AP US History Presidential Profile Project (1st part is Summer Assignment)

One easy way to follow patterns of trends and events in American history is to focus on changes in political leadership. The purpose of this project is to develop a “big picture” idea of America through examining American presidents. This is an ongoing project throughout the school year with different due dates for each set of president. You will need to create a profile for each president. Each profile should include the following:

v  The number of the president with the president’s full name, the time range when they were in office, and their political party (if available)

v  Brief biography of life before becoming president (Ex.- where he was born, childhood family, education, early occupation). This can be a short paragraph.

v  Summaries of three significant events. You will need to identify the event and explain it. These events can include wars, economic changes, laws, social movements, foreign policy, or just about anything else of significance. The event can be very specific like the passage of a particular law or general like establishing an alliance with a foreign power. Be sure to do your research before choosing the three events because you might miss something important if you just summarize the first three events you find.

v  Citation of the sources used to create your profile- You must follow the Turabian (Chicago) Style for citations.

(Visit http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html Or Search “Turabian Citations”) or see reverse side for help.

Example

49th President Jonathan John Johnson (January 21, 2036- January 20, 2044) of the Education Party

President Jonathan Johnson was born on March 14th, 1977 in Trafford, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest son of William and Mary Johnson. Johnson studied political science at the University of Maryland, College Park and attended Harvard Law School. He began his political career serving as a town councilman and eventually represented Pennsylvania’s 4th district in the House of Representatives. President Johnson passed away on February 19, 2062.

1.  Passage of the 117th amendment.

This amendment lowered the voting age from 18 years old to 16 years old. This was significant because it largely increased voting participation in local and national elections. Many citizens supported this amendment and Johnson’s popularity grew as a result of its passage.

2.  Alien invasion of 2038.

The aliens came from Planet X and quickly learned all the various world languages. The aliens worked with President Johnson and other world leaders to establish a friendly alliance against other potential invaders in the universe. This proved that were was life beyond planet Earth.

3.  The Left Handed Movement. Lefties felt as though they had been ignored for many years and began rallying and protesting for left-handed desks and other items to be installed in public places. Now left-handed citizens are able to enjoy the comforts that right-handed citizens have always enjoyed.

Smith, John. "Obama inaugurated as President." CNN.com. http://www.presidents.gov/jjj (accessed February 1, 2009).

*This is a yearlong project that will be broken down by quarterly checkpoints.

*You are required to identify only one significant event for presidents that served two years or less. The presidents that this applies to are William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, and James Garfield.

*The project should be typed and use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

* Include a citation for each president right below the profile instead of all together in a list at the end of the project. Just follow the example I provided on the front of the page.

TURABIAN FORMAT EXAMPLES

Book with One Author

Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Boston: Little,

Brown,2000.

Book with two or more authors

Morey, Peter, and Amina Yaqin. Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation after 9/11. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

University Press, 2011.

Website

“Privacy Policy.” Google Policies & Principles. Last modified July 27, 2012. Accessed January 3, 2013.

http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

Journal

Bogren, Alexandra. “Gender and Alcohol: The Swedish Press Debate.” Journal of Gender Studies 20, no. 2 (June 2011):

155–69.

Preface, foreword, introduction, or similar part of a book

Cronon, William. Foreword to The Republic of Nature, by Mark Fiege, ix–xii. Seattle: University of Washington Press,

2012.

Due dates:

Summer Assignment (President Washington – Polk) – Due on first day of class

Quarter 2 – (Taylor – Cleveland) – Due date to be determined

Quarter 3 – (Harrison – Truman ) – tbd

Quarter 4 – ( Eisenhower – Obama) - tbd

Email me directly over the summer with any questions: