Is correct to describe the United States as an empire? Why or why not? Discuss with reference to historical events and examples. Has the U.S. impact around the world been mostly benevolent or mostly damaging? Discuss and explain your thoughts.

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Is the United States an Empire?

Is correct to describe the United States as an empire? Why or why not? Discuss with reference to historical events and examples. Has the U.S. impact around the world been mostly benevolent or mostly damaging? Discuss and explain your thoughts.

Background Materials
1. Chapter 17
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-3e/pages/17-introduction

2. J. Rufus Fears, “The Lessons of the Roman Empire for America Today
https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/the-lessons-the-roman-empire-america-today

3.Video: Democracy Now,

4.Interview with A.G. Hopkins,

American Imperialism

Which two categories of civil liberties are most endangered? Which freedoms seem most secure? Which civil liberties are most fundamental to preserving a free society?

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Bill of Rights

If you could only keep two out of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which two would you retain? Consider:

Which two categories of civil liberties are most endangered?
Which freedoms seem most secure?
Which civil liberties are most fundamental to preserving a free society?
What other reasons do have for selecting the two that you chose?

Background Materials

1. OpenStax, Chapter 4
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-3e/pages/4-introduction

2. Legal Information Institute. “Bill of Rights”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/billofrights

Thinking about Congress, what is meant by “representation?” Do you believe that the U.S. Congress is representative of people like you? Why or why not?

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How Representative is Congress?

Thinking about Congress, what is meant by “representation?” Do you believe that the U.S. Congress is representative of people like you? Why or why not?

Background Materials
1. OpenStax, Chapter 11
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-3e/pages/11-introduction

2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Political Representation.”
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/political-representation/

3. Legistorm, “Congress by the Numbers”
https://www.legistorm.com/congress_by_numbers/index/by/house/mode/age/term_id/65.html

How would you evaluate the health of the United States election system? What are the system’s main vulnerabilities? What are its enduring strengths?

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Analyzing the 2022 Midterm Elections

Considering the 2022 midterms elections, among other factors,
-How would you evaluate the health of the United States election system?
– What are the system’s main vulnerabilities?
– What are its enduring strengths?
-What changes should be made to the election system that might improve or protect the integrity of elections?

Background Materials

1. OpenStax,Chapter 7
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-3e/pages/7-introduction

2. Ballotpedia, United States Congress Elections, 2022
https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Congress_elections,_2022

3. Stanford News, “Takeaways from the 2022 Midterm Results”

Takeaways from the 2022 midterms: a relief, surprise

4. Rutgers Today, “Is Our Democracy Under Threat?
https://www.rutgers.edu/news/our-democracy-under-threat

Were you surprised by the category that the Pew Center tool placed you in? Do these categories help you understand ideology? Are any ideological types missing from these categories?

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Answer question

Take the Pew Center’s political ideology quiz found here: Quiz.

  • https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/

Study your results, and also read about the other ideological categories.

Discuss the Pew Center quiz results in the context of the other readings.

Were you surprised by the category that the Pew Center tool placed you in?
Do these categories help you understand ideology?
Are any ideological types missing from these categories?
Why do think that the country is so sharply divided ideologically?

Background Materials

1. OpenStax, American Government, Chapter 6
https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/pages/6-introduction

2. Michael Dimok and Richard Wike, “America is Exceptional in the Nature of Its Political Divide

America is exceptional in the nature of its political divide

3. Taryn Luna, Melanie Mason, and Melody Gutierrez
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-25/as-blue-and-red-states-fight-over-abortion-guns-and-covid-newsom-seizes-an-opportunity

4. Stephen Hawkins and Tommy Flint

Two Stories, One America: How Political Narratives Shape Our Understanding of Reality

Does Pauline Hanson’s One Nation have a political future? Will it be a viable party in the future?

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Pauline Hanson’s One Nation

Does Pauline Hanson’s One Nation have a political future? Will it be a viable party in the future?

Compare Dr. King’s leadership, charisma, power and passion to capture his audience to Alicia Garza’s speech. What are the similarities, if any? What are the differences, if any?

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Analyzing Body Language

Social Movements are only as important as the person leading them. The person(s) leading a social movement must have charisma and be able to captivate an audience. Political scientists and historians are taught to analyze body language, especially during debates and speeches.

For this assignment, you will watch Dr Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream Links to an external site.speech and a speech by Alicia Garza of the Black Lives Matter movement Links to an external site.and answer questions listed below. Pay special attention to the following aspects in the two speeches.

Importance of body language while delivering the speech.
Gestures, cadence and delivery style.

Answer the following:

Provide a summary of the two speeches.
Compare Dr. King’s leadership, charisma, power and passion to capture his audience to Alicia Garza’s speech. What are the similarities, if any? What are the differences, if any?
How does the location of the speeches support their messaging? Dr. King’s speech was held in a church and at the Lincoln Memorial, whereas today we have social networking and more avenues to relay messages. Does messaging make a difference?
Describe how the audience in Dr. King’s speeches relate to the Alicia Garza’s audience. Do you see a similarity or differences in the speeches and in the audience?

Compare and contrast these three state sections from your state’s constitution with their comparable sections in the Bill of Rights found in the U.S. Constitution and discuss the guidelines for each.

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State Powers

Review the Bill of Rights for the U.S. Constitution (the first 10 amendments) to understand what rights are listed. There are numerous online sources to find the Bill of Rights.
Next, go online and look up your state’s constitution. Find three state sections that are similar to or align with the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution). Examples include religious freedom, freedom of speech or association, etc. Compare and contrast these three state sections from your state’s constitution with their comparable sections in the Bill of Rights found in the U.S. Constitution and discuss the guidelines for each.

Why does the EU tax and spend to the amount that it does – in other words, why is the EU budget so small? Why is the bulk of expenditure in two main areas – agriculture and cohesion policy – and what explains the decline of agriculture and the rise of cohesion spending?

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Explaining EU expenditure policies

There are three interrelated issues concerning EU expenditure policies that need explaining:

  • Why does the EU tax and spend to the amount that it does – in other words, why is the EU budget so small?
  • Why is the bulk of expenditure in two main areas – agriculture and cohesion policy – and what explains the decline of agriculture and the rise of cohesion spending?
  • Why are some individuals, regions and member states net winners, while others are net losers?

In answering these questions, academic analyses have focused on four different aspects of the making of EU expenditure policies: (1) bargaining over national costs and benefits by th

 

Respond to the prompts on this sheet. Write in full sentences, and choose descriptive statistics such as mean, median, mode, and standard deviation to give your reader a better understanding of your data exploration.

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Compare Descriptive Education Data:

Assignment Instructions:
1. This assignment requires the external website listed as a source below and the use of a spreadsheet program, such as Excel or Google Sheets.
2. Respond to the prompts on this sheet. Write in full sentences, and choose descriptive statistics such as mean, median, mode, and standard deviation to give your reader a better understanding of your data exploration. Be sure to interpret these statistics. Are data from your experience especially high or low relative to another country? What does that imply in terms of your lived experience?
3. In Part II, you will identify the principle most relevant to you in this assignment.
4. When you complete this document, upload the file on the Canvas Assignment page. Notice the deadline at the end of Week 1.
5. Complete your assignment before your group meeting and have it on hand while you meet.

Source: Our World in Data: Tertiary Education. Roser, M., & Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2013).
Website: https://ourworldindata.org/tertiary-education

NOTE: This web page has interactive elements and may not work on certain Internet Explorer browser versions. Chrome or Firefox is recommended for this webpage and its features for using data.