Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Creating Chaos: Us' Policies In The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Kelly Shell

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

Since 1885, when the United States' government became the first to officially recognize King Leopold's claim to the Congo, the United States has continuously undermined the democratic attempts and economic prosperity of the Congolese population. Throughout the DRC's political history the United States has successfully used covert operations under the guise of the United Nations, clandestine CIA maneuvers, and/or the pretense of humanitarian relief to control American interests in the Great Lakes Region. Although other western nations have used their own means to advance their interests in the Congo, this paper will focus on the US' role in the Congo. …

Seasonal Initiatives: Sports Stadium Referendums And Voter Turnout, Joe Book

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

Democracy is a system of government in which the people of a state govern themselves under the idea that every person's vote and opinion is equal in the eyes of the government. In its purest form, a democratic government involves all citizens equally in every level of administration. The United States government was founded on this belief that citizens deserve the right to govern themselves, but the system created by the founders of this country was a form of representative democracy. Rebelling against the British monarchy, which would not allow the American colonies a voice in Parliament, the founders of …

The Effects Of The Presidency On The Epa, Patrick Cook

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

This paper is a study of how the Presidency affects, and has affected, the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA is a relatively new agency having only been created in 1970. Therefore, I have focused my research on the individual administrations from President Nixon to President Reagan. I shall present to you trends in presidential policy towards the Environmental Protection Agency, and how they have shaped the Agency, its direction, and its effectiveness.

To place this research in context, I will begin by presenting a history of the Environmental Protection Agency. This survey will focus on major events and important pieces …

Public Policy & Economic Justifications For Renewable Energy, Dean Eyler

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

We lie at a unique place in history, one where humanity's drive to industrialize has created an environmental crisis that may threaten the very existence of the planet. The new challenges posed by environmental crises are becoming shockingly apparent. Scientists are discovering, and illustrating to policy-makers, new ways in which we are destroying the earth and its surrounding atmosphere. Although these kinds of revelations are by no means new, the scale of destruction in these scenarios is immensely greater. Warming of the atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect, depletion of the ozone layer, destruction of forests, acid rain, air pollution, …

Free Speech: The Debate Over The Current Scope Of Protection Provided Under The First Amendment, Susan E. Hanna

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

The First Amendment guarantees that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech .... " The founding fathers clearly recognized the importance of freedom of speech to a democracy, and thus provided for its complete protection. A democracy, however, requires both liberty and order if it is to be effective. The problem, then, is balancing the needs of freedom and civil order in a manner that least restricts liberty, yet still maintains the order that is crucial to the life of a democracy.

The on-going debate over the scope of protection provided under the First Amendment reflects …

Change And Continuity In German Relations With The East, Brian L. Kessel

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

This paper will look at the history of German relations with the East in an attempt to gain insight into the future of German-East European relations. Change and continuity in German relations with the East from the original German colonization of Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages until the present will be examined. Special attention will be paid to the historical, geographical, and economic factors that have influenced German behavior. The paper will attempt to show that the East has always held an attraction and fascination for the Germans, an attraction that has often led to German efforts to dominate …

Russian Nationalism And Pamiat, Brian Granger

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

More than seventy years after the October Revolution a crisis in the Soviet Union has caused its citizens to suffer a loss of faith. This disillusionment seemingly stems from the lack of success in economic reform and the chaos of the democratization policy implemented since the rise to power of M.S. Gorbachev in March 1985. The following reaction has not merely condemned Horbachev's "experimentation" with the Pandora's box of perestroika and glasnost'; the first years of the 1990s have also seen the increasing tendency to blacken the whole of Soviet History, to trace the root of all the ills of …

Public Policy Towards Unemployment: 1937-1941, Jill M. Hemphill

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

The following essay will examine what type of public policy, if any, was pursued to combat the high levels of unemployment that plagued the American economy from early 1937 until the signing of the Lend Lease Act in 1941. The writer will attempt to explain why Roosevelt failed to bring unemployment to a more acceptable level during these years. The following chapters include detailed analysis of federal relief programs, the isolationist movement, fiscal and monetary policy, all vital components of public policy towards unemployment.