American Government

Written Report: Background Section Scheduled Task

Scheduled Tasks are assignments based on parts of the Written Report (e.g., Background, Data, Analysis, etc).  The grade is based on the submission of the required Written Report section and the submission including ALL of the check list items for the section (see D2L Content for checklist file).   More than the quality of the submission, it is based on the submission being timely and content being complete.  Scheduled Tasks will NOT be accepted late or outside of D2L.

Conflicts and Compromises that Shaped the System. (500-800 words) Identify and explain the essential conflicts and compromises that shaped voice and power in the selected areas (e.g., The Judiciary and Interest Groups).  This may be connected to the prior section in that history of conflicts shape what exists today.  The difference is this section provides the disagreement and different points of view in explaining the resulting compromise (agreement, decision). It is critical thinking in the sense of looking at the same data from different points of view.  These differences result in conflict.  Resolving the conflict involves compromise (for an example see O’Connor and Sabato, Ch. 2, p. 25, 26: The Great Compromise).

An example can be drawn from the area What Do Interest Groups Do? (Part 3).  Interest groups differ with respect to both power (e.g., influence) and voice (e.g. positions, perspectives).  Such conflicts create context where agreements are reached that shape how the system of government looks and operates.  For instance, involvement of interest groups is found in the processes by which people are allowed to vote.  This can be seen in registration processes and, at the federal level, involve a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision releasing Georgia from certain constraints of the Voting Rights Act (Shelby County v Holder, 570 US 2 2013).