Obama!And other presidents

The Presidency

0President: one who is elected to lead a group.

2012 Election

0This year, Obama was the Democratic nominee, and Mitt Romney was the Republican nominee. (They represented the two major parties in the government.)

0 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.

2012 Election

0Each 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.

0The population of the state determines how many electoral college votes it will get.

0California has the most with 55.0Tennessee has 11.

2012 Election

0 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.

0Tennessee always votes Republican.0California always votes Democratic.0Ohio swings back and forth. 0Obama won 8/9 of the swing states.

2012 Election

0The popular vote was very close this year, but Obama swept the electoral college vote.

0Popular vote0 Obama: 50.1%0 Romney: 48.4%

0Electoral college votes (270 is a majority and a win)0 Obama: 3220 Romney: 206

Barack Obama

0Each 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.

0This is Obama’s second term and will be his last.

Barack Obama

0Women’s rights.0Universal healthcare.0Gay rights.0Raise taxes on the top 1% to rebuild the middle class.0Slowing the spread of nuclear weapons.0Ending the war in Afghanistan/Iraq responsibly.

Barack Obama

0Passed the stimulus that revived the economy. (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act)

0Health Care Reform. (32 million uninsured Americans)

0Boosted fuel efficiency standards.0Race to the Top in education.

Notable Presidents

0George Washington

George Washington

0He was the leader of the revolutionary army.0Washington helped build the American government.0He 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.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

0Louisiana Purchase0Wrote the Declaration of Independence. 0Sent Lewis and Clark out West.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

0President during the civil war (when the country was divided North vs. South).

0Emancipation Proclamation: declared the slaves as free people.

0 “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.”

0Assassinated in a theater.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

0 “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”0He struggled with polio and pulled America out of the

Great Depression.0He led America through WW2.0Established the New Deal Program (Includes the

Social Security program and the FDA.)

The Great Depression

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

0Started the interstate system.

John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

0Eased tensions between the United States and Russia.0 Interested in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons

and slowing the arms race. 0Handled the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

0Took office after JFK was assassinated.0Protected voters’ rights. 0The Great Society program: aid to education, attack on

disease, Medicare, urban renewal, fight against poverty, prevention of crime.

Homework

0Tell us about an important character in your country’s history!