essays on government

25 Essay Topics for American Government Classes

Writing Ideas That Will Make Students Think

• Teaching Resources
• An Introduction to Teaching
• Tips & Strategies
• Policies & Discipline
• Community Involvement
• School Administration
• Technology in the Classroom
• Teaching Adult Learners
• Issues In Education
• Becoming A Teacher
• Assessments & Tests
• Elementary Education
• Secondary Education
• Special Education
• Homeschooling
• M.Ed., Curriculum and Instruction, University of Florida
• B.A., History, University of Florida

If you are a teacher searching for essay topics to assign to your U.S. government or civics class or looking for ideas, do not fret. It is easy to integrate debates and discussions into the classroom environment. These topic suggestions provide a wealth of ideas for written assignments such as  position papers , compare-and-contrast essays , and  argumentative essays . Scan the following 25 question topics and ideas to find just the right one. You'll soon be reading interesting papers from your students after they grapple with these challenging and important issues.

• Compare and contrast what is a direct democracy versus representative democracy. 
• React to the following statement: Democratic decision-making should be extended to all areas of life including schools, the workplace, and the government. 
• Compare and contrast the Virginia and New Jersey plans. Explain how these led to the Great Compromise .
• Pick one thing about the U.S. Constitution including its amendments that you think should be changed. What modifications would you make? Explain your reasons for making this change.
• What did Thomas Jefferson mean when he said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants?" Do you think that this statement still applies to today's world? 
• Compare and contrast mandates and conditions of aid regarding the federal government's relationship with states. For example, how has the Federal Emergency Management Agency delivered support to states and commonwealths that have experienced natural disasters?
• Should individual states have more or less power compared to the federal government when implementing laws dealing with topics such as the legalization of marijuana  and abortion ? 
• Outline a program that would get more people to vote in presidential elections or local elections.
• What are the dangers of gerrymandering when it comes to voting and presidential elections?
• Compare and contrast the major political parties in the United States. What policies are they preparing for upcoming elections?
• Why would voters choose to vote for a third party, even though they know that their candidate has virtually no chance of winning? 
• Describe the major sources of money that are donated to political campaigns. Check out the Federal Election Regulatory Commission's website for information.
• Should corporations be treated as individuals regarding being allowed to donate to political campaigns?  Look at the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC ruling on the issue. Defend your answer. 
• Explain the role of social media in connecting interest groups that have grown stronger as the major political parties have grown weaker. 
• Explain why the media has been called the fourth branch of government. Include your opinion on whether this is an accurate portrayal.
• Compare and contrast the campaigns of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives candidates.
• Should term limits be instituted for members of Congress? Explain your answer.
• Should members of Congress vote their conscience or follow the will of the people who elected them into office? Explain your answer.
• Explain how executive orders have been used by presidents throughout the history of the U.S. What is the number of executive orders issued by the current president?
• In your opinion, which of the three branches of the federal government has the most power? Defend your answer.
• Which of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment do you consider the most important? Explain your answer. 
• Should a school be required to get a warrant before searching a student's property? Defend your answer. 
• Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail? What kind of campaign could be run to see it passed?
• Explain how the 14th Amendment has affected civil liberties in the United States from the time of its passage at the end of the Civil War.
• Do you think that the federal government has enough, too much or just the right amount of power? Defend your answer.
• January Writing Prompts
• Key Election Terms for Students
• Voting Rights Background for Students
• Presidential Elections: ESL Lesson
• 501 Topic Suggestions for Writing Essays and Speeches
• Expository Essay Genre With Suggested Prompts
• Current Political Campaign Contribution Limits
• 50 Argumentative Essay Topics
• American Government Journal Topics
• Campaign Finance Laws: Definition and Examples
• 12 Interesting Ethical Topics for Essay Papers
• What Is Political Participation? Definition and Examples
• Fun March Writing Prompts for Journaling
• The Important Role of US Third Parties
• Why Puerto Rico Matters in the US Presidential Election
• What Is a Caucus? Definition and Examples

Politics & Government Essay Examples and Topics

Essay on corruption, its causes, and effects.

• Subjects: Political Culture
• Words: 1147

Differences and Similarities Between Democracy and Authoritarian Government Essay

Similarities and differences between articles of confederation and constitution – compare and contrast essay.

• Subjects: Government

Nelson Mandela Leadership Style

• Words: 4111

Gaza-Israel Conflict: History and Portents

• Subjects: International Relations

Trustee vs. Delegate Models of Representation

Bureaucratic and non-bureaucratic organizations.

• Subjects: Social & Political Theory

Religion and Politics: the Role of Religion in Politics Essay Example

• Words: 1199

Democracy as the Best Form of Government

Marxist analysis.

• Words: 1102

Pakistan and its Politics

Comparison between theories: realism vs. liberalism research paper.

• Words: 1895

Barack Obama’s Victory Speech 2008 – Analysis

• Subjects: Political Communication
• Words: 1615

Public Policy: Formulation, Implementation and Evaluation – Analytical Essay

• Words: 3118

Neorealism: Kenneth Waltz ‘Theory of International Politics’

Government responsibilities to its citizens, “our blind spot about guns” by nicholas kristof.

• Subjects: Public Policies

Should Healthcare Be Free? Essay on Medical System in America

• Words: 1540

British Parliamentary System Advantages and Disadvantages

• Words: 1109

The Importance of Social Contract Theory in Modern Society

• Words: 1743

Michelle Obama American Dream Speech Analysis –

• Words: 1137

Reason Why Marijuana Should Be Legal

• Words: 1641

Should drugs be legalized?

Three biggest problems in the developing country-ghana.

• Words: 1635

Operation Anaconda: Mission Command Principles | Analytical Essay

• Subjects: Military

Poverty Research Proposal

Political development essay.

• Words: 2474

Political Inquiry Thesis

• Words: 1997

Socialism and Liberalism Comparison

• Words: 2487

Marxist Theory of Development

• Words: 2117

International Organizations and Their Evolution

• Subjects: International Organizations
• Words: 1455

Challenges of Community Development Problem Solution Essay

• Words: 2990

Argumentative Paper on the Pros of the Death Penalty

• Subjects: Capital Punishment Debates

Gambling Should Be Illegal

Death penalty: utilitarian view on capital punishment.

• Words: 1854

Democracy in the Philippines

• Words: 4643

Great Debates on International Relations Theories

• Subjects: International Relations Theories

“The State in Capitalist Society” by Ralph Miliband

• Words: 1611

The Israeli – Palestinian Conflict

• Words: 2608

Courtroom Observation

Barack obama’s charismatic leadership.

• Words: 1388

Influential People of American History between 1492 to 1865

• Subjects: Politicians

Barack Obama as a Transformational Leader

• Words: 2583

Power and Politics in a Modern Organization

Israel palestine conflict.

• Words: 1503

Public Policies; the Pros and Cons

• Words: 4044

Franklin Roosevelt and Veto Power

• Words: 1662

The United Arabs Emirates

The concept of the organic state.

• Words: 1119

Mahatma Gandhi: Strengths and Weaknesses

• Words: 1654

Modernization Theory and Developing Countries

Max weber – the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism.

• Words: 1402

What is Politics?

• Subjects: Political Ideologies

Foundations of Army Leadership BLC

Idealism and realism, government grants for people with disabilities, corruption: a development problem of bangladesh.

• Words: 2200

Benefits and Problems Associated With New Public Management to Public Administration in Relation to Policies

• Subjects: Public Administration Activity
• Words: 4193

Democracy Arguments For and Against

• Words: 1227

Abortion: To Legalize or Not

• Words: 1624

Foundation of Army Leadership Essay

The united nations millennium development goals.

• Words: 1432

Do the Benefits of Globalization Outweigh the Costs?

• Words: 1056

International Peace and United Nations Essay

Technology for crime prevention.

• Subjects: Law Enforcement

International Organized Crime: The 14K Triads in Hong Kong

• Words: 1438

Civil Disobedience: Advantages and Disadvantages

• Words: 2859

Planning for Public Administration

• Words: 1150

Police Professionalism: Examples and Issues

• Words: 1851

Islamic Thinkers on Revolution

• Words: 1135

Importance of Civic Engagement

• Words: 2185

John Lennon’s Imagine and Marxism

• Words: 2292

Public Administration as an Academic Discipline

• Words: 1450

The Leadership of Mao Zedong

The united nations’ objectives and principles.

• Words: 1667

What is the Importance of Ethics When it Comes to Governance?

Contributions of max weber’s bureaucracy to public administration, political deviance: meaning and forms.

• Words: 1136

The Benefits of Legalizing Prostitution

Similarities and differences between communism and democratic socialism.

• Words: 1630

Why Study Public Administration?

The relationship between politics and economics, “clash of ignorance” by edward said.

• Words: 1128

Liberalism versus Marxism

• Words: 2036

Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16?

• Subjects: Elections

Difference Between Weak and Strong States by Krasner

Constructivism as international relations theory.

• Words: 2820

Positivism Theory as Applied in Political Science

• Words: 1123

Marxist Criticism

Chapters 1-5 in “american government” by landy and milkis.

• Words: 1533

Vladimir Putin’s Life and Accomplishments

• Words: 1149

Geopolitics: The Middle East Shatterbelt

Discipline as an integral part of effective police supervision.

• Words: 1331

Military Draft: Arguments for and Against

• Words: 1140

Role of Non-Governmental Organisations in the Development of Sustainable Environmental Initiatives

• Words: 1711

Capital Punishment in the UK Should be Reintroduced?

• Words: 1926

United Nations and World Peace

Logrolling in politics and its impact on government budget.

• Words: 6349

New Public Management

• Words: 2368

Public Service and Its Responsibilities

Utilitarianism vs libertarianism: examples and facts, youth unemployment and policy solutions.

• Words: 1124

Global Food Crisis: Political Economy Perspective

• Words: 1633

The Welfare System

• Words: 1425

Nigerian Poor Governance and Leadership

• Words: 2302

The Concept of Civil Responsibilities

• Subjects: Civil Rights Theories

King’s Allusion in “Letter From Birmingham Jail”

Key differences between booker t. washington and w.e.b. dubois essay, utilitarianism in government.

• Words: 1673

Similarities Between League of Nations and United Nations

Justice in “letter from birmingham jail” by king, the foundation of pakistan, social welfare: strengths and weaknesses, united nations strengths and weaknesses.

• Words: 2763

What Is the Relationship Between Capitalism and Democracy?

• Words: 2963

Network Governance, Its Strengths and Limitations

• Words: 1753

The Benefits and Disadvantages of Free Trade

• Subjects: International Trade
• Words: 3331

Theories of Justice: Utilitarian theory

• Words: 3635

Political Institutions Comparison: USA, UK and France

Nationalism as a problem by partha chatterjee.

• Words: 1059

• Utility Menu

Writing in Government

How do i write a gov paper .

Expos teaches you about the fundamentals of writing an analytical argument. As you write papers in Gov, you are adapting the elements of argument to a particular audience: readers in the social sciences. These readers have specific expectations about how to present arguments and supporting evidence. Writing successfully in Gov requires you to identify those expectations in assignment prompts and then  respond to them by making well-supported and clearly reasoned arguments.

__________________________________

"Everybody's work has to stand or fall on the basis of the arguments presented and the evidence." - Prof. Eric Nelson

Do the Exercise

In these exercises, you have two goals: to identify the common elements of essay prompts, and to learn strategies for developing arguments that respond effectively to the expectations presented by a given prompt. 

Decoding Prompts

Developing a thesis.

What to Do:

• Prepare  by reading about the elements of paper prompts in the "Tips" tool to the right.
• Read  the three sample prompts below and select one to work with.
• Answer  the questions in the text boxes below the sample prompts.
• Write  a 1-sentence version in your own words of the prompt you have selected. You can do this in the first “Re-write” box below the questions.
• Try re-writing  the other two prompts in a single sentence. 

Please note that these forms are not monitored; no feedback will be sent at this time.

Sample Prompts

1. The traditional definition of democracy is captured by Schumpeter’s statement that democracy is the “institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote.” Is Schumpeter’s “free competition for the free vote” a sufficient conceptual and normative definition of “democracy”? What else, if anything, would you add to this definition?

2. The majority of Gov 97 has focused on state actors, but the Internet is a whole new non-state world that currently has little to no formal governance. Should the Internet be governed democratically? What does it mean to have democratic governance of the Internet? (Will there be elected bodies? Will the Internet be governed by democratic principles?) If you were on a committee to develop Internet governance, what democratic processes (if any) would you recommend? Why?

3. How do new technologies affect democratic politics? We have read a number of accounts of traditional forms of democratic participation and democratic institutions – choose one topic or outcome (e.g. elections, campaign finance, regime change, economic institutions, the welfare state, democratic peace etc.) that we have read about, and think about how new technologies challenge or add to traditional theories about that outcome.

( Taken from Gov 97, Spring 2015)

Understanding Prompts

Design and purpose.

Instructors have two main goals with most prompts: First, they want to test how well you’ve understood assigned material for the course and gauge your progress over the term. Second, they want to encourage you to think about certain questions in a way that may not be directly covered in the course materials themselves. In this way, prompts facilitates guided learning through writing.

In most cases, the instructor will have both of these goals in mind. Depending on the assignment, though, one goal may carry greater emphasis than the other. 

Central Question

This is the main question that the instructor wants you to answer. It may be a yes/no question, where you need to agree or disagree with a given statement. Or it may be an open-ended question, where you need to develop your own line of argument. Either way, the central question is the core of the paper, i.e., the question your instructor is asking in order to test your knowledge about material from the course or to encourage you to develop a reasoned opinion based on that material. Your thesis statement should respond directly to this central question.

Example of a central question:

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship?

Example of a multi-part central question:

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship? Does it translate from ancient democracy to the present; does it apply today?

Supporting Questions

In addition to the central question, prompts typically include additional points to consider as you write your paper, and these points often come in the form of secondary or supporting questions. Supporting questions are meant to prompt your thinking and can help remind you of important debates that may exist within the topic you are writing about.  

That being said, prompts made up of more than one question can be harder to decode. For one thing, the first question in the prompt is not always the central question, and it might be possible to interpret more than one of the questions as the central question. This ambiguity might be intentional (to allow students to write a range of essays), or it might be unintentional. For these reasons, it is always helpful to try putting the prompt in your own words. What is the central question being asked? And what is the central question your paper is answering with its thesis? What are the supporting questions being asked? And how will your paper answer those questions in relation to your thesis?

In the following example prompt, notice how the first set of questions (greyed out and in italics) form a multi-part central question about an idea of Aristotle and its relevance to the present day. The subsequent supporting questions provide a number of possible directions in which to elaborate on this question, but none of these supporting questions should be the main focus of an argument responding to this particular prompt.  

Example:        

What do you think is Aristotle’s strongest justification for participatory citizenship? Does it translate from ancient democracy to the present; does it apply today? How do modern democracies define citizenship? Do modern democratic institutions (representation, voting and elections, political parties) and/or the organized groups of civil society (voluntary associations, demonstrations, social movements) provide arenas for political participation? If so, how and why is participation valued? If not, why not, and how is the division of political labor justified?

Additional Cues

Prompts often provide cues about what should or shouldn't be the focus of a writing assignment. For instance, there may be debates or themes that have been raised in the course, but which are not meant to be the particular focus of the paper at hand. In the following excerpt from a prompt, you can see that Aristotle's definition of "citizen" is crucial, but the goal of the essay is to  use  the definition to make a further point, rather than getting bogged down in the definition itself. 

Example from a Gov prompt:

In the Politics , Aristotle defined a citizen as someone who takes turns in ruling and being ruled, identified who was eligible (and ineligible) for citizenship, gave an account of citizens’ judgment, and set out reasons for popular political participation.

Restrictions

Prompts often include additional requirements that either guide or limit a writing assignment. These restrictions are usually straightforward requirements for the essay's form (how long it should be) or for its content (what question(s) it should answer and which sources or cases it should use). 

• You must analyze Aristotle’s text
• You may pick just one or two government institutions or civil society groups to 
illustrate your answer.
• You must refer to at least two authors (in addition to Aristotle) in composing your 
response. 
• Prepare by reading about the elements of thesis statements in the "Tips" tool to the right.
• Read the sample prompt below.
• Answer the questions in the text boxes below the sample prompts.  

Sample Prompt & Theses

Making reference to the cases of Rwanda and Yugoslavia, construct an argument that addresses the following questions: When you consider the various theories you've encountered about the emergence of ethnic politics in your readings as well as in lecture, how well (or how poorly) do specific elements of these two cases fit those theories? What is the strongest explanation overall for why ethnic violence broke out in these two cases and eventually assumed the proportions it did? Does the same answer apply to both cases, or do different answers best explain Rwanda and Yugoslavia separately?

• The Rwandan and Yugoslav genocides were similar in some ways. In other ways, though, they were different. 
• Ethnic politics leads to the emergence of ethnic violence.
• I argue that ethnic politics is important for understanding violence in Rwanda and Yugoslavia and for explaining the genocides there.
• Rwanda and Yugoslavia both experienced similar levels of ethnic politics and ethnic violence during the 1990s and followed similar paths to genocide.
• Ethnic politics does not always lead to ethnic violence, but in cases where the state collapses like it did in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, the path from ethnic politics to genocide will be similar.

Taken from Gov 20, Fall 2015

What is an Argument?

In the social sciences, an argument typically make claims about the way the world works. It argues that the world is one way rather than another, and explains why it is that way .

The first part of the bolded statement above is really important. In social science courses, you will rarely be asked to just summarize a set of facts. You will instead be asked to make assertions about how something came to be or how some phenomenon caused another.

This implies a counterfactual , which is a statement about how the world would have been, if something else had happened. For example, you might argue that polarization in American politics is caused by people moving to areas where most people share their political beliefs. This implies that if people didn't move to neighborhoods or cities with like-minded people, there wouldn't be polarization. But they do , so there is .

The first part of the bolded statement above also implies that you will give evidence to show us that your argument is correct.

The latter part of the statement, in turn, implies that you will show us the "why" of the phenomenon you're looking at: how exactly does it work?

Thesis Requirements

A thesis statement will be in response to a specific question, whether that question is explicitly asked in a prompt or is a question you have yourself developed in response to course readings or class discussions. Therefore, your thesis statement should clearly be an answer to a question!

Your answer should not just contain a "what is" statement, but a statement of "how" your argument works. What is the "mechanism" of your argument? If you say that wealth causes democracy, make sure the “how” or “because” is also clearly previewed in your thesis.

This is also your introduction to the reader of what the paper’s really about, and it is your chance to explain how the paper will work. It should prepare them for the direction the paper is going, so they know what kinds of evidence they should expect.

In college-level papers, thesis statements can be more than one sentence long. Being concise is good, but it's ok to have a slightly longer thesis statement if your thesis is somewhat complex, e.g., if there are two or three steps in the "how" part of your paper. 

Scope Conditions

Most papers are not about making universal arguments that showcase  everything you know, but about making an valid argument within a set of parameters that are either provided by the assignment itself, or that you decide to keep your argument clear and effective.

In writing, be clear: what are the “scope conditions” of your argument? In other words, under what conditions or in which cases is your argument valid?

Example: “In democracies,” i.e., not for every country we’ve looked at, but only for democracies.

Example: “Among late developers” i.e., only in those countries that developed recently.

Make sure your these boundaries are clearly stated in your thesis statement . Do you think it will be intuitive to the reader why you used these scope conditions in particular? If not, you may need to briefly explain why you're using them, either in the thesis statement itself or just before (or after) your thesis statement.

Evaluating Theses

Can readers take your thesis statement and test it like they would a hypothesis? Would they know what to look for in order to evaluate how well your argument is made? If so, it's probably a strong thesis.

A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested . For example, in the statement "wealth leads to democracy," we can imagine testing it by looking for wealthy countries that aren't democratic.

If readers can look at your thesis statement and come up new evidence to refute your claim, it might mean there's room for healthy debate on the topic--and it might mean there's a genuine weakness in your argument--but it also means you probably have a clearly written thesis statement! 

A really common thesis-related problem for students is that readers don't know how to evaluate whether the argument is right or wrong . This idea of being able to test arguments against new evidence is what makes political science "scientific."

Additional Tips

Be direct, and own your answer. Don’t say, “The purpose of my paper is to show that economic development causes democracy.” Say, “Economic development causes democracy, because…”

But it is OK to use the first-person voice in political science! (Example: "Wealth is a necessary condition for democracy. I show this by examining all countries with an average GDP above $6,000 per year")

Make it clear where your thesis statement is. You don’t have to put the thesis statement at the end of a short, first paragraph...but this is common, because it keeps you from writing too much/too little introduction, and it’s often where your reader will look first (because it is so common!)

Avoid the word “prove,” which implies definitive proof (which is rarely possible in social sciences)

Avoid overly stylized language in your thesis statement, and keep it as clear, specific, and unambiguous as possible.

It’s ok to argue that sometimes things work one way, and sometimes another. For example, “wealthy countries are usually democratic, but sometimes they aren’t.” However, it’s much stronger to try and make this difference part of your argument---”Wealthy countries are usually democratic because [reason], but oil-rich countries are an exception because [reason].”