1. Pretend you are a member of Congress, representing the Dallas area in 1918, planning to run for re-election in November 1918. Write a letter to the editor of The Dallas Morning News explaining why Dallas-area voters should vote for you. Remember that in 1917 Congress passed a declaration of war against Germany, passed the Selective Service Act to draft young men to serve in the war, and passed the Eighteenth Amendment which called for Prohibition of the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol. How did you vote on each of these issues and why? In addition, in the next two years, Congress is expected to debate a possible Nineteenth Amendment, which would give women the right to vote. How will you vote on this issue, and why? Why should Texas voters agree with your stances on these issues and why should they re-elect you in November 1918? Please use specific examples from the textbook, videos and/or class discussion forum to inform your argument.

2. Imagine you are a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1966, representing citizens in the Dallas area. At this time, Dallas is a growing city with fast-growing suburbs like Garland and Mesquite. This part of Texas, like the rest of the country, is in the middle of huge wave of change. You have been in Congress since 1955, and have a long record of votes on some historically significant pieces of legislation. You would like to run for the U.S. Senate from Texas in the 1966 election. (You may choose to be a Democrat or a Republican.) During the last decade, you voted on a number of significant issues in Congress, such as the Federal-Aid Highway Act (1956), the National Defense Education Act (1958), the National Aeronautics and Space Act (1958), the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964), the Voting Rights Act (1965), and the Social Security Act Amendments (1965) that created Medicare and Medicaid. Write a letter to the editor of The Dallas Morning News, of at least 500 words, in which you explain what these various acts of Congress were, why they were important to Texans, and why you voted the way you did on them during the last decade. Next, tell the readers, who you hope will vote for you, why they should vote for you based on your votes on these issues. Finally, explain what issues you think will be important between 1967 and 1973 (the period covered by the six-year Senate term you seek), your various positions on these issues, and why you think Texans should support your positions on these upcoming issues. Please use specific historical examples from the 1950s, 60s and 70s (found in the textbook, videos and class discussions) to support your arguments to the voters.