The Executive Branch

Taking into consideration all aspects of the executive branch including president, vice president and the Cabinet: How is the executive branch central to the success or failure of the United States government?

[As always make certain you use examples from what you learned and now know to support your response]

Types of Government and Constitutional Interpretation [Due Friday 9/25]

Provide some intelligent responses for each of the following prompts related to what you learned:

[A] Based on your research of different governments what are the most dastardly and beneficial elements of two separate types of government that you learned?

[B] What causes people to have different types of interpretations when it comes to the U.S. Constitution?

As always make certain to support every statement you make with relevent examples and solid, clear opinions based on fact.

The Bill of Rights [Due by Friday September 18]

Citing a specific right or freedom outlined in the first 10 Amendments, also known as the Bill of Rights, which do you believe is the most sacred/and or valuable to you?

Be sure to include intelligent and supportable reasons in your response!

Risk versus reward [Due Friday September 11]

As we have seen so far the people who lived in the 13 English colonies in America experienced quite a bit of struggle, stress and adversity [<--fancy word challenge]. Coming to a new land with lots of hope, courage and strong will colonists were able to deal with pressure from the natives ["Indians"], inexperience in government within each colony [Houses of Burgesses], foreign legal control [Parliament-the legislature in England], and a proud, stubborn and despotic--some said greedy and crazy--King George III. This was not an easy life for the early Americans to live but it was their life.

The richest, proudest, smartest and bravest--some said cunning-- of the colonists such as Franklin, Washington, Hancock, Jefferson, the Adamses and others were willing to risk everything to keep from becoming "slaves" [even though many of them owned African slaves] of the English monarchy and Parliament. After deciding to band together as united colonies to gain independence and as the Declaration of Independence said "dissolve the political bands" that kept the colonies together the colonists put themselves at great risk for the potential reward of what Thomas Jefferson called "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

After reading the previous two paragraphs and thinking about what you have learned about the Continental Congress, their Articles of Confederation with its problems and the Declaration of Independence answer: Do you believe the risk of separating from England was worth the potential reward of liberty in a new and independent United States of America?

[make sure you include facts, evidence and a clear personal opinion to support your answer!]