Directions

As you all know, your amendment proposals are the central component to this assignment.  Your papers should proceed in four sections.  You may divide the paper into sections if you would like.  Be sure to follow the format discussed above.

Section 1

After your introduction paragraphs, briefly layout the political problem you believe needs to be better addressed in the United States.  Why is it a problem?  Explain this issue in such a way that a person with no knowledge of this topic could come to understand its seriousness.  Who is this issue affecting currently?  In what ways is this problem not being adequately addressed by the constitutional framework that currently exists?  You may provide facts and figures if you believe it will help you explain your position.

Section 2

Here you will want to first write out your amendment.  Do this in the same legal writing style that is present in the enshrined amendments. Your constitutional amendments may range from a sentence to, at most, a couple short paragraphs.  Please italicize and bold your amendment. Subsequently, you will need to explain what your amendment means in plain terms.  For instance, if you think we should have universal healthcare, what does universal mean / what does healthcare mean?  As part of this explanation be sure to elaborate on how this proposed amendment will “fix” the problem discussed in section 1.  How would your amendment improve this problem? In what ways does your proposed amendment work to promote greater justice and improve American life? Would your amendment fully address the issue or does more legislation need to occur as well?

Section 3

This is the summary component to this assignment.  Based off the Constitution itself (and articulated in our chapter 2 reading), in your own words, layout how amendments get adopted and become the basis for US law.  Is this an easy process?  If it is difficult, why is it difficult?  Do you think, given this process, that your amendment could pass the required threshold to become law? Why or why not?

Section 4

This is the critical thinking component to this assignment.  In this section, briefly write out problems with your proposal (if any).  Would it cost too much money to implement?  Is the proposal too idealistic? Does it violate another area of the Constitution? What kind of opposition arguments would it likely face?  Why would someone make this argument against your proposal? In other words, try to understand the values of the perspective that would oppose you (this does not mean you have to agree with them) and explain those views.  In this section, think about how your amendment might not serve justice to the extent you think it does.  Are there potentially any unintended consequences that may increase injustice in another area of American life?  If you think there are no problems with your proposal then explain why this is the case.

Your conclusion should be a brief overview of what you discussed in the paper as a whole.

Food for Thought:

Generally, when it is held that the government ought to do something for “the people” a standard objection is that this action will lessen freedom.  This is because if the government is telling you what to do, and then making you do it, even if it improves society, you as an individual are NOT free by definition. BUT, it also seems to be the case that without certain minimum resources people are not free to pursue their own desires regardless. For instance, if I die of a preventable childhood illness then I never grown up to be an adult and use my freedom to go to college.