Monday, August 9, 2010
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Post your comments about a 15+ minute conversation by one of the Vietnam Era Presidents (Kennedy, Johnson, or Nixon) by clicking on comments. Be sure you include your first and last name with your post. Additionally, identify the president and the topic of the conversation prior to your comments.
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22 comments:
Rachel Shaeffer- LBJ
The segment I listened to was called LBJ Addresses Congress Days After Assassination. My first reaction was that this was a boring, monotonous speech that repeated itself over and over. I guess presidents do that all the time but if he was one of the most compelling presidents of all time I'm a little disappointed. Of course I can assume he is still grieving from the assassination of his running mate JFK and nervous for the future. At the same time, it seems he is stuck between continuing JFK's work and doing something new. Obviously he is choosing to proceed with JFK's interests. Sure this is great and there is a lot of popular support; I'm sure that LBJ agreed with all of it as well, but what is he bringing to the table. Now, the second time I listened to the podcast, I began to understand why he was doing all of this. LBJ was a smart man and I think he really wanted the public and especially the press to know that he realized he would not be where he was without JFK and that he would not forget it. JFK was one of the most adored presidents pretty much ever and LBJ recognized that. He is taking it slow to bring about closure and hopefully move some of that adoration to himself. America needed someone to push it forward through tragedy, and thats just what LBJ gave it.
Lindsay Mann
Kennedy and Barnett
I chose to listen to Kennedy’s phone conversations with Governor Ross Barnett of Mississippi. These conversations were particularly interesting to me because you can sense the tension between the two. Kennedy was bound by the 1954 law against segregation in schools and had to ensure that James Meredith could safely attend Ole Miss University, while Governor Barnett was bound by his own racism and the deep racism and tradition of the south. These conversations gave me great insight as to what the Kennedy era was like and how bad the racism of the south was. I was surprised to find that not even the governor could put aside his racist views to obey the court ordered law. It was obvious that the president and Barnett did not agree on how the situation should be handled. In their conversations, Barnett seemed to being controlling the direction of conversation. However, in the end, the Kennedy administration managed to prevail over Barnett and get Meredith registered for classes safely.
Paige Emenheiser- LBJ Addresses Congress Days after Assassination
I found that Johnson was sincere in addressing congress about the death of JFK. Johnson points out what Kennedy has done to make America a better place. I think this shows that Johnson was an exceptional vice president and you can tell in his voice that he was very close to JFK and his family. It seems that JFK's death provoked Johnson to push forward and strive for a better America. It almost seems that Johnson doesn't want the "burden" of being president. Former President Johnson is very determined yet needs help which reveals his weakness. There isn't much talk of war but only how to make America a better place and how JFK pursued it.
Alaina Giacobbe
Kennedy and Barnett
I chose the Conversation between Governor Barnett of Mississippi and President Kennedy. It was interesting to see how Kennedy's opinions, from a northern perspective, of civil war issues were so different from Barnett's opinions, representing southern ideas. Kennedy seemed to underestimate the amount of tension that James Meredith's attendance at Ole Miss would create. It was obvious that Governor Barnett knew the extent of rioting that would take place in Mississippi because throughout their phone calls Barnett never fully agreed to follow Kennedy's orders. In my opinion Kennedy did a good job of letting Barnett know what he wanted to be done and keeping it friendly without letting Barnett take advantage of the situation. Where Kennedy went wrong was that he underestimated the racism still in the area and he didn't send in the federal police fast enough. I think that listening to this type of source is very helpful because it is primary and you can even hear the tone of the discussion. We can hear exactly how the President felt about the situation first hand.
Breanna Maldonado-
Let me begin by saying that I have great respect for our presidents because their job is probably one of the hardest, and I could never dream of being responsible for a whole country. The conversation I chose was between Martin Luther King and President Johnson and was titled Road from Selma. The conversation concerned the Civil Rights Movement. I definitely admire the way President Johnson was able to get along with Martin Luther King. I think he handled himself very well. I was also surprised to see how many things the both of them agreed on. They seemed to be working like a team. President Johnson was giving Luther advice, while also telling him he would do the best he could. Sources such as this are very interesting to me. It's amazing to think that this was an actual conversation that took place and we are fortunate enough to have the privledge of listening in and looking into the thoughts of our great presidents.
Douglas Roberts
Richard Nixon
Choosing Rehnquist
I chose these conversations for two reasons. One, while I don't agree with President Nixon's political ideology or his actions in the Watergate affair, I've been interested in his administration ever since I listened to Barbara Jordan's "Statements on the Articles of Impeachment" speech to the House Judiciary Committee in 1974. The second reason is that I've had an interest in the Supreme Court for a long time and when I saw William Rehnquist's name, I recognized him as the Chief Justice of the United States immediately before our current one, John Roberts. I was in no way shocked that President Nixon was already engaging in less than appropriate actions in 1971, a year before the Watergate break-ins. I admit that I didn't take into account the time that this recording took place while I was listening to it, so when I heard the president's comments about throwing a woman's name into the mix of potential Supreme Court nominees just to confuse people, I was slightly surprised. It does show how the Court has progressed since 1971, with Sandra Day O'Connor being sworn in a decade later, and now with four women to have served as Justices with the swearing in of Justice Kagan just a few days ago. I was also intrigued by the comments made about choosing a Catholic nominee. I suppose my parents raised me well enough to not consider people's religious preferences when making important decisions.
Jackie Sirianni-Kennedy and Barnett.
The telephone conversations between President Kennedy ad Governor Ross Barnett were particularly interesting to me because they were so honest. When listening to something that is meant purely for the public, it is hard to decide if the speaker actually means what he is saying. With a telephone conversation; however, it is more likely for the speaker to mean what he/she is saying. In the conversation, Kennedy is telling Ross Barnett, the governor of Mississippi, that because of the law against segregation in education, James Meredith could attend the university. However, Barnett still had the racist values of the south and didn't want to have Meredith there because of his color. If this had been a mass communication to the people of Mississippi, Barnett's opinion might have changed, but because it was only between him and the president he spoke honestly. In the end, Meredith was able to attend Old Miss University. The taped telephone conversations of presidents brought much insight into the minds of the presidents and their associates and helped people to understand the politics of this day in age.
Lindsey LangstonJ
FK Addresses Nation Prematurely on Success in Mississippi
I had never before heard a speech given by John F. Kennedy, and I found that he was very eloquent. Cautioning Mississippi like a small child, he was stern yet encouraging. I thought that the way he questioned their integrity because of their actions was very clever. Even though he was a Northerner, he seemed to know a lot about the South because he knew that their allegiance to their state and the Southern pride that they felt was extremely important. By questioning the morality and integrity of their state, he forced them to jump into action and defend their honor. Well, at least that's what he was hoping to do. It was really sad listening to this speech because of the dramatic irony of the situation.
JFK Debates Governor's Decision to Ban James Meredith from U-Miss
I found this conversation particularly humorous. To hear President Kennedy talking with a little Ol' Southern man was hilarious. I couldn't believe that the Governor said he was "thinking" about the Supreme Courts decision. It was especially hypocritical when he later said "I took an oath the uphold the Constitution". When JFK set the phone down to "go check on something", you could just see the Governor shaking his head and pouring himself a drink.
JFK Persuades Barnett to Maintain Law and Order in Mississippi
"Well, just tell them to move along."- JFK
"You just don't understand the situation down here!"- Governor Barnett to JFK
This conversation really highlight the intensity and severity of the situation for me. For the Governor to be passionate enough about segregation to argue with the President was really astonishing. I was also amazed at all of the lip Barnett gave JFK. Even if he didn't agree with the decision, JFK was still the President and he should have respected him and his decision. The Governor's whole side of the conversation sounded like a bunch of poppycock to me. He was stammering and making up excuses for himself and telling JFK what to do. I definitely learned more from this conversation about the feelings during integration than I ever could have from a text book.
Klarizza Aggabao - LBJ Adresses Congress Days After Assassination
I chose this segment because I thought the Johnson's speech seem interesting to me since I've watched about the JFK assassination sometimes in the Histiry channel. What surprised me about Johnson's speech was that in the very beginning, he mentioned that he would give anything not to be here giving this speech. When I first heard this, I was touched because I thought that maybe he didn't want to believe that President Kennedy was assassinated because to Johnson, he was a great man. A few moments later, the vice president said that Kennedy will live on in memories of mankind. After I listened to the segment, I made me realize that President Kennedy impacted history by his ideas, as Johnson referred them. What I thought was the important part of his speech was the part when Johnson said that Kennedy's "Drive and Dedication" made everything happen. In my opinion, I do believe that Kennedy's presidential decisions will live on and I hope that future presidents will look up to him and be their role model.
Luxi Qiao-Watergate firings (Nixon)
I have a few comments after listening to this part of the documentary. First, I believed Nixon was aware of Watergate before it happened and he participated in the cover-up afterwards, so his speech on April 30th, 1973, was to me an insincere attempt to stop the Watergate scandal from further damaging his presidency, and appeal to the public. In Nixon’s phone calls with William Rogers afterwards, Rogers’s exact words were “but the public is going to love it. That’s what counts.” Second, I think letting Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman go was a bad decision, but if I were Nixon, I think I would’ve done the same. Nixon was probably aware of the consequences of letting two of his closest associates go; like historian Stanley Kutler said, he is naked to his enemies. But at that time, Nixon’s presidency was in turmoil as a result of the Watergate scandal, and I think he was tired of the fact that the public and the medias‘ attention were all on Watergate and he was also afraid that the great things he had done before won’t be thought of. So, in a desperate situation, I think Nixon took a risk in hope of saving his presidency, but as we can see, it didn’t work out as well as he wished.
Hans Kollar - LBJ and Senator Richard Russell
I listened to Lindon Johnson talking to Richard Russell about the Vietnam conflict. The first thing that stuck me was the slow drawl that the two spoke with. To me it was almost comical listening to these two men who sounded like they were talking with this really slow rumbling speech. I also thought it was interesting how they started of the call very passive and calm and just commenting back and forth and by the middle they are almost shouting their opinions and arguing back and forth. After listening to the whole conversation I thought it was rather strange that they were just talking about basic policy and about politics rather than actual war strategy. To me this is troubling and makes me think that Johnson was more worried about his public image and his image within his political peers than the actual outcome of the war. The other thing that struck me was the great length of the conversation (27 Minutes). In today's society the average phone conversation is 2-5 minutes and a long conversation is over 10 minutes. These men were just having a casual conversation over opinions for nearly half an hour. This really made me realize how the English language and communication styles have changed in less than half a century.
Austin Shaeffer: LBJ Addresses Congress Days After Assassination
Congratulations to LBJ on an outstanding speech after Kennedy's assassination. Every move he made was ingenious and correct. He knew that the United States had fallen in love with JFK and that he had to continue with JFK's plan. He not only did this but he flawlessly executed a speech that would encourage the country to work together, be prideful, and have hope. He, more than once, asked congress and the people to help move america forward. He used JFK's assassination to the best of his ability to encourage this moving forward by saying it would honor him. He united the people of the U.S. in a swift elegant speeech of only 20 minutes. LBJ and his administration showed pure genius through this speech.
Dylan Broyles - LBJ
I listened to a variety of conversations from Lyndon B. Johnson, and I found out a few interesting things. First, Johnson was very persuasive in everything he said. If someone did not want to do what he wanted them to do, he would use a threatening tone of voice or just simply tell them what the consequences would be if they did not follow his instructions. I also found out that President Johnson taped his phone calls to hold people to their word. If someone said that they did not say something, LBJ could go back over the tapes and show them whether they did or did not say it. President Johnson also fought for civil rights with none other than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He had quite a few telephone conversations with Dr. King on how to improve racial relations across the U.S., especially in the South.
Zach White- Kennedy and Barnett
I found the conversations between president Kennedy and the Governor of Mississippi Ross Barnett to be very interesting. I felt as if the President should have full control over the conversations but it did not play out that way. Ross Barnett seemed to try to assert authority towards the President which surprised me. The topic of conversation was trying to keep James Meredith safe in attending Ole Miss. Governor Barnett was very racist and did not agree with the African American attending the school. President Kennedy had no racism in his blood and he did not understand Barnett's point of view. This conversation was very interesting, and the tone in which both men used made me want to listen to it. Eventually the president did over ride Barnett which is how i figured it would play out, after all he was the president of the United States.
Bradley Wheeler
LBJ Addresses Congress Days after Assassination
LBJ was very sincere in his speech announcing the assassination of JFK. He spoke of continuing forward with peace throughout the land with JFK as inspiration for this. He was very convincing and rallied those who heard it. His speech was only 20 minutes but was very powerful throughout the entirety of it. He spoke of a program to be free and just by not only the government but through the people as well. He wanted the people to be free and together as one nation working towards peace.
Akua Yamoah
-LBJ Addresses Congress Days after Assassination
I chose this specific podcast because I felt I didn't know much about how Lyndon B. Johnson dealt with the assassination of John F. Kennedy and i was just simply interested. I felt you could tell in certain parts of the speech how Lyndon B. Johnson felt about the situation at hand. He also clearly stated how John Kennedy has made such a huge impact on the United States that people will live with for the rest of their lives. As well as that the nation will continue to do what it thinks is right for the search of peace. I noticed how he frequently talked about how the United States is looked at though different countries and through allies eyes. Lyndon B. Johnson continued to talk about what the US will continue to do even after the lose of John F. Kennedy.I noticed towards the end Lyndon B. Johnson's voice became more proud and strong in the country, and in the power of the country to make a positive change in the world.
Shawn Best: Nixon, Watergate scandal
I chose to listen to the recording of president Nixon addressing the nation after the Watergate scandal largely because of the infamy associated with this event and to a lesser extent because the break in at Watergate occurred on my birthday. In his address Nixon repudiates the actions of individuals that night but speaks as if he was completely unaware of the seriousness of the event until long after the story went public, making him seem almost naïve. I personally find it hard to believe that Nixon was unaware of these events as long as he claimed to be. His announcement of the resignation of members of his administration makes me call their innocence into question, even though Nixon makes it painfully clear that his acceptance of their resignations is in no way an implication of guilt. The second half of the statement sounds like repetition of the usual “go America” rhetoric that politicians love. Overall, I think Nixon accomplished his goal by coming off as a concerned leader, though his prior knowledge of the actual scandal was very much downplayed in his address to the nation. After hearing this address, the eventual resignation of the president should not have been as much of a surprise.
President Calling- Lyndon B. Johnson: Kristen Sikora
I chose to listen to President Lyndon B. Johnson honestly because I did not know anything about him. I found it so incredible that we have the ability to listen to real and private conversations that went on in the presidential office. Johnson held many phone calls to gain more followers on to his side and shape history through "political calculus." Johnson assigned a position of foreing ambassador to the first African American woman. Lyndon Johnson first became president at 55 years old. He used all of his power to make a change and influence after the death of Kennedy. They said he had a power of blending personal and political, as seen with his conversation with Jackie Kennedy; who he used to show his legitimacy as the new president. Johnson used the recordings of his phone calls to keep order and organize details to help settle different disputes. Johnson wanted to help expand the civil rights for African Americans. He used his extreme ways and shock techniques to help get his way.
Tina Phan
Richard Nixon and John Mitchell
History isn't my best subject so the conversations/president that I chose to listen to were at random. The first conversation that I listened to was Nixon and Mitchell discussing the press and how to distract them from the leaked list of people Nixon was considering for Court. The first thing that I noticed was the casual exchange of talk between the two. Nixon had planned for Mitchell to make up a list of fake names to confuse the press; however, I could sense that Mitchell was unsure of that idea. If a list of names were released then those people would get targeted by the press along with Nixon himself. He would be questioned if none of those people made it to Court. They also discussed the situation about women, which reminded me that it was a touchy subject during that time. I do admire Nixon for trying to pull the press off of the women candidates. I also listened to the taped conversation about Mulligan as a potential nominee. I could tell that Nixon thought he was a good nominee, but was also afraid that he would be marked down due to the school that he graduated from. After listening to these taped conversations, I was reminded again that the press can be a helpful tool but could also harm your position.
Jarecia Bush
JFK and Ross Barnett
While listening to the tape I could since the tension and urgency on the conversation. Barnett, to me, seemed like he was trying to stall a little. I was a little surprised at how calm JFK was about the whole situation. Both men seemed like they wanted to avoid violence. JFK seemed like he wanted to enroll Meredith as soon as possible while Barnett didn't want to enroll him. Both men seemed like they were trying to avoid confrontation. I think that JFK made the right decision by sticking to the law. I also think that Barnett didn't do what he was supposed to do since he was Governor because he didn't follow the law and that's setting a bad example.
Cynthia Hodge- LBJ Address Congress Days After Assassination
I was very touched by LB's speech to congress. I completely understood where he was coming from when he said he didn't want to be there. If I were in his shoes, i would not want to be addressing the US Congress after a close friend has been murdered, but the fact that he did that and did it so gracefully really shows the respect and adoration LBJ had for his late running mate. He makes it clear to the Congress that all of Kennedy's decision were made for the bettering of our country and that his legacy will continue to inspire future presidents. LBJ was so sincere in his speech that it could almost bring you to tears how he talked about the impact JFK made on the US. LBJ's speech touched the hearts of all those shaken by the sudden tragic death of the beloved John F. Kennedy.
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