Describe the importance of individual presidents. How are they both products of and creators of their times? Provide two examples from history

Question

What factors determine which presidents transform the office of the president? Do you think President Obama will be one of the transformers?

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An ideal response will:
1, Explain that presidents step into situations with deep historical roots and dynamics of their own, and yet they not only react to events but also help to create events through their activities and powers.
2, Describe two examples from history, such as President Lincoln, who came to power at a time when the nation was in bitter conflict over slavery, and who used his power to emancipate the slaves, and President Franklin Roosevelt, who faced a world in which German expansion threatened U.S. economic interests, and who used his power to turn around the post–Great Depression economy through his New Deal.
3, Note that the greatest upsurges in presidential power and activity were partly a result of forces at the structural level, stimulated by events and developments in the economy, American society, and the international situation.
4, Identify that it is a combination of a president's personal qualities (personality and character) and deeper structural factors (such as foreign policy and economic crises) that determines which presidents transform the office.
5, Offer an opinion regarding the potential of President Obama to be one of the transformers. Answers will vary, but students should recognize structural factors at work during Obama's terms (e.g., the war on terror, the economic crisis of 2008, etc.) and the president's personal qualities (e.g., emphasis on international cooperation, values regarding business and the middle class, etc.).