Polarization has been a cause of political gridlock and other negative attributes within the state legislature for many years. Many legislatures complain that salaries are too low to allow an elected official position to be their full-time job. Therefore, I…
Polarization has been a cause of political gridlock and other negative attributes within the state legislature for many years. Many legislatures complain that salaries are too low to allow an elected official position to be their full-time job. Therefore, I explore the theory that some candidates emerge to change the status quo, not for material incentives. Using an original state-level data set from 2007 and 2017 and OLS techniques, I hypothesize that legislative salaries negatively correlate with polarization in roll-call voting on average, ceteris paribus.
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ABSTRACT Stephen Douglas was a statesman in the mid-1800’s that used his diplomatic skills, leadership, and influence for the greater good of his country. Douglas was a prominent politician that served as state attorney, state legislator, and Supreme Court judge…
ABSTRACT Stephen Douglas was a statesman in the mid-1800’s that used his diplomatic skills, leadership, and influence for the greater good of his country. Douglas was a prominent politician that served as state attorney, state legislator, and Supreme Court judge for the state of Illinois, then advanced to U.S. Congressman. He played a significant role in shaping the nation’s politics during the most tumultuous period leading up to the Civil War. Douglas is most known as Abraham Lincoln’s political opponent in the 1858 Illinois Senate race and the 1860 Presidential election. His divergent viewpoint from Lincoln on how to eliminate slavery in the country led him to being a contentious figure in American history, often relegating him to the role of a mere politician, rather than a statesman.
Douglas was a champion of Western expansion for the country. In his opinion, expansion was key to the country’s higher national goals. He believed if popular sovereignty were implemented in the new western territories, it would ultimately result in freedom’s displacement of slavery. While Douglas saw slavery agitation as a dangerous distraction from the achievement of a greater and stronger America, a Constitutional path to its extinction needed to be respected. The success of popular sovereignty and its ability to rid the country of slavery by westward expansion was reliant on the free choice of the people. Therein, lay the constitutional path to end slavery without igniting a civil war. Douglas’s purported amorality toward slavery, as well as his juxtaposition to Lincoln, who came to be revered as a martyr for the anti-slavery cause, contributed to the obscurity of Douglas’s statesman-like qualities. Incorporating evidence from both primary and secondary sources, this study illustrates that the life of Stephen Douglas exemplified a bedrock of principles, a moral compass, a vision, and the ability to form a consensus, that made him a statesman in his own right.
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Taiwan, located in the South China Sea, plays a vital role in America's strategic objectives and leverage on the global stage. The South China Sea is essential for trade, travel, and geopolitical dynamics in the Indo-Pacific region. Tension is rising…
Taiwan, located in the South China Sea, plays a vital role in America's strategic objectives and leverage on the global stage. The South China Sea is essential for trade, travel, and geopolitical dynamics in the Indo-Pacific region. Tension is rising between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China as they struggle for influence in this region. International relations are complex but critical to navigating diplomatic ties to ensure global safety and security. The world functions on a delicate balance, threatening to tip any moment. Cultural clashes, economic disparities, and military differences constantly threaten this balance. Nowhere is this dynamic more pronounced than in Asia, where the United States is navigating a tricky relationship with China. The high tensions surrounding the US-China relationship in the South China Sea and with Taiwan underscore the urgency of the American government taking action. America must have a strong military presence, cultural influence, and partners in the area to be able to correct the path the CCP is pushing the Indo-Pacific down; America must have leverage. By understanding the complexities of this region, the United States can navigate the challenges posed by China. The United States has implemented a multifaceted strategy in the Indo-Pacific region to address China's imminent threat and safeguard regional stability. These strategies consist of strengthening the military capabilities of the US and its allies, creating a political culture of democracy, and promoting robust international trade. Collaboratively, these strategies will protect Taiwan, the South China Sea, and global freedom from a forceful takeover by The CCP, which hopes to upset the international balance in their favor forever.
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The Founders of the United States prioritized individualism and natural rights, yet they also enshrined religious morality and deemed it to be essential for the maintenance of a liberal nation. Scholars have offered many explanations for this dichotomous relationship and…
The Founders of the United States prioritized individualism and natural rights, yet they also enshrined religious morality and deemed it to be essential for the maintenance of a liberal nation. Scholars have offered many explanations for this dichotomous relationship and numerous variables have been credited with being the most significant in shaping the Founding, including the lack of a feudal tradition and the influence of John Locke. I will argue that Christianity influenced the Founders and their formulation of American liberalism as advanced by Locke, resulting in a liberal democracy guided by Christian morality. First, I will examine several religious experiences that occurred within the colonies prior to the Founding, starting with an analysis of the Puritans and their communities. I will also discuss the persecution of the Quakers and the role that it played in shaping the colonial religious landscape. I will similarly use the revivals of the Great Awakening to explain both the religious landscape that influenced the Founders and the acceptance of Christian morality by colonial society at large. I will then look at the period of the Founding, introducing Deism and showing that its endorsement by some of the Founders did not detract from the unique Christian morality that guided early America. I will closely examine the work of John Locke and his philosophy of natural rights and liberalism in relation to the contemporaneous Christian morality that was dominant within the colonies. Finally, the various channels through which Christianity influenced the Founders will be summarized and an alternative thesis advanced by various scholars will be presented.
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This creative project examines a near-future dystopian Arizona in the form of a novella. The story follows Junia, a young woman who is convinced to join the Neighborhood Watch, an organization dedicated to preserving the Union from political violence by…
This creative project examines a near-future dystopian Arizona in the form of a novella. The story follows Junia, a young woman who is convinced to join the Neighborhood Watch, an organization dedicated to preserving the Union from political violence by protecting Arizona citizens from hearing opposing political points of view. These "Privacy" codes become stricter and stricter as the Watch's relationship with the State deepens. Junia's personal and ideological loyalties are tested to their limits, and her choices will help to construct either, in the words of Alexis Tocqueville, "a formidable circle around thought," or a path to connection in the aftermath of violent polarization.
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Using the thought of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, this paper will analyze the
way in which this loss of the transcendentals has permeated society. Particularly through the
distortion of the human person, I will show that this problem is affecting…
Using the thought of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, this paper will analyze the
way in which this loss of the transcendentals has permeated society. Particularly through the
distortion of the human person, I will show that this problem is affecting the very root of our
society. More importantly, the way to reclaim the transcendentals and work towards rebuilding
our society is to recognize the need for beauty. What beauty does is open the door to truth and
goodness, and allows us to see the reality of who we are as human persons. In order to address the problem impeding the flourishing of American society, we must recognize and promote a correct understanding of beauty.
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The thesis looks into the sacrifices of first responders and veterans and how the differences between these people of service are transcended by said sacrifices, allowing them to better empathize and understand what one another had gone through. The thesis…
The thesis looks into the sacrifices of first responders and veterans and how the differences between these people of service are transcended by said sacrifices, allowing them to better empathize and understand what one another had gone through. The thesis also looks at this understanding of sacrifices among people of service, and how such an understanding can be used by the public to better understand issues that affect veterans and first responders after and during their service.
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The potential empowerment of the UN System as a result of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine requires an examination of what it could mean for both state sovereignty and the authority of the UN Security Council. I argue that the…
The potential empowerment of the UN System as a result of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine requires an examination of what it could mean for both state sovereignty and the authority of the UN Security Council. I argue that the Security Council is already a sovereign body within the international system that would be greatly empowered by the implementation of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine and the veto reform efforts of the Accountability, Transparency and Coherence (ACT) Group. I rely on Carl Schmitt’s influential definition of sovereignty and his key takeaways regarding the 1919 German constitution to illustrate the existence of two distinct levels of Schmittian-like sovereigns in the international system: state sovereigns and representative sovereigns. I will then describe the authority and structure of the Security Council followed by a brief case study of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) intervention in Kosovo as an example of how real-life situations challenge the Security Council’s ability to exercise its role as a representative sovereign, including a discussion about how it can either fail to act or choose not to act and the difference between them. Afterwards, I will discuss the Responsibility to Protect doctrine and how it expands the relative power of representative sovereignty at the cost of reducing the relative power of state sovereignty, culminating in a discussion of what attempts to reform the veto power on the Security Council may do to the Council’s sovereignty. Finally, I will conclude with a discussion of the key takeaways of this paper and some further considerations.
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This thesis explores the idea of the Natural Law by looking at the ideas of three thinkers: Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and John Locke. It answers the question of what the Natural Law is, and further explains the derivative of this…
This thesis explores the idea of the Natural Law by looking at the ideas of three thinkers: Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and John Locke. It answers the question of what the Natural Law is, and further explains the derivative of this Natural Law, Natural Right. It further substantiates a relationship between the two. Finally, the thesis observes the prevalence these terms have in the American context, both in the Declaration of Independence as well as contemporary manifestations.
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