Obama Administration by the Numbers: GDP: +2.6% (Lowest growth rate since Hoover) Illegal Immigrants living in US: 11.4 Million Unemployment: -4.9% Demographics Defense budget: -20.8%
Wars and threats Afghanistan casualties: 2,386 National Debt: 19.8 trillion dollars (+86%) Obamacare: 11.3 million members Approval Ratings: 48% Senate numbers: 54 republicans/44 democrats House numbers: 247 republicans/188 democrats (2014) Gas prices: -44% Crime rate: -27.6% Clean energy: +322% Median household income: -2.2% Stock Market: +100% Corporate profits: +152% Taxes: +5% (estimate) Obama administration pros and cons Pros : health care reform (Obama care), Eliminated Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, Free of major scandals (besides questions on birth certificate,citizenship, and corruption *no evidence*), supported gay rights, unemployment decrease, ended war in Iraq, gas prices decreased Cons: Not working well with Congress, doubling national debt, increased social division, increased illegal immigrants, failed to protect outsourcing of jobs, record levels of income inequality, downsized military, Afghanistan, failed to take down ISIS. Candidate overviews Democratic- Clinton (former secretary of state), Kaine (Virginia Senator) Freedom of choice about abortion, supports same sex marriage, increased gun control, expansion of Obamacare, prioritize green energy, higher taxes on wealthy, pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens, supports nuclear deal with Iran that threatens Israel, wants an “America without borders”, Republican- Trump (businessman), Pence (former Indiana governor) Supports traditional marriage, supports second amendment rights , lower taxes, support american industry, expanding military, Pro life, against Obamacare, against rights for illegal aliens, WALLLLL, deportation of undocumented immigrants, opposes nuclear deal with Iran that threatens Israel. 2016 Primaries The 4 Republican party leaders included Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich. The 2 Democratic party leaders included Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Trump earned 1,447 delegates, compared to Cruz’s 551, Rubio’s 167, and Kasich’s 161. Trump also earned 95 super delegates compared to 9 for Cruz. Clinton earned 2,220 delegates compared to Sander’s 1,831. Clinton earned 591 super delegates compared to Sander’s 48. Controversies Clinton’s use of her personal email rather than a government email during her time as secretary of state was probably the largest flaw of her running. Opponents did not trust her to have turned over all relevant records to the government, saying her own email account with storage on her own server made for a more easily hidden backlog of communications, and showed a failure to recognize that the rules apply to her. She said that she did not break any rules at the time, and that she had made all work emails public, erring on the side of disclosure. Because of this controversy and many rumors of her involvement in controversial and corrupt practices, many people lost faith in Hillary and called her a criminal, which ultimately was one of the main reasons why she lost the presidency. Trump’s ideas of building a wall has brought much controversy, including generalizing all Mexican-American immigrants as rapists and crime bringers and derogatory comments towards women. Trump has also made comments such as saying that he could shoot someone and still not see a drop in his polls, that Megyn Kelly’s questions against him were due to her menstruating, and that John McCain, former Republican presidential nominee and Vietnam prisoner, was not a war hero. However, one can argue that these controversies helped Trump’s campaign in that his popularity grew immensely as the internet ate these issues up. Debates This year’s presidential debates were full of insults, attacks, and laughter from audiences. Clinton’s main strategy throughout the debates was not to be on the aggressive, to allow Trump to talk himself out of the debate. Trump seemed unprepared for most questions and rebuttals, increasingly settling for going on rants and having nothing fresh to say. However, by letting him do most of the talking, Clinton allowed Trump to land some hits. Although she calmly knocking down many of his refutes, she lost several arguments on critical points of controversy in the election. It’s difficult to say that Trump won the debates overall, but in a way, with Clinton not taking initiative and leaving it to the viewers to fact check everything Trump spewed out, Trump did pull out a somewhat victory. Clinton’s composure, even under extreme heat from Trump, showed viewers that she was patient and decisive. While Trump often made himself look like a bully and at times even a joke, his aggressive attacks on Clinton’s morals allowed him to stay afloat in the race. Election predictions To say the Election of 2016 was supposed to be completely one sided doesn’t take a degree. Almost single scientist and prediction model of significance studying this election had the victory going to Clinton by a significant margin. She had more experience as a politician, has first hand experience in the White House as Secretary of State and First Lady, and wasn’t perceived by the public as a bully. Although her rumored corrupt practices and criminal scandals had some wondering if she really was the better candidate, the predictions still stood firm, with Hillary being the clear winner. Some polls had Clinton odds of winning at an astonishing 75%, leaving Trump with little hope of victory. Election Night The 2016 election was a bar fight as neither Clinton nor Trump could take a decisive lead through the first 100 electoral votes. It was obvious that the pressure and stress of the moment was getting to Trump with him spewing nonsense on twitter about how some of the voting was rigged. Hillary decided to be out of the eye of the public that night and stayed quiet until after the results came out. After a surprising turn of events, Trump gained a commanding lead over Clinton after picking up strong victories in states of Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Trump won the presidency with 290 electoral votes to Clinton’s 232, even while Hillary won the popular vote. Reaction Trump’s victory sent shock waves of disbelief and denial throughout the globe. The odds of him winning were so slim that it seemed impossible. His victory was celebrated by few, but for the most part received a negative reaction. Riots broke out and countless attacks, protests, and cases of vandalism spread rampant throughout the US. The angry mobs dubbed him a sexist, racist, and hater. Although these accusations have evidence to support them, many protests became violent in nature and left some wondering who the real haters were in the equation. Many celebrities and other national figures even went as far as threatening to leave the United States all together and head for other countries like Canada. Trump’s victory cut even deeper gashes into already growing social division, to the point where even President Obama had to made a speech on the issue. Potential Pros and Cons of Trump administration Pros: No strings attached- Trump’s outlandish ideas and offensive comments drove away many supporters from the Republican party and external groups. Since Trump is one of the wealthiest men in the world, he was able to continue the campaign without much support. This means he doesn’t owe anyone anything, allowing him to operate in office according to his own values without having to compromise them due to favors he owes those who got him in office, like Obama or Clinton. This, in addition to a republican congress, will allow Trump to be effective and efficient in office. Getting rid of Obamacare- The idea of free healthcare for everyone is a great idea in theory. In the future, hopefully the this idea will be amended and continued with less drawbacks. However, Obamacare is a flawed system. This “free” healthcare dramatically raises taxes and puts immense financial pressure on the middle and upper classes. In addition, doctors receive huge pay cuts. Obamacare, due to its “free” nature, raises insurance rates through the roof. This is because the insurance companies act as a middleman between consumers and doctors. With Obamacare, the insurance companies are forced to pay more to satisfy all of their customers. But the insurance company still has to make money. Therefore, they increase their cut on the money made from medical procedures, leaving doctors with little to no profits made from their operations. With doctors not making as much money, many doctors will hit the eject button before they get themselves caught in a situation where they’re stuck in an underpaid job. This leads to a decrease in the quality of medical services. With the Baby-Boomer generation aging, the US will see its largest percentage of elderly people in history within the upcoming years. And in order to provide the best healthcare for these aging people, the medical field can’t afford to lower its standards. Other potential pros: American foreign policy will be more respected due to Trump’s never back down attitude, Economic stimulation, Trump’s business savvy, stronger military, lower taxes, support american jobs and industries, Supports Israel as ally and opposes Iran deal, lower unemployment, lower debt, America first attitude, Republican congress allows for more efficient lawmaking, won’t compromise values due to political pressure, Isn’t afraid to stand up for what he believes. Cons: Potential Cons: Scandals, offensive remarks could create negative approval ratings or upset foreign powers, lack of political experience, social division on racial and moral issues could divide the country even more, His ego could get in the way of making tactical decisions, could abuse power for personal gain. Closing The process over the past two and some years has been crazy with unorthodox candidates and a very unorthodox time in America. Many referred to this presidential election as a decision of the lesser of two evils because no one was jumping at the chance to pick one of the two main candidates. However, Trump is not only bringing his vibrant personality and conservative political views to the White House, he also brought a new way to look at and approach the candidacy being the first President to win with such sheer mockery and negative verbatim, with utter defiance of the traditional rules for presidency, and with skin the same shade as the tangerine I ate earlier today. As I am writing this, riots are taking place across the country to get this man out of the office two months before he actually does get into office. These riots won’t change a thing however, and all we can do is support Trump, hope for the best, and book a one-way flight to Canada. -Albert The race of 2016 has finally come to a climactic closing with many wondering where to go from here. This election not only divided America, but turned it into even more of a laughing stock than it was before. Foreign countries mock us for our backwards morals and failure to control our own political systems. They can’t be blamed, seeing as we had an orange, celebrity billionaire with a clear lack of manners and a track record for making offensive comments and a lady criminal with more controversies and scandals on her resume than the Kardashians as our top candidates. Neither of these two candidates were a perfect option. Trump’s unorthodox take on politics, business savvy, and never back down attitude could be the push America needs to get back on top. However, his offensive comments and ego could take America down a very dark path. Electing Clinton as president would give the United States four more years of an Obama-like administration. This has some benefits, but ultimately would keep America on this downward spiral we’ve been on the past few years. Foreign countries continue to test us and we continually show weakness and failure to take action. Our petty social issues are mocked and the social tension grows by the minute. We live in an era where anything goes and it’s not right to disagree with others opinions. Discrimination and hate of all races is spreading like wildfire and our moral compass as a nation does not know where to point. Our government is indecisive and our people are divided. The fact of the matter is, this country needs change. Electing Trump as president is the first step in a long journey ahead. Trump is a bully and has a tendency to make inappropriate remarks, but if people can get over his obvious flaws and offensive nature, this country may get back on its feet. If the people can see past him being a jerk and look at what he stands for and could do for this country, America could get back in the game. Electing Trump is a huge risk. His flamboyant lifestyle and hotheadedness could really hurt this country in a lot of ways, but he still deserves a chance. The election is over and the people have spoken, Trump will be the next president of the United States and nothing can change that. We need to stop fighting each other, and focus on the future and fixing America. -Michael
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The election of 1828 and the election of 2016 share some striking similarities. Both had powerful figures as candidates and both elections featured political platforms that were complete opposites.
The election of 1828 featured a rematch from the previous 1824 candidates Andrew Jackson, representing the Democrats, and John Quincy Adams, representing the National Republicans. Andrew Jackson represented the common man and wasn’t your average candidate. He was poor and grew up in a small town. Through hard work he fought his way up the social ladder and joined the army. As a general, he won many impressive victories, most notably the battle of New Orleans. His political career was founded on strong, manly, American principals. He had very harsh policies regarding Natives and opposed national banks. John Quincy Adams, son of former president John Adams, had previously won the election in 1824. Adams was a seasoned politician looking to continue his time in the White House. The election was full of accusations from both parties. Adams was said to be corrupt, rigged the previous election, a gambler, and involved in prostitution. Jackson was said to be a redneck, a son of a prostitute, a bigamist, and an adulterer. The election was very heated and messy, but in the end Andrew Jackson won by a landslide. The election of 2016 was very similar in regard to the candidate profiles, nature, and outcome of the election. It featured Donald Trump, representing the GOP, and Hillary Clinton, representing the Democrats. Trump was a world famous celebrity and billionaire business man. Clinton was a former first lady and secretary of state with many years of experience as a politician. Just like the 1828 election, the accusations got ugly. Trump was said to be a sexist, racist, greedy, egotistical pig. Clinton was said to be a criminal and corrupt, unpatriotic, anti-american politician who had countless scandals over her political career. Both sides went at it, but on election night, Trump surprised the world but winning by a large margin. Although they’re not mirror images of each other, these two elections still had strong similarities. The similar characteristics of Trump and Jackson vs Clinton and Adams cannot be denied. Both sides featured a egotistical, celebrity-like candidate going against a veteran politician whose practices had been called into question in the past. In both cases, the unorthodox candidate won. Frederick Douglass and Ponce de Leon
Legacy of the Founding Fathers Who really were the Founding Fathers? As more and more information is found out about these individuals responsible for the founding of our nation, people are beginning to wonder what kind of men they really were. For many years, it was taught that the Founding Fathers were these God-like figures who stood up against tyranny against impossible odds for the sake of freedom, liberty, and justice. But as time has gone on, we learn more and more about how the Founding Fathers were just a group of racist, slave-owning, sexually abusive, land stealing, aristocratic white men who didn't like paying their taxes. We hear so much about how the United States isn't what we thought it was. So which is it? Were the men who shaped this country some of the greatest minds to ever walk the Earth, or were they just more immoral leaders who got tired of a monarch bossing them around.
I don't think this is an easy answer. Almost all of the Founding Fathers were slave owners and refused to give everyone equal rights in the Constitution. They had a bad habit of screwing the Native Americans out of their own territory. Some of them, like Jefferson and Franklin, had sexually abusive tendencies. These men who swore to protect freedom were constantly infringing on the freedom's of others. This is a little hypocritical of them, to say the least. But does this make them bad guys? Personally, I say no. The Founding Fathers had their flaws for sure, especially some of them. But no man is perfect. Everyone has their own dark side. Almost every historically significant figure had their issues, but that shouldn't diminish their accomplishments. They don't deserve all of the negative press they get nowadays. All we hear about is how the Founding Fathers aren't as amazing as we were told. But we owe so much of what we have today to those men. Standing up to the most powerful empire in the world for the sake of freedom, even if it really isn't as free as it may seem, is still an incredibly brave feat. Those men deserve our respect. Now, this doesn't mean that it excuses their issues. They contributed to some terrible things, but that shouldn't discount them entirely. We should just spend less time second guessing them and more time realizing how important each one of them is. We're in an age where we're constantly second guessing the Founding Fathers and America in general and this constant negativity is sending the wrong message to future generations. If we continue down this path of always making America the bad guy, then we'll lose faith in this country and it won't last for much longer. And all the blood, sweat, and tears these men put into defending this country will be lost. The faults of the Founding Fathers should defiantly be taught so that we can learn from their mistakes and short comings, but we should also hear about how these men were also pioneers and heroes. The Founding Fathers' legacy shouldn't only be remembered by their faults, but it should be measured by what they achieved, a nation where no matter where you come from you can have a successful and happy life. It might have taken a few years for it to become like that, but it wouldn't have been possible at all if it weren't for the likes of men like the Founding Fathers. -Michael
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AuthorMichael and Albert are two students at BRHS Archives
May 2017
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