A discussion about whether the Electoral College system of electing the President of the U.S. should be abolished and whether this system is undemocratic.
Abstract This paper paper shows the arguments for and against the abolishment of this electoral system. It discusses the history of the electoral system in the United States and presents arguments by both parties on why this system is a non-democratic, unrepresentative one. It shows how in the recent Presidential elections, some may argue that the winning candidate was not the one who got the most votes.
From the Paper "The Electoral College system for electing the President was widely examined and often criticized following the November, 2000 election. Two times in recent history we faced the possibility that a Presidential candidate would get most of the popular vote and yet lose in the Electoral College. The Electoral College interferes with the individual voter's opportunity to express a preference for one candidate over another because only the Electoral College votes really count."
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that each year there are quite a few people who die as a result of violent crimes, and each year a handful of people who commit violent crimes also die. The only difference is that in the case of the criminals, the government makes the decision and chooses the means of execution. The writer maintains that the death penalty is an abhorrent, barbaric practice from the days of kings, queens, and sorcerers, and it should be abolished immediately. The writer discusses that it is terrible that society has to live with violent crime, and that people die young or seemingly needlessly, but to deter crime there must be a system that works. The writer maintains that better jobs, less drug abuse and a better economy are all things that work, while taking another human being's life, even under the pretext of justice, is wrong.
From the Paper "Most Americans also believe that the death penalty brings some amount of closure to the families of the victims of violent crime, but most family members who are willing to comment on the issue feel that wishing for someone to die does not help them heal. The death of the criminal only causes another family to grieve, instead of helping the family of the victim to stop grieving. Most victims' families would rather work on getting on with their lives and dealing with their pain than wait around to see if the murderer of a loved one is going to be executed. Fighting for an execution is a constant reminder to these people that they have lost someone to senseless and tragic violence. There are many issues to look at when it comes to how people react to the idea of the death penalty."
Abstract The paper explains the origins of the Texas Homestead Law that protects homeowners from seizure of their primary residence. The paper focuses on the potential abolishment of this law and argues against its abolishment on the grounds of the immediate and obvious concerns to homeowners, the potential economic downfalls and a real threat to the democratic institution in general. The paper considers the view that abolishment of the Act is necessary to address the purposeful abuse of the law by those who purchase a home and refuse to repay their credit card bills but contends that to abolish the law for these abusers is to punish honest citizens everywhere for the transgressions of the few.
From the Paper "In the early nineteenth century, Americans were settling in Texas, and they found that their foreign debts followed them. In response to this, and to improve the welfare of his fledgling colony, Stephen F. Austin recommended a moratorium on foreign debts to the legislature of Coahuila and Texas, which soon passed Decree No 70 of 1829. Although this act was repealed in 1831, it remained active in many Texans' minds and set the standard for the Texas act of 1839. Because Texas was the first state to pass such a law, it became the state's particular contribution to jurisprudence (Texas Handbook)."
Abstract This paper is one the topic of abolishing bilingual education. There are several reasons that this should be done, but two of the main reasons for abolishing bilingual education is that the ESL students do not adjust to speaking English in the workforce and life in the United States and the crunch that schools in the United States are experiencing. President Bush has told the schools to not look for federal funds. Therefore, different programs will have to be abolished to focus on the most important parts of education.
Abstract In this article, the writer introduces and analyzes the topic of the death penalty in America. Specifically, the writer discusses why the death penalty should not be abolished, making use of the article "Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?" "No." by Ernest van den Haag. The writer argues that the death penalty can help deter crime, and since it is used for the most heinous of crimes, it sends a clear message to criminals that murder will not be tolerated in society. The writer concludes that the death penalty should not be abolished because it is a valid form of punishment in an increasingly violent society.
From the Paper "There are many societies that punish crime by a like punishment, for example, in many Arab countries a thief is punished by losing a hand. Some people compare this to the death penalty, and maintain it is cruel and unusual because it perpetuates that "eye for an eye" type of punishment. However, some crimes are simply so heinous and violent that no other type of punishment seems valid. A person who violently murders an entire family, or a child, or a pregnant mother deserves to pay the ultimate price for their crimes. They took a life, and they should pay with their life, because it seems to be the only way to truly punish them for their deeds. A good example is Timothy McVeigh, who was convicted of the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing. He killed over 160 innocent adults and children, and received the death penalty for his crime. In addition, he did not fight or appeal the penalty, and was eventually executed for the crime."
Abstract This paper gives a complete overview of the factors which led to the abolishment of slavery, including a comparison of attitudes between the North and the South and how this affected the process of change - with the ultimate change being voting rights for all.
From the paper:
"While the growing unrest in this country that lead eventually to the Civil War included a number of conflicts and demands from various areas across the United States, the majority of the unrest was focused upon one central issue: Slavery. People living in the North and the West were seeking free farms for settlers, federal aid for roads and other improvements, along with protective industrial tariffs. They were also embracing a growing political opinion that America's Founding Fathers were opposed to slavery."
Tags: civil, war, american, vote, Lincoln, Jefferson, rights, freedom, race, liberty
Abstract A paper which calls for an abolishment of insanity defense in the legal systems due to it being antiquated and illogical. The author of the paper argues that the insanity defense poses two antithetical schools of thought ? psychiatry and the law ? against each other and they do not complement each other: rather, they devour one another. The paper uses several court cases to illustrate its argument.
From the Paper "The insanity defense extrapolates this argument and allows a man who points a gun at another man, pulls the trigger and kills him to go free if lawyers and psychiatrists can convince the jury that he was insane at the time of the act. The accused need not be insane during the trial or even immediately after the act; he only need be insane during the act itself. It all comes down to deciphering what was in the accused's head at a particular moment in the past. ?These defendants go free because some lawyers and some psychiatrists are willing to manipulate juries and the criminal justice system precisely in those areas where judgment is most difficult: where judgment is based upon imagining what was in a person's mind when he committed an act.? (Winslade 2) The jury must decide in some states only one thing: did he do it? This determination will encompass both whether ? in a traditional sense ? he did it, and also whether he didn"t do it because at the time he performed the crime, he was insane and therefore didn"t legally do anything. He didn?t have actus reus. Other states use a bifurcated system in which the fact-finder determines whether ? insanity aside ? the man is guilty, and then whether he was insane at the time. If he was insane at the time, he was not guilty."
Tags: Daniel, M?Naghten, Durham, psychiatric, testimony, actus, reus, mens, rea
A discussion of two novels written about African American society during the period of the abolishment of slavery: "Ambition" by Beryl Weston and "Contending Forces" by Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins.
1,035 words (approx. 4.1 pages), 0 sources, 2002, $ 36.95
Abstract This paper examines these novels which depict the lives of Black Americans in the dominant white American society prior and after the legal abolishment of black slavery. Both novels discuss these social issues while discussing and narrating in closer detail the everyday lives of black Americans as they go through their lives in a new established society. The novels were written at slightly different time periods and the paper examines the differences in society during these times.
From the Paper "These love stories also illustrate how the society and the people in it determine the fate and course of romantic love for the main characters. However, the novels start in a different pace: "Contending Forces" starts with the abolishment of black slavery, then proceeds with life in a society that has its black Americans as the equals of white Americans, not as slaves of them. Meanwhile, "Ambition" by Weston starts initially with the already abolished black slavery, and we are introduced to a new American society, wherein black Americans are now educated and lived as equals with the white Americans. Despite these differences in the narrative structure, both novels are great eye- openers that illustrate what American society is like after the abolishment of black slavery and what society is like with black Americans as part of the whole operation of running a functional society."
Abstract This paper examines the claim that racism is a pervasive social and political problem in the United States. It shows how abolition of slavery did little to improve the social status of black Americans, which is the reason why whiteness was and still is dominating America's social fabric. The paper thus focuses on the important subjects of racism and whiteness in the light of intellectual research carried out by some famous activists and sociologists such as Robert Takaki and Bell Hooks.
From the Paper "Whiteness is so intricately connected with issue of race relations in America that discussing the former always leads to explosive and controversial issue of racism. This is one reason why most of us would try to avoid talking about whiteness as it prevails in our country because we are afraid it might lead to issues that we want to desperately avoid. So what is it about whiteness and racism that add to their volatility and thus force us to bury them under heaps of pretensions and shallow discussions? I personally believe that discussions on racism and its close associate whiteness remain shallow because they can easily expose the problems that are still being faced by the minorities in our country. Though we would love to believe that after the abolition of slavery in 1860s, the race relations in the country improved and African-Americans were given their fair share of civil rights. But this is not exactly true. Racism still exists in our country and in some areas it is so harsh and prominent that one wonders if slavery was indeed ever abolished."
From the Paper "The abolishment of the electoral college has been discussed since its creation over two hundred years ago. This position paper will make the case that such an action would be in the best interest of the American people. To accomplish this, one must first understand the origins and mechanics behind the electoral college.
During the 1787 Constitutional meetings in Philadelphia, our Founding Fathers had the task of welding disparate and often disputatious sections of the country into a single nation. The thirteen colonies had long been divided sectionally along economic lines as wall as cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Therefore, to produce a country whereby no one section could dominate the presidential elections, a system was devised guaranteeing every state a distinct voice in the election (...)"
Abstract This paper offers a brief review of "The Narrative of Frederick Douglass" which describes the life of a slave in America. It shows the evolution of Frederick Douglass becoming the self-made man and discusses how he observes the injustices and discrepancies that were prevalent during slavery. The author then tries to understand the root of the evil behavior of white slave holders in an effort to abolish slavery.
From the Paper "The brutality brought upon the slaves by their holders was cruel, and almost sadistic. These examples will cite how the nature of Douglass's thoughts and the level of his understanding changed, and his method of proving the evilness of slavery went from visual descriptions of brutality to more philosophical arguments about its wrongness. It is interesting to note that Douglass has to first learn how the slaveholders think before he can really explain just what it is about slavery that makes it so wrong. Obviously the bloody violence is a major part of what makes slavery so terrible, but there are other aspects, just as horrible, which are not so visible to the naked eye."
The paper analyzes the topic of capital punishment, focusing specifically on the Washington D.C. sniper case, to argue why the death penalty is a necessary form of punishment for violent crimes, and should not be abolished.
Abstract The paper looks at the pros and cons of capital punishment and then examines the issue of jurisdiction in the case of the Washington D.C. sniper, since only certain states carry the death penalty. The paper also discusses a new anti-terrorism law enacted after September 11th 2001, that says a murderer can receive the death penalty if they shoot more than one person within three years. The paper argues that the death penalty is the only real deterrent to violent crime and therefore should not be abolished.
From the Paper "Capital punishment is not a simple issue; it has long been debated and has always been divisive and emotional for both sides, both pro and anti death penalty. In the United States, the debated over capital punishment began soon after American achieved independence from England. Some Americans wondered if any person or government really had the right to take a human life (Vila and Morris xxv), and the dispute has raged ever since. Obviously, capital punishment is necessary, or so many inmates would not have been put to death in the United States. Between 1977 and 2000, 683 inmates have been put to death under their state's death penalty laws. The states use several different methods to carry out the death penalty. 519 were by lethal injection, 149 were by electrocution, 11 were by lethal gas, 2 were by firing squad, and 3 were by hanging (Editors 347). "
Tags: prison, homicide, terrorism, prosecution, parole
Abstract This paper argues that the death penalty should be abolished. The paper asserts that the death penalty is spurious, often based on socioeconomic or other factors irrelevant to the severity of the crime itself, and employed in a racist fashion.
From the Paper "The death penalty is an arbitrary institution that is employed for a series of reasons that are unrelated to the crimes committed by actual persons (assuming, of course, that those sentenced to the death penalty are even guilty of the crimes that they have committed). Indeed, the death penalty is employed differently depending upon the race, gender, and wealth of accused person. These criteria are unacceptable for use in determining outcomes that will result in imminent death for accused persons. The death penalty, since it is influenced by these factors is used arbitrarily and must be stopped."
Abstract This paper argues that the minimum wage law must not be abolished in the United States because it provides advantages both to the labor force and our economy. The author points out that the minimum wage law protects every employee from exploitation in terms of salary. The paper stresses that the view that the minimum wage law reduces jobs is a fallacy because the United States had already experienced quite a number of minimum wage increases with no negative consequences for the nation.
From the Paper "Aside from the unemployment problem that might arise if the minimum wage will be abolished, the consequences of such problem will greatly affect our economy. An employee, who is paid only a small amount of money, in an instance when there no longer exist a minimum wage law, will face negative changes in his standard of living. There can be a possibility that his salary can no longer sustain his daily needs."
Abstract This paper reports on the inhumane practice of greyhound racing. It provides background information about the cruel conditions under which the dogs are raised and trained and then retired after they can no longer perform adequately. The paper also talks about what can be done to abolish the practice.
From the Paper "The use of animals of varying species has long been an accepted practice in all societies - from the oxen used to plow fields in India, to the use of horses in the American West, to the use of various livestock for food. However, the use of animals as entertainment, be it in bullfighting, bearbaiting, or dogfights is on the moral demise around the world, particularly in the United States. However, when it comes to the gambling-driven industries of horse and dog racing, there seems to be little stigma outside of animal - rights camps. This is wrong, particularly in the case of Greyhound racing - a form of entertainment that is so cruel to the animal that it must be abolished."
