HIS303 Week 3 Discussion (dq1+dq2)

HIS303 The American Constitution

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 The Constitution and Reconstruction. A common misconception about the end of the Civil War is that, after ending slavery, the federal government did nothing to assist former slaves. In fact, the Constitution itself was substantially altered to define the rights of Americans and to allow the federal government to protect those rights. Review the contents of the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Nineteenth Amendments, along with the history of the period from 1865 to 1933. What measures did the federal government implement during Reconstruction to aid freed people? Why and how would those measures prove largely ineffective in the long-term? What did women’s rights activists gain between 1865 and 1933? Who gained more during this time period, women or Blacks? What unique disadvantages did black women face? What rights did workers gain during this period, and what rights did they demand, but fail to gain? What role did the federal government play during this period in expanding and ensuring the rights of citizens? When responding to the above questions, draw from material from one of the following videos:

The story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: Failure is impossible

The second American revolution, Part 1

Stories from the mines: How immigrant miners changed America

DQ 2 Populists and Progressives. According to much populist rhetoric since the 1980s, the federal government is too active in domestic affairs, particularly the economy. Yet, a century earlier, the Populists and Progressives a agitated to have the federal government intervene more actively in domestic affairs. Explain why many Americans during this period from 1880 to 1930 favored a more activist federal government. Summarize the constitutional views of the Populists and Progressives, and explain how they differed from the conservative views held by the Supreme Court and others of the time. What developments led the Populists and Progressives to call for a more activist federal government? How did they hope to change the nature of state and federal government as they expanded its power? On what grounds did conservatives, especially in the courts, oppose the policies proposed by Populists and Progressives? What was the impact on American Society of the growing power of the national government, particularly in economic issues?

When responding to the above questions, reference material from three of the following documents:

The subjective necessity of social settlements

An economic interpretation of the Constitution of the United States

The Bible

Theodore Roosevelt: New nationalism speech, 1910

The Omaha platform: Launching the Populist Party

A governor bitterly opposes Negro education

Supreme Court Decision. The judiciary is one of the three branches involved in the “checks and balances” associated with the U.S. government under the Constitution. It is also the branch over which the American people have the least direct control, making it particularly controversial, especially when it seems to controvert the popular will as expressed through the legislature. For this assignment, review the powers the Constitution grants to the Supreme Court in Article III. Then summarize the history of, reasoning behind, and the public reaction to a momentous U.S. Supreme Court decision. Also, explain the decision’s impact on relevant concerns, such as the economy, politics, religious freedom, civil liberties, human rights, and so forth. In your opinion, was the decision valid in terms of its constitutional interpretation and its impact on the nation? When do you believe the Supreme Court should get involved in national controversies, and what rubric should it use to make its decisions?

You are free to write about any Supreme Court case, though you are advised to use a case related to the topic of your final paper. Note, though, that you may not recycle substantial passages from this assignment in the Final Paper. The paper should include an analysis of the text of the decision, and should also draw from two scholarly secondary sources obtained through the Ashford University library.