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Liberty
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What is Liberty?

Liberty is one of the most foundational concepts in political philosophy, history, and social science, making it a frequent subject of study across disciplines including political theory, history, law, sociology, and social work. The concept raises enduring questions about the relationship between individuals and government, the scope of personal freedom, and how rights are distributed across society. Students engage with liberty in courses ranging from American history to constitutional law, often because it sits at the intersection of abstract principle and concrete political struggle, demanding both theoretical clarity and historical grounding.

The papers gathered here reflect a wide range of approaches. Some take a philosophical angle, examining distinctions between positive and negative liberty and what those differences mean for how governments exercise power over individuals. Others are historical, tracing how liberty has been contested across periods including the early republic, the Civil War era, the Second Great Awakening, and the civil rights movement. Legal and policy-focused papers examine specific cases and administrative law questions, while sociological approaches consider how race, gender, and immigration status shape access to freedom in American society.

A strong essay on liberty begins with a precise definition of the term, since the word carries different meanings depending on context and framework. Evidence drawn from legal decisions, historical events, or political theory tends to carry the most weight when it directly supports a specific, arguable claim about how liberty functions or is limited. The most common pitfall is treating liberty as self-evidently positive without examining whose freedom is protected and whose is constrained in any given political arrangement.

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African Americans in Indian Territory during Reconstruction

¶ … groups during the reconstruction area that particularly had tough times: Negroes of the Indian Territory and Colored Women. The passage of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 freed African-Americans in southern…

Jennifer L. Weber's analysis of Northern opposition to the Civil War

Most of the general public has limited information regarding the degree to which Americans in the North were reluctant to support the Civil War. Rrecent warfare conducted by the U.S.

Research Paper Doctorate

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as founding fathers

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were the second and third presidents of the United States, and both played major roles in both the American Revolution and both are considered among the Founding Fathers.

Research Paper Undergraduate

George Orwell's Animal Farm as critique of Soviet communism

Animal Farm is one the most widely read books by George Orwell. Interestingly most people do understand the political significance of the book and know that it was written as an attack on totalitarianism.

Paper High School

Divine justice and vengeance in Dumas's Count of Monte Cristo

This paper looks at the concept of justice in Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo. Dantes seeks revenge on those who wronged him but he may be viewed as morally just in doing so because he represents both God's divine justice (which also includes mercy) and man's natural impulse to seek justice through revenge.

Paper Undergraduate

Due process rights in school suspensions and the Goss v. Lopez decision

In the constitutional realm of the individual and their inalienable rights, perhaps no concept is more critical to the protection of liberty than the fifth and fourteenth amendments, and the safeguard provided that "no…

Paper Doctorate

Lincoln's mastery of prose in the Gettysburg Address

This paper argues that the Gettysburg Address is made great by its literary qualities—its mastery of English prose, its concision, and its irony. But the last of these is perhaps the most memorable aspect of Lincoln's brief speech. Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that Lincoln achieves his dedication of the memorial at Gettysburg by refusing to perform it. Rather than memorialize them, Lincoln cleverly asks the audience to consider that they have memorialized themselves by their deeds—and the best way to share in that memorialization is to stick to the ideals for which they fought and died, so that "these dead shall not have died in vain". The combination of rhetorical skill, brevity and irony is what makes the Gettysburg Address great.

Paper Doctorate

Prosecutorial discretion in white-collar crime cases

One of the issues of white-collar crime is the issue of Prosecutorial discretion. Prosecutors who dabble with white-collar crimes have great scope of discretion in that they can determine whether to bring a criminal case and which issues to quote if they do indict. The nature of the white collar statutes often cedes discretion to prosecutors. This is because they may be seen to overlap into the area of civil, rather than criminal, interest and are therefore seen by many as encompassing economic regulations that fall within the perimeters of civil enforcement. Critics see this as an unjust and partisan system, whilst supporters see it as being blessed with flexibility rendered by cautious and rational prosecutors, and checked by presiding judges . The issues, back and forth about the fairness or unfairness of the discretionary system, are febrile and ongoing. Suggestions such as inquisitorial trials (with jury assessing prosecutorial decisions) have been suggested, but none have been taken seriously. It is likely that the issue will not be so readily solved since prosecutorial discretion has been an entrenched and accepted part of the criminal justice system ever since the beginning and will likely remain so in the future. The best one can do is monitor prosecutorial decisions with presiding judge, and this is what is being done at the moment.

Research Paper Undergraduate

James Q. Wilson's three policing styles and criminal justice models

¶ … criminal justice and how they impact the United States. In addition the writer explores the three styles of policing by James Q. Wilson and explains how they apply to the criminal justice system in America.

Research Paper High School

Biblical teachings on fornication and contemporary sexual morality

Fornication, sin and sexual immorality have ceased to be recognized in contemporary times as the absolute moral norm of the past. A steep conflict between old norm and contemporary cultural view occurs today. But there is a way a person who wants to turn his ways around can do so through the teachings of the Bible.

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