Select ONE of the following topics to answer for the Lesson Writing Assignment. The writing assignment should be a minimum of 500 words. You should find most of the information you need to complete the assignment in the chapter, but you are allowed to use outside sources as well (such as news articles or government websites). DO NOT simply copy the information word for word from your sources. If you use information directly from the textbook or another source, it should be cited and the properly formatted citation should be provided at the end of the assignment. All assignments will be analyzed with SafeAssign to identify possible plagiarism.
1. Read Chapter 4, including “You Decide: Voices of Texas: Should the Tea Party Movement Launch a Third Party?” and write an essay answering the following questions:
- What is the Tea Party? When were they created? What policy positions do they advocate?
- Do you think the rise of the Tea Party has been beneficial for the Republican Party? Why or why not?
- If you were advising the Tea Party on how to maximize its power and influence, would you tell Tea Party members to stay with the Republican Party or launch their own?
- As an independent party could the Tea Party be competitive in a state like Texas? Why or why not?
- Do you think that there should be more than two competitive political parties in the United States? Why or why not?
2. Read Chapter 5 in the textbook, including “You Decide: Voices of Texas: Voter Identification Laws,” and write an essay answering the following questions:
- What are some of the historical and contemporary barriers to voting?
- What accounts for the low level of participation in Texas?
- What are the arguments for and against voter identification laws? Should a student ID be an acceptable form of identification for voting?
- What can be done to increase voter participation in the short term? In the long term?
- Do you think lawmakers and election officials in Texas are open to adopting methods to increase turnout? Why or why not?
