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Class: Kirkpatrick Signature Series (American Vision and Values)
Primary Assignment
Instruction: This week we explore the Constitution and specifically the dispersion of governmental power between the Individual, The Federal Government, the three branches, the states, and local government such as County, City, and SIDs. You will research a complex issue where rights and/or powers come into conflict.
Federalist Paper #47 is a discussion about the checks and balances between the three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judiciary. Since its inception, the Constitution intentionally empowers two branches of government to curtail, or hold in check, the abuse of power by the third branch. The events of January 6th and the ensuing aftermath are a vivid example of this.
Federalist Paper #51 is a discussion about the separation of powers between the three branches of government. While this is a very good idea, today there are significant overlaps of power between the three branches of American government.
As a point of interest, we are not a direct democracy (see video in Week One). Since we are a nation of laws, designed to have government protect our rights, our form of government was designed to be slow, inefficient, and able to hold back the mob in order to prevent majority rule.
Primary Assignment: The 3+1 Rule is in effect. Students will be graded upon, in part, by their proper use and citation of three assigned reading articles from the current week AND at least one assigned reading article from any previous week. The 3+1 Rule will apply to every Primary Assignment up to and including Week 11. The Week 12 Service Learning Project Assignment requires the proper use and citation of 14 unique assigned reading articles.
For your assignment this week, try to demonstrate an objective review of the issue.
As I grade your papers, I will be looking for two things;
a.) I want you to practice your critical thinking skills by listing and discussing the Pros and Cons on both sides of the conflict. If you think about it, the exercise of our rights often comes into conflict with others who are also exercising their rights. These inevitable conflicts present challenging and difficult responses. Weigh them with care and thoughtfulness.
b.) Try to identify the nature of the conflict in rights and/or the power of government. Remember, the Constitution is the “supreme law of the land.” Examine the 10th Amendment. Does the Constitution specifically provide a power to one entity or another? If so, identify where this power resides inside or outside of the Constitution (to accomplish this, you might need to use and cite a credible external source for the answer I.E. research).
Think deeply about your the conclusion of your research: have you been truthful (see Adler)? Or did you succumb to the temptation of using research to reinforce a pre-existing view?
Think about how the rights of one person often come into conflict with another person’s rights. With 333 million Americans, conflicting rights are inevitable. Simply because we have a right to do something does not mean it is the right thing to do (the importance of self-restraint). How should society reconcile these conflicts? Can society ever assure that everyone, at all times, is treated equally and fairly? If not, how do we learn to cope with the frustrations and challenges that the real world presents us? (see Haidt articles in Week 2).
The Coddling of the American Mind, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, The Atlantic, 2015
https://whynotcomicbooks.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/coddling-of-the-american-mind-by-greg-lukianoff-and-jonathan-haidt.pdf
The Balance of Power in the American Government
Learning Objective: Through intensive critical thinking and analysis of Articles I, I, and III of the U.S. Constitution, students learn how the balance of powers works in a republican form of government.
For this assignment, research any one of the topics listed below. Notice the conflicting interests of the parties involved in the issue. Do the mechanisms designed to balance the power of government between institutions and individuals continue to work? Has one center of power grown too powerful? Are individual rights being protected during these disputes? Include a discussion of the balancing mechanisms found in the U.S. Constitution and discussed in Federalist Papers 10, 47, and 51.
Topics
Sanctuary Cities v Federal Immigration Laws
Sanctuary city, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_city)
How sanctuary cities actually work, Vox, 2017 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaR5kR8h4es)
Obergefell v Hodges: State rights and Same Sex marriage
Obergefell v. Hodges, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obergefell_v._Hodges)
Obergefell v. Hodges Summary | quimbee.com, Quimbee, 2017 (https://cyberactive.bellevue.edu/ultra/courses/_524476_1/cl/outline)
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Federal Laws replace State laws
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WbLGlIzW88A Confrontation for Integration at the University of Alabama, theGrio, 2013)
Transcript
Legalizing Marijuana: State Laws v Federal laws
Timeline of cannabis laws in the United States, Wikipedia
Legalized: A Year In The Life Of Colorado’s Legal Weed Experiment | NBC News, NBC News, 2016
Dealing with Factions: Is Federalist Paper No ten still viable?
Unite the Right rally, Wikipedia
American Patriot, PBS FrontLine, 2017
Individual rights versus the federal government The Sagebrush Rebellion
Sagebrush Rebellion, Wikipedia
American Patriot, PBS FrontLine, 2017
Drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants Cities and States versus Federal Immigration Law
Driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants in the United States, Wikipedia
New York lawmakers OK allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, NBC News, 2019
Wounded Knee 1973 Native Rights versus the Federal Government
Wounded Knee incident, Wikipedia
We Shall Remain – Episode 5: Wounded Knee, Jeffery Powell, 2017
SCOTUS v Administration Census and citizenship question
Supreme Court Leaves Census Question on Citizenship in Doubt, The New York Times, 2019
Census citizenship question: what we know about the debate so far, USA Today, 2019
Voting Right Act of 1965
Voting Rights Act of 1965, Wikipedia
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 Explained, Hip Hughes, 2015
The fight for the right to vote in the United States – Nicki Beaman Griffin, Ted-Ed, 2013
Minimum 600 to 700 words
An APA-style bibliography,
use of APA style in-line citations, and
adherence to the 2+1 Rule
a thesis statement,
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