Chapter 12

1. What makes a great President (not which Presidents have been great) . . . what qualities are essential to greatness?  Why?

I think satisfying the public is what makes a President great. The qualities essential to greatness are accountability, willingness to take risks, willingness to listen, and assertiveness. Accountability is important because a President needs to be responsible for his actions and recognize that. Willingness to take risks is important because I think that's the best way to make changes. Willingness to listen is essential because that's how ideas and issues can be discussed. Assertiveness is important because it's necessary to make changes.

2. Other than Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, which two Presidents have been the greatest and why?

My first choice is John F. Kennedy because he was one of the most popular presidents to have ever taken office. He appealed to all classes and unified the American public. My next choice is Franklin D. Roosevelt. He brought the country through the depression and implemented the New Deal, which brought jobs to Americans. He helped them get back on their feet without giving them handouts.

3. Research a President that you're previously unfamiliar with - list at least three things you learned.  Was this President effective?  Why or why not?

A President I previously didn't know much about was Andrew Jackson. I learned that he was a little bit crazy. He liked to duel and lived with a bullet lodged in his body for the rest of his life after allowing himself to be shot at first in a duel. He also threw crazy parties in the White House. He once got so drunk at one of these parties that brought a horse inside and threatened to shoot anyone who removed it and then didn't remember it in the morning. Jackson was also the first president an assassination attempt was made upon. Both of the assailants' guns misfired though, and Jackson then proceeded to beat him up with the hickory cane he carried around. That's how he got the nickname Old Hickory.