Bright Academic Experts

Category: History

  • us government

    A. Directions

    Step 1: Select an issue or cause that is of interest to you, and prepare to create a hypothetical interest group that will advocate for the interest. The issue or cause could be big and national in scope (for example, gun safety); it could be small and local in scope (for example, cleanliness of the public park in your town); or anywhere in between. Note: Submissions that analyze existing, real-world interest groups will be returned ungraded.

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    Review the tutorial and the tutorial to help you reflect on the functions of interest groups.

    Once youve selected an issue or cause, think about your goals and what you would want your interest group to accomplish. Talk to friends, family, or community members, or research on the Internet to learn more about the issue.

    Step 2: Download the Create an Interest Group template and review the prompts. Think about the specific policy and membership goals of your hypothetical interest group, the barriers to achieving those goals, and the strategies that would best lead you to success.

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    Keep in mind that the best strategies may be different for different interest groups, and may depend on how much public or political support exists for your goals, the membership base for your interest group, and how much money and political influence your group is likely to have.

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    Prepare to respond to the prompts by reviewing the tutorial and the tutorial.

    Step 3: Fill in the Create an Interest Group template. You will respond to the following prompts. Remember to include in-text citations when summarizing, quoting, paraphrasing, or including statistics or data from outside information sources! Visit the resource for help with in-text citations and references.

    • Your Interest Group
      • In approximately 6-8 sentences, give your hypothetical interest group a name, and describe the issue or cause it supports or opposes and why.
      • What type of interest group is it?
    • Goals
      • What are your specific policy goals? Specify at least 2.
      • Which level(s) of government and which government branch(es) will you target, and why?
      • Is there one political party that might be more receptive to your goals? Why or why not?
      • What barriers exist to meeting your goals? Specify 2 or more. Examples might include the free rider problem, lack of popular support, lack of political support, financial barriers, or others.
      • How might your group overcome each of those barriers?
    • Membership
      • Who will you target for membership and how will you grow it?
      • What sorts of incentives can your interest group provide?
    • Actions
      • Choose two inside lobbying approaches and two outside lobbying approaches that your interest group will use. Explain how each will contribute to the goals. You can choose from the menu provided (below), or brainstorm your own ideas.
    Inside Lobbying Outside Lobbying
    Hire a professional lobbyist Hold protest demonstrations or rallies
    Testify at congressional committee meetings or before the full legislature Place stories or articles in the media
    Provide research or information to congresspersons Issue press releases
    Meet with government officials Enter a coalition with other groups
    Submit draft legislation to legislators Ask members to contact their representatives
    File lawsuits or legal briefs (e.g., amicus curiae briefs) Publish ratings of legislators, other elected officials, or political candidates
    Try to influence agency or judicial appointments Mold public opinion and spread awareness through social media
    Donate to political campaigns Spearhead get-out-the-vote campaigns
    • References (include, as needed, for any sources cited)

    Requirements: answer

  • U.S. Government

    ASSIGNMENT: For this assignment, you will research and write about an issue that is important to you, to your community, or to Americans in general. To do this, you will investigate the ways that government in the United States has or has not addressed your selected issue. As part of your research, you will choose at least five articles from newspapers, magazines, or other online sources that highlight the U.S. government’s response to the issue. You will then identify and analyze this response and provide a personal reflection on the impact. In doing so, you will deepen your engagement with course content by applying what youve learned in Units 1 and 2 about the U.S. federal system and the division of powers among and between the different layers of government. To complete the assignment, download the Government in My Community template, and follow the directions below. You will return the completed template as your Touchstone submission. You may also download an example below.Step 1: Select an issue that is important to you, your community, or to Americans in general. If you reside in the United States, your community could be your geographical community (e.g., your neighborhood, town, or city) or the broader state or national community. If you do not reside in the United States, your community could be a group with shared characteristics with whom you identify.

    You can choose any issue, but your assignment must focus on how the federal government and federal officials are addressing the issue within the United States as a matter of U.S. public policy. Here are some ideas to get you started: immigration; border security; public school policy; public safety; gun rights or gun control; victim rights; student testing; school choice; abortion; access to public transportation or city services; energy, environment, conservation, or economic issues; healthcare (cost of medicines or health insurance, health care access); homelessness; the death penalty.

    Step 2: Find and read at least five articles from newspapers, magazines, or other online sources that highlight the government’s response to the issue. It is important that your articles do not only describe the issue or present opinions on the issue from general members of the public. Look for sources that communicate how federal government officials or agencies in the United States have responded or are responding to the issue. You will be asked to identify government officials by name in your articles.

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    Ideas for sources include news articles; speeches from political candidates or current office holders; campaign ads; press releases; and data collected from non-profit organizations, among others. The website can be a good starting point for learning about government responses to various issues. Other online sources for information about government policy and services could include (but are not limited to):

    • State or local government websites
    • Political party websites (e.g., ; )

    Step 3: After completing your research and reflecting on what youve learned, fill out the Government in My Community template. The suggested total word range is 1500-2500 words. You will respond to the following prompts:

    • What is the issue or problem that is impacting your community? Describe the issue or problem and its effects. (Remember to use in-text citations anytime you paraphrase, summarize, quote, or include data or statistics from your sources!)
    • In the U.S. federal system, which level of government (local, state, or national) or branch (executive, legislative, judicial) is primarily responsible for addressing the issue? Is there more than one involved? Explain your reasoning. Be sure to include evidence from the U.S. Constitution and from the course to support your explanation.
    • Identify all of the government officials or agencies discussed in your sources. Include their names and the level of government and agency that the officials represent. For example, are they a member of Congress? A federal judge? Or a member of a federal agency?
    • How have these government officials or agencies attempted to address the issue? Describe their actions, citing evidence from all five articles or other online sources with in-text citations.
    • In your opinion, has the federal government done a good job addressing the issue? Why or why not? What more should be done, and by which level of government?

    Step 4: Compile your reference list in APA style.

    Visit the resource for help with in-text citations and compiling your reference list in the Government in My Community template.

    Requirements: answer

  • The significance of the Mongol Empire on global history

    For Assignment #2, we will be looking at the significance of the Mongol Empire on global history. As we discussed in our meetings, the Mongols were significant not because they were mighty conquerors and empire builders (which was important), but because the construction of their huge empire allowed for the flow of ideas, people, technologies, trade goods, philosophies, and ideologies throughout Eurasia. As we discussed, the Pax Mongolica (the ‘Mongol Peace’) created a huge space in which transculturation accelerated, and the process of cultural exchange created new forms social and cultural developments. For this assignment, please consult our class slides and notes, as well as THIS link, ( ) which provides a brief overview of Mongol civilization and the importance of the ‘Mongol Moment’ in global history. In particular, refer to the section of the website sections titled ‘World History’ and ‘The Mongols in China’. As you review our class slides and notes, and consult this website, consider the following questions: 1. What was the ‘Pax Mongolica’, and why do you think that it accelerated the process of transculturation through Eurasia? Why was trade so important to the Mongols, and what did they do to expand it? (Discuss with reference to TWO factors). 2. How did the Mongols shape the cultural and social development of China? (Discuss THREE specific factors). 3. Many ideas, religions, technologies, cultural groups, trade goods and philosophies crossed Eurasia during the century of Mongol rule, transforming Silk Road civilizations and accelerating transculturation. Discuss TWO of these factors. (Remember that disease- the Bubonic Plague- was also something that crossed Eurasia during the period of Mongol rule.) Your response should be ONE PAGE in length, single-spaced, 12 point font. You should provide fairly equal analysis for each question. Please use only our class notes, slides, and the web link provided as sources for your answer.

  • U5

    The United States not only won WWII but also never faced direct military invasion or any devastation at home (after Pearl Harbor), unlike the rest of the industrialized world. Many unique horrors befell allied and enemy states alike, including the wholesale bombing of major cities, mass loss of civilian life, nuclear bomb attack, Holocaust, or other such wartime tragedies that left so many nations in physical, demographic, and economic ruin. Many Europeans and Japanese (and others) were left to survive in the rubble, sometimes struggling with difficulty to feed themselves. Belarus alone (a nation located between Russia and Germany) lost fully one-fourth of its entire population. The United States came out the biggest winner of the war, with a roaring economy, its farmland and factories unscathed, and controlling approximately 40% of the worlds GDP at its peak in 1960. Americans experienced unprecedented growth in the post-war years, leading to a booming middle class (and a literal baby boom of births), higher standards of living, new sprawling suburban areas with affordable housing, expanded consumer power, mass enrollment in affordable colleges and universities, and significant supports from the GI Bill for veterans. In the United States by the end of the 1950s, about 75% of households owned at least one automobile, a huge new consumer development and, arguably, a new element of the American dream. Mass car ownership resulted from consumer freedoms afforded by both post-war wealth and protection of workers freedom to grow unions and enjoy blue-collar jobs with high pay, benefits, and pensions. Those days seem long gone, and not all Americans benefited equally from these decades of plenty. The Civil Right Movement fought for freedoms and rights still denied African Americans, struggled against enforced segregation policies in the South, and some regions of the country would take more time to develop; however, the centrality of the automobile to American life would only grow, as would the highway systems needed for drivers to enjoy new freedoms to travel independently of railroads. And in this era, there was plenty of federal dollars to invest in building out this interstate highway infrastructure, which in turn provided more jobs and united the country to a greater degree. Task The main goal of this assignment is to begin to appreciate sudden post-war prosperity through the lens of the booming auto industry and investment in the 1950s Interstate Highway System, while also working on basic U.S. geography (knowing where places are on a map, like states, cities, and major natural features). This task will be, in effect, a Travelogue. The Interstate Highway System: The two interactive websites provided below show the highways and railroads in 1920, when far fewer people owned cars, and then in 1958, when the major interstate highway system appeared. While Americans would still have traveled very long distances mostly on trains in these two time periods (and by plane in the 50s), we will imagine and creatively describe four (4) road trips two in our Model T Fords of the 1920s and two in fabulous new cars of the 1950s. How to create your four travelogues: Open and study the interactive maps at the respective websites provided and also review a basic map of the United States so you can note the location of the various states, cities, and natural features of the country. (Many students either never mastered this basic geography or have forgotten much of it since last geography was required in K-12 classes.) You will write for four imaginary travelogues of road trips you plan, and write in a casual voice (all creativity encouraged), as though you are keeping a diary or writing letters to a friend or family member. Each link was placed incase its not accessible. * Interactive map of highways and railroads in 1920 ( ) * Interactive map of highways in 1958 ( ) Again, you will share four (4) separate pretend journeys, two in the 1920s and two in the 1950s, and the trips involve driving first from Georgia to Los Angeles and then from Georgia to New York City. Refer to the Sample Road Trips as an example of the travelogues you will create. To launch your four journeys, begin anywhere in the state of Georgia (perhaps where you live now, or you can just choose Atlanta). Trace out and then describe the road trip expedition by following the maps from your location in Georgia to Los Angeles, CA and then from Georgia to New York City, NY (or even Quebec, if you wish to be ambitious) for each era. The journeys will be based on highways available in 1920 and then in 1958, as per maps provided. What routes do you take? Do you take the fastest route or a more scenic journey? What states and sites do you see on the way? Writing in first person, you must share all of the following in your travelogue/letters: * Every highway on which you travel (e.g. Southern National or I75) * Every state through which you travel, one by one (e.g. Georgia to Alabama, onwards) * Highlight a few cities of your choosing in which to stop to visit or rest along the way * In addition, and importantly, on the journey to New York, you must pass through our capitol, Washington D.C., and on your journey to Los Angeles, share when you cross over the Mississippi River. Grading Criteria * Submission contains four road trips presented as letters or travelogues, following instructions, and including all highways used, states visited, a few cities, Washington DC (on the journey north), the Mississippi River (on the journey west), and a few sentences of commentary on what you learned or re-learned about U.S. geography or something you newly appreciated, learned, or otherwise gained from this exercise. * No work may utilize AI technology or writing apps. Part 2 In a minimum of 250 words, share what you learned while completing this task or what you found interesting. Focus on history, geography, and/or big ideas. Did you already know all the related geography? Did you newly realize the exact location of the capitol or newly appreciate the location of any city or the river? Could you easily tell how the new highway system demonstrated new post-war prosperity? Can you relate any aspect of the history or travelogues to our running theme of freedom? These questions are not to be answered one by one but are meant help you think through what you might like to share

    Attached Files (PDF/DOCX): Sample Road Trips.docx

    Note: Content extraction from these files is restricted, please review them manually.

  • Document Analysis: Absolutism and Constitutionalism

    Primary Sources:

    • Bishop Bossuet, Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture
    • Domat, Social Order and Absolute Monarchy
    • Hobbes, Leviathan
    • Locke, The Second Treatise of Government
    • English Bill of Rights
    • Sayings of Confucius (at end of Chapter 1)

    Instructions:

    You are to write a two-page (300-500 words) essay discussing how societies wrestled with the idea of an ideal form of government. Most of the primary documents Im providing come from Europe in the 1600s and 1700s, but your online textbook discusses some of the same tensions as they played out in China.

    Your essay should focus on the two essays by Domat and Locke. You may also refer to the other assigned documents or content in the textbook.

    Include a one-third to one-half page summary of each. Answer most of these questions:

    • How does each describe the equality of men?
    • What is the ideal model for government in each?
    • Why is government needed?
    • How is central government justified?
    • What are the checks on absolute power?

    To lighten things up, you might imagine that Domat and Locke are having a flame war on twitter. What would the topic be? Write at least one burn (sick or not) one of them might make.

    Feel free to bring in your observations about differences and similarities between the European and Chinese experience.

    Attached Files (PDF/DOCX): Domat.pdf, Bossuet Politics Drawn from Holy Scripture.pdf, Hobbes Leviathan.pdf, LockeSecondTreatise.pdf

    Note: Content extraction from these files is restricted, please review them manually.

  • American Government

    Part 1: Who Are Americans? An Increasingly Diverse Nation For Part 1 of this assignment, complete the Who are Americans? interactive infographic in Chapter 1 of the textbook. Then respond to the following: The most recent census estimates show that the population of the South and the West continued to grow more rapidly than the Northeast and Midwest. What are some of the political implications of this trend? How might this affect how Congress structures legislative priorities? Your response for Part 1 should be approximately 200 words and must include citations in APA format for any sources you used. Part 2: Can Young People Make a Difference in Politics? To what extent is political participation the responsibility of the citizenry? Young people are less likely to participate in politics than older Americans. How can we motivate younger Americans to participate in the political process? Identify a credible source (such as government data, a reputable news article, or peer-reviewed research) showing trends in political participation by age group. Summarize what the data reveals about how younger Americans are less likely to participate compared to older Americans. Does this trend appear to be increasing, decreasing, or staying relatively the same? Discuss at least two reasons why younger Americans are less likely to participate in politics than older Americans. Connect your explanation to key concepts such as political efficacy, mobilization, or barriers to voting. Propose one evidence-based strategy (a method supported by research findings, data, or successful real-world examples) to encourage higher youth participation in the political process, and explain why it might work. Your response for Part 2 should be approximately 250 words and must include citations in APA format for any sources you used. [MO 1.2, MO 1.3, MO 1.5]

  • Time Machine Journey – Historical Scientific Development

    You are going to take a journey in a Time Machine. Inscribed on the side are the letters MDLS, which stand for McClellan, Dorn, Lloyd, and Silva. When you climb inside you see that there are only eight settings: Greece, Alexandria, China, Islam, “The Enduring East,” “The Middle Kingdom,” “The New World,” and “Indus, Ganges, and Beyond.” Which one do you select and why? Who do you meet and what do you talk about? What scientific development from this era do you seek out to see for yourself? Why was this scientific development important to the culture of this time period? You will also research scholarly sources in the APUS library to learn more about the time and place you have selected. What did this source teach you that did not appear in our readings? NO WEBSITES ARE ALLOWED IN THIS PAPER. You can ONLY use our course readings and scholarly sources in the APUS library. All work must be cited in proper format. Paper Outline (Use Subheadings for Parts A, B, and C): Title Page Part A: Location Selection Answer Part B: Individual Selection Answer Part C: Scientific Development Answer Bibliography Length: 250 to 500 words (not including title page or bibliography). Format: APA Paper Requirements: Cite ONE scholarly source from peer reviewed journals or books found in the APUS library. What is a secondary source? “A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event.” Web sites are not approved research for this assignment. There is to be NO USE OF WEBSITES in your answer under any circumstances. Scholarly and peer reviewed research only. Click here to learn what makes a source “scholarly”.Click here for how you find peer reviewed or scholarly sources: Include a bibliography.

  • American Government

    your response to the discussion prompt below. Reply to at least two classmates responses by the date indicated in the Course Calendar. What are the similarities and differences between the frustrations of the colonists and contemporary American citizens in reference to political authority? To what extent are the debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists still active? Are there other contemporary debates that challenge individual freedoms versus a strong central government? How should we balance individual rights and government authority in our democratic system? [MO 2.1, MO 2.4]

  • History Question

    Following is the topic for paper 1:

    ” Some critics of Islamic finance have indicated that Islamic finance is a prohibition-driven form of finance. Do you see contemporary Islamic finance as prohibition-driven? Explain why or why not. “

    Requirements: 10

  • Book Review

    This is a book review of Medieval Warfare: A History by Maurice Keen. Thesis: How these works contribute to the development of heavy calvary warfare in the Middle Ages and the social, technological, economic changes that enabled that form of warfare. Guidelines: A Speculum-style book review is a concise, scholarly critique published in Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies. It prioritizes a clear description of the author’s method, purpose, and argument, followed by a fair, rigorous assessment of the work’s strengths, weaknesses, and contribution to the field. Key Characteristics and Requirements: Focus: Must be original, not based on other reviews or publisher content, and focused on works within the medieval period (c. 5001500). Structure: Introduction: Identifies the book’s thesis and scholarly context. Body: Analyzes the author’s methodology, use of primary sources, and strength of arguments, often highlighting specific chapters. Conclusion: Evaluates the work’s overall contribution to medieval studies (e.g., literature, history, art). Tone & Style: Academic, objective, and critical but constructive. It avoids overly personal or informal language. Formatting: No footnotes, charts, or illustrations are allowed in the review itself. Language: Adheres to American spelling and punctuation guidelines (e.g., “color,” not “colour”).