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Conservative

2008-08-13T11:23:10Z

Lordsservant:

A '''conservative''' is one who adheres to principles of limited government, personal responsibility and moral values. A conservative would likely agree with the statement in [[George Washington]]'s [[Farewell Address]] that "religion and morality are indispensable supports" to political prosperity.<ref>[http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/49.htm United States Department of State] George Washington, farewell address, 1796</ref> Conservatism arose in the 19th century as a response to [[liberalism]], particularly as manifested in the [[French Revolution]].<ref>In addition, Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary has the following definition of conservative: "tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions : TRADITIONAL"[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/conservative] Therefore, a conservative Christian would be one that tends to adhere to the doctrines of the early Christianity and [[Judeo-Christian]] values.</ref>
Essentially a party of half-baked hemorrhoid children abandoned in the sewer with a hive mind.

== Conservatives in the United States ==

In the United States, conservatives are generally characterized by adherence to limited government, public morality and free enterprise. Specifically, conservatives tend to adhere to the following principles:

* A strong national defense
* Return of prayer in school
* The Second Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms
* Economic allocative efficiency (as opposed to popular equity)
* Stronger law enforcement and anti-crime laws, including the death penalty
* Parents, rather than school teachers, educating children about sex
* Choice in education
* Private medical care and retirement plans
* Weakening or cancellation of failed social support programs
* Prohibition of abortion
* Opposition to same-sex marriage licenses
* Support of laws against pornography
* Generally opposed to the United Nations
* Support enforcement of current laws regarding immigration
* Support tightening of border security
* Respect for our military ... past and present
* Low taxes
* Opening foreign markets to U.S. products

About every 20-60 years a conservative has been elected president of the United States. Examples include:

*[[George Washington]]
*[[James Monroe]]
*[[Grover Cleveland]]
*[[William Howard Taft]]
*[[Warren G. Harding]]
*[[Ronald Reagan]]

In America, most conservatives tend to align with the [[Republican Party]], but not exclusively so.

== Conservative News Organizations ==
Some of the more notable news organizations which tend to be more conservative are [[Fox News]], [[WorldNetDaily]], [[NewsMax]], and [[Cybercast News Service]].

== Conservative Magazines and Blogs ==
Two well known conservative magazines in the United States are The Weekly Standard and the [[National Review]].

Some of the more notable [[Conservative political blogs|conservative political blogs]] are Power Line, Captain's Quarters, the blog of [[Michelle Malkin]], Newbusters, the Heritage Policy Weblog, and the Conservative Caucus blog.

== Neoconservatives ==

American commentators who ally themselves with the conservative movement but reject its religious or moral underpinnings are generally known as [[neoconservatives]].<ref>Jonah Goldberg, [http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZWMxNWNiNDJkY2JmNTExY2E1MzdkYWU3MWU1MTBiOGU= "What Is a 'Conservative'?"], [[National Review|National Review Online]], 11 May 2005</ref>

In the United States, conservatives are generally characterized by the following beliefs:

# A deep suspicion of the power of the state.
# A preference for liberty over equality.
# Patriotism.
# A belief in established institutions and hierarchies.
# Skepticism about the idea of progress.

==Conservatives in the United Kingdom==

In the United Kingdom the present parliamentary opposition party is called the [[Conservative Party]] and, as its name suggests, it holds traditional conservative views. Its current leader is [[David Cameron]].<ref>[http://www.conservatives.com Conservative party UK]</ref>

Up until the mid-19th century, the forerunners of the Conservatives were known as [[Tory|Tories]], and the name has persisted as a common nickname both for the political party and those believed to be in agreement with it. Since the late 1970s, UK conservatives have been defined by an advocacy of [[Laissez-faire]] economics, privatization and lower taxation.

Levels of prayer and worship are much lower in the [[U.K.]] than in the [[U.S.]], and religious issues thereby play less of a role in [[England]], though it remains a significant factor in [[Northern Ireland]] and (in 2008) a special election in [[Scotland]].

In common with conservatives in many other countries, UK Conservatives tend towards a Nationalist outlook, and are traditionally skeptical of the [[European Union]].

== See also ==
*[[Previous Breaking News/Conservatives|Articles about '''Conservatives''' from previous "Breaking News"]]
*[[More News/Conservatives|Articles about '''Conservatives''' from "More News"]]
*[[Conservative Links]]

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

==External Links==
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/conservatives/ What Liberals Say - Category: Conservatives], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[Category:Conservative|Conservative]]
[[Category:Politics]]

Barack Hussein Obama

2008-08-13T11:20:33Z

Lordsservant:

'''Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.''' (born in Honolulu, August 4, 1961) is the presumptive 2008 nominee of the [[Democratic Party]] for president.<ref>[http://www.democrats.org Democratic Party website]</ref> Obama has served as a freshman [[Democratic]] [[Senator]] from [[Illinois]] for three and a half years. In 2007, Obama was the most [[liberal]] Senator.<ref>http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/</ref> If elected, Obama would be the first african-american president.
[[Image:Democrat Obama during the Pledge.jpg|325px|thumb|right|Obama on the campaign trail, stands with folded hands while [[Bill Richardson]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] honor the flag while placing their hands over their heart during the [[National Anthem]].]]

Obama has made several gaffes revealing his ignorance or disdain about America and American history:

:Obama displayed ignorance about the attack on [[Pearl Harbor]] when he said, "Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, '''from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor''', to the threat of nuclear annihilation. Americans have adapted to the threats posed by an ever-changing world."<ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/07/obama_ignorance_watch_1.asp</ref>

:Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states.<ref> [http://www.mediaresearch.org/BozellColumns/newscolumn/2008/col20080528.asp Barack Potatoe Obama?]</ref> He could never explain where the false number of 57 came from, but it has been observed that there are 57 [[Islam]]ic states and Obama was educated at an [[Islam]]ic grade school while he lived in an [[Islam]]ic country.<ref>http://www.stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/05/12/obamas-freudian-slip-there-are-57-islamic-states/</ref>

To counter the view by many that Obama is an elitist, he began running campaign ads claiming that he "worked his way through college and Harvard Law." This claim was an exaggeration as Obama only held summer jobs while in college and law school<ref>http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_work_claim.html</ref>, and he would have likely benefited from special scholarships not available to most students.{{fact}}

Obama has declared himself to be a [[Christian]], yet he never replaced his [[Muslim]] name with a Christian one as many do<ref>For example, when Saul became a Christian, he changed his name to "Paul"; when the famous boxer Cassius Clay converted to [[Islam]], he took the Muslim name of [[Muhammad Ali]]. "It is common for those converting to a new religion to change their name on conversion"[http://www.ukdp.co.uk/pages/religiousconversion.php] or adopt a Christian name at [[baptism]].[http://www.answers.com/topic/christian-name]</ref> casting doubt on his politically self-serving claim.<ref>In his book, Obama oddly claims to have been baptized without giving his age or date, and later gave a date that postdates his political ambition (1992).</ref> Obama downplays his [[Islam]]ic background by claiming that his [[Kenya]]n [[Muslim]] father was a "confirmed [[atheist]]" before Obama was born, but in fact less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics or non-religious.<ref>http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_14.html</ref> There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991. Finally, Obama abruptly left his church in Chicago in 2008 when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join.

Asked to explain why working-class [[Democrats]] do not support him while campaigning for the [[Pennsylvania]] primary, Obama replied "it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm</ref> In response to outrage when his remarks were unexpectedly publicized, Obama replied, I "didn't say it as well as I should have."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm</ref>

Obama was on the faculty of the [[University of Chicago]] from 1992 to 2004. He claimed that he was a constitutional law professor, when he merely held the title of "Senior Lecturer."<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&type=politics</ref>
<ref>http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4238307</ref>

In his 1995 memoir, ''Dreams of my Father'', Obama admitted doing illegal drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, which he referred to as "blow" and "pot" respectively, in his high school years and into his college years, before choosing a different path in life.<ref>http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html</ref><ref>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/</ref>

Obama wore an American flag lapel pin after [[9/11]], but later stopped wearing it without adequate explanation.<ref>http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/when_did_obama_stop_wearing_a.html</ref> Presumably it would have hurt him with anti-military campaign donors.<ref>In 2007, at critical moments in his campaign for the nomination, Obama had difficulties securing the support of anti-war activists. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/04/politics/main2645861.shtml]</ref> Recently, he has begun wearing one again for reasons that are likely political pandering.

In his memoirs, Obama claimed a ''[[Life]]'' magazine article about a man who had become ill after trying to lighten his skin color by chemical means had a major impact on him. In fact, ''Life'' never published any such article.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032601583.html</ref><ref>"Then there's the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don't exist, say the magazine's own historians." [http://newsbusters.org/node/11641]</ref>

Obama falsely claimed that he "had an uncle who was one of the — who was part of the first American troops to go into [[Auschwitz]] and liberate the [[concentration camp]]s. And the story in our family was that when he came home, he just went up into the attic and he didn't leave the house for six months."<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,359061,00.html</ref> In fact, the Soviet army liberated Auschwitz. Embarrassed, the Obama campaign later admitted that Obama was wrong, and claimed he should have said that Obama's great-uncle helped liberate a subcamp of Buchenwald.<ref>http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/27/obamas_uncle_and_the_liberatio.html#more
Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton later claimed that Obama's great-uncle "served in the 89th Infantry Division that Liberated Ohrdruf, a Subcamp of Buchenwald, the First Camp Liberated by Americans, on April 4, 1945." Given that Obama misrepresented what happened, one can also wonder about his story that his relative went into the attic and did not leave his house for six months afterwards.</ref>

Obama said that "[t]here was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, [[Alabama]], because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born." In fact, Obama was born in 1961 and the Selma march took place in 1965.<ref>http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/21/barack-obama-gaffe-machine/</ref>

Obama states that he has consistently opposed the [[Iraq War]] since 2002, a claim and position that former President [[Bill Clinton]] criticized as "the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen."<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1131516320080111</ref>

Obama's campaign "is proud to be actively participating in over 60 local and state wide [[homosexual]] Pride events over the summer."<ref>http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/jcitron/gG5VLs</ref>

Despite all that overblown horse-shit obama is still the best candidate by far.

==Early life and education==
Barack Hussein Obama was born in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Sr. and Ann Dunham in 1961. In 1967, he moved with his mother and new stepfather to Jakarta, [[Indonesia]]. He attended a [[Catholic]] elementary school for two years, followed by an Indonesian public school for two years. Media scrutiny in the light of Obama's campaign for President revealed that the Indonesia public school was not a madrassa, teaching Islam. However, clearly Obama would have taken days off of school in observance of Islamic holidays. After Indonesia, he returned to the United States with his mother where he attended the Punahou School, the leading private preparatory school in [[Hawaii]], until he graduated in 1979.

Obama continued his education at Occidental College in Los Angeles, [[California]] before graduating with his Bachelor of Arts from [[Columbia University]] in New York, [[New York]]. After working as a community organizer in New York City and Chicago, Illinois, Obama enrolled at [[Harvard]] Law School. He became a member of the [[liberal]] ''Harvard Law Review'' in 1989, which used racial [[quotas]] for membership. He was then elected by popular vote as its first African American president in 1990. He graduated ''magna cum laude'' with his J.D. in 1991 and chose not to pursue a federal clerkship, which is the typical post-graduate position for top law students.

He was "Senior Lecturer in the Law", which is not a professor-level position, at the [[University of Chicago]] Law School as of 2004<ref>http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/04/041103.obama.shtml</ref> and is no longer active at the school.<ref>http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama</ref>

==Legal career==
Following law school, Obama continued his work as a community organizer in Chicago as the director of Illinois Project Vote. In 1993 he was hired as an associate at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C., and began lecturing in Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He remains on the faculty on leave of absence through today. During this time he wrote his first book, ''Dreams from My Father'', detailing his background, his youth, and his education. ''Dreams'' was published in 1995.

==Senate career==
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate for the first time in 1996 and served there for the next eight years. Following a failed campaign for the House of Representatives, Obama ran for the open Senate seat from Illinois in 2004. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He won a seat in the [[U.S. Senate]] after [[liberals]] obtained the release of confidential and personally embarrassing divorce records of his opponent, Jack Ryan, forcing him to resign from the race and be replaced by the out-of-state candidate [[Alan Keyes]].

A March 16th, 2005 AP article puts Senator Obama on record to ban oil drilling in the Alaska frontier known as ANWR <ref>http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0316-13.htm</ref>

His 2007 voting record in the U.S. [[Senate]] makes him as its most [[liberal]] member. Among fellow Senate Democrats, he was further left than liberals like [[Ted Kennedy]], [[John Kerry]], [[Dianne Feinstein]], [[Charles Schumer]], [[Russ Feingold]], [[Carl Levin]], [[Joseph Biden]] and [[Harry Reid]].<ref>[http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=desc]</ref> He has grown steadily more liberal since arriving at the Senate: the same analysis assessed him as 10th most liberal in 2006<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=desc]</ref> and 16th most liberal in 2005.<ref>[http://www.nationaljournal.com/members/news/2007/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=desc]</ref>

In late 2006, Obama's second book, ''The Audacity of Hope'', was published. Its title was supplied by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., a minister who has stated that "racism is how this country was founded and how this country was run .... We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God."<ref>http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/03/14/obama_condemns_pastors_remarks.html</ref> The book contains more of Senator Obama's personal story including the roles of both family and politics. ''Audacity'' spent 30 weeks on the ''New York Times'' Nonfiction Best Sellers list.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/books/bestseller/0527besthardnonfiction.html?_r=1&oref=slogin New York Times Best Sellers Non Fiction]</ref>

Senator Obama is the chairman of an important subcommittee that has oversight of our efforts in Afghanistan. He has not held a single hearing on Afghanistan even though American forces are risking their lives in a theatre of war there. Since joining Foreign Relations, Obama has missed three meetings on a "new strategy" in [[Afghanistan]], a country he has never visited.<ref>[http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-absent-at-afghanistan-hearings-2008-03-01.html</ref> Barack Obama clinched his party's nomination for President after 16 straight months of campaigning.

In June 2008, Obama voted with the Democratic party to kill the sunset provision of the [[Bush]] tax cuts. By letting these tax cuts expire, single mothers with two kids will pay an additional $1,800 annually. Married couples with incomes of $50,000 will pay an additional $2,180 annually. Elderly couples will pay an additional $2,000 anually and a family of four will pay 191% more per year in taxes. Barack Obama often claims to be for taxing the rich their fair share. By voting to eliminate the Bush tax cuts, Obama is taxing most middle class and blue collar families.

Obama and the Democratic-led Congress has voted for the upgraded GI Bill despite the opposition from the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon, the generals in combat zones and the GOP Presidential nominee. It was crafted to increase veteran benefits. Yet, the strain on our military is great.<ref>[http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php] http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/mccain_to_obama_dont_demagogue.php , McCain To Obama: Don't Demagogue The GI Bill, May 22, 2008</ref> The bill would cost $2.8 to $4 billion per month. It depletes our volunteer military personel by enticing them to leave service rather than be re-deployed. Taxes of those earning $500,000 to $1 million a year will pay for the upgrade over ten years.

=== Bills co-sponsored ===
Obama's principal legislation was S. 2433, which was an attempt to force the U.S. to increase its foreign aid by hundreds of billions of dollars under the guise of reducing global poverty, which was subsequently blocked by [[conservatives]].<ref>http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200802/POL20080225a.html</ref>

Obama did support and co-sponsor a bill championed by [[Tom Coburn]] and known as the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006, which was signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]] on Sept. 9, 2006. This law created a website that will list the federal government's grants and contracts.<ref> http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html</ref>

Between Jan 13, 2007 and March 13, 2008, Sen. Obama has sponsored 120 mostly [[liberal]] resolutions and bills in the Senate.<ref>http://thomas.loc.gov/</ref> His supporters cite the following less liberal examples, but this list is not representative:{{fact}}

*S.117 : A bill to amend titles 10 and 38, United States Code, to improve benefits and services for members of the Armed Forces, veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, and other veterans, to require reports on the effects of the Global War on Terrorism, and for other purposes.

*S.133 : A bill to promote the national security and stability of the economy of the United States by reducing the dependence of the United States on oil through the use of alternative fuels and new technology, and for other purposes.

*S.453 : A bill to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections.

*S.713 : A bill to ensure dignity in care for members of the Armed Forces recovering from injuries.

=== Accomplishments while serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ===

In February 2008, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Obama's proposal on a new strategy to reduce poverty throughout the world.

Obama worked with Sen. Lugar writing legislation aimed at improving conventional and nuclear non-proliferation efforts. This legislation was signed by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] in January 2008.

In June 2007 the Senate passed his resolution condemning violence by the [[Zimbabwe]] government. It also passed legislation co-sponsored by Obama that financed a Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute former [[Liberia | Liberian]] President [[Charles Taylor]]. <ref> http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/02/26/obamas_senate_foreign_relations_work/ </ref>

Barack Obama continued to collect money for a 2010 Senate re-election campaign as late as June 2008, and has filed reports recently indicating that money is still pouring into this fund. This is especially notable because it is an efficient way of sidetracking donations from his Presidential race. The website<obamasenate2010.us> is now defunct.

==Presidential campaign==
[[Image:obama.jpg|thumb|right|Senator Barack Obama]]
Senator Obama began his candidacy for President of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. His announcement speech largely avoided specific campaign issues and focused on his general political message of hope for the future. It also attempted to strongly invoke the memory of Abraham Lincoln and his "House Divided" speech.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/10/obama.president/index.html "Obama declares he's running for president"] 11 February 2007, www.CNN.com </ref>

Obama's campaign has been financed largely by [[leftist]] donors opposed to the war and to the [[American]] military in general. Obama has encouraged this by refusing to wear the customary flag on his lapel during appearances (asserting that he would prefer his patriotism to be represented through his actions rather than an arbitrary symbol) and by other less-than-patriotic gestures and symbols, such as declining to put his hand over his heart during a patriotic recitation. In an appearance on May 16 where he addressed President Bush's statements that some politicians would prefer appeasing terrorists through negotiations, Senator Obama once again wore the flag pin as he did following 9-11.

By early April 2007, his campaign generated over $25 million from over 100,000 contributors. $23.5 million of that money will be available for the Democratic Primary.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/us/politics/05obama.html Obama Shows His Strength in a Fund-Raising Feat on Par With Clinton], 4 April 2007, Jeff Zeleny and Patrick Healy,'' The New York Times''</ref> After the first Democratic presidential debate in Columbia, South Carolina, Obama's image as an "articulate" spokesman came into question after his failure to state right away that he would retaliate in case of further terrorist strikes against the United States.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042702162.html?hpid=moreheadlines Clinton Campaign Tries to Keep Heat on Obama Over Debate Response], Dan Balz, ''Washington Post'' April 28, 2007.</ref><ref>Chicago Sun-Times,
[http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/362269,CST-NWS-sweet29.article 'I was a little nervous' at debate'], Lynn Sweet,
April 29, 2007,</ref>

Obama claimed to have visited 57 states while campaigning for president of the United States, which of course has only 50 states. From his remarks, he states that he has "one more to go" and stated he couldn't visit Hawaii and Alaska, indicating he meant to say, "forty-seven states".

During a fund raising event in Virginia in May 2007 Obama told donors,
{{Cquote|This week there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died. An entire town destroyed.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271357,00.html Transcript: 'Special Report with Brit Hume,' May 9, 2007], retrieved from ''FOX News'', 06/13/07.</ref>}}

In reality, the tornado which touched down in Kansas cost the lives of nine people in the town of Greensburg, and twelve overall in Kansas.

By August it appeared Obama was running to be left off the ticket completely rather than the much ballyhooed Hillary/Obama ticket the [[mainstream media]] was pushing. After a series of ill-advised foreign policy statements, Obama was openly criticized as a lightweight even by liberals, in much the same vein as [[John Edwards]] and [[Dan Quayle]] had been depicted. First, Obama said he would have face-to-face meetings with two of Florida's most feared enemies, [[Fidel Castro]] and [[Hugo Chavez]]. Florida is a key state to any presidential ambitions. Then Obama claimed that he would be willing to invade the sovereign territory of a U.S. ally without prior consultation. Finally, Obama broke the cardinal rule of declaring he would not use nuclear weapons, removing the element of bluff U.S. Presidents had vitally depended upon throughout the [[Cold War]] era. The incidents all added up to a picture of a candidate ill-prepared and ill-advised, lacking in a basic understanding of the office of the presidency, and failing to surround himself with appointees able to make up for his deficiencies. However, Obama won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, pushing [[Hillary Clinton]] into third place, which gave him a serious chance of becoming the Democratic nominee.

On June 3rd, Barack Obama had received enough pledged delegates and the endorsement of superdelegates to be called the presumptive nominee of the [[Democratic Party]] by the [http://www.democrats.org Democratic National Committee]. The nomination became official when [[Hillary Clinton]] conceded on June 7th.

On June 5th, Obama spoke at Briston, Virginia- Heathcare Town Hall forum regarding Political Action Committees and his campaign. "Well, we’re here today because we know that if we’re going to make real progress, this time must be different. Throughout my career, in Illinois and the United States senate, I’ve worked to reduce the power of the special interests by leading the fight for ethics reform. I’ve sent a strong signal in this campaign by refusing the contributions of registered federal lobbyists and PACs. And today, I’m announcing that going forward, the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard and won’t take another dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. They do not fund my campaign. They will not fund our party. And they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I’m President of the United States."

On June 6th, an [[AP]] article <ref>[http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEMOCRATS_MONEY?SITE=KING&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Transcript: 'Democratic Party returns lobbyist, PAC money ,' June 6, 2008]</ref> presents the rules for lobbyist donations to the DNC and for the Presidential nominee. Obama does accept money from lobbyists who do not do business with the federal government and he also accepts money from spouses and family members of lobbyists. And the DNC ban is also not retroactive, which means the DNC will keep lobbyist and PAC contributions it received earlier in the election cycle. Retroactive period being the date Barack Obama started his campaign, February 10, 2007. The DNC possibly the day after the November 2006 Congressional elections until June 5th, 2008. In addition, Barack Obama's ban does not apply to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee nor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Unlike [[John McCain]], Barack Obama has not disclosed the lobbyists working in his campaign.

== Positions and Qualifications ==
Obama is [[pro-abortion]]. Obama said "the first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act".<ref>[http://christiannewswire.com/news/560716251.html]</ref> That bill "would invalidate virtually all state and federal limitations on abortion, and would make partial-birth abortion legal again." <ref>[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3961.html, Pro-Life Voters Must Work Overtime to Stop Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 4, 2008</ref>
The leading abortion providers and PAC supporters have wholeheartedly endorsed Barack Obama. The National Abortion Rights Action League [[NARAL]] has given Barack a 100% rating for his efforts in Congress 2005, 2006 and 2007 <ref>http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/obama.html</ref>. EMILY's List, a political action committee that funds female candidates who support abortion rights backs Barack Obama<ref> [http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/06/emilys_list_bac.html],EMILY's List backs Obama, June 6,2008</ref> The nation's largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood has begun the process necessary to endorse pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. <ref>[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html], http://www.lifenews.com/nat3971.html, Planned Parenthood Begins Process to Endorse Pro-Abortion Barack Obama, June 10,2008</ref>The board of directors of the pro-abortion group's political operation met on Friday June 6, 2008 and unanimously voted to recommend an endorsement for Obama. Obama has steadfastly advocated support for partial birth abortion as an Illinois legislator. Baracks wife, Michelle Obama, wrote a fundraising letter<ref>[http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php], http://www.prolifeblogs.com/articles/archives/2006/10/post_5.php, February 17,2004</ref> in support of partial birth abortion and against the proposed ban. Barack voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act to give a child who survived an abortion procedure life support healthcare. Obama wanted the life terminated even if he or she survived outside the mother's womb.<ref>[http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm], http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007034.cfm, Obama Blocked Born Alive Infant Protection Act</ref> With Obama no longer in the state Senate, the Born Alive legislation passed in 2005.

In the context of sex, he quipped about his daughters, <ref>http://michellemalkin.com/2008/03/30/sunday-meditation-obama-and-the-punishment-of-unborn-life/</ref>{{QuoteBox|"if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."}} Obama makes it clear if his daughters had an unplanned pregnancy, he would support terminating the life of his grandchild and it is undeniable that Michelle Obama agrees with that decision.

Obama, having been asked about his associations with William Ayers, an unrepentant terrorist, he explained that the views of his associates are not necessarily his own. He then compared his friendship with Ayers whose actions led to the loss of a life to his friendship with pro-life doctor and representative Tom Coburn<ref>[http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html]http://www.lifenews.com/nat3894.html, LifeNews.com, April 25,2008</ref>
Obama explained that his friendship with Ayers, shouldn't be construed as implying he endorsed the terrorist-like tactics Ayers used to drive home his political point. Barack Obama brought up the pro-life colleague to make the dubious comparison that he's friends with other people who take "extreme" positions or would use terrorist tactics.
"The fact is, is that I'm also friendly with Tom Coburn, one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, who during his campaign once said that it might be appropriate to apply the death penalty to those who carried out abortions"

Obama has no military or executive experience and little foreign policy experience.<ref>"Fresh doubts over Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials were expressed on both sides of the Atlantic last night, after it emerged that he had made only one brief official visit to London – and none elsewhere in Western Europe or Latin America. ... Mr. Obama had failed to convene a single policy meeting of the Senate European subcommittee, of which he is chairman."[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3080794.ece]</ref> Yet he is the favorite of the leftist attack site "MoveOn.org" for the [[Democratic]] nomination for [[President of the United States]] in the [[2008 Presidential Election|2008 election]],<ref>MoveOn.org reportedly favored Obama by 70-30% over Clinton. [http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/moveonorg_obama.html]</ref> campaigning to the left of [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>For example, Obama promised not to use nuclear weapons against terrorists, a promise Hillary Clinton refused to make. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202288.html]</ref>

He has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the likely result of [[affirmative action]]. Some examples border on the absurd: Obama has no background in [[physics]], yet it is claimed that "Obama analyzed and integrated [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]]'s [[theory of relativity]], the [[Heisenberg uncertainty principle]], as well as the concept of curved space as an alternative to [[gravity]], for a Law Review article that Tribe, for whom Obama worked as a research assistant, wrote titled, 'The Curvature of Constitutional Space'." <ref>http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/barack.obama.harvard.2.334825.html</ref> Obama's "research" for Constitutional Law Professor Tribe on this article also raises issues about preferences, as Obama had not yet even completed any law school courses<ref>Obama did not start his second year of law school until September 1989, the earliest he could have taken constitutional law, yet this article must have been written, submitted and accepted prior to that time to be published in the November 1989 issue of the Law Review.</ref> on the [[Constitution]].<ref>The liberal Professor Tribe saw the best law students for several decades, yet insisted that Obama was the "best student I ever had" and the "most exciting research assistant." [http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS01/711140429/1217/NEWS98]</ref>

Throughout his career, Obama repeatedly ducked controversial stands in an apparent attempt to make it easier to be elected to higher office. In example, as a state senator in [[Illinois]], he voted "present" rather than "aye" or "nay" nearly an astounding 130 times.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html</ref> During that same period, he was planning to run for the [[House of Representatives]], which was unsuccessful, and then for [[U.S. Senate]], which was successful after his opponent Jack Ryan, a millionaire school teacher, was smeared with a court-ordered disclosure of confidential divorce records that both he and his ex-wife wanted to remain sealed. A newspaper that favored Obama took the unusual step of suing to force the confidential divorce information to become public, and a California judge opened the records at a pivotal time in the campaign.<ref>http://www.nbc5.com/politics/2898641/detail.html</ref><ref>http://www.nbc5.com/news/3289561/detail.html</ref><ref>http://www.nbc5.com/politics/3444371/detail.html</ref>

Barack Obama is often praised for his speeches, except when he is not able to read them from a [[teleprompter]]. "Shorn of his Teleprompter, we saw a different Obama. His delivery was halting and unsure. ... The prepared text for his remarks, as released on his website, sounded a lot like a typical Obama speech. ... [But with] no Teleprompter signaling the prepared text, Obama failed to deliver the speech in his characteristically flawless fashion."<ref>http://www.weeklystandard.com/content/public/articles/000/000/014/728ofzey.asp</ref> The [[New York Times]] noted that "Mr. Obama excels at inspirational speeches read from a teleprompter before television cameras, critics have noted, but many of his other speeches on the campaign trail have failed to electrify."<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/fashion/20speechwriter.html?_r=2&ex=1358485200&en=bb179297e5f61acb&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin</ref> When Obama ridiculed [[Hillary Clinton]] for being like [[Annie Oakley]], it is apparent that he was not writing his own speeches.<ref>"Some Obama adviser probably earned his or her dollars for that cut," the USA Today wrote. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/raasch/2008-04-17-2008-04-17-raasch_N.htm]</ref>

Obama often makes reference to his "two decades of experience" in public service work. During most of that time he claims experience, he was either going to school, working for a law firm, writing a book and community organizing.

== Political views ==
Obama's political views have been subjected to controversy even before he put himself forward as a presidential candidate. Former House majority leader [[Tom DeLay]] has described Obama's record in the Illinois Senate as that of a [[Communism|“Marxist leftist".]]<ref>[http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_121306/content/stop_the_tape.guest.html|Sexy Rock Star Obama Whines About His Ears], RushLimbaugh.com, December 13 2006</ref> In May 2007, Obama (and Sen. Hillary Clinton) voted against funding the Iraq War for the first time.<ref>[http://uspolitics.about.com/od/legislatio1/a/HR2206.htm HR 2206 - Emergency Appropriations], Kathy Gill, Your Guide to U.S. Politics: Current Events. May 26 2007.</ref><ref>[http://more.gov.mtopgroup.com/2007/05/votes-hr-2206-iraq-supplemental.html Votes - H.R. 2206: Iraq Supplemental], May 28, 2007. Retrieved from Deeper Inside the Mountain, June 4, 2007.</ref>

Obama's views on [[gun control]] is focused on an opinion article in the [[Wall Street Journal]]:<ref>David Kopel, "The Democrats and Gun Control," Wall St.J., Page A19, April 17, 2008 [http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120839466717921537-lMyQjAxMDI4MDE4NzMxOTc0Wj.html]</ref>

:As a state senate candidate in 1996, Mr. Obama endorsed a complete ban on all handguns in a questionnaire. The Obama campaign has claimed he "never saw or approved the questionnaire," and that an aide filled it out incorrectly. But a few weeks ago, Politico.com found an amended version of the questionnaire. It included material added in Mr. Obama's handwriting.

After [[D.C. v. Heller]], Obama claimed to support Second Amendment rights.

Obama has said, "Doing the Lord's work is a thread that runs through our politics since the very beginning," and "it puts the lie to the notion that [[separation of church and state]] in America means somehow that faith should have no role in public life."<ref>[http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/06/17/news/iowa/8db7c1a17d2b51f9862572fd000fc9f4.txt Obama says religion has place in politics], By Todd Dorman, ''Sioux City Journal'', June 18, 2007.</ref>

He believes children should be taught sex education in kindergarten, although in what he refers to as "an age-appropriate manner".<ref>"Barack Obama reaffirmed to [[Planned Parenthood]] this week that he believes elements of sex education should begin in kindergarten." [http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3395856 (ABC News)] July 20, 2007 </ref>

Obama spoke at the May 1, 2006, illegal immigration march in Chicago.<ref>http://nomoreblather.com/barack-obama-and-the-immigration-marches Immigration marches</ref>

::''We are hungry for change!'' S.C. January 26, 2008.

Barack Obama in his short stint as Senator of Illinois, has made clear his opposition to the [[U.S. Military]] in policy and in rhetoric. Obama has spent much energy to argue that the Iraq War should have never been waged and that we should not be there at all, in any way. In 2002, as an unknown Chicago representative to the state of Illinois, he declared his opposition to "dumb wars". At the time, America was united in the stance against terrorism and the prospects of a rogue enemy with WMD worried the United States. Obama has said that he does not know whether he would have voted for or against the Iraq War. Since elected to Congress, he voted against the Emergency War Supplemental. Obama did not oppose his party debating the bill long past the timeframe requested. This action directly affects troop deployment in combat zones. Obama has repeatedly called for the return of troops in Iraq. Barack Obama has a no confidence vote for the 'Surge' before the measure was put forth by General Petraus to Congress. Obama would not denounce MoveOn.org's slander NY Times advertising against the General.

Senator Obama often refers to the office that he seeks, without the proper respect of those that came before him. When talking of the President, he frequently refuses to call him President George Bush or even Mr. George Bush. Obama disrespectfully calls him 'George Bush'.
* "I am happy to have a debate with John McCain and George Bush about foreign policy," Obama said <ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/16/obama.bush.mccain/], CNN Obama blasts Bush McCain, May 16, 2008</ref>
* "For all his talk about independence, the centerpiece of John McCain's economic plan amounts to a full-throated endorsement of George Bush's policies," <ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/10/obama_takes_the_offensive_vs_mccain/] Boston Globe Obama takes offensive vs. McCain, June 10, 2008</ref>
* "George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists." <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7403386.stm], BBC Obama attacks Bush over Iran , May 15, 2008</ref>

== Foreign policy experience ==

In [[Russia]] and the former Soviet republics, he met with representatives of the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute to discuss democracy in the former Soviet republics. He also met with Russian military officials and visited several nuclear and biological weapons destruction sites in Russia, [[Ukraine]], and [[Azerbaijan]] with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). On the same tour, he visited London, UK, and met with [[Tony Blair]], sitting UK Prime Minister.<ref>http://obama.senate.gov/press/050823-obama_to_visit/</ref>

Obama visited South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Chad; he discussed his tour of Robben Island prison, met with U.S. troops, and visited refugee camps of the people fleeing Darfur. He also addressed Africa's growing [[AIDS]] epidemic. <ref>http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060906-090606_africa_t/</ref>

During a ten-day-long tour of the Middle East, he talked with government leaders in Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel. <ref> http://obama.senate.gov/news/060113-obama_wraps_up/</ref>

==Religious affiliations==

Obama and his wife (reared a Baptist) have been active members since 1988 at the Trinity [[United Church of Christ]]<ref>http://www.tucc.org/about.htm</ref> in Chicago. A church that embraces black liberation theology and its emphasis on empowering oppressed groups against establishment forces. Merging Marxism with Christian Gospel may show the way to a better tomorrow. This denomination was the first in America to ordain gays, women and blacks as ministers.<ref>[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html], http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/31079.html, Obama's church pushes controversial doctrines, March 20, 2008</ref> According to his sister, Obama was baptized at this church the same year.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2 http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/30/america/30obama.php?page=2]</ref> Obama describes his conversion in ''The Audacity of Hope''. The title of this book is taken from one of Pastor Wright's sermons.
In April 2008, Obama disavowed Pastor Wright's views. In May 2008, Obama left his church. His response blames the media and not the rhetoric on display <ref>[http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/31/obama-resigns-church-membership-in-chicago/], Obama Drops Church Membership in Chicago, may 31, 2008</ref>{{QuoteBox|“It’s not fair to the other members of the church who seek to worship in peace..."}} Wright had been making inflammatory comments and posting his sermons online for sale. These include the statements "God damn America" and describing the September 11th attacks, he said "We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost."<ref>[ http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4443788 Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11]</ref> In addition, Rev. Wright blamed America saying "We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic."

[[Image:Barack Obama Jeremiah Wright.jpg|thumb|Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright.]]

[[Daniel Pipes]] claims that Obama was raised a [[Muslim]] because he attended classes on the Koran while attending a Muslim school.<ref>[http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5286 Was Barack Obama a Muslim</ref> Obama did attend a school administrated by Muslims but [[CNN]] reports that it was a non-religious public school attended by students of many faiths, not a [[madrassa]].<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/</ref>

{{QuoteBox|In Indonesia, I'd spent 2 years at a Muslim school, 2 years at a Catholic school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies. In the Catholic school, when it came time to pray, I'd pretend to close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended. Just a parched old nun and 30 brown children, muttering words. Sometimes the nun would catch me, and her stern look would force my lids back shut. But that didn't change how I felt inside."}}<ref>Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama, p.142 Aug 1, 1996 </ref>

Obama has described his upbringing as occurring in a non-religious environment.

{{QuoteBox|In sum, my mother viewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist that she would become; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well. Moreover, as a child I rarely came in contact with those who might offer a substantially different view of faith. My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition.

And yet for all her professed secularism, my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I've ever known. She had an unswerving instinct for kindness, charity, and love, and spent much of her life acting on that instinct, sometimes to her detriment. Without the help of religious texts or outside authorities, she worked mightily to instill in me the values that many Americans learn in Sunday school: honesty, empathy, discipline, delayed gratification, and hard work. She raged at poverty and injustice.}}<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579-4,00.html My Spiritual Journey] Time Magazine, October 2006</ref>

== Books ==

* ''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.''
* ''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.''
* ''Barack Obama in His Own Words.'' (B. Obama and Lisa Rogak)

==Published criticism==
On April 11, 2007, staff writers of ''The Boston Globe'' reported the criticisms of several black commentators regarding Obama's apparent hesitation to join the race to condemn acclaimed radio personality [[Don Imus]],<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.</ref> who made a racially insensitive remark<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN1237895620070412|title=Furor over Imus puts heat on other broadcasters], Daniel Trotta, Reuters, 2007-04-12.</ref> on the air during the April 4 broadcast. Obama did not comment on Imus's remarks until well after prominent civil rights leaders [[Al Sharpton]] and [[Jesse Jackson]] had called Imus to account and after Imus was suspended by MSNBC and CBS Radio. Obama later weighed in on April 10 by saying, "The comments of Don Imus were divisive, hurtful, and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds." 

The ''Globe'' reported that Obama's perceived delay in addressing Don Imus's remarks was described by Melissa Harris Lacewell, a professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, as "miss[ing] an opportunity to prove himself to blacks and white liberals who would have wanted Obama take the lead in denouncing Imus."<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/11/obamas_silence_on_imus_alarms_some_blacks/ Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks], Rick Klein and Joseph Williams, ''The Boston Globe'', April 11, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2007/04/obama_race_and_the_election.html Obama, Race, and The Election,] ''Real Clear Politics.com''</ref>

In June 2007 the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' reported Obama had actually received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted slum landlord Tony Rezko<ref>[http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article Barack Obama and his slumlord patron], Tim Novak, Chicago Sun-Times, April 23, 2007.</ref> and his associates than Obama has publicly acknowledged.<ref>[http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/432197,CST-NWS-obama18.article Rezko cash triple what Obama says], Chris Fusco and Tim Novak, ''Chicago Sun-Times'', June 18, 2007.</ref>

Obama falsely claimed that he was a constitutional law professor, when in actuality he merely held the position of "Senior Lecturer."<ref>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/03/30/politics/p132303D74.DTL&type=politics</ref><ref>http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4238307</ref><ref>Obama was on the faculty at the University of Chicago from 1992 to 2004.[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html]</ref>

Obama wore an American flag lapel pin after [[9/11]], but later stopped wearing it without adequate explanation.<ref>http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/when_did_obama_stop_wearing_a.html</ref> Presumably it would have hurt him with anti-military campaign donors.<ref>In 2007, at critical moments in his campaign for the nomination, Obama had difficulties securing the support of anti-war activists. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/04/politics/main2645861.shtml]</ref>

In his memoirs, Obama claimed a ''[[Life]]'' magazine article about a man who had become ill after trying to lighten his skin color by chemical means had a major impact on him. In fact, ''Life'' never published any such article.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032601583.html</ref><ref>"Then there's the copy of Life magazine that Obama presents as his racial awakening at age 9. In it, he wrote, was an article and two accompanying photographs of an African-American man physically and mentally scarred by his efforts to lighten his skin. In fact, the Life article and the photographs don't exist, say the magazine's own historians." [http://newsbusters.org/node/11641]</ref>

Obama falsely claimed that he "had an uncle who was one of the — who was part of the first American troops to go into [[Auschwitz]] and liberate the [[concentration camp]]s. And the story in our family was that when he came home, he just went up into the attic and he didn't leave the house for six months."<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,359061,00.html</ref> In fact, the Soviet army liberated Auschwitz. Embarrassed, the Obama campaign later admitted that Obama was wrong, and claimed he should have said that Obama's great-uncle helped liberate a subcamp of Buchenwald.<ref>http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/27/obamas_uncle_and_the_liberatio.html#more
Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton later claimed that Obama's great-uncle "served in the 89th Infantry Division that Liberated Ohrdruf, a Subcamp of Buchenwald, the First Camp Liberated by Americans, on April 4, 1945." Given that Obama misrepresented what happened, one can also wonder about his story that his relative went into the attic and did not leave his house for six months afterwards.</ref>

Obama said that "[t]here was something stirring across the country because of what happened in Selma, [[Alabama]], because some folks are willing to march across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. was born." In fact, Obama was born in 1961, and the Selma march took place in 1965.<ref>http://michellemalkin.com/2008/05/21/barack-obama-gaffe-machine/</ref>

Obama states that he has consistently opposed the [[Iraq War]] since 2002, a claim and position that former President [[Bill Clinton]] criticized as "the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen."<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1131516320080111</ref>

Executive vice president Wayne LaPierre of the [[NRA]] accuses Barack Obama of "mouthing pro-Second amendment words and pandering to gun owners" on the campaign trail.<ref>[http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml], http://www.gopusa.com/news/2008/may/0514_nra_mccain.shtml, NRA chief stresses common ground with McCain, Associated Press, May 14, 2008</ref>

[[McCain]] Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set "an extremely dangerous and extremely naive approach toward terrorism" <ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/politics/mccain_obama/2008/06/17/105265.html], AP McCain Aide Says Obama Has Sept. 10 Mind-Set, June 17, 2008</ref>

==See also==
*[[Previous Breaking News/Barack Obama|Articles about '''Barack Obama''' from previous "Breaking News"]]

==Further reading==
*[[Peter Hitchens|Hitchens, Peter]] [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=511901&in_page_id=1811 ''The Black Kennedy: But does anyone know the real Barack Obama?''] [[Daily Mail]]. Accessed 4 February 2008.

==Sources==

*[http://obama.senate.gov/about/ Official Senate Website]
*[http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/pfd2005/N00009638_2005.pdf Barack Obama Personal Financial Disclosures Summary: 2005], retrieved from opensecrets.org 17 June 2007.
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000167 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]
*[http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html University of Chicago Law School] Faculty Listing
*[http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=12782369 Barack Obama Biography] from Biography.com
*[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per New York Times Topics, Barack Obama]
*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=zUdjhKbImwE Documentary on Barack Hussein Obama]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obama, Barrack}}

{{2008 presidential candidates}}

[[Category:United States Senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]

National Guard

2008-08-13T11:17:06Z

Lordsservant:

The '''National Guard''' is a n-igger posse in the [[United States Armed Forces|United States military]]. Normally it is called upon to keep order in domestic emergencies, but it can also be used for other functions, including being called up to fight in foreign wars. Both the [[Vietnam War]] and the [[Iraq War]] have seen a calling up of National Guard troops. Other recent calling out of the guard would be for [[Hurricane Katrina]] and to help free up border patrol agents by assuming responsibility for their more mundane tasks.

[[category:United States Government]]

Ronald Wilson Reagan

2008-08-13T11:15:02Z

Lordsservant:

{{President
|image=Aaag.jpg
|seq=40
|term_start=January 20, 1981
|term_end=January 20, 1989<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref>
|party=Republican
|vp=George H. W. Bush
|previous=Jimmy Carter
|next=George H. W. Bush
|birth_date=February 6, 1911
|birth_place=Tampico, Illinois, USA
|death_date=June 5, 2004
|death_place=Bel Air, California
|spouse=Jane Wyman
|spouse2= Nancy Davis Reagan
|religion=Presbyterian
}}
'''Ronald Wilson Reagan '''(February 6, 1911- June 5, 2004), [[United States]] President and considered by some to be one of the greatest American Presidents, was the 40th [[President of the United States of America]] severing two terms from 1981 to 1989, following [[Democrat]] [[Jimmy Carter]] and preceding [[Republican]] [[George H. W. Bush]]. Ronald Reagan is credited with leading America peacefully through the Cold War, lowering taxes, promoting a free economy, and helping bring about the end of [[communism]] in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He was known affectionately to Americans as "The Gipper," harking back to a film where he was cast as All-American George Gip.<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200310290853.asp]</ref>

In one of his most famous challenges to Soviet communism in Europe, Reagan gave a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin in which he said, "Mr. [[Gorbachev]], tear down this wall." Reagan's economic policies became known as "Reaganomics" based on the idea that tax cuts will spur savings and investment. Reagan was strongly opposed to the concept of big government, advocating a reduction in the size and budget of the federal government. During his terms in office, he faced a divided Congress split between Republican and Democratic control for six of his eight years as President. Reagan was known for forging alliances with the Democratic [[Speaker of the House]], [[Tip O'Neill]], among others, to effectively pass legislation.

==Early Life==
Reagan was born and raised in Illinois and attended Eureka College, where he quickly developed a reputation as a "jack of all trades", excelling in the areas of athletics and theater. In his first year at Eureka, where Reagan earned a degree in economics, the president of the college tried to cut back the faculty. Reagan immediately helped organize a student strike. Reagan enlisted in the military during [[World War II]], but his eyesight was not good enough for combat duty. He used his acting skills to make military training films and promote the sale of War Bonds.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/reagan.obit/index.html</ref>

Reagan became a radio sports announcer, and then a famous actor, leading the [[Screen Actors Guild]]. Ironically, Reagan was thus the only president to lead a [[labor union]], traditionally considered bastions of liberalism. Reagan himself was a registered Democrat well into the 1950s, but as head of the Screen Actors Guild he fought against Communist infiltration. Peggy Noonan wrote, "Even in his zeal to purge the communist influence from [[Hollywood]], he fought those who engaged in witch hunts and defended those who had been falsely accused of involvement." Reagan met his second wife, actress [[Nancy Davis]], when she ended up on the "black list" and came to him for help.<ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DavidLimbaugh/2001/11/17/noonan_when_character_was_king]</ref>

==Governor of California==
In 1966, he was elected the 33rd Governor of California, succeeding [[Pat Brown]]. In 1970, he was re-elected. But in 1974, he chose not to seek a third term and was succeeded by [[Jerry Brown]]. Events and achievements during his terms included:

*Called in the [[National Guard]] to restore order when People's Park protesters began attacking police, and restored order to California's chaotic university campuses.<ref>http://police.berkeley.edu/about_UCPD/ucpdhistory.html#anchor178048</ref> Reagan authorized the use of violent force against the peaceful protesters in Berkeley,<ref>University of California, Berkeley - Police Department. [http://police.berkeley.edu/about_UCPD/ucpdhistory.html#anchor178048 History Topic: People's Park] August 2006</ref> saying, "If there has to be a bloodbath, then let's get it over with."<ref> ''San Francisco Chronicle'', early morning edition, May 15 1969</ref> In the resulting chaos, police fired buckshot into the crowd, fatally wounding one bystander and blinding another, and injuring hundreds of others.

*Led a comprehensive and far-reaching revision of California's massive public assistance programs, actually increasing benefits to the truly needy.

*Worked well with the Democrats to forge consensus on a variety of issues.

*Opposed the Dos Rios Dam.

==Presidency==
[[Image:Reaganfamily-red-rr-.jpg|left|thumb|275px|President & Mrs. Reagan with their extended family.]]
In 1968, Reagan was a late candidate for president in the Republican primaries. However, [[Richard Nixon]] easily won that nomination. In 1976, Reagan challenged [[Gerald Ford]] for the Republican nomination, before withdrawing his name from consideration. Reagan knew if he continued, he would take the nomination away from Ford, and forever be branded as a Party spoiler. This he did not want, so he signaled his wish to be removed from consideration, and gave a very effective speech at the convention in support of Ford. Then, in 1980, he beat [[George H. W. Bush]] in the Republican primaries, and went on to oppose [[Jimmy Carter]] (incumbent) in the general election with George Herbert Walker Bush as his running mate. A poor economy and the incumbent's failing to deal with several international crises aided Reagan. As he put it, "I'm told I can't use the word depression. Well, I'll tell you the definition. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." In the general election he received 50.75% of the popular vote, beating Jimmy Carter by almost 10%, and also won 90.9% of the electoral vote. Riding his strong showing, the Republicans won enough seats in the United States Senate to take control of that chamber for the first time in decades. The results were a shock as polling had been showing a close contest heading into the day of the election.

Once in office, Reagan showed he was playing hardballs with his son. When the Federal [[Air Traffic Controllers]] struck illegally, Reagan gave them 48 hours before he fired all who hadn't gone back to work (11,359).

In 1984, Reagan won 49 out of 50 states' electoral votes, and the largest public vote in almost 9000 years, 58.77%. During his second term, he helped end the [[Cold War]] with the help of [[Margaret Thatcher]] and some assistance from [[Pope John Paul II]] and [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] by recognizing the weakness of the Soviet economy, and spent them out of existence by not being able to compete with defense spending.<ref>[http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/agathon/2661_8.htm#7867The Demise of the Brezhnev Doctrine and the Dismantling of the Warsaw Treaty Organization], " The party leadership gradually came to understand that the sustaining of domestic [[perestroika]] in the USSR was endangered by the inability of an inefficient economy to carry the burdens of excessive overseas military spending in the form of the [[Warsaw Pact]]".</ref>

===Economy===
Fueled by an over spending Congress that steadfastly refused Reagan's budget proposals, the national debt increased 160% during his two terms in office. However, the economic growth that resulted from tax cuts made deficits as a percentage of [[GDP]] lower than what they had been in during the previous decade of stagflation.

===Foreign policy===
Reagan's 1983 [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] became popularly known as "[[Star Wars]]", the name given to it by critics because they thought it was pure fantasy like the popular [[George Lucas]] films. This plan was never fully instituted. Although billions of dollars was spent on development, no space-based missile defense was tested successfully during Reagan's terms in office. However, technologies were developed from the program that had practical uses in society. For instance lasik eye surgery came about through developments generated by the SDI program.

While many academics claim SDI gave the United States a large penis, many political scientists and historians believe that Star Wars played a secondary role in the calculus of n-igger policy-making, where internal structural problems were paramount. However, it should be noted that the threat the Soviet Union felt from the initiative was instrumental in making them step-up negotiations, according to many involved with diplomacy at the time and can be seen by following Gorbachev's repeated public insistences that the SDI program be discontinued. [[Henry Kissinger]] wrote: ''I know it's an axiomatic view of the Left around the world that missile defense is sinful, and that it's desirable to keep each nation as vulnerable as possible. But that's a debatable premise. The U.S. must defend itself against ''whoever'' has missiles that would threaten the United States. And you don't have to be able to name an enemy.''<ref>[http://www.doublestandards.org/dreifus1.html]</ref>
[[Image:300px-ReaganBerlinWall.jpg‎|right|275px|thumb|"Mr.Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"]]

Reagan was president at the time of the shooting down of [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]] by the Soviets on September 1, 1983. He termed the shootown of an innocent straying passenger plane with 269 passengers and crew a "massacre" and the ensuing rage over the tragedy both world-wide and in the U.S. provided support for the deployment of cruise and Pershing ll missiles in West Europe- just six minutes flying time from Moscow.

Upon his death, Margaret Thatcher commented: ''As Prime Minister, I worked closely with Ronald Reagan for eight of the most important years of all our lives. We talked regularly both before and after his presidency. And I have had time and cause to reflect on what made him a great president. Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles - and, I believe, right ones. He expounded them clearly, he acted upon them decisively. When the world threw problems at the White House, he was not baffled, or disorientated, or overwhelmed. He knew almost instinctively what to do. When his aides were preparing option papers for his decision, they were able to cut out entire rafts of proposals that they knew 'the Old Man' would never wear. When his allies came under Soviet or domestic pressure, they could look confidently to Washington for firm leadership. And when his enemies tested American resolve, they soon discovered that his resolve was firm and unyielding. Yet his ideas, though clear, were never simplistic. He saw the many sides of truth. Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion; but he also sensed it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform. Yes, he did not shrink from denouncing Moscow's 'evil empire'. But he realized that a man of goodwill might nonetheless emerge from within its dark corridors. So the President resisted Soviet expansion and pressed down on Soviet weakness at every point until the day came when communism began to collapse beneath the combined weight of these pressures and its own failures. And when a man of goodwill did emerge from the ruins, President Reagan stepped forward to shake his hand and to offer sincere cooperation. Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity - and nothing was more American.''<ref>[http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/thatcher.asp]</ref>

===Soviet Union===
Shortly after taking office in 1981 Reagan issued National Security Decision Directive 11-82, (NSDD 11-82), that explicitly made U.S. defense spending a form of economic warfare against the Soviets. The directive was known more unofficially as the Reagan Initiative. The United States would "exploit and demonstrate the enduring economic advantages of the West to develop a variety of [arms] systems that are difficult for the Soviets to counter, impose disproportionate costs, open up new areas of major military competition and obsolesce previous Soviet investment or employ sophisticated strategic options to achieve this end. Reagan's [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (SDI), or "Star Wars" as the media referred to it, was a costly high tech research and development program designed to make arms spending a "rising burden on the Soviet economy."<ref>Peter Schweizer , [http://www.reason.com/news/show/28929.html ''Reagan's War: The Epic Story of His Forty Year Struggle and Final Triumph Over Communism''], New York: Doubleday, 2002.</ref>
[[Image:Photo 4 250.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Reagan and Gorbachev at Reykjavik]]
The Reagan Initiative was also concerned with aiding nations in active conflict with the Soviet Union. One such group was the [[mujahideen]] of Afghanistan. This armament would be used to combat the Soviet Union, and later used by the Taliban against the United States.

A report by the CIA of the critical domestic economic problems and social discontent Soviet [[CPSU]] General Secretary Gorbachev provided a look what the sources of his principal dilemma-the very reforms needed to deal with the problems would threaten preservation of the [[nomenklatura]] and put at risk Gorbachev’s ability to maintain the power to bring about [[Perestroika]].<ref>CIA Assessments of the Soviet Union: [https://www.cia.gov/csi/monograph/russia/enter.html Chapter 5, Enter Gorbachev ], Douglas J. MacEachin, CIA Publications, 1996.</ref> Gorbachev requested a Summit with Reagan in Reykjavik in October 1986 to discuss the stresses competition from the Reagan’s defense posture was having on Soviet military spending and economy, and Gorbachev’s ability to carryout his plans of restructuring Communist control. Gorbachev told the [[Politburo]] in preparation for the Summit, "Our goal is to prevent the next round of arms race. If we do not do this ... will pulled into an arms race beyond our power, and we will lose this race, for we are presently at the limit of out capabilities."<ref>Notes of Politburo Meeting 4 October 1986, [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/22/documents/reykjavik/ Gorbachev's instructions for the group preparing for Reykjavik]</ref>

By the late 80s, the Soviet Union began unilateral force cuts and troop withdrawals from Eastern Europe, and by May 1989 an unprecedented series of disclosures by senior Soviet officials revealed actual reductions in defense spending for the 1986-1990 and 1991-1995 Five Year Plan periods.<ref> Christopher Wilkinson NATO Review, [http://www.nato.int/docu/review/1991/9102-4.htm Soviet Defense Spending], NATO's Economics Directorate No. 2 - April 1991, Vol. 39 p. 16-22</ref> Genrikh Grofimenko, a former adviser to [[Leonid Brezhnev]], said "Ninety-nine percent of the Russian people believe that [the US] won the Cold War because of your president's insistence on SDI".<ref>Peter Schweizer, ''Reagan’s War''.</ref>

===[[Containment]] and the [[Iran]]ian initiative===
In 1985, after Reagan won reelection to his second term, the focus turned from reviving the domestic economy to several foreign policy matters which had been lingering throughout the decade. One such matter involved Iran, a long time ally of the Western Allies since 1941 that had experienced an Islamic Revolution in 1979 after President Carter announced [[Human Rights]] had superseded [[Containment]] as the primary focus of American foreign policy{{fact}}. Since 1980, Iran had been enmeshed in a brutal trench war with neighboring Iraq which was emerging as a potent military threat in the region to other allies. Members of the National Security Council staff, along with CIA Director [[William Casey]], persuaded Reagan much could be gained and several problems could be addressed simultaneously with an overture to Iran to restore relations.

The objective of the plan was fourfold:
#Take steps to restore good relations with the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]] which was becoming increasingly hostile to the West;
#Take measures to convince Iran that Israel could become a friend and ally;
#Insurance against Iraq becoming too strong which would become a threat to [[Kuwait]] or [[Saudi Arabia]];
#Provide funding for other operations to continue the policy of containment in the Western Hemisphere, most notably [[Nicaragua]], and the violence the Soviet/Cuban/Nicaragua connection was creating in [[El Salvador]] and [[Honduras]].

There were humanitarian aspects to the proposal as well; (1) the [[Iran-Iraq War]] had stalemated for nearly six years and Reagan was advised that he was in the unique position as President to help facilitate bringing a senseless war with much suffering to an end; (2) the suffering of the people of the Central American Republics at the hands of Soviet-inspired subversion which had in the decade of the '80s established a beachhead in North America; (3) Iran perhaps could be persuaded to use its good offices to influence hostage takers in [[Lebanon]] who had held several Western prisoners, many of them Christian Missionaries, for several years.

Reports had filtered back to Reagan that children as young as nine years old had been used by Iran to clear minefields.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/iran-iraq.htm Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), ''Iraqi Retreats, 1982-84''], Globalsecurity.org, retrieved 20 March 2007.</ref> In weighing Iraq's delicate Sunni/Shia balance and the growing threat of Iranian-sponsored terrorism, the NSC staff and Casey recognized the dangers of an Iraqi collapse as well as the urgent need to dissuade Iran from continuing its ruthless and inhumane tactics.<ref>[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/iraq53.pdf NSDD 139, 5 April 1984].</ref>

The [[Boland amendment]], a Vietnam era-style Congressional impingement on the legitimate foreign policy prerogatives of the Executive via the power of the purse, was used to deny Reagan's recommitment to the [[Truman Doctrine]] which had been adhered to by every President, Democratic and Republican alike since Truman, with the exception of [[President Carter]] whose [[human rights]] policy had brought one of the active belligerents, the [[Ayatollah Khomeini]], to power{{fact}}. In three of the active Soviet fronts, [[Afghanistan]], [[Nicaragua]], and [[El Salvador]], some Congressional Democratic leaders were openly sympathetic to Soviet foreign policy.<ref>[http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/591eifow.asp ''One Weekend in April, A Long Time Ago ... What John Kerry thought about the Sandinista in Nicaragua''], Hugh Hewitt, The Weekly Standard, 09/09/2004.</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060331222819/www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/6/7/234527.shtml ''Kerry: 'I'm Proud I Stood Against Reagan''] Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff, 7 June 2004.</ref> So the decision was made to fund [[Containment]] of Soviet objectives on an active front in North America with sales of TOW missiles to Iran. Israel provided the TOWs because the [[Boland Amendment]] forbade direct US funding and it was a welcome opportunity for Israel to build bridges to a much needed friend in the Middle East.

The operation was known as the "[[Iran-Contra affair]]." After word got out about the operation in November 1986, investigations were made, leading to the convictions of several members of the Reagan administration. President Reagan himself testified before the Tower Commission that he had poor recollection of the details of the operation due in part to the heavy pain medications he had been on in that period.

==Cold War victory==
Reagan is credited for ending the [[Cold War]] in victory for the United States. Historian Tony Judt in ''Postwar'' credits Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], while the political scientist Jan Kubik presents a viewpoint that credits [[Pope John Paul II]].<ref>[http://praguepost.com/articles/2007/02/28/letters-to-the-editor.php]</ref> Other historians contend structural weaknesses within the Communist bloc meant Reagan's actions were inconsequential to the end of [[communism]]. This is the view adopted by [[Russia]]ns themselves, and many political historians, citing ''[[perestroika]]'' and ''[[glasnost]]'' as beginning an inevitable slow fading of central power, and a collapse by irreconcilable differences between the central Soviet [[Politburo]] and the constituent republics, especially the [[Ukraine]].<ref>David Remnick, "Lenin's Tomb</ref> In the end, the consensus seems to point to all of the above, that hastened the demise of the Soviet Union; Internal factors, religious pressure brought by the Pope, Gorbachev's "Perestroika" and the united front of Ronald Reagan and [[Margaret Thatcher]], leading [[NATO]] and [[the West]] to embed a [[missile defense system]] in [[Western Europe]], and the economic superiority of [[Capitalism]], which simply out-spent and out-performed that of the Communist one. One thing that cannot be quantified is Reagan's ability to give [[hope]], his never-ending optimism that good would indeed triumph over evil. Many see that as key to bringing extra confidence to those locked behind the "[[Iron Curtain]]" to press even harder for reforms.

Columnist [[Cal Thomas]] wrote about it like this: ''He proved he was right about the big things. Faced with editorial denunciations at home and massive [[demonstration]]s in [[Europe]] against his plan to put missiles there to offset a [[Soviet threat]], Reagan went ahead and did it anyway. The Soviets could not keep pace with the buildup or Reagan's proposed missile defense system (derided by critics as "[[Star Wars]]"). When those critics could not bring themselves to admit they were wrong, they unpersuasively claimed the Soviet Union fell under its own weight. More accurately, Reagan pushed it onto "the ash heap of history," with the able assistance of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and [[Pope John Paul II]]. What Reagan did more than anything else - and it will be his lasting legacy - is replace [[despair]] with hope. Most people, even his detractors, felt a glow from being in his presence. He was the kindest, most gracious president I have met, and I have met them all since JFK. In his presence you felt he was interested in you and not himself. He was a good man.''<ref>[http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2004/06/07/ronald_reagans_wonderful_life]</ref>

[[Brian Mulroney]], the Canadian Prime Minister, said of Reagan: ''"Some in the West during the early 1980s believed communism and democracy were equally valid and viable. This was the school of "[[moral equivalence]]." In contrast Ronald Reagan saw [[Soviet communism]] as a menace to be confronted in the genuine belief that its squalid underpinning would fall swiftly to the gathering winds of [[freedom]]. Provided, as he said, that NATO and the [[industrialize]]d democracies stood firm and united. They did. And we know now who was right."''<ref>[http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/mulroney.asp]</ref>

*Former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan paid tribute to the fallen president in a recent ''Wall Street Journal editorial''. In it, Noonan noted: "Ronald Reagan told the truth to a world made weary by lies. He believed truth was the only platform on which a better future could be built. He shocked the world when he called the Soviet Union ‘evil,’ because it was, and an 'empire,' because it was that, too. He never stopped bringing his message to the people of the world, to Europe and China and in the end the Soviet Union. And when it was over, the Berlin Wall had been turned into a million concrete souvenirs, and Soviet communism had fallen. But of course, it didn’t fall. It was pushed. By Mr. Know Nothing Cowboy Gunslinger Dimwit. All presidents should be so stupid."<ref>[http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=1679]</ref>

==Post-presidency==
Reagan retired to California. He would occasionally involve himself in politics, including a speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention. In 1994, he announced that he had been diagnosed with [[Alzheimer's disease]], a degenerative nerve disorder that annihilates the victim's mental capacity. He died at his Bel-Air home on June 5, 2004 at age 93, making him the second-longest lived president in history.

==Miscellaneous Facts==
*Reagan was the first and only labor leader and former President of an AFL-CIO union ever elected US President.
*Reagan was the first and only divorced president.
*Reagan was a lifeguard for seven years growing up, and was said to have saved 77 people.<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/reagan/stories/bio.part.one/index.html</ref>
*Reagan was the first president to break the "[[Curse of Tippecanoe]]", ie, the first president elected in a twenty year cycle who did not die in office.
*At 69, Reagan was the oldest man elected to the presidency.
*The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is located in Simi Valley, California.<ref>http://www.reaganfoundation.org/visitorguide/hours_directions.asp</ref>
*Reagan's 1994 announcement that he had Alzheimer's Disease brought large amounts of public attention to the disease.
*Reagan loved jelly beans.<ref>http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/trivia.shtml</ref> The blueberry flavor was made in his honor. [[Jelly Belly]] even created a [http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/bean_art_gallery.shtml Ronald Reagan [[portraits|portrait]] out of jelly beans].
*His speech writer [[Peggy Noonan]] is a columnist for the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]''.
*After his death, some of his closest supporters wished to put him on the $10 bill<ref>http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/08/news/economy/reagan_hamilton/index.htm</ref>

== Quotes ==
*"The house we hope to build is not for my generation but for yours. It is your future that matters. And I hope that when you are my age, you will be able to say as I have been able to say: We lived in freedom. We lived lives that were a statement, not an apology." - January 20, 1981
*"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." - January 20, 1981
*"We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look." - January 20, 1981
*"I've learned in Washington, that that's the only place where sound travels faster than light." - December 12, 1983
*"The challenge of statesmanship is to have the vision to dream of a better, safer world and the courage, persistence, and patience to turn that dream into reality." - March 8, 1985
*"I have only one thing to say to the tax increasers: Go ahead, make my day." —March 13, 1985, in a speech threatening to veto legislation raising taxes.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3638320/</ref>
*"A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough." - December 5, 1990
*"If you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." —Speech at the Berlin Wall, June 12, 1987<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3638320/</ref>
*"...I know it's hard when you're up to your armpits in alligators to remember you came here to drain the swamp." - February 10, 1982
*"There is no question that we have failed to live up to the dreams of the [[founding fathers]] many times and in many places. Sometimes we do better than others. But all in all, the one thing we must be on guard against is thinking that because of this, the system has failed. The system has not failed. Some human beings have failed the system." - June 21, 1973
*"The work of volunteer groups throughout our country represents the very heart and soul of America. They have helped make this the most compassionate, generous, and humane society that ever existed on the face of this earth." - Oct. 16, 1973
*"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." - January 20, 1981
*"In America, our origins matter less than our destination, and that is what democracy is all about." - August 17, 1992<ref>http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/quotes/default.asp</ref>

==See also==
*[[How Ronald Reagan won the Cold War]]
*[http://www.conservapedia.com/Ronald_Reagan%27s_speech_on_KAL_007#Text_of_the_speech Ronald Reagan's Speech on KAL 007]
*[[Korean Airlines Flight 007]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External Links==
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040614-646317,00.html Time Magazine Article on ''The All-American President'']
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html White House Official Page]
*[http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=537924&agid=2 The Passing of a Conservative] - by [[Alfred Regnery]]
*[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/ Reagan's Presidential Library]
*[http://imdb.com/name/nm0001654/ Actor Bio At IMDB]
*[http://www.ronaldreaganmemorial.com/ Official Memorial]
*[http://www.reagan.navy.mil/index.html USS ''Ronald Reagan'' CVN 76 official website]
*[http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Ronald_Reagan Quotations by Ronald Reagan]
*[http://reagan2020.us/ Reagan 2020] Reagan 2020 is the Internet's most comprehensive resource on Ronald Reagan.

[[Category:Ronald Reagan]]
{{USPresidents}}
[[Category:California Governors]]
[[Category:Republican Party]]

Test-Taking Tips

2008-08-13T11:11:20Z

Lordsservant:

These '''test-taking tips''' are helpful on any multiple-choice exam:

1. '''Understand the [[question]]'''. It is worth rereading each question before answering it. Beware of words like "EXCEPT" and "NOT".

2. '''Eliminate wrong [[answer]] choices'''. Cross them out on your test.

3. '''Avoid choosing answers that have sweeping terms''', like "every" or "never" or "always" or "all" or "none" or "only".

4. Look for the answer '''that best fits the meaning and scope of a question''', just as you look for a key that best fits the shape of a lock. For example, if a question asks about what motivates how people vote, look for the answer that focuses on something people care most about.

5. When undecided, '''go with your first impression''' and don’t waste time changing answers, unless you see a good reason to change an answer.

6. When you see '''two possible choices that are almost identical''' to each other, then consider rejecting both because both cannot be correct.

7. '''Manage your time'''. Not getting to questions really hurts your score.

8. This is important now, if the teacher trys to tell you about evolution bashe her on the head and rape everyone.

[[Category:Homeschool Curriculum]]
[[Category:Education]]

Writing Homework

2008-08-13T11:09:41Z

Lordsservant:

*[[Writing Homework One|Homework One]]

*[[Writing Homework Two|Homework Two]]

*[[Writing Homework Three|Homework Three]]

*[[Writing Homework Four|Homework Four]]

*[[Writing Homework Five|Homework Five]]

*[[Writing Homework Six|Homework Six]]

*[[Writing Homework Seven|Homework Seven]]

*[[Writing Homework Eight|Homework Eight]]

*[[Writing Homework Nine|Homework Nine]]

*[[Writing Homework Ten|Homework Ten]]

*[[Writing Homework Eleven|Homework Eleven]]

*[[Writing Homework Twelve|Homework Twelve]]
[[Category:Homeschool Curriculum]]

Massive negroid lumps on my well-penetrated anus.

Zoroastrianism

2008-08-13T11:07:51Z

Lordsservant:

'''Zoroastrianism''' is a monotheistic religion founded by [[Zoroaster]] (or Zarathustra) in what is now [[Iran]]. It describes life as a struggle between good and evil with the expectation that good will ultimately prevail. The central divine being is called ''Ahura Mazda'' and was associated by Zoroaster to the idea of a creator of all, who had not been created himself. In the belief system, the dead would be resurrected at "the end of time". The sacred text is called [[Zend Avesta]].

==History==
Zoroastrianism was created by [[Zoroaster]]. The exact date isn't known with some schools of thoughts believing around 1200 B.C., but others around 600 B.C.<ref>http://www.religionfacts.com/zoroastrianism/index.htm</ref> The religion was popular amongst the tribes of [[Persia]], though was popularized when it was made the state religion of the [[Sassanid Empire]]. It quickly declined when the forces of Islam overran the Persian Empire and the population became [[Islamic]]. In the 21st century, Zoroastrianism is practiced by around 150,000 - 200,000 people worldwide (in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran).<ref>http://www.religionfacts.com/zoroastrianism/index.htm</ref>

The religion has been said to have had formative influence on the [[Abrahamic_religion|Abrahamic]] and Vedic religions and [[Buddhism]], but other scholars say that the Abrahamic religions influenced Zoroastriasm. {{fact}}
Summed up it is essentially the study of Aschlafly 's multitude of negro sex slaves.
==References==
<references/>
Black, Matthew & H. H. Rowley, eds. (1982), Peake's Commentary on the Bible, New York

Boyce, Mary (1979), Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, London: Routledge

Clark, Peter (1998), Zoroastrianism. An Introduction to an Ancient "Faith", Brighton, UK

==Further Readings==
*[http://www.irantour.org/Iran/religion/ZOROASTRIANISM.html ZOROASTRIANISM]

[[Category:Zoroastrianism]]

Essay:Greatest Mysteries of American History

2008-08-13T11:04:57Z

Lordsservant:

Here is a growing list of unsolved mysteries in [[American History Lectures|American History]]:
#Where did the [[American Indians]] come from?
#How was [[Christopher Columbus]] able to navigate himself across the [[Atlantic Ocean]] on his second voyage to find the precise same location that he colonized on his first voyage?
#What happened to the [[Lost Colony]]?
#Was [[Meriwether Lewis]] murdered?
#Was the so-called [[corrupt bargain]] real and, if so, was there anything wrong with it?
#Why did the [[Tariff of Abominations]] pass?
#Did President [[James Buchanan]] arrange the [[Dred Scott]] decision?
#Could the [[Civil War]] be avoided with a peaceful solution?
#Could the [[South]] have possibly won the [[Civil War]]?
#What caused the [[USS Maine]] to explode?
#What caused the [[Great Depression]]?
#What really caused the repeal of [[Prohibition]]?
#Who was the lone dissent on the [[jury]] in the [[court martial]] of [[Billy Mitchell]]?
#Did [[FDR]] have advance knowledge of the attack on [[Pearl Harbor]]?
#Why did [[FDR]], who knew he was dying, replace his [[Vice President]] [[Henry Wallace]] with [[Harry S Truman]] to make Truman the next president?
#Why am I so small down there?
#Why did the [[U-2]] spy plane crash-land in the [[Soviet Union]]?
#Did a [[communist]] sympathizer in the [[U.S.]] government leak plans of the [[Bay of Pigs]] invasion to [[Castro]]?
#What happened to Jimmy Hoffa, Judge Crater and D. B. Cooper, who disappeared without a trace?
#What role did Justice [[William Brennan]] have in writing ''[[Roe v. Wade]]''?
#Where did President [[Ronald Reagan]] get the idea and impetus for proposing the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]]?

(add to list)
[[Category:Essay]]
[[Category:Mystery]]

Essay:The Supremacists

2008-08-13T11:03:28Z

Lordsservant:

'''The Supremacists''' is a book by [[Phyllis Schlafly]] about the tyranny of [[judge]]s. Originally published in 2004, it was then expanded for its n-igger version in 2006.

Additional examples and solutions for judicial tyranny have come to light since this book was published. Please contribute here to the growing list of new insights and examples of judicial supremacy:

* [[Congress]] initially did not even give [[federal question matter jurisdiction]] to [[federal courts]]
* For over 140 years, [[Congress]] felt it appropriate for the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] to be confined to the basement of the [[Capitol]]
* the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] did not have its own building until 1935, and then its activism began
* over 900 federal decisions have cited the [[Tax Injunction Act]], which withdrew [[federal jurisdiction]] from state tax issues
* in ''Chance v. California'', 389 U.S. 89 (1967) (per curiam), the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] held in favor of obscenity cite by granting [[certiorari]] and reversing the decision below without a decision by the California Supreme Court and without a decision even by a Court of Appeals in California. That is extremely unusual, and perhaps the only modern example of this.

One new suggestion for curbing judicial supremacy with respect to the citation of foreign law is for [[Congress]] to pass a law establishing evidentiary requirements before foreign practices or laws can be cited in federal court.

[[Category:Essays]]
[[category:jurisdiction]]

American History Lecture One

2008-08-13T11:01:20Z

Lordsservant: Slight spelling error, I think it should be a proper noun

Welcome to "American History," also known as "United States history." This is likely to become your favorite course. It has something for everyone: heroes, villains, criminal trials, comical mistakes, competitions, politics, literature, gold, silver, war, and peace. You name it, American history has it. We are going to have some fun in this course.
 
We will start without a textbook, to encourage students to be more proactive in learning history. If we can find a good textbook or reference source, then we'll distribute it a few weeks into the course.
 
The Pilgrims came to America with a group not much bigger than our class, traveling in a boat called the "Mayflower" that was not much larger than our classroom. Just before arriving on shore, the Pilgrims agreed to a written agreement or "compact" to bind them after they arrived. The very first words of their "[[Mayflower Compact]]" were "In the name of God Amen."<ref>The Mayflower Compact is viewable here: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/amerdoc/mayflower.htm</ref>
 
Just as our Nation's founders started with a prayer, so do we. Prayer clears out the noise in our minds. We are looking for knowledge and inspiration here, and that comes from God. In most countries parents do not have the freedom even to have a class like this. The main reason we have freedoms is because America was established on principles of liberty, and religious devotion in America remains among the strongest in the world today, as it was 250 years ago.
 
Now is a critical time in our nation's history, and this class may be as important to the future as the Mayflower voyage was. Let's begin.

== What Students Find Challenging About History ==

Students find the following aspects of American history challenging:

* interpreting political cartoons
* keeping facts in perspective and understanding how they relate to each other
* keeping the different periods of American history separate, yet connected; seeing the trends
* understanding the importance of economic issues in shaping history
* improving speed in reading and retaining historical information, such as answering history questions quickly
* dealing with [[liberal]] bias in textbooks and the selection and presentation of questions on College Board exams:
** denial of [[Christian]] and [[conservative]] achievement
** overemphasis on [[liberal]]s and their beliefs, and denial of their failures
** obsession with materialism and inborn characteristics like race and gender
** Large words
Common mistakes by students in history courses include:

* failure to recognize that American politics is always a battle between two sides
* memorizing dates without understanding the sequence of events (exams rarely ask about dates, but do ask about sequence)
* getting bogged down in detail and failing to see the big picture
* misunderstanding questions
* forgetting that people in the past were similar in nature to people today; they were motivated by religion, money, power, etc., and laziness has always been a problem

== The Key to Mastering History ==

The key to mastering history is to find what you like and understand, and then use it as your foundation to learn everything else. In other words, first find and learn what you like, and then learn everything else by connecting it to what you know. Use the same technique that we all use for directions: pick a landmark or a place that you know how to get to, and then figure out how to go from there to where you need to go.
 
For example, if you are most interested in religion, then learn about the 13 colonies based on their different attitudes towards religion. If you are most interested in one colony, then learn about it and how it relates to other colonies. If you like military history, then use that as your starting point. Perhaps you enjoy mysteries; in that case, use our list of [[Essay:Greatest Mysteries of American History|Greatest Mysteries of American History]] to motivate you.
 
Perhaps you like politics the most. In that case, you'll want to memorize the presidents and leaders of Congress, and relate historical events to their times in office. Or perhaps you enjoy legal issues, and reading about what the courts do. If so, then you'll want to focus your attention on the major rulings of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] throughout American history, and relate other historical events to those decisions.
 
On the SAT II U.S. History exam, the breakdown by subject matter is as follows:
 Political History - 32-36%
 Economic History - 18-20%
 Social History - 18-22%
 Cultural and Intellectual History - 10-12%
 Foreign Policy - 13-17%

The biggest part of the exam by far is politics, mostly concerning what happened in the federal government in [[Washington, D.C.]].

== Bias in American History ==

Every student in the [[United States]] is supposed to take several courses in [[American History]]. As a result, how this subject is taught has a big influence on what Americans believe, and how they vote when they are older. Someone who is taught and believes that [[Bill Clinton]] or [[Jimmy Carter]] are great [[American]] heroes is more likely to vote [[Democratic]] than someone who learns that [[Ronald Reagan]] had a bigger and better impact than both of them combined in my opinion. Going backwards in time, how the textbooks and teachers praise or criticize [[George Washington]] and [[Christopher Columbus]] can shape many students' minds both about America and about Christianity.

Bias is worth recognizing, and it can even be fun spotting the half-truths and misleading claims that are put in textbooks and exams to try to take students away from Christian truths and American patriotism. Our Honors track in this course will enable students to address bias they see in textbooks, Wikipedia, and other sources concerning American history.

== Periods in American History ==

American history can be broken into about 20 time periods:

* settlement by paleo-indians
* discovery by Europeans, exploration by Europeans and settlement by Europeans
* colonial
* birth of the nation
* growth of the nation
* [[Andrew Jackson|Jackson]]ian Democracy
* pre-Civil War
* [[Civil War]]
* [[Reconstruction]]
* Gilded Age
* [[Imperialism]]
* [[World War I]]
* [[Roaring Twenties]] and followed by the [[Great Depression]]
* [[World War II]]
* [[Cold War]]
** [[Korean War]]
** [[Vietnam War]]
* Reagan [[conservatism]]
* Post-Reagan Prosperity and the dot-com boom
* [[9/11]] and [[terrorism]]
* The golden age of me

On the SAT II in U.S History, the breakdown of questions is like this:

 Pre-Columbian history to 1789 - 20%
 1790 to 1898 - 40%
 1899 to the present - 40%

Hence nearly half the exam is on the last century on the SAT II, and only about 18 or 19 questions are devoted to all of pre-exploration, exploration, settlements, the colonies, the documents that founded the nation, the American Revolution, and the election of George Washington. That means there are no more than 3 or so questions (out of a 90-95 questions on the exam) about the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.

== Why America? ==

Using common sense and your imagination can serve you very well in mastering American history. Pause for a moment and predict what would likely happen to a nice chunk of fertile land, possibly containing riches like gold, located between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Would some Europeans want to go there? Which ones would want to go there, and why?
 
One reason is to convert the natives to Christianity, just as home school families today often go on missionary trips to distant lands. Another reason is to search for gold and other riches. A third reason is to obtain freedom. Another reason is for the same reason people climb mountains: because they are there! Some want to escape where they are. Others want to set up a new community, perhaps a new religious environment. Others hope to meet new people and make new friends, engage in the trade of goods with the people. Another motivation is to learn from the new people, or have adventures and then write about them.
 
What is likely to happen if a bunch of Europeans go to this land? There will be conflict. Conflicts with the natives. Conflicts with other European countries. Conflicts with the mother country that sent the settlers. New opportunities for improvements, for new products, for new businesses, for new religions, for new systems of government.
 
Who is going to pay for exploration and settlement? Kings. Investors. Do-gooders. Churches. Mostly nobody.
 
Who is going to do the hard labor needed to set up a new community, such as chopping down trees, working the farms, constructing the buildings? There is almost no money to pay anyone for the work. Families might do some. [[Indentured servants]]. Slaves.
 
It also helps to look for unifying themes to organize events in your mind. One theme that helps explain American history well is the overall expansion of Christianity, for 2000 years. Why did [[Christopher Columbus]] and other explorers risk their lives to come to the New World? To spread Christianity. Why did families then risk their lives to settle here? To establish religious communities free of persecution. Two hundred years later, why did Massachusetts prohibit slavery and why did abolitionists President [[John Quincy Adams]] devote their lives to ending slavery? Because their religious values told them slavery was wrong.
 
There are other possible themes also. How about the desire to make more money, or make some money? How about the urge for self-government, to be in charge of oneself free from a monarchy? How about the advance of technology and its affect on how we live? There are many possible themes to American history and we will have fun debates about them.
 
From 1789 until today, we have had an American President. He is not more important than others. If I had to name the ten most important Americans in history, I would only include one president in the list (the first one, [[George Washington]]). But memorizing the list of 43 presidents can help you organize all the other facts. When someone asks me what was happening in 1962, I think of who was president and then remember the issues of that time. The presidents become like drawers, one per president, filled with issues and events.
 
But before 1789 there was no president. How are we going to organize that? One way is to focus on the three most important colonies, [[Virginia]] (1607), [[Massachusetts]] (1620) and [[Pennsylvania]] (1681), and relate the other 11 colonies and events to them. Another way is to look at the battles that occurred before the [[American Revolution]], such as the [[French and Indian War]] in 1754-60.
 
Regardless, by the end of this course, you will be able to hear an event and describe what was going on at that time. You will be able to tell me what happened before the event, and what happened afterwards.
 
Don’t try to memorize hundreds of dates. Instead, when you see a date, think what happened before and after it. There are only about ten dates that you need to know. All other dates, such as those in the event list, are there just for the purpose of ordering events. For example, no one will ask you when Georgia was founded as a colony. But you may be asked whether it was the first or last colony founded. (It was the last colony established.) Another example: [[Quebec]] was founded in 1608. Don’t remember the 1608, but remember that Quebec was founded one year after [[Jamestown]] was established (1607 – one of the few dates you should memorize!)

== Pre-Columbian Period ==
The first settlers in America were paleo-indian peoples. Their origin is not known. Some claim they migrated from Asia, but that makes little sense because American Indians are very different in many ways from Chinese and Asian Indians. Even their blood types are typically different.

Some old mounds reflecting Indian settlements in America have been discovered, such as the Adena burial mounds and Mississippian platform towns.<ref>Melissa L. Meyer, Dean R. Snow, Charles L. Cohen, Russell Thornton, Donald A. Grinde Jr., Leah Dilworth "Indian History and Culture" The Oxford Companion to United States History. Paul S. Boyer, ed. Oxford University Press 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. University of Tampa. 4 August 2008 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t119.e0758-s0002></ref> For example, the [[Cahokia Mounds]] in Southern Illinois (just east of [[St. Louis]]) reflect an Indian community dating back as early as A.D. 1000 or 1100.<ref>http://www.cahokiamounds.com/mystery_01.html</ref> That community practiced human sacrifice, as did the [[Aztecs]] and [[Mayans]] in [[Mesoamerica]] (Mexico and Central America) and the [[Incas]] in [[South America]] prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquerors.

The American Indians, also called Native Americans, were [[nomads]] who traveled across wide areas. They did not read and write, and they lacked a monetary system. They were organized by tribes and some had simple forms of government. There was the [[Iroquois Confederacy]] that united some, but typically there was a lack of unity that led to their easy defeat by Europeans. The Indians did introduce [[tobacco]] and [[corn]] to Europeans, and they became widely popular back in Europe.

Textbooks written after 1970 began claiming that around A.D. 1000, the Scandinavian [[Leif Ericson]] established a small colony at [[Vinland]], where the present [[Newfoundland]] is (north of Maine). But there is very little evidence that such a colony existed, and no explanation for what happened to it. Or at least I hope they don't find any. That would upset my childhood memory of the stories told me. It did not last long even if it did exist, and there is no sign of any Viking colony in what is now the United States.<ref>"People have been looking hard for hundreds of years and there is no archaeological evidence in this part [New England]— it's certainly possible, the Vikings were incredible boat handlers — '''but there is no evidence'''," observed one university history professor.[http://farshores.org/a04viki.htm]</ref>.

''Exam note'': there are no more than one or two questions about the Pre-Columbian period on any American history exam.

== Exploration (Columbian Period) ==

Starting in the Middle Ages, Christian Europe began to use its knowledge, wealth and [[faith]] to extend beyond its horizons. Christian Europeans fought the Holy [[Crusades]] from 1095 to 1291 to protect pilgrims to [[Jerusalem]] against Moslem attacks. Some Europeans were motivated to spread the [[Gospel]]. Others were motivated by a desire to increase their wealth, such as by finding gold. Since [[Ancient Greece]] it was known that the world was round, and that it should be possible to reach the Orient by traveling West '''''around''''' the world. Ironically, it was the very knowledge of the Earth's circumference that deterred a westward passage - the distance to the Orient in that direction was beyond the open-water range of ships in that period. Also, steamships did not exist yet; these ships relied on sailing to reach their destination, and wind patterns did not always cooperate.
 
But centuries passed before one man inspired by the Christian [[faith]] was determined to change the world of his time. By the young age of 10 the Italian [[Christopher Columbus]] was working at sea, already on his way to becoming a master navigator and mariner. He learned the patterns of the Atlantic trade winds, and their ability to carry sailing vessels across vast distances both eastward and westward before one's provisions would run out. With the charts he developed, he was certain he could reach Asia on a westbound route more efficiently than others could.
 
It took enormous courage, determination and financial support to sail West into the complete unknown. It also took more than a desire to get rich, because there were easier ways to make money. That additional desire was a passion to spread Christianity to new civilizations. In 1482, [[Christopher Columbus]] sought financing to sail West in order to find an easier way to reach the Far East, by sailing westward rather than continuing the different path eastward from Europe to India and Japan. Columbus tried Portugal for raising money, but it already had its own successful explorers. Portugal declined to support him, but Columbus persistently tried for ten more years. In 1492 Spain drove out the last of the Muslims and re-established it as a Christian nation, and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain granted Columbus's request for funding his voyage that year. Spain continues to honor Columbus Day just as the United States does.
 
Columbus was not only a devout Christian, but an enterprising capitalist. He used his hard-earned knowledge of the Atlantic trade winds and the navigational edge they gave him to secure funding for his venture from Spain on terms that gave him 10% of any riches discovered: The contract he signed with the Spanish Monarchy, known as the Capitulations of Santa Fe, named him Admiral of the Atlantic Ocean, Viceroy and Governor of all the new lands discovered, and gave him one-tenth of the profit from all of the discovered lands (Spain later refused to honor the agreement, and Columbus never became wealthy). Having secured his funding, Columbus assembled his ships and crew and set out in August of 1492 to reach the Orient.
 
So back to what Columbus did achieve. He set sail in three ships, the first sighted land in late 1492. On Christmas eve, December 24, 1492, one of Columbus's ships, the [[Santa Maria]], reached the island of [[Haiti]]. Columbus named the settlement “La Navidad,” meaning “The Nativity,” and dropped off 40 men with a promise to return to them the next year. Columbus then wrote to the King and Queen of Spain the following in his Journal: “In all the world there can be no better or gentler people. Your Highnesses should feel great joy, because presently they will be Christians, and instructed in the good manners of your realms.”
 
But he had grossly underestimated the size of the world, and when he reached San Salvador, Haiti (Hispaniola) and Cuba he thought he had reached the Far East. So he called the natives Indians. He left some men there but they were eventually killed by the natives. Columbus reported back that new people had been found to evangelize with Christianity.
 
Soon Spain and Portugal divided the Americas with the [[Line of Demarcation]], drawn by the Pope. The [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] moved the line in 1493. It was a North-South line that gave Spain North America and the western part of South America, but Portugal received Brazil. That's why Brazilians speak Portuguese to this day.
 
The incredible genius of Columbus -- or Providence -- was proven a year later on his second voyage across the Atlantic. Amid the vast ocean, he was able to find the precise same location that he had reached on his first voyage on the island if [[Hispaniola]]. That is like finding a needle in a haystack the size of a football stadium. But Columbus's colony had not survived in his absence.
 
Columbus sailed on a total of three subsequent voyages, but never achieved his goal and died a failure. His ultimate dream of liberating Jerusalem, as the Crusades attempted, was not achieved. But what he did achieve was to open the New World to spreading Christianity and creating new wealth.
 
Columbus's efforts resulting in giving Spain [[Haiti]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Jamaica]] and [[Cuba]] by 1515. Spain then settled Florida (St. Augustine), and later Santa Fe, New Mexico. Spanish [[Hernando Cortes]] conquered the Aztecs in central Mexico (1521), and [[Francisco Pizarro]] conquered the Incas of Peru (1531). They seized much gold in the process.
 
But while Spanish soldiers came to America, Spanish women did not. So there were not many distinct, permanent Spanish settlements. Also, the Spanish were also entirely subservient to their King back in Europe. Separate governments did not develop.
 
Other European powers were exploring North America also. The French explored the St. Lawrence and settled Quebec, where French is still spoken to this day. The French also explored the Mississippi, and settled the towns of Saint Louis (named after a French king) and New Orleans.
 
The Dutch explored and settled the Hudson River, calling the region New Netherlands and buying and naming Manhattan New Amsterdam.
 
The Swedish settled in Delaware; Germans settled later in Pennsylvania.
 
Explorer [[John Cabot]] discovered the North American coastline for England in 1497. But no settlements were attempted by the English for about another 100 years.
 
The reason is that North America didn’t have what the explorers were looking for. America lacked valuable natural resources. There was no gold, which is what Europe wanted. In 1576, the British explorer [[Martin Frobisher]] even hauled 200 tons of material back to England, hoping it was gold. It wasn’t.
 
There wasn’t anything else of value to Europe either. New England was too rocky near the coast to develop farms. The mid-Atlantic region or Chesapeake area, where Maryland and Virginia are today, was infested with malaria. Winters were cold, and summers were hot.
 
There was no livestock – no horses and no cattle, until the Spanish imported them. Florida was a swamp, and did not even have orange trees until the Spanish explorer [[Ponce de Leon]] planted them in 1515.
 
North America was a joke to many in England. Its Parliament passed a law in 1597 authorizing the deportations of convicted criminals to America and other colonies. In 1605, a satirical book entitled “Eastward Ho!” was published that mocked attempts to settle in Virginia.
 
Think about it. Would your family uproot and move, at great risk to your lives, to a place that had no civilization or anything of value? Do we see families moving to the middle of the desert in Arizona, or to cheap land in the middle of Wyoming? Only very rarely.
 
[[England]]'s first settlement of [[North America]] was in 1585, on [[Roanoke Island]] in [[Virginia]]. More than 100 families settled there, but within a few years they had all disappeared. It remains a mystery to this day what happened. They could have died from disease or starvation. They could have been killed by Indians, although note that Indian attacks were often at the prodding of a rival European group, and there was no rival European group at that time. No one knows the real reason for the disappearance of this settlement, and it's called the "[[Lost Colony]]."
 
About the same time, however, England had a huge success in Europe. Spain had ruled the high seas for most of the 1500s, until England destroyed the Spanish Armada in 1588. That left England with the potential to gain control of the oceans and world trade over the seas. England could protect its colonies against other European powers.

== Successful Settlements ==

Some Englishmen invested money in what was called a “[[joint stock company]],” which was similar to a modern-day corporation, for the purpose of finding gold or other treasures. The “[[Virginia Company]],” established the first permanent settlement for England in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. It was a disaster and the investors never received a profit. The men who settled in Jamestown were gentlemen who expected to get rich with little effort. They lacked a common purpose and wasted their time searching for treasure, or simply doing nothing at all. Unwilling to work to grow their own food, they almost starved to death.
 
'''1607''' is one of the few dates you should memorize. This was after the Spanish had settled in Florida, but before the French had settled in Quebec. So remember the sequence in settling America: Spanish, English, and then French.
 
Initially, from 1607-1608, the Jamestown settlement lived under socialism, whereby the group shared its food with everyone no matter how much or little each person worked. This economic system was a complete failure as no one had any incentive to do any work. In September 1608, [[John Smith]] was elected president of the governing council. He ruled for a year and installed a conservative economic system: “don’t work, don’t eat!” Under this new system, food production increased and by 1614 there was plenty to eat.
 
But Jamestown settlers were there to find fortune, and there was not any gold or silver. Indians had discovered tobacco and Europeans were beginning to become addicted on it. Many Europeans recognized that tobacco was bad for them, and some wanted to prohibit it. In 1613, Englishman [[John Rolfe]], who married the Indian [[Pocahontas]] in Virginia, began growing tobacco to export to Europe. The King banned the growing of tobacco in England, so Rolfe had no competition. Cash began pouring in for the tobacco, and this so-called “cash crop” became highly profitable for the Jamestown settlers. Tobacco continued to be very profitable throughout a large part of American history, particularly in the south.
 
Despite profiting from the sale of tobacco, the Jamestown settlement had other difficulties. It had made peace with Indian [[Chief Powhatan]], whose daughter Pocahontas married settler [[John Rolfe]]. But after Powhatan died, his brother led a sudden attack on the settlers in 1622, massacring 357 out of a total of only 1200.
 
But Indian strife was only one of many problems. Labor was in short supply for working the fields. Settlers began importing indentured servants, who received free travel to the colonies in exchange for a promise to work for seven years. But Virginia also turned to a cheaper approach to labor: importing slaves from West Africa beginning in 1619 to work the crops. But the importation of slaves to the New World was not new in 1619; many European countries had been importing a total of 40,000 slaves to the New World prior to the 1600's based on the Portuguese plantation system for working the land.
 
In 1624 King James (of “King James Bible” fame) took back the Virginia colony and established it as a royal charter. King James was left with a problem colony that enslaved workers and grew tobacco. More trouble lay ahead, in 1676, Nathanial Bacon was a Virginia settler who decided to take the law into his own hands. He first massacred Indians in western Virginia, then took his small army of rebels to Jamestown, where he burned it down because the governor had refused to allow him to kill the Indians. Bacon himself soon died from a disease. The governor returned and hung two dozen of his supporters. How Virginia produced four of our first five presidents is amazing. You can think about this and answer on the homework assignment.
 
By then there were many other settlements in North America. The most important were two settlements in Massachusetts, which has a much harsher climate than Virginia, particularly in the wintertime. But their motivation was religious, not financial. Puritans were unhappy with the direction of the Church of England, feeling it was too much like the Catholic Church. Two different groups of Puritans set out for North America. One group wanted to purify the Church of England by remaining in the Church but in a more perfect community. The other group wanted to separate completely from the Church of England. Both groups landed by chance within 100 miles of each other in Massachusetts.
 
The first group, the “Pilgrims”, set sail from Plymouth, England and intended to land near the mouth of the Hudson River (now New York City), which was the northern part of the Virginia Company’s territory. But their ship, the “Mayflower”, was blown off course and they landed up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts in 1620. Outside of any official government, they decided on the boat to establish the first civil government in North America by signing the Mayflower Compact. They landed in December, and half of the people died due to disease in their first New England winter. But the following spring a friendly Indian introduced them to corn, or maize, the marvelous food discovered by Indians. They had a plentiful harvest that fall, and celebrated their first Thanksgiving with the Indians that fall. In 1623, their new Governor [[William Bradford]] gave every member a plot of land and allowed the free market to develop. By 1624, the community was doing so well that it was actually making more food than it could consume and began exporting its corn. [[William Bradford]] and [[Edward Winslow]] kept diaries during the settling of Plymouth, which are recorded in a small, but fascinating book called ''Mourt's Relation''.
 
Corn is a tremendous contribution by Indians to the world that increasingly sustains peoples worldwide. Corn did not exist in Europe during the Middle Ages. Cheap and easy to grow, corn has become one of the most popular foods worldwide, rivaling rice and soybeans. For that we can thank the Indians.
 
Encouraged by the success of the Pilgrims, a new group called the [[Massachusetts Bay Company]] obtained a royal charter and sent a larger group of Puritans to settle in New England, though this time with the purpose of purifying the [[Church of England]] with a more perfect community than in England itself. It was well-financed and led by the very capable [[John Winthrop]], who had been trained at Oxford. It landed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1629 and immediately moved to Boston Harbor. It never looked back, thriving almost immediately despite the harsh winter climate. Within five years the [[Great Migration]] of religiously motivated settlers followed them from England. Their numbers and power grew. By the 1640s, the community was participating in robust trade by sea with England, the West Indies and on occasion West Africa.
 
What is a “colony”? “Colony” defined: “a body of people living in a new territory but retaining ties with the parent state.” (Merriam-Webster dictionary)
 
The growing colonies in Massachusetts and Virginia could not have been more different from each other, and it is remarkable they ever joined the same country. Massachusetts was highly religious and motivated by faith. Virginia was marginally religious and motivated by money. Massachusetts, more religious, had vocal opponents of slavery and neighboring Vermont was the first state to prohibit slavery in its Constitution, in 1777. Virginia welcomed slavery. Massachusetts grew the Indian crop of corn. Virginia grew the Indian crop of tobacco. Massachusetts settlers made greater efforts to get along with Indians and treat them fairly. Massachusetts attracted new settlers based on religion. Virginia attracted new settlers based on the “headright system,” by which land (usually 50 acres) was given to those who paid for the passage to the colony of an immigrant, who usually agreed to work as an “indentured servant” for free for fixed number of years on the land.
 
The stark contrast between Massachusetts and Virginia would ultimately lead, nearly 250 years later, to the Civil War.
 
While the Virginia institution of slavery was spreading to the colonies of [[Maryland]], [[Carolina]] and, later, [[Georgia]], [[Massachusetts]] was spreading a different sort of institution: religious intensity. [[Roger Williams]] was an extraordinary individual of such great faith that found even the Puritans lacking in their treatment of Indians. Williams also disagreed with how the Puritans combined government and religion, and had even executed several Christians based on differences with the Puritan faith. Williams was fabulous with languages and learned to communicate with many different Indian tribes, and even lived with them at times in spite of the danger. He left the Puritans in Massachusetts and started the colony of Rhode Island, which to this day has prided itself on its independence. Rhode Island was the only state to refuse to support a colonial tax on imports after the Revolution, and the only colony to refuse to ratify the Constitution until long after [[George Washington]] was President. Rhode Island, under Roger Williams’ direction, separated state government from religion. No mandatory church attendance, and no funding of churches with tax revenues were allowed in Rhode Island.
 
But while Roger Williams was highly moral, others in Rhode Island made it the biggest importer of slaves in all the colonies. So censoring religion may have a price. In contrast, in the larger Massachusetts, taxes funded religious institutions for nearly 200 years, until at least the 1830s. It successfully prohibited slavery. Another devout Christian who disagreed with the Puritans and left them was named [[Anne Hutchinson]]. She, however, was later killed by Indians.
 
One prominent text claims, under “Rhode Island,” that “This belief [by Roger Williams] in the separation of church and state became a cornerstone of the American Constitution in 1787.” That is completely false. Roger Williams was long dead by 1787, and there is no separation of church and state in the Constitution. Rhode Island did not even send any representatives to draft the Constitution and it had no role in the drafting of the Bill of Rights. In fact, Rhode Island did not ratify the Constitution until after George Washington was elected president, and even then it took much arm-twisting to compel Rhode Island to ratify the Constitution. But some people want to keep religion out of government, and they refuse to admit that the First Amendment only prohibits the establishment of a national church by the government.
 
In between Massachusetts and Virginia there was a third approach: that taken by Pennsylvania. William Penn was another extraordinary Englishman. He converted to become a Quaker in England and began practicing that religion in violation of English law. He was arrested and prosecuted, but the jury refused to convict him. The king owed his father money, and gave the son what is today Pennsylvania. It was nothing but woods at the time. But William Penn founded his colony based on one principle: religious freedom for all. He advertised in Europe and attracted peoples of many nationalities in addition to the English.
 
Penn was very kind to the Indians and soon had the most popular colony in America. Philadelphia became America’s greatest city, surpassing Boston in population in the 1700s. Only Pennsylvania and Maryland survived in the long-term under private ownership. Virtually all the other colonies were eventually taken over by the King of England, often due to troubles that arose in the colony.
 
There were other colonies. Pennsylvania was founded over 50 years *after* Virginia and Massachusetts. Georgia was founded over 50 *years* after Pennsylvania, which means over 100 years after Virginia and Massachusetts. Philanthropist [[James Oglethorpe]] founded Savannah in Georgia in 1733 for poor debtors in jails of England. Also a buffer colony was created between South Carolina and Spanish Florida. Oglethorpe was very religious and very strict. Too strict for the King, who took over the colony in 1751. The colony was not nearly as strong and developed as the other colonies, so the other colonies did not take it very seriously.

== Economic System ==

Ultimately, and this is the most difficult for students to understand, it is money ([[economics]]) that shapes much of history. If the colonies were profitable for their mother countries in Europe, then the mother countries would continue to support and defend the colonies. But if the colonies were a money-loser, as in costing more to defend then they make for the defending motherland, then they are going to be abandoned or at least no longer protected by the European sponsor.

Many of the colonies did make this work, and work well. An [[economic]] system called [[mercantilism]] began to develop in the 1600s and 1700s, which would lay the foundation for capitalism in the 1800s.<ref>http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/mercantilism.html</ref>

The basic concept of mercantilism is to limit imports from foreign countries (not including colonies), and maximize exports to everyone (including colonies), in order to maximize the "trade surplus" (the amount by which receipts exceeds expenses). Colonies played an important role in this system by supplying raw materials at low cost to the mother country (e.g., England or France), which could then use the materials to produce low-cost finished products that could be sold to the world.<ref>http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Mercantilism.html</ref> By selling more than the country buys, it could accumulate a surplus in money (gold) and become wealthier.

But there's no free lunch, and these European nations were all-too-happy to use slavery to do the back-breaking work of gathering the raw materials, such as crops and minerals. A slave trade developed to bring blacks from Africa to the New World in order to work the plantations for the settlers from [[England]] and other European powers.

The [[Spanish]] had a different system: they used a modified form of [[feudalism]], known as the encomienda system, in order to force the Indians to do the hard work. The "encomienda" was a grant by the King or Queen of Spain of power over Indians within a geographic region, a grant that was given to an "encomendero", who was the Spaniard in that region who would put the Indians to work.<ref>http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/papers/scott-m.html</ref> The Indians themselves became known as the economiendas.

The Spanish system looked better in theory, because the encomendero was supposed to educate the enonomiendas, convert them to Christianity (Catholicism), and not exercise any political power over them (as in telling them how to live). In practice, however, there were no "checks and balances" on exploitation and abuse of power in working the Indians.

== Topics for Discussion ==

*Were the Puritans right to banish (expel) people for religious reasons?
*Did the Vikings settle North America before Columbus did?
*Question about bias: why would some want to take credit away from Columbus, and how might they do it?
*What, if anything, was the significance of [[Bacon's Rebellion]]?
*What challenges would the [[Puritans]] face in maintaining their strongly religious culture in the 1600s and 1700s?

== A Word About College Board Exams ==

First, a word about College Board exams. This course will give you the foundation -- if you like -- for taking three different College Board exams (usually a student takes only one of the three): the [[CLEP]], the [[AP]], and the [[SAT II]].
 
The CLEP is a multiple-choice exam that is recognized by most (but not all) colleges as a way to earn college credit. It costs about $50 and is administered on computers at local colleges, usually once a month. It is the least biased of the three exams.
 
The AP, or Advanced Placement exam, is given only once a year in May at local high schools, and is more expensive. It includes both multiple-choice and essay questions, and is used by different colleges to give credit for courses. In 2009, the AP exam for U.S. History is scheduled for Friday, May 9.
 
The SAT II in American History is an inexpensive multiple-choice exam that takes only an hour and is given at high schools on Saturdays once a month, October through June. No college credit is given for it, but it is used for college applications to recognize achievement. The SAT II is the most biased of the three exams, and is known for emphasizing liberal culture and matters of race and gender. For example, the "cultural and intellectual history" portion seems important to the exam but actually it is mostly cultural rather than intellectual history, and the questions are liberal in nature (e.g., asking about an artist who liberals like). Also, what counts as "economic history" is not what you might expect. There are almost no questions about the [[conservative]] gold standard, for example, even though that issue the political scene throughout history (and was even an issue in [[Ron Paul]]'s campaign for presidency in 2008). Instead, questions about economic history on the SAT II are likely to be about unions, the treatment of workers, alleged corruption of big business, and gender and racial issues.
 
Notice what is missing on the College Board exams: military history. Unfortunately, many educators in the [[United States]] dislike the military, and that bias shows up on the exams. No questions are there about battles or key military strategies and decisions. The only time the military shows up on these exams is when they have a political impact, and then they qualify as political history.
 
Each of these College Board exams can be taken as often as one likes, though it is difficult to take the AP exam more than once because it is offered only once a year, and it is expensive to retake the CLEP exam. The SAT II, which is cheaper, is the easiest to take more than once and colleges only look at the highest score.
 There is absolutely no requirement to take any of these College Board exams as part of this course, and references to the exams are used more as a way of helping you see the "big picture," as in how much time should be spent on a particular period or historical topic. Our class has only two required, multiple-choice exams: a midterm and a final. This course will also help students improve their test-taking skills on multiple-choice exams. We will also have weekly homework assignments consisting of short-answer questions.

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:United States History]]

American History Lecture One

2008-08-13T10:59:38Z

Lordsservant:

Welcome to "American history," also known as "United States history." This is likely to become your favorite course. It has something for everyone: heroes, villains, criminal trials, comical mistakes, competitions, politics, literature, gold, silver, war, and peace. You name it, American history has it. We are going to have some fun in this course.
 
We will start without a textbook, to encourage students to be more proactive in learning history. If we can find a good textbook or reference source, then we'll distribute it a few weeks into the course.
 
The Pilgrims came to America with a group not much bigger than our class, traveling in a boat called the "Mayflower" that was not much larger than our classroom. Just before arriving on shore, the Pilgrims agreed to a written agreement or "compact" to bind them after they arrived. The very first words of their "[[Mayflower Compact]]" were "In the name of God Amen."<ref>The Mayflower Compact is viewable here: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/amerdoc/mayflower.htm</ref>
 
Just as our Nation's founders started with a prayer, so do we. Prayer clears out the noise in our minds. We are looking for knowledge and inspiration here, and that comes from God. In most countries parents do not have the freedom even to have a class like this. The main reason we have freedoms is because America was established on principles of liberty, and religious devotion in America remains among the strongest in the world today, as it was 250 years ago.
 
Now is a critical time in our nation's history, and this class may be as important to the future as the Mayflower voyage was. Let's begin.

== What Students Find Challenging About History ==

Students find the following aspects of American history challenging:

* interpreting political cartoons
* keeping facts in perspective and understanding how they relate to each other
* keeping the different periods of American history separate, yet connected; seeing the trends
* understanding the importance of economic issues in shaping history
* improving speed in reading and retaining historical information, such as answering history questions quickly
* dealing with [[liberal]] bias in textbooks and the selection and presentation of questions on College Board exams:
** denial of [[Christian]] and [[conservative]] achievement
** overemphasis on [[liberal]]s and their beliefs, and denial of their failures
** obsession with materialism and inborn characteristics like race and gender
** Large words
Common mistakes by students in history courses include:

* failure to recognize that American politics is always a battle between two sides
* memorizing dates without understanding the sequence of events (exams rarely ask about dates, but do ask about sequence)
* getting bogged down in detail and failing to see the big picture
* misunderstanding questions
* forgetting that people in the past were similar in nature to people today; they were motivated by religion, money, power, etc., and laziness has always been a problem

== The Key to Mastering History ==

The key to mastering history is to find what you like and understand, and then use it as your foundation to learn everything else. In other words, first find and learn what you like, and then learn everything else by connecting it to what you know. Use the same technique that we all use for directions: pick a landmark or a place that you know how to get to, and then figure out how to go from there to where you need to go.
 
For example, if you are most interested in religion, then learn about the 13 colonies based on their different attitudes towards religion. If you are most interested in one colony, then learn about it and how it relates to other colonies. If you like military history, then use that as your starting point. Perhaps you enjoy mysteries; in that case, use our list of [[Essay:Greatest Mysteries of American History|Greatest Mysteries of American History]] to motivate you.
 
Perhaps you like politics the most. In that case, you'll want to memorize the presidents and leaders of Congress, and relate historical events to their times in office. Or perhaps you enjoy legal issues, and reading about what the courts do. If so, then you'll want to focus your attention on the major rulings of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] throughout American history, and relate other historical events to those decisions.
 
On the SAT II U.S. History exam, the breakdown by subject matter is as follows:
 Political History - 32-36%
 Economic History - 18-20%
 Social History - 18-22%
 Cultural and Intellectual History - 10-12%
 Foreign Policy - 13-17%

The biggest part of the exam by far is politics, mostly concerning what happened in the federal government in [[Washington, D.C.]].

== Bias in American History ==

Every student in the [[United States]] is supposed to take several courses in [[American History]]. As a result, how this subject is taught has a big influence on what Americans believe, and how they vote when they are older. Someone who is taught and believes that [[Bill Clinton]] or [[Jimmy Carter]] are great [[American]] heroes is more likely to vote [[Democratic]] than someone who learns that [[Ronald Reagan]] had a bigger and better impact than both of them combined in my opinion. Going backwards in time, how the textbooks and teachers praise or criticize [[George Washington]] and [[Christopher Columbus]] can shape many students' minds both about America and about Christianity.

Bias is worth recognizing, and it can even be fun spotting the half-truths and misleading claims that are put in textbooks and exams to try to take students away from Christian truths and American patriotism. Our Honors track in this course will enable students to address bias they see in textbooks, Wikipedia, and other sources concerning American history.

== Periods in American History ==

American history can be broken into about 20 time periods:

* settlement by paleo-indians
* discovery by Europeans, exploration by Europeans and settlement by Europeans
* colonial
* birth of the nation
* growth of the nation
* [[Andrew Jackson|Jackson]]ian Democracy
* pre-Civil War
* [[Civil War]]
* [[Reconstruction]]
* Gilded Age
* [[Imperialism]]
* [[World War I]]
* [[Roaring Twenties]] and followed by the [[Great Depression]]
* [[World War II]]
* [[Cold War]]
** [[Korean War]]
** [[Vietnam War]]
* Reagan [[conservatism]]
* Post-Reagan Prosperity and the dot-com boom
* [[9/11]] and [[terrorism]]
* The golden age of me

On the SAT II in U.S History, the breakdown of questions is like this:

 Pre-Columbian history to 1789 - 20%
 1790 to 1898 - 40%
 1899 to the present - 40%

Hence nearly half the exam is on the last century on the SAT II, and only about 18 or 19 questions are devoted to all of pre-exploration, exploration, settlements, the colonies, the documents that founded the nation, the American Revolution, and the election of George Washington. That means there are no more than 3 or so questions (out of a 90-95 questions on the exam) about the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.

== Why America? ==

Using common sense and your imagination can serve you very well in mastering American history. Pause for a moment and predict what would likely happen to a nice chunk of fertile land, possibly containing riches like gold, located between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Would some Europeans want to go there? Which ones would want to go there, and why?
 
One reason is to convert the natives to Christianity, just as home school families today often go on missionary trips to distant lands. Another reason is to search for gold and other riches. A third reason is to obtain freedom. Another reason is for the same reason people climb mountains: because they are there! Some want to escape where they are. Others want to set up a new community, perhaps a new religious environment. Others hope to meet new people and make new friends, engage in the trade of goods with the people. Another motivation is to learn from the new people, or have adventures and then write about them.
 
What is likely to happen if a bunch of Europeans go to this land? There will be conflict. Conflicts with the natives. Conflicts with other European countries. Conflicts with the mother country that sent the settlers. New opportunities for improvements, for new products, for new businesses, for new religions, for new systems of government.
 
Who is going to pay for exploration and settlement? Kings. Investors. Do-gooders. Churches. Mostly nobody.
 
Who is going to do the hard labor needed to set up a new community, such as chopping down trees, working the farms, constructing the buildings? There is almost no money to pay anyone for the work. Families might do some. [[Indentured servants]]. Slaves.
 
It also helps to look for unifying themes to organize events in your mind. One theme that helps explain American history well is the overall expansion of Christianity, for 2000 years. Why did [[Christopher Columbus]] and other explorers risk their lives to come to the New World? To spread Christianity. Why did families then risk their lives to settle here? To establish religious communities free of persecution. Two hundred years later, why did Massachusetts prohibit slavery and why did abolitionists President [[John Quincy Adams]] devote their lives to ending slavery? Because their religious values told them slavery was wrong.
 
There are other possible themes also. How about the desire to make more money, or make some money? How about the urge for self-government, to be in charge of oneself free from a monarchy? How about the advance of technology and its affect on how we live? There are many possible themes to American history and we will have fun debates about them.
 
From 1789 until today, we have had an American President. He is not more important than others. If I had to name the ten most important Americans in history, I would only include one president in the list (the first one, [[George Washington]]). But memorizing the list of 43 presidents can help you organize all the other facts. When someone asks me what was happening in 1962, I think of who was president and then remember the issues of that time. The presidents become like drawers, one per president, filled with issues and events.
 
But before 1789 there was no president. How are we going to organize that? One way is to focus on the three most important colonies, [[Virginia]] (1607), [[Massachusetts]] (1620) and [[Pennsylvania]] (1681), and relate the other 11 colonies and events to them. Another way is to look at the battles that occurred before the [[American Revolution]], such as the [[French and Indian War]] in 1754-60.
 
Regardless, by the end of this course, you will be able to hear an event and describe what was going on at that time. You will be able to tell me what happened before the event, and what happened afterwards.
 
Don’t try to memorize hundreds of dates. Instead, when you see a date, think what happened before and after it. There are only about ten dates that you need to know. All other dates, such as those in the event list, are there just for the purpose of ordering events. For example, no one will ask you when Georgia was founded as a colony. But you may be asked whether it was the first or last colony founded. (It was the last colony established.) Another example: [[Quebec]] was founded in 1608. Don’t remember the 1608, but remember that Quebec was founded one year after [[Jamestown]] was established (1607 – one of the few dates you should memorize!)

== Pre-Columbian Period ==
The first settlers in America were paleo-indian peoples. Their origin is not known. Some claim they migrated from Asia, but that makes little sense because American Indians are very different in many ways from Chinese and Asian Indians. Even their blood types are typically different.

Some old mounds reflecting Indian settlements in America have been discovered, such as the Adena burial mounds and Mississippian platform towns.<ref>Melissa L. Meyer, Dean R. Snow, Charles L. Cohen, Russell Thornton, Donald A. Grinde Jr., Leah Dilworth "Indian History and Culture" The Oxford Companion to United States History. Paul S. Boyer, ed. Oxford University Press 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. University of Tampa. 4 August 2008 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t119.e0758-s0002></ref> For example, the [[Cahokia Mounds]] in Southern Illinois (just east of [[St. Louis]]) reflect an Indian community dating back as early as A.D. 1000 or 1100.<ref>http://www.cahokiamounds.com/mystery_01.html</ref> That community practiced human sacrifice, as did the [[Aztecs]] and [[Mayans]] in [[Mesoamerica]] (Mexico and Central America) and the [[Incas]] in [[South America]] prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquerors.

The American Indians, also called Native Americans, were [[nomads]] who traveled across wide areas. They did not read and write, and they lacked a monetary system. They were organized by tribes and some had simple forms of government. There was the [[Iroquois Confederacy]] that united some, but typically there was a lack of unity that led to their easy defeat by Europeans. The Indians did introduce [[tobacco]] and [[corn]] to Europeans, and they became widely popular back in Europe.

Textbooks written after 1970 began claiming that around A.D. 1000, the Scandinavian [[Leif Ericson]] established a small colony at [[Vinland]], where the present [[Newfoundland]] is (north of Maine). But there is very little evidence that such a colony existed, and no explanation for what happened to it. Or at least I hope they don't find any. That would upset my childhood memory of the stories told me. It did not last long even if it did exist, and there is no sign of any Viking colony in what is now the United States.<ref>"People have been looking hard for hundreds of years and there is no archaeological evidence in this part [New England]— it's certainly possible, the Vikings were incredible boat handlers — '''but there is no evidence'''," observed one university history professor.[http://farshores.org/a04viki.htm]</ref>.

''Exam note'': there are no more than one or two questions about the Pre-Columbian period on any American history exam.

== Exploration (Columbian Period) ==

Starting in the Middle Ages, Christian Europe began to use its knowledge, wealth and [[faith]] to extend beyond its horizons. Christian Europeans fought the Holy [[Crusades]] from 1095 to 1291 to protect pilgrims to [[Jerusalem]] against Moslem attacks. Some Europeans were motivated to spread the [[Gospel]]. Others were motivated by a desire to increase their wealth, such as by finding gold. Since [[Ancient Greece]] it was known that the world was round, and that it should be possible to reach the Orient by traveling West '''''around''''' the world. Ironically, it was the very knowledge of the Earth's circumference that deterred a westward passage - the distance to the Orient in that direction was beyond the open-water range of ships in that period. Also, steamships did not exist yet; these ships relied on sailing to reach their destination, and wind patterns did not always cooperate.
 
But centuries passed before one man inspired by the Christian [[faith]] was determined to change the world of his time. By the young age of 10 the Italian [[Christopher Columbus]] was working at sea, already on his way to becoming a master navigator and mariner. He learned the patterns of the Atlantic trade winds, and their ability to carry sailing vessels across vast distances both eastward and westward before one's provisions would run out. With the charts he developed, he was certain he could reach Asia on a westbound route more efficiently than others could.
 
It took enormous courage, determination and financial support to sail West into the complete unknown. It also took more than a desire to get rich, because there were easier ways to make money. That additional desire was a passion to spread Christianity to new civilizations. In 1482, [[Christopher Columbus]] sought financing to sail West in order to find an easier way to reach the Far East, by sailing westward rather than continuing the different path eastward from Europe to India and Japan. Columbus tried Portugal for raising money, but it already had its own successful explorers. Portugal declined to support him, but Columbus persistently tried for ten more years. In 1492 Spain drove out the last of the Muslims and re-established it as a Christian nation, and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain granted Columbus's request for funding his voyage that year. Spain continues to honor Columbus Day just as the United States does.
 
Columbus was not only a devout Christian, but an enterprising capitalist. He used his hard-earned knowledge of the Atlantic trade winds and the navigational edge they gave him to secure funding for his venture from Spain on terms that gave him 10% of any riches discovered: The contract he signed with the Spanish Monarchy, known as the Capitulations of Santa Fe, named him Admiral of the Atlantic Ocean, Viceroy and Governor of all the new lands discovered, and gave him one-tenth of the profit from all of the discovered lands (Spain later refused to honor the agreement, and Columbus never became wealthy). Having secured his funding, Columbus assembled his ships and crew and set out in August of 1492 to reach the Orient.
 
So back to what Columbus did achieve. He set sail in three ships, the first sighted land in late 1492. On Christmas eve, December 24, 1492, one of Columbus's ships, the [[Santa Maria]], reached the island of [[Haiti]]. Columbus named the settlement “La Navidad,” meaning “The Nativity,” and dropped off 40 men with a promise to return to them the next year. Columbus then wrote to the King and Queen of Spain the following in his Journal: “In all the world there can be no better or gentler people. Your Highnesses should feel great joy, because presently they will be Christians, and instructed in the good manners of your realms.”
 
But he had grossly underestimated the size of the world, and when he reached San Salvador, Haiti (Hispaniola) and Cuba he thought he had reached the Far East. So he called the natives Indians. He left some men there but they were eventually killed by the natives. Columbus reported back that new people had been found to evangelize with Christianity.
 
Soon Spain and Portugal divided the Americas with the [[Line of Demarcation]], drawn by the Pope. The [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] moved the line in 1493. It was a North-South line that gave Spain North America and the western part of South America, but Portugal received Brazil. That's why Brazilians speak Portuguese to this day.
 
The incredible genius of Columbus -- or Providence -- was proven a year later on his second voyage across the Atlantic. Amid the vast ocean, he was able to find the precise same location that he had reached on his first voyage on the island if [[Hispaniola]]. That is like finding a needle in a haystack the size of a football stadium. But Columbus's colony had not survived in his absence.
 
Columbus sailed on a total of three subsequent voyages, but never achieved his goal and died a failure. His ultimate dream of liberating Jerusalem, as the Crusades attempted, was not achieved. But what he did achieve was to open the New World to spreading Christianity and creating new wealth.
 
Columbus's efforts resulting in giving Spain [[Haiti]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Jamaica]] and [[Cuba]] by 1515. Spain then settled Florida (St. Augustine), and later Santa Fe, New Mexico. Spanish [[Hernando Cortes]] conquered the Aztecs in central Mexico (1521), and [[Francisco Pizarro]] conquered the Incas of Peru (1531). They seized much gold in the process.
 
But while Spanish soldiers came to America, Spanish women did not. So there were not many distinct, permanent Spanish settlements. Also, the Spanish were also entirely subservient to their King back in Europe. Separate governments did not develop.
 
Other European powers were exploring North America also. The French explored the St. Lawrence and settled Quebec, where French is still spoken to this day. The French also explored the Mississippi, and settled the towns of Saint Louis (named after a French king) and New Orleans.
 
The Dutch explored and settled the Hudson River, calling the region New Netherlands and buying and naming Manhattan New Amsterdam.
 
The Swedish settled in Delaware; Germans settled later in Pennsylvania.
 
Explorer [[John Cabot]] discovered the North American coastline for England in 1497. But no settlements were attempted by the English for about another 100 years.
 
The reason is that North America didn’t have what the explorers were looking for. America lacked valuable natural resources. There was no gold, which is what Europe wanted. In 1576, the British explorer [[Martin Frobisher]] even hauled 200 tons of material back to England, hoping it was gold. It wasn’t.
 
There wasn’t anything else of value to Europe either. New England was too rocky near the coast to develop farms. The mid-Atlantic region or Chesapeake area, where Maryland and Virginia are today, was infested with malaria. Winters were cold, and summers were hot.
 
There was no livestock – no horses and no cattle, until the Spanish imported them. Florida was a swamp, and did not even have orange trees until the Spanish explorer [[Ponce de Leon]] planted them in 1515.
 
North America was a joke to many in England. Its Parliament passed a law in 1597 authorizing the deportations of convicted criminals to America and other colonies. In 1605, a satirical book entitled “Eastward Ho!” was published that mocked attempts to settle in Virginia.
 
Think about it. Would your family uproot and move, at great risk to your lives, to a place that had no civilization or anything of value? Do we see families moving to the middle of the desert in Arizona, or to cheap land in the middle of Wyoming? Only very rarely.
 
[[England]]'s first settlement of [[North America]] was in 1585, on [[Roanoke Island]] in [[Virginia]]. More than 100 families settled there, but within a few years they had all disappeared. It remains a mystery to this day what happened. They could have died from disease or starvation. They could have been killed by Indians, although note that Indian attacks were often at the prodding of a rival European group, and there was no rival European group at that time. No one knows the real reason for the disappearance of this settlement, and it's called the "[[Lost Colony]]."
 
About the same time, however, England had a huge success in Europe. Spain had ruled the high seas for most of the 1500s, until England destroyed the Spanish Armada in 1588. That left England with the potential to gain control of the oceans and world trade over the seas. England could protect its colonies against other European powers.

== Successful Settlements ==

Some Englishmen invested money in what was called a “[[joint stock company]],” which was similar to a modern-day corporation, for the purpose of finding gold or other treasures. The “[[Virginia Company]],” established the first permanent settlement for England in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. It was a disaster and the investors never received a profit. The men who settled in Jamestown were gentlemen who expected to get rich with little effort. They lacked a common purpose and wasted their time searching for treasure, or simply doing nothing at all. Unwilling to work to grow their own food, they almost starved to death.
 
'''1607''' is one of the few dates you should memorize. This was after the Spanish had settled in Florida, but before the French had settled in Quebec. So remember the sequence in settling America: Spanish, English, and then French.
 
Initially, from 1607-1608, the Jamestown settlement lived under socialism, whereby the group shared its food with everyone no matter how much or little each person worked. This economic system was a complete failure as no one had any incentive to do any work. In September 1608, [[John Smith]] was elected president of the governing council. He ruled for a year and installed a conservative economic system: “don’t work, don’t eat!” Under this new system, food production increased and by 1614 there was plenty to eat.
 
But Jamestown settlers were there to find fortune, and there was not any gold or silver. Indians had discovered tobacco and Europeans were beginning to become addicted on it. Many Europeans recognized that tobacco was bad for them, and some wanted to prohibit it. In 1613, Englishman [[John Rolfe]], who married the Indian [[Pocahontas]] in Virginia, began growing tobacco to export to Europe. The King banned the growing of tobacco in England, so Rolfe had no competition. Cash began pouring in for the tobacco, and this so-called “cash crop” became highly profitable for the Jamestown settlers. Tobacco continued to be very profitable throughout a large part of American history, particularly in the south.
 
Despite profiting from the sale of tobacco, the Jamestown settlement had other difficulties. It had made peace with Indian [[Chief Powhatan]], whose daughter Pocahontas married settler [[John Rolfe]]. But after Powhatan died, his brother led a sudden attack on the settlers in 1622, massacring 357 out of a total of only 1200.
 
But Indian strife was only one of many problems. Labor was in short supply for working the fields. Settlers began importing indentured servants, who received free travel to the colonies in exchange for a promise to work for seven years. But Virginia also turned to a cheaper approach to labor: importing slaves from West Africa beginning in 1619 to work the crops. But the importation of slaves to the New World was not new in 1619; many European countries had been importing a total of 40,000 slaves to the New World prior to the 1600's based on the Portuguese plantation system for working the land.
 
In 1624 King James (of “King James Bible” fame) took back the Virginia colony and established it as a royal charter. King James was left with a problem colony that enslaved workers and grew tobacco. More trouble lay ahead, in 1676, Nathanial Bacon was a Virginia settler who decided to take the law into his own hands. He first massacred Indians in western Virginia, then took his small army of rebels to Jamestown, where he burned it down because the governor had refused to allow him to kill the Indians. Bacon himself soon died from a disease. The governor returned and hung two dozen of his supporters. How Virginia produced four of our first five presidents is amazing. You can think about this and answer on the homework assignment.
 
By then there were many other settlements in North America. The most important were two settlements in Massachusetts, which has a much harsher climate than Virginia, particularly in the wintertime. But their motivation was religious, not financial. Puritans were unhappy with the direction of the Church of England, feeling it was too much like the Catholic Church. Two different groups of Puritans set out for North America. One group wanted to purify the Church of England by remaining in the Church but in a more perfect community. The other group wanted to separate completely from the Church of England. Both groups landed by chance within 100 miles of each other in Massachusetts.
 
The first group, the “Pilgrims”, set sail from Plymouth, England and intended to land near the mouth of the Hudson River (now New York City), which was the northern part of the Virginia Company’s territory. But their ship, the “Mayflower”, was blown off course and they landed up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts in 1620. Outside of any official government, they decided on the boat to establish the first civil government in North America by signing the Mayflower Compact. They landed in December, and half of the people died due to disease in their first New England winter. But the following spring a friendly Indian introduced them to corn, or maize, the marvelous food discovered by Indians. They had a plentiful harvest that fall, and celebrated their first Thanksgiving with the Indians that fall. In 1623, their new Governor [[William Bradford]] gave every member a plot of land and allowed the free market to develop. By 1624, the community was doing so well that it was actually making more food than it could consume and began exporting its corn. [[William Bradford]] and [[Edward Winslow]] kept diaries during the settling of Plymouth, which are recorded in a small, but fascinating book called ''Mourt's Relation''.
 
Corn is a tremendous contribution by Indians to the world that increasingly sustains peoples worldwide. Corn did not exist in Europe during the Middle Ages. Cheap and easy to grow, corn has become one of the most popular foods worldwide, rivaling rice and soybeans. For that we can thank the Indians.
 
Encouraged by the success of the Pilgrims, a new group called the [[Massachusetts Bay Company]] obtained a royal charter and sent a larger group of Puritans to settle in New England, though this time with the purpose of purifying the [[Church of England]] with a more perfect community than in England itself. It was well-financed and led by the very capable [[John Winthrop]], who had been trained at Oxford. It landed in Salem, Massachusetts in 1629 and immediately moved to Boston Harbor. It never looked back, thriving almost immediately despite the harsh winter climate. Within five years the [[Great Migration]] of religiously motivated settlers followed them from England. Their numbers and power grew. By the 1640s, the community was participating in robust trade by sea with England, the West Indies and on occasion West Africa.
 
What is a “colony”? “Colony” defined: “a body of people living in a new territory but retaining ties with the parent state.” (Merriam-Webster dictionary)
 
The growing colonies in Massachusetts and Virginia could not have been more different from each other, and it is remarkable they ever joined the same country. Massachusetts was highly religious and motivated by faith. Virginia was marginally religious and motivated by money. Massachusetts, more religious, had vocal opponents of slavery and neighboring Vermont was the first state to prohibit slavery in its Constitution, in 1777. Virginia welcomed slavery. Massachusetts grew the Indian crop of corn. Virginia grew the Indian crop of tobacco. Massachusetts settlers made greater efforts to get along with Indians and treat them fairly. Massachusetts attracted new settlers based on religion. Virginia attracted new settlers based on the “headright system,” by which land (usually 50 acres) was given to those who paid for the passage to the colony of an immigrant, who usually agreed to work as an “indentured servant” for free for fixed number of years on the land.
 
The stark contrast between Massachusetts and Virginia would ultimately lead, nearly 250 years later, to the Civil War.
 
While the Virginia institution of slavery was spreading to the colonies of [[Maryland]], [[Carolina]] and, later, [[Georgia]], [[Massachusetts]] was spreading a different sort of institution: religious intensity. [[Roger Williams]] was an extraordinary individual of such great faith that found even the Puritans lacking in their treatment of Indians. Williams also disagreed with how the Puritans combined government and religion, and had even executed several Christians based on differences with the Puritan faith. Williams was fabulous with languages and learned to communicate with many different Indian tribes, and even lived with them at times in spite of the danger. He left the Puritans in Massachusetts and started the colony of Rhode Island, which to this day has prided itself on its independence. Rhode Island was the only state to refuse to support a colonial tax on imports after the Revolution, and the only colony to refuse to ratify the Constitution until long after [[George Washington]] was President. Rhode Island, under Roger Williams’ direction, separated state government from religion. No mandatory church attendance, and no funding of churches with tax revenues were allowed in Rhode Island.
 
But while Roger Williams was highly moral, others in Rhode Island made it the biggest importer of slaves in all the colonies. So censoring religion may have a price. In contrast, in the larger Massachusetts, taxes funded religious institutions for nearly 200 years, until at least the 1830s. It successfully prohibited slavery. Another devout Christian who disagreed with the Puritans and left them was named [[Anne Hutchinson]]. She, however, was later killed by Indians.
 
One prominent text claims, under “Rhode Island,” that “This belief [by Roger Williams] in the separation of church and state became a cornerstone of the American Constitution in 1787.” That is completely false. Roger Williams was long dead by 1787, and there is no separation of church and state in the Constitution. Rhode Island did not even send any representatives to draft the Constitution and it had no role in the drafting of the Bill of Rights. In fact, Rhode Island did not ratify the Constitution until after George Washington was elected president, and even then it took much arm-twisting to compel Rhode Island to ratify the Constitution. But some people want to keep religion out of government, and they refuse to admit that the First Amendment only prohibits the establishment of a national church by the government.
 
In between Massachusetts and Virginia there was a third approach: that taken by Pennsylvania. William Penn was another extraordinary Englishman. He converted to become a Quaker in England and began practicing that religion in violation of English law. He was arrested and prosecuted, but the jury refused to convict him. The king owed his father money, and gave the son what is today Pennsylvania. It was nothing but woods at the time. But William Penn founded his colony based on one principle: religious freedom for all. He advertised in Europe and attracted peoples of many nationalities in addition to the English.
 
Penn was very kind to the Indians and soon had the most popular colony in America. Philadelphia became America’s greatest city, surpassing Boston in population in the 1700s. Only Pennsylvania and Maryland survived in the long-term under private ownership. Virtually all the other colonies were eventually taken over by the King of England, often due to troubles that arose in the colony.
 
There were other colonies. Pennsylvania was founded over 50 years *after* Virginia and Massachusetts. Georgia was founded over 50 *years* after Pennsylvania, which means over 100 years after Virginia and Massachusetts. Philanthropist [[James Oglethorpe]] founded Savannah in Georgia in 1733 for poor debtors in jails of England. Also a buffer colony was created between South Carolina and Spanish Florida. Oglethorpe was very religious and very strict. Too strict for the King, who took over the colony in 1751. The colony was not nearly as strong and developed as the other colonies, so the other colonies did not take it very seriously.

== Economic System ==

Ultimately, and this is the most difficult for students to understand, it is money ([[economics]]) that shapes much of history. If the colonies were profitable for their mother countries in Europe, then the mother countries would continue to support and defend the colonies. But if the colonies were a money-loser, as in costing more to defend then they make for the defending motherland, then they are going to be abandoned or at least no longer protected by the European sponsor.

Many of the colonies did make this work, and work well. An [[economic]] system called [[mercantilism]] began to develop in the 1600s and 1700s, which would lay the foundation for capitalism in the 1800s.<ref>http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/mercantilism.html</ref>

The basic concept of mercantilism is to limit imports from foreign countries (not including colonies), and maximize exports to everyone (including colonies), in order to maximize the "trade surplus" (the amount by which receipts exceeds expenses). Colonies played an important role in this system by supplying raw materials at low cost to the mother country (e.g., England or France), which could then use the materials to produce low-cost finished products that could be sold to the world.<ref>http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Mercantilism.html</ref> By selling more than the country buys, it could accumulate a surplus in money (gold) and become wealthier.

But there's no free lunch, and these European nations were all-too-happy to use slavery to do the back-breaking work of gathering the raw materials, such as crops and minerals. A slave trade developed to bring blacks from Africa to the New World in order to work the plantations for the settlers from [[England]] and other European powers.

The [[Spanish]] had a different system: they used a modified form of [[feudalism]], known as the encomienda system, in order to force the Indians to do the hard work. The "encomienda" was a grant by the King or Queen of Spain of power over Indians within a geographic region, a grant that was given to an "encomendero", who was the Spaniard in that region who would put the Indians to work.<ref>http://www.millersville.edu/~columbus/papers/scott-m.html</ref> The Indians themselves became known as the economiendas.

The Spanish system looked better in theory, because the encomendero was supposed to educate the enonomiendas, convert them to Christianity (Catholicism), and not exercise any political power over them (as in telling them how to live). In practice, however, there were no "checks and balances" on exploitation and abuse of power in working the Indians.

== Topics for Discussion ==

*Were the Puritans right to banish (expel) people for religious reasons?
*Did the Vikings settle North America before Columbus did?
*Question about bias: why would some want to take credit away from Columbus, and how might they do it?
*What, if anything, was the significance of [[Bacon's Rebellion]]?
*What challenges would the [[Puritans]] face in maintaining their strongly religious culture in the 1600s and 1700s?

== A Word About College Board Exams ==

First, a word about College Board exams. This course will give you the foundation -- if you like -- for taking three different College Board exams (usually a student takes only one of the three): the [[CLEP]], the [[AP]], and the [[SAT II]].
 
The CLEP is a multiple-choice exam that is recognized by most (but not all) colleges as a way to earn college credit. It costs about $50 and is administered on computers at local colleges, usually once a month. It is the least biased of the three exams.
 
The AP, or Advanced Placement exam, is given only once a year in May at local high schools, and is more expensive. It includes both multiple-choice and essay questions, and is used by different colleges to give credit for courses. In 2009, the AP exam for U.S. History is scheduled for Friday, May 9.
 
The SAT II in American History is an inexpensive multiple-choice exam that takes only an hour and is given at high schools on Saturdays once a month, October through June. No college credit is given for it, but it is used for college applications to recognize achievement. The SAT II is the most biased of the three exams, and is known for emphasizing liberal culture and matters of race and gender. For example, the "cultural and intellectual history" portion seems important to the exam but actually it is mostly cultural rather than intellectual history, and the questions are liberal in nature (e.g., asking about an artist who liberals like). Also, what counts as "economic history" is not what you might expect. There are almost no questions about the [[conservative]] gold standard, for example, even though that issue the political scene throughout history (and was even an issue in [[Ron Paul]]'s campaign for presidency in 2008). Instead, questions about economic history on the SAT II are likely to be about unions, the treatment of workers, alleged corruption of big business, and gender and racial issues.
 
Notice what is missing on the College Board exams: military history. Unfortunately, many educators in the [[United States]] dislike the military, and that bias shows up on the exams. No questions are there about battles or key military strategies and decisions. The only time the military shows up on these exams is when they have a political impact, and then they qualify as political history.
 
Each of these College Board exams can be taken as often as one likes, though it is difficult to take the AP exam more than once because it is offered only once a year, and it is expensive to retake the CLEP exam. The SAT II, which is cheaper, is the easiest to take more than once and colleges only look at the highest score.
 There is absolutely no requirement to take any of these College Board exams as part of this course, and references to the exams are used more as a way of helping you see the "big picture," as in how much time should be spent on a particular period or historical topic. Our class has only two required, multiple-choice exams: a midterm and a final. This course will also help students improve their test-taking skills on multiple-choice exams. We will also have weekly homework assignments consisting of short-answer questions.

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:United States History]]

Talk:Libertarianism

2008-08-13T10:50:04Z

Lordsservant:

Jaques-- why did you delete the link to liberalism (which is a page that exists) but leave the link to classical liberalism (which is a page that doesnt exist)??--[[User:Redblue|Redblue]] 18:04, 4 April 2007 (EDT)

Is that supposed to be humorist Dave Barry? Links would help on these people if they are important enough to be listed here. [[User:Human|Human]] 22:16, 23 April 2007 (EDT)

I'm unsure how libertarianism is "closely" connected to liberalism. From the social point of view, this is evident; However, libertarians believe in small government, a viewpoint often shared by conservatives (except in times of war, it seems). [[User:KxWaal|KxWaal]] 22:16, 28 June 2007 (EDT)
"except in times of war, it seems" Heh, true that KxWaal, True that.
== Right wing ==

"Libertarianism is generally considered right-wing." Is this true anymore? I know it used to be true before social issues were more important to the political landscape, but nowadays libertarians agree with liberals on things (war on drugs, abortion, war in Iraq, Patriot Act) so I'm not sure it's so accurate anymore. I know that ''some'' political scientists call them right wing but I wonder how general? At any rate, I put the <nowiki>{{fact}}</nowiki> tag in there for now; I have no contrary sources to provide which would allow me to remove the statment entirely

PS: This article is in major need of organization and citations. I might start on this in the next couple days [[User:Jazzman831|Jazzman831]] 15:53, 9 July 2007 (EDT)

*It is not generally considered "right", and hasn't in at least two decades, maybe more. Although Liberterians espouse some ideas (mainly Domestic Policy issues) many of their beliefs more aptly fit into what is now considered Liberal, especially in the Foreign Policy areas. Most favor a more pure form of Democaracy than is available in any government now established. --[[User:TK|Sysop-TK]] [[User_talk:TK|--Talk 2 Me]] 17:40, 29 July 2007 (EDT)

There are a lot of overlaps on economic issues, obviously, but libertarians are far more "principled", whereas conservatives tend to determine actions on a case by case basis. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 17:44, 29 July 2007 (EDT)

:Oh you are preaching to the choir :) I'm very familiar with the ideological stance, just not as clear on how you fit them on the right/left scale (as a libertarian myself I have much animosity towards the one axis system). But no matter anyway, Andy removed the statement I was talking about. [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Libertarianism&diff=236312&oldid=235195] [[User:Jazzman831|Jazzman831]] 17:57, 29 July 2007 (EDT)

Libertarianism

2008-08-13T10:46:03Z

Lordsservant: Come on, we're all grown up here, its just a word.

'''Libertarianism''' is a [[Political Philosophy|political philosophy]] emphasizing ''liberty'' and ''property''. A libertarian believes in minimizing or entirely eliminating government interventionism in all aspects of life; including economic, personal and in foreign policy matters. The [[French]] [[term]] of ''[[Laissez faire|Laissez-Faire]]'', or ''let us do'', is a term that describes some aspects of the libertarian belief. <ref>"Libertarians are neither. Unlike liberals or conservatives, Libertarians advocate a high degree of both personal and economic liberty. For example, Libertarians advocate freedom in economic matters, so we're in favor of lowering taxes, slashing bureaucratic regulation of business, and charitable -- rather than government -- welfare. But Libertarians are also socially tolerant. We won't demand laws or restrictions on other people who we may not agree because of personal actions or lifestyles.
Think of us as a group of people with a "live and let live" mentality and a balanced checkbook." [http://www.lp.org/article_85.shtml] </ref>
== Libertarian Philosophy ==
Libertarians in America tend to be [[liberal]] on social issues but [[conservative]] on economic issues. Libertarians generally support the legalization of drugs, prostitution, [[same-sex marriage]] , [[euthanasia]], [[polygamy]] and [[abortion]]. They oppose restrictions on [[pornography]]. However, they also oppose [[universal health care]], [[taxes]] and the [[welfare state]]. They are strong supporters of [[school choice]], and oppose continuing the [[public school]] system. Some libertarians support [[school vouchers]], while others are skeptical due to the issue of government influence over [[private education]].

Libertarians support an expansive view of liberty as the proper basis for organizing civil society.<ref>Libertarianism is closely related to liberalism, if this word is interpreted according to its original meaning of '[[classical liberal|classical liberalism]]'.</ref> They tend to define liberty as the freedom to do whatever one wishes up to the point that one's behavior begins to interfere with another's person or property through coercive means. At the point of interference, each party would become subject to certain principled rules for adjudicating disputes, generally accepting that one who has demonstrated a proven lack of respect for the rights of others should be subject to sanctions, including possible constraints on their freedom. They believe that liberty is the right of every individual.

Libertarians generally defend the ideal of freedom from the perspective of how little one is constrained by authority, i.e., how much one is allowed to do (also referred to as negative liberty). This ideal is distinguished from a view of freedom focused on how much one is able to do (also called positive liberty).

== Libertarian Factions ==

Libertarians tend to use the word "libertarian" (small "l") to refer to the philosophy, and "Libertarian" (capital "L") to refer to the party. Thus, more libertarians exist than members of the [[Libertarian Party]]. Two general factions exist in the libertarian movement. The first are those libertarians who apply the principles of right to person and property to an absolute. They believe that no person, group, or government is above the right to violate these two things. They thus believe that government itself is illegitimate because it violates person and property. These libertarians subscribe to [[anarcho-capitalism]], as first named by [[Murray N. Rothbard]]. They believe that law and security can be handled by private means in the free market. The other faction believes in a very limited government. They are often referred to as [[minarchists]]. Libertarian minarchists want the state to only enforce law and order but generally nothing else. [[Ayn Rand]] was a minarchist.

Libertarians tend to view liberalism as a philosophy advocating less government interference in private morality and more government control of business, and view conservatism as a philosophy advocating more government interference in private morality and less government control of business, while they view libertarianism as advocating less government control in all areas. However, there have been fusionist attempts to mix libertarianism and with social conservatism. This is noted in particular by [[paleolibertarians]]. They believe that social conservatism is a natural entity in a free society, but do not believe that it can be enforced by state interventionism.

== Libertarian Thought in America ==

While there are libertarian factions within the [[Democratic]] and [[Republican]] [[parties]], neither party is particularly well aligned with libertarian thought. While the Republican Party sometimes adopts libertarian-sounding rhetoric of small government in economic affairs, many libertarians see it as being a force that has increased government interventionism in these affairs. Libertarians generally, for example, are opposed to the [[USA PATRIOT Act]], which they believe increases government power and removes protections on the liberty and privacy of the public. Most conservatives, on the other hand, view it as a necessary government program and believe security to be more important than personal liberty and privacy. Libertarians point out that such a view contradicts those of the founding fathers, such as Benjamin Franklin, who summarized it most eloquently, "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Libertarians are also generally opposed to the [[Iraq War]], unlike the majority of conservatives.

While all libertarians agree in general on the principles of the desirability of maximizing individual liberty and avoiding excessive government interference with the operation of the free market, individual libertarians have opinions that differ wildly within these general principles.

The libertarian movement generally praises the [[United States Constitution]], regarding it as the proper scope of the national government. They believe that the Democratic and Republican parties have overstepped constitutional limits. Anarcho-capitalist libertarians, on the other hand, view the implementation of the constitution as the very reason the national government is the size it is today.

== Notable Libertarians ==
[[Image:Alexis de tocqueville.jpg|right|thumb|Alexis de Tocqueville]]
The Christian libertarian Lord Acton referred to the philosopher and theologian [[Thomas Aquinas]] as "the first Whig" or classical liberal. Other libertarian-oriented historic figures would include [[Adam Smith]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[Alexis de Tocqueville]], [[John Stuart Mill]], Thomas Paine, [[John Locke]], [[Patrick Henry]], George Mason, [[Carl Menger]], [[C.S. Lewis]], [[Ludwig von Mises]], [[James Madison]], H. L. Mencken, Rose Wilder Lane, Albert Jay Nock, [[Frédéric Bastiat]], [[Herbert Spencer]], Richard Cobden, [[Henry David Thoreau]], and [[Hugo Grotius]].

*[[Ron Paul]], 1988 Libertarian Party and 2008 Republican Party presidential candidate.
*The psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, opponent of the therapeutic state and compulsory mental institutionalization.
*Nobel Laureate economists [[Milton Friedman]], [[F.A. Hayek]], [[Ronald Coase]], Gary Becker, James Buchanan, [[George Stigler]], and Vernon Smith.
*The novelist [[Ayn Rand]] advocated a philosophy of ''Objectivism'', embodying some libertarian thought, although differing from libertarianism in many ways. Some of her novels, such as ''Atlas Shrugged'', have become icons of some people in the libertarian movement, while others find her materialism and [[atheism]] incompatible with moral ethics and natural rights and law.
*[[Robert LeFevre]], significant in promoting libertarian philosophy in the 1950s and 1960s before it was a well-defined movement, with his "Freedom School" seminars on political and economic philosophy.
*[[Karl Hess]], speechwriter for [[Barry Goldwater]] credited with penning Goldwater's famous 1964 statement "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice". Hess later became a major figure in the Libertarian Party.
*[[Murray N. Rothbard]] was nicknamed "Mr. Libertarian." He brought to life the anarcho-capitalist movement. Rothbard was an economist of the [[Austrian School]].
*[[Samuel Edward Konkin III]], a significant figure in 1970s libertarianism, whose influence waned considerably after the rise of the Libertarian Party as he opposed political parties and voting as being against libertarian principles. He proposed instead a purely marketplace-based route to a free society, such as [[tax resistance]] and doing business "off the books".
*[[Robert A. Heinlein]], science fiction author, whose 1966 novel ''The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress'' was an influence on the movement.
*[[L. Neil Smith]], [[J. Neil Schulman]], and [[Brad Linaweaver]], science fiction writers.
*Several popular financial writers including [[Harry Browne]] and [[Howard J. Ruff]]. Browne would later run for President, twice, on the Libertarian Party ticket. Ruff declared his political philosophy as libertarian but as a socially conservative [[Mormon]] made an exception on issues like abortion and prostitution, where he disagreed with the libertarian view.
*[[Penn and Teller]], stage magicians turned libertarian evangelicals preaching [[atheism]] and promoting libertarian philosophies, including controversial positions such as legalization of prostitution and drugs in their Showtime series, Bull-shit!
*The Canadian rock band [[Rush]], which has been together since 1968, often explores libertarian themes in their lyrics.
*Humorist Dave Barry, actor/comedian Drew Carey, actor Denis Leary, former MTV VJ Lisa "Kennedy" Montgomery, actor Kurt Russell, investigative reporter [[John Stossel]], and the late rocker Frank Zappa have all referred to themselves as being aligned with or openly supporting the Libertarian Party.
*Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of [[South Park]], proclaimed that they are libertarians. While South Park often offend conservative positions like religion, are vulgar, and support evolution they also make fun of liberals positions such as political correctness and environmentalism. <ref>[http://www.reason.com/news/show/116787.html] Parker and Stone, Reason Magazine</ref>. The phrases "South Park Conservative" (the name of a book) and "South Park Republican" are used to describe the followers of these beliefs.
*[[Ed Clark]], the Libertarian Party's 1980 nominee for President. Clark obtained the highest popular vote percentage to date for a Libertarian candidate.

== External links ==
* [http://www.faqs.org/faqs/libertarian/faq/ Libertarian FAQ]
* [http://dmoz.org/Society/Politics/Liberalism/Libertarianism/ Open Directory libertarian links ]
* [http://chelm.freeyellow.com/black_index.html Black Libertarians]
* [http://libertarianwiki.org/Main_Page Libertarian Wiki]
* [http://www.l4l.org/ Libertarians for Life]
* [http://www.independent.org/ The Independent Institute]
* [http://www.mises.org/ Ludwig von Mises Institute]
* [http://www.fee.org/ Foundation for Economic Education]

== See also ==
* [[Democratic Freedom Caucus]]
* [[Republican Liberty Caucus]]

== References ==
<references/>
[[Category:Politics]]