Final Week!

The snow covered paths, crowded library, and trash cans filled with coffee cups all add up to one thing: the end of the semester! Sure the hectic, last minute stress can be very overwhelming at this time, I think it is important that no one over look or underestimate our achievements up until this point. 

At the beginning of this semester, I admit, I had the 'ugh-I-wish-it-was-still-summer' attitude and basically just going through the motions to get back into the game. However, once we had a few classes and discussions my feelings definitely changed. I found myself in a positive atmosphere with a professor who interacted with students as equals and classmates that stimulated my mind.

Because everyone comes from such diverse backgrounds, and had different knowledge of some of the topics we covered- nearly everyone donated thoughts, questions, or comments, fueling very intriguing, mature class discussions. 

The material we covered, both in the text and the selected readings, really gave me a great understanding of American history and the role it played in the larger, world context. I enjoyed that it wasn't a history class of memorizing specific dates and battles, it was about seeing the larger picture- including the role of common Americans (which I really liked).

I'd like to thank all of you for playing a part in this class, I learned much from each of you. 

Congrats on the end of the semester!!!

Decisions, decisions

After reading the selected works for this week, it is very easy to see how both Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon were very well received by the American public.In a time of desperate need for understanding and hope it is undeniable that people would gravitate towards either one of these historic figures as an outlet for relief, for hope. 

When he was signed into office, Richard Nixon had literally inherited the Vietnam War. When he announced the withdrawal of U.S troops from Vietnam in November, 1969, Nixon eased a significant amount of tension between the angered American population and their government. However, shortly thereafter, President Nixon publically announced that he was ordering U.S. troops into Cambodia, continuing the countries involvement in the war...not many were pleased. After years of being a torn country with opposing views, opinions, and hope- Americans were finally given momentary relief only to literally have it thrown back in their faces. How could anyone have faith in a president who started a term off by practically lying? Even more unsettling is that Nixon stated, "...the more divided we are at home, the less likely the enemy is to negotiate..."

Personally, I would have never been able to get on board with someone who could repetitively lie to the public from the beginning of his term...and then only to end it with Watergate...

On the other hand, when President Ronald Reagan was sworn into office in 1980, he turned America into a society of ideas. His very heavy Catholic and Protestant views influenced a conservative image and plan of action which proved to be very popular with the public. He literally got the ball rolling immediately after his inauguration- he vowed to cut taxes, lower inflation, and set up the Economic Recovery Tax Act that reduced income tax paid by most American's by 23%. Needless to say, he basically became a miracle worker to citizens.

What struck me the most from this weeks material was Reagan's quote, "in this present crisis, the government isn't the problem, government is the problem." To me, this is the quote of a dignified, loyal, trustworthy person- one who addresses issues/problems from the eyes of the public, and who can not only identify a problem, but can own up to it, also. 

In an attempt to rebuild the government and strength of America, Reagan must have looked like the epitome of a good president, especially when he was saving such large amounts of peoples hard earned dollars; however, considering that there was such tension from the American people towards the government, in addition to the lengthy, unpopular involvement in Vietnam, and then to have President Richard Nixon spit on the American people by formulating and  lying about Watergate, i have no idea how anybody could have had faith at all. Obviously people's stnces (involvement in the war, condition of living, etc) had much influence on their decisions, but it's still hard to even attempt to place myself in the shoes of a 22 year old in 1980 (good for my hairstyle at least) trying to sort through the mixed motions of the times. 

It's truly hard to believe how torn people can become when nobody can begin to bring them together.