As a comedy. He would've been a great mind to have sat in the Oval Office. Both men seemed to have clear heads and they would definitely look before they would leap.
I'm sure though, that if I were able to tell Twain that he should run for presidency, he would slap me. Emerson would probably just laugh and forget about it.
They are just two American men from history that I have most respect for.
Although he could never have been president due to the fact that he wasn't born in the US, I think that Nikola Tesla would have been a great choice. He was undoubtedly one of the greatest minds this world has ever seen, and was pushing the boundaries of virtually free electricity for everyone. I think if he had more of a leading role in things rather than being hid behind the rich people of the time, we would have seen a much different and much better world. If we had adhered to his plans for energy, we may not have ever run into this global warming problem to begin with.
ReplyDeleteThis may not be a person from the days of old but I would've loved to see Hilary Clinton, Reason being she practically did Bill Clintons job when he was in office. She's a very strong leader and I feel she could steer this nation in the right direction, and also being the first female president.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I agree that Ben Frank should've been a president along with Thomas Paine. I wonder how they would've ran their term and what big changes they would've had on american society. Don't get me wrong, they have made a great impact, but what's wrong with eating after you exercise? A shame though that Ben wasn't too interested in politics, even if he was in support for the revolution.
ReplyDelete-Micah Kistler
Ben Franklin would have been my choice as well, he was a very intelligent man who believed in the American dream and even though he was close to the King, he held his own values. I believe his lifestyle is very similar to the way we Americans live today, he had many girlfriends, he did experiements on his own ideals that he lived by. I dont know why he didnt run for president but he would have done a great job.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, When I was growing up I always thought Benjamin Franklin was a president. So, I would have to agree with you on this one. He was an extremely wise man. But Who knows what he would have done or what he would have accomplished.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say Ben Franklin as well. His open mind and optimism to do things new and before his time carry with us today and would have made him one the most successful presidents, ever. I wish he was here now to help the assholes who run this country
ReplyDeleteWyatt Earp. Known for his courage and honesty. He was one of the great legends of the Wild West. He was a city policeman in Wichita, Kansas and Dodge City, Kansas. He also served as a deputy sheriff and deputy U.S. marshal in Tombstone, Arizona. The 30-second gunfight defined the rest of his life. Earp's modern-day reputation is that of the Old West's toughest and deadliest gunman of his day. I admire his story.
ReplyDeleteBobby Kennedy. I think his assassination was the turning point of America and is a reason we are where we are right now. His death meant the Presidency of Nixon and the beginning of America being a conservative nation. Robert Kennedy was always my favorite political figure of the past century because I believe he genuinely had our intentions at heart, and I believe he was a strong enough leader to not stop until he did what he thought was best. I think Nixon was the exact opposite.
ReplyDeleteIt seems unanimous. Ben Franklin is the popular choice here in this discussion. I believe that he would be my choice as well. I couldn't think of anyone better for this topic. Although, I do think I have to question his wanting of the turkey to be our national bird...
ReplyDeleteI think Benjamin Franklin would of did a good job as the president but i wouldnt mind just seeing a regular history teacher with knowledge or Economic teacher be president . Just a regular person . But i do like Benjamin Franklin so i would agree with him.
ReplyDeleteMy personal opinion would have to be Ronald Reagen. A Hollywood actor turned govenor, govenor turned president, the man lived the american dream we as a country have lost site of in my view.
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