Constitutions Considered Research Term Paper

Research Term Paper CH203

Comparative Study: U.S. and Nevada Constitutions

Since this course fulfills the civics and constitutional education requirements for students set forth by the State of Nevada, this assignment focuses on governing documents.

Both the United States and Nevada Constitutions have interesting histories of their own. The national constitution was cobbled together in an effort that began in order to reform the Articles of Confederation. The proposal for an entirely new constitution caught many of the Founding Fathers off guard and debate over the structure and powers to be given to the new government were intense. While the US Constitution was put together during peacetime, there were enormous challenges facing the young republic which manifest themselves in the language of the document. The Nevada Constitution reflects the contemporary history of the country. Nevada was admitted to the Union in 1864, during some of the most tumultuous times in our history, the Civil War.

Despite their different origins, these two governing documents tell us much about the people who wrote them and what their desires and concerns for government were. For the purposes of this paper, I want you to compare and contrast the U.S. and Nevada Constitutions. You should address the following in your narrative:

Briefly discuss the history of each document

What is the purpose of each document?

What does each constitution say about slavery? Why?

What does each constitution say about the right to bear arms? Why?

What does each constitution say about religious freedom? Why?

What does the length of each document say about the nature of the government the constitution is written for?

This research term paper should be between 2000-2200 words in length. It should be double spaced and your sources of information must be cited. The paper should contain a works cited page. You may use either MLA or Turabian in your source citation style. The paper will be due, submitted to CANVAS not later than 2355 hrs on November 23, 2020.

Both documents are easily accessed online. Just do a web search for US Constitution text or Nevada Constitution text, Alternatively, you can use the links I provide below.

https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Const/NVConst.html#:~:text=2917.%5D,Government%2C%20do%20establish%20this%20Constitution.&text=ARTICLE.,-1. (Links to an external site.)

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript