Advanced Placement American Government and Politics

Paper Assignment

The Executive Branch and the Federal Bureaucracy

Directions: Choose one of the three options below and write a research paper following the guidelines. Paper topics will be assigned on a first come, first serve basis.

OPTION #1

Choose an office within the White House Office, an office within the EOP, a cabinet department, or a bureaucratic agency. Write a research paper that includes the following (at minimum):

• When was the office created?
• Why was the office created? What is the purpose of the office?
• How has the role of the office changed since it was originally created?
• What does the office do?
• What is the relationship between the office and the other parts of government?
• What is the budget of the office? Is it adequate?
• How many people does the office employ?
• Do we need this office today? Why or why not?
• How does your research relate to what you have learned in class?

OPTION #2

Choose a person currently working in the WHO, the EOP, or a cabinet department. (The person should be in a leadership position.) Write a research paper that includes the following (at minimum):

• When was this person appointed to this office?
• Why was this person chosen for this office?
• What is their background (biographical information)?
• What, specifically, are the responsibilities of their job?
• How does your research relate to what you have learned about presidential appointments?
• Would you have appointed this person to this job? Why or why not?

OPTION #3

Write a research paper on a President of the United States who served after 1900. Include (at minimum) the following in your research paper:

• When was this person elected?
• How many terms did this person serve?
• Define this president’s “character”?
• Define the president’s relationship with the legislative branch, the Supreme Court, and the bureaucracy (WHO, EOP, cabinet).
• Did the president do anything “unique” during his term? Did he set any precedents? If so, what? How has this changed the presidency? BE SPECIFIC.
• Is this president considered “powerful” today? Why? Why not? (Base this on research, not your own opinion.)
• What policies did this president support? What was his program? Was he successful in having his policies / programs adopted? Why? Why not?
• How does your research relate to what you have learned?

Guidelines (for options 1, 2, and 3):

Your paper must:

• Be typed using 1-inch margins and a 10 or 12 point font.
• Be at least 2 pages in length.
• Be perfect in form.
• Be written using APA format. Be sure to include a bibliography, footnotes, and a title page. Please be sure that your title page clearly states the paper option you chose.
• Be written using a minimum of three sources. One must be a NON-ONLINE source.

Your paper is due on: ____________________________