Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Election Cycle, And The U.S. Withdrawal From Vietnam, Steven Thomas Stoddard

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Few events in American history have proved to be as divisive and controversial as U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Although U.S. policy in Indochina has its roots in the Truman Administration, the two presidents most closely associated with the conflict are Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon. These two are particularly important because they both occupied the White House during the highest levels of direct U.S. involvement in the war. In terms of troop deployments to Southeast Asia, the level and intensity of U.S. involvement peaked under the Johnson Administration and it was at this time that the …

American Foreign Policy In The Middle East Under George W. Bush 2001-2004: Reasons For Change, Marwa Ghoniem

Archived Theses and Dissertations

[Abstract not Provided]

The Evolution Of Congress: A Citizen's Ability To Influence Politics Today, Rebecca Ashley Nudd

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

-Constitution of the United States

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus and spurred a year long political bus boycott that helped later change the U.S. Constitution. A mother with a cause rallied a million other moms to march onto Capital Hill and …

The American Democracy In The 21st Century, Richard A. Cocozza

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This paper puts forward a theory of democracy most suited for American politics given the plurality of ideological interests at play in the United States. This plurality, which I call the "fact of ideological diversity," dictates that in order for our government to be truly democratic, the political forum must foster opinions from all ideological considerations, not just the most dominant ones. I also demonstrate that given the nature of free institutions and our governmental structure, prior attemps by philosophers to reconcile a diversity of ideological interests using a procedural format is not sufficient to forming a wholly democratic political …

What Is Constitutional Democracy? A Comparative Analysis Between The United States And The European Union, Rebecca Tweed

Honors Capstone Projects - All

It is difficult to imagine the concept of constitutionalism without the notion of deliberative democracy. Historically, written constitutions are the capstone of the ages-long struggle to limit arbitrary governmental action. James Madison said, “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government.”

We live in an era of constitution making. There are close to 200 national …

The Impact Of The No Child Left Behind Act On American Education, Eva Downing Rippeteau

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This paper explores the role and impact that the federal No Child Left Behind Act has had on public education since its legalization in 2002.

It begins with a history on the evolution of federal involvement in public education. Over time, mounting pressure for theUnited Statesto compete academically on an international level has created a need for all areas of education to become “accountable” for reaching high achievement standards, arriving at the overwhelming reliance on standardized tests we see in public education today. Next, this paper presents four areas of contention surrounding the debate over No Child Left Behind. The …

The Usa Patriot Act And The Alien And Sedition Acts A Comparative Analysis, David Wicclair

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This thesis is meant to accomplish the task of comparing and contrasting the different aspects of the Patriot Act and the Alien and Sedition Acts in the hope that, in the process, something can be learned about the future of the Patriot Act.

The first chapter of the thesis consists of an analysis of the controversial sections of the Patriot Act. Moreover, the debate over the Act is introduced and dissected. The last section of the chapter discusses the importance of studying similar national security legislation in American history – such as the Alien and Sedition Acts – in order …

Women And The Law: Gender Discrimination In The American Legal System, Amanda Colvin

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Who Voted?: Social Class And Participation In United States Presidential Elections, Uisoon Kwon

Dissertations

Low turnout remains a persistent problem in American politics. The decline in turnout has been studied in various ways. In some cases scholars analyze aggregate turnout data and compare turnout in election districts with high and low concentrations o f particular ,social groups (Neimi and Weisberg, 1993). In other cases, surveys provide an opportunity to examine the causes and correlates o f turnout at the individual level. Various researchers find that socio-economic factors are related to turnout. People with more education vote at much higher rates than those with less education, higher income and middle class people are more likely …

U.S. Refugee Policy Since 11 September 2001, Kristin Nicholson

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Us-Israeli Special Relationship, Girgis Naiem Bakhoum

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Reconstructing Poverty Discourse: Poverty And Reagan’S Narrative Rationality, Ryan Phillip Mccullough

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis examines President Ronald Reagan’s poverty discourse during his first term. Using the work of Walter Fisher, this study examines Reagan’s narrative rationality in constructing images of welfare recipients and the welfare system in the justification of his policies. By identifying links between Reagan’s rhetoric and the rhetoric of debates leading to the passage of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), this thesis supports Asen’s (2002) claim that Reagan created a "discursive context" that made passage of PRWORA possible. Moreover, the study suggests the utility of using Skowronek’s (1997) "Recurrent Structure of Presidential Authority" in …

Supreme Court Bound: An Introduction Concerning The Intrinsic Subjectivity Of Supreme Court Decision-Making, Luke Hoorelbeke

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

There are many theories behind Supreme Court decision-making that are primarily descriptive or normative. Descriptive theories attempt a hermetic explanation that sufficiently applies to all past decisions, and normative theories seek to create a rubric or method, also dependable, for how the justices of the Supreme Court should make decisions. Normative theories can be highly porous and problematic because they involve metaethical concerns like defining “the good.” Essentially, we must try to make “good” decisions all the time, but that ignores the problem of what “good” really means. The design of this essay is such that we will not deal …

Ticket Splitting In Arkansas Elections, Chase Carmichael

Honors Theses

The Republican Party is sweeping the South, or is it? Throughout the Old South Republicans have been making gains in an area that has traditionally been a bastion of Democratic strength in American politics. While Arkansas may appear to be following this trend, in reality GOP gains in the Natural State may be only superficial. Despite strong showings by Republican candidates for higher offices in Arkansas, a GOP contender has yet to win a statewide office past the Lieutenant Governor's race.

This research paper examines "ticket splitting" in Arkansas elections. Ticket splitting is the practice of voting for candidates of …

The Patriot Act And Its Infringment [Sic] On Civil Liberties, Andaleeb Khalil

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.