Publisher's Synopsis
This engaging resource book focuses on a specific, yet defining, aspect of any president's time in office: his foreign policy decisions and actions in resolving international crises.
The Presidency offers a historical context for looking at how U.S. presidents have dealt with diplomacy in foreign affairs during conflicts and crises. Coverage ranges from George Washington to George W. Bush, focusing specifically on two revealing events: Woodrow Wilson's uncompromising championing of the League of Nations and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's accommodating participation at the Yalta conference with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin.
Working through activities related to these two events, students will explore the ongoing tension between pragmatism and idealism, the gap between unilateralism and diplomacy, and the role of Congress and the American public in setting national policy-topics of immediate relevance to the world today and our place in it.
Over 50 primary sources, including a photo of Woodrow Wilson on his League of Nations peace tour in 1919; excerpts from the 1941 Atlantic Charter, excerpts from Roosevelt's message to Congress in 1941, and the 1942 declaration of the United Nations; and dozens of political cartoons
Classroom activities include role-playing senate debates and negotiations between world leaders, dramatic readings, and critical analysis of photographs and political cartoons
A "Throughout History" section provides a chronology of the defining foreign policy events in presidencies from George Washington to George W. Bush
