For this assignment, find a recent news article from the current week relating to a present-day issue that, in some form or another, existed as an issue in America during the period covered in this course. (This article should be from an on-line newspaper -- e.g., the New York Times or Washington Post -- or news magazine -- e.g., Newsweek or Time). Open your commentary with a brief description of the article itself. Then, reflect on how the underlying issue had a significant presence during the first half of American history (i.e., the period up to 1877). In what ways, between then and now, does the issue appear similar? In what ways does it appear different?