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Mandate: The President and the People Dvd! Sunnyland Seminars - The Executive Branch

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for history teachers & high school libraries. It's inexpensive, covers up to FDR so it won't become dated. It's also short enough to fit into one class period. Do they still teach civics in high school? Narrated by Leslie Stahl, Mandate discusses a non-constitional power that every president wishes they had. Most don't. It is that power to lead the nation. It is hard to define but we know when the president has it. Just look at President Obama to see what I mean. It has been used by strong sucessful, presidents. They must have self-confidence. This brief dvd covers the best examples. George Washington obviously had a mandate. There was no doubt who was going to be the first chief executive of our new nation. He had a mandate for life. The United States Constitution was written with him in mind. But he decided to retire after two terms, setting a custom not broken for 142 years. Andrew Jackson was the next president to use the mandate from the people as he might have put it. He seized it to lead the common man, with force if that's what was needed. His election in 1828 saw a great expansion in the number of white men who were voting for the first time, They were the only ones who had the franchise. Jackson was an icon & the history books refer those times as the Age of Jackson. Abe Lincoln was the next significant president. He did not have a mandate when elected with less than 40% of the popular vote in 1860. He had to earn it. The Civil War thrust it on him. Through legislation, speeches printed word, & key union victories in battle, he became the leader of the country, idolized at the time of his death. Theodore Roosevelt ushered in the era of the modern presidency thru the death of President McKinley. He won it on his own in 1904 & indeed had a mandate along with being the most popular man in the country. In 1908 he still was & could have won a second full term but chose not to. He regretted that for the rest of his life. Woodrow Wilson felt that he had a mandate ordained by God but it was not so. He had popularity that lead us through World War I. But his arrogance, inflexibility & thin skin caused all his big post-war plans for the world to fail. FDR won election in 1932 & the unpopularity of the previous president made his mandate immediate. That & the force of his personality lead The U.S. thru the worse depression in our history & World War II. Since then, what president has had a real mandate to personally lead the people of this country? JFK? Maybe. Not enough time. Ronald Regan? Perhaps. Barack Obama? Time will tell. American History fans. Watch this dvd.