Discussion and Question Set about Civil Liberties, Civil Rights and American Political Parties

I’m trying to study for my Political Science course and I need some help to understand this question.

1. Weeky Discussion: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (I need this in 12 hours)

Please choose one of the following questions and react to it briefly. You need to reply to 2 other student’s post. I will give you my peers’ posts later.

When you submit answer, please begin by pasting the question you are responding to in the text field. Then write your answer below.

Discussion question options:

• Consider the Bill of Rights and what is included in these Constitutional Amendments. Is there a right or liberty that is missing that you think should be added? Is there something there you think should be removed? Why?
• In Shelby County v. Holder in 2013, the US Supreme Court struck down provisions that forced state and local governments with a history of discrimination to get any changes to their voting laws or practices precleared by the federal government. In doing so, they argued this was an undue burden on states, and essentially, that racial discrimination in voting laws is no longer an issue. Do you agree with this decision? Why?
• Free speech and censorship on the internet, pertaining to “fake news” and other concerns regarding disinformation, has been discussed at length in recent years. Do you believe technology companies, e.g. Facebook, Google, should play a lighter or heavier role in regulating speech on the internet? Why?

Before You begin:

• Posts and responses should be thorough and thoughtful. Just posting an “I agree” or “Good ideas” will not be considered adequate. Support statements with examples, experiences, or references. Be brief — keep each post and response to one or two short paragraphs. Keep in mind that fellow learners will be reading and responding to you, too.
• Posts should be within a range of 75-150 words.
• Make certain that all posts and responses address one of the the questions, problems, or situations as presented for discussion. This does not mean you should not extend the topic, but do not stray from the topic.
• Discussions occur when there is dialogue; therefore, you need to build upon the posts and responses of other learners to create discussion threads. Make sure to revisit the discussion forum and respond (if necessary) to what other learners have posted to your initial responses.
• When relevant, add to the discussion by including prior knowledge, work experiences, references, web sites, resources, etc. (giving credit when appropriate).
• Contributions to the discussions (posts and responses) should be complete and free of grammatical or structural errors.

2. Question set: Civil Liberties, Civil Rights and American Political Parties

Please respond to each of the five short response questions posted below. Your answers should be short, focused, and complete, ranging from one to three paragraphs. Please make sure to answer each specific part of every question. Successful answers will provide details and context that support your arguments and explain your position to the readers. You may also want to provide real world examples taken from the readings, lectures, group discussions, or your own independent thinking.

For example, in your answer on collective action you may find it useful to talk about specific examples of collective action problems that governments solve. In your response to the questions on federalism you may wish to identify and discuss historical examples of conflict or cooperation between the national and state governments. These illustrations can be from the course materials or your own ideas. Providing this context and being able to apply the material to YOUR OWN understanding of politics really shows us that you have mastered the material.

1. Baron v Baltimore established a concept of dual citizenship. How did this view of dual citizenship shape civil liberties/civil rights protections for early citizens of state governments? Why and how did so many of the civil liberties protections come to be nationalized or incorporated? What are the benefits and drawbacks of incorporating civil liberties protections to extend to citizens of United States regardless of their state of residence?
2. What were Jim Crow laws, and what were their two primary goals? How were these largely remedied in the 1960s, and what are the Constitutional justifications for these remedies? Make sure and note the difference between de facto and de jure segregation in considering the effectiveness of these remedies.
3. How/why did federalism delay the extension of civil rights to various groups throughout American history? Despite these delays, how/why were these rights eventually extended? Make sure and note the role the federal government, social movements, and individual state governments have played in doing so.
4. Why do we have parties? What roles do they play in a representative democracy? How can these roles be beneficial? How can they be harmful?
5. Why does the US have only two major political parties? Make sure and describe Duverger’s law and strategic behavior on the part of voters, politicians, and parties. Explain why it would be hard for a third party to be electorally successful.

You should read the following course reading materials before you begin:

Please remember that you should read the entire chapter assigned, beginning with the introduction.

• American Government Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
• American Government Chapter 5: Civil Rights
• MLK, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail
• • Civil Rights: Slavery, Reconstruction, & Jim Crow (22:16)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DHHjszg8os (Links to an external site.)
  • Civil Rights: the Civil Rights Movement & its Legacy (18:51)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9AZCI7-O1E (Links to an external site.)

  Supplemental Videos:

  • Freedom Summer 1964 (4:01)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Vg6BYcvMc (Links to an external site.)
  • Discussion of Shelby County v. Holder 2013 (10:09)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3935fcSqgfY (Links to an external site.)
  • The Battle for School Busing (10:19)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sld722slarw (Links to an external site.)