Balance of Powers and the War Powers Resolution, political science homework help

Balance of Powers and the War Powers Resolution

For this assignment, you will prepare a debate paper
covering an issue that involves the balance of powers between the executive and
the legislative branches: The War Powers Resolution.

Step 1 

Write a 4- to 5-page debate paper that address the
following:

You are serving an internship with a candidate running for
Congress. She has asked you to help her prepare for a series of debates over
central topics facing the nation. In the first section of the debate paper, you
will provide the most powerful argument possible in favor of one side of the
debate, and then you will do the same for the other side. Finally, you will
write a critique of the side of the issue with which you disagree.

The War Powers Resolution requires the president to notify
Congress when he or she sends troops into combat and requires the president to
withdraw them within 60 days if Congress does not approve of the actions. The
executive branch has never acknowledged the constitutionality of this law.

In the paper, you will debate whether the scope of the War
Powers Resolution should be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has
refused to hear challenges made by members of Congress to force the president
to abide by the law. When addressing this topic, you must think carefully about
the roles of all three branches of government and about the processes that led
to the passage of and that support the current status of the War Powers
Resolution. Your candidate’s debates will take place before an audience of the
general public, so be sure to explain the roles of the three branches of
government and the current implications of the War Powers Resolution clearly.

Step 2 

Research the topic.

Being able to apply information-literacy skills in studying
politics is critical. Access the Internet to research and learn about the War
Powers Resolution and the debates surrounding it. Consider your sources
carefully when you research, keeping the following points in mind:

• Primary
  sources, such as government websites, will be more informative and less
  subjective than secondary sources.
• Check
  the reference lists or sources of any secondary online source you find,
  such as a journal or newspaper article. Has the author provided solid
  background for the opinions he or she expresses?
• Do not
  accept the opinions of any individual secondary source without question.
  Consider the site where you found the source. What is its primary purpose?
  Who is its intended audience?

Step 3 

Write a paper in favor of current practices.

Demonstrate that you can apply an understanding of
government processes to analyze contemporary politics. Begin by writing the
first part of the paper that argues in favor of the president taking liberties
with the War Powers Resolution. Make a case for why the Supreme Court should
not hear a challenge to this law.

• Discuss
  how formal and informal processes result in public policy, which is why
  the president should be free to interpret the War Powers Resolution.
• Defend
  the ways in which the current president and recent presidents have
  interpreted the War Powers Resolution.
• Support
  the idea that even though, as a rule, single individuals should not have
  great impact on the political environment, the president is an exception.

Step 4 

Write a paper against current practices.

Now write a section of the paper that argues that the
Supreme Court should hear a challenge to the War Powers Resolution. Make a case
for why a president’s free interpretation of the War Powers Resolution should
be challenged.

• Briefly
  explain the nature of the law at hand and the history and processes
  leading up to its passage.
• Clearly
  state why the scope of the law should be definitively decided and how the
  historical development of the United States affects such contemporary
  political decisions.
• Explain
  how the Supreme Court interacts with Congress and elaborate on how this
  interaction (or lack of interaction) explains the processes of government.
• Discuss
  the idea that the president is one individual and, as such, should not
  have such an impact on the political environment.

Step 5 

Write a critique.

Now that you have made a strong argument for each side,
critique or challenge the argument with which you disagree. Address its
strongest points, and explain why you disagree with that view.

Step 6 

In summary, be sure to include the following:

• An
  argument for maintaining current practices
• An
  argument for changing current practices
• A
  critique of the side with which you disagree