Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Federalism On Immigration: A Reconstruction Of The System To Alleviate The Immigration Crisis In America, Theresa Lam

Senior Honors Theses

Illegal immigration is a complex and relevant issue in the United States. In particular, its long-term implications for American communities has elevated its significance. Within America’s federalist system, the immigration dilemma has raised tension among federal, state, and local governments, which have different perspectives on how to approach the matter. The federal government is responsible for enforcing immigration laws but delegates numerous immigration responsibilities to state and local law enforcement. However, the degree to which local officials should cooperate with federal authorities is the subject of intense debate. Should immigration enforcement be a federal or local responsibility? Under federalism and …

An Analysis Of The Abortion Fight's History, Facts, And Strategies In A Post-Roe V. Wade World, Jeremy Kang

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Despite the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision reversing Roe v. Wade - thereby giving states the freedom to regulate abortion as they saw fit - no significant decline in abortion numbers followed, raising the question: what is the right way to fight abortion?

One factor to be considered: how does the Constitution permit the different levels of government to tackle this topic? For half a century the Roe decision allowed the federal government to trump a state’s right to choose the level of abortion restrictions it deemed fit. Now the decision has been returned to the states. But which decision was …

Limitation For Liberty, Riley Banker

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

This paper examines how the foundational principals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are under attack in our nation today and demonstrates why protecting them through Federalism is so important.

A Convention To Save America, Andrew Todd Looker, Jr.

Masters Theses

Article V of the United States Constitution articulates the methods for amending the Constitution. Amendments are formally recommended by either a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress or by a vote of two-thirds of the state legislatures. This latter method is known as a Convention of States. Despite its inclusion in Article V, no amendment has yet been proposed for ratification by such a convention. This research aims to explain the history of Article V, the process for an Article V Convention, the current efforts to call such a convention, and amendments that should be considered at this convention. …

Protecting Violent Free Speech And Combatting True Homicidal Threats In Cyberspace, Aimee Lillie

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

No abstract provided.

The Return Of A Judicial Artifact? How The Supreme Court Could Examine The Question Of The Nondelegation Doctrine’S Place In Future Cases, Dalton Davis

Helms School of Government Undergraduate Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Bible And The Constitution: Reading Methods, Relevance, And Authority, Gaylen P. Leverett

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Politics and religion have united and/or divided people groups for as long as records have been kept. Currently most of the divisiveness tormenting America’s potential for harmony is in these two fields. The debates have many fronts and factions. This paper is an attempt to bring some clarity to the debate between religious conservatives and progressives over how the Constitution should be read. Conservatives are so named because they wish to preserve older interpretations which they believe best represent the original decisions – decisions conservatives for the most part still endorse. Progressives, on the other hand, argue that our new …

States' Rights Apogee, 1760-1840, Ryan Setliff

Masters Theses

America's states' rights tradition has held much influence since the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788. In late 1798, in response to the Federalist administration's adoption of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were formally adopted by the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky respectively. These resolutions set a lasting precedent for state interposition and nullification. As well concurrence with these doctrines can be found in the Virginia Resolves of 1790, the constitutional debates of 1787-1790, and all throughout the colonial-revolutionary period of the 1760s to 1780s. In time, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions would gain …

Our Covenant Constitution: The Covenantal Nature Of The United States Constitution, William T. Crabtree

Senior Honors Theses

The problem with the national government and politics in the United States today is that citizens and politicians have both forgotten, ignored, and undermined the nature and significance of the U.S. Constitution as a civil covenant based on civil and religious liberty and limited government. This thesis proposes to analyze the nature of the Constitution as a civil covenant and how a proper interpretation and application of it as such can solve many of today’s most pressing political problems. It will discuss the nature and history of civil covenants, examine the mechanics of the Constitution in the creation of a …

Wiretapping: A Necessity For Effectively Combating Terrorism In The 21st Century, Michael A. Hewitt

Senior Honors Theses

Abstract In 2001, the Patriot Act was passed to provide new tools to combat terrorism. Chief among these new tools is the intelligence gathering method known as wiretapping. The role of wiretapping in the Patriot Act, particularly the constitutionality of this method, includes what criteria must be met to preserve constitutionally protected civil liberties. Wiretapping has had a significant effect as a facet of the Patriot Act on both the personal security and privacy of the American people. Current wiretapping policy lacks clear and appropriate guidelines addressing the modern terrorist threat. Future policy should reflect the need for new criteria …

The Electoral College: Federalism And The Election Of The American President, Edwin C. Kisiel Iii

Senior Honors Theses

The system of the Electoral College for presidential elections should remain intact and not be replaced by national popular election. Looking back at the discourse during the ratification of the Constitution, the Framers of the Constitution chose to devise the Electoral College to ensure the president would be truly a statesman, not a politician. Additionally, the Framers recognized that the “one person, one vote” system of popular election would not be sufficient to elect the president. Furthermore, since the President is an officer of the states, the Framers created a federal electoral system whereby small states have disproportionate representation in …