Work Period - Friday, October 3

Today we worked on the PowerPoint presentations. We will likely need to have them completed by the middle of the week. I will set the deadline on Monday.

I would also like to go over your tests on Monday and discuss the Vice Presidential debate.

Use the Monday, September 29 blog entry as a guide for what we will discuss concerning the debate.


Also, remember your research studies should be in full swing now.

Have a good weekend.

From Colonies to United States; The Bailout; The Campaign Ads; And America Asks Biden and Palin to "Show Me" Some Substance - Thursday, October 2

Part 1:

Today we reviewed the summary of the introductory section of yesterday's colonial reading.

In your presentations, focus on how the background to the colony tells part of the emerging American story; a nation born out of faith, freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

As well, the article suggests that America developed its own identity because of three factors:

• The adventurous mood of the colonists and their discontent with the ways of the past
• The frontier and the need to overcome its challenges and harness its opportunities
• The diversity of culture

To what extent do you find this in your research concerning your colony?

Part 2:

Next, we discussed the US financial crisis and the Senate's proposed solution.

The following article brings you up to speed on the latest developments.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081002/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown;_ylt=Ai7RqAnjoz6IMByQB.zH0H.s0NUE

Part 3:

See the link at the bottom of the page from Stanford's Political Communication Lab. We used this site to watch a series of campaign ads from the election. The ads include special interest groups and political action committees (PAC's) that are free to spend money and express their views. Such spending is not counted against the campaign coffers of the official candidates, and as such they can have a harder edge and be more aggressive because although they support a particular candidate, the candidate himself does not bear any direct responsibility for the ad.

Can you identify some trends or general strategies used in these ads? Be ready to discuss this on Friday.

Part 4:

If possible, watch the Vice Presidential debate tonight. It's Biden v. Palin under the lights in St. Louis, Missouri - The "Show Me" state.

How Englishmen Became Americans - Wednesday, October 1

Today you started to work on the PowerPoint presentation for your respective sections from the first chapter of the Current, Williams, and Friedel (1972) reading.

The presentation should be between 5 and 7 minutes in length. A scoring guide will follow in the next days.

Please be sure to make use of the introductory reading, "Englishmen Become Americans and Gain Their Independence," in the development of your presentation. What follows is a summary of that reading:

• The colonies were largely made up of "transplanted" Englishmen who identified with England largely except for a few specific matters
• As such, these individuals saw themselves as creating a "better" England with "greater opportunities for personal happiness"

As time went on, America developed more of its own character distinct from England. The three reasons for this "divergence between the culture of the colonies and that of the homeland," was:

• Colonists were generally more "discontented" and/or more "adventurous" people than their English counterparts back home. They saw negative aspects of their native home and were prepared to do something about it to change their own lives.
• They were frontiersmen. The new environment they chose to live in brought new "challenges and opportunities" that were not necessarily best met by the old ways of England.
• Although the English dominated, there was enough diversity in the colonies to cause the development of a new culture.

There was also diversity on another level -- Americans became and largely remain provincial people. The colonies developed their own distinctive characters and regions. There were the New England colonies, the middle colonies of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, and the Southern colonies (which themselves could be divided between the tobacco colonies and the others).

These unique circumstances created "Americans" -- a people who thought of their "country" as being their colony first, their region second, and their place as British subjects third. This mindset put the colonists directly at odds with Britain after New France fell, as the Empire attempted to govern more directly over all of British North America. Their opposition to England gave them a strong common bond that led to political allegiance and finally morphed into a full blown revolution designed to secure their liberty from the greatest political and military force the world had ever known.

While the battles, weaponry, and casualties were small when compared to warfare today, the consequences of the Revolutionary War were significant and far reaching. It was the first backlash to colonialism. It gave birth to a new nation bound together not by a sense of tribalism but instead rooted in faith, freedom, and the "pursuit of happiness". Most importantly, this great experiment in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people served as a beacon to the world.

An Introduction to the Colonial Era and Discussing The Debate - Tuesday, September 30

Today you were introduced to some readings from Current, R.N., Williams, T.H., & Freidel, F. (1972). The Essentials of American History. New York:Alfred A. Knopf Inc.





Below you will find pdf documents of the readings for your reference.

These documents will be available shortly.











Your assignment is to prepare a PowerPoint presentation to the class which summarizes your section of Chapter 1 and shares some of your additional research findings.





More on the parameters for the presentation to come soon.

The presidential debate was discussed in the second half of the class. The discussion of our four basic questions (see Monday, September 29th blog entry) is summarized below:

• Most felt that depite the fact that the topic of foreign policy favored John McCain's experience, Barack Obama performed well enough to be considered the winner of the debate.
• Most did not make their judgement regarding who won the debate based on differences in policy between the candidates. Almost exclusively, the determination was based on Obama's ability to communicate his positions more favorably and smoothly.
• McCain "scored" more points in terms of demonstrating his more extensive knowledge of the issues discussed and his experience in terms of his public service record, where he clearly has an advantage
• Obama demonstrated enough competence on matters of substance to satisfy the general viewing audience that he is up to the job of president.
• Both candidates met or exceeded most people's expectations -- a good sign for Obama, based on the fact that he is presently leading in the polls.
• See the article below on post debate polling.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/01/race-tightens-nationally-battleground-polls-obama-wide-lead/

Presidential Debate - Monday, September 29

Today, we took some time to look over the debate material online and we watched the last 35 minutes of the debate together. On Tuesday, we will take the first half of the class to begin some readings on the colonial period.

The second half of class will feature a discussion regarding the presidential debate. Please consider the following questions for discussion:

• Did either candidate perform better than the other? Why or why not?
• How much of the comparison between candidates is influenced by the substance of what they say versus the manner in which they say it?
• What were the expectations for both candidates? What personal issues did they have to answer (i.e. Experience, too partisan, etc.)
• What does the post debate polling data suggest?