PS103 – Exam No. 4 Essay Section (OPTIONAL)*
Spring 2006
Professor Russell Renka
Essay Section (100 points): I’ve already said what’s needed to do proper citation of the sources you use, but one point bears repeating: be sure you place quotations around any direct use of words from a source. And of course, be darned sure to use evidence from the reading and lectures (and supplements I used) to support your points. Where appropriate, cite the author, year of publication, and page or pages from which you draw the material you cite. If you employ outside sources, OK, but they’d better be good ones—especially if you use them in preference to the assigned readings.
As indicated in class, this is the Examination No. 4 Essay section, with two choices shown below. Do one of those two. The due date for both classes is Friday May 5 by 5:00 p.m. here at my office. Preferable method of delivery, as always, is a print copy. *Remember that this Essay is optional, and is worth 100 points for those who do it. Total exam-based part of your course is 800 possible points with this Essay, or 700 without it.
I recommend you do this essay if: 1) you've been doing a good bit better on the earlier essays than on the other part of the examinations, plus 2) your average is close or very close to a grade borderline (high B or very low A, high C or very low B). If you do not do better on these, or have a grade that's unlikely to change by a letter from doing this Essay, then I recommend that you bypass this assignment.
1. The modern American presidency of 1933-to-present is significantly more powerful than the historical presidency of 1789 to 1933. What factors have contributed to this change? What actions were taken since 1933 to improve the handling of presidential succession (transition from one president to another one)?
2. Presidential powers on national security and foreign policy (defined in Chapter 20) exceed those on domestic policy. What are the primary factors that account for this? The foreign policy responsibilities include response to the threat of international terrorist organizations. How adequate was the response of the Clinton and the Bush Administration to terrorism before the events of 9-11-2001?
3. The federal courts are defined as "an independent and powerful judiciary" in the text. What is the main source of that power? And what are the major limitations upon use of that power? Finally, how highly does the federal judiciary rate in its powers compared to the sword-holding presidency and the purse-holding legislative branch?