Presidents Project

American Government

Standard(s) covered:

SSCG12: The student will analyze the various roles played by the President of the United States. These include Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, chief executive, chief agenda setter (legislator), representative of the nation, chief of state, foreign policy leader (chief diplomat), and party leader.

Value: The project is worth 100 points and will count as a major test grade. You are required to do Parts 1 and 2, this is not an either/or choice.

Part 1:

Create a PowerPoint depicting actions taken by your president that illustrate his roles as:

  • Commander-in-Chief: military decisions/actions
  • Chief executive: Appointments to the bureaucracy and judiciary; actions taken in order to execute the laws
  • Chief Agenda setter (Legislator): Legislative accomplishments; major bills passed by Congress supported/championed by the president
  • Representative of the Nation: Receiving foreign leaders/dignitaries; overseas visits
  • Chief of State: The symbol of the nation; making patriotic speeches; awarding medals to worthy individuals; attending funerals; comforting people after a tragedy
  • Foreign Policy Leader (Chief Diplomat): How he deals with foreign countries; stances taken on issues dealing with foreign countries; foreign relations; treaties
  • Party Leader: Working on the party’s legislative agenda in Congress; accepting the party’s nomination (or re-nomination) for president; speaking on behalf of a party member’s election bid

Each role is worth 10 points. Five points are earned for the first slide with the presidential photo and the brief description of the role; five points are earned for the second slide, which includes the photo of the president carrying out the role, as well as a caption explaining what is happening in the photo and all major figures in the photo identified.

Part 2:

  • Write an essay of three or more typed, double-spaced pages (format) that explains the historical significance of your president; why is he important (beyond just being a president) and how he helped shape the history and life of our country. (content)

OR:

  • Write a speech of over 90 seconds in length (format) that defends one of the president’s notable actions or decisions (content). You must deliver the speech in class. The speech is NOT the president talking, but YOU talking about the president. For example, you might prepare a speech defending Nixon’s actions during the Watergate coverup or Reagan’s reaction to aggressive actions taken by Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhaffi.

OR:

  • Create and Present a newscast of at least 2-minutes in length (format) describing an important foreign or domestic event to which the president had to respond, as well as describing his response to it (content).

Part 2 is worth 30 points. Ten points are earned for properly following the required format (length in terms of pages or time); 20 points are earned for instructions on content properly interpreted and followed and for the level of scholarship/preparation evident in the product.

A mockup of what is expected from the PowerPoint can be found on my web page on the U.S. Government page. It is entitled Presidents Project mockup. Be creative with photos, graphics, font sizes and colors, etc., but FOLLOW MR. WHITFIELD’S FORMAT INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY.

OR:

  • Present a newscast of over 2-minutes in length (format) describing an important foreign or domestic event to which the president had to respond, as well as describing his response to it (content). For example, Eisenhower sending troops to Little Rock, Ark., to make sure black students were enrolled in CentralHigh School