Need a research topic for History

Must be a double sided issue (with good sources/literature arguing both sides available) somewhat applicable to US History.

Any ideas?

Go with the Death Penalty. In before "Gay rights", etc. Those are boring research topics.

Obscure teaching methods. All of the time I'm seeing stories on the news about teachers trying to do something different to get through to their kids and they're always getting in pomegranate for it, even though a lot of ideas I think are really good. For example, just today a principal posted a list of all the students in his school with F's on a wall where everyone could see. If they finished old work, their name was removed. This is an excellent incentive for kids to stop being so lazy, but parents are concerned about the "humiliation".

There are lots of other stories like this. Dunno. Just an idea.

edit: as far as history goes, you could write about how the school system has softened. Teachers used to have a lot more power and now have none, really.

Could try prayers in public schools for some interesting debates.

must be two sided, have lots of sources available to it, and be relevant to US history?

Tobacco.
that pomegranate was used to help FOUND this nation, and is still causing controversy today with the back-and-forth over marijuana legalization; should it be regulated and distributed like cigarettes are or should it be kept banned?

Search and Seizure in Schools, Reference TLO v. New London, Engel v Vitale, South Dakota v Dole(If you take government money, you do whatever the government says), and Miranda v Arizona.

Abortion.
Whether or not the fetus is "alive". By definition, the fetus' cells are alive, but is the fetus itself "alive"?

Somewhat applicable to History? Crap. Nevermind.

The right to die. I'm sure it's not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about History. I remember last year, (Gay, Women's, x Race, etc.) Rights, Abortion, and Ethics were the three most presented topics. =\

Go with the Death Penalty. In before "Gay rights", etc. Those are boring research topics.

This. And Harrison's idea.

Socialism vs. capitalism is actually a pretty interesting topic if you're into economics/politics. Why does Americans "prefer" capitalism and Europeans socialism? Are there any effects from this which affects the morale of people, or the community itself? etc.

Socialism vs. capitalism is actually a pretty interesting topic if you're into economics/politics. Why does Americans "prefer" capitalism and Europeans socialism? Are there any effects from this which affects the morale of people, or the community itself? etc.

It's because it works. All economies are mixed economies in the sense that there is a mix of capitalist and socialist elements. In the United States, the American government has control over immediate interest rates because they control how much money is circulated throughout the economy via demand on banks. Yet they are capitalistic in the sense that they allow companies to boom and have stock markets for people to invest funds at their free will. Essentially there is a duality of government-oriented economics and laissez-faire principles that are circulating through the life-bane of almost every major nation. Historically the U.S.S.R. failed because it refused to enter a capitalist market and the state attempted to manage everything. Psychologically the workers were depressed and the economy was stymied across many different business sectors. It's not like we "prefer" capitalism like a choice between choosing to have apple turnover or key lime ice cream as dinner desert choices. We've tried different systems (Especially under The Articles of Confederation) and have found out what works and doesn't work. In this day and age it is nearly impossible to become a completely socialist entity because of the amount of goods available when it comes to foreign trade. FOREX and foreign trade are almost always guided on principles of capitalism. Hence duality.

War(s) in Iraq