USA essay plans
How accurate is it to say that Carter was a weak president from 1973 to 1980? - correct
answer-thesis:
- following the crisis of Watergate, there was a national demand for a shift away from the
so-called imperial presidency, which Carter as a former peanut farmer with no connection to
the Washington Elite appeared to fit the bill
- however as Carter began his term as president, his lack of experience began to become
more of a liability and his approval rating dropped as low as 26%
- when considering how far Carter can be considered a weak president, is is vital to consider
a multitude of different areas in both his economic and foreign policy and public perception
and how he maintained these in the long-term
- thus, although Carter initially retained the support of the public due to his lack of connection
to Washington and new style of leadership, this eventually disintegrated and this
discontentment was fuelled by his poor handling of foreign and domestic policy
- meaning that overall, when considering both the strength of Carter's policy and how
effectively he handles his public image in the long term, he can be considered as a weak
president to a large extent
weak in perception of the people:
- Carter offered the USA a new style of leadership after the scandal of Watergate
-- he broke tradition by walking back from his inauguration, having barbecues on the White
House lawn ad frequently attending town meetings
-- it was the lack of connection to the Washington Elite, which gave Carter his positive public
image
AO3: showing how, at least initially, Carter managed to conduct his image to suit what the
country desired in a president at a time of such significant time of political disillusionment -
discounting from the argument that Carter was wholly weak as he did temporarily manage to
hold the publics favour
- However, this proved to be finite as this positive public image soon was replaced by familiar
dis
How accurate is it to say that environmentalism became a key political issue from 1973 to
1980 - correct answer-thesis:
- although growing political disillusionment was particularly virulent amongst the young, one
issue that did attract voters was the issue of the environment, which had been growing at the
forefront of public consciousness
- when considering whether environmentalism can be classed as a key political issue, it is
important to note how far it can be considered as being at the forefront of the political
agenda
- whilst this issue especially attracted young people, its impact was limited by the dominance
of more pressings political issues including foreign and economic crises
- thus, whilst environmentalism grew in its importance, when considering the context of the
time, it is inaccurate to describe it as a key political issue
young demographic:
,- following the major impact of Watergate, political disillusionment swept through the country
as voter turnout in midterms reached an all-time low of 38%
- this was particularly significant amongst the young, as they were the least likely to show up
to vote
-- However, one issue that did attract younger voters was environmentalism
-- this was due to several developments as the legacy of the hippy and flower power
movements in the 1960s was still palpable
-- after the publication of the book 'silent spring' which discussed the adverse effects of
pollution, environmentalism had become more important within the public consciousness
AO3: showing that not only was environmentalism more embedded in youth culture, but it
became more involved in politics, pointing to the existence of environmentalism as a key
political issue
AO3: however, whilst the youth became increasingly involved in environmentalism, it can be
argued that the scope of this impact was highly limited as this was concentrated in one
specific aspect of the population
AO3: meaning that overall, it is inaccu
How accurate is it to say that student protests were successful in achieving their aims from
1963 to 1972? - correct answer-thesis:
- following the period of affluence in the 1950s the number of students rose considerably as
more people were able to be involved in further education. College campuses thus became
a hotspot for political and social activism
-- when considering the aims of the student movement, it is important to evaluate the two
key areas of advocating for political freedom and the action against the Vietnam War as well
as the limits on how impactful student protest could be
- though the strength of student protests in the 1960s set a precedent for Colleges being
hubs of political activism in the future, when analysing the long-term success of the
movements in achieving their aims, the divisions that blossomed towards the end of the
period and shift towards radicalism actually fuelled the conservative revival and rise of what
President Nixon called the silent majority
- thus, when considering long-term success in terms of achieving their aims, student
protesters were largely unsuccessful
push for political freedom at universities:
- the first facet of the student protest to discuss is the initial push for political freedom on
campuses
- one of the first student protests that took place was at at the university of California
-- the demonstration was began by the Free Speech Movement with the protestors aiming to
overturn their ban ono political activity on campus
-- over 200 demonstrations took place in 1968 covering a wide range of issues including
student participation in university governance
AO3: the success of these protests can be seen as even more university demonstrations
continued to follow afterwards
- one of the most important protest groups was the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
and was founded at the university of Michigan and he called for 'participatory democracy' to
win back control of universit
, How accurate is it to say that teenage culture posed a significant challenge to US cultural
conformity from 1955 to 1963 - correct answer-
How accurate is it to say that the style of leadership of US presidents changed significantly
in the years 1973 to 1980? - correct answer-thesis:
- following the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon was the first and only president forced to
resign and mass political disillusionment was felt across the country as there was national
mistrust in the White House
- Ford and Carter brought seemingly with them a new era of leadership for the US as they
attempted to distance themselves from the poor reputation of Nixon
- when analysing how far the style of leadership of the presidents changed, it is vital to
address the key areas of public reputation, policy and style of leadership and how far these
transformed from president to president
- thus, when considering all of these presidents in tandem, it is clear that whilst Nixon
remained the most unpopular of the three, in the end, Carter and Ford both failed to distance
themselves from political disillusionment and circled back to the somewhat imperial style of
leadership
- meaning that overall, the style of leaderships of the presidents in the period only
moderately changed
public reputation:
- whist Nixon had initially been a popular president, this was blown out of the water by the
Watergate scandal
- the Watergate scandal begun with the discovery of a burglar at the democratic presidential
campaign headquarter sin the Watergate building
-- journalism carried out by the Washington Post linked the burglary to widespread illegal
political activities carried out by Nixon's White House
-- the scandal caused a national crisis and destroyed Nixon's position as president
- he was forced to resign in 1974 as he faced impeachment
- Ford seemingly was the ideal candidate to restore the public reputation of the presidency
as compared to Nixon who was seen as engaging in dirty tactics, Ford had a reputation for
honesty, which helped him reestablish trust in the office
AO3: this seemingly points to the style of leade
How far can the Civil Right Movement be considered as achieving its aims in the years 1963
to 1972? - correct answer-thesis:
- the Civil Rights Movements can be split into several groups in order to analyse their
successes individually and how they achieved their differing aims
- when considering whether the different groups of the Black Power Movement and figure
head of Malcolm X; the less Radical Martin Luther King and Chicano movement, it is
important to evaluate whether they achieved their aims in the long term and what external
factors limited them
- though there were areas of success in all three movements as they succeeded in their aim
of bringing further national attention to the injustices, all three were impacted by internal
disagreements and rifts around radicalism, meaning that in the long-term, whilst there were
initial temporary successes, they failed to fully achieve their aims within the period
Black Power and Malcolm X:
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