Docsity
Docsity

Prepare for your exams
Prepare for your exams

Study with the several resources on Docsity


Earn points to download
Earn points to download

Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan


Guidelines and tips
Guidelines and tips

Module 4 Worksheet Assignment – History and Political Science, Assignments of Contemporary History

Module 4 Worksheet Assignment – History and Political Science

Typology: Assignments

2023/2024

Available from 06/07/2024

anthony-ngugi-1
anthony-ngugi-1 🇬🇧

1

(1)

33 documents

1 / 6

Toggle sidebar

This page cannot be seen from the preview

Don't miss anything!

bg1
Module 4 Worksheet Assignment – History and Political Science
This file is the intellectual property of Dr. Patricia Knol. It is protected by copyright law and
may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed.
Directions: Type the answer to the questions in the spaces provided. Use correct grammar and
spelling. Worksheets that contain repeated basic spelling or grammar errors may be marked
down by up to 5 points. The only source that should be used when filling out this worksheet
is your textbook – NOT the internet, another textbook, or any other source. The text
should always be the basis of your answer unless the question specifically asks for your own
experience or opinion. Any plagiarism of any kind in any answer will result in a score of 0 on
the entire assignment.
Chapter 6
1. What is history? What three things do historians do?
History refers to all past human actions and events. It entails the recording, narrating, and
interpreting of all past human actions and'event
Historians do the following three things; recording, that is, the documentation of events;
narrating, the description of events based on documentation; and interpreting, analyzing the
underlying causes and outcomes of these events.
2. Why can’t an historical account be free from bias?
The historians must select and organize facts that are worthy of interest, and this process
involves personal judgment of what is important about the past. The historian’s judgment
about the past is affected by present conditions.
3. What is the great man paradigm? What type of history (a movie, a TV show, a book, etc.)
have you ever seen or watched or read that seems to reflect this approach?
It is a method of viewing history which focuses on the actions of larger than-life individuals
who are free of the faults of common people, and who shape the course of events themselves
rather than merely respond to the world in which they live.
4. Despite the growth of elite theory, how has the quest for the American past been carried on?
What reflects this quest?
Most part the quest for the American past has been carried on in a spirit of sentiment and
nostalgia rather than of critical analysis
This quest is reflected through historical novels, fictionalized biographies, pictorial collections,
and books.
pf3
pf4
pf5

Partial preview of the text

Download Module 4 Worksheet Assignment – History and Political Science and more Assignments Contemporary History in PDF only on Docsity!

Module 4 Worksheet Assignment – History and Political Science This file is the intellectual property of Dr. Patricia Knol. It is protected by copyright law and may not be shared, uploaded, or distributed. Directions: Type the answer to the questions in the spaces provided. Use correct grammar and spelling. Worksheets that contain repeated basic spelling or grammar errors may be marked down by up to 5 points. The only source that should be used when filling out this worksheet is your textbook – NOT the internet, another textbook, or any other source. The text should always be the basis of your answer unless the question specifically asks for your own experience or opinion. Any plagiarism of any kind in any answer will result in a score of 0 on the entire assignment. Chapter 6

  1. What is history? What three things do historians do? History refers to all past human actions and events. It entails the recording, narrating, and interpreting of all past human actions and event Historians do the following three things; recording, that is, the documentation of events; narrating, the description of events based on documentation; and interpreting, analyzing the underlying causes and outcomes of these events.
  2. Why can’t an historical account be free from bias? The historians must select and organize facts that are worthy of interest, and this process involves personal judgment of what is important about the past. The historian’s judgment about the past is affected by present conditions.
  3. What is the great man paradigm? What type of history (a movie, a TV show, a book, etc.) have you ever seen or watched or read that seems to reflect this approach? It is a method of viewing history which focuses on the actions of larger than-life individuals who are free of the faults of common people, and who shape the course of events themselves rather than merely respond to the world in which they live.
  4. Despite the growth of elite theory, how has the quest for the American past been carried on? What reflects this quest? Most part the quest for the American past has been carried on in a spirit of sentiment and nostalgia rather than of critical analysis This quest is reflected through historical novels, fictionalized biographies, pictorial collections, and books.
  1. What do you think might be a problem with this kind of approach to the study of history? This method relies on sentiment and nostalgia rather than of critical analysis. The text states it focuses on the changing sources of power over time in American history – in other words, it is looking at who has power, or who are the elites, in any given era. Name and describe three types of elites (not names of individual elite people) that dominated power in the US from Jacksonian times up to and including the Industrial Revolution.
  2. Southern elite plantation owners dependent on slave labor
  3. Northern elite manufacturers dependent on wage labor
  4. Western Elites migrant who became rich plantation owners or cattle rancher in single generation
  5. What black leader does the text describes as challenging the power of elites after the Civil War and how did he do this? Booker T. Washington Washington’s hopes for African Americans lay in a program of self-help through education. He himself had attended Hampton Institute in Virginia where the curriculum centered on practical trades for African Americans.
  6. What other groups can you think of that are NOT part of the power elite of today? Why/how are they not? What groups do you think ARE? Why/how are they? Unemployed or Underemployed Workers Unemployed or underemployed workers typically do not belong to the power elite because they lack financial stability and influence over major societal decisions. High-Net-Worth Individuals and Billionaires High-net-worth individuals, including billionaires, often belong to the power elite due to their significant financial resources. Chapter 7
  7. How did Harold Lasswell define politics? How did he describe the study of politics? (Be thorough here!) Harold Lasswell, defined politics as “who gets what, when, and how.” “The study of politics,” he said, “is the study of influence and the influential. The influential are those who get the most of what there is to get.. .. Those who get the most are the elite; the rest are mass.”

might be one good thing about that and one bad thing about that and why. (Your answer should reflect information from that section.) The Civil War as a Victory for Federalism Although we often view the Civil War as a war about slavery, the war also was the nation’s greatest crisis in federalism. A key question decided by the war was whether a state has the right to oppose federal action by force of arms Growth of Interstate Commerce The growth of national power under the interstate commerce clause is also an important development in American federalism. The Industrial Revolution created a national economy governable only by a national government. Yet, until the 1930s, the U.S. Supreme Court placed many obstacles in the way of government regulation of the economy

  1. What is one way the Electoral College may not fit with the idea of democracy? It is possible for a presidential candidate to win more popular votes nationwide and yet lose the election by failing to win a majority of the electoral votes
  2. In what ways is the US Supreme Court undemocratic? The Nine supreme court judges are not elected but appointed to office for life term. They cannot be removed from office unless there is high crimes or misdemeanors involved. They possess powers to void the acts of popularly elected president, governors, congress and state legislature
  3. Why was the Court set up this way? The courts were deliberately insulated against popular majorities; to ensure their independence, judges were not to be elected but appointed for life terms. Only in this way, the writers of the Constitution believed, would they be sufficiently protected from the masses to permit them to judge courageously and responsibly. Insulation is, in itself, another source of judicial power
  4. What is one of the best predictor of whether a candidate will succeed in a congressional election? One of the best predictors of a candidate’s chances of success in a congressional election is incumbency, or whether the person running for office already holds that office: On average, about 94 percent of incumbent members of the House of Representatives running for re- election win, and about 88 percent of their Senate counterparts do.
  1. Describe the type of person who is most likely to vote according to the text – what demographic characteristics do they have? (List four.) (Note: "personal efficacy" is not a demographic characteristic.) Some groups of people are more likely to vote than others; Education appears to be the most important determinant of voter turnout. Education is associated with a sense of confidence and political efficacy—the feeling that one can indeed have a personal impact on public affairs. Age is another factor affecting voter participation. While nonvoting is greatest among those who are 18 to 21 years old, voter participation by young people has varied over the past several presidential elections. High-income people are more likely to vote than are low-income people. Most of this difference is a product of the fact that high-income people are more likely well educated and older Historically, race was a major determinant of nonvoting. Black voter turnout, especially in the South, was markedly lower than white voter turnout. The greatest racial disparity in voter turnout is between Hispanics and non-Hispanic voters.
  2. Think of a question you believe would be a good addition to this worksheet. It cannot be a yes/no or one-word answer question. It cannot resemble any question already on this worksheet. It must be related in some way to the concept of power. Why did you choose the question you did? (2 points) "What historical event or figure do you believe best exemplifies the complex dynamics of power and its impact on society, and why?" I chose this question because it encourages critical thinking and a deeper exploration of the concept of power. It asks the respondent to apply their knowledge of history to identify a specific event or figure, and then justify their choice by explaining how it relates to the multifaceted nature of power and its consequences on a broader scale. This question not only assesses their understanding of power but also their ability to analyse and articulate their perspective effectively.
  3. What do you think of the state of democracy and political equality in the US today in general? What are the problems you see in it? What are the positives you see in it? What would you most change about it if you could, and why? The answer to this question should be at least two paragraphs of at least 4 sentences long. ( 5 points) The state of democracy and political equality in the United States today is a topic that elicits a range of opinions and concerns. On the negative side, one of the most pressing issues is the influence of money in politics. The vast sums of money poured into campaigns and lobbying can disproportionately sway policy decisions, which can undermine the principle of political equality. Additionally, there are concerns about gerrymandering, which allows politicians to draw district lines in a way that often favours their party, making it harder for opposing voices to be heard and diminishing the fairness of elections. Voter suppression efforts, which disproportionately affect marginalized communities, are another pressing problem, as they