Walden POLI 1001 – The American Democracy

Required Resources

Readings

• Course Text: The American Democracy (8th ed.)
• • Chapter 6, “Public Opinion and Political Socialization: Shaping the People’s Voice” (pp. 165 – 185)
  • Chapter 7, “Political Participation and Voting: Expressing the Popular Will” (pp. 189 – 207)
  • Chapter 8, “Political Parties, Candidates, and Campaigns: Defining the Voter’s Choice” (pp. 213 – 241)
  • The Constitution of the United States of America” (pp. A5 – A16) Review the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments for references within the Bill of Rights that express Americans’ right to vote in a democracy.
• Article: GoVote.com. (2004). PartyMatch quiz. Retrieved from http://www.issues2000.org/quizeng/xPartyMatch/start.asp
  Use this quiz for the Discussion assignment.
• Article: United States Department of Justice. (2008). Introduction to federal voting rights laws. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/intro/intro.php
• Article: Muhlberger, S. (1999). A history of the right to vote in Canada: A review article. Retrieved from http://faculty.nipissingu.ca/muhlberger/HISTDEM/CANVOTE.HTM Review this article on the challenges of Canadian aboriginal people’s struggle to gain the right to vote.
• Article: General Assembly of the United Nations. (1948). The universal declaration of human rights. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2008/108544.htm Review Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for information regarding participation in government.

Documents

• Political Parties Template (Word Document) Download and use this template as a tool to help you determine your response to the Discussion assignment.

Media

• Podcast: International Museum of Women. (Producer). (2008, September). Saudi Arabia: Women without the vote: September podcast features Rasha Hifzi [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.imow.org/wpp/stories/viewStory?storyId=1622 Review this information on the voting rights of women in Saudi Arabia.

Websites

• The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952 – 2008http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/

  At the Living Room Candidate website, please view the following commercials:

  • Democrat – Barack Obama: Yes We Can (2008)
  • Republican – Al Gore: Really MD (2000)
  • Democrat – Bill Clinton: Journey (1992)
  • Independent – Ross Perot: Trickle Down (1992)
  • Republican – Ronald Reagan: Revolving Door (1988)
  • Republican – Richard Nixon: McGovern Defense (1972)
  • Democrat – Lyndon Johnson: Peace Little Girl (Daisy) (1964)

  Select the year and the corresponding image in the website to view these commercials and their respective information presented during presidential election periods. As you watch each commercial, consider how it might impact voter decisions and how it might have reflected the concerns people had at the time.

Optional Resources

Websites

• Politicohttp://www.politico.com/
• The Washington Post (become a free member)http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Review these online newspapers for coverage of Washington politics and elections.
• The Democratic Partyhttp://www.democrats.org/
• The Republican National Committeehttp://www.gop.com/
• National Independent American Partyhttp://www.independentamericanparty.org/
• Green Party of the United Stateshttp://www.gp.org/index.php Review these websites for more information regarding each political party and its ideology.

Please proceed to the Discussion.

Application

The Right to Vote

Many groups of Americans struggled to obtain the right to vote since the nation’s founding. Thanks to those people, the Constitution now grants universal suffrage to all citizens. Over the years, some states have made it even easier to participate in elections by allowing people to vote in an election over a period of weeks or even by mail. Still, some Americans exercise their right not to vote and do not participate in elections. This lack of voter participation has frustrated observers who think that Americans may be taking the right to vote for granted, especially when people in other countries are still taking great risks to obtain and participate in elections. For example, in the first elections after the fall of Saddam Hussein, which were held in 2005, many Iraqi citizens had to risk gunfire in a still unstable country in order to vote.

In this Application, you will look at another country or group of people that are struggling, or have recently struggled, to gain the right to vote. You will also reflect on insights you have gained about elections and voting in the United States.

Questions about this assignment? Post them in the Contact the Instructor area. That way, everyone in the class will see, and benefit from, the Instructor’s response.

To prepare for this Application:

• Review the assigned chapters and articles in the course readingsfor information on voting rights in the United States and other countries.
• Reflect on the factors that affect American voting participation.
• Consider how Americans typically exercise their democratic right to vote.
• With regard to democratic principles, consider how important is it to have the right to vote.
• Review online newspapers such as the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, or the New York Times for articles referencing voting and the right to vote in the United States and internationally.
• Consider how other countries or groups of people within other countries may struggle with voting, voter participation, and the right to vote.

The assignment:

• Write a 1- to 2-page paper comparing and contrasting America’s voter participation with the struggle for the democratic right to vote by another country or group of people. Be sure to:
  • Identify a country or group of people that has recently struggled to obtain the right to vote.
  • Compare and contrast the current voting participation in the United States with the current voting participation in the country or group you chose.
  • Briefly explain two lessons that you can draw from the struggle you identified and how these lessons impact the way that you think about voting in the United States.
  • Include at least one reference and citation from the course readings and one reference and citation from an article found in the Walden Library to support your rationale.
• PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTION THOROUGHLY AND ONLY USE ABOVE LISTED REFERENCES

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