October 16

Blog #113 – Was JFK a good president?

This week, we’ve been analyzing the main question – was JFK a good president? – and looking at his accomplishments and setbacks.  A couple of the classes compared his shortened presidency to other presidents with shortened terms (Harrison, Taylor, Garfield, Harding, Ford).  We also looked at how he compared on presidential rankings (he was ranked as high as #6 and as low as #18 with a composite ranking of #10).  Then we analyzed 9 chapters from the book, 40 Ways to Look at JFK by Gretchen Rubin, and looked at different ways that biographers have portrayed JFK’s strengths (his excellence, high ideals) and his weaknesses (his lies, his health), and in some ways that are still unsettled (his views on Vietnam, Civil Rights, and his treatment of Jackie Kennedy).  I have hoped that with this analysis (along with the Portrait contrasting Kennedy w/ Ike) provides you with a nuanced portait (no pun intended) of the president.  Image result for john f kennedy

There were three areas of contention among biographers:

  1. Civil Rights leader – he saw it as important, as a “moral” cause, but didn’t push hard enough to make true changes.  In essence, he and his brother, Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General, were reacting to provocations that Civil Rights leaders made happen in the Freedom Rides, James Meredith at Ole Miss, and the Birmingham Children’s March.  He also tried to derail the March on Washington in August 1963 for fears of antagonizing Southern lawmakers that he needed on his side to pass New Frontier legislation.
  2. Vietnam – Some historians stated that Kennedy was going to de-escalate or pulled Americans forces out of Vietnam, potentially preventing great loss of life on both American and Vietnamese sides.  He wanted fewer advisors in Vietnam, but was unable to pull them out and never specifically said that we would leave.  Other historians point to the fact that Kennedy increased the number of advisors from 1,000 to 16,000 by his death.  These historians point out his harsh Cold War rhetoric and saw any retreat from confronting communism in Asia as a problem in his reelection.  Kennedy believed that we could stay and win the war.
  3. His attitudes towards women – his treatment of his wife in particular, and his philandering with other women, sound very old-fashioned.  He had no problem with paying women less.  He treated his wife poorly (vacationing while she was eight months pregnant and not returning for the still-born birth of his child).

Here’s what I want you to do:

  1. Argue whether or not you think Kennedy deserves a top 10 ranking as president and explain why.  Use specific pieces of evidence from the biographers’ comparisons and the answers to the questions on the Google Doc.
  2. Do the counter argument with what you just argued in #1.  Use specific pieces of evidence from the biographers’ comparisons and the answers to the questions on the Google Doc.

400 words total.  Due by class on Friday, October 19.  

Wikipedia compilation of presidential rankings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_presidents_of_the_United_States

Latest presidential ranking by Boise State: https://sps.boisestate.edu/politicalscience/files/2018/02/Greatness.pdf

Category: Blogs | 53 Comments on Blog #113 – Was JFK a good president?
November 1

Blog #104 – Chicago Convention as Symbol

Image result for 1968 chicago convention

Students protesting the Vietnam War in Chicago. The blue and red flag is supprting the Viet Cong.

 

 

After we’d watched the American Experience video on the Chicago Convention in 1968 on Friday, it struck me how much that the clash encapsulated many of the tensions in the 1960s.  The clash between students and police on the outside of the convention, and the clash between the Peace platform candidate, McGovern, vs. pro-war candidate, Vice President, Humphrey, both appeared to be like a symbol of how divided the nation was in 1968.   See this link for a day-by-day calendar of the tumultuous events of 1968.  For instance:

– The peace platform delegates and followers of Senator Eugene McCarthy (dove) who tried to be heard at the Democratic National Convention, but the old guard (Mayor Richard Daley) that supported Vice President Hubert Humphrey (hawk) and the war in Vietnam (and support of President Johnson’s policies in Vietnam despite their apparent failure);

– The class differences between Chicago’s working class police officers and the “spoiled brats” as U.S. Attorney Thomas Moran called the college students who had gathered in Chicago to protest the war that could directly affect any of these young men with the draft on either side of the riot line (though truthfully, the police officers were most likely to get drafted and not be able to a deferment from a doctor or university);

– the rise of violence, disorder and chaos in daily life that impacted the political process like the deaths of John Kennedy (1963), Malcolm X (1965), and Dr. King and Robert Kennedy (1968).  There had been riots in Watts, Los Angeles, Detroit and Newark, N.J., and across the country after Dr. King’s death in April 1968. 

– The rights to free speech and freedom to peaceably assemble were directly challenged at this convention by the Chicago Police Dept. and the Illinois National Guard.  Furthermore, the indirect censorship of the TV coverage by not allowing more than one live feed from the city (infringement of freedom of the press) so that the TV news couldn’t cover both the convention and the protests at the same time;

– The differing tactics of the anti- war protesters as symbolized by David Dellinger and Rennie Davis (non-violence) vs. Tom Hayden (“by any means necessary”) and the outcome of the marches and even legal protests at Grant Park.

Questions:

1. Do you think the police used “reasonable force” when dispersing the protestors during the week of the convention?   When?  Why or why not?

2. Do you think the protesters crossed the line by fighting with the police?  Why or why not?

3. Do you think that the peace delegates / McCarthy’s followers would have been satisfied if President Johnson had allowed VP Humphrey to make some concessions over the Vietnam War? Why or why not?

4. How do you think that the images from this convention influenced the outcome of the 1968 election w/ Nixon, Humphrey, and Wallace?  Why?

Blog due Monday, November 6.  300 words minimum for the total blog.

Category: Blogs | 67 Comments on Blog #104 – Chicago Convention as Symbol
November 2

Blog #91 – Vietnam

Tim O’Brien’s book, The Things They Carried, focuses on the members of Alpha Company as they hump across Vietnam and also how they dealt with civilian life (“Speaking of Courage”). 

1. The things that the soldiers carried in battle were not just physical things but mental / emotional as well.  Henry Dobbins wore his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck as a comforter.  But after the war is over and done with, the soldiers, like Lt. Cross, carry guilt and pain around with them.

2. The novel is also about truth, especially with the story, “How to Tell a True War Story,” which seems contradictory in many cases.  But maybe that’s what the truth really is in a war-time environment – unclear.

3. The novel also captures loneliness and isolation experienced by the American soldiers while in the Vietnamese jungle.  Though the soldiers are surrounded by their comrades in arms, many don’t feel a connection to each other.  Could this be because they’ve been drafted into a war they don’t want to fight?  Or that war is the most loneliest experience – do or die on the battlefield?

4. How does shame or the idea of letting another person down motivate Tim and other soldiers in the stories?

“They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment.”

Pick two of the four topics to write about and also include a brief assessment of the book. 

300 words minimum for your total response.  Due by Wednesday, Nov. 9 by class (yep, Wednesday).  

Image result for tim o'brien the things they carried pdf 

Category: Blogs | 69 Comments on Blog #91 – Vietnam
May 9

Blog #85 – Forrest Gump as Nostalgia

The movie, Forrest Gump, takes viewers on a ride through the 1950s, and tumultuous 60s and 70s right into the mid 1980s. Along the way, Forrest and Jenny represent two different paths that Americans traveled during the time period (albeit, for white people).

The movie also represents a way of interpreting that time period of history, and it brings to mind this quote from Joel Achenbach:

“History isn’t the thing itself, but rather a story we tell, and the story changes, new elements are added, others forgotten, myths invented, causes imagined, facts debunked.  History is a process of imposing order on a chaotic process, inventing causality and finding meaning.”

Your job is to apply this quote to FG and explain how the movie is trying to tell a story about history, doing the things that Achenbach said.

Minimum of 300 words. Due Monday, May 16 by the beginning of class.

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/when-forrest-gump-stumbled-into-the-90s-culture-wars-90475343717.html – read this article for more thoughts on the movie.

Category: Blogs | 66 Comments on Blog #85 – Forrest Gump as Nostalgia
October 20

Blog #79 – Vietnam in Fiction

Tim O’Brien’s book, The Things They Carried, focuses on the members of Alpha Company as they hump across Vietnam and also how they dealt with civilian life (“Speaking of Courage”). 

1. The things that the soldiers carried in battle were not just physical things but mental / emotional as well.  Henry Dobbins wore his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck as a comforter.  But after the war is over and done with, the soldiers, like Lt. Cross, carry guilt and pain around with them.  How did the soldiers cope with being in combat?

2. The novel is also about truth, especially with the story, “How to Tell a True War Story,” which seems contradictory in many cases.  But maybe that’s what the truth really is in a war-time environment – unclear.   Why isn’t the truth always clear, especially as shown as in the novel?

3. The novel also captures loneliness and isolation experienced by the American soldiers while in the Vietnamese jungle.  Though the soldiers are surrounded by their comrades in arms, many don’t feel a connection to each other.  Could this be because they’ve been drafted into a war they don’t want to fight?  Or that war is the most loneliest experience – do or die on the battlefield?

4. How does shame or the idea of letting another person down motivate Tim and other soldiers in the stories?

“They carried the soldier’s greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment.”

300 words minimum – pick two of the above questions and include an assessment of the book.  

DUE Thursday night 11:59 p.m.  October 22.  

Category: Blogs | 82 Comments on Blog #79 – Vietnam in Fiction
June 10

Blog #21 – 1968 Chicago Convention a microcosm of the 1960s?

After we’d watched the American Experience video on the Chicago Convention in 1968 on Friday, it struck me how much that the clash encapsulated many of the tensions in the 1960s.  See this link for a day-by-day calendar of the tumultuous events of 1968.  For instance:

Students in Chicago holding North Vietnamese flags in 1968.

 – The differing tactics of the anti-war protestors as symbolized by David Dellinger and Rennie Davis (non-violence) vs. Tom Hayden (“by any means necessary”) and the outcome of the marches and even legal protests at Grant Park;

 

– The peace platform delegates and followers of Senator Eugene McCarthy (dove) who tried to be heard at the Democratic National Convention, but the old guard (Mayor Richard Daley) that supported Vice President Hubert Humphrey (hawk) and the war in Vietnam;

 

 – The class differences between Chicago’s working class police officers and the “spoiled brats” as U.S. Attorney Thomas Moran called the college students who had gathered in Chicago to protest the war that could directly affect any of these young men with the draft on either side of the riot line (though truthfully, the police officers were most likely to get drafted and not be able to a deferment from a doctor or university);

 

– the rise of violence, disorder and chaos in daily life that impacted the political process like the deaths of John Kennedy (1963), Malcolm X (1965), and Dr. King and Robert Kennedy (1968).  There had been riots in Watts, Los Angeles, Detroit and Newark, N.J., and across the country after Dr. King’s death in April 1968. 

 – The rights to free speech and freedom to peaceably assemble were directly challenged at this convention by the Chicago Police Dept. and the Illinois National Guard.  Furthermore, the indirect censorship of the TV coverage by not allowing more than one live feed from the city (infringement of freedom of the press) so that the TV news couldn’t cover both the convention and the protests at the same time. 

 

Questions:

1. Do you think the police used “reasonable force” when dispersing the protestors during the week of the convention?   When?  Why or why not?

2. Do you think that the peace delegates / McCarthy’s followers would have been satisfied if President Johnson had allowed VP Humphrey to make some concessions over the Vietnam War? Why or why not?

3. Do you think that the images from this convention influenced the outcome of the 1968 election w/ Nixon and Wallace?  Why or why not?

Blog due Tuesday, June 14.  300 words minimum for the total blog.

Link to PBS film on Robert Kennedy.

Link to PBS film on Dr. King’s assassination, Roads to Memphis (watch online too!).

 Link to PBS film on My Lai Massacre. 

Link to PBS film on the Freedom Riders.

Category: Blogs | 61 Comments on Blog #21 – 1968 Chicago Convention a microcosm of the 1960s?