1. Domestic Politics at the Turn of
the 21st
Century
What is the proper role of the
government in people’s lives?

2. Preview
1. In your notebook, write the following list of domestic policy goals:
– landing a man on the moon
– deregulating businesses
– freeing the slaves
– ending the Great Depression
– preserving the environment by establishing national parks
2. Which of the following presidents was associated with each
domestic policy goal: Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy,
Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, or Theodore Roosevelt? Write
the president’s name next to the appropriate goal.
3. What factors do you think might have allowed each president to
achieve his goal?

3. Janus Figure
• A Roman god
portrayed as
having two
faces.

4. Ronald Reagan
• Deregulates airline
industry
• Backed by the “Moral
Majority” of
evangelical and
fundamentalist
Christians.
• Appoints
conservative judges
to the Supreme Court
including Sandra Day
O’Connor the first
woman appointed to
the Court
• Budget cuts to
entitlement
programs like food
stamps
• Increased the
national debt
Domestic Policy Goals
Achieved
Domestic Policy Goals
Not Achieved

5. Guidelines to create your Janus
figure
Step 1: Determine roles.
• Researcher: Responsible for identifying at least five domestic policy goals
that the president achieved or did not achieve while in office. Also helps
with the layout of the Janus figure.
• Illustrator: Responsible for designing symbols or illustrations on the Janus
figure that represent the domestic policy goals the president achieved or
did not achieve while in office. Also helps with the layout of the Janus
figure.
• Writer: Responsible for writing annotations to accompany the symbols or
illustrations for the Janus figure. Also helps with the layout of the Janus
figure.
• Analyst: Responsible for preparing notes that explain symbol choice and
presidential rating for the gallery walk presentation. Also helps with the
layout of the Janus figure.

6. Guidelines to create your Janus
figure
Step 2: Learn about your assigned president.
• Read the section in your text for the president you have been assigned.
• Fill out the section for your president on the graphic organizer.
Step 3: Brainstorm ideas for the Janus figure.
• Identify at least five domestic policy goals for the president you have
been assigned. At least one of your chosen goals must have been
achieved and one not achieved.
• Think of one symbol or illustration to exemplify each goal.
• Think of an annotation for each goal to explain how that goal was or was
not achieved.
• Use the model of a Janus figure for Ronald Reagan as a guide.
Step 4: Create a rough draft.

7. Guidelines to create your Janus
figure
Step 5: Create the Janus figure.
• Cut out the profile of the president’s face from Student Handout 58B.
Tape it onto the poster paper and draw the outline of a body for the
president.
• At the top of the poster paper, write “Domestic Policy Goals Achieved” on
one side of the president and “Domestic Policy Goals Not Achieved” on
the other side.
• Add all the symbols and annotations that show domestic policy goals the
president did achieve on one side of the Janus figure and the domestic
policy goals the president did not achieve on the other side of the Janus
figure.
• Connect each symbol to an appropriate place on the Janus figure, as
shown in the sample figure.
• Prepare explanations of your symbol choice to be used during the gallery
walk presentations.

8. Guidelines to create your Janus
figure
Step 6: Develop a rating and rationale for the president.
• Use the following scale to rate the president’s ability to achieve his
domestic policy goals:
1 = achieved most of his domestic policy goals
2 = achieved some of his domestic policy goals
3 = achieved few of his domestic policy goals
• Prepare explanations of your presidential ranking to be used during the
gallery walk presentations.

9. Policies for George H. Bush
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Clean Air Act of 1990
• Economic growth
• Expanding the economy
• Flag desecration constitutional amendment
• North American Free Trade Association
(NAFTA)
• “Read my lips, no new taxes”

10. Policies for Bill Clinton
• Balanced Budget Act of 1997
• Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
• Corporation for National and Community
Service
• Family and Medical Leave Act
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• School-to-Work Opportunities Act
• Universal health care plan
• Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
• Welfare reform bill

11. Policies for George W. Bush
• Embryonic stem cell research ban
• Federal marriage amendment
• Healthy Marriage Initiative
• “Marriage penalty”
• Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
• No Child Left Behind Act
• Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
• Secure Fence Act
• Social Security Reform
• Tax cuts