Group Project: Let's Rank The Presidents and Summarize Their Presidencies

not really, because fugitive slave laws do not create slavery. Take away the slave laws, and fugitive slave laws mean nothing.

And also, the new law of 1850 was much harsher than the old one.

The Federal Fugitive Slave laws made it so that slaves were in danger of being forced back into slavery even if they escaped into a non-slave state. They were evil. All of them.
 
A shout out to an overlooked bad president, Gerald Ford!

Our Short National Nightmare
How President Ford managed to go soft on Iraqi Baathists, Indonesian fascists, Soviet Communists, and the shah … in just two years.


A few tidbits:

In December 1975, Ford was actually in the same room as Gen. Suharto of Indonesia when the latter asked for American permission to impose Indonesian military occupation on East Timor.

Ford's refusal to meet with Solzhenitsyn, when the great dissident historian came to America, was consistent with his general style of making excuses for power.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...rds/2006/12/our_short_national_nightmare.html
 
Yeah. Just as I remembered. A completely pointless war. The cause was completely idiotic. The way the war was fought was idiotic. Both sides sitting in trenches, taking turns on who gets killed. No progress made by either side. Was there a reason at all for the U.S. to be in this war? Regardless of who won, how would that effect the U.S.?


Germany’s pledge to Mexico to back it in a war against the US as stated in the Zimmerman telegram is what pissed most off:
"We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlement in detail is left to you. You will inform the President of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the President's attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace." Signed, ZIMMERMANN

Mexico knew they couldn't pull it off though. In the end, money & power had a lot to do with it then just as it does today.
 
The Federal Fugitive Slave laws made it so that slaves were in danger of being forced back into slavery even if they escaped into a non-slave state. They were evil. All of them.

Not true. Under the Articles of Confederation, deals between states were already returning runaway slaves. These deals predate the Revolution and are in fact the fault of the British, not the Americans. The British dumped the problem on the Americans.
 
Germany’s pledge to Mexico to back it in a war against the US as stated in the Zimmerman telegram is what pissed most off:


Mexico knew they couldn't pull it off though. In the end, money & power had a lot to do with it then just as it does today.

The Zimmerman telegram was faked.
 
Not true. Under the Articles of Confederation, deals between states were already returning runaway slaves. These deals predate the Revolution and are in fact the fault of the British, not the Americans. The British dumped the problem on the Americans.

Americans continued the policy. I don't see how this comment helps your argument that the earlier version was fair and that the law didn't become anti-liberty until 1850.

Also, which part of "The Federal Fugitive Slave laws made it so that slaves were in danger of being forced back into slavery even if they escaped into a non-slave state. They were evil. All of them." is not true?
 
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here are some good books on FDR that I have read:

FDR: The Other Side of the Coin [Paperback]
Hamilton Fish (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/FDR-The-Other-Side-Coin/dp/0977326829

FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression [Paperback]
Jim Powell (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/FDRs-Folly-Roosevelt-Prolonged-Depression/dp/140005477X

The Roosevelt Myth [Paperback]
John T. Flynn (Author), Ralph Raico (Introduction)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Roosevelt-Myth-John-Flynn/dp/0930073274

The Pearl Harbor Myth: Rethinking the Unthinkable (Potomac's Military Controversies) [Paperback]
George Victor (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Pearl-Harbor-Myth-Controversies/dp/1597971618/ref=pd_sim_b_9

Day Of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor [Paperback]
Robert Stinnett (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Day-Of-Deceit-Truth-Harbor/dp/0743201299

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal (The Politically Incorrect Guides) [Paperback]
Robert Murphy (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Politically-Incorrect-Guide-Depression-Guides/dp/1596980966

There might be a couple more I have overlooked.

Thanks. I was skimming through Roosevelt Myth online earlier. It's where I got most of my info from :)
 
Zimmerman said it was a fake. Who would know better than him?

Additionally, documents released from the British secrets act have shown the event to be concocted.

Zimmerman would deny as it was essentially a declaration of war so I've always discounted him. As for the British secret acts, I thought that produced the actual document the Brits intercepted and led to credibility. Could be wrong though. In any case it is one of the "whys" that got the ball rolling.

I've always been highly suspicious, as I have said, but have never been able to convince myself wholly as Germany was all over the Americas (including Mexico) at that time and the US prized the Monroe Doctrine and the hegemony over the Americas it provided.
 
Here's some background on a few President's with regard to energy policy:

1971: Nixon severs ties to gold
1973: Nixon backs Israel in Yom Kippur War. In retaliation, OPEC declares embargo on US (it lasted 6 months). Nixon rations oil to the states based on 1972 usage rates. States with increased populations had shortages. To encourage new exploration, Nixon fixed the price of oil from existing domestic fields. Prices from newly developed fields are allowed to float at market rates. Because inflation was already picking up from the fiat money switch, existing oil fields became unprofitable. "Old oil" fields were shut down. Shortages increased. This was the beginning of the huge spike in oil that peaked in 1980.

Ford does nothing to change the situation.

1977: Carter creates Department of Energy
1979: Carter bans oil imports from Iran, imposes import quotas, and tells Americans to install solar panels, lower the temperature in their houses, and to stop driving so damn much.
1980: Carter imposes windfall profits tax on oil companies.

1981: Eight days after taking office, Reagan issues executive order 12287, which eliminated Nixon's oil price controls, effective immediately. "Old oil" comes back online. The inflation adjusted price of oil begins falling immediately and continues to fall (except for a bump during Gulf War 1), until 1998. Reagan also removed Carter's windfall profits tax.

Thanks. I had no idea that was why OPEC declared the embargo.
 
here are some good books on FDR that I have read:

FDR: The Other Side of the Coin [Paperback]
Hamilton Fish (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/FDR-The-Other-Side-Coin/dp/0977326829

FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression [Paperback]
Jim Powell (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/FDRs-Folly-Roosevelt-Prolonged-Depression/dp/140005477X

The Roosevelt Myth [Paperback]
John T. Flynn (Author), Ralph Raico (Introduction)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Roosevelt-Myth-John-Flynn/dp/0930073274

The Pearl Harbor Myth: Rethinking the Unthinkable (Potomac's Military Controversies) [Paperback]
George Victor (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Pearl-Harbor-Myth-Controversies/dp/1597971618/ref=pd_sim_b_9

Day Of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor [Paperback]
Robert Stinnett (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Day-Of-Deceit-Truth-Harbor/dp/0743201299

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal (The Politically Incorrect Guides) [Paperback]
Robert Murphy (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Politically-Incorrect-Guide-Depression-Guides/dp/1596980966

There might be a couple more I have overlooked.

Here is another coming from Herbert Hoover. While he may have an agenda, I think it's worth the read.

http://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Betrayed-Herbert-Hoovers-Aftermath/dp/0817912347
 
A shout out to an overlooked bad president, Gerald Ford!

Our Short National Nightmare
How President Ford managed to go soft on Iraqi Baathists, Indonesian fascists, Soviet Communists, and the shah … in just two years.


A few tidbits:





http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...rds/2006/12/our_short_national_nightmare.html

Ford was a pornographer for the CIA prior to his stand-in gig as POTUS. Name is Leslie something or other. Something to do with the death of Hunter Thompson, who was apparently involved.

Rev9
 
I think it would be fantastic if we could get a reading list for this project. I'm sure every President has a piece of literature regarding their policies. Maybe each person could read one or two of the books, then report back with a summary of the facts, accounts, etc. Then we can vote on which Presidents rank where from that.

I love this idea, but I don't have time to read books right now :(
 
Finished working on summaries for the day. Some of them are lacking or disjointed. Many presidents don't have a summary at all. Feel free to help out. It's alot of work. Lol.
 
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