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The Highly Political Supreme Court, Riley Lane Munks Dec 2014

The Highly Political Supreme Court, Riley Lane Munks

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This paper investigates whether Republicans or Democrats support a strong Supreme Court and why. Furthermore, by analyzing data from the 2012 American National Election Survey, I will study support of the court based on gender, age, and race. Since the early 1980’s the court has taken a strong conservative direction, to the dismay of many liberals. Republicans feel comfortable sending a congressional dispute to the courts while Democrats may feel disenfranchised with the judicial process. I also believe that younger people believe the court is an outdated method of making laws and interpreting the constitution. Originally the Supreme Court was …


American Identity And Party Affiliation, Erika Aranda Dec 2014

American Identity And Party Affiliation, Erika Aranda

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The face of the United States is changing. In a nation where the majority of the population belongs to a minority group, defining the national American identify has become a complex task. This essay focuses on the correlation between the degree of attachment to the American identity and how it plays a large role in dictating party affiliation. Political culture (defined here as the shared beliefs and values as to how citizens and the government relate to one another) in the United States is extremely varied throughout the nation due to demographic diversity. A person’s identity is socially and politically …


Political Attitudes Towards The Bush Administration By Ethnic And Racial Groups, Amber Elzen, Mai Inoue, Julianna Koomen Aug 2014

Political Attitudes Towards The Bush Administration By Ethnic And Racial Groups, Amber Elzen, Mai Inoue, Julianna Koomen

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This project analyzes the attitudes towards political statements according to a person’s ethnic and racial groups. The statements relate to the Bush administration and some of its policies. The different responses are categorized by age, gender and location as well. It is hypothesized that Caucasians would have a more positive outlook on the administration and its policies while racial and ethnic minorities would have a less positive response to the questions. Overall, a total of 219 participants were surveyed from Minnesota State University, Mankato and from communities of southeastern Minnesota through questions asking them to indicate their political attitudes. When …


The Geography Of Racial Stereotyping: Evidence And Implications For Vra Preclearance After Shelby County, Christopher Elmendorf, Douglas Spencer Jun 2014

The Geography Of Racial Stereotyping: Evidence And Implications For Vra Preclearance After Shelby County, Christopher Elmendorf, Douglas Spencer

Douglas M. Spencer

The Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) effectively enjoined the preclearance regime of the Voting Rights Act. The Court deemed the coverage formula, which determines the jurisdictions subject to preclearance, insufficiently grounded in current conditions. This paper proposes a new, legally defensible approach to coverage based on between-state differences in the proportion of voting age citizens who subscribe to negative stereotypes about racial minorities and vote accordingly. The new coverage formula could also account for racially polarized voting and minority population size, but, for constitutional reasons, subjective discrimination by voters is the essential criterion. We demonstrate that the …


America's Forgotten Constitutions: Defiant Visions Of Power And Community, Robert Tsai Mar 2014

America's Forgotten Constitutions: Defiant Visions Of Power And Community, Robert Tsai

Robert L Tsai

The U.S. Constitution opens by proclaiming the sovereignty of all citizens: "We the People." Robert Tsai's gripping history of alternative constitutions invites readers into the circle of those who have rejected this ringing assertion--the defiant groups that refused to accept the Constitution's definition of who "the people" are and how their authority should be exercised. America's Forgotten Constitutions is the story of America as told by dissenters: squatters, Native Americans, abolitionists, socialists, internationalists, and racial nationalists. Beginning in the nineteenth century, Tsai chronicles eight episodes in which discontented citizens took the extraordinary step of drafting a new constitution. He examines …