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Congress
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What is Congress?

Congress sits at the center of American constitutional government, making it a foundational subject in political science, public policy, law, and history courses. As the legislative branch vested with the power to pass laws, declare war, regulate commerce, and oversee the executive, it raises enduring questions about representation, institutional design, and democratic legitimacy. Students examine how the House and Senate interact, how legislation moves from proposal to passage, and how Congress shares and contests power with the president. The relationship between the two branches is especially rich ground for academic inquiry, touching on questions of foreign policy authority, executive oversight, and the limits of legislative action.

Papers on this topic approach Congress from a wide range of angles. Many focus on specific legislation — including the Federal Tort Claims Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, and telecommunications law — tracing how bills are shaped by political pressures and institutional rules. Others take a policy-analysis approach, examining issues such as illegal immigration, macroeconomic conditions, or military service regulations to assess how Congress responds to public concerns. The presidency-Congress relationship appears frequently, particularly in the context of foreign policy decisions and whether democratic procedures strengthen or complicate unified government action. Some papers focus on regulatory bodies like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to show how congressional legislation creates lasting institutional structures.

A strong essay on Congress needs a focused thesis that goes beyond describing procedures to making an argument about power, effectiveness, or policy outcomes. Legislative history, floor votes, committee records, and statutory text all carry evidentiary weight. The most common pitfall is treating Congress as a monolithic body — strong essays account for internal divisions between chambers, parties, and individual members that shape what laws ultimately get passed.

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Research Paper Doctorate
Indian removal policy and Cherokee sovereignty before 1830
¶ … Removal Act of May 28, 1830 was an act by both Houses of Congress of the U.S., which provided for an exchange of lands with the native Indian tribes residing in any of the states or territories and for their removal…
Research Paper Doctorate
European immigrants and the promise of health and opportunity in America
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
Research Paper Doctorate
Women's contributions to history from 1865 to 1894
Women have contributed to the history of the world from the beginning of time. Their stories are found in legends, myths, and history books. Queens, martyrs, saints, and female warriors, usually referred to as Amazon…
Paper Doctorate
Poverty as a recruitment factor in organized crime groups
Poverty is often a significant element influencing individuals to take on a life of crime, taking into account that organized crime leaders tend to recruit their subordinates from underprivileged environments. Poor persons have lesser options in comparison to others and gradually come to consider that committing criminal acts is the only solution they have in order to survive. From the perspective of organized crime leaders poor areas are thus perfect recruitment spots. There is a complex relationship between poverty and organized crime and by analyzing a series of organized crime communities from around the world one is likely to observe that many tend to focus on recruiting underprivileged individuals. The Mara Salvatrucha criminal organization has expanded throughout the American continent and it appears that borders are not necessarily an impediment when considering its presence in countries other than its home. It is currently present in a series of areas and on several continents, as it appears that the principles it promotes have influenced a great deal of individuals to express interest in joining the gang. While the organized crime group has initially been present in Los Angeles only, a number of deportations involving high-ranking officers and the fact that these respective individuals have taken the gang's name further made it possible for them to recruit individuals in a series of other areas.
Essay Doctorate
Omnibus bills in the United States legislative process
Omnibus bill is one that contains several separate but related items. This is in contrast with a regular bill that typically will only address a single issue. The reason for the attempt to pass an omnibus bill is to…
Research Paper Doctorate
American unity and division after September 11, 2001
Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of Congress, Justices of the Supreme Court, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans, welcome. I come here tonight with hope and promise for America.
Research Paper Doctorate
Racial profiling as counterterrorism policy after 9/11
¶ … Racial profiling in airports [...] how terrorist attacks in America call for increasing racial profiling in airports, similar to Israel's El Al Airlines racial profiling tactics.
Paper Doctorate
The legality of the Patriot Act and homeland security
This paper focuses on the Patriot Act of 2001, passed in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In this vein, it examines both the legality of the Act, the ensuing debates after its passion, as well as whether the Act is still legal and useful today.
Thesis Undergraduate
John Stuart Mill's libertarianism and the constraints of the U.S. Constitution
None of the issues being raised today by the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement are new, but rather they date back to the very beginning of the United States. At the time the Constitution was written in 1787, human rights and civil liberties were far more constrained than they are in the 21st Century. Only white men with property had voting rights for example, while most states still had slavery and women and children were still the property of fathers and husbands. Only very gradually was the Constitution amended to grant equal citizenship and voting rights to all, and even the original Bill of Rights was added only because the Antifederalists threatened to block ratification. In comparison, the libertarianism of John Stuart Mill in his famous book On Liberty was very radical indeed, even in 1859 much less 1789. He insisted that individuals should be left totally free to do as they pleased so long as they did no harm to others. To that extent, he would have supported the rights of OWS to protest and dissent, and been highly critical of how the authorities were suppressing the movement on the flimsiest of pretexts. As a supporter of free markets, he would also have opposed the trillions in dollars in bailout money that large banks and corporations have received from governments. On the other hand, he probably would have found the ideas of many OWS supporters too radical or socialistic, but at the same time have defended their right to assemble and demonstrate
Paper Undergraduate
SOPA and PIPA: balancing copyright protection against free speech rights
File sharing involving copyright infringement began as peer-to-peer operations, sometimes with the involvement of a central server that acts as a search engine. Recently there has been a rise in file sharing where the infringing content is actually stored on the central server, such as the now-defunct megaupload.com. Consequently, there is a conflict between the rights of content owners and the rights of ordinary users of the internet. The conflict here is that efforts to eliminate sites that enable online infringing may also eliminate legitimate internet activity. In the fall of 2011 the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) proposals were introduced into the US Congress.