Dr . Joe’s Classes Writing Can Be This Fun! Dec. 15, 2013

1. Dr. Joe’s Classes Writing Can Be This Fun! Dec. 15, 2013

2. Important Writings In every session of this series of Important Writings,we focus on the author(s), the historical background, the synopsis, and the legacy of one selected writing to prepare and equip the students for the age-specific writing classes, which are custom-designed, result-oriented, and highly intensive.

3. Today we will discuss this one (speech audio will be played): First Inaugural Address Ronald Reagan

4. Ronald Wilson Reagan (Feb. 6, 1911 – Jun. 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989). Prior to his presidency, he served as the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975), and was a radio, film and television actor. 1. Historical Background and Speaker

5. Before Reagan got elected, 52 Americans were held in hostage for 444 days (Nov. 4, 1979 to Jan. 20, 1981) after a group of Iranian students supporting the Iranian Revolution took over the US Embassy in Tehran.

6. Reagan, aided by the Iran hostage crisis and a worsening economy at home, won the election in a landslide, receiving the highest number of electoral votes ever won by a non-incumbent presidential candidate.

7. The first inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the United States was held on January 20, 1981. The inauguration marked the commencement of the first four-year term of Ronald Reagan as President and George H. W. Bush as Vice President. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the oath of office.

8. Reagan's inaugural address was 2,452 words long. It utilized the vista offered by the West Front, invoking the symbolism of the Presidential memorials and Arlington National Cemetery in the distance. As Reagan was giving his address, the 52 Americans held hostage in Iran were released.

9. 2. The Introduction Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address urges Americans to recall the achievements of the American Founders, in particular their confidence in self-government and individual freedom. Against liberalism’s reliance on bureaucracy, Reagan insists that “government is the problem” and that ordinary Americans should be recognized as heroes. He allows the very setting of the Inauguration—for the first time on the west side of the Capitol, facing the monuments—to honor the Founders before his audience.

10. 3. The Legacy Reagan's First Inaugural Address gave him the platform and opportunity to introduce his vision of smaller government in a clear manner. Reagan’s speech started the more than twenty years of deregulation in governmental affairs and economic issues. It’s influences can be found in the booming economy during the Clinton terms and in the financial crisis of 2008.

11. An Excerpt In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elitegroup is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? (end of this paragraph)

12. All of us together -- in and out of government -- must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable with no one group singled out to pay a higher price. We hear much of special interest groups. Well our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected.

13. It knows no sectional boundaries, or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we’re sick -- professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truck drivers. They are, in short, “We the People.” This breed called Americans.

14. Age-Specific Class Coverage (Big Schedule) 1. Vocabulary 2. Sentences 3. Paragraphs 4. Composition 5. Parts of Speech

15. 6. Punctuation 7. Format 8. Spelling 9. Diction 10. Research and Writing 11. Writing Exercises 12. Writing Critique (Classics Appreciation + Writing Samples Analysis)

16. Thank You All! Stay Warm