Meet the candidates: Senator John F. Kerry/Democrat.As a boy, John F. Kerry had big dreams. "I wanted to be a baseball player, a sailor, Robin Hood Robin Hood, legendary hero of 12th-century England who robbed the rich to help the poor. Chivalrous, manly, fair, and always ready for a joke, Robin Hood reflected many of the ideals of the English yeoman. , a football player--you name it," Kerry told JS. Today, the three-term Massachusetts Senator still has a daredevil streak. He likes to pilot stunt planes, windsurf, and ride motorcycles. Now, Kerry has set his sights on an even greater challenge: He wants to become the next U.S. President. John F. Kerry was born on December 11, 1943, in Aurora, Colorado The City of Aurora is the third most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 59th most populous city in the United States.[5] The municipality is split between Arapahoe County and Adams County, with a small portion lying in Douglas County. . His father, Richard, was a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps and later worked as a diplomat in the U.S. State A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States, although four states use the official title "commonwealth". The separate state governments and the federal government share sovereignty, in that an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and Department. Because of his father's diplomatic career, John spent much of his childhood in European capitals. In 1957, his parents sent him to St. Paul's
Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2000 census, its population was 40,687. , one of the nation's top prep schools. After graduating from Yale University Yale University, at New Haven, Conn.; coeducational. Chartered as a collegiate school for men in 1701 largely as a result of the efforts of James Pierpont, it opened at Killingworth (now Clinton) in 1702, moved (1707) to Saybrook (now Old Saybrook), and in 1716 was , Kerry served as a U.S. Navy lieutenant in Vietnam. He earned a Silver Star for bravery, a Bronze Star for combat valor valor a rodenticide no longer marketed because of toxicity in horses causing dehydration, abdominal pain, hindlimb weakness, inappetence, fishy smell in urine. Called also N-3-pyridyl methyl N1-p-nitrophenyl urea. , and three Purple Hearts. But Kerry became increasingly disillusioned dis·il·lu·sion tr.v. dis·il·lu·sioned, dis·il·lu·sion·ing, dis·il·lu·sions To free or deprive of illusion. n. 1. The act of disenchanting. 2. The condition or fact of being disenchanted. about the U.S. role in the unpopular war. "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam?" he said to a U.S. Senate committee in 1971. "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" Kerry went on to earn a law degree from Boston College Law School and became a prosecutor. Family Support In 1982, he was elected Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor. Two years later, he won a seat in the U.S. Senate. Kerry's second wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, is heiress to the Heinz ketchup fortune. She often accompanies the Senator on the campaign trail. His two daughters and three stepsons are also deeply involved in the campaign. www.johnkerry.com LESSON PLANS OBJECTIVE Students should understand * President Bush and Senator Kerry are the two major parry candidates in November's presidential election. WORDS TO KNOW Democratic Party: political group that believes government should take direct responsibility for problems affecting the nation, such as improving health care and helping the needy; favors social spending and allocating federal tax dollars to such programs. Republican Party: political group that believes in a more limited government whose primary role is to act when individuals or private groups cannot, such as in maintaining the military or the interstate highway system; believes the government should limit taxes and social spending. TEACHING STRATEGY Ask students: "What do you know about the Republican and Democratic candidates running for U.S. President?" BACKGROUND President Bush and Senator Kerry have both set new records for presidential campaign fund-raising. Political analysts estimate that, as of early summer, contributions to the Bush campaign amounted to $250 million. The Kerry campaign had raised about $160 million, a record amount for a Democratic Party candidate. CRITICAL THINKING MAKING INFERENCES: Why is the office of the U.S. President the most powerful job in the world? (The U.S. is the world's only superpower, the most dominant political, military, and economic force on Earth. As the nation's Chief Executive, the President oversees policies that affect the lives of people in every nation.) ACTIVITY HOW TO WIN: Instruct students to write a letter to either President Bush or Senator Kerry recommending a strategy to win this year's election. STANDARDS SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8 * Power, authority, and governance: How President Bush and Senator Kerry are the two candidates most Americans will vote for in this year's presidential election. RESOURCES * Bush, George W Bush, George W(alker) (born July 6, 1946, New Haven, Conn., U.S.) Governor of Texas (1995–2000) and 43rd president of the U.S. (from 2001). The eldest child of George Bush, the 41st president of the U.S. (1989–93), George W. ., A Charge to Keep (William Morrow, 1999). Grades 6-8. * Kerry, John, A Call to Service: My Vision for a Better America (Viking, 2003). Grades 6-8. GROLIER WEB SITE KEY WORD * Election 2004 WEB SITES * President George W. Bush www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/elections/2004 /whitehouse/bushgeorgew * Senator John F. Kerry www.boston.com/globe/nation/packages/kerry/ QUICK QUIZ * Decide whether each sentence is true, false, or an opinion. --1. Third-party candidates should not be listed on the election ballot because they have almost no chance of winning. --2. Voters on Election Day are actually choosing electors electors, in the history of the Holy Roman Empire, the princes who had the right to elect the German kings or, more exactly, the kings of the Romans (Holy Roman emperors). who will cast the official ballots for each state. --3. President Bush served in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. . --4. The fathers of President Bush and Senator Kerry worked for the U.S. government. --5. John F. Kerry led the antiwar an·ti·war adj. Opposed to war or to a particular war: antiwar protests; an antiwar candidate. movement when he was a student at Yale University. ANSWERS 1. Opinion 2. True 3. True 4. True 5. False |
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