The Cover-up
1. Regardless of the outcome, should the President of the United States have a right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office tapes? Explain.
To an extent I believe that the Oval Office tapes should be private to the President. Something like Watergate was a threat to national security therefore the right to privacy with the Oval Office tapes should be taken away. However, when there is no threat to national security the tapes should remain private.
2. Was President Nixon justified when he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox? Explain.
No he was not because it was not in his jurisdiction and he crossed the line.
3. Was Nixon creating a Constitutional crisis by refusing to hand-over the tapes? Explain.
Deffinatley because he believed that he had immunity from the constitution by being president and presented imperial presidency.
Closure
4. Why do you think the American public was so outraged by Watergate?
Because it made the american public completely lose faith in the Nixon administration. Nixon was trying to cover up a government scandal which is one thing that people do not look for in their president.
5. Do you think President Nixon should have resigned? Explain.
I believe it was the best decision because it's more shameful to be impeached so at least he carried some dignity when he left. Also, Nixon wanted to go out with a bang so instead of taking the punishment he felt the need to add a twist.
6. Do you think President Nixon should have been prosecuted? Explain.
I don't think nixon should have been prosecuted because it was never proven whether he was directly involved in the Watergate break in or not.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Watergate: Nixon's Downfall
1. How ere the "plumbers" connected to President Nixon?
The plumbers were the actual Watergate Robbers who worked for Nixon, planting leaks in the press and digging up dirt on Nixon's opponents or people he just didn't like.
2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?
John Sirica was the judge. He handed out maximum sentences because he thought more people would talk if they were under pressure.
3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?
Mitchell was Nixon's former attorney general and John Dean was on the presidential council.
4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?
H.R Haldeman was the chief of staff at the white house while Ehrlichman was the chief domestic adviser.
5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?
a. Dean
Declared that Nixon had been heavily involved in the cover ups of the watergate burgleries.
Referred to a meeting where nixon discussed a plan to cover up the gov. involvement.
b. Butterfield
Told the senate that Nixon taped virtually all of his presidential conversations.
6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?
Elliot Richardson: forced to resign
Assistant attorney general was fired as was Archibald Cox.
7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?
They were more interested in the unedited tapes of the actual conversations.
8. What did the tapes reveal?
The tapes revealed Nixons involvement in the watergate scandals.
9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?
Because he had been caught taking bribes from engineering firms when he was the gov. of
maryland.
10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?
obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of congress.
11. How did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?
It created constitutional crisis because of Nixon's ability to try and get away with covering up the watergate scandal.
The plumbers were the actual Watergate Robbers who worked for Nixon, planting leaks in the press and digging up dirt on Nixon's opponents or people he just didn't like.
2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?
John Sirica was the judge. He handed out maximum sentences because he thought more people would talk if they were under pressure.
3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?
Mitchell was Nixon's former attorney general and John Dean was on the presidential council.
4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?
H.R Haldeman was the chief of staff at the white house while Ehrlichman was the chief domestic adviser.
5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?
a. Dean
Declared that Nixon had been heavily involved in the cover ups of the watergate burgleries.
Referred to a meeting where nixon discussed a plan to cover up the gov. involvement.
b. Butterfield
Told the senate that Nixon taped virtually all of his presidential conversations.
6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?
Elliot Richardson: forced to resign
Assistant attorney general was fired as was Archibald Cox.
7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?
They were more interested in the unedited tapes of the actual conversations.
8. What did the tapes reveal?
The tapes revealed Nixons involvement in the watergate scandals.
9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?
Because he had been caught taking bribes from engineering firms when he was the gov. of
maryland.
10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?
obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of congress.
11. How did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?
It created constitutional crisis because of Nixon's ability to try and get away with covering up the watergate scandal.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Women Fight for Equality
Read Chapter 31-2 in your The Americans online textbook. (begins on page 982). Answer the following and post to your blog. Due Tuesday prior to class.
Title: Women Fight for Equality Labels: Women's_Rights, Friedan, Schlafly, Steinem, Roe_v_Wade, ERA, NOW, Feminism,
Directions: As you read about the rise of a new women’s movement, take notes to explain how each of the following helped to create or advance the movement.
1. Experiences in the workplace
Women in the work place were being payed significantly less than the men in the work place. With the advent of the Kennedy administration however, people began paying more attention to the discrimination. Kennedy adressed with the status of woman. During the 60's woman progressed in the work place and began being payed far more.
2. Experiences in social activism
Women were mostly brushed aside when it came to organizing protests against wars and civil rights.
3. "Consciousness raising"
groups of women that discussed their lives and how discrimination was threatning them.
4. Feminism
The belief that women should have social economical and political equality with men.
5. Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique
Betty Friedan wrote the Feminine Mystique after conducting a survey of her Smith College female graduate students and finding that they were also unhappy with their day to day lives.
6. Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil rights movement created a precedent for women to start emerging and protesting their inequality.
7. National Organization for Women (NOW)
NOW was an organization of 28 women including Betty Friedan. This organization pushed for establishments like childcare so that women could pursue careers.
8. Gloria Steinem and Ms. Magazine
Gloria Steinem and her magazine Ms. was revolutionary because it created a place for women too discuss contemporary issues from a feminist perspective.
9. Congress
Passed equal rights act however the act needed 38 signitures to be passed. People were so afraid that the law didnt pass. Schlafly was one of these anti-feminist activists who was afraid by thte movement.
10. Supreme Court
The supreme court was decisive in the NOW promotion the woman's right abortion within the three months of pregnancy. The supreme court ruled against this saying that it was not within women's rights. However, one cannot really say whether this was a set back for the womens rights movement or not because it depends on what your view is. Morality aside it was a set back because of the ruling that women "dont have the right" to something.
11. The Equal rights Amendment would have guaranteed equal rights under the law, regardless of gender. Who opposed this amendment? Why?
Phyllis Schlafly and a group of conservatives opposed this amendment mainly because they were afraid of the outcome. Also, anti-feminists religious groups and conservatives in general believed that approving this ammendment would end in a "parade" of horribles such as same sex marriage and the drafting of woman. They also feared that this would not protect woman under the homemakers laws.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Why did the USA lose the Vietnam War?
Write an explanation AND cite a source which shows the importance of the following six factors:
1. US military tactics in Vietnam
The U.S military tactics used in Vietnam were not effective because the Viet Cong was using guerrilla tactics which were far more informal. The use of Napalm bombs and Agent Orange were tactics that were dubbed inhumane by the American Public. These bombs had chemical effects on the people of vietnam and was burning people's skin like in the picture of burning children(source 42) Another tactic was search and destroy. This was ineffective because they found little Viet cong and killed more civilians. Other ineffective tactics were the bombing of viet cong and ancient hue (source 41) which caused american uproar against the war.
2. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime
Unfortunatley in the Vietnam War the U.S supported Diem who's regime was extremely corrupt. He was very anti-communist and and had little respect for buddhism. Buddhist priests were very radical in protesting against this corruption by burning themselves alive in a meditative trance( Source 33). if Diem was never in power people would have not felt the need to form Viet Cong.
3. The experience of the Viet Cong and the inexperience of the American soldiers
The Viet Cong had far more experiance than the U.S because it was their homeland and they knew the lay of the land far more in detail than the young american soldiers. Their tactics in source 37 kept the U.S on edge through out the war.
4. Domestic opposition to the war in the U.S.
After My Lai when information was leaked to the U.S public, much faith was lost in America because the brutal attack was done on innocent people. (source 50) also with the pictures of the burning vietnemese children from the Napalm and Agent Orange bombs. These pieces of evidence angered the U.S public and alot of people lost respect for the army.
5. Chinese and Soviet support for the Viet Cong
The Chinese and Soviet Union supported the Viet Cong by supplying them with weapons. The U.S was not wanted in Vietnam by the chinese at all. The Soviet Union just wanted the spread of communism in vietnam. America didnt have the support from anyone that Viet Cong had.
6. 'But did they really lose?' Summarize the argument put forward in Source 57, and your view on it.
Source 57 is making the argument that America didnt in fact lose the war but the South Vietnemese did. Mainly because the major loss of the war was in Saigon and the U.S had left Vietnam years before. In my opinion this was deffinatly a loss for the U.S because our main point was to defeat the spread of communism and we failed at that. It was a loss for american morals.
Add other if you think there are factors you should consider.
1. US military tactics in Vietnam
The U.S military tactics used in Vietnam were not effective because the Viet Cong was using guerrilla tactics which were far more informal. The use of Napalm bombs and Agent Orange were tactics that were dubbed inhumane by the American Public. These bombs had chemical effects on the people of vietnam and was burning people's skin like in the picture of burning children(source 42) Another tactic was search and destroy. This was ineffective because they found little Viet cong and killed more civilians. Other ineffective tactics were the bombing of viet cong and ancient hue (source 41) which caused american uproar against the war.
2. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime
Unfortunatley in the Vietnam War the U.S supported Diem who's regime was extremely corrupt. He was very anti-communist and and had little respect for buddhism. Buddhist priests were very radical in protesting against this corruption by burning themselves alive in a meditative trance( Source 33). if Diem was never in power people would have not felt the need to form Viet Cong.
3. The experience of the Viet Cong and the inexperience of the American soldiers
The Viet Cong had far more experiance than the U.S because it was their homeland and they knew the lay of the land far more in detail than the young american soldiers. Their tactics in source 37 kept the U.S on edge through out the war.
4. Domestic opposition to the war in the U.S.
After My Lai when information was leaked to the U.S public, much faith was lost in America because the brutal attack was done on innocent people. (source 50) also with the pictures of the burning vietnemese children from the Napalm and Agent Orange bombs. These pieces of evidence angered the U.S public and alot of people lost respect for the army.
5. Chinese and Soviet support for the Viet Cong
The Chinese and Soviet Union supported the Viet Cong by supplying them with weapons. The U.S was not wanted in Vietnam by the chinese at all. The Soviet Union just wanted the spread of communism in vietnam. America didnt have the support from anyone that Viet Cong had.
6. 'But did they really lose?' Summarize the argument put forward in Source 57, and your view on it.
Source 57 is making the argument that America didnt in fact lose the war but the South Vietnemese did. Mainly because the major loss of the war was in Saigon and the U.S had left Vietnam years before. In my opinion this was deffinatly a loss for the U.S because our main point was to defeat the spread of communism and we failed at that. It was a loss for american morals.
Add other if you think there are factors you should consider.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Vietnam War Opposition
1. Note all of the reasons why you feel the war in Vietnam is wrong.
-Our tactics for solving this crisis are poor. We will never gain anything by bombing Vietnam.
- Our soldiers are dying for a lost cause.
-The american public has lost faith in the war
-It is costing to much money.
-The Vietnemese public has lost faith in America.
2. Note what you re trying to achieve with this poster. (e.g. to convince people to write to their Congressmen to get the troops out.)
People need to see that American soldiers are dying for no reason. Making the pamphlet really hit home with america is what will anger peopel enough to protest the war. Also showing pictures of the Vietnemese children suffering from the war is what will have an effect.
3. List possible images for your poster. Think about: background (e.g. destroyed villages); the central image (e.g. picture of a young soldier); whether you will need words to explain your image.
Burning children images.
Pictures of dying soldiers
Burning monks.
Defects
Graphic images.
4. List some possible slogans for your poster.
Vietnam War: Is it time to end it?
Communism vs. Lives of American Soldiers: Which is more important?
Whos opressing Indochina?
-Our tactics for solving this crisis are poor. We will never gain anything by bombing Vietnam.
- Our soldiers are dying for a lost cause.
-The american public has lost faith in the war
-It is costing to much money.
-The Vietnemese public has lost faith in America.
2. Note what you re trying to achieve with this poster. (e.g. to convince people to write to their Congressmen to get the troops out.)
People need to see that American soldiers are dying for no reason. Making the pamphlet really hit home with america is what will anger peopel enough to protest the war. Also showing pictures of the Vietnemese children suffering from the war is what will have an effect.
3. List possible images for your poster. Think about: background (e.g. destroyed villages); the central image (e.g. picture of a young soldier); whether you will need words to explain your image.
Burning children images.
Pictures of dying soldiers
Burning monks.
Defects
Graphic images.
4. List some possible slogans for your poster.
Vietnam War: Is it time to end it?
Communism vs. Lives of American Soldiers: Which is more important?
Whos opressing Indochina?
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Vietnam War Turning Points
1. Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point? Explain your answer.
The Tet offensive was a turning point because it raised alot of questions in America about whether the U.S effort was worth it. Since there were so many U.S soldiers in Vietnam and the army was well equipped, how was it possoble that the viet cong was destroying the U.S with little to nothing?
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Sources 51 and 52 do not agree because 51 shows that the my lai massacre was a mistake done by inexperianced kids while source number 52 says that the my lai was an attack on communism that was intentional.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think the My Lai incident was ignored because of the bad publicity America was getting because of the Napalm and Agent Orange incidents. Since the Vietnam war was the first war to be televised, the horrid images of running children burning were released to the American public. This was NOT pleasing to the U.S so the last thing that America needed was another loss in support from the american peopel.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to the American public?
This massacre was so shocking because nobody believed america would resort to the measures of killing innocent civilians including children.
The Tet offensive was a turning point because it raised alot of questions in America about whether the U.S effort was worth it. Since there were so many U.S soldiers in Vietnam and the army was well equipped, how was it possoble that the viet cong was destroying the U.S with little to nothing?
2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Sources 51 and 52 do not agree because 51 shows that the my lai massacre was a mistake done by inexperianced kids while source number 52 says that the my lai was an attack on communism that was intentional.
3. Why do you think it took 12 months for anyone to do anything about the massacre?
I think the My Lai incident was ignored because of the bad publicity America was getting because of the Napalm and Agent Orange incidents. Since the Vietnam war was the first war to be televised, the horrid images of running children burning were released to the American public. This was NOT pleasing to the U.S so the last thing that America needed was another loss in support from the american peopel.
4. Why was the massacre so shocking to the American public?
This massacre was so shocking because nobody believed america would resort to the measures of killing innocent civilians including children.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The U.S. struggles against the Communist in Vietnam
1. Now think about the overall picture - how the strengths and weaknesses work together.
a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
On some levels the armies were finely balanced and in others completely weighted to one side. With the tatics, the guerilla war fare was deffinatly more effective than open war. It gave Viet Cong the advantage. However the U.S had much more effective technology like operation Rolling Thunder. Soildiers for both sides were very efficient.
b) Which quality was most important in determining who won the war? Was one feature so important that being ahead in that area meant that other advantages or disadvantages did not matter?
Most likely it would be guerilla tactics. With this the Americans would have won the war. Effective tactics were essential especially because America was not in their native land and the Viet Cong were more familiar with the land surrounding. Because of the Guerilla tactics the U.S never really had a chance to use their high performance weapons because the Viet Cong attacked already from the jungle. The U.S tried to counter act this using agent orange chemicals however, this didnt really affect the viet cong and only lost support for the U.S because the Vietnam War was the first war to be shown on T.V.
Stage 3: Explaining your conclusions
The failure of the U.S. army to beat the Communist in Vietnam was the result of its own weaknesses and Viet Cong strengths.
2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:
a. The U.S. weaknesses were:
Search and Destroy tactics: Inexperianced soildiers walked into booby traps, innocent villagers destroyed, and many civilian casualties.
Bombing: only slowed down the Communists, didnt really stop them.
Fearful soildiers: They were in efficient because they lost morale and were afraid to take risks and kill.
b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were:
Guerilla war tactics: This was the most effective method and pretty much won the war for the Communists. The fact that they could attack without being attacked themselves and how they could go on after being hit was most impressive.
Motivated soildiers: The Viet Cong soldiers had a reason to fight which fueled their cause.
c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example:
The bombing raids did allow the U.S to slow down the war effort and continue attacks while the ground forces were retreating .
d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were:
The My Lai massacre was the greatest failure of the U.S. 300- 400 civilians were killed by young, inexperianced U.S soildiers who were told that Viet Cong headquarters were in this town. However no Viet Cong were discovered.
e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as:
Once again Guerilla tactics were the Viet Cong's major success. Without uniform, their swift attacks were the win for the Communists. They did not have a headquarters and blended in with peasents. Their goal of wearing down U.S troops was most effective.
f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example:
The Tet Offensive was a large defeat because, without help from South Vietnam, Viet Cong was weakened and lost many soildiers. However this was not necassarily a success for the U.S.
g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be [their war tatics] because: They were very inaffective towards crushing the communists. If anything the U.S tactics worked against the effort by turning both the vietnemese people and the American people against it through the media. The attempt to cut off supply lines to the Viet Cong was useless because Viet Cong was still getting their supplies brought to them through villages.
h. The key Viet Cong strength was [Guerilla war fare] because:
It confused the United states and made them fearful of what was around the corner. Like i have said these tactics were what mainly caused Vietnam to win.
a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
On some levels the armies were finely balanced and in others completely weighted to one side. With the tatics, the guerilla war fare was deffinatly more effective than open war. It gave Viet Cong the advantage. However the U.S had much more effective technology like operation Rolling Thunder. Soildiers for both sides were very efficient.
b) Which quality was most important in determining who won the war? Was one feature so important that being ahead in that area meant that other advantages or disadvantages did not matter?
Most likely it would be guerilla tactics. With this the Americans would have won the war. Effective tactics were essential especially because America was not in their native land and the Viet Cong were more familiar with the land surrounding. Because of the Guerilla tactics the U.S never really had a chance to use their high performance weapons because the Viet Cong attacked already from the jungle. The U.S tried to counter act this using agent orange chemicals however, this didnt really affect the viet cong and only lost support for the U.S because the Vietnam War was the first war to be shown on T.V.
Stage 3: Explaining your conclusions
The failure of the U.S. army to beat the Communist in Vietnam was the result of its own weaknesses and Viet Cong strengths.
2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:
a. The U.S. weaknesses were:
Search and Destroy tactics: Inexperianced soildiers walked into booby traps, innocent villagers destroyed, and many civilian casualties.
Bombing: only slowed down the Communists, didnt really stop them.
Fearful soildiers: They were in efficient because they lost morale and were afraid to take risks and kill.
b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were:
Guerilla war tactics: This was the most effective method and pretty much won the war for the Communists. The fact that they could attack without being attacked themselves and how they could go on after being hit was most impressive.
Motivated soildiers: The Viet Cong soldiers had a reason to fight which fueled their cause.
c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example:
The bombing raids did allow the U.S to slow down the war effort and continue attacks while the ground forces were retreating .
d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were:
The My Lai massacre was the greatest failure of the U.S. 300- 400 civilians were killed by young, inexperianced U.S soildiers who were told that Viet Cong headquarters were in this town. However no Viet Cong were discovered.
e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as:
Once again Guerilla tactics were the Viet Cong's major success. Without uniform, their swift attacks were the win for the Communists. They did not have a headquarters and blended in with peasents. Their goal of wearing down U.S troops was most effective.
f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example:
The Tet Offensive was a large defeat because, without help from South Vietnam, Viet Cong was weakened and lost many soildiers. However this was not necassarily a success for the U.S.
g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be [their war tatics] because: They were very inaffective towards crushing the communists. If anything the U.S tactics worked against the effort by turning both the vietnemese people and the American people against it through the media. The attempt to cut off supply lines to the Viet Cong was useless because Viet Cong was still getting their supplies brought to them through villages.
h. The key Viet Cong strength was [Guerilla war fare] because:
It confused the United states and made them fearful of what was around the corner. Like i have said these tactics were what mainly caused Vietnam to win.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)