Oral+History

ORAL HISTORY **Instructions**
 * You may collaborate with one or more individuals on this assignment, as long as everyone does the work.
 * Find a person to interview and a topic of discussion from Unit 8 - pretty much anything after World War II.
 * Talk to your families, friends, and teachers for ideas. The person should be someone you know or have a connection to, but you do not need to be related to them. More than one subject on the same topic would be awesome!
 * Research and write a brief summary of the topic of discussion (the historical event, issue, or idea). The topic can be specific (the Detroit Riot of 1967) or general (memories of the Civil Rights Movement). You obviously need to have background information. Your research must include at least __two cited sources__. The historical New York Times or the archives of Time Magazine are great resources!
 * Develop 7-10 interview questions for the subject. Don't ask just what happened, but find out their reactions, memories, etc.
 * Conduct the interview. If possible, record the interview (audio or video). You can embed it on your space. It's not necessary, but very cool ...Post the questions and interview responses on your Unit 8 Online ISNs.
 * On your wiki, discuss your reaction to the interview, and include any relevant pictures, artifacts, and links.
 * Want an idea of the expectations? Here are some of my favorite examples from the past few years -

__**FACTS: **__
> > > > > > //**http://millercenter.org/president/ford** *3 fact above are from this site*//
 * **Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.** (born **Leslie Lynch King, Jr.**; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the [|38th] [|President of the United States], serving from 1974 to 1977, and the [|40th] [|Vice President of the United States] serving from 1973 to 1974.
 * As President, Ford signed the [|Helsinki Accords], marking a move toward [|détente] in the [|Cold War] . With the [|conquest of South Vietnam] by North Vietnam nine months into his presidency, U.S. involvement in [|Vietnam] essentially [|ended].
 * On October 15, 1948, at Grace [|Episcopal Church] in Grand Rapids, Ford married [|Elizabeth Bloomer Warren], a department store fashion consultant. Warren had been a [|John Robert Powers] fashion model and a dancer in the auxiliary troupe of the [|Martha Graham] Dance Company.
 * Ford faced two [|assassination] attempts during his presidency, occurring within three weeks of each other: while in [|Sacramento, California], on September 5, 1975, [|Lynette Fromme] , a follower of [|Charles Manson] , pointed a [|Colt .45-caliber handgun] at Ford. [|[118]] As Fromme pulled the trigger, [|Larry Buendorf] , [|[119]] a Secret Service agent, grabbed the gun and managed to insert the webbing of his thumb under the hammer, preventing the gun from firing.
 * In reaction to this attempt, the Secret Service began keeping Ford at a more secure distance from anonymous crowds, a strategy that may have saved his life seventeen days later: as he left the [|St. Francis Hotel] in downtown San Francisco, [|Sara Jane Moore], standing in a crowd of onlookers across the street, pointed her [|.38-caliber revolver] at him. [|[121]] Just before she fired, former Marine [|Oliver Sipple] grabbed at the gun and deflected her shot; the bullet struck a wall about six inches above and to the right of Ford's head, then ricocheted and hit a taxi driver, who was slightly wounded. //**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Ford** *ALL OF ABOVE ARE FROM THIS WEBSITE!*//
 * Ford studied law at Univ. of yale.
 * After taking the oath of office to become the thirty-eighth President of the United States, Gerald Ford forthrightly declared, "Our long national nightmare is over." With this simple statement, the new President both recognized the anguish caused by Watergate and indicated that he intended to lead the country forward.
 * Gerald Ford inherited Richard Nixon's foreign policies and his foreign policy advisers. While Ford had not developed an expertise in American foreign relations as a congressman or as vice president, he was generally familiar with the major international issues facing the country. Thus, Ford was certainly more prepared to direct the nation's affairs with the rest of the world than his critics would have admitted.


 * **//INTERVIEW//**
 * My grandparents, Russ and Sue Darrow, got the chance to meet this president and I am interviewing Sue Darrow about Gerald ford and his presidency and what her opinions were.**

PICTURES

GERALD FORD http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Gerald_Ford.jpg

assassination attempt http://symonsez.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/frommearrest.jpg

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 1- What did you think of Gerald Ford as president? Gerald Ford is a very good and kind man, republican too! And he can relate to all civilians in the US because of all of the athletics he has participated in!

2-What did Gerald Ford do that personally affected you or your family? He only had three years in office because Jimmy Carter beat him but he tried to clean up the mess that nixon made, and he tried to restore honesty back to the white house! Him and his wife built the famous Betty Ford clinic for drug and alcohol problems and he has helped everyone which makes him a great man!

3-What is the one thing that you remember most about Gerald Ford? I remember that Gerald for wanted to be treated as an equal, not a leader. He was a very gentle and honest man.

4-Do you think that the states should decide on some laws for the state itself, or the federal government should decide on everything? (for example- Ford said that states should chose their own laws on abortion rights) Yes to the states, not the federal government because the the federal government doesn't need that much control, and each state is different with different needs!

5- Did your impression of Gerald Ford change once you met him? No, I knew that he was the right president when I voted for him to run our nation. He turned out just the way I thought and knew he would.

6- If you could change one thing about Gerald Ford's presidency what would it be? Yes, that he would've beat Jimmy Carter and had a longer time to make more of a difference!

7-When Ford ran for office again, did you want him to win? Or did you want Jimmy Carter?(Democrat) Yes, i would definitely vote for him again.

MY RESPONSE---

I think Sue Darrow's response to Gerald Ford's presidency was very honest and heartfelt. President Ford seemed to have made quite an impact on her, and from what she says, the general population. It seems he was a president of the people, due to his legacies left...in sports, the Betty Ford Clinic and with the power to the people of the states. I would've liked to have experienced this time, when people were so fervent about supporting their president. Jimmy Carter,compared to Gerald Ford, was a disappointment to the nation and all who voted for him. I see a similarity in African American people in general, and their passionate support of Obama.