Research Paper on:
Australia's Republican Movement and its History

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
of the nation, as laid out in the Australian Constitution ("Should," 2002). To Americans, it would seem to be an easy question. After all, in 1776, they fought a  bloody battle for independence. Yet, several centuries later, Australia is able to vote on this very issue. Of course, the British Queen does not usually exercise all that much power  over Australia, but there are many issues involved in the vote. Arguments for and against Australias creation of its own head-of-state are fierce (2002). Although Australia is its own entity,  the people do not seem to vote for total separation. Australians are in fact hesitant to change their Constitution, and the referendum exactly states that they are voting to  "alter the Constitution to establish the Commonwealth of Australia as a republic with the Queen and Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a two-thirds majority of the  members of the Commonwealth Parliament" (2002, p.PG). It seems simple enough, but there are social, political, and legal ramifications that are apparent in respect to this very important decision. It  is important to understand a few things about Australia. One is that the country is close to entirely secular (Hughes, 2000). Hence, while Australians do argue morality in a general  sense, there are no extremes in terms of "private indulgence and public penance" (2000, p.84). Hence, discussions on abortion and adultery are not as serious as those waged in the  United States. Still, the author takes this idea a step further, claiming that Australians are natural pagans and have evolved a natural ethos as a pleasure seeking community (2000). That  said, the nation is politically conservative. They are seriously democratic (2000). When it comes to politics, the people are adamant about their positions. A case in point is the posture