Comeback Kids

1. Comeback Kids Getting ready of the final exam

2. General advice for essay exams • Read and understand the question • Pick out the key words in the question • Outline your main points • Write good topic sentences • Back up your topic sentences with specific details

3. Lyndon Johnson • Generalization: • Lyndon Johnson did everything in his power to turn America into a "Great Society." Unfortunately, his well-intended programs did little to alleviate the problems American society faced, and may actually have increased the turmoil of the 1960's.

4. Your great society essay should focus on the following: • The War on Poverty • Johnson’s education programs • Johnson’s steps to ensure civil rights • Johnson’s foreign policy commitments • In each instance, comment on what Johnson did, in what ways he was successful, and in what ways his efforts came up short. Comment especially on any increase in turmoil created by Johnson’s policies. Watching the Watts riots video posted on the blog should give you a better feel for this eras potential for turmoil.

5. Not Quite Tricky Enough The Nixon Presidency Generalization: Richard Nixon was an exceptionally competent president and no more immoral than many other presidents of the last seventy years. He was often a true statesman, putting the good of his country far above personal advantage. Nixon was also a clever politician, as his nickname "Tricky Dick" suggests. But Nixon was not quite clever enough, not quite tricky enough to overcome the hostility of his political enemies.

6. There are lots of ways to organize this material, but I’d like you to be sure to comment on Nixon’s political skills, the way he actually handled his office, his statesmanship, and his mistakes. You might talk about his early electoral victories and his “Checkers” speech as examples of his political skills. In connection with the “competence” issue, you might comment on how he handled both domestic and foreign policy issues. Note also the positives/negatives in the way he handed a hostile press. Watching the Nixon campaign ads posted on the blog should help some in addressing this question.

7. Ford and Carter Generalization: In what came to be called his “malaise speech,” President Jimmy Carter complained that America was going through a time of “paralysis and stagnation and drift.” In many ways, that phrase describes well both the Ford and Carter administrations. The nation was adrift, and neither man seemed to be able to do much about it. Be sure here to include sections of both Ford and Carter. With Ford, note the problems created by his lack of a popular “mandate.” Comment on his attempts to salvage what he could of Nixon’s achievements, and the constant attacks on Ford from congress and the media. Note how this hurt his ability to act effectively in foreign policy issues and how this led to extra economic problems as well. With Carter, comment on his 1976 campaign, on his Helsinki-accord based foreign policy, his bad calls on international issues, and his failure to handle economic problems. Listening to Carter’s malaise speech will really help you prepare for this question. See the blog post online.

8. Reagan and Bush • Generalization: Ronald Reagan and George Bush put together a new political coalition, a coalition which enabled them to reverse some of the damage done to America by 20 years of liberal social and economic policies. However, despite the many successes of Reagan and Bush, the two men left their "conservative revolution" far from complete. Remember that this question is deliberately provocative, originally written for students who knew more about Reagan than any other president. Strong feelings tend to produce good essays as long as students remember to back up their feelings with facts. Not sure if any of you have strong feelings about Reagan per se, but I suspect you have strong enough feelings about the liberal/conservative split to be “engaged” with the question. Be sure to talk about the coalition Reagan put together. Talk about what he did/didn’t do for each part of his constituency. Talk about the opposition to Reagan, and the places Reagan came up short. I talked a lot less on Bush, but be sure to talk about how he kept the Reagan coalition together and his economic and foreign policy successes. You might also talk about his failure to win re-election.

9. CLINTON, BUSH II, OBAMA, and TRUMP No matter what one thinks of Bill Clinton as a statesman, it is clear that he is a great politician--and a great illustration of the general rule that people get the leaders they deserve. The same might be said also of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. Being elected to the presidency is never easy, but some candidates have more obstacles in their way than others. In addressing this question, you might talk about the advantages/obstacles each of the above men faced in their quest for the presidency and the way they overcame those obstacles. You might also comment on outside factors that helped/hurt: things beyond their control. I’d like you also to address each man as a statesman. What did they do good for the country? Any major negatives? Finally, to what extent is each man a “leader we deserve”? Why, and in what way?