Presidential Briefs
"My job is a decision-making job. And as a result, I make a lot of decisions."
~President George W. Bush
In the government world, a brief contains only the essential information and nothing additional. For our unit
on the American presidency, each partnership will brief the class on one of the distinguished (well, mostly
distinguished) gentlemen who served our nation in this capacity. The requirements for your presentation are
as follows:
Content: your brief must cover, in any logical order, information from these areas:

Biographical Information (10 points). This is where you will tell us that he was born in a log cabin, was
a lawyer by profession, often lost election when he ran for an office, and grew a beard because an 11year old told him to do it. (Well, you’d tell us this about Abraham Lincoln, anyway.)

Qualifications & Experience (10 points). Obviously this guy, whoever he is, met the formal
qualifications for the presidency outlined in the Constitution. What in his life, however, do you think
prepared him to take on the responsibilities of this office? Maybe I think being a lawyer prepared
Lincoln to answer this question: “Does a president have the power to free slaves in a foreign country?”
Or perhaps I believe failing over and over to win elections taught him the humility necessary to be
president while our nation went through an identity crisis. As you can tell, your opinions weigh heavily
on this portion of the brief. Be sure your group explains why it made the choices it did.

What Roles This President Played—And How Successful He Was At Doing So (20 points). According to
Clinton Rossiter, the president must wear seven “hats”: chief executive, chief of state, chief legislator,
commander-in-chief, chief diplomat, chief of party, and chief guardian of the economy. Select 3-6 key
components of your individual’s presidency, identify the role(s) your man was playing when he
addressed each, and evaluate his success/failure in doing so.
Confused? Think of it this way—Lincoln was acting as the commander-in-chief when he issued the
Emancipation Proclamation; his “freeing” of the slaves in rebel territories was a military move
designed to destabilize the South. I could also argue he was playing chief diplomat, as this convinced
several European nations not to aid the South. Regardless, I would argue that the Emancipation
Proclamation was successful, no matter how you look at it; not only did it foreshadow the Thirteenth
Amendment, but it also ensured African-Americans would vote Republican for the next 100 years.
Not every event you identify will be handled successfully by your chosen individual. As commander-inchief, Lincoln suspended the right to a writ of habeas corpus; in addition, he refused to reinstate this
right even when ordered to do so by a U.S. Appeals Court. Some might argue that this imprisonment
without trial violated the Constitutional rights of Americans unnecessarily, while others would
disagree. You, as the group, should give us your opinion—and support it with evidence.
What roles you highlight are left to the discretion of the group. Regardless of which you choose, your
group must evaluate how successful your president was at addressing each.

Conclusion (10 points). This final portion should be the consensus of the group and most likely will not
introduce any new information. All you really need for this part is answer the question “How good of a
president was he?” and defend your response. If it were me, I’d weigh his successes against his
shortcomings and make a final judgment. And, just so you know, I’d take Lincoln any day of the week—
he’s my favorite Republican ever. 
Other Considerations: Each person in your partnership must speak on at least one aspect of their assigned
information. Though you may use unlimited graphics to illustrate your brief, your presentation itself must be
no longer than 400 words on 15 slides. I also expect you to elaborate beyond the words on your slide—do not
read the slide to us word-for-word! Your group may be docked up to fifteen points for violating these three
requirements—up to five points for each type of infraction.
Any copies you want made for your presentation must be submitted no later than 3:00 p.m. on January 13.
This project is worth 65 points. Fifty of those points come from the information included in your presentation;
the remaining 15 points are a composite of peer- and self-evaluations. A more detailed rubric is available on
my website.
The Presidents of the United States
Each group will choose one president to research based on the number they have drawn. As you make your
selection, remember: if more than one person is involved in something, compromise is essential to its success.
1.
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9.
10.
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13.
14.
15.
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19.
20.
21.
22.
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
James K. Polk
Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan
Abraham Lincoln – off-limits
Andrew Johnson
Ulysses S. Grant
Rutherford B. Hayes
James Garfield
Chester Arthur
Grover Cleveland
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
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40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
Benjamin Harrison
Grover Cleveland - only pick him once
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
Franklin D. Roosevelt – off-limits
Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
George H.W. Bush
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush – off-limits
Barack Obama – off-limits
Planned work days:
 Friday, January 9 (about 45 minutes in the LMC lab)
 Tuesday, January 13 (45-60 minutes in the LMC lab)
All groups must be fully prepared to present their brief on Tuesday, January 20.
Failure to present when called upon will result in a maximum of half-credit when your
presentation is completed.