American History Game Using U.S. Presidents Biographies Created by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

The American History Game Using Presidential Biographies by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

It is sometimes easier to remember events in American history, if you learn them through the lives of American presidents. 

This game will teach you to research items in history and analyze what you find as answers.

Objective:  Gain knowledge you need to be a president who enriches the American people of all ethnicities and defends the nation.


Nota bene:  What is true of presidents is true of leaders in fashion, show business, and publishing almost always.

Use resources such as the following to do your research:

-The Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events by Bernard Grun

-Presidents Fact Book: The Achievements, Campaigns, Events, Triumphs, and Legacies of Every President from George Washington to the Current One by Roger Matuz and Bill Harris (Editor)

-World Book Encyclopedia – available at most public libraries

-Presidents of the U.S. – whitehouse.org

-Presidential Documents, the U.S. Presidents, and Presidential Libraries

archives.gov

-Presidential Places in the National Parks

nps.gov

Level 1 – Basic Fact Bank

-In a notebook or journal, note the following:

-Write down the full name of the president

-Write down which number the president is

-Write down the president’s birthplace

-Write down the president’s birth year

-Write down the president’s death year

-Write down where the president is buried

-Write down where the president has his library

Note:  Presidential sites and libraries are interesting to visit:

-      to see what kind of communities a president grew up in

-      to see what kind of education he was able to receive

-      to see exhibits of the achievements of his term (s) in office.)

Level 2 – Read about the President from a Variety of Sources

-Write down 5 – 10 of his achievements

-Of these achievements, are any still in place today?

Level 3 – Domestic and International Threats to National Security

-From your readings about the president, note any problems that the United States had due to his presidency domestically or internationally

-Were these problems caused by him or opposition to him by the opposing political party?

Level 4 – The Health of US Commerce under this President

-What did this president do to promote commerce?

-List 5 – 10 achievements

-Are these achievements still in place?

-Use historical statistics to back up your claim

-Are this president’s achievements in commerce still in place?

-Are Americans today richer or poorer due to this president’s accomplishments?

-If the president’s achievements did not endure, examine why.

Level 5 – Wars Fought During the President’s Tenure

-Were any wars fought during this president’s term in office?

-Did the U.S. win or lose territory as a result of this war?

-How much money did the U.S. spend on this war? Look at various budget pots

-Were these wars officially declared by Congress?

-Were treaties signed to end the War(s) or Conflicts?

-What does the original treaty look like?

-What members of government or their family members had shares in weapons manufacturers?  The proverb runs, “Perpetual warfare is profitable.”

Do some weapons firms sell to both sides in a conflict?

Level 6 – Life of the Underrepresented Throughout American History

-What was the life of women, children, and minorities like under the president?

-For minorities, separate your analysis into treatment of men, women, and children for each ethnic group present in the U.S. at the time.

-What parts of the U.S. were the minorities located in?  What countries and regions in these countries did people come from?

Level 7 – Lessons Learned

-What did you learn about being a president from your analysis of this president?

-The Chinese say everyone is a teacher, even bad people for their bad example, so give some evidence for your opinions and how they might make you a better leader.

Level 8 – Presidential Contenders

Who were the main presidential contenders to run against each president?

Make the following data bank:

-the number of each president such as #1 for George Washington

-the president’s name

-the years for the terms the president served

-the president’s educational background – subjects studied, degrees obtained, and names of educational institutions

For each presidential contender, note:

-the contenders’ names

-the contenders’ party affiliation

-the contenders’ educational background

Level 9 – Election Platforms

What were the 5 most important points on each contenders’ platform?

How did the contenders’ platforms differ from the president’s?

Level 10 – What is the immigrant ancestry for each president and presidential contender?

Most people have more than one immigrant ancestor.

Look at women in the family for hidden ancestry.

Level 11 – Ancestry, Economic Policy, and Trade Preferences

How might the immigrant history of each president’s ancestors and contenders’ ancestors affect their economic and trade policies?

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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Civil War Game by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Civil War Game by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Social media sites like Skype.com and Gotomeeting.com have enabled people of both sexes, ages, physical ability, and language ability to analyze battles to see if modern technology could have changed the course of a battle and eventually the outcome of a war.  

The outcomes of war usually determine national languages, textbook versions of national history taught to children, and what language the laws of the country will be written in.

Outcomes of wars and battles are important, because victors write new constitutions and other laws and usually write their version of history in textbooks.

Most battles take place in areas that have certain similar geographical features despite taking place in different countries and at different times in history.  (This is why it is important to study geography, history, and foreign languages.)

For example, the Battle of Fredericksburg (Virginia) is a perfect case study of an uphill battle.

All uphill battles against a supposed superior force appear to be unwinnable unless some conditions might be present:

-the opposing side runs out of food and water

-there is loss of communication ability for relaying battle commands

-there is mutiny among the enlisted due to pay or pension for themselves or spouses

-lack of accurate weather information (This was a crucial element at Waterloo)

-poor morale cause by media criticism, especially of women and children

-lack of money due to disruption of commerce and therefore tax revenue base

In this large battlefield leading up to the hill where  cannons and artillery fired down on troops stood a house that is still standing.  Neither side wanted to ruin it.

This house may have been a pantry, canteen, library, and first-aid station like most Southern homes, but maybe there were some other reasons why that home was allowed to stand.

This is a little game and your Level I tast is to find why that home is still standing.  Is there a well?  A clean toilet?  Figure it out.

Level 2 – find out what those 6 conditions were like at Fredericksburg.  A lot of this information is available in the book The Civil War Battlefield Guide published by The Conservation Fundand edited by Frances H. Kennedy.

Could modern technology have changed the outcome of the battle.  Analyze this situation using the 6 conditions above and some others like electricity, rodents, disease, and strength without arms.  (Read Redwall by Brian Jacques to see what I mean by this.)

This is a stay-at-home or play-with-friends-at-home activity that teaches you about technology, history, and culture.  Victors decide who gets national arts grants.

Level 4 in this battlefield game is to analyze each battle in The Civil War Battlefield Guide in the way I outlined above.  Once you have your analysis done, go to Level 5.

Level 5 – Analyze the American Civil War by looking at what our industry was like. 

France and England bought cotton from the South for their fashion industries.  Fur was bought by these same countries for fox collars for the fashion industry as well from places like Wisconsin and Montana.

Were people in New England the middlemen for purchases of cotton such as New York and Philadelphia?

Did Chicago sell fur and food to England and France?

Find the tax base for money to run the government.

How would you sell these items today to keep money more money in the US and not go to war over cotton, fur, and interest on bank loans?

Cheat 1:  

This book is rather old, but it contains information on traditional immigration and settlement patterns in the United States - The Nine Nations of North America by Joel Garreau.

Cheat 2: 

Read President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.  In this short speech Lincoln states that this battle and this war were very important for determining what the United States was going to be as a nation now that it was free of the British.  

The Civil War is looked at in terms of North and South now, but the Mississippi Purchase orchestrated by President Thomas Jefferson also brought in a "West" element to this conflict.  

Lincoln grew up in Kentucky and went to Illinois to run for public office.  He was viewed by both the New England, New York, and the South as a Westerner coming from the rather unsavory and uncivilized territory of Illinois at the time. He also did not have a college education or law degree.

Those were attributes, though, when dealing with the marauding British and Spanish navies and merchant marine companies as well as French interlopers from Canada.

Cheat 3:

Look up Hampton Roads Virginia for a clue and that is all for right now!

Cheat 4:

There are some clues to why the Civil War turned out the way it did in an older book called The Negro in the Making of America by Benjamin Quarles.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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Lunching at Steinbeck's Childhood Home with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Lunching at Steinbeck’s Home with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

When I moved to Monterey County (California), one of the first things I did was try reading all of John Steinbeck’s novels that I could get ahold of at the library. 

My favorite John Steinbeck novel remains East of Eden, which is set in Salinas (California), a little bit east of where I live now in Marina, California.

I was happy to learn that his childhood home in Salinas was a restaurant.

I called the editor at the Monterey County Weekly (Circulation:  200,000) and asked if I could do a story on lunch at Steinbeck’s birthplace in Salinas.

She thought that would be grand, especially for getting visuals for the article.  I called and made reservations for lunch.  (Florence was at school, so I lunched alone.  I worked on some projects while I was waiting for my meal.  I always have large post-it notes with or a small notebook with me for this purpose.)

The article I wrote follows:

The Steinbeck House in Salinas offers homey meals and a chance to tour the author’s birthplace.

On a visit last week to the Steinbeck House Restaurant in Salinas, I snuck a peek into the room where John Steinbeck was born.

The 19th-century manor immediately made me think of childhood visits to my great-aunt’s Victorian house with its dark, wood furniture, lace curtains in floor-to-ceiling, and brown flower print tablecloths reaching to the floor.

Thanks to the labors of the Valley Guild volunteers for the past thirty years, lunch in this landmark establishment provides the seasonal offerings of the Salinas Valley at a reasonable price.  Meals change on a weekly basis.

Lunch with rolls, a starter entrée, and beverage are reasonably priced.  For those interested in lighter fare, the Steinbeck House offers a soup and salad special.  There are desserts and wine by the glass.

The chef plans out all the meals one month in advance, so that guests can check out what is being served before making reservations.

The day that I ate at the Steinbeck House, I had a molded cranberry fruit salad, chicken cacciatore with tortellini, the house iced tea, and a slice of lemon tart.

While waiting for the starter to arrive, I helped myself to the homemade rolls that the waitress brought.

The rolls were as soft and moist as brioches without the sugary taste.  Instead, the chef had brushed the tops with a butter, garlic, and dill mixture that made them taste even better than dessert.

The slice of red, molded cranberry fruit salad that came served on a lettuce leaf was much more elegant than plain Jell-O.  Cranberries, along with thin slices of celery, chopped walnuts, and crushed pineapple went into this tart gelatin.  This starter did the job of “opening the appetite” as the French would say.

Chicken cacciatore always amuses me when I order it.  This dish is also known as “Hunters’ Chicken” as I learned while perusing the Joy of Cooking one day.  I wonder what kind of hunter would carry tomatoes, mushrooms, and chicken around to create this dish.

Apparently, the genius of an unlucky hunter has given the rest of us a dish of moist chicken sautéed in olive oil and simmered in a mixture of tomato paste, white wine, and chicken stock flavored with thyme, basil, marjoram, and mushrooms.

The Steinbeck House version of this dish is sweet tasting.  I liked the sauce with the homemade tortellini.  I sipped the delicious Steinbeck House iced tea made with lemonade, black tea, and a “mystery” ingredient.

Brown-tinted photographs of John Steinbeck’s parents, Olive Hamilton and John Ernst Steinbeck, hang on the walls in frames in gilt ovals around the photos.

A large, red bow for Christmas decorated the right side of each photo.  A Nutcracker-worthy Christmas tree stood in the room where Steinbeck was born.

They have a volunteer-run gift shop with books and other Steinbeck-related items.

End of Article

I brought Florence back to the “Nutcracker House” for a tortellini lunch with hot tea.  I showed her Steinbeck’s room and told her we would also visit the Steinbeck Center downtown, too, to see the camper that he traveled around the U.S. in for Travels with Charley.

By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

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