Obama!

1. Obama! And other presidents

2. The Presidency • President: one who is elected to lead a group.

3. 2012 Election • This year, Obama was the Democratic nominee, and Mitt Romney was the Republican nominee. (They represented the two major parties in the government.) • In an election, the people vote for a candidate from one of the parties. You can choose to write-in a name on the ballot, but the race is mainly between the two major parties.

4. 2012 Election • Each state counts up its ‘popular vote’, and based on that, representatives of each state place their votes. These members are part of the electoral college. • The population of the state determines how many electoral college votes it will get. • California has the most with 55. • Tennessee has 11.

5. 2012 Election • In the election, there are key states, called the ‘swing states’ that really determine the outcome of the election. These states ‘swing’ back and forth between voting overall for a Democrat or Republican. • Tennessee always votes Republican. • California always votes Democratic. • Ohio swings back and forth. • Obama won 8/9 of the swing states.

6. 2012 Election • The popular vote was very close this year, but Obama swept the electoral college vote. • Popular vote • Obama: 50.1% • Romney: 48.4% • Electoral college votes (270 is a majority and a win) • Obama: 322 • Romney: 206

7. Barack Obama • Each president is only allowed to serve two terms of four years. (8 years total.) This is to ensure no single person can rule the country for a long time. • This is Obama’s second term and will be his last.

8. Barack Obama • Women’s rights. • Universal healthcare. • Gay rights. • Raise taxes on the top 1% to rebuild the middle class. • Slowing the spread of nuclear weapons. • Ending the war in Afghanistan/Iraq responsibly.

9. Barack Obama • Passed the stimulus that revived the economy. (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) • Health Care Reform. (32 million uninsured Americans) • Boosted fuel efficiency standards. • Race to the Top in education.

10. Notable Presidents • George Washington

11. George Washington • He was the leader of the revolutionary army. • Washington helped build the American government. • He wanted to go home to Virginia, but the other leaders knew he would be a good leader for the country and voted him as president.

12. Thomas Jefferson

13. Thomas Jefferson • Louisiana Purchase • Wrote the Declaration of Independence. • Sent Lewis and Clark out West.

14. Abraham Lincoln

15. Abraham Lincoln • President during the civil war (when the country was divided North vs. South). • Emancipation Proclamation: declared the slaves as free people. • “that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” • Assassinated in a theater.

16. Franklin D. Roosevelt

17. Franklin D. Roosevelt • “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” • He struggled with polio and pulled America out of the Great Depression. • He led America through WW2. • Established the New Deal Program (Includes the Social Security program and the FDA.)

18. The Great Depression

19. Dwight D. Eisenhower

20. Dwight D. Eisenhower • Started the interstate system.

21. John F. Kennedy

22. John F. Kennedy • Eased tensions between the United States and Russia. • Interested in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and slowing the arms race. • Handled the Cuban Missile Crisis.

23. Cuban Missile Crisis

24. Lyndon B. Johnson

25. Lyndon B. Johnson • Took office after JFK was assassinated. • Protected voters’ rights. • The Great Society program: aid to education, attack on disease, Medicare, urban renewal, fight against poverty, prevention of crime.

26. Homework • Tell us about an important character in your country’s history!