Political Science Essay. Pick One of the following topics and write a 2-3page (single spaces, 12point font, Times New Roman) essay using what you learned throughout the semester to explain how you would address the issue. What is background of the issue? What can be done? How would you fund the effort? What population would this affect?
Marijuana & Federalism: Who’s in Charge?
What’s It About? With recreational and medicinal cannabis legal in certain states, marijuana businesses and users are caught between permissive state laws and federal statutes that criminalize all forms of cannabis use. The Issue? What is the effect of federalism on drug policy in America?
https://mediaplayer.pearsoncmg.com/assets/_video.true/mypoliscilab-2017-AmGov-Marijuana_Federalism
- What is federalism? In answering this question, be explicit about what is meant by enumerated powers, reserved powers, and concurrent powers.
- Why are state laws that conflict with federal law permitted to be enacted if, as the supremacy clause in the U.S. Constitution states, federal law takes precedence over state laws?
- What is the significance of the Cole Memorandum?
- Are there appropriate roles for the federal government and the states in setting drug policy? How would you define those roles?
What Is the Electoral College and Is It Still Relevant in Our Democracy?
What’s It About? The reasons why the Electoral College exists are often poorly understood. They needn’t be. The Issue? Is the Electoral College obsolete? Political Science Essay.
https://mediaplayer.pearsoncmg.com/assets/_video.true/mypoliscilab-2017-AmGov-Electoral_College
- Some delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 wanted members of Congress to elect the president of the United States. Other delegates argued for election by popular vote—that is to say, for a direct election by the people. Why did the Framers of the Constitution ultimately reject both these ideas?
- What is the three-fifths compromise? How would you assess its impact on the results of the presidential elections in the early history of the American republic?
- What are the strongest arguments for and against the relevance of the Electoral College today?
- What factors may have enabled Donald J. Trump and George W. Bush, who lost the popular vote in the presidential elections of 2016 and 2000, to win the presidency?
How Is a Rapidly Changing Media Affecting Democracy?
What’s It About? Understanding how people engage with the media is as important as the substance of any of the debatable issues affecting American politics and government. The Issue? Thanks to the Internet, is the public better informed about the issues and policies that affect democracy? Political Science Essay. Use APA referencing style.
- The statistic that 67 percent of U.S adults access news via social media is misleading in one crucial respect, according to one of the media experts presented in the video. Why is it misleading?
- Briefly describe the reality of your media-consuming habits. How does your individual media landscape both affect and reflect your identity?
- What is confirmation bias and why is it relevant to discussions of an informed public being the key to a lasting democracy?
- What steps can the public can take to demand more substance and less sensationalism from the press?