Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?

For this assignment, choose ONE of the writing prompts and write a minimum 300 word essay. For more detailed instructions, review the Instructions for Lesson Writing Assignments.

1) Why did the Articles of Confederation fail? What reasons might explain why someone would prefer the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution? What were the biggest benefits of the Constitution over the Articles of Confederation?

2) Many participants at the U.S. Constitutional Convention had something at stake in the formation of the Constitution. Focus specifically on the Three-Fifths Compromise. Which groups had things at stake in this compromise, what did they have at stake, and how did each try to get what they wanted?

PART 2

For this assignment, choose ONE of the writing prompts and write a minimum 300 word essay.  For more detailed instructions, review the Instructions for Lesson Writing Assignments.

1)  Read the discussion of descriptive representation in Chapter 4. Then, review how Congress has changed over time with respect to race and ethnicity, women and veterans in the Pew Research article . Discuss the different trends in Congress and what do you think it means for the future?  Does it matter if members of Congress look like most Americans?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of descriptive representation?

2)  Chapter 10 discusses many aspects of domestic and foreign policy in the United States. Review public attitudes towards both the size of government and government spending in the Pew Research article . According to the survey data, where are people who identify as Republican or Lean Republican more interested in increasing spending?  Where are people who identify as Democrats or Lean Democratic more interested in increasing spending? What does the Pew Research Center survey suggest concerning the publics interest in cutting government spending? Looking at the results of the surveys, what do you think are the prospects for reducing government spending? Why?

3)  Both the president and Congress play a role in decisions regarding the use of military force. What are the presidents powers in this area? What are the powers of Congress in this area? Read the article . Why do you think members of Congress have been willing not to vote on the use of force and to allow modern presidents (such as Bush, Obama and Trump) to take the lead in this area? Do you think Congress should play a larger role in decisions regarding the use of military force?

PART 3

For this assignment, choose ONE of the writing prompts and write a minimum 300 word essay.  For more detailed instructions, review the Instructions for Lesson Writing Assignments

1)  Read the Pew Research article, . How should the government balance the tensions between privacy and national security concerns? Is the Constitution clear about potential conflicts between privacy and national security? How much privacy should Americans expect in an age where information about people is so readily available?

2)  Chapter 6 briefly discusses judicial interpretivists and strict constructionists. For more discussion on the issue read How does a strict constructionist (originalist) interpret the Constitution compared to a judicial interpretivist (non-originalist)? Do you think the Constitution should be interpreted literally or is it an evolving document that needs to be interpreted differently over time?  Why?

PART 4

For this assignment, choose ONE of the writing prompts and write a minimum 300 word essay. For more detailed instructions, review the Instructions for Lesson Writing Assignments.

1)  Read theon attitudes towards third parties. How do Americans view third parties? Why is it so difficult for third party candidates to win in the United States? How would having more than two competitive political parties change American politics? 

2)  Review the Pew Research articles and . Specifically, how does voter turnout in the U.S. compare with voter turnout in other advanced democracies? What are some of the causes for the low voter turnout between the United States and other advanced democracies? What are the pros and cons of changing election day to a holiday or a weekend?

3)  Look at Table 9.1 of AmGov and read the Pew Research article . Discuss where people get their news? What are some of the demographic differences that influence where people get their news? Where do you prefer to get your news (social media, print, television, radio) and why? Do you rely on only one news source?  How do you judge the credibility of your news source(s)?