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Essay Instructions: Answer the following questions using "Civil Disobedience" by Henry Thoreau. Note: The number of the question corresponds with the number of the paragraph in question.
1. Thoreau says, "government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.” Explain this idea by paraphrasing the sentence. Give one example of government expediency and one example of government inexpediency.
2. Highlight what you feel are the two most important sentences in this paragraph. What does Thoreau say in this paragraph about government interference?
3. In paragraph 1, Thoreau seemed to be advocating anarchy when he said, “That government is best which governs not at all.” What does he say here that shows he really doesn’t want to immediately abandon all
forms of government?
4. (a) Thoreau says, “A government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice.” Why not? Give an example of a situation in which majority rule might result in an injustice to someone.
4. (b) What does Thoreau mean when he writes that “we should be men first and subjects afterward”?
4. (c) What is wrong with our having an “undue respect for law”?
5. What is the distinction between men and machines according to Thoreau?
8. What does Thoreau say here about slavery and the Mexican War?
9. William Paley was an English theologian and philosopher. What is Paley’s argument and how does Thoreau counter-argue?
10. Why do people who agree that slavery and war are unjust do nothing to stop it?
11. Why is voting alone not enough to stop injustice?
13. (a) The first sentence of this paragraph contains the key to Thoreau’s philosophy. Paraphrase that sentence.
13. (b) Thoreau says that people may be taking part in a war even if they aren’t soldiers. How is that possible?
14. Paraphrase, in one or two sentences, this paragraph.
16. Why do men “think they ought to wait until they have persuaded a majority to alter [unjust laws]”? Do not simply write that it’s because “the remedy would be worse than the evil.” What does that mean? How could the remedy be worse?
17. What is Thoreau’s assertion in this paragraph?
18. (a) In this paragraph, Thoreau uses the metaphor of the friction and a machine when talking about government and injustice. Explain this metaphor. What is the machine? What is the friction?
18. (b). Thoreau tells us there may be times when we are justified in breaking the law. What specifically are the circumstances under which this may occur?
19. Summarize the main idea of paragraph 19.
20. What does Thoreau want Abolitionists in Massachusetts to do?
21. What, according to Thoreau, would it take to get rid of slavery in the United States? Why would this work?
22. Why is the “true place for a just man. . .a prison”?
24. What does Thoreau mean by “It costs me less in every sense to incur the penalty of disobedience to the State, than it would to obey”?
25. Why did Thoreau not want to pay the church tax demanded of him?
26. (a). In this paragraph, Thoreau talks about his imprisonment and seems to find the entire experience almost humorous. Why?
26. (b). At the end of paragraph 26, Thoreau compares the state to “a lone woman with her silver spoons.” Explain that comparison. How has this experience affected Thoreau’s attitude toward the state?
27. Explain the metaphor in the last sentence. What does this have to do with the rest of paragraph 27?
33. In this paragraph, Thoreau talks about how he sees his neighbors in a new light after his night in jail.
Paraphrase each of these observations:
a. “I saw to what extent the people among whom I lived could be trusted as good neighbors and
friends;”

b. “that their friendship was for summer weather only;”

c. “that they were as distant a race from me by their prejudices and superstitions as the Chinamen
and Malays are;”

d. “that, in their sacrifices to humanity, they ran no risks, not even to their property;”

e. “that, after all they were not so noble but they treated the thief as he treated them;”

f. “[they] hoped, by a certain outward observance and a few prayers, and by walking in a particular
straight and useless path from time to time, to save their souls.”


36. What difference does Thoreau see in these taxes that he willingly pays and the poll tax, which he refuses?

37. In this paragraph, what does Thoreau say about people who pay others’ taxes?
a) If they pay the tax because

then

b) If they pay the tax because

then

40. Thoreau here counters the argument that he is simply being belligerent or cantankerous by not paying his poll tax. What is Thoreau’s argument?
43. In order to understand this paragraph, you need to know that “Webster” is Daniel Webster, a lawyer,
orator, and statesman who lived from 1782 to 1852. In a famous Senate debate in 1830, Webster
defended the Union against individual states’ rights. However, he alienated anti-slavery forces when he
supported the Compromise of 1850, which stopped secession of Southern states. Part of the Compromise
was the Fugitive Slave Act, which Webster strictly enforced as Secretary of State.
44. Explain the metaphor in paragraph 44.
46. In the last paragraph, Thoreau says that democracy is not an end in itself but a step in a process. What have
been the previous steps? What will the next step be?

Essay Instructions: Susan Sontag in her essay writes that "the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the future Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial are about events that didn't happen in America, so the memory-work runs no risk of rousing an embittered domestic population against authority. To have a museum chronicling the great crime that was African slavery in the United States of America would be to acknowledge that the evil was there" To what extent do you agree with Sontag's statement? Imagine that your town or city is considering a proposal for a museum of the history of slavery.

Requirements:
Write an argumentative essay in which you argue for or against the proposal. Should the history of slavery be commemorated in a "memory museum"? Why or why not?

Please be specific, detailed, and thorough.

Essay Instructions: Hello:

I am writing a case study on President Lincoln’s Leadership and need help with the biographical section. This section must be 20 pages in length and must set the stage for the analytic section, which I will write myself.

The theme of my analysis will be that, contrary to the iconic image of Lincoln as the Great Liberator, Lincoln’s leadership during the civil war was more complex, revealing elements of moral and political ambiguity and pragmatism. For example: he was personally committed to preserving the Union, and yet he reformed and reconstituted the Union during and after the civil war by changing the balance of power both within the federal government and between the federal government and the states; he rhetorically appealed to the principle of freedom in his speeches, yet civil liberties were eroded as dissent was suppressed during the civil war; he used the moral leverage of ending chattel slavery, yet he personally believed in white supremacy and was not always committed to abolitionism; finally, he publicly revered soldiers while escalating hostilities with the South which ultimately imperiled them.

In the biographical section, evidence of these tensions must be presented as events in Lincoln's life, but the tension itself should not be made explicit. That will be my job in the analytic section. Towards this end, I would like the biographical section to not only provide a background on Lincoln’s life, but to also emphasize and develop the following events and issues:

1) The shift in Lincoln’s position regarding the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. As a Congressman, Lincoln had been extremely critical of President Polk's sweeping executive privileges during the Mexican War, arguing that only the legislature had the power to declare and direct the course of war. But during the Civil War, Lincoln himself usurped a considerable amount of Congressional authority, wielding more power than any president before or, arguably, since. Of course, there were vocal critics of his expansion of executive power.

2) The increase in the power of the federal government during Lincoln’s presidency. For example, by declaring martial law above and beyond the authority of several state governors, by banishing and imprisoning numerous dissidents considered traitors to the federal cause, and by asserting and defending the policy that it was fundamentally impossible for the several states to separate from the Union, Lincoln augmented the powers of the federal government considerably. Further, through the passage of several domestic policies such as the Homestead, Land Grant and Pacific Railroad Acts, Lincoln strong-armed federal authority westward in the midst of the conflict, weakening the already diminishing position of the Confederate states. And finally, by his institution of the first income tax and the first issue of a national currency, Lincoln created national economic cornerstones that animate the federal government to this day. Of course, states rights advocates at the time objected vociferously.

3) The complex issue of Lincoln on slavery. During the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858, Lincoln explicitly endorsed white supremacy. In the early stages of the war, Lincoln took a very conservative approach to the question of slavery, restoring numerous slaves freed during battle to their previous owners. Even his much- celebrated Emancipation Proclamation only applied to slaves in the Confederacy, and in fact had no direct bearing on slavery policy in the rest of the United States. This proclamation freed very few slaves. Lincoln ran for re-election in 1864 on the platform of an abolition amendment, and though such legislation was eventually seen through, it was months after Lincoln's death before his successor, President Johnson, signed the amendment into law. However, throughout his tenure, Lincoln used the moral condemnation of slavery as leverage over the Confederacy. Thus, though Lincoln today stands as the iconic figurehead of the abolition movement, the end of slavery in the United States was a much more gradual and complicated process. Lincoln did much to encourage the final push toward emancipation, but he had several critics among the more radical abolitionists.

4) Actions taken by Lincoln to escalate hostilities with the Confederate states.

In writing this biographical section, please try to make liberal use of primary source materials. For example, quotes from the biography written by Lincoln’s law partner William Herndon, Lincoln’s speeches, and criticisms by Lincoln’s contemporaries would all be welcome. Please use your discretion.

The biography section must be completed by December 10 and must be in MS Word Format. Please contact me directly with any questions. My number is 614.225.1003 and my email is .

Thank you very much for your help with this project.

Sincerely,
Shad

Essay Instructions: answer each question by one to two paragraph.


Chapters 7 and 8

1. What is deviant behavior? Explain the role of norms and societal reactions. According to Stark, what is wrong with defining crime as "actions that violate the law?"

2. What is differential association theory? According to the text, what are some aspects of deviance that are not consistent with differential association theory?

3. Control theorists (also called social control theory, or social bonding theory), especially Travis Hirschi, begin with the question, “Why don’t they do it?” So, according to control theory, why do most people conform most of the time (4 bonds)?

4. What is labeling theory? In what three ways might deviant labels essentially “push” people into a career of secondary deviance?

5. Both social control / bonding theory (Hirschi) and deterrence theory are “control” theories. One focuses primarily on informal social control, the other formal social control. Explain.

6. Both Cambridge-Somerville and TARP are cited by Stark as experimental failures. Explain what makes each of these studies “experimental designs” (Hint: 2 conditions of an experiment?) and what each study found (or, in this case, failed to find).

7. According to Michael Hechter and Satoshi Kanazawa, what are the three primary reasons that social groups in Japan are able to exert such powerful personal control over members?

8. Summarize Jack Gibb's deterrence theory and explain why it is a form of rational choice theory. Why might some forms of deviant behavior be easier to deter (e.g., parking illegally?) than others (murder)?

Chapters 9 and 10


1. How did Karl Marx define the? How did Max Weber's definition of "class" differ from Karl Marx's?

2. Both functionalists (e.g., Davis and Moore) and conflict theorists (e.g., Marx, Mosca, etc.) see stratification is inevitable. Explain why each perspective reaches this conclusion.

3. How was Marx right? How was Marx wrong? (Look at both text and lecture notes)

4. As a theory of stratification, functionalism can be criticized for being tautological (i.e., employing circular reasoning). Explain. How does the term “replaceablity” solve the circularity problem?

5. According to the conflict theory of stratification, why is the degree of stratification greater than functionalism might predict?

6. Historically, as societies have moved from hunting and gathering to agrarian there has been an increase in stratification. Explain. (Be sure to include a discussion of how cultural differences increase stratification in agrarian societies?)

7. In general, industrialization around the world has led to a decrease in stratification. Explain.

8. In class we reached two conclusions concering inequality in the United States. First, since about 1980, the gap between the rich and the poor has increased. Second, the United States has, arguably, the greatest income inequality in the industrialized world. Summarize the empirical evidence that has led to these 2 conclusions.


Chapter 11

1. In class we discussed why contact between people of different groups has often led to an increase in prejudice. Explain.

2. In what ways does the reality of black-white contact through slavery in the United States support Gordon Allport's theory of contact?

3. Under what conditions would we expect prejudice to subside?

4. Stark emphasizes the point that status inequality (and competition) cause prejudice. In class we concluded that prejudice can also cause status inequality. Explain. How does this pattern illustrate the self-fulfilling prophecy?

5. According to Stark, in what ways was the experience for African Americans migrating from the South to the North from the 1940s onward similar to immigrant groups earlier in the century such as rural Southern Italians?

6. What factors help to account for the success of Cuban Americans relative to Puerto Rican and Mexican-Americans?