HIS303 Week 5 Assignment Final Paper

HIS303 The American Constitution

Week 5 Assignment

Contemporary life v. the Constitution

Final Paper

From the time the Constitution was ratified, Americans have disagreed over its meaning and the extent of the powers it gave to different branches and reserved to the states and the people. Since the Constitution took effect, it has been amended several times and, just as importantly, interpretations of the Constitution have changed over time. For this assignment, examine the history of one constitutional issue in depth and explain how, and why, understandings of, and approaches to, the issue have changed over from colonial times through the present. Develop an argument about how, in your informed opinion, the constitutional issue should be interpreted. Justify your position with reference to the Constitution itself, the history of the issue under consideration, and the stance adopted on the issue by significant

constitutional interpretations, past and present. In the paper, you should identify key events and documents related to the event, including momentous historical controversies, major Supreme Court cases, and significant political developments. Conclude the paper by generating an argument for how the issue should be interpreted.

For this assignment, chose from one of the following issues:

Executive power

Definitions of citizenship and citizen’s rights

Relationship between state and federal governments

Role of the judiciary

Foreign affairs