Congressional Committee Simulation: Manipulation and Play in Political Discussion.

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The simulation of a Congressional committee in class could arguably be called a success. One might ask why the “arguably” adjective is included, and it is for a very simple reason. While most of the students took the assignment seriously, a significant number did not really attempt to do the necessary work required of their role in it. This can be due to a fundamental misunderstanding of the exercise. It is important to know that while it can be inferred that this is a statement about the failure, this essay aims to explore the opposite. The exercise was successful in demonstrating ideals of federalism and civil liberties, while offering a glimpse into the basic nature of the system and how those willing could invariably exploit. This last part of the statement contains a caveat, that exploitation is extremely limited but none the less significant.
So first, what lessons did the simulation illustrate about constitutional ideals such as federalism, civil liberties and/or civil rights? According to the Legal Information Institute of Cornell University Law School, federalism is defined as “. a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government. Generally, an overarching national government governs issues that affect the entire country, and smaller subdivisions govern issues of local concern. Both the national government and the smaller political subdivisions have the power to make laws and both have a certain level of autonomy from each other. ” So for the purpose of the simulation the federal or national branch of the government was the one attempting to pass a bill to law. This level of government was represented in the form of a congressional committee including a Democratic Party majority t...

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...ps have access to the law making machinery, but that access comes at a price and it by no means assures success.

Works Cited

Federalism. (n.d.). LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/federalism Linder, D. (2014, January 1). The Right of Privacy: Is it Protected by the Constitution?
The Right of Privacy: Is it Protected by the Constitution? Retrieved April 20, 2014, from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/rightofprivacy.html Patterson, T. E. (2012). Ch. 3 Federalism: Forging a Nation. We the people (Tenth ed.).
McGraw-Hill Humanities.
Patterson, T. E. (2012). Ch. 4 Civil Liberties: Protecting Individual Rights. We the people (Tenth ed.). : McGraw-Hill Humanities.
Patterson, T. E. (2012). Ch. 5 Equal Rights: Struggling Towards Fairness. We the people (Tenth ed.). : McGraw-Hill Humanities.

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