Purpose: The primary goal of this weekly summative assignment is to examine one of the most critical governmental institutions that embodies the U.S. government, the Executive Branch.

Reflect: The role of human nature in the construction of political institutions plays an important dynamic in how those political institutions are created, how they evolve, and how they solve problems. Many vital political institutions have faced, and are still facing, complex and multi-faceted challenges.

Responding to these challenges often creates unintended side effects that change the very nature and capabilities of the institution.

For example, the executive institutions of the U.S. government (also known as the Executive Branch) before the Civil War consisted only of the Departments of State, War, and Treasury. However, the nature and capabilities of the Executive Branch of government rapidly changed as a result of the Civil War. Thousands of new employees were added to the federal government, and new departments (e.g., Agriculture) and many new responsibilities were added to the central government.

Write: In your essay of at least three pages, you will investigate the executive institutions of the U.S. government by addressing the following:

• Describe one historical event that significantly affected the nature and capabilities of the executive institutions of the U.S. government (1 page).
• Explain how and why this event changed the nature of the Executive Branch (1 page).
• Explain how and why this event changed the capabilities of the Executive Branch (1 page).

The Expansion or Contraction—Big Bangs in Politics! paper

• Must be at least three pages (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford University Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)
  • Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must use at least three appropriate sources including the course text.
  • Be sure to integrate the information from your sources rather than simply inserting it. Watch the Integrating Research (Links to an external site.) tutorial for assistance.
  • Your course text will count as one of your sources.
  • You can also include additional resources found on the Ashford University Library website. The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types.
• Must document all sources in APA Style as outlined in in Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.).
• Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
• Must include a conclusion that summarizes the main points and restates the thesis.
  • For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford University Writing Center resources.
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford University Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource for specifications.