Resources for Teachers and Students on Colin Powell
Prepare: Before becoming U. S. Secretary of State,
an office he held from 2001 until 2005, Colin Powell was
a four-star general who served as Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff. His official
biography can be found on the Department of State
website.
Read:
Colin Powell wrote an
original essay for the Architects of Peace project prior
to having been asked to serve as Secretary of State. In
it, he outlines a rationale for the "America's Promise-The
Alliance for Youth" project that he'd founded after
his retirement from the army.
Explore: When Colin Powell was sworn in as Secretary
of State on January 20, 2001, he became the highest ranking
government official of African descent in American history.
Whether or not one agrees with his politics, it becomes
a cause for celebration that an African American who was
a son of immigrants and who was born in the age of racial
segregation could have become one of the most trusted persons
in the United States government. For those who wish to examine
how this remarkable accomplishment came to pass, Powell's
autobiography, My American Journey, is an appropriate place
to start.
Write: In My American Journey, while reflecting
about the mistakes of the Vietnam War, Colin Powell wrote,
"War should be a politics of last resort." (464)
Many people argue, however, that the administration Powell
was a part of didn't exhaust all its diplomatic options
prior to invading Iraq. Is it possible for the principle
that war should be a politics of last resort ever to become
a consistent ethic? Are there any situations in which warfare
could be conceived as being morally defensible when it's
not an absolute last resort? After researching the "Powell
Doctrine" on the internet, compose a three-to-five
page exploratory essay about whether the March 20, 2003
invasion of Iraq was ethically justifiable at that time.
Extend:
The
America's Promise-Alliance for Youth network still
exists even though it hasn't received as much publicity
as it did before Colin Powell became Secretary of State.
Additional Resource: As part of their resources
for observing Black History Month, the publisher Thomson
Gale has made an excellent article about Colin
Powell's career available on their website.
Biography of Colin
Powell
