First Assignment, Spring 2021

 Pick one:

• Pick any member of the House or Senate.  How has that member explained her or his position on the current impeachment controversy?  With reference to Davidson, ch. 5, explain how this explanation reflects both the member's constituency and her or his place on Capitol Hill.
• Pick any House race in 2020.  Explain the outcome with reference to the composition of the district, the characteristics of the candidates, and the resources available to their campaigns and outside groups.  (Pay careful attention to Davidson, ch. 3-4.)

Essays should reflect an understanding of class readings and discussions. Many resources, including CQ Magazine and Politics in America, are at Library/Databases/CQ Library. For campaign finance data, see https://www.opensecrets.org/races Consult other sources as well. See: http://www1.cmc.edu/pages/faculty/JPitney/congress.html and

https://www1.cmc.edu/pages/faculty/JPitney/elect.htm

The specifications:

• Essays should be typed (12-point), double-spaced, and no more than three pages long. I will not read past the third page. 
• Please submit all papers in this course as Word documents, not pdfs.
• Cite your sources. Please use endnotes in the format of Chicago Manual of Style.  Endnotes do not count against the page limit. Please do not use footnotes, which take up too much page space.
• Watch your spelling, grammar, diction, and punctuation. Errors will count against you. Return essays to the Sakai dropbox for this class by 11:59 PM, Friday, February 12. Papers will drop one gradepoint for one day’s lateness, a full letter grade after that.