Christopher Scarborough

Period 1
5-3-14
FRQ
Question #1
President Richard Nixon, one of the most scandalous and controversial presidents in the United
States, had a term during one of the least supported wars in our history; the Vietnam War. His scandals
varied from recording everything that happened in the Oval Office to trying to secret wars. Overall,
Richard Nixon and his administration responded to the things that happened in a neutral way.
Internationally, the Nixon administration had to deal with hostile demonstrations if the president
traveled to any other country. Although this did happen before his term in office, he used this as a way
to market himself by saying that if the demonstrations happen then ...it's time for new leadership for
the United States of America. They also had to deal with peace talks with the North Vietnam president
during the Vietnam War. The administration dealt with this by offering a proposal that would be fair to
all parties and that would not delay the war any longer. Nixon's administration also stated that ...North
Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. During Nixon's second inaugural address, his
speech was built on the basis of world peace, and it was stated clearly throughout it. Another of the
Nixon administration's tests was when they were called out for preforming secret bombings of
Cambodia, which was later shown to be a fact.
On the home front, the Nixon administration still had a lot to deal with. They had to deal with
the same hostile demonstrations if the president traveled anywhere, the inflation of prices for amenities,
and the Vietnam War. They turned around the Vietnam War aspect in the beginning by using it as a
kick-starter for Nixon's campaign for president. They had to deal with the possibility of the
Republicans weakening the Voting Rights Act, which would have left them shorthanded during the
elections. World peace was a major topic for Richard Nixon during his campaign, but he was unable to
go through with getting the world any closer to it. One of the major scandals that Nixon was involved
in was the Watergate scandal; his administration handled that scandal well, because they knew that he
was not ever going to be able to get anything done as president so he resigned. The Nixon
administration also had to deal with the energy crisis, to deal with this they placed limitations on when
gas stations could sell gas and how much of it a person could obtain.
The Nixon administration placed themselves in a hard situation with the scandals and
controversies, but they handled the events in a professional manner. The administration had to deal
with matters that were international, and domestic. The issues varied from secret wars to inflation to the
Watergate scandal.
Question #2
Our national unity has always been threatened by economic disparities, class variations, and
social variations. Although the early United States political parties separated the nation, unity was
achieved through a few of the first presidents. They united the nation and gave warnings to long term
political parties.
Within George Washington's farewell address, he warned that political parties threaten national

unity. The first few presidents that followed made national Unity a major priority. John Adams and
Thomas Jefferson, a Federalist and a Democratic-Republican, both agreed on a term of neutrality
during the Anglo-French wars. The presidents that followed Washington, before 1840, adhered to the
two term limit, so that not one party would have complete party. The Hartford Convention
strengthened national unity by inciting the people to vote for James Madison so that they could get rid
of the Federalists. Under Madison's governing, the Era of Good Feelings would come about and
national unity would be strengthened.
Political parties have, and continue to, incite people to argue, protest, and remain ignorant of the
issues. They truly separate us from each other and, when it comes to political decisions, we, the people,
need to be united in a stance on the issues. Although political parties may have diminished our national
unity, the first few presidents tried hard to keep the unity alive.
Question #3
Immigrants, almost every person within in the United States is a descendent of them, yet from
the mid-1800s to the early 1900s American perceptions of immigrants were hostile. American citizens
at the time had a feeling that they had been there first, so anyone else that tried to come here should not
be here. Immigrants were oppressed by the law and the people.
Between 1840 and 1859, there were many changes for American life, which included westward
expansion and industrialization. This led to a discrimination against immigrants that mirrors the
opposition faced within the early 20th century. As the western frontier opened up, they were wanting to
build railroads, so they used Asian immigrants to lay the tracks and dig through the mountains so that
more track can be placed. The American citizens also used Asian immigrants in their agricultural
excursions. As the first Market revolution occurred, the cities that were inhabited by American nativism
formed the know-nothing party. Although some political situations hindered immigrants at this time,
the federal government did nothing to directly oppress immigrants.
During the 1910s and the 1920s, oppression against a wider group of immigrants was exposed
though the political, judicial, and violent means. The National Origins Act and other quota laws in the
1920s favored Northeastern European immigrants over Southeastern or Asian ones. The immigrants
were also oppressed by the rebirth of the Klu Klux Klan, which was as strongly opposed to Catholics
as it was to blacks. Immigrants were also affect The Red Scare, because they were more likely to be
thought of as a communist than someone who had lived in the United States for longer.
American's sense of itself was not completely developed, and is still not. Almost all of the
people who were oppressing immigrants during these two time periods were the descendents of
immigrants who came looking for a better life, which is what the people they were oppressing were
doing. There was a shared vision by the immigrants then and the oppressors ancestors. Overall, from
the mid-1800s to the early 1900s American perceptions of immigrants were hostile.