МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОЕ АВТОНОМНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ

ГИМНАЗИЯ С УГЛУБЛЕННЫМ ИЗУЧЕНИЕМ ИНОСТРАННЫХ ЯЗЫКОВ №21

Кафедра иностранных языков

Реферат

по английскому языку на тему:

«The most influential presidents of USA»

Выполнил: Карташев Матвей

Игоревич

ученик МАОУ гимназии №21

8 «Б» класса

Проверила: Емельянова Мария

Валерьевна

учитель английского языка

МАОУ гимназии №21

Тюмень 2019

Contents

Introduction………….....................................................................................................................3

Chapter 1. Theoretical part

1.1 George Washington………………………………..………………………………….……....4

1.2 Thomas Jefferson……………..……………………………………………...……….…….…5

1.3 Abraham Lincoln…………………………………………………………………….…….….7

1.4 Franklin Delano Roosevelt…………………………………………………………….……...8

1.5 John Fitzgerald Kennedy……………….…………………………..…………....

…………...11

1.6 Barack Obama……………………………………………………………………….……….13

Chapter 2. Practical Part

2.1 Research…………………………………………………………………………...…………14

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….15

References…………………………………………………………………………………….….16

Appendix……………………………………………………………………………....…………17

2

Introduction

This report is devoted to the topic «The most influential presidents of USA». The president is a

common title for the head of state in most republics. The President of the United States is

the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs

the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United

States Armed Forces. In contemporary times, the president is looked upon as one of the world's

most powerful political figures as the leader of the only remaining global superpower.

The significance of the research is determined by the fact, that politics is so important today,

but, in my opinion, president is a main representative of politics.

The aim of this research is to define the most influential president of USA by creating a table,

which will show us contribution to the county in different kinds of spheres by presidents, about

which I will tell. And who will be engaged in lots of spheres, to me mind, will be the most

influential president of USA

The objectives of the research are:

• to study presidents of USA;

• to define the most influential president of USA;

The object of the research is president’s contribution to the country.

The subject of the research is the most influential president of USA

The hypothesis is that president helps country to avoid all problems.

3

1.1 George Washington:

George Washington (1732-1799) was commander in chief

of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and served

two terms as the first U.S. president, from 1789 to 1797. The son of a prosperous planter,

Washington was raised in colonial Virginia. As a young man, he worked as a surveyor

then fought in the French and Indian War (1754-63). During the American Revolution, he

led the colonial forces to victory over the British and became a national hero. In 1787, he

was elected president of the convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution. Two years later,

Washington became America’s first president. Realizing that the way he handled the job

would impact how future presidents approached the position, he handed down a legacy of

strength, integrity and national purpose. Less than three years after leaving office, he died

at his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon, at age 67.

George Washington is depicted on 1 dollar bill. In 1783, with a peace treaty signed

between Great Britain and the U.S., Washington, believing he had done his duty, gave up

his command of the army and returned to Mount Vernon, intent on resuming his life as a

gentleman farmer and family man. However, in 1787, he was asked to attend the

Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and head the committee to draft the new

constitution. His impressive leadership there convinced the delegates that he was by far

the most qualified man to become the nation’s first president.

4

1.2 Thomas Jefferson:

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), author of the

Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president, was a leading figure in

America’s early development. During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783),

Jefferson served in the Virginia legislature and the Continental Congress and was

governor of Virginia. He later served as U.S. minister to France and U.S. secretary of

state, and was vice president under John Adams (1735-1826). Jefferson, who thought the

national government should have a limited role in citizens’ lives, was elected president in

1800. During his two terms in office (1801-1809), the U.S. purchased the Louisiana

Territory and Lewis and Clark explored the vast new acquisition. Although Jefferson

promoted individual liberty, he was also a slaveowner. After leaving office, he retired to

his Virginia plantation, Monticello, and helped found the University of Virginia.

In 1775, with the American Revolutionary War recently under way, Jefferson was

selected as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. Although not known as a great

public speaker, he was a gifted writer and at age 33, was asked to draft the Declaration of

Independence (before he began writing, Jefferson discussed the document’s contents with

a five-member drafting committee that included John Adams and Benjamin Franklin).

The Declaration of Independence, which explained why the 13 colonies wanted to be free

of British rule and also detailed the importance of individual rights and freedoms, was

adopted on July 4, 1776. In the fall of 1776, Jefferson resigned from the Continental

Congress and was re-elected to the Virginia House of Delegates (formerly the House of

Burgesses). He considered the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which he authored

5

in the late 1770s and which Virginia lawmakers eventually passed in 1786, to be one of

the significant achievements of his career. It was a forerunner to the  First Amendment to

the U.S. Constitution, which protects people’s right to worship as they choose. From

1779 to 1781, Jefferson served as governor of Virginia, and from 1783 to 1784, did a

second stint in Congress (then officially known, since 1781, as the Congress of the

Confederation). In 1785, he succeeded Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) as U.S. minister to

France. Jefferson’s duties in Europe meant he could not attend the Constitutional

Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787; however, he was kept informed of the

proceedings to draft a new national constitution and later advocated for including a bill of

rights and presidential term limits.

Jefferson was sworn into office on March 4, 1801; his was the first presidential

inauguration held in Washington, D.C. (George Washington was inaugurated in New

York in 1789; in 1793, he was sworn into office in Philadelphia, as was his successor,

John Adams, in 1797.) Instead of riding in a horse-drawn carriage, Jefferson broke with

tradition and walked to and from the ceremony. One of the most significant achievements

of Jefferson’s first administration was the purchase of the  Louisiana Territory from

France for $15 million in 1803. In 1804, Jefferson ran for re-election and defeated

Federalist candidate Charles Pinckney (1746-1825) of South Carolina with more than 70

percent of the popular vote and an electoral count of 162-14. During his second term,

Jefferson focused on trying to keep America out of Europe’s Napoleonic Wars (1803-15).

However, after Great Britain and France, who were at war, both began harassing

American merchant ships, Jefferson implemented the Embargo of 1807. The act, which

closed U.S. ports to foreign trade, proved unpopular with Americans and hurt the U.S.

economy. It was repealed in 1809 and, despite the president’s attempts to maintain

neutrality, the U.S. ended up going to war against Britain in 1812. Jefferson chose not to

run for a third term in 1808 and was succeeded in office by James Madison (1751-1836),

a fellow Virginian and former U.S. secretary of state.

6

1.3 Abraham Lincoln:

Abraham Lincoln (1809 –1865) was an American lawyer and politician

who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861

until his assassination in April 1865. 

Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a one-room log cabin in

Hardin County, Kentucky; his family moved to southern Indiana in

1816. Lincoln’s formal schooling was limited to three brief periods in

local schools, as he had to work constantly to support his family.

Abraham Lincoln is remembered for his vital role as the leader in

preserving the Union during the Civil War and beginning the process

(Emancipation Proclamation) that led to the end of slavery in the United States. He is also

remembered for his character and leadership, his speeches and letters, and as a man of humble

origins whose determination and perseverance led him to the nation's highest office. 

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage

actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while attending the play Our American

Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head as he watched the play, Lincoln

died the following day at 7:22 a.m., in the Petersen House opposite the theater. He was the first

American president to be assassinated, and Lincoln's funeral and burial marked an extended

period of national mourning.

Booth was not busy in the play, which was going on that day, and in General previously played

in the Ford theater only twice, but often there visited his friends-actors and knew both the

building and the repertoire of the theater. During the funniest scene of the Comedy, he entered

the President's box and shot him after one of the replicas, so that the sound of the shot was

muffled by an explosion of laughter. In the confusion Booth managed to escape. On April 26,

1865, Booth was overtaken by police in the state of Virginia in a barn. The barn was set on fire,

Booth came out armed with a revolver, at which point he was fatally wounded in the neck by

Boston Corbett. The last words that John Booth said, “Tell my mother that I died fighting for my

country”.

7

1.4 Franklin Delano Roosevelt:

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 –1945) was the 32nd American

president. FDR, as he was often called, led the United States through the Great Depression

and World War II, and greatly expanding the powers of the federal government through a series

of programs and reforms known as the New Deal. Stricken with polio in 1921, Roosevelt spent

much of his adult life in a wheelchair. A whole generation of Americans grew up knowing no

other president, as FDR served an unprecedented four terms in office. Roosevelt’s social

programs reinvented the role of government in Americans' lives, while his presidency during

World War II established the United States' leadership on the world stage.

The New Deal was a series of programs and projects instituted during the Great

Depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that aimed to restore prosperity to

Americans. When Roosevelt took office in 1933, he acted swiftly to stabilize the

economy and provide jobs and relief to those who were suffering. Over the next eight

years, the government instituted a series of experimental New Deal projects and

programs, such as the CCC, the WPA, the TVA, the SEC and others, that aimed to restore

some measure of dignity and prosperity to many Americans. Roosevelt’s New Deal

fundamentally and permanently changed the federal government’s relationship to U.S.

citizens. On March 4, 1933, during the bleakest days of the Great Depression, newly elected

President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his first inaugural address before 100,000 people on

Washington’s Capitol Plaza.

8

“First of all,” he said, “let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear

itself.” He promised that he would act swiftly to face the “dark realities of the moment” and

assured Americans that he would “wage a war against the emergency” just as though “we were

in fact invaded by a foreign foe.” His speech gave many people confidence that they’d elected a

man who was not afraid to take bold steps to solve the nation’s problems.

Despite the best efforts of President Roosevelt and his cabinet, however, the Great

Depression continued – the nation’s economy continued to wheeze; unemployment

persisted; and people grew angrier and more desperate. So, in the spring of 1935,

Roosevelt launched a second, more aggressive series of federal programs, sometimes

called the Second New Deal. In April, he created the Works Progress Administration

(WPA) to provide jobs for unemployed people. WPA projects weren’t allowed to compete

with private industry, so they focused on building things like post offices, bridges,

schools, highways and parks. The WPA also gave work to artists, writers, theater

directors and musicians. In July 1935, the National Labor Relations Act, also known as

the Wagner Act, created the National Labor Relations Board to supervise union elections

and prevent businesses from treating their workers unfairly. In August, FDR signed

the Social Security Act of 1935, which guaranteed pensions to millions of Americans, set

up a system of unemployment insurance and stipulated that the federal government would

help care for dependent children and the disabled. In 1936, while campaigning for a

second term, FDR told a roaring crowd at Madison Square Garden that “The forces of

‘organized money’ are unanimous in their hate for me – and I welcome their hatred. ”He

went on: “I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of

selfishness and of lust for power met their match, I should like to have it said of my

second Administration that in it these forces have met their master. ––This FDR had

come a long way from his earlier repudiation of class-based politics and was promising a

much more aggressive fight against the people who were profiting from the Depression-

era troubles of ordinary Americans. He won the election by a landslide. Despite the best

efforts of President Roosevelt and his cabinet, however, the Great Depression continued –

the nation’s economy continued to wheeze; unemployment persisted; and people grew

angrier and more desperate. So, in the spring of 1935, Roosevelt launched a second, more

aggressive series of federal programs, sometimes called the Second New Deal. In April,

he created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to provide jobs for unemployed

people. WPA projects weren’t allowed to compete with private industry, so they focused

on building things like post offices, bridges, schools, highways and parks. The WPA also 9

gave work to artists, writers, theater directors and musicians. In July 1935, the National

Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act, created the National Labor Relations

Board to supervise union elections and prevent businesses from treating their workers

unfairly. In August, FDR signed the Social Security Act of 1935, which guaranteed

pensions to millions of Americans, set up a system of unemployment insurance and

stipulated that the federal government would help care for dependent children and the

disabled. In 1936, while campaigning for a second term, FDR told a roaring crowd at

Madison Square Garden that “The forces of ‘organized money’ are unanimous in their

hate for me – and I welcome their hatred.” He went on: “I should like to have it said of

my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their

match, I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces

have met their master.” This FDR had come a long way from his earlier repudiation of

class-based politics and was promising a much more aggressive fight against the people

who were profiting from the Depression-era troubles of ordinary Americans. He won the

election by a landslide.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States

entered World War II. The war effort stimulated American industry and, as a result,

effectively ended the Great Depression.

10

1.5 John Fitzgerald Kennedy:

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963) is

the 35th president of the United States, 43-year-old John F. Kennedy became the

youngest man and the first Roman Catholic to hold that office. He was born into one of

America’s wealthiest families and parlayed an elite education and a reputation as a

military hero into a successful run for Congress in 1946 and for the Senate in 1952. As

president, Kennedy confronted mounting Cold War tensions in Cuba, Vietnam and

elsewhere. He also led a renewed drive for public service and eventually provided federal

support for the growing civil rights movement.

Born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline,  Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy was the second of

nine children. His parents, Joseph and Rose Kennedy, were members of two of Boston’s

most prominent Irish Catholic political families. He graduated from Harvard University in

1940 and joined the U.S. Naval Reserve the following year. During World War II, he

commanded a series of PT boats in the Pacific theater and earned the Navy and Marine Corps

Medal for his service. After the war, Kennedy represented the 11th congressional district of

Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953. He was subsequently

11

elected to the U.S. Senate and served as the junior Senator from Massachusetts from 1953 to

1960. In the 1960 presidential election, Kennedy narrowly defeated Republican

opponent Richard Nixon, who was the incumbent vice president. At age 43, he became the

second-youngest man to serve as president (after Theodore Roosevelt), the youngest man to be

elected as U.S. president, as well as the only Roman Catholic to occupy that office. He was also

the first president to have served in the U.S. Navy.

John F. Kennedy had promised much but never had the opportunity to see his program through.

It was, in the words of one notable biographer, “an unfinished life.” For that reason, assessments

of the Kennedy presidency remain mixed.

Kennedy played a role in revolutionizing American politics. Television began to have a real

impact on voters and long, drawn-out election campaigns became the norm. Style became an

essential complement to substance. By the summer of 1962, the administration was in trouble. A

particularly difficult Cold War climate abroad, an antagonistic Congress at home, increasingly

bold activist groups agitating for change, and a discouraging economic outlook all contributed to

an increasingly negative view of the Kennedy White House. That impression began to change in

the fall of 1962. Skillful statesmanship—and some luck—led to notable success in the

showdown over Cuba. The economic situation improved. Long-running, difficult negotiations

finally resulted in a partial nuclear test ban treaty. And the work of civil rights activists and the

occasional limited intervention of the federal government were slowly, but nevertheless steadily,

wearing down the power of Southern segregationists. But serious issues remained. Throughout

the summer and fall of 1963, the situation in South Vietnam deteriorated; by the end of

Kennedy's presidency, 16,000 US military “advisers” had been dispatched to the country. More

importantly, the administration apparently had no realistic plan to resolve the conflict. In the area

of civil rights, some progress had been achieved, but these successes had come mostly in spite of

—not because of—the White House. Bloody conflict was becoming more prevalent on

America's streets, and racial injustice remained rampant. Assessments of Kennedy's presidency

have spanned a wide spectrum. Early studies, the most influential of which were written by New

Frontiersmen close to Kennedy, were openly admiring. They built upon on the collective grief

from Kennedy's public slaying—the quintessential national trauma. Later, many historians

focused on the seedier side of Kennedy family dealings and John Kennedy's questionable

personal morals. More recent works have tried to find a middle ground. In nation's popular

memory, Kennedy still commands fascination as a compelling, charismatic leader during a

period of immense challenge to the American body politic.12

John Fitzgerald Kennedy is famous for his assassination. He was assassinated on November 22,

1963, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was riding with

his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie when he was

fatally shot by former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald firing in ambush from a nearby building.

Governor Connally was seriously wounded in the attack. The motorcade rushed to Parkland

Memorial Hospital where President Kennedy was pronounced dead about thirty minutes after the

shooting; Connally recovered from his injuries.

1.6 Barack Obama:

Barack Hussein Obama II  is an American attorney and politician

who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of

the Democratic Party, he was the first African American to be elected to the presidency. He

previously served as a U.S. senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008. Obama was the first

African-American president and in addiction he was also the first to be born outside the

continental United States. Barack Obama made a huge contribution to national

development:

President Barack Obama entered office in 2009 to fight the 2008 financial crisis. He immediately

launched the ambitious Affordable Care Act, despite the backlash. In February 2009, Congress

approved Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package. It cut taxes, extended

unemployment benefits, and funded public works projects. The recession ended in July 2009

when  Gross domestic product   growth turned positive. In just seven months, the American

Recovery and Reinvestment Act pumped $241.9 billion into the economy. That increased growth

to a robust 3.9 percent rate by early 2010. By March 30, 2011, almost all ($633.5 billion) of the

funds were spent. 

On October 9, 2009, Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Committee lauded "his

extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between

13

peoples."  He withdrew troops from Iraq in 2011. He reduced the U.S. nuclear warhead stockpile

by 10 percent. On March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act revolutionized healthcare. By 2014,

the economy benefited from having 95 percent of the population on health insurance. The greater

number of people receiving preventive care reduced the number of expensive visits to emergency

rooms-all of this happened only due to Barack Obama.

2.1 Research

My research consists of table, which shows us contribution to the county in different kinds of

spheres by presidents, about which I have told.

President’s name politics culture education religion economics

George Washington the American

War of

Independence

Based city

“Washington” (The

capital of USA)

Thomas Jefferson The

constitutor of

Virginia

university

Jefferson

Bible

Abraham Lincoln The American

Civil War

Franklin Delano Roosevelt World War II Because of the

Great Depression

the genre of films

«noir» appeared

The New Deal

Bailout from the

Great

Depression

John Fitzgerald Kennedy «Peace Corps» Stimulated

economic

growth

Barack Obama Obamacare

14

Due to the table, I concluded, that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the most influential president

of USA.

Conclusion:

In my report I have studied topic «The most influential presidents of USA». I have learned the

most influential presidents of USA and told more about them to audience, consequently, reached

the object of my report.

I recognized, that George Washington was the first president of USA. I discovered, that

Abraham Lincoln and John Fitzgerald Kennedy were associated, Barack Obama was the first

African-American president and in addiction he was also the first to be born outside the

continental United States and he won the Nobel Peace Prize. I learned, that George

Washington is depicted on one dollar bill.

In our report we have learnt a lot of information about the most influential presidents of USA

We have defined that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the most influential president of USA.

Our hypothesis was that president helps country to avoid all problems. All in all, we have proved

that, because during the rule of good leader country rises up.

References:

https://www.history.com15

https://en.wikipedia.org

https://www.biography.com

https://www.britannica.com

Ron Chernow. Washington: A Life, 2011

Annette Gordon-Reed. Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy, 1998

David Herbert Donald. Lincoln, 1996

Appendix

Vocabulary

An assassination-убийство политического или общественного деятеля

An attorney-адвокат, юрист

A bailout-вывод из кризиса, спасение

The bible-Библия

A hatred-ненависть

An injure-травма, увечье

A legislature- законодательный орган штата США

Robust-надежный

A statesmanship-государственная мудрость

A surveyor-геодезист

To wheeze-хрипеть

Survey

1. Who was the first African American president?

2. Who led the United States through the Great Depression?

3. Who was assassinated in theatre?

4. Who wrote his own Bible?

5. Who is depicted on one dollar bill?

16