This site presents an anthology of 8 documents from the Kennedy Administration that have been edited down for use by middle school students in evaluating his growth in office, and rating him against 2 sets of presidential leadership criteria. This model can then be applied by students to their own critical study of other U.S. presidents from President Washington through President Obama as determined by their U.S. History course of study.
One of the most useful criteria for assessing a presidency is the last of those considered in the 2000 and 2009 C-Span Historian Surveys on Presidential Leadership: "Performance in the Context of their Times". To study a presidency is to explore the years in which they were in office including all of the domestic and foreign policy challenges that required their decision making and all of the trends in political, social, and popular culture that directed and limited their options.
Guiding Questions for All Documents:
For each document, guiding questions are listed in the order that they match up with the transcript.
This site was created as the culminating project for the Summer 2015 Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History/ Adams State University online graduate course, "The Kennedy Presidency" taught by University of Virginia, Miller Center Professor Dr. Barbara Perry.
Site creator:
Paul Frankmann
8th Grade Social Studies Teacher
Harmon Middle School
Aurora, Ohio
One of the most useful criteria for assessing a presidency is the last of those considered in the 2000 and 2009 C-Span Historian Surveys on Presidential Leadership: "Performance in the Context of their Times". To study a presidency is to explore the years in which they were in office including all of the domestic and foreign policy challenges that required their decision making and all of the trends in political, social, and popular culture that directed and limited their options.
Guiding Questions for All Documents:
For each document, guiding questions are listed in the order that they match up with the transcript.
- Who is Kennedy speaking to directly? Indirectly?
- How might different groups mentioned in the document receive his message?
- What is the overall tone of his message?
- Where in the document do you see evidence of presidential leadership characteristics?
- Does Kennedy seem more idealistic or more practical (pragmatic) in this document?
- Where in this document do you see connections to the broad, idealistic statements of his Inaugural Address?
- How does this document reflect, or reference other previous documents?
- How does this document incorporate references to American History?
- How would you rate this document for its effectiveness?
- What are your questions?
This site was created as the culminating project for the Summer 2015 Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History/ Adams State University online graduate course, "The Kennedy Presidency" taught by University of Virginia, Miller Center Professor Dr. Barbara Perry.
Site creator:
Paul Frankmann
8th Grade Social Studies Teacher
Harmon Middle School
Aurora, Ohio