democracy and freedom

THERE ARE 2 ASSIGNMENTS!

Assignment 1

Directions: Create a thesis statement for your “Democracy and Freedom” essay prompt. Your thesis statement should respond to the prompt directly, answering the module’s essential questions and fully engaging with and addressing its topics. Please review the “Democracy and Freedom” essay prompt carefully before creating a thesis statement.

An effective thesis statement should establish the following:

• State an assertion
• Set limits on the topic
• Indicate organization

While a thesis statement is often only a single sentence, it is an integral component of your work. A strong thesis statement will help focus your essay. This assignment will be reviewed prior to your submission of the Module Four essay in order to provide feedback that can assist you in continuing to develop supporting details for your thesis.

Assignment 2

Overview: Many students (and Americans, in general) are disillusioned with the idea of America as a democracy. Despite supposedly having a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” as President Lincoln declared in the Gettysburg Address, the U.S. government increasingly appears to serve the interests of the few instead of the many: Elections are not won by majority vote; Congress is constantly stuck in gridlock; and despite ordinary Americans’ real concerns about climate change, the economy, gun control, health care, immigration, etc., nothing ever seems to change. Often, America’s founding documents, such as the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, are referenced and revered as encapsulating the nation’s principles and ideals, but who does the U.S. government truly serve and have these documents withstood the test of time given the ever-changing demographics of the U.S. over the last 240+ years?

Prompt:

1. Respond to the issues raised in this unit. Begin with a thesis that highlights your argument by considering the following:
   • Do you believe that the U.S. government, as a democracy and based on its founding documents and their subsequent amendments, is working to ensure your personal freedoms? (In other words, do you see yourself included in the “We” of the “We the People” of the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution?)
   • What specifically about the way the government works, as outlined in these founding documents, needs to change to ensure the freedom of all Americans?
   • How will you, as an informed citizen, work to affect this change?
2. Narrow your topic, and then reflect on the following essential questions:

• What is the definition of a democracy? Does the United States have a democracy?
• Whose freedom was America originally founded for? Whose freedom does it currently serve?
• Is the U.S. Constitution a rigid document or a “living, breathing” document?
• Have founding documents like the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights outlived their utility?
• What’s the process for making amendments to founding documents such as the U.S. Constitution? Which articles and sections still need to be amended in order to ensure freedom for all?

1. Support your argument in the body paragraphs.

• Reference the U.S. Constitution and/or the Bill of Rights
• Incorporate at least two additional readings from the module to support your argument
• Incorporate at least two additional sources from your independent research (CCBC Library Database or other credible site)
• Discuss your personal plan for civic engagement to affect the changes you want to see

Audience: Write for an audience that is not in this class. That means you’ll need to spend some time summarizing key ideas, defining any terms that might be unfamiliar, and choosing short quotes from the reading selections to help your reader get a sense of the authors’ arguments.

Length: 4-5 pages (1000-1250 words)

Requirements:

• Include an original title (not “Module Four Essay” or “Democracy Essay”)
• Use MLA style to format your essay
• Compose a thesis statement that highlights your argument about democracy and freedom
• Organize the essay so that each body paragraph is providing support for your thesis
• Source requirements:
  • Integrate the U.S. Constitution and/or the Bill of Rights as the primary source(s) through extensive analysis of one or both documents
  • Integrate at least two additional readings from the module
  • Research and integrate at least two additional sources (CCBC Library Database or other credible source)
  • Include a discussion of your personal plan for civic engagement to affect the changes you want to see
• Cite all sources using MLA style in-text citations
• Include an MLA style “Works Cited” page at the end of the essay (not included in 4-5 pages of text)