Before Viewing American Presidents
Identify the current president and secretary of state.
What is the relationship between these two people? What are the secretary
of state’s credentials? Would the secretary of state make a good president?
Why or why not? In what ways do the two jobs overlap? How are they
different?
Visit C-SPAN’s
American Presidents web site and other sources to gather information
on James Monroe and John Quincy Adams.
Review with students general background about the time period during which
James Monroe was president, and John Quincy Adams was his secretary of
state. Review also the time period during which John Quincy Adams was
president.
What is each man best known for? What questions are raised by the background
information students have gathered?
What are some circumstances that contribute to inaccurate "historical stereotypes" of a president? Include the following on your list (and add others), and identify how each may affect the way a president is remembered by succeeding generations:
- Personality
- Politics
- Reputation of preceding president(s)
- Reputation of succeeding president(s)
- Popular opinion
- Social/cultural climate
- International events
- Domestic events
- The nature of his accomplishments
While Viewing American Presidents
Directions: Take notes on how each of the following contribute to James
Monroe's and John Quincy Adams’ respective historical stereotypes.
|
Trait |
James Monroe |
John Quincy Adams |
|
1. Personality
|
______________
______________ | ______________
______________ |
| 2. Politics | ______________
______________ | ______________
______________ |
| 3. Reputation of
preceding president(s) | ______________
______________ | ______________
______________ |
| 4. Reputation of succeeding
president(s) | ______________
______________ | ______________
______________ |
| 5. Popular opinion | ______________
______________ | ______________
______________ |
| 6. Social/cultural climate |
______________
______________ | ______________
______________ |
| 7. International events | ______________
______________ | ______________
______________ |
| 8. Domestic events | ______________
______________ | ______________
______________ |
| 9. The nature of his accomplishments | ______________
______________ | ______________
______________ |
After Viewing American Presidents
In what ways were Presidents Monroe and Adams’ historical stereotypes
created by the similar forces and circumstances? In what ways were they
different? How did their relationship with one another hurt or help their
public personas? Their effectiveness in their jobs?
Finish the following sentences, according to information and opinions offered by Mr. Norton Smith:
- James Monroe’s reputation was impacted the most by:
- John Quincy Adams’ reputation was impacted most by:
- An accurate history of James Monroe would emphasize:
- An accurate history of John Quincy Adams would emphasize:
Additional Activity
In what way do you think the "historical stereotypes" of the current or most
recent presidents will be impacted by the
same factors that affected Monroe and Adams. Make predictions by completing the above chart for a current or recent president.
