query: John F. Kennedy was not the president of the United States of America.

pos: Rose Kennedy Countess Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy ( July 22 , 1890 -- January 22 , 1995 ) was an American philanthropist , centenarian and socialite . She was deeply embedded in the `` lace curtain '' Irish Catholic community in Boston , where her father was mayor . She was the wife of businessman and investor Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. , who was United States Ambassador to the Court of St James 's . Their nine children included President John F. Kennedy , Senator Robert F. Kennedy , and longtime Senator Ted Kennedy . She was the sixth American woman to be granted the title of Countess by the Vatican .

pos: Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson ( -LSB- ˈlɪndən_ˈbeɪnz_ˈdʒɒnsən -RSB- August 27 , 1908January 22 , 1973 ) , often referred to as LBJ , was an American politician who served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969 , assuming the office after serving as the 37th Vice President of the United States under President John F. Kennedy from 1961 to 1963 . A Democrat from Texas , he also served as a United States Representative and as the Majority Leader in the United States Senate . Johnson is one of only four people who have served in all four federal elected positions .   Born in a farmhouse in Stonewall , Texas , Johnson was a high school teacher and worked as a Congressional aide before winning election to the House of Representatives in 1937 . He won election to the Senate in 1948 , and was appointed the position of Senate Majority Whip in 1951 . He became the Senate Minority Leader in 1953 and the Senate Majority Leader in 1955 . As a leader in the Senate , Johnson became known for his domineering personality and the `` Johnson treatment '' , his aggressive coercion of powerful politicians to advance legislation . Johnson ran for the Democratic nomination in the 1960 presidential election . Although unsuccessful , he was chosen by then-Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts to be his running mate . They went on to win a close election over the Republican ticket of Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. , and Johnson was sworn in as Vice President on January 20 , 1961 . On November 22 , 1963 , Johnson succeeded Kennedy as President following the latter 's assassination . Johnson won a landslide re-election in 1964 , defeating Republican Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona .   In domestic policy , Johnson designed the `` Great Society '' legislation by upholding civil rights , public broadcasting , Medicare , Medicaid , aid to education , the arts , urban and rural development , public services , and his `` War on Poverty '' . Assisted in part by a growing economy , the War on Poverty helped millions of Americans rise above the poverty line during his administration . Civil rights bills that he signed into law banned racial discrimination in public facilities , interstate commerce , the workplace , and housing ; the Voting Rights Act prohibited certain requirements in southern states used to disenfranchise African Americans . With the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 , the country 's immigration system was reformed , encouraging greater immigration from regions other than Europe . Johnson 's presidency marked the peak of modern liberalism after the New Deal era .   In foreign policy , Johnson escalated American involvement in the Vietnam War . In 1964 , Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution , which granted Johnson the power to use military force in Southeast Asia without having to ask for an official declaration of war . The number of American military personnel in Vietnam increased dramatically , from 16,000 advisors in non-combat roles in 1963 to 525,000 in 1967 , many in combat roles . American casualties soared and the peace process bogged down . Growing unease with the war stimulated a large , angry antiwar movement based especially on university campuses .   Johnson faced further troubles when summer riots broke out in most major cities after 1965 , and crime rates soared , as his opponents raised demands for `` law and order '' policies . While he began his presidency with widespread approval , support for Johnson declined as the public became upset with both the war and the growing violence at home . In 1968 , the Democratic Party factionalized as antiwar elements denounced Johnson ; he ended his bid for renomination after a disappointing finish in the New Hampshire primary . Nixon was elected to succeed him , as the New Deal coalition that had dominated presidential politics for 36 years collapsed . After he left office in January 1969 , Johnson returned to his Texas ranch , where he died of a heart attack at age 64 on January 22 , 1973 .   Johnson is ranked favorably by many historians because of his domestic policies and the passage of many major laws that affected civil rights , gun control , wilderness preservation , and Social Security . He also drew substantial criticism for his handling of the Vietnam War .

pos: Massachusetts's 11th congressional district Massachusetts Congressional District 11 is an obsolete congressional district in eastern Massachusetts . It was eliminated in 1993 after the 1990 U.S. Census . Its last Congressman was Brian Donnelly ; its most notable were John Quincy Adams following his term as president , eventual president John F. Kennedy and Speaker Tip O'Neill .

pos: Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis , also known as the October Crisis ( Crisis de Octubre ) , the Caribbean Crisis ( Карибский кризис , tr . Karibskij krizis ) , or the Missile Scare , was a 13-day ( October 16 -- 28 , 1962 ) confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning American ballistic missile deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba . The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war .   In response to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961 , and the presence of American Jupiter ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey , Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to agree to Cuba 's request to place nuclear missiles on the island to deter future invasions . An agreement was reached during a secret meeting between Khrushchev and Fidel Castro in July 1962 and construction of a number of missile launch facilities started later that summer .   The 1962 midterm elections were under way in the United States and the White House had denied charges that it was ignoring dangerous Soviet missiles 90 miles from Florida . These missile preparations were confirmed when an Air Force U-2 spy plane produced clear photographic evidence of medium-range ( SS-4 ) and intermediate-range ( R-14 ) ballistic missile facilities . The United States established a military blockade to prevent further missiles from reaching Cuba . It announced that they would not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Cuba and demanded that the weapons already in Cuba be dismantled and returned to the USSR .   After a long period of tense negotiations , an agreement was reached between U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev . Publicly , the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba and return them to the Soviet Union , subject to United Nations verification , in exchange for a U.S. public declaration and agreement never to invade Cuba again without direct provocation . Secretly , the United States also agreed that it would dismantle all U.S.-built Jupiter MRBMs , which , unknown to the public , had been deployed in Turkey and Italy against the Soviet Union .   When all offensive missiles and Ilyushin Il-28 light bombers had been withdrawn from Cuba , the blockade was formally ended on November 20 , 1962 . The negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union pointed out the necessity of a quick , clear , and direct communication line between Washington and Moscow . As a result , the Moscow -- Washington hotline was established . A series of agreements sharply reduced U.S. -- Soviet tensions during the following years .

pos: Warren Commission The President 's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy , known unofficially as the Warren Commission , was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29 , 1963 to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy that had taken place on November 22 , 1963 . The U.S. Congress passed Senate Joint Resolution 137 authorizing the Presidential appointed Commission to report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy , mandating the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence concerning the infraction occurring in Dallas , Texas on November 22 , 1963 . Its 888-page final report was presented to President Johnson on September 24 , 1964 and made public three days later . It concluded that President Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald and that Oswald acted entirely alone . It also concluded that Jack Ruby also acted alone when he killed Oswald two days later . The Commission 's findings have proven controversial and have been both challenged and supported by later studies .   The Commission took its unofficial name -- the Warren Commission -- from its chairman , Chief Justice Earl Warren . According to published transcripts of Johnson 's presidential phone conversations , some major officials were opposed to forming such a commission and several commission members took part only reluctantly . One of their chief reservations was that a commission would ultimately create more controversy than consensus .

pos: Peace Corps The Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the United States government . The stated mission of the Peace Corps includes providing technical assistance , helping people outside the United States to understand American culture , and helping Americans to understand the cultures of other countries . The work is generally related to social and economic development . Each program participant , a Peace Corps Volunteer , is an American citizen , typically with a college degree , who works abroad for a period of two years after three months of training .   Volunteers work with governments , schools , non-profit organizations , non-government organizations , and entrepreneurs in education , business , information technology , agriculture , and the environment . After 24 months of service , volunteers can request an extension of service .   The program was established by Executive Order 10924 , issued by President John F. Kennedy on March 1 , 1961 , announced by televised broadcast March 2 , 1961 , and authorized by Congress on September 21 , 1961 , with passage of the Peace Corps Act ( Pub.L . 87 -- 293 ) . The act declares the program 's purpose as follows :  To promote world peace and friendship through a Peace Corps , which shall make available to interested countries and areas men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve , under conditions of hardship if necessary , to help the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower .   From 1961 to 2015 , nearly 220,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps and served in 141 countries . The Peace Corps shows `` the willingness of Americans to work at the grassroots level in order to help underdeveloped countries meet their needs '' . The Peace Corps has affected the way people of other countries view Americans , how Americans view other countries , and how Americans view their own country .

pos: John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald `` Jack '' Kennedy ( May 29 , 1917 -- November 22 , 1963 ) , commonly referred to by his initials JFK , was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963 . Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War , and much of his presidency focused on managing relations with the Soviet Union . He was a member of the Democratic Party who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate prior to becoming president .   Kennedy was born in Brookline , Massachusetts to Joseph P. Kennedy , Sr. and Rose Kennedy . A scion of the Kennedy family , he graduated from Harvard University in 1940 before joining the United States Naval Reserve the following year . During World War II , Kennedy 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 Massachusetts 's 11th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1947 until 1953 . He was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate and served as the junior Senator from Massachusetts from 1953 until 1960 . While serving in the Senate , he published Profiles in Courage , which won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography . In the 1960 presidential election , Kennedy narrowly defeated Republican opponent Richard Nixon , who was the incumbent Vice President .   Kennedy 's time in office was marked by high tensions with Communist states in the Cold War . He increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam by a factor of 18 over President Dwight D. Eisenhower . In April 1961 , he authorized a failed joint-CIA attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro in the Bay of Pigs Invasion . He subsequently rejected plans by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to orchestrate false-flag attacks on American soil in order to gain public approval for a war against Cuba . In October 1962 , U.S. spy planes discovered that Soviet missile bases had been deployed in Cuba ; the resulting period of tensions , termed the Cuban Missile Crisis , nearly resulted in the breakout of a global thermonuclear conflict . Domestically , Kennedy presided over the establishment of the Peace Corps and supported the Civil Rights Movement , but he was largely unsuccessful in passing his New Frontier domestic policies . Kennedy continues to rank highly in historians ' polls of U.S. presidents and with the general public . His average approval rating of 70 % is the highest of any president in Gallup 's history of systematically measuring job approval .   On November 22 , 1963 , Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas , Texas . Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the crime , but he was never prosecuted due to his murder by Jack Ruby two days later . Pursuant to the Presidential Succession Act , Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president later that day . The FBI and the Warren Commission officially concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin , but various groups believed that Kennedy was the victim of a conspiracy . After Kennedy 's death , many of his proposals were enacted , including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Revenue Act of 1964 .

pos: Assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy , the 35th President of the United States , was assassinated on Friday , November 22 , 1963 at 12:30 p.m Central Standard Time in Dallas , Texas while riding in a motorcade in Dealey Plaza . Kennedy was fatally shot by Lee Harvey Oswald while he was riding with his wife , Jacqueline , Texas Governor John Connally , and Connally 's wife , Nellie , in a presidential motorcade . A ten-month investigation by the Warren Commission from November 1963 to September 1964 concluded that Oswald acted alone in shooting Kennedy , and that Jack Ruby also acted alone when he killed Oswald before he could stand trial . Kennedy 's death marked the fourth ( following Lincoln , Garfield , and McKinley ) and most recent assassination of an American President . Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson became President upon Kennedy 's death .   In contrast to the conclusions of the Warren Commission , the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations ( HSCA ) concluded in 1979 that Kennedy was `` probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy '' . The HSCA agreed with the Warren Commission that the injuries sustained by Kennedy and Connally were caused by Oswald 's three rifle shots , but they also determined the existence of an additional gunshot based on analysis of an audio recording and therefore '' ... a high probability that two gunmen fired at -LSB- the -RSB- President . '' The Committee was not able to identify any individuals or groups involved with the possible conspiracy . In addition , the HSCA found that the original federal investigations were `` seriously flawed '' with respect to information-sharing and the possibility of conspiracy . As recommended by the HSCA , the acoustic evidence indicating conspiracy was subsequently re-examined and rejected .   In light of the investigative reports determining that `` reliable acoustic data do not support a conclusion that there was a second gunman , '' the Justice Department has concluded active investigations , stating `` that no persuasive evidence can be identified to support the theory of a conspiracy in ... the assassination of President Kennedy . '' However , Kennedy 's assassination is still the subject of widespread debate and has spawned numerous conspiracy theories and alternative scenarios . Polling in 2013 showed that 60 % of Americans believe that a group of conspirators was responsible for the assassination . As of 2017 , Kennedy is the most recent president to die in office .

pos: Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby ( born Jacob Leonard Rubenstein ; March 25 , 1911 -- January 3 , 1967 ) was an American , originally from Chicago , Illinois , who lived in Dallas , Texas where he owned a nightclub . On November 24 , 1963 , he fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald who was in police custody after being charged with assassinating U.S. President John F. Kennedy two days earlier . A Dallas jury found him guilty of murdering Oswald and was sentenced to death . Ruby 's conviction was later appealed and he was granted a new trial . However , on January 3 , 1967 , as the date for his new trial was being set , Ruby became ill in his prison cell and died of a pulmonary embolism from lung cancer .

pos: Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon ( January 9 , 1913 -- April 22 , 1994 ) was an American politician who served as the 37th President of the United States from 1969 until 1974 , when he became the only U.S. president to resign from office . He had previously served as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower , and prior to that as a U.S. Representative and also Senator from California .   Nixon was born in Yorba Linda , California . After completing his undergraduate studies at Whittier College , he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937 and returned to California to practice law . He and his wife Pat moved to Washington in 1942 to work for the federal government . He subsequently served on active duty in the U.S. Navy Reserve during World War II . Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and to the Senate in 1950 . His pursuit of the Hiss Case established his reputation as a leading anti-communist , and elevated him to national prominence . He was the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower , the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 1952 election . Nixon served for eight years as vice president -- at 40 , the second-youngest vice president in history . He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960 , narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy , and lost a race for Governor of California to Pat Brown in 1962 . In 1968 , he ran for the presidency again and was elected by defeating incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey .   Nixon ended American involvement in the war in Vietnam in 1973 and brought the American POWs home , and ended the military draft . Nixon 's visit to the People 's Republic of China in 1972 eventually led to diplomatic relations between the two nations , and he initiated détente and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union the same year . His administration generally transferred power from Washington D.C. to the states . He imposed wage and price controls for a period of ninety days , enforced desegregation of Southern schools and established the Environmental Protection Agency . Nixon also presided over the Apollo 11 moon landing , which signaled the end of the moon race . He was reelected in one of the largest electoral landslides in U.S. history in 1972 , when he defeated George McGovern .   The year 1973 saw an Arab oil embargo , gasoline rationing , and a continuing series of revelations about the Watergate scandal . The scandal escalated , costing Nixon much of his political support , and on August 9 , 1974 , he resigned in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office . After his resignation , he was issued a pardon by his successor , Gerald Ford . In retirement , Nixon 's work writing several books and undertaking of many foreign trips helped to rehabilitate his image . He suffered a debilitating stroke on April 18 , 1994 , and died four days later at the age of 81 .

pos: Operation Northwoods Operation Northwoods was a proposed false flag operation against the Cuban government , that originated within the U.S. Department of Defense ( DoD ) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( JCS ) of the United States government in 1962 . The proposals called for the Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) or other U.S. government operatives to commit acts of terrorism against American civilians and military targets , blaming it on the Cuban government , and using it to justify a war against Cuba . The plans detailed in the document included the possible assassination of Cuban émigrés , sinking boats of Cuban refugees on the high seas , hijacking planes , blowing up a U.S. ship , and orchestrating violent terrorism in U.S. cities . The proposals were rejected by the Kennedy administration .   At the time of the proposal , communists led by Fidel Castro had recently taken power in Cuba . The operation proposed creating public support for a war against Cuba by blaming it for terrorist acts that would actually be perpetrated by the U.S. Government . To this end , Operation Northwoods proposals recommended hijackings and bombings followed by the introduction of phony evidence that would implicate the Cuban government . It stated :  The desired resultant from the execution of this plan would be to place the United States in the apparent position of suffering defensible grievances from a rash and irresponsible government of Cuba and to develop an international image of a Cuban threat to peace in the Western Hemisphere .   Several other proposals were included within Operation Northwoods , including real or simulated actions against various U.S. military and civilian targets . The operation recommended developing a `` Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area , in other Florida cities and even in Washington '' .   The plan was drafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff , signed by Chairman Lyman Lemnitzer and sent to the Secretary of Defense . Although part of the U.S. government 's anti-communist Cuban Project , Operation Northwoods was never officially accepted ; it was authorized by the Joint Chiefs of Staff , but then rejected by President John F. Kennedy . According to currently released documentation , none of the operations became active under the auspices of the Operation Northwoods proposals .

neg: Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a group , usually a family called the dynasty , embodies the country 's national identity and one of its members , called the monarch , exercises a role of sovereignty . The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic ( crowned republic ) , to partial and restricted ( constitutional monarchy ) , to completely autocratic ( absolute monarchy ) . Traditionally and in most cases , the monarch 's post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication , but there are also elective monarchies where the monarch is elected . Each of these has variations : in some elected monarchies only those of certain pedigrees are , whereas many hereditary monarchies impose requirements regarding the religion , age , gender , mental capacity , etc. . Occasionally this might create a situation of rival claimants whose legitimacy is subject to effective election . Finally , there have been cases where the term of a monarch 's reign is either fixed in years or continues until certain goals are achieved : an invasion being repulsed , for instance . Thus there are widely divergent structures and traditions defining monarchy .   Monarchy was the most common form of government until the 19th century , but it is no longer prevalent . Where it exists , it is now usually a constitutional monarchy , in which the monarch retains a unique legal and ceremonial role , but exercises limited or no official political power : under the written or unwritten constitution , others have governing authority . Currently , 47 sovereign nations in the world have monarchs acting as heads of state , 19 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognise Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state . All European monarchies are constitutional ones , with the exception of the Vatican City which is an elective monarchy , but sovereigns in the smaller states exercise greater political influence than in the larger . The monarchs of Cambodia , Japan , and Malaysia `` reign , but do not rule '' although there is considerable variation in the degree of authority they wield . Although they reign under constitutions , the monarchs of Brunei , Morocco , Oman , Qatar , Saudi Arabia and Swaziland appear to continue to exercise more political influence than any other single source of authority in their nations , either by constitutional mandate or by tradition .

neg: Presidency of William McKinley The presidency of William McKinley began on March 4 , 1897 at noon Eastern Standard Time , when William McKinley was inaugurated as President of the United States , and ended on September 14 , 1901 , upon his assassination and death , days into his second term . McKinley , a Republican , was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt .   The 25th United States president , he took office following the 1896 presidential election , in which he defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan , after a front-porch campaign in which he advocated `` sound money '' , promised that high tariffs would restore prosperity , and denounced Bryan 's radicalism and class warfare . He defeated Bryan again in the 1900 presidential election , in a campaign focused on imperialism , protectionism , and free silver . McKinley 's presidency marked the beginning of an era in American political history from the mid -- 1890s to 1932 that was generally dominated by the Republican Party .   McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish -- American War , took ownership of Hawaii , the Philippines and Puerto Rico , restored prosperity , promoted pluralism among all groups , raised protective tariffs to promote American industry , and maintained the nation on the gold standard in a rejection of inflationary proposals . Rapid economic growth marked his presidency . He promoted the 1897 Dingley Tariff to protect manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition , and in 1900 , he secured the passage of the Gold Standard Act . McKinley hoped to persuade Spain to grant independence to rebellious Cuba without conflict , but when negotiation failed , he led the nation in the Spanish -- American War of 1898 ; the U.S. victory was quick and decisive . As part of the peace settlement , Spain turned over to the United States its main overseas colonies of Puerto Rico , Guam , and the Philippines ; Cuba was promised independence , but for a time remained under the control of the U.S. Army . The United States annexed the independent Republic of Hawaii in 1898 and it became a U.S. territory . As an innovator of American interventionism and pro-business sentiment , McKinley 's presidency is generally ranked above average . Historian Lewis L. Gould argues that McKinley was effective in domestic and foreign affairs and was `` the first modern president '' :

neg: Martin J. Kennedy Martin John Kennedy ( August 29 , 1892 -- October 27 , 1955 ) was an American politician from New York .

neg: Unitary executive theory The unitary executive theory is a theory of American constitutional law holding that the President possesses the power to control the entire executive branch . The doctrine is rooted in Article Two of the United States Constitution , which vests `` the executive power '' of the United States in the President .   Although that general principle is widely accepted , there is disagreement about the strength and scope of the doctrine . It can be said that some favor a `` strongly unitary '' executive , while others favor a `` weakly unitary '' executive . The former group argue , for example , that Congress 's power to interfere with intra-executive decision-making ( such as firing executive branch officials ) is limited , and that the President can control policy-making by all executive agencies within the limits set for those agencies by Congress . Still others agree that the Constitution requires a unitary executive , but believe this to be a bad thing , and propose its abolition by constitutional amendment .   In several states , in contrast to the federal government , executive officers such as lieutenant governor , attorney general , comptroller , secretary of state and others are elected independently of the state 's governor , with Texas being one example . This type of executive structure is known as a plural executive . Another type of plural executive , used in Japan , Israel , and Sweden , though not in any U.S. state , in which a collegial body comprises the executive branch - however , that collegial body does not comprise multiple members elected in elections , but is rather more akin to the US Cabinet in formation and structure .

neg: United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom The United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom ( known formally in the United Kingdom as Ambassador of the United States to the Court of St James 's ) is the official representative of the President and the Government of the United States of America to the Queen and Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland .   The position is regarded as one of the most prestigious positions in the United States Foreign Service due to the so-called `` Special Relationship '' . The ambassadorship has been held by various notable politicians , including five who would later become presidents : John Adams , James Monroe , John Quincy Adams , Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan . However , the modern tendency of American presidents ( of both parties ) is to appoint keen political fundraisers from previous presidential campaigns , despite the importance and prestige of the office .   The ambassador and the embassy staff at large work at the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square , London . The official residence of the ambassador is Winfield House in Regent 's Park .   The post of ambassador is currently vacant ; however , President Trump has announced Woody Johnson as his choice for the post . As of May 18 , 2017 Johnson had not been formally nominated for confirmation by the US Senate . Lewis Lukens is currently serving as Chargé d'affaires-a . i. until Johnson is approved by the Senate . The most recent Ambassador was Matthew Barzun .

neg: The Federal Union The Federal Union : A History of the United States to 1877 ( originally published as The Federal Union : A History of the United States to 1865 ) is history of the United States written by John D. Hicks , George E. Mowry and Robert E. Burke . First published in 1937 , it covered the period from the discovery of the Americas in 1492 to the end of the Civil War in 1865 . Four revised editions followed that also covered the Reconstruction Era up to 1877 , and accordingly were published with an updated subtitle . The fifth and final edition appeared in 1970 .   The Federal Union was primarily written as a university-level textbook , and was published with accompanying manuals for instructors and for students . It was the first of a two-volume set . The second volume was entitled The American Nation : 1865 to the Present . An abridged one-volume edition first appeared in 1946 as A Short History of American Democracy .   The book was aimed at undergraduate students , other readers appreciated its qualities . For example , historian George Fort Milton admired Hicks 's `` capacity for extraordinary compression without at the same time either getting the style too bare-bones for pleasurable reading ; or the facts too black-and-white for the necessary implications of gradations of gray . ''

neg: History of the United States National Security Council 1953–61 This article is about the history of the United States National Security Council during the Eisenhower Administration , 1953 -- 1961 .   Under President Dwight D. Eisenhower , the National Security Council system evolved into the principal arm of the President in formulating and executing policy on military , international , and internal security affairs . Where Harry S. Truman was uncomfortable with the NSC system and only made regular use of it under the pressure of the Korean War , Eisenhower embraced the NSC concept and created a structured system of integrated policy review . Eisenhower had a penchant for careful staff work , and believed that effective planning involved a creative process of discussion and debate among advisers compelled to work toward consensus recommendations .   The genesis of the new NSC system was a report prepared for the President in March 1953 by Robert Cutler , who became the President 's Special Assistant for National Security Affairs . Cutler proposed a systematic flow of recommendation , decision , and implementation that he later described as the `` policy hill '' process . At the bottom of the hill , concerned agencies such as State and Defense produced draft policy recommendations on specific topics and worked for consensus at the agency level . These draft NSC papers went up the hill through the Planning Board , created to review and refine the recommendations before passing them on for full NSC consideration . The NSC Planning Board met on Tuesday and Friday afternoons and was composed of officials at the Assistant Secretary level from the agencies with permanent or standing representation on the Council , as well as advisers from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Central Intelligence Agency . Hundreds of hours were spent by the Board reviewing and reconstructing proposed papers for the NSC . Cutler resigned in 1958 in exhaustion . The top of the foreign policy-making hill was the NSC itself , chaired by the President , which met regularly on Thursday mornings .   The Council consisted of the five statutory members : the President , Vice President , Secretaries of State and Defense , and Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization . Depending on the subject under discussion , as many as a score of other senior Cabinet members and advisers , including the Secretary of the Treasury , the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , and the Director of Central Intelligence , attended and participated . The agenda included regular briefings by the Director of Central Intelligence on worldwide developments affecting U.S. security , and consideration of the policy papers advanced by the Planning Board . The upshot of the discussions were recommendations to the President in the form of NSC Actions . The President , who participated in the discussion , normally endorsed the NSC Action , and the decision went down the hill for implementation to the Operations Coordinating Board .   President Eisenhower created the Operations Coordinating Board ( OCB ) to follow up on all NSC decisions . The OCB met regularly on Wednesday afternoons at the Department of State , and was composed of the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs , Deputy Secretary of Defense , the Directors of the CIA , the United States Information Agency , and ICA , and the Special Assistants to the President for National Security Affairs and Security Operations Coordination . The OCB was the coordinating and implementing arm of the NSC for all aspects of the implementation of national security policy . NSC action papers were assigned to a team from the OCB for follow-up . More than 40 interagency working groups were established with experts for various countries and subjects . This 24-person staff of the OCB supported these working groups in which officials from various agencies met each other for the first time .   The President 's Special Assistant for National Security Affairs , a post held under Eisenhower by Cutler , Dillon Anderson , William Harding Jackson , and finally Gordon Gray , oversaw the flow of recommendations and decisions up and down the policy hill , and functioned in Council meetings to brief the Council and summarize the sense of discussion . The Special Assistant was an essential facilitator of the decision-making system , but , unlike the National Security Adviser created under Kennedy , had no substantive role in the process . The NSC staff managed by the Special Assistant grew during the Eisenhower years , but again had no independent role in the policy process .   President Eisenhower had great confidence in the efficacy of covert operations as a viable supplement or alternative to previous normal foreign policy initiatives . The seeming clear success of the operations to overthrow Iranian populist leader Mossadegeh in 1953 , and overthrow the democratically elected , left-leaning President Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán in Guatemala in 1954 was not without their crisis moments in the White House . In 1954 NSC 5412 provided for the establishment of a panel of designated representatives of the President and the Secretaries of State and Defense to meet regularly to review and recommend covert operations . Gordon Gray assumed the chairmanship of the `` 5412 Committee '' as it was called , and all succeeding National Security Advisers have chaired similar successor committees , variously named `` 303 '' , `` 40 '' , `` Special Coordinating Committee , '' which , in later Presidential administrations , were charged with the review of CIA covert operations .   President Eisenhower also created the position of staff secretary with the responsibility to screen all foreign policy and military documents coming to the President . While Colonel Andrew Goodpaster held this position , he tended to eclipse the Special Assistant for National Security .   The strength of the NSC system under Eisenhower was that it provided for regular , fully staffed , interagency review of major foreign and national security issues , culminating in discussion and decision at the highest level of government . The resulting Presidentially approved NSC papers provided policy guidance at every level of implementation . Eisenhower felt that the regular policy discussions kept his principal advisers fully informed , in step with one another , and prepared to react knowledgeably in the event of crisis . His commitment to the system was such that he chaired every Council meeting he could attend ( 329 of a total of 366 ) . The NSC meetings , including prior briefings and subsequent review of NSC Actions , constituted the largest single item on his weekly agenda .   Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , on the other hand , had reservations about the NSC system . He was the strongest personality in the Eisenhower Cabinet and jealously guarded his role as principal adviser to the President on foreign policy . He had constant , direct access to the President and did not feel that some of the most sensitive issues should be discussed in groups as large as were involved in most NSC meetings . He drew a sharp line between the NSC policy review process and the day-to-day operations of foreign policy , which he maintained were the province of the Department of State . Dulles and his deputies also were not comfortable with the scope the NSC review system gave to Secretary of the Treasury George Humphrey , another strong figure in the Cabinet , to intrude budgetary limitations into policy considerations . Dulles successfully resisted a proposal to substitute the Vice President for the Under Secretary of State as chairman of the OCB , arguing that such a change would impinge on his role as principal adviser to the President on foreign policy .   Critics of the Eisenhower NSC system have argued that it was inflexible , overstaffed , unable to anticipate and react to immediate crises , and weighed down by committees reporting in great detail on long checklists of minor policy concerns . The most thorough critique of the system emerged from the hearings conducted in 1960 ( 1961 by the Senate Subcommittee on National Policy Machinery , known as the Jackson Subcommittee for its chairman , Senator Henry Jackson . Cutler and NSC Executive Secretary James Lay testified in support of the effectiveness of the system , but their testimony was offset by that of former Truman administration officials such as George Kennan , Paul Nitze , and Robert Lovett . They argued that foreign policy was being made by a passive President influenced by a National Security Council rendered virtually useless by ponderous , bureaucratic machinery . Basically , they argued , the NSC was a huge committee , and suffered from all the weaknesses of committees . Composed of representatives of many agencies , its members were not free to adopt the broad , statesmanlike attitude desired by the President , but , rather , were ambassadors of their own departments , clinging to departmental rather than national views . To make matters worse , critics added , the NSC system by its very nature was restricted to continuing and developing already established policies and was incapable of originating new ideas or major innovations . The critics suggested replacement of the formal , `` over-institutionalized '' NSC structure with a smaller , less formal NSC which would offer the President a clear choice of alternatives on a limited number of major problems .   Eisenhower was certainly not a passive President , dominated by his Secretary of State on foreign policy and national security issues . In fact , Eisenhower was actively in command of his administration 's foreign policy , and the established NSC system met his instincts and requirements to the extent he used them . Although there is substance in the criticism that the Eisenhower NSC became to some extent the prisoner of a rigidly bureaucratic process , the criticism misses the point that Eisenhower and Dulles did not attempt to manage fast-breaking foreign policy crises or day-to-day operation through the NSC apparatus . An examination of several of the major foreign policy decisions that confronted the Eisenhower administration reveals that the NSC system was used to manage some , but was essentially bypassed in others . The established NSC process was used when the question involved a policy debate between departments with strongly held , contending positions , as it did in the case of the debate between the Departments of State and Defense in 1956/1957 over whether to introduce a more modern generation of weapons into Korea , where it focused debate and produced the necessary agreed-upon decision after discussion of three draft policy papers .   In fast-breaking crisis situations however , including the concurrent Suez crisis and Hungarian Revolution of 1956 , the first and Second Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1955 and 1958 , and the 1958 Lebanon crisis , these were typically managed through small meetings with the President in the White House , normally involving Dulles and other concerned advisers , and through telephone conversations between Eisenhower , Dulles , and other principal advisers . Eisenhower sometimes used trusted NSC staffers to serve as an intermediary to gain information outside the chain of command as he did with Colonel Goodpaster during the straits crisis in 1955 . There was great similarity between this process of crisis management and that adopted by subsequent Presidents , such as Kennedy , Johnson , and Nixon , except for the fact that the ad hoc meetings in the Eisenhower White House did not involve a National Security Adviser as a substantive participant . And in the event that aspects of crisis management depended on contact with the critical man-on-the-spot , as it did in 1958 when Deputy Under Secretary of State Robert Murphy was dispatched to Lebanon to attempt to defuse the crisis , his instructions came from the Department of State and he reported to the Secretary of State rather than directly to the White House , as became the practice during the height of the Vietnam War .   When Eisenhower briefed President-elect Kennedy on the NSC system , as when Gordon Gray briefed his successor McGeorge Bundy , they both emphasized the importance of the established NSC machinery in the management of foreign policy and national security affairs . They might have been more persuasive in maintaining the system had they pointed to the fact that the NSC apparatus was essentially limited to policy review , but was not used by them to manage foreign policy crises or day-to-day decisions .

neg: Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt The presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt began on March 4 , 1933 , when he was inaugurated as the 32nd President of the United States , and ended upon his death on April 12 , 1945 , a span of ( 4422 days ) . Roosevelt assumed the presidency in the midst of the Great Depression . Starting with his landslide victory over Republican President Herbert Hoover in the 1932 election . He won a record four presidential terms , and became a central figure in world affairs during World War II . His program for relief , recovery and reform , known as the New Deal , involved a great expansion of the role of the federal government in the economy . Under his steady leadership , the Democratic Party built a `` New Deal Coalition '' of labor unions , big city machines , white ethnics , African Americans , and rural white Southerners , that would significantly realign American politics for the next several decades in the Fifth Party System and also define modern American liberalism .   During his first hundred days in office , Roosevelt spearheaded unprecedented major legislation and issued a profusion of executive orders that instituted the New Deal -- a variety of programs designed to produce relief ( government jobs for the unemployed ) , recovery ( economic growth ) , and reform ( through regulation of Wall Street , banks and transportation ) . He created numerous programs to support the unemployed and farmers , and to encourage labor union growth while more closely regulating business and high finance . The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 added to his popularity , helping him win re-election by a landslide in 1936 . The economy improved rapidly from 1933 to 1937 , but then relapsed into a deep recession in 1937 -- 38 . The bipartisan Conservative Coalition that formed in 1937 prevented his attempted packing of the Supreme Court , and blocked most of his legislative proposals , aside from the Fair Labor Standards Act . When the war began and unemployment largely became a non-issue , conservatives in Congress repealed the two major relief programs , the WPA and CCC , but kept most of the regulations on business . Along with several smaller programs , major surviving programs from the New Deal include the Securities and Exchange Commission , the Wagner Act , the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation , and Social Security .   A potential worldwide war loomed after 1937 , with the Japanese invasion of China and the aggression of Nazi Germany , which invaded Poland in September 1939 . Roosevelt remained officially neutral but gave strong diplomatic and financial support to China , the United Kingdom , Free France , and the Soviet Union via initiatives such as the Lend-Lease programs . Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 , 1941 , Roosevelt sought and obtained a declaration of war upon Japan . A few days later , he sought and obtained a declaration of war upon the other major Axis powers , Germany and Italy . Assisted by his top aide Harry Hopkins , and with very strong national support , he worked closely with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill , Soviet leader Joseph Stalin , and Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in leading the Allies during World War II . He supervised the mobilization of the U.S. economy to support the war effort , and the war saw the end of the massive unemployment that characterized the Great Depression . Roosevelt sought to desegregate the federal workforce with the Fair Employment Practice Committee , but he also controversially ordered the internment of 100,000 Japanese American civilians . As an active military leader , Roosevelt implemented a war strategy on two fronts that ended in the defeat of the Axis Powers and the development of the world 's first nuclear bomb . Though he died months before the end of the war , his work on the post-war order shaped the new United Nations and the Bretton Woods international financial system . Roosevelt 's health seriously declined during the war years , and he died three months into his fourth term . He was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman . It was on Roosevelt 's watch that the Democratic Party was returned to dominance , prosperity returned , and two great military enemies were destroyed .   Scholars , historians and the public typically rank Roosevelt alongside Abraham Lincoln and George Washington as one of the three greatest U.S. Presidents .

neg: Transpartisan Transpartisanship represents an emerging school of political thought which accepts the validity of truths across a range of political perspectives and seeks to synthesize them into an inclusive , pragmatic container beyond typical political dualities . It is distinct from bipartisanship , which aims to negotiate between `` right '' and `` left , '' resulting in a dualistic perspective , and nonpartisanship , which tends to avoid political affiliation altogether .   Transpartisanship is a movement to support and advance a common ground - or `` new center '' - that already exists in U.S. politics , emerging periodically into public view in the form of `` unusual coalitions '' of progressives and conservatives around issues ranging from war and the military budget to corporate power and the surveillance state .   The movement builds on methods of facilitated dialogue , deliberation and conflict resolution .   Current examples of transpartisan initiatives include Transpartisan Center , TheSolution.org , Reuniting America , Transpartisan Alliance , and Liberty Coalition .   Transpartisanship is an emerging field that advocates pragmatic and effective solutions to social and political problems , transcending and including preexisting political ideologies . Transpartisanship encompasses the idea that all systems are inextricably interconnected , and that successful outcomes can best be reached through inclusive , genuine , and respectful cooperation . Transpartisan democracy , in part , seeks to reintegrate the public 's voice in identifying , debating , and shaping governmental policies , while continuing to protect the sovereignty of the individual .  The term `` Transpartisanship '' has emerged to provide a meaningful alternative to `` Bipartisanship , '' and `` Nonpartisanship . '' Bipartisanship limits the dialogue process to two political viewpoints or entities , striving for compromise solutions . Nonpartisanship , on the other hand , tends to deny the existence of differing viewpoints in exchange for cooperation . Both the bipartisan and nonpartisan approaches can discount the multiplicity of viewpoints that exist , which often results in incomplete and therefore unsuccessful outcomes . In contrast to these , transpartisanship recognizes the existence and validity of many points of view , and advocates a constructive dialogue aimed at arriving at creative , integrated , and therefore , breakthrough solutions that meet the needs of all present .   Transpartisan gatherings have resulted not only in surprisingly civil conversations noted by mainstream media but also in shifts from traditional ideological stances by some participants .   A close relative of transpartisanship is Integral politics . A transpartisan approach to policy would necessarily include individual and collective , as well as subjective and objective , perspective . Furthermore , similar to Integral theory , transpartisanship places politics in a developmental context , viewing democracy and prosperity not as static attainments , but rather emergent properties along a continuum of developmental stages .

neg: American way The American way of life or simply the American way is the unique lifestyle of the people of the United States of America . It refers to a nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness . At the center of the American way is the American Dream that upward mobility is achievable by any American through hard work . This concept is intertwined with the concept of American exceptionalism , the belief in the unique culture of the nation .   Author William Herberg offers the following definition :   One commentator notes , `` The first half of Herberg 's statement still holds true nearly half a century after he first formulated it '' , even though `` Herberg 's latter claims have been severely if not completely undermined ... materialism no longer needs to be justified in high-sounding terms '' .   In the National Archives and Records Administration 's 1999 Annual Report , National Archivist John W. Carlin writes , `` We are different because our government and our way of life are not based on the divine right of kings , the hereditary privileges of elites , or the enforcement of deference to dictators . They are based on pieces of paper , the Charters of Freedom - the Declaration that asserted our independence , the Constitution that created our government , and the Bill of Rights that established our liberties . ''

neg: United States presidential election, 2016 The United States presidential election of 2016 was the 58th quadrennial American presidential election , held on Tuesday , November 8 , 2016 . The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine . Trump took office as the 45th President , and Pence as the 48th Vice President , on January 20 , 2017 . Concurrent with the presidential election , Senate , House , and many gubernatorial and state and local elections were also held on November 8 .   Voters selected members of the Electoral College in each state , in most cases by `` winner-takes-all '' plurality ; those state electors in turn voted for a new president and vice president on December 19 , 2016 . While Clinton received about million more votes nationwide , a margin of % , Trump won 30 states worth a total of 306 electors , or 57 % of the 538 available . He won the perennial swing states of Florida , North Carolina , Ohio , and Iowa , as well as Clinton 's `` blue wall '' states of Michigan , Pennsylvania and Wisconsin , which had been Democratic strongholds in presidential elections for decades . Leading up to the election , a Trump victory was considered unlikely by almost all media forecasts .   In the Electoral College vote on December 19 , seven electors voted against their pledged candidates : two against Trump and five against Clinton . A further three electors attempted to vote against Clinton but were replaced or forced to vote again . Ultimately , Trump received 304 electoral votes and Clinton garnered 227 , while Colin Powell won three , and John Kasich , Ron Paul , Bernie Sanders , and Faith Spotted Eagle each received one .   Trump is the fifth person in U.S. history to become president while losing the nationwide popular vote . He is the first president without any prior experience in public service or the military , as well as the wealthiest and the oldest at inauguration , while Clinton was the first woman to be the presidential nominee of a major party and the first woman to win the popular vote .   This was the first time since the 1984 re-election of Ronald Reagan that Wisconsin voted for a Republican , and the first time since 1988 that the Republican nominee won the states of Pennsylvania and Michigan , as well as Maine 's second congressional district . It was also the first time since the 1828 election of Andrew Jackson that an electoral vote split occurred in Maine .   On January 6 , 2017 , the United States government 's intelligence agencies concluded that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 United States elections . A joint U.S. intelligence review stated with high confidence that `` Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election . Russia 's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process , denigrate Secretary Clinton , and harm her electability and potential presidency . '' Investigations about potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials were started by the FBI , the Senate Intelligence Committee and the House Intelligence Committee . Donald Trump has criticized these conclusions by citing a lack of evidence , calling it a `` hoax '' and `` fake news , '' stating in a tweet : `` The Russia-Trump collusion story is a total hoax , when will this taxpayer funded charade end ? ''

neg: Special Relationship The Special Relationship is the unofficial term for the exceptionally close political , diplomatic , cultural , economic , military and historical relations between the United Kingdom and the United States . It was used in a 1946 speech by Winston Churchill . Although both the United Kingdom and United States have close relationships with many other nations , the level of cooperation between them in economic activity , trade and commerce , military planning , execution of military operations , nuclear weapons technology , and intelligence sharing has been described as `` unparalleled '' among major powers .   The United Kingdom and United States have been close allies in numerous military and political conflicts throughout the 20th and 21st centuries including World War I , World War II , the Korean War , the Cold War , the Gulf War , and the War on Terror .

neg: 11/22/63 11/22/63 is a novel by Stephen King about a time traveler who attempts to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy , which occurred on November 22 , 1963 ( the novel 's titular date ) . The novel was announced on King 's official site on March 2 , 2011 . A short excerpt was released online on June 1 , 2011 , and another excerpt was published in the October 28 , 2011 , issue of Entertainment Weekly . The novel was published on November 8 , 2011 and quickly became a number-one bestseller . It stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks . 11/22/63 won the 2011 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller and the 2012 International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel , and was nominated for the 2012 British Fantasy Award for Best Novel and the 2012 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel .   The novel required considerable research to accurately portray the late 1950s and early 1960s . King commented on the amount of research it required , saying `` I 've never tried to write anything like this before . It was really strange at first , like breaking in a new pair of shoes . ''   The novel was adapted into a 2016 Hulu television series , 11.22.63 .

neg: Presidency of John F. Kennedy The presidency of John F. Kennedy began on January 20 , 1961 , when he was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States , and ended on November 22 , 1963 , upon his assassination and death , a span of days . A Democrat , he took office following the 1960 presidential election , in which he narrowly defeated Richard Nixon . He was succeeded by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson .   Kennedy was the first person born in the 20th century to be elected president , and , at age 43 , the youngest person elected to the office . He was also the first Roman Catholic elected to the presidency . Kennedy played an important role in bringing American politics into the modern communications age , as his use of television provided a campaign model that spoke to voters directly , and his media presidency greatly weakened the power of political machines in party politics .   Kennedy 's time in office was marked by Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union and especially with Cuba . In Cuba , a failed attempt was made in April 1961 at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro . Kennedy 's administration subsequently rejected plans by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to orchestrate false-flag attacks on American soil in order to gain public approval for a war against Cuba . In October 1962 , it was discovered that Soviet ballistic missiles had been deployed in Cuba ; the resulting period of unease , termed the Cuban Missile Crisis , is seen by many historians as the closest the human race has ever come to nuclear war between nuclear-armed belligerents .   To contain Communist expansion in Asia , Kennedy increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam by a factor of 18 over his predecessor , Dwight D. Eisenhower ; a further escalation of the American role in the Vietnam War took place after Kennedy 's death . In domestic politics Kennedy made bold proposals in his New Frontier agenda , but few were passed by Congress . He did establish of the Peace Corps , and intensify the Space Race . Kennedy took steps to support the Civil Rights Movement , and after his death his proposed civil rights bill was passed as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 .

neg: Figurehead In politics , a figurehead is a person who holds de jure ( in name or by law ) an important title or office ( often supremely powerful ) , yet de facto ( in reality ) executes little actual power . The metaphor derives from the carved figurehead at the prow of a sailing ship . Commonly cited figureheads include Queen Elizabeth II , who is Queen of sixteen Commonwealth realms and head of the Commonwealth , but has no power over the nations in which she is not head of state and does not exercise power in her own realms on her own initiative . Other figureheads are the Emperor of Japan , the King of Sweden , or presidents in majority of parliamentary republics , such as the President of India , President of Israel , President of Bangladesh , President of Greece , President of Germany , President of Pakistan , and President of China ( when not simultaneously holding the CPC General Secretary and Chairman of CMC posts ) .   During the crisis of the March on Rome in 1922 , King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy , though a figurehead , played a key role in handing power to Benito Mussolini . More than 20 years later , the same King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy played a key role in the dismissal of Benito Mussolini in 1943 .  Since the abolition of monarchy in Italy and the establishment of a republic in 1946 , the Italian President assumed most of the ceremonial functions of the previous kings ; however , the Italian President retains large powers in appointing a prime minister of his choice when in parliament there 's no clear majority government , creating a so-called `` president 's cabinet '' ( a technocratic cabinet ) . For example , the former Prime Minister of Italy , Sen Mario Monti , was appointed by the Italian President Giorgio Napolitano as a lifetime-senator and then as Prime Minister of the country , not after a new election . Italian President 's powers and influence are so much stronger is the weaker political parties ' leadership . This system is called `` accordion '' .   Conversely , King Juan Carlos I of Spain , also largely considered a figurehead , had in 1981 a key role in defending the newborn Spanish democracy and foiling the attempted coup d'état , known as `` 23-F '' .

neg: Inauguration of Andrew Johnson The inauguration of Andrew Johnson as the 17th President of the United States was held on April 15 , 1865 at the Kirkwood House in Washington , D.C. , following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln . The inauguration marked the commencement of Andrew Johnson 's only term ( a partial term of ) as President . Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase administered the Oath of office . After the ceremony , President Johnson gave an impromptu inaugural address , which began with him begging the cabinet to remain with him and then attacking the Confederacy with such venom , that one witness remarked `` It would have been better had he been struck dumb . ''   As President Lincoln lay dying , Vice President Johnson visited the room where he lay , and when Mrs. Lincoln saw him , it was reported , she screamed and demanded he be removed . So he went back to his room at the Kirkwood House .   According to newspaper reports , the Vice President had gotten severely inebriated , and when aides to the now-dead president came to fetch the new President they were unable to wake him for several minutes . When he was finally awake , the accounts read , `` he had puffy eyes and his hair was caked with mud from the street , '' and that a barber and doctor were summoned to clean him up for the ten-o'clock ceremony , which most accounts agree went smoothly . However , there are other accounts , believed more reliable by some , which refute this claim .

neg: Rumsfeld v. Padilla Rumsfeld v. Padilla , , was a United States Supreme Court case , in which José Padilla , an American citizen , sought habeas corpus relief against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld , as a result of his detention by the military as an `` unlawful combatant . ''   On May 8 , 2002 , Padilla , a U.S. citizen , flew from Pakistan to Chicago 's O'Hare International Airport . As he left the plane , Padilla was apprehended by federal agents executing a material witness warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with its grand jury investigation into the September 11th attacks by terrorists . Initially Padilla was considered a `` material witness , '' without charges filed , and given very limited access to legal counsel . He was later classified as an `` enemy combatant , '' which , the Bush administration claimed as justification to imprison him indefinitely , and without legal recourse or access , as with non-citizen suspects in the war on terror .   Padilla 's attorney , Donna Newman , claiming to act as his next friend and on his behalf , filed a petition for habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York . On December 4 , 2002 , the court denied the petition and held that the President of the United States , as Commander-in-Chief had the authority to designate as an `` enemy combatant '' an American citizen captured on American soil , and , through the Secretary of Defense , to detain him for the duration of armed conflict with al-Qaida .   The case was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit , which held that the President lacked the authority to order the military detentions of American citizens captured on American soil .   The case was petitioned to the United States Supreme Court . The principal issue before the Court was whether the Congressional Authorization for Use of Military Force post September 11 gave the president the powers to detain a United States citizen under military custody by classifying the detainee as an `` enemy combatant . '' Otherwise , the president would run afoul of the Non-Detention Act , which provides that `` No citizen shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress .   The Court did not decide this issue . Instead , the Court held that the habeas corpus petition had been improperly filed . It ruled that because Padilla was being held in a brig ( military prison ) in South Carolina , the petition should have been filed in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina and should have named the commander of the brig and not the Secretary of Defense ( because the brig commander was Padilla 's `` immediate custodian '' ) . The Court reversed the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and remanded the case for dismissal without prejudice - that is , it overruled the Court of Appeals decision and ordered the dismissal of the case , allowing Padilla to refile the petition . Thus the principal issue of the case had not been resolved .   Paul Clement , Principal Deputy Solicitor General at the time , gave oral argument for the United States ( Rumsfeld ) ; Jennifer Martinez , a law professor and human rights lawyer , gave oral argument on behalf of Padilla and Newman .

neg: Country of Particular Concern Country of Particular Concern ( CPC ) is a designation by the United States Secretary of State ( under authority delegated by the President ) of a nation guilty of particularly severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act ( IRFA ) of 1998 ( H.R. 2431 ) and its amendment of 1999 ( Public Law 106-55 ) . The term `` particularly severe violations of religious freedom '' means systematic , ongoing , egregious violations of religious freedom , including violations such as :   a ) Torture or cruel , inhuman , or degrading treatment or punishment ;  b ) Prolonged detention without charges ;  c ) Causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction or clandestine detention of those persons ; or  d ) Other flagrant denials of the right to life , liberty , or the security of persons . Nations so designated are subject to further actions , including economic sanctions , by the United States .   Issuing recommendations as to countries it believes should be designated as countries of particular concern for their religious liberty violations is the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom , a separate agency created by IRFA ( along with the U.S. Department of State 's Office of International Religious Freedom ) to monitor the state of religious freedom around the world . Both entities provide policy recommendations to the president , the secretary of state and US Congress . Its recommendations are not always followed by the Secretary of State .   The latest report from February 29 , 2016 , designated each of the following nations as a CPC :   Each of these states was included on the previous year 's report except Tajikistan .

neg: Religious qualifications for public office in the United States Religious qualifications for public office in the United States have always been prohibited at the national level of the federal system of government under the Constitution . Article VI of the Constitution of the United States declares that `` no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States '' . The First Amendment of the Constitution also prevents the Congress of the United States from making any law `` respecting an establishment of religion '' ( the Establishment Clause ) .   Neither the First Amendment nor Article VI , however , were originally applied to the individual states , and individual restrictions were utilized by individual states to prevent Jews , Catholics , and atheists from occupying public offices . State-level requirements for public office were not entirely abolished until 1961 , when the Supreme Court of the United States struck down religious qualifications for all public officeholders in its decision in Torcaso v. Watkins , a case concerning an atheist 's right to serve as a notary public under a Maryland law requiring public officials to declare they believed in God . However , eight states still have language in their constitutions that requires such qualifications .

neg: Richard Nixon Foundation The Richard Nixon Foundation is a not-for-profit organization based at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda , California . It was founded in the late 1980s by Richard Nixon , 37th President of the United States , and served as the governing body of the Nixon Library for nearly twenty years . Today it operates the Nixon Library in conjunction with the National Archives and Records Administration , which is an entity of the federal government of the United States , in addition to undertaking charitable and education-based activities .   The Nixon Foundation founded , controlled and operated the Nixon Library from the library 's dedication on July 19 , 1990 until July 11 , 2007 , at which the Foundation invited the National Archives to take control . The two entities signed a joint operating agreement which allowed the library to become officially known as the Richard Nixon Presidential Library , welcoming it into the national system of presidential libraries . This move allowed President Nixon 's White House documents to be moved to his library in Yorba Linda .   The Nixon Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors , led by former Nixon White House Director of Presidential Advance Ronald H. Walker . The board includes President Nixon 's daughters Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower , his brother Edward Nixon , former Ambassador George Argyros former California Governor Pete Wilson , and longest-serving Vietnam War POW Everett Alvarez , Jr. . The Foundation 's President and CEO is William Baribault .   The Foundation has hosted United States presidents , first ladies and several vice presidents . Also hosted have been public affairs commentators such as Bill O'Reilly , academics such as Doris Kearns Goodwin , and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer .   The library includes `` Meet the Presidents , '' in which presidential impersonators speak to several hundred school-aged children . To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11 , 2001 attacks , the Nixon Foundation brought 16 tons of warped steel from the World Trade Center and a damaged , first-responder FDNY firetruck to the Nixon Library for viewing .   Before the National Archives took over its management , the Nixon Library had been accused by several media outlets of glossing over Nixon 's 1974 resignation with `` whitewashed '' exhibits . In 2007 , the National Archives removed the 17 year old Watergate exhibit and , after three years , the new exhibit was scheduled to open in July 2010 . The Nixon Foundation objected to the proposed exhibit , because the Nixon Foundation was not consulted in the way that other presidential foundations had been consulted with similar situations . The Foundation filed a 158 page memorandum to the Assistant Archivist for Presidential Libraries expressing their dissatisfaction and NARA stated a committee would review the objection but gave no timeline for when that process would be concluded . The exhibit opened on March 31 , 2011 .