Civil Government Apprentice, Episode TWO:  "United States Conspiracies"

ASSIGNMENT: This assignment for Civil Government Apprentice, Episode TWO will involve groups RESEARCHING an episode from the relatively recent history of the United States in which the United States performed actions that were not in the best interest of its citizens. 

THE CONSPIRACIES:  The following list is a compilation of SOME of the acts/conspiracies of the United States government over the last 70 years.  Groups will be asked to choose a conspiracy to research:

  • Experimentation:  U.S. government experimentation on citizens-
    • The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment:  a 40 year experiment wherein poor black men where infected with venereal disease. (Team Omega)
    • Project MKULTRA:  a 20 year experiment where soldiers and students were given various drugs, hallucinogens and other mind-altering substances. (Team KLI)
    • The Gay Experiment:  10 year experiment regarding infectious diseases and gay men, which may have created the AIDS virus. (Team CJ)
    • Project SHAD: Did the government really use chemical warfare on our own soldiers? (Team Blue Thunder)
  • Limiting Civil Liberties:  Government limiting the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution.
    • National Defense Authorization Act 2012:  Does Section 1021 allow the government to arrest and detain you indefinitely without a trial?
    • The Patriot Act:  Did the government completely throw out the Constitution and citizen's rights in an attempt to "catch terrorists"?
    • SOPA/PIPA:  Supposedly meant to stop internet piracy, how close did you come to losing all of your rights on your computer and the Internet?
    • McCarthyism of the 1950s:  Was EVERYONE a communist in the 1950s?  McCarthy thought so and did what he could to find them. (Team $parta)
  • Foreign Policy Issues:
    • Operation Paperclip: Did we really recruit a large number of Nazi war criminals to help us design the Atomic Bomb during World War II?
    • The Gulf of Tonkin Incident: Did the United States government invent a military skirmish that eventually led to the Vietnam War?
    • Operation Northwoods: Did the CIA commit acts of terror within the U.S. and blame it on Cuba, so as to justify military action against Cuba?
  • Control of the Press and Information:
    • Cointelpro: The FBI, through the program called "Cointelpro," targets 2000+ citizens for smear campaigns.
    • Operation Mockingbird: Did the CIA control the American and foreign press for over 20 years?
    • Kennedy Assassination: Was there a cover-up of what really happened to JFK in Dallas? (Team IAS)
    • Watergate:  Presidential coverup of office break-ins to further a president's campaign. (Team BAU)
    • The Iran-Contra Affair: Did we sell arms to Iran in exchange for hostages? What did the president know? (Team L2)
    • Fort Knox:  Has all of the gold in Fort Knox been sold?  What is the basis of our economy? (Team Anvil)
  • Chemical Additives: 
    • Flouride in the Water Supply-  Is the U.S. government poisoning you and attempting to control your mind every time you take a drink?  (Team L1)
    • Poisoning Alcohol: Did the Federal government really poison all of the alcohol that was sold by the public during Prohibition in the 1920s and '30s?

RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION:  Groups will be required to give a presenation regarding their topic which outlines ALL of the following information:

  • The history of your event from beginning to the end.  What happened, when (dates), how and why?
  • Detailed information regarding how the government was involved. What did the government claim they were doing?
  • How were U.S. citizens harmed, lied to, used, limited, deprived of freedoms or not informed?

FORMAT:  Groups can give their presentation in any format that they wish.  If the group uses a PowerPoint presentation, ALL GROUP MEMBERS should participate in the presentation. COPYING and PASTING information or other items will NOT BE TOLERATED!  Plagiarized material will be strongly punished.

JUDGEMENT: The presentations will be judged by members of the HHS Administration, who will be instructed to judge based on two criteria:  Professional and creative presentation AND amount of INFORMATION imparted on the presentation.