Prepare: Prior to writing your initial post, read Chapters 1 and 2 of American Government. In addition, watch the video provided on the U.S. Constitution, Episode IV – Built to Last.
Reflect: The U.S. Constitution is the cornerstone of our federal government. The Constitution establishes a basic operational framework that enables the three branches of government – executive, legislative, and judicial – to interact and function as a unit. Embedded in this operational framework are two key principles: separation of powers and a system of checks and balances.
Write: In your initial post, explain why the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances are important for our democracy. Provide recent, real-world examples of the separation of powers and checks/balances in action (one example each). Also, discuss how the Constitution protects individual and group rights. Again, provide a recent real-world example of these Constitutional protections being applied here in the U.S. You must fully respond to all parts of the prompt and write your response in your own words.
Support your position with APA citations from two or more of the assigned resources required for this discussion. Please be sure that you demonstrate understanding of these resources, integrate them into your argument, and cite them properly. Your initial post should be 200 to 250 words and be written in complete sentences.
Respond to Peers: By Day 7, respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts. Your peer responses should be 75 to 100 words each. Demonstrate your understanding of the topic by respectfully asking questions, raising new points for consideration, or requesting clarification from your fellow students. For example, you may want to compare your real-world examples to those of your classmates and see how they are similar or different and discuss why.
Prepare: Prior to beginning your reflection this week, complete all course readings, your introduction, and the Discussion, “The U.S. Constitution.”
Reflect: Once you have completed these assignments think about how American politics have and could affect your career aspirations. The Founding Fathers created an amazing governmental structure that affects almost every aspect of our lives even today. For instance, if you are a criminal justice major, what parts of the U.S. Constitution are applicable to what you are learning in your major? If you are a business major, which branch of government – executive, legislative, or judicial – has, or will have, the greatest influence on your business ambitions? If you are a political science major, how does separation of powers in the U.S. government affect the operations of most economic, social, and political processes throughout the United States?
Write: In your initial post, based on your current academic major (declared or not), complete one of the following:
Fully respond to all parts of the prompt and write your response in your own words. Support your position with APA citations from two or more of the assigned resources required for this discussion. Please be sure that you demonstrate understanding of these resources, integrate them into your argument, and cite them properly. Your initial post should be 200 to 250 words.
Respond to Peers: By Day 7, respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts. Your peer responses should be 75 to 100 words each. Comment on a peer response that you did not select to respond to and extend the conversation by examining their claims or arguments in more depth. Keep the discussion on target and try to analyze things in as much detail as you can. For instance, you might consider comparing your perspectives on how the Constitution affects your career goals to how it affects a classmate with different career goals.
ASSIGNMENT
The weekly worksheets will help you build all the necessary parts for your Final Paper. This week, you will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the most important document for America’s national government, the U.S. Constitution. In your worksheet, you will describe one strength and one weakness of the Constitution. In addition, you will need to recommend a way to maintain the strength of this amazing document and a way to correct a weakness. This effort begins the process of critically analyzing key features of our national government.
To complete the assignment, save the Week One Learning Activity Worksheet to your computer, fill it out, and submit it.
Develop a detailed outline of your first main point using the Week One Learning Activity Worksheet.
View the POL201 Research Guide for help on how to find and evaluate sources for assignments in this course.
Develop a detailed outline of your first main point. (For assistance with your writing skills, refer to the Ashford Writing Center.)
The Constitution:
Provide an introductory paragraph that briefly describes one strength and one weakness of the U.S. Constitution.
(Use the space below to complete this section.)
Provide a paragraph that recommends one option to maintain the strength and one to correct the weakness.
(Use the space below to complete this section.)
Scholarly Support: (For assistance with your research, the Ashford University’s Library provides tutorials and recorded webinars on a variety of topics. To access these helpful resources look for the links located under the [email protected] search box on the library home page. For help with writing, please review the APA Style Aid, and Ashford Writing Center’s Sample Annotated Bibliography for additional help.)
Provide two credible sources in APA format to support your main points.
(Use the space below to complete this section.)
Briefly discuss how these sources support your main points.
(Use the space below to complete this section.)
Briefly evaluate your sources for bias, validity, and reliability.
(Use the space below to complete this section.)
Example:
Main Point: A strength and weakness of the British constitution.
1a. The British constitution has many strengths and weakness that make their political system unique. One unique major strength is that the British constitution is based on over 800 years of common law, customs, and conventions and one unique major weakness is that it is not a formal written constitution, like the U.S. Constitution.
1b. A way to enhance the strength and correct the weakness of the British constitution is to capture and summarize the 800 years laws, customs, and conventions into one easily understood document.
2a. Powell Jr., G. B., Dalton, R. J., and Strom, K. (2012). Comparative politics today: A world view. (10th ed.) New York: Pearson Longman.
Levin-Waldman, O. M. (2012). American government. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
2b. Comparative politics today: A world view by Powell, Dalton, and Strom (2012) is a respected textbook used in many college courses. This text has an entire chapter dedicated to the British political system and should be a very valuable secondary source for this paper. In addition, the book has many references to other scholarly sources that could be helpful in this paper.
American government by Levin-Waldman (2012) is also a respected textbook used by Ashford University. It too should be a valuable secondary resource as it traces the evolution of the U.S. Constitution from the British constitution. The historical background material should be very useful in setting the stage for future discussion of the British constitution. This book also has many references to other scholarly sources that could be helpful in this paper.
2c. Both books should provide relatively unbiased information but both books are from American authors so they may be some bias towards American views, beliefs, and political systems. All of the material in the books should be valid and reliable as the books have gone through a significant peer review and editing process and the authors are considered as experts in their respective fields.
