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Running head: AMERICA’S DEMOCRACY
America’s Democracy
POL 201 – American National Government
November 28, 2017
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America’s Democracy
The United States of America is a place of opportunity, freedom, equality, and happiness.
Which leads us to United States Democracy. Democracy is there for us to be together as a whole.
We participate in elections, parties, and interest groups to help strengthen everything we need to
work on. There are several strengths of elections. The United States have elections to help the
people stress the right to vote. The right of freedom of speech and their voice. “In the United
States, elections serve three basic functions: They provide an essential basis for democratic
expression. They provide for a peaceful transfer of power. They allow citizens, as a political
community, to offer their tacit acceptance of the American constitutional tradition. By voting,
citizens reaffirm their commitment to the social contract that the Constitution represents”
(American government, 2016). Elections are important for us and should always be taken into
big consideration. Democracy is often described as, by the people and for the people. Although,
the structure of our democracy has done both, strengthen and weakened us.
US Constitution
The US Constitution has many strengthens and weaknesses. One strength I have found
would be being consistent with the first ten amendments. One weakness I have found would be
the separation of church and state. Within the US constitution there can be change, but there is
protection that comes with it. Which is included in the amendments because that would help
block out the public with any and all errors. "The purpose of these 10 Amendments is to protect
the individuals of the United States–protect their rights to property, their natural rights as
individuals, and limit the Government’s power over the citizens"(2017). The US Constitution,
Bill of Rights were made for great reasons.
Federalism
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Your section heading should focus on Federalism. Utilize your Learning Activities as a
guide to construct each section of your paper or create an outline or list to help you organize the
evidence you plan to present. Be sure to include the appropriate transitions, review your
instructors comments from your Week Two Learning Activity, and expand on the material
regarding Federalism.
Branches of Government
The third section of your final paper should focus on one of the branches of
government, as you discussed in your Learning Activity. Be sure to include the appropriate
transitions, review your instructors comments from your Week Three Learning Activity, and
expand on the material regarding the branch of government you have selected. Each paragraph
of your assignment should be clear and easy to follow. Ashford has several good resources to
help you write a strong paragraph, such as How to Write a Good Paragraph and the P.I.E.
Paragraph Structure.
Political Parties, Interest Groups, or Elections
The 4th section of your paper should focus on Political Parties, Interest Groups, or
Elections as researched in your Week 4 Learning Activity. Once again, Be sure to include the
appropriate transitions, review your instructors comments from your Week Three Learning
Activity, and expand on the material regarding the topic you have selected. In addition to being
well-written, each paragraph throughout your paper should include an in-text citation to all ideas,
references, or quotations that are from outside sources and research. The Ashford Writing
Center provides many resources to help you follow correct citation style (primarily APA) and
gives lessons and examples of how to paraphrase and cite sources. The APA Key Elements page
is a good place to start.
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Conclusion
Your paper should conclude with a review of your main points and a review of your
thesis.
Remember to start your references on a new page. Space down until References is as the
top of the final page of your paper.
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References
Your paper must utilize at least eight scholarly resources (in addition to the textbook). A
minimum of six of the resources must be from the peer-reviewed scholarly sources from the
Ashford University Library. The following are commonly used references. Please fill in the
required information, and if you need more help, see the AWC References page. References are
listed in alphabetical order. Please be sure to format your references correctly according to APA
6th edition guidelines and utilize hanging indents.
Fine, T. S., & Levin-Waldman, O. M. (2016). American government (2nd ed.) [Electronic
version]. Retrieved fromhttps://content.ashford.edu/
First Ten Amendments - constitution | Laws.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2017, from
https://constitution.laws.com/amendments/first-ten-amendments
Example:
Witt, G. A., & Mossler, R. A. (2010). Adult development and life assessment [Electronic
version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/4
Online Journal Article (such as from the Ashford Library):**
Author, A. (Year Published). Article title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), page range. doi:# or
Retrieved from journal’s homepage URL
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**When including a URL for an online journal, you must search for the journal’s home page and
include this in your reference entry. You may not include the URL found through your
university library, as readers will not have access to this library.
Examples:
Churchill, S. D., & Mruk, C. J. (2014). Practicing what we preach in humanistic and positive
psychology. American Psychologist, 69(1), 90-92. doi:10.1037/a0034868
Santovec, M. (2008). Easing the transition improves grad retention at Trinity U. Women in
Higher Education, 17(10), 32. Retrieved from
http://www.trinitydc.edu/education/files/2010/09/Women_in_higher_
Ed_Trinity_Transistions_10_08.pdf
Online Magazine:*
Author, A. (Year, Month Date Published). Article title. Magazine Title. Retrieved from URL
Example:
Walk, V. (2013, April 29). Can this woman fix Europe? Time. Retrieved from
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,213969.html
YouTube Video:*
Author, A. [Screen name]. (Year, Month, Day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from URL
Example:
Apsolon, M. [markapsolon]. (2011, September 9). Real ghost girl caught on video tape 14
[Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nyGCbxD848
Web Page:*
Author, A. (Year, Month, Date Published). Article title. Retrieved from URL
AMERICA’S DEMOCRACY
Example—Corporate web page:
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2008). Police and detectives. Retrieved
from http://bls.gov/oco/pdf/ocos160.pdf
Example—Article or section within web page with no author:
Presentation tools. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://web2014.discoveryeducation.com/web20toolspresentation.cfm
*Please delete the notes in this document before submitting your assignment.
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