Clark Lane Middle School

Grade 7

Document-Based Question

Election 2012

Fall Assessment

Name: ______

Team: ______

Document-Based Question

Election 2012

Directions:

·  Read the information in the box labeled “Historical Context” below. This will give you some background information about this topic.

·  Read the question in the box labeled “Essay Question” below. This question should help guide your annotation on the documents.

·  Carefully read over and annotate all of the documents in this packet.

·  Write a well-organized essay response to the question that includes an introduction, several paragraphs, and a conclusion

·  Use evidence from the documents to support your ideas

Historic Context:
There are many important issues facing the nation at this time. One of the issues that Americans are most concerned with is the economy. Voters will consider each candidate’s positions on these issues before they vote for the next President of the United States of America.
Voters may also consider a candidate’s personal background (i.e. education, previous job experience, religion) when deciding how to cast their vote.
On November 6, 2012 registered voters across the country will participate in the 57th presidential election. There are two major candidates running against each other in this election. The candidate representing the Democratic Party is President Barack Obama. The candidate representing the Republican Party is Mitt Romney.
Essay Question:
Who should Americans elect as the next President of the United States – Democrat Barack Obama or Republican Mitt Romney?

Document 1A: Biography

Meet Barack Obama

August 27, 2012
By TIME For Kids Staff
Barack Obama, Jr. was born on August 4, 1961, in Hawaii. The name Barack comes from the Arabic and the Swahili words meaning "blessed." Obama's parents were students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa when they first met. His father, Barack Obama, Sr. was from Nyanza Province, Kenya, and his mother, Ann Dunham, was from Wichita, Kansas.
Young Traveler
When he was just two years old, young Barack's parents separated. His father eventually moved back to Kenya. His mother stayed in Hawaii. She later married Lolo Soetoro, a University of Hawaii student from Indonesia. The family eventually moved to Jakarta, Indonesia. There, his half sister, Maya, was born. Barry, as his friends and family liked to call him, lived in Indonesia for four years.
When Barry was ten years old, he moved back to the United States to live with his maternal grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham, in Hawaii. He attended Punahou, a prep school, and filled his days body surfing, hanging out with friends and playing basketball. He loved to play basketball. Even today, Obama plays in regular pick-up games with friends
College and Beyond
For college, Obama went to Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. He later transferred to Columbia University in New York City. During his college years, Obama started going by his full name, Barack.
Obama went on to earn his law degree from Harvard University, become a civil rights lawyer and law professor. Obama met his future wife, Michelle Robinson, in Chicago, Illinois. They later married and had two daughters: Malia, now 14, and Sasha, now 11.
Obama served as an Illinois State Senator for eight years. In 2004, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. At the 2004 Democratic National Convention, Obama gave a speech that captured listeners' attention and helped him gain enough recognition to begin vying for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.
On January 20, 2009, history was made when Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States—and the first African American to hold the nation's highest office. Two million people stood outside the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., to hear Obama's Inaugural speech. Obama hopes to win a second term in office in Election 2012. Joe Biden is Obama’s vice-presidential running mate.

Document 1B: Biography

Meet Mitt Romney

August 27, 2012
By TIME For Kids Staff
Willard Mitt Romney was born on March 12, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. He is the youngest of four siblings. His mother, Lenore, was an actress before she married Mitt’s father, George. Although George never graduated from college, he went on to an accomplished career in business and to serve as the Governor of Michigan. His son Mitt would follow with a career in business followed by a focus on politics.
A Focus on Family
The young Mitt first met his future wife, Ann, in elementary school. They met again later in life and married in 1969. Romney and his wife now have five adult sons and 18 grandchildren. They call family the center of their lives. Though Ann has faced serious health problems in recent years, she can often be seen campaigning by her husband’s side.
Romney is a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Family, hard work and clean living are benchmarks of the faith.
Mitt Romney served as president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, helping to make the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games a success.
A Business Background
After graduating from Brigham Young University in 1971, Romney earned law and business degrees from Harvard University. He spent most of his career as a successful businessman. After working as a business consultant for several years, Mitt founded the successful investment firm Bain Capital in 1984.
Romney also helped organize and steer the 2002 Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Romney served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, and worked to improve the state’s economy. He has written two books. Romney tried unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in the last presidential election. Paul Ryan is Romney’s vice-presidential running mate in Election 2012.

Document 2A: Position on the Economy

Election 2012: Economy and Jobs

August 27, 2012
By TIME For Kids Staff
Barack Obama believes in less government spending. He says he wants to help the economy by investing in education, clean energy and companies that bring jobs back to the U.S. As President, Obama pushed a plan to rescue the U.S. automotive industry. The plan helped save more than 1 million jobs. One of Obama’s key goals is to boost the economy by helping small businesses. Here are some of his ideas:
·  Give tax breaks to those who invest in clean-energy technologies, such as wind turbines and advanced car batteries.
·  Invest in technologies that will create manufacturing jobs. Give tax breaks to manufacturing companies making goods in the U.S., and increase taxes for U.S. companies outsourcing jobs overseas.
·  Give tax cuts for small businesses to help them move ideas and create new jobs.

Document 2B: Position on the Economy

Election 2012: Economy and Jobs

August 27, 2012
By TIME For Kids Staff
Mitt Romney believes the government should be smaller, simpler and have less regulation over the economy in order to reduce costs and make the U.S. more competitive. He says his goals will encourage growth and innovation in businesses, which will create more jobs for Americans. One of Romney’s key plans to boost the economy includes investing in energy to bring more money and jobs. Here are some of his ideas:
·  Decrease government spending by cutting government jobs by 10%, reducing aid to foreign countries, and reducing or cutting federal funding for some government programs.
·  Provide on-the-job training for unemployed people instead of giving them unemployment checks.
·  Open up more areas of the U.S. for offshore oil drilling and give states more power in energy production. Romney says his energy proposals will create more than 3 million new jobs and move the U.S. toward energy independence.

Document 3A: Political Cartoon (Position: Anti-Obama)

Document 3B: Political Cartoon (Position: Anti-Romney)

*Labor = working class people of America