Assignment:
In Federalist 10, James Madison put forth the idea that in order to keep any one group from becoming too powerful in government, and to preserve the protections of freedom the Founders worked so hard to craft, that there must be mechanisms to allow for competition among groups. We can see evidence of this in the First Amendment allowing Americans "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
The ability for us to join together for a common cause is not a new idea, but Madison and the Founders wanted to ensure that our right to form common interest groups was legally protected. We see this in modern times expressed in interest groups. There are numerous interest groups in the country that range from local groups to national to international. Some are well funded and some struggle for funding. Some interest groups are about a single issue (NRA and gun rights) and some are much more broad (AARP and rights/treatment of retired persons).
In Texas, we have interest groups that are state specific, like Empower Texans or the Texas Community College Teachers Association, and there are also state chapters of national interest groups such as Texas NAACP or Texas Farm Bureau Association. These groups are made up of people who have a common interest in promoting, protecting, or creating public policies that benefit their members' goals. We are free to join any interest group we would like to, however, some groups have membership requirements. The AARP require members to be over 55 years old, the American Medical Association requires members to hold a medical license, the Texas Bar Association requires members to be lawyers, and so on.
Information to help you answer this question will be found of your textbook.
In your original post you must:
- Identify a strong interest group in the state of Texas.
- Describe what area of public policy this interest group tries to influence/impact.
- Identify a specific recent law/regulation that this interest group has been able to influence/impact within the last ten years.
- Explain in some detail what actions this interest group took to influence/impact this public policy.
Post must also include:
- Works Cited at least 2 sources-MUST BE credible sources. To determine if your source is credible, you can visit:
- 200 original-content words (this means quotes do not count towards word count)
- Post must be written in paragraph format. Do NOT use numbering or bullet points. There is no need to include the original questions in your post.
In your response you must:
1. Discuss whether you agree or disagree with the actions taken by the original poster's identified interest group to get their public policy goals addressed by the Texas government.
Post must also include:
- Works Cited at least 1 source DIFFERENT than your original post-MUST BE credible sources. To determine if your source is reliable, you can visit:
- 100 original-content words (this means quotes do not count towards word count)
You must provide a properly formatted MLA citation. Please visit to learn how to do so properly. NOTE: There is an ad-based citation generator at the top of the page this link takes you to - it does not format your citations properly.
- Strive to always bring up new, interesting comments. There is no point reiterating a remark that has already been made. You should always try to further the discussion-be provocative! Even if you have a similar opinion as the previous respondent, bring up an additional example or resource. The second poster in the above example includes many comments for the next student-or even the previous poster-to agree or disagree with.
- Good discussion threads should be substantial but concise: convey only the information that is most meaningful and accessible to your classmates. Make sure to always re-read your response! A good habit is to copy and paste your thread into a Word document prior to posing to check for errors in spelling and grammar.
- Don't just state that you agree or disagree with the poster-make sure you offer an inventive reason why (avoid things like "You go girl, I totally agree!") Always be professional and respectful to your classmates and avoid ad hominem attacks (criticism against the person, not his/her comments.)