When considering which theory (ies) to apply to your paper, think about the basic ideas and principles of the following approaches. The ones below seem to me to be most useful/applicable to American society.

1. Tilly and contenders for power/effectiveness of state rule

2. Ellwood and inflexible social habits and institutions

3. Johnson and social disequilibria, alienation

4. Davies and J curve

5. Marx and economic misery

6. Gurr and relative deprivation

7. Skocpol and interplay among international pressure, class relations, political structures

8. Huntington and expansion of political participation

9. Lenin and conspiratorial revolt by small group of dedicated revolutionaries

10. Terrorism and delegitimation of regime, combined with one or more of the above