POLITICAL SCIENCE 1 – PROFESSOR HIGGINS – TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT Total points: 20 points available based upon quality of written expression and mastery of content. Term Papers are Due April 19, 2022 All papers are to be e-mailed to Professor Higgins in “word” or “PDF” format labeled with studnt name, course number and course time slot. 1. Topic: Choose a topic of particular interest to you in federal, state or local government and pose a research question or thesis to be explored. It is recommended that you find a topic mentioned in one of the assigned textbooks by David Lawrence or Gary Wasserman or a topic mentioned in class lecture. 2. Term Paper: ? Prepare a professional, academic quality written term paper of 3-5 pages in length, in Chicago Manual of Style format: typewritten, proof-read, and ? Containing at least three separate sources, using footnotes or endnotes; citations may consist of textbook excerpts; instructor lecture notes or other academic sources. Two of the three sources must be from the required textbooks or lecture notes. ? Integrate topics, theories, and material covered in class with the topic (four times is recommended). ? Critically assess one or more of the prevalent views, factual bases, or conclusions involved with the topic and cite reasons for your agreement or disagreement with the prevalent views. A general outline to use, which you may feel free to modify as needed. I. Introduction–the purpose of this paper, the topic of interest to you in state, local or federal government and the research question or thesis to be explored and what you will attempt to answer II. Present authorities and material on the topic III. Issues and Challenges associated with the topic ? Bring in material from the texts and other sources ? Integrate material covered in class at least four times IV. Analysis and discussion in which you critically assess one or more of the prevalent views, factual bases, or conclusions involved with the topic and cite reasons for your agreement or disagreement with the prevalent views V. Conclusion ? This is an academic paper based on facts and evidence. State your findings and theory objectively instead of using personal qualifiers. ? Factual conclusions should be supported by citation sources. Professor Higgins – POLS 1 – SECTION 21 – Term Paper Assignment – ©2022 by Valerie J. Higgins. All rights reserved. 2 Sample Topics A topic in federal, state or local government of interest to you The Electoral College Separation of Powers doctrine A clause or provision of the US Constitution A clause or provision of the California Constitution A topic related to the Articles of Confederation Analysis of one or more of the Federalist Essays The 10th Amendment The Robert Mueller Report The Articles of Impeachment impeaching President Donald Trump The Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution The 25th Amendment of the United States Constitution A Ballot Measure on a prior or upcoming California State election Cell phone use while driving An issue concerning Term Limits The status of marijuana legalization An issue involving legal status of same sex marriage The age gap in California politics and its ramifications An historical look at California Ballot measures concerning a specific topic: 1. Immigration 2. Same sex marriage 3. Legal marriage Professor Higgins – POLS 1 – SECTION 21 – Term Paper Assignment – ©2022 by Valerie J. Higgins. All rights reserved. 3 4. The English language 5. Term limits 6. Marijuana Unicameral vs. bicameral legislature A topic in federal or state Executive Branch A topic in federal or state Legislative Branch A topic in federal or California Judiciary A topic of concern in local government Unpaid legislature or minimum pay for legislators A topic in Education Historical study of Confederations over time A topic concerning a current day Confederation Republican form of government A topic in public education A topic in Lobbying A topic in direct democracy The Process by Which a Bill Becomes Law Federal Government Budget The Debt Ceiling in Federal Government California State Budget Process Deficit Spending: Federal government vs California State government Professor Higgins – POLS 1 – SECTION 21 – Term Paper Assignment – ©2022 by Valerie J. Higgins. All rights reserved. 4 Potential Sources for Key Topics o Initiative Process: o Democracy Derailed by David S. Broder o “State Government in a Federal System” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes o California: The Politics of Diversity by Lawrence & Cummins o Direct Democracy Processes in California: o California: The Politics of Diversity by Lawrence & Cummins o Democracy Derailed by David S. Broder o “State Government in a Federal System” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes o California: The Politics of Diversity by Lawrence & Cummins o Overview and History of California: Coast of Dreams by Kevin Starr o Lobbying and the Influence of Money in Politics: o The Third House by Michael, Walter and Weintraub (California) o Pressure and Power by Anthony Nownes (federal government) o “State Government in a Federal System” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes o California: The Politics of Diversity by Lawrence & Cummins o Political History of Phillip Burton: A Rage for Justice by John Jacobs o Bureaucracy: Bureaucracy by James Wilson o Environmental Devastation of California in the Event of a Massive Earthquake: A Dangerous Place by Marc Reisner o Marijuana: o “The legal Status of Marijuana” Professor Higgins Lecture Notes o California: The Politics of Diversity by Lawrence & Cummins o The Basics of American Politics by Wasserman and Fulmer Professor Higgins – POLS 1 – SECTION 21 – Term Paper Assignment – ©2022 by Valerie J. Higgins. All rights reserved. 5 o The Process by Which a Bill Becomes Law o “The Legislative Branch: Congress” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes o The Basics of American Politics by Wasserman and Fulmer o California: The Politics of Diversity by Lawrence & Cummins o Federal Government Budget o “Federal Executive” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes o The Basics of American Politics by Wasserman and Fulmer o Debt Ceiling in Federal Government o “Federal Executive” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes o The Basics of American Politics by Wasserman and Fulmer o California State Budget Process o “State Government in a Federal System” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes o California: The Politics of Diversity by Lawrence & Cummins o Deficit Spending: Federal government vs California State government o “Federal Executive” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes o The Basics of American Politics by Wasserman and Fulmer o “State Government in a Federal System” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes o California: The Politics of Diversity by Lawrence & Cummins o Electoral College o “United States Constitution” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes o “Structure of Government” Professor Higgins’ Lecture Notes (Rebublic slides #11 #13 #16) o The Basics of American Politics by Wasserman and Fulmer o The Federalist Essays: o #34 & #35 10th Amendment o #39 & #68 Electoral College o #47 & #51 Separation of Powers o #78 Impeachment Professor Higgins – POLS 1 – SECTION 21 – Term Paper Assignment – ©2022 by Valerie J. Higgins. All rights reserved. 6 Chicago Manual of Style Format ? Use endnotes or footnotes for citations and quotations ? Include a Title Page ? Bibliography is optional ? For additional information and format instruction and examples go to: Sample Format TEXT A Union soldier, Jacob Thompson, claimed to have seen Forrest order the killing, but when asked to describe the six-foot-two “a little bit of a man.”12 BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRY Wills, Brian Steel. A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. FOOTNOTE OR ENDNOTE 12. Brian Steel Wills, A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest (New York: HarperCollins, 1992), 187. The first time you cite a source, the note should include publication information for that work as well as the page number on which the passage being cited may be found. 1. Peter Burchard, One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment (New York: St. Martin’s, 1965), 85. For subsequent references to a source you have already cited, you may simply give the author’s last name, a short form of the title, and the page or pages cited. A short form of the title of a book is italicized; a short form of the title of an article is put in quotation marks. 2. Burchard, One Gallant Rush, 31. When you have two consecutive notes from the same source, you may use “Ibid.” (meaning “in the same place”) and the page number for the second note. Use “Ibid.” alone if the page number is the same. 3. Jack Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest: A Biography (New York: Knopf, 1993), 8. 4. Ibid., 174. 5. Higgins, Valerie J. Formation of the United States (Unpublished Lecture, 2017), “slide #8: The Influence of John Locke upon the American Revolution” Instructions on How to Use and Insert Footnotes Professor Higgins – POLS 1 – SECTION 21 – Term Paper Assignment – ©2022 by Valerie J. Higgins. All rights reserved. 7 ? In a research Term Paper, every important statement of fact or conclusion should properly be supported by a footnote citation ? The idea is to provide an academic or reliable source to substantiate the fact or point that you, the author, are trying to make. ? In the sample paragraph below footnotes are highlighted in yellow only for illustration purposes ? Place the cursor after the statement of fact which requires a footnote, click on “References” menu and click “insert footnote”. ? The cursor will automatically move to the bottom of the page where you will insert the footnote citation ? Use the “Footnote Sample Format”: on page 4 of this Term Paper Assignment to formulate the footnote citation ? Then return to the body of your term paper and insert the next footnote until completion Sample Paragraph Incorporating Footnotes: Net Neutrality, over time, has given people internet sovereignty. To understand what is meant by the statement “internet sovereignty”, first, let’s look at sovereignty itself. Sovereignty, by definition, is a supreme power or The question is how does the internet have supreme power or authority? This is first seen by looking at social media. The influence of social media is so grand today that tweets can start wars between countries. For example: when President Trump was making rude statements on twitter towards North Korea,2 they immediately responded by saying that the United States was declaring war on them and this was certainly not true. The fact that the entire world could instantly see Trump’s tweet, meant that unless North Korea made some kind of statement to say; “hey, we do not tolerate this”, then they would be seen as weak. This alone shows that social media, because of the internet, has supreme power and social authority in how people and countries interact today. Not only through social media, but through blog posts, articles and news sites; the internet itself has shown to have supreme power and authority over everyone who uses it. 1 Slide 2, Higgins, Valerie, J. “The Structure of Government”. Lecture, California State University, Sacramento , CA, September Trump, Donald. Twitter Post, September 23, 2017, 8:08 PM.
