Two (2) to three (3) pages, typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, one (1)-inch margins.  These technical requirements, including the page limit, will be strictly enforced, and non-conforming essays risk receiving the grade of “F”.

To demonstrate what you have learned about American government in this class to date, write an essay about five (5) paragraphs in length to address the following issues.

Richard Posner was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for many years, a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, and a prolific public intellectual.  In a book review published about 10 years ago, Judge Posner wrote: “[W]hile the Constitution was republican, it was only quasi-democratic.”  If you read James Madison’s Federalist No. 10, you understand the intentional limits of democracy in the Constitution of 1787.  First, providing specific examples from the original Constitution, Articles I through VII, describe those limits on democracy in your own words.     

Second, how have the amendments to the Constitution since 1791 made American government more democratic?  Be specific but do not use long quotations.  Paraphrase.  

Third, President Joseph Biden soon will announce a nominee for the vacancy on the Supreme Court: What is the constitutional process for naming federal judges, and how democratic is that process?  Would American democracy be better served if the Constitution were amended to provide for election of justices of the Supreme Court?  What does amending the Constitution require?  Would such a constitutional amendment make American government less republican in the sense Madison used that word?

Quotations should be kept to a minimum, but, when necessary, a simple MLA-style in-text citation must be provided.  This is not a research assignment, so you may not consult or cite any sources other than texts and documents assigned in this class.