Problem
What are the lessons of history, and how do we learn from them and apply it to our world, our times? The history you must draw from comes from the period after your midterm (post Revolution and Constitution). That's 1800 to 1899.
This essay must address the following topics:
1) The Electoral College: how does the history of the electoral college affect us today? Does this system support democracy or hinder it? Is there a legacy in which how this system was created and agreed upon that affects us still today?
2) The Supreme Court: how this branch could be for democracy and against it. What are the lessons of history that demonstrates how the supreme court can rule in a manner that is anti-democratic and the problems that might come up even when they do the right thing.
3) Racism: are there elements in our history that have a lasting legacy into our current situation? What were the roots of legal and other forms of racism, and what effect do they have on our democracy? This topic should address both manifest destiny and reconstruction.