Archive for the ‘Syllabus’ Category

Capitalism and Modernity: Christopher Newport University

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Capitalism and Modernity

GOVT 395–2

Spring 2012, Christopher Newport University

MWF 1:00, McMurran 360

Matthew D. Mendham, Ph.D.

Office: McMurran 208

Office hours: Mon. 2:00-3:00, Wed. 3:00-4:00, Friday 2:00-4:30, and by appointment

Phone: 757-594-7066

Email: matthew.mendham@cnu.edu

Course Description

Modern people live in a world which is profoundly different than anything which came before it, resulting from a “relentless revolution” of economic, technological, and cultural change. These changes have been fiercely debated since the 18^th century, when Europe and America first witnessed dramatic shifts from rural, subsistence agriculture to advanced commerce, finance, and industry. For instance, many have asked whether, as much of the population left meager existences for solid worldly comfort or even lavish affluence, would citizens become more enlightened, peaceable, and tolerant, or instead more skeptical, self-centered, and incapable of hardship or sacrifice? Would the lower classes share the new wealth, or be left far behind in degradation, taunted by luxuries they cannot partake of legally? When people have more commerce with foreign cultures, do they tend to adopt the foreigners’ best attributes, get corrupted by their worst attributes, or are they simply reduced to a materialistic common denominator? Would more trade and interdependence lead to less war—or instead, increase its scope and destructive potential? We will pursue such questions with the help of historical, sociological, economic, and political studies, as well as thinkers such as Hume, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Franklin, Jefferson, and Tocqueville—focusing on the 18^th and 19^th centuries but leading up to our own time.

Required Texts

Bring a hard copy of the assigned reading to class every day. Please do not find online equivalents instead, since the translations are often inadequate, and the different pagination will affect your participation in class and citation in essays.

Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography: And Other Writings. Ed. Ormond Seavey. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN: 0199554900.

Muller, Jerry Z. The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Western Thought. New York: Anchor, 2003. ISBN: 0385721668.

Pinker, Steven. The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. New York: Viking, 2011. ISBN: 0670022950.

Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America: And Two Essays on America. Trans. Gerald Bevan. London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN: 0140447601.

Additional readings on Blackboard (BB).

Course Requirements and Grading

Attendance and Participation (20% of final grade). Regular attendance is expected of each student (for a course meeting three times per week, up to three unexcused absences is acceptable). Since this course will be conducted in a seminar style, regular participation is expected. In the manner of many law schools, each student should be prepared to offer an accurate account of the reading, either as a whole or in various important details. You should also be prepared with at least one informed question that you would like the professor or the class to discuss. If you find it difficult to speak in class, you may partially compensate for this by speaking to me about our readings during my office hours.

Campus Intellectual Life (5% of final grade). You are expected to attend two academic lectures or seminars held on CNU’s campus this semester which are related to politics, philosophy, or economics. Various opportunities will be mentioned in class, and you should feel free to consult me about other possibilities. Within a week after the event, email me an informal statement of 3-5 sentences about its content. You will earn full credit as long as it is clear that you attended two events and attempted to pay attention. If you cannot attend two events or do not wish to, you may submit a second “Response Essay” instead.

Response Essay (5% of final grade). One essay of 2-3 pages. It should analyze one assigned reading. It should display a clear understanding of the reading, usually by focusing on one theme or highlighting a set of related themes. Although the primary goal is to demonstrate thorough comprehension, the essay should defend a particular interpretation, or offer an evaluative response. No outside research is expected or recommended, although brief comparisons with other class readings and themes are welcome. For all essays, specific pages (or section numbers) should be cited, and a formal method of citation should be used. Each essay is due at the beginning of class.

Comparative Essay (10% of final grade). One essay of 5-6 pages, comparing, contrasting, or synthesizing an element of the assignments for at least two course periods (e.g., contrasting the effects of luxury according to Plato and Hume). The approach should be similar to the Response Essay, although more interpretive creativity and/or reasoned criticism should be evident.

Research Essay (20% of final grade). One 10-12 page essay on a topic of your choice, drawing from any of the academic disciplines and methods employed in the course (e.g., Political Theory, Political Science, History, Sociology, and Economics). This should demonstrate understanding of the assigned materials which are relevant to your topic, substantial outside research, creative and rational engagement with the issue, and professional grammar and style. A topic statement and list of potential sources will be due two weeks before the Research Essay is due. For further guidance on writing standards and research methods, see my “A Student’s Guide to Academic Writing” (in BB).

Exams (Midterm and Final, each 20% of final grade). Exams will draw from readings, lectures, and discussions. They will consist of a multiple choice and/or short-answer format, designed to reveal how deeply and clearly the student has grasped the fundamental ideas and arguments studied in the course. The Final will cover only the second half of the course.

Course and University Policies

Honor code. The CNU honor code will be enforced: “On my honor, I will maintain the highest standards of honesty, integrity and personal responsibility. This means I will not lie, cheat or steal, and as a member of this academic community, am committed to creating an environment of respect and mutual trust.” Please contact me with any questions or concerns about the proper use of sources, or about collaboration with other students.

Disabilities. Students with documented disabilities are required to notify the instructor on the first day of class and in private if accommodation is needed. The instructor will provide students with disabilities with all reasonable accommodations, but they are not exempted from fulfilling the normal requirements of the course. Work completed before the student notifies the instructor of his/her disability may be counted toward the final grade at the sole discretion of the instructor.

If you believe that you have a disability, you should make an appointment to see me to discuss your needs. In order to receive an accommodation, your disability must be on record in the Dean of Students’ office, 3^rd Floor David Student Union/DSU (Telephone: 594-7160).

Tutoring. The Center for Academic Success offers free assistance for CNU students in writing, mathematics, science, languages, and other subjects. The Center is located in room 240 of the Trible Library. For more information please visit http://tutors.cnu.edu or phone 594-7684.

Success. If I become concerned about your course performance, attendance, engagement, or well-being, I will speak with you first. I may also submit an Institutional Referral Form that will be received by the Center for Academic Success. Depending upon the nature of my concern it also may be received by Counseling Services. If you are an athlete then Jenny Nuttycombe will receive notice. Someone will contact you to help determine what will help you succeed. Please remember that this is a means for me to support you and help foster your success at CNU.

Course Schedule

W Jan. 11. Introductory comments.

I. What Is Modern Capitalism, and Does It Have a Future?

F Jan 13. John Lanchester, “How We Were All Misled,” a review of Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World (2011), by Michael Lewis (BB).

M Jan 16. Deirdre N. McCloskey, “The Rhetoric of the Economy and the Polity” (2011), pp. 182-85 (BB).

McCloskey, The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce (2006), pp. 1-8, 14-18, 22-32 (BB).

W Jan 18. Marion Fourcade and Kieran Healy, “Moral Views of Market Society” (2007), pp. 285-99, 304-5 (BB).

II. Economics and Virtue in the Ancient World

F Jan 20. Jerry Muller, The Mind and the Market, “Historical Backdrop: Rights, Righteousness, and Virtue,” pp. 3-19.

M Jan 23. Xenophon, Oeconomicus, chapters 4-5, pp. 50-57 (BB).

Livy, From the Founding of the City, Preface, pp. 3-4 (BB).

Plato, Republic, Book VIII, 543a-555b (BB).

W Jan 25. Republic, Book VIII, 555b-569c; Book IX, 571a-576b.

III. Debating the Rise of Capitalism in the Enlightenment

F Jan 27. Bernard Mandeville, The Fable of the Bees (1723), “The Grumbling Hive,” pp. 23-35; “Remark L” (on luxury), pp. 65-73.

M Jan 30. The Fable of the Bees, “Remark Q” (on frugality), pp. 94-98; “Remark Y” (on conveniencies), pp. 107-9 (BB).

Muller, “Voltaire: ‘A Merchant of a Noble Kind’,” pp. 20-23, 39-44.

W Feb. 1. Muller, “Voltaire,” pp. 23-39, 44-50.

F Feb. 3. Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws (1748), Book III, chapters 1-6, pp. 21-26; IV.4-7, pp. 35-39; V.2-3, pp. 42-43; V.6, pp. 47-48; XV.9, p. 253 (BB).

M Feb. 6. The Spirit of the Laws, XX.1-5, pp. 338-41; XXI.20, pp. 387-90; XXIII.29, pp. 455-56; XXIV.3-4, pp. 461-62.

David Kettler, review of The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph (1977), by Albert O. Hirschman (BB).

W Feb. 8. David Hume, “Of Refinement in the Arts” (1752, originally titled “Of Luxury”), pp. 268-78 (BB).

F Feb. 10. “Of Refinement in the Arts,” pp. 278-80.

Paul Cheney, review of The Case for the Enlightenment (2005), by John Robertson (BB).

· Response Essay due.

M Feb. 13. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Discourse on Political Economy” (1755), ¶¶24-78 (BB).

W Feb. 15. Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality (1754), Part II, ¶¶1-34, 55-58 (BB).

F Feb. 17. Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality, Note IX, ¶¶1-3.

Mendham, “Rousseau on Commerce and Politics” (BB).

M Feb. 20. Muller, “Adam Smith: Moral Philosophy and Political Economy,” pp. 51-71.

Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776), I.ii, pp. 25-30; II.ii, ¶¶93-95, pp. 323-24 (BB).

W Feb. 22. The Wealth of Nations, IV.ii, ¶¶1-4, pp. 452-54, ¶¶9-10, pp. 455-56, ¶¶23-45, pp. 463-72; IV.v.b, ¶¶39-43, pp. 538-40.

F Feb. 24. Muller, “Adam Smith,” pp. 72-84.

Smith, The Wealth of Nations, V.i.f, ¶¶46-61, pp. 780-88.

M Feb. 27. Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, (1759–1790), I.i.1, ¶1, p. 9; I.iii.3, pp. 61-66; IV.1.7, ¶¶8-10, pp. 181-85 (BB).

W Feb. 29. Theory of Moral Sentiments, V.2, pp. 200-11.

F Mar. 2. Midterm Exam.

M Mar. 5 – F Mar. 9. Spring recess.

IV. The Economics of Liberty and Culture in Early America

M Mar. 12. Benjamin Franklin, “The Way to Wealth” (1758), in Autobiography: And Other Writings, pp. 264-74.

Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905, 1920), pp. 70-75 (BB).

W Mar. 14. Franklin, Autobiography, Part 1 (1771), pp. 3-4, 11-22, 44-48 (begin or end pp. 4, 11, and 22 at the last paragraph break; begin p. 44 at the first paragraph break).

F Mar. 16. Autobiography, Part 1, pp. 58-63, 67-72 (end p. 63 after second paragraph break; begin p. 67 at last paragraph).

Autobiography, Part 2 (1784), letters from Abel James and Benjamin Vaughan, pp. 72-78.

M Mar. 19. Autobiography, Part 2, pp. 79-95.

Autobiography, Part 3 (1788), pp. 95-100.

· Comparative Essay due.

W Mar. 21. Franklin, “On the Price of Corn, and the Management of the Poor” (1766), pp. 277-80 (BB).

Thomas Jefferson, Writings (BB).

Letter to John Jay on commerce and sea power (1785), pp. 818-20.

Letter to John Banister, Jr. on European education (1785), pp. 837-40.

Letter to James Madison on property and natural right (1785), pp. 840-43.

James Madison, “Parties” (1792), pp. 504-5 (BB).

Madison, “Property” (1792), pp. 515-17 (BB).

F Mar. 23. Jefferson, Writings (BB).

Notes on the State of Virginia (1782, 1787), Queries 18-19, pp. 288-91.

President Jefferson to Brother Handsome Lake (1802), pp. 555-57.

Letter to Jean Baptiste Say on Malthus and the New World (1804), pp. 1143-44.

Letter to Benjamin Austin on manufactures (1816), pp. 1369-72.

Letter to John Adams on their prophecies (1816), pp. 1374-77.

M Mar. 26. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vol. 1 (1835), Author’s Introduction, pp. 11-26.

W Mar. 28. Democracy in America, Vol. 1, Part 2, Chapter 10, from section, “The Position of the Black Race in the United States,” pp. 402-9 (begin 402 at the last full paragraph, which begins, “In almost all the states where slavery has been abolished”; stop on 409 after second full paragraph);

Vol. 1, Part 2, Chapter 10, section, “A Few Reflections on the Reasons for the Commercial Greatness of the United States,” pp. 470-78.

F Mar. 30. Democracy in America, Vol. 1, Conclusion, pp. 479-85;

Democracy in America, Vol. 2 (1840), Chapters 8-11, pp. 609-20.

M Apr. 2. Democracy in America, Vol. 2, Part 2, Chapters 12-17, pp. 621-39.

W Apr. 4. Democracy in America, Vol. 2, Part 2, Chapters 18-20, pp. 639-48.

Vol. 2, Part 3, Chapter 1, pp. 649-54;

Vol. 2, Part 3, Chapter 7, pp. 675-77.

F Apr. 6. Democracy in America, Vol. 2, Part 4, Chapter 6, pp. 803-9.

Tocqueville, “First Memoir on Pauperism” (1835), pp. 142-48 (BB).

V. Concluding Reflections on Capitalism, Civilization, and Violence

M Apr. 9. Muller, “Karl Marx: From Jewish Usury to Universal Vampirism,” pp. 166-81, 192-96, 205-7.

Topic Statement and Sources for Research Essay due.

W Apr. 11. Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (2011), pp. xxi-xxvi, 59-81.

F Apr. 13. Better Angels, pp. 81-106.

M Apr. 16. Better Angels, pp. 106-28.

W Apr. 18. Better Angels, pp. 189-200, 222-31, 249-55.

F Apr. 20. Better Angels, pp. 671-96.

M Apr. 23. Conclusion and review.

Recommended reading: Mendham, “A Student’s Guide to Academic Writing” (BB).

Final Research Essay due.

Thursday, Apr. 26, 2:00–4:30 p.m. Final Exam.

Select Bibliography

Appleby, Joyce. The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism. New York: W. W. Norton, 2010.

Broadie, Alexander, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Scottish Enlightenment. Cambridge UP, 2003.

Bryant, Joseph M. “The West and the Rest Revisited: Debating Capitalist Origins, European Colonialism, and the Advent of Modernity.” Canadian Journal of Sociology 31.4 (2006): 403-44.

Clark, Gregory. A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World. Princeton UP, 2007.

Clark, Henry C., ed. Commerce, Culture, and Liberty: Readings on Capitalism before Adam Smith. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2003.

Clery, E. J. The Feminization Debate in Eighteenth-Century England: Literature, Commerce and Luxury. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

Collier, Paul. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It. Oxford UP, 2007.

Davis, David Brion. Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

De Vries, Jan. The Industrious Revolution: Consumer Behavior and the Household Economy, 1650 to Present. Cambridge UP, 2008.

—. “The Limits of Globalization in the Early Modern World.” Economic History Review 63.3 (2010): 710-33.

Elias, Norbert. The Civilizing Process: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Investigations (1939). Trans. Edmund Jephcott, revised edn. Oxford: Blackwell, 2000.

Fleischacker, Samuel. A Short History of Distributive Justice. Harvard UP, 2004.

—. On Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations”: A Philosophical Companion. Princeton UP, 2004.

Force, Pierre. Self-Interest before Adam Smith: A Genealogy of Economic Science. Cambridge UP, 2003.

Gartzke, Eric. “The Capitalist Peace.” American Journal of Political Science 51.1 (2007): 166-91.

Glaeser, Edward L. Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier. New York: Penguin, 2011.

Guillén, Mauro F. “Is Globalization Civilizing, Destructive or Feeble? A Critique of Five Key Debates in the Social Science Literature.” Annual Review of Sociology 27 (2001): 235-60.

Hanley, Ryan Patrick. Adam Smith and the Character of Virtue. Cambridge UP, 2009.

Kolakowski, Leszek. Main Currents of Marxism: Its Rise, Growth, and Dissolution. Trans. P. S. Falla. 3 vol., Oxford UP, 1978. One-volume edition, New York: Norton, 2005.

Lang, Michael. “Globalization and Its History.” Journal of Modern History 78 (2006): 899-931.

Mokyr, Joel. The Gifts of Athena: Historical Origins of the Knowledge Economy. Princeton UP, 2002.

Nee, Victor, and Richard Swedberg, eds. The Economic Sociology of Capitalism. Princeton UP, 2005.

Offer, Avner. The Challenge of Affluence: Self-Control and Well-Being in the United States and Britain since 1950. Oxford UP, 2006.

Pocock, J. G. A. Virtue, Commerce, and History: Essays on Political Thought and History, Chiefly in the Eighteenth Century. Cambridge UP, 1985.

Rahe, Paul A. Soft Depsotism, Democracy’s Drift: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and the Modern Prospect. Yale UP, 2009.

Rasmussen, Dennis C. The Problems and Promise of Commercial Society: Adam Smith’s Response to Rousseau. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 2008.

Wootton, David, ed. Republicanism, Liberty, and Commercial Society, 1649–1776. Stanford UP, 1994.

Tags: Capitalism and Modernity, Christopher Newport University, Matthew Mendham
Posted in Syllabus | Comments Off

Franklin and Lincoln: University of Chicago

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

American Originals: Franklin and Lincoln

LLSO 27401 (= NCDV 27401, FNDL 24401, SOCTH 39112) Fall 2010

D. J. Hutchinson, R. Lerner MW 10:30-11:50

Foster Hall 505

Texts to be purchased:

Benjamin Franklin, Silence Dogood, The Busy-body and Early Writings (ed. J. A. Leo Lemay, Library of America)

Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography, Poor Richard, and Later Writings (ed. J. A. Leo Lemay, Library of America)

Abraham Lincoln, Speeches and Writings 1832-1858 (ed. Don E. Fehrenbacher, Library of America)

Abraham Lincoln, Speeches and Writings 1859-1865 (ed. Don E. Fehrenbacher, Library of America)

Calendar of readings:

September 27

Silence Dogood, nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 9 [5-13, 26-29]

On Titles of Honor [49-50]

Timothy Wagstaff [52-55]

Plan of Conduct [72]

Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion [83-90]

Epitaph [91]

The Busy-Body, no. 3 [96-99]

Doctrine to be Preached [179-80]

On Simplicity [181-84]

On Censure or Backbiting [192-95]

September 29

Rules for a Club Formerly Established in Philadelphia [205-7]

Proposals and Queries to be Asked the Junto [208-12]

On a Pertinacious Obstinacy in Opinion [253-55]

A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge Among the British Plantations in America [295-97]

Old Mistresses Apologue [302-3]

The Speech of Miss Polly Baker [305-8]

Advice to a Young Tradesman, Written by an Old One [320-22]

Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania [323-44]

Idea of the English School [348-54]

Rattle-Snakes for Felons [359-61]

Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, &c. [367-74]

Reasons and Motives for the Albany Plan of Union [383-401]

No Taxation Without Representation [402-10]

October 4

To Josiah and Abiah Franklin [425-27]

To Joseph Huey [475-77]

Humorous Reasons for Restoring Canada [526-29]

On the Tenure of the Manor of East Greenwich [564-67]

Causes of the American Discontents Before 1768 [601-9]

On the Labouring Poor [616-19]

A New Version of the Lord’s Prayer [632-35]

Positions to Be Examined [637-39]

October 6

“The Seeds Sown of a Total Disunion of the Two Countries” [663-65]

Toleration in Old and New England [667-71]

Preface to the Declaration of the Boston Town Meeting [672-75]

Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One [683-91]

An Edict by the King of Prussia [692-97]

Proposed Articles of Confederation [724-27]

October 11

To _____ [9-10]

To Jane Mecom [16-18]

To Lord Kames [26-28]

To William Strahan [110-15]

To Samuel Cooper [119-22]

To Jane Mecom [123-26]

To Jane Mecom [128-32]

To Joshua Babcock [134-36]

To William Franklin [146-48]

Model of a Letter of Recommendation [179]

Passport for Captain Cook [186-87]

The Morals of Chess [187-91]

To the Royal Academy of ***** [212-15]

Remarks Concerning the Savages of North-America [229-34]

Information to Those Who Would Remove to America [235-43]

October 13

To Lord Howe [252-54]

To _____ Lith [257-58]

To Benjamin Vaughan [275-77]

To Joseph Priestley [307-309]

To Comte de Vergennes [320-21]

To Robert Morris [339-43]

To _____ [343-44]

To William Strahan [349-51]

To Samuel Mather [352-53]

To Mason Locke Weems and Edward Gant [354-56]

To William Franklin [356-58]

October 18

The Retort Courteous [382-90]

Speeches in the Constitutional Convention [391-401]

A Comparison of the Conduct of the Ancient Jews and of the Anti-Federalists in the United States of America [404-8]

An Address to the Public from the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage [414-15]

Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim on the Slave Trade [417-20]

To Benjamin Vaughan [428-29]

To Ezra Stiles [440-42]

October 20, 25, 27

Poor Richard

The Autobiography

November 1: Mid-term Examination

November 3

To the People of Sangamo County [1-5]

To the Editor of the Sangamo Journal [5-6]

Speech in the Illinois Legislature on the State Bank [9-17]

Protest in Illinois Legislature on Slavery [18]

To Mrs. Orville Browning [37-39]

Lyceum Address [28-36]

To Mary Speed [73-75]

Temperance Address [81-90]

November 8

To Williamson Durley [111-13]

Handbill replying to charges of infidelity [139-40]

“Spot” Resolutions in U.S. House of Representatives [158-59]

War with Mexico, Speech in U. S. House of Representatives [161-71]

To William Herndon [172-73]

To William Herndon [175-76]

Speech on Internal Improvements [187-98]

Presidential Question, Speech in U. S. House of Representatives [205-21]

Proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia [227-29]

Notes on the Practice of Law [245-46]

Eulogy on Henry Clay [259-72]

Fragments on Government [301-3]

Fragment on Slavery [303]

November 10

Speech on the Kansas-Nebraska Act at Peoria [307-48]

To Owen Lovejoy [357-58]

To George Robertson [359-60]

To Joshua Speed [360-63]

Speech at Kalamazoo [376-82]

Portion of Speech at Republican Banquet in Chicago [385-86]

The Dred Scott Decision [390-403]

A House Divided [426-34]

Fragment on the Struggle against Slavery [437-38]

November 15

Reply to Douglas at Chicago [439-58]

Reply to Douglas at Springfield [460-79]

On Slavery and Democracy [484]

Ottawa debate [495-536]

Portion of Speech at Edwardsville [580-85]

November 17

On Pro-Slavery Theology [685-86]

Galesburg debate [692 bottom-709 middle]

Alton debate: Lincoln’s reply [790-814]

November 22

To H. L. Pierce and others [18-19]

Speech at Cincinnati [59-89]

To J. W. Fell, Autobiography [106-8]

Address at Cooper Institute [111-30]

Speech at New Haven [132-50]

The Declaration, the Constitution, and the Union [to be supplied]

Farewell Address at Springfield, Illinois [199]

Address to New Jersey Senate [209-10]

Address in Independence Hall [213-14]

First Inaugural Address [215-24]

Proclamations [232-34]

To Reverdy Johnson [235-36]

To Winfield Scott [236-37, 237]

November 24

No Class

November 29

Message to Congress in Special Session [246-61]

To John C. Fremont [266-67]

To David Hunter [267]

To John C. Fremont [267-68]

To O. H. Browning [268-270]

Annual Message to Congress [279-97]

Message to Congress [307-8]

Proclamation Revoking Order of Military Emancipation [318-19]

Appeal to Border-State Representatives for Compensated Emancipation [340-42]

To Horace Greeley [357-58]

Meditation on the Divine Will [359]

Reply to Chicago Emancipation Memorial [361-67]

Proclamation Suspending Writ of Habeas Corpus [371]

To Gen. G. B. McClellan [376-78]

To Gen. G. B. McClellan [379-80, 380]

Portion of Annual Message to Congress [415]

Emancipation Proclamations, Preliminary [368-70] and Final [424-25]

December 1

To the Working Men of Manchester, England [431-33]

To Gen. Joseph Hooker [433-34]

To Erastus Corning and others [454-63]

To Gen. N. P. Banks [486-87]

To James Conkling [495-99]

Gettysburg Address [536]

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction [555-58]

To Gov. Michael Hahn [579]

To Albert Hodges [585-86]

Address at a Sanitary Fair in Baltimore [589-91]

To George B. Ide and others [596-97]

To Charles Robinson [620-22]

Memorandum on Probable Failure of Re-Election [624]

Response to a Serenade [641-42]

To Stephen A. Hurlbut [642-43]

To Mrs. Bixby [644]

Second Inaugural Address [686-87]

To Thurlow Weed [689]

Speech on Reconstruction [697-701]

December 10: Final Examination, 8 a.m.

Tags: Franklin, Lincoln, Ralph Lerner, Syllabus, University of Chicago
Posted in Syllabus, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Constitution Day: K-12 Online Resources

Monday, September 26th, 2011

General Websites

Constituting America

EDSITEment by the NEH

Constitution Day Ideas from the Constitution Center

Historical Overview of the Constitution

U.S. Constitution Online – Jack Miller Center

About the Signers of the Constitution – National Archives

Facts about the Constitution

Bill of Rights Foundation: Constitution Day Activities

Founding Document Audio Recordings

Americanaphonic

Documents

Interactive Constitution

Outline of the U.S. Constitution

Avalon Project from Yale- Documents relating to the U.S. Constitution

National Archives and Records Administration – United States Constitution

The United States Constitution –1789

Madison’s Notes on the Constitutional Debates

Documents from the Constitutional Convention – Library of Congress

Images from our Constitutional History

The Two Hundredth Reunion of Delegates to the Constitutional Convention (Or, “All Things Considered, We’d Really Rather Be in Philadelphia”)

The Federalist Papers

The Anti-Federalist Papers

Liberty Library of Constitutional Classics – collection on constitutional interpretation

Resolution of the First Congress Submitting Twelve Amendments to the Constitution; March 4, 1789

Constitution Games

A to Z Teacher Stuff

Center for Civic Education

Constitution Day Games

Constitution Day Lesson Plans: Constitutional Rights Foundation

Constitution Day Lesson Plans: EdHelper

Annenberg Constitution Games and Interactives

Bill of Rights Interactive Questions for Kids

Constitution Puzzles for Kids

Shh! Were writing the Constitution: Webquest (5th Grade)

Constitution Trivia Quiz

Bill of Rights Golf

Who Wants to Marry a Founding Father (Webquest)

Brief online Constitution Quiz

Brief online Constitution Quiz (ESL)

Bill of Rights Word Hunt

Constitution Word Hunt

The Making of America – Games and Quizzes

Constitution Quizzes

Bill of Rights Quizzes

First Amendment Quiz

Elementary Sites

Bens Guide to Government – K-2

Bens Guide to Government – 3-5

Ben’s Guide to the Constitution

How a Bill becomes a Law from Schoolhouse Rock

Preamble Song clip from Schoolhouse Rock

Three Ring Government Song clip from Schoolhouse Rock

Life Without the Bill of Rights

Constitution Day Law

The Laws Says

Notice of Implementation – Constitution Day

Article – Few Rules for New Constitution Day Requirement

Article – Schools Ordered to Observe Constitution Day

Article – Schools Told to Hold Constitution Day

Lessons and Activities

Primary

Constitution Day Lesson (Center for Civic Education): Kindergarten

Constitution Day Lesson (Center for Civic Education): 1-2

THE CONSTITUTION FOR KIDS, Grades K-3

Elementary

Constitution Day Lesson (Center for Civic Education): 3-4

Constitution Day Lesson (Center for Civic Education): 5-6

A Study of the First Amendment Rights in the Bill of Rights

THE CONSTITUTION FOR KIDS. Grades 4-7

Middle School

Constitution Day Lesson (Center for Civic Education): 5-6

Constitution Day Lesson (Center for Civic Education): 7-8

Madison’s Notes are Missing!

Hand Motions for memorizing the Preamble

Order a More Perfect Union – 2-hour film will bring the Founding Fathers to life as you witness the struggles and the miracles that produced the Constitution of the United States and the freest nation on earth.

Annenberg Constitutional Lesson Plans

Annenberg Classroom Teaching Guide

Annenberg Online Constitution Guide

Annenberg Constitution VIDEOS

General suggestions for activities

Classroom Constitution

First Amendment Schools

The Constitution and the Idea of Compromise

Why Celebrate Constitution Day?

Understanding Primary Sources: Exploring the Bill of Rights

You Decide: Constitutional or Not?

THE CONSTITUTION FOR KIDS. Grades 4-7

THE CONSTITUTION FOR KIDS, Grades 8-12

High School

Our Constitution (Book Download)

Constitution Day Lesson (Center for Civic Education): 9-10

Constitution Day Lesson (Center for Civic Education): 11-12

Constitution Day Activity Book

Bill of Rights Institute- Lessons for Middle and High School -

Observing Constitution Day

Annenberg Constitutional Lesson Plans

Annenberg Classroom Teaching Guide

Annenberg Online Constitution Guide

Annenberg Constitution VIDEOS

General suggestions for activities

Classroom Constitution

A Mock Constitutional Convention

First Amendment Schools

The Constitution and the Idea of Compromise

Why Celebrate Constitution Day?

What Conflicting Opinions Did the Framers Have about the Completed Constitution?

Pro Teacher Activities

Understanding Primary Sources: Exploring the Bill of Rights

THE CONSTITUTION FOR KIDS, Grades 8-12

The American Dream

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Exploring the American Dream

Steven Bilakovics Course: PLSC 274 Office: RKZ 223 Spring 2011

Office hours: Thurs 11:00-1:00 Thurs 1:30-3:20

Telephone: 617-276-6245 Location: RKZ 102

Email: steven.bilakovics@yale.edu

I. Course Description

This seminar undertakes an exploration of what has come to be known as the “American Dream,” from the time of the pilgrimage to the New World to the present. The central question of the course is, simply, what does it tell us about the American experience that this phrase has become so evocative? Whether understood as an ideal that has or can be realized; as a promise that has been broken or in which we today have “lost faith”; or ironically (in the sense that the American Dream is in fact a nightmare) as something that reflects misplaced aspirations; what does it tell us about the American “way of life” that it is so often cast in terms of dreaming?

Over the course of the semester we will explore the connections and contradictions of the strikingly broad range of ideas and ideals associated with the American Dream(s): openness, freedom, equality, justice, rights, self-government, the “self-made man,” opportunity, work, success, prosperity, wealth, mobility, home ownership, car ownership, entrepreneurship, expansion, progress, independence, community, diversity, tolerance, patriotism, immigration, education, and so forth. Further, we will explore the meaning(s) of the American Dream across the spheres of politics, religion, economics, culture, public and private life.

Drawing upon a wide range of sources, from America’s defining documents and speeches (Jefferson, Lincoln, and many others), to works of history, sociology, law, and political philosophy (Locke, JS Mill, and others), to works of foreigners observing America up close or from afar (Tocqueville), the course is designed to provide the perspective from which we can better understand and evaluate this enduring representation of what it means to be American.

II. Course Goals

We will pursue four goals in this course. 1) We will carefully read, try to understand, and critique (in that order) each authors writings. As best as we can, we will attempt to leave our prejudices and preconceived notions behind and approach the readings on their own terms, thereby allowing them to unsettle our own often unnoticed assumptions. 2) After analyzing the work of each author, we will attempt to synthesize – compare and contrast – the readings from week to week, across the course. Hopefully, we will never lose sight of “the big picture.” 3) While necessary, understanding and evaluating the readings is not sufficient to meet the goals of the course. The ultimate purpose is to bring the insights gleaned from the readings to bear on the world in which we live. At its best, political theory illuminates and helps us interpret our own experiences, ideas, beliefs, and values. 4) Everything in this course is geared to persuasive argumentation. We want to leave this course able to recognize, develop, and communicate (both orally and in our writing) persuasive arguments.

III. Assignments and Grading

All written assignments should be e-mailed to me on the due date as Microsoft Word attachments (NOT as pdf attachments). Your last name should be in the file name of the attached document. All assignments are to be typed, 12pt standard font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins.

1) Take-home midterm essay of 7 pages (about 2,200 words), DUE DATE: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14

- One week prior to the due date I will distribute prompts for this essay, which will ask you to interpret, explain, and evaluate some aspect of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America.

2) Take-home final essay of 10 pages (about 3,200 words), DUE DATE: FRIDAY, APRIL 29

- For this paper you will, in consultation with me, develop your own essay topic.

3) Four 2 page reaction papers (about 650 words), due on the days of your choosing (restrictions: you can submit only one paper per week, and you cannot submit one the week the midterm is due or for the final week of class).

- These papers should address one or more of the readings for the week, identifying and/or evaluating some key idea or issue you find particularly interesting and believe worthy of class discussion.

- Please e-mail these papers to me no later than the Wednesday afternoon prior to the class meeting.

5) Class participation. You are expected to come to class having reflected upon and ready to discuss the readings for the week. The class will proceed as a seminar, not a lecture.

- You can also contribute by passing along to me and the class relevant newspaper / current events pieces that you think might enhance discussion.

1) Midterm Paper (30%)

2) Final Paper (40%)

3) 4 Reaction Papers (25%)

4) Class Participation (5%)

IV. Texts

1) Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville, Arthur Goldhammer trans., 2004.

2) American Political Thought: A Norton Anthology, Isaac Kramnick and Theodore J. Lowi, eds., 2009.

3) Facing Up to the American Dream, Jennifer Hochschild, 1995.

V. Course Policies

The strength of the university depends on academic and personal integrity. In this course, you must be honest and truthful. Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s work, words, or ideas as if they were your own. You can find a fuller discussion of using sources and avoiding plagiarism on the Writing Center Website. (http://www.yale.edu/writing/)

Papers will be marked down 1/3 letter grade for each day late (from a B to a B-, for example). The only exception is for documented medical emergencies. You are expected to contact me by phone in advance of paper due-dates to discuss any other possible exceptions.

You may appeal your grade by submitting a written statement explaining why the grade is inappropriate. You have one week after the paper is returned to submit your statement to me.

VI. Course Reading & Assignment Schedule

Please bring the relevant book to class.

Week 1: Introduction (Jan 13)

a. Who Lives the American Dream? CBS News / NY Times Poll

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/04/opinion/polls/main4990868.shtml?tag=cont entMain;contentBody

b. Langston Hughes, Let America Be America Again, 1938

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15609 (also in Norton Anthology 985-988)

c. Barack Obama, 2008 Democratic National Convention Speech http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/conventions/videos/20080828_OBAMA_SPEECH.ht ml

d. David Kamp, Is It Time to Rethink the American Dream?, Vanity Fair, April 2009

e. Fareed Zakaria, How to Restore the American Dream, Time, October 2010

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2026776,00.html

Week 2: Tocqueville: The New World (Jan 20)

a. James Truslow Adams, Epic of America, 1931 (tbd)

b. Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Introduction to Vol. I)

c. Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Vol. I, Part I, pages tba)

d. American Political Thought, Norton Anthology (11-72)

Week 3: Tocqueville: Democratic Politics (Jan 27)

a. Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Vol. I, Part II, pages tba)

b. Hibbing and Theiss-Morse, Stealth Democracy (tbd)

c. Michael Schudson, The Good Citizen (tbd)

Week 4: Tocqueville: Materialism and Individualism (Feb 3)

a. Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Vol. II, Parts I &II, pages tba)

b. Bernard-Henry Levi, Following Tocqueville’s Footsteps, Atlantic Monthly (tbd)

Week 5: Tocqueville: The Future of America and Europe (Feb 10)

a. Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Vol. II, Parts III & IV, pages tba)

b. Tony Judt, Reappraisals (ch. 23, The Good Society: Europe vs. America, tbd)

c. Jeremy Rifkin, The European Dream: How Europe’s Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream (tbd)

d. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, A World Split Apart (tbd)

MIDTERM DUE: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14

Week 6: Declaring Independence; Constitutional Visions (Feb 17)

a. Thomas Paine, Common Sense (Norton Anthology 131-149)

b. The Declaration of Independence (tbd)

c. Letters from an American Farmer, 1782, (tbd)

d. Thomas Jefferson (tbd)

e. The Federalist No. 1 (Norton Anthology 192-195)

f. Alexander Hamilton (Norton Anthology 297-319)

g. James Madison, “Property,” National Gazette, March 29, 1792

http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch16s23.html

h. George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796 (Norton Anthology 319-323)

Week 7: Freedom and Individuality (Feb 24)

a. JS Mill, On Liberty (ch 1-3, tbd)

b. Victoria Woodhull, The Principles of Social Freedom, 1871 (Norton Anthology 866- 869)

c. Emma Goldman, Anarchism: What it Really Stands For, 1907 (Norton Anthology 818-828)

d. Brooks Adams, The American Democratic Ideal, 1916 (Norton Anthology 882-888)

e. Eric Foner, The Story of American Freedom (tbd)

f. David Riesman, The Lonely Crowd (tbd)

g. Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism (tbd)

h. C. Fred Alford, Rethinking Freedom (tbd)

Week 8: Tolerance, Morality, Community (March 3)

a. John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration (tbd)

b. James Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance

(http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/madison_m&r_1785.html)

c. Thomas Jefferson, (tbd)

d. Hiram W. Evans, The Klan’s Fight for Americanism, 1926 (Norton Anthology 980- 985)

e. Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma (tbd)

f. Richard John Neuhaus, The Naked Public Square (http://www.heritage.org/Research/PoliticalPhilosophy/HL572.cfm)

g. Michael J. Sandel, The Public Philosophy of Contemporary Liberalism (Norton Anthology 1477-1494)

h. Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind, 1987 (Norton Anthology 1438- 1449)

i. Michael Walzer, What Does It Mean to Be an “American”?, 1990 (Norton Anthology 1449-1464)

SPRING BREAK (March 10, 17)

Week 9: Transcendence (March 24)

a. Cooper, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman (Norton Anthology 465-506)

b. Port Huron Statement, Students for a Democratic Society, 1962

(Norton Anthology 1290-1301)

c. Reinhold Niebuhr, The Children of Light … . 1944 (Norton Anthology 1211-1217)

d. Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Hunter Thompson (tbd)

Week 10: Expansion, Immigration, Mobility (March 31)

a. John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (ch. 5 tbd)

b. Frederick Jackson Turner, The Frontier in American History, 1893 (tbd)

c. John L. O’Sullivan, The Great Nation of Futurity & Annexation (tbd)

d. Slater and George, Speeches on Chinese Immigration, 1882

(Norton Anthology 893-901)

e. Josiah Strong, Our Country, 1885 (Norton Anthology 901-907)

f. Theodore Roosevelt, The Winning of the West (Norton Anthology 907-909)

g. Albert Beveridge, The March of the Flag, 1898 (Norton Anthology 915-919)

h. Platform of the American Anti-Imperial League, 1899 (Norton Anthology 919-921)

i. Woodrow Wilson, Americanism and the Foreign-Born, 1915

http://www.apstudent.com/ushistory/docs1901/amrcnism.htm

j. Henry Luce, The American Century, 1941 (tbd)

Week 11: Reconstruction, Inclusion (April 7)

a. George Fitzhugh, Sociology for the South: or, the Failure of Free Society, 1854, (Norton Anthology 624-636)

b. Abraham Lincoln (Norton Anthology 654-668, 683-685)

c. Frederick Douglass, Lectures on Slavery & What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? (Norton Anthology 591-598)

d. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, The Seneca Falls Declaration, 1848

(Norton Anthology 529- 533)

e. Susan B. Anthony, Speech About Her Indictment, 1873 (Norton Anthology 869-871)

f. W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, 1903 (Norton Anthology 950-964)

g. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Norton Anthology 1305-1322)

h. Stokely Carmichael, Toward Black Liberation, 1966 (Norton Anthology 1339-1343)

i. Cornell West, Race Matters, 1993 (Norton Anthology 1471-1477)

Week 12: Work, Opportunity, Wealth, Welfare (April 14)

a. Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (tbd)

b. Orestes Brownson. The Laboring Classes, 1840 (Norton Anthology 456-464)

c. Horatio Alger, Ragged Dick, 1867 (tbd)

d. William Graham Sumner, What the Social Classes Owe to Each Other, 1884

(Norton Anthology 703-727)

e. Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth (Norton Anthology 730-737)

f. Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class, 1899 (Norton Anthology 1013-1017)

g. Eugene V. Debs, Unionism and Socialism, 1904 (Norton Anthology 834-840)

h. Herbert Croly, The Promise of American Life, 1909 (1065-1086)

i. FDR, The Four Freedoms

(http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrthefourfreedoms.htm)

j. FDR, The Second Bill of Rights, 1944 (Norton Anthology 1190)

k. Herbert Hoover, Rugged Individualism and The Fifth Freedom

(Norton Anthology 1137-1141, 1144-1147)

l. Charles Beard, The Myth of Rugged American Individualism, 1931 (1156-1163)

m. Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion, 1922 (Norton Anthology 1058-1064)

n. Milton and Rose Friedman, Free to Choose, 1980 (Norton Anthology 1411-1425)

o. Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand, YouTube videos (links to be e-mailed)

Week 13: Progress? (April 21)

a. Jennifer Hochschild, Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation, 1996 (tba)

FINAL DUE: FRIDAY, APRIL 29

Tags: Syllabus, Yale University
Posted in Syllabus | Comments Off

American Founding Debates

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

American Founding Debates: Reconsidering the Constitution

Steven Bilakovics Course: PLSC 254

Office: RKZ 223 Fall 2010

Office hours: Thurs 11:00-1:00 Thurs 1:30-3:20

Telephone: 617-276-6245 Location: RKZ 08

Email: steven.bilakovics@yale.edu

I. Course Description

Do we need a new and improved constitution? Given the vastly different times in which we live, perhaps our different values and interests, and the often heard claim that the American political system is “broken,” should we reconsider and potentially rewrite our founding document? This course is organized around the idea that Americans in 2010 will have the opportunity to vote on the following proposal: “Shall Congress call a constitutional convention empowered to consider the adequacy of the Constitution and, if thought necessary, to draft a new constitution that, upon completion, will be submitted to the electorate for its approval or disapproval by majority vote? Unless and until a new constitution gains popular approval, the current Constitution will continue in place.” (quoted from Sanford Levinson, Our Undemocratic Constitution)

To think through the merits of and problems with this proposal, we will return to and carefully consider the debates that surrounded the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. While we will on occasion broaden our perspective by considering relevant works of political theory, constitutional theory, and constitutional law, the course is designed primarily as a back-and-forth between the Federalist / Anti-Federalist debates of 1787-1789 and more recent writings that address these same issues. Among the topics we will cover are: the proper extent of executive power; the proper role of political parties in our political system; the separation of church and state; the virtues and vices of a separation of powers system and federalism; the form of political representation proper to a democracy; and the place and function of a constitutional document in a democracy.

The guiding question of the course is, given the challenges that face America and the world today, and with an eye toward what constitutes a just and good society, what sort of regime would we now seek to design?

II. Course Goals

This course is intended to acquaint students with the ideas and debates that surrounded the founding of the current American regime, and to critically engage students in these debates. We will pursue four goals in this course. 1) We will carefully read, try to understand, and critique (in that order) each authors writings. As best as we can, we will attempt to leave our prejudices and preconceived notions behind and approach the readings on their own terms, thereby allowing them to unsettle our own often unnoticed assumptions. 2) After analyzing the work of each author, we will attempt to synthesize – compare and contrast – the readings from week to week, across the course. 3) While necessary, understanding and evaluating the readings is not sufficient to meet the goals of the course. The ultimate purpose is to bring the insights gleaned from the readings to bear on the world in which we live. At its best, such a project illuminates and helps us critically reflect upon our own experiences, beliefs, and values. 4) Everything in this course is geared toward persuasive argumentation; we want to leave this course able to recognize, develop, and communicate (both orally and in our writing) persuasive arguments.

III. Assignments and Grading

All written assignments should be e-mailed to me (steven.bilakovics@yale.edu) on the due date as Microsoft Word attachments (NOT as pdf attachments). Your last name should be in the file name of the attached document. All assignments are to be typed, 12pt standard font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins.

1) Take-home midterm essay, 7 pages (about 2,200 words)

DUE DATE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 11

- One week prior to the due date I will distribute prompts for this essay, which will ask you to interpret, explain, and evaluate one of the central debates between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.

2) Take-home final essay, 10 pages (about 3,200 words)

DUE DATE: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10

- For this paper you will draft a Federalist Paper style essay on a topic of your choosing, arguing for or against a feature of the Constitution discussed over the course of the semester.

3) Five 2 page reaction papers (about 650 words)

Due on the days of your choosing (restrictions: you can submit only one paper per week, and you cannot submit one the week the midterm is due or for the final week of class).

- Please e-mail these papers to me no later than the Wednesday afternoon prior to the class meeting.

- These papers should address one or more of readings for the week, identifying and/or evaluating some key idea or issue you find particularly interesting and believe worthy of class discussion.

4) Class participation. You are expected to come to class having reflected upon and ready to discuss the readings for the week. The class will proceed as a seminar, not a lecture.

- The final week of class will be dedicated to debating and ratifying / rejecting the proposals you have decided to write about for your final essay.

- You can also contribute by passing along to me and the class relevant newspaper / current events pieces that you think might enhance discussion.

1) Midterm Paper (30%)

2) Final Paper (40%)

3) 5 Reaction Papers (25%)

4) Class Participation (5%)

IV. Texts

1) The Federalist Papers, any edition

2) The Anti-Federalist: An Abridgment of The Complete Anti-Federalist, Herbert Storing, ed.

3) What the Anti-Federalists Were For: The Political Thought of the Opponents of the Constitution, Herbert Storing

4) Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It), Sanford Levinson

5) A More Perfect Constitution: Ideas to Inspire a New Generation, Larry Sabato

V. Course Policies

Papers will be marked down one third letter grade for each day late (one day late reduces a B to a B-). The only exception is for documented medical emergencies. You are expected to contact me by phone in advance of paper due-dates to discuss any other possible exceptions.

You may appeal your grade by submitting a written statement explaining why the grade is not justified. You have one week after the paper is returned to submit your statement to me.

VI. Course Reading & Assignment Schedule

Please bring the relevant book to class.

Week 1: Sept 2 (Introduction)

a. The Declaration of Independence

b. James Madison, Vices of the Political System of the United States, 1787

(http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=802)

Week 2: Sept 9 (Changing the Constitution)

a. Levinson, Our Undemocratic Constitution (Intro, 1, 6, 7, Afterword for the Paperback Edition)

b. Preamble, Amendments I-XXVII to the Constitution

c. Thomas Jefferson (readings to be distributed)

d. The Federalist Papers (# 1, 40, 49, 85)

e. Abraham Lincoln, Lyceum Address, Jan. 27, 1838

(http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm)

f. Sabato, A More Perfect Constitution (Preamble, 7)

Week 3: Sept 16 (The Federalist/Anti-Federalist Debates)

a. Storing, What the Ant-Federalists Were For (3-76)

b. Gordon Wood, Interest and Disinterestedness in the Making of the Constitution (tbd)

c. Jefferson, Letter to Francis Hopkinson, March 13, 1789 (tbd)

Week 4: Sept 23 (Representation)

a. Edmund Burke, Excerpt from Speech to the Electors of Bristol, Nov 3, 1774

(http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch13s7.html)

b. The Federalist Papers (# 35, 55, 57, 63)

c. Storing, The Anti-Federalist, Letter from The Federal Farmer No. VII (73-79)

d. Storing, The Anti-Federalist, Essay V of A (Maryland) Farmer (261-272)

Week 5: Sept 30 (Civic Education)

a. Jefferson (readings tbd)

b. The “Port Huron Statement” (tbd)

c. Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital (http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/DETOC/assoc/bowling.html)

d. James Fishkin on Deliberative Polling

(http://bostonreview.net/BR31.2/fishkin.html)

e. Sabato, A More Perfect Constitution (Ch. 5)

Week 6: Oct 7 (Federalism)

a. The Federalist Papers (# 9-10, 14, 23, 37, 39)

b. Storing, The Anti-Federalist, Letter of Agrippa IV (234-236)

c. Storing, The Anti-Federalist, The Federal Farmer, Letter II (39-43)

d. Jefferson, Letter to James Madison, June 29, 1792 (tbd)

MIDTERM ESSAY DUE MONDAY, OCTOBER 11

Week 7: Oct 14 (Separation of Powers)

a. The Federalist Papers (# 47-51)

b. Storing, The Anti-Federalist, Pennsylvania Dissent (199-221)

Week 8: Oct 21 (Congress; Article I)

a. Levinson, Our Undemocratic Constitution (Ch. 2)

b. The Federalist Papers (# 52, 55-57, 62-63)

c. Storing, The Anti-Federalist, Brutus, Essay III (43-54)

d. Sabato, A More Perfect Constitution (Ch. 1)

Week 9: Nov 28 (The Executive; Article II)

a. Levinson, Our Undemocratic Constitution (Ch. 3)

b. The Federalist Papers (# 70-74)

c. Jefferson, Letter to Wilson C. Nicholas, Sept. 7, 1803 (tbd)

d. John Yoo, Energy in the Executive: Re-examining Presidential Power in the Midst of the War on Terror (http://www.heritage.org/Research/PublicDiplomacy/fp4.cfm)

e. Sabato, A More Perfect Constitution (Ch. 2)

Week 10: Nov 4 (The Judiciary; Article III)

a. Levinson, Our Undemocratic Constitution (Ch. 4)

b. Jefferson, Letter to Judge Spencer Roane, Sept. 6, 1819 (tbd)

c. The Federalist Papers (# 78-80)

d. Storing, The Anti-Federalist, Essays of Brutus, nos. XI-XV (162-187)

e. Sabato, A More Perfect Constitution (Ch. 3)

Week 11: Nov 11 (The Bill of Rights)

a. Amendments I-X to the Constitution

b. The Federalist Papers (# 84)

c. Storing, The Anti-Federalist, Brutus Essay II (117-122)

d. James Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance

(http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/madison_m&r_1785.html)

e. Jefferson (readings tbd)

Week 12: Nov 18 (The Bill of Rights cont.)

a. readings TBA

No Class: Nov 25

Week 13: Dec 2 (Convention Debate)

a. Sabato, A More Perfect Constitution (Ch. 6, Conclusion, Afterword)

FINAL ESSAY DUE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10

Posted in Syllabus | No Comments »

Online Abraham Lincoln Papers

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Thanks to the efforts of the Illinois Historic Preservation Society and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, the collected works of

Lincoln Museum

Abraham Lincoln are now available online. This impressive collection includes document images from the National Archives, a searchable Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, and the “Lincoln Log,” which is a daily activity report and chronology of Lincoln’s life.

This online collection also includes documents from Lincoln’s Law Practice and the Illinois State Archives.

Search the Papers of Abraham Lincoln

Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, AbrahamLincoln, Illinois Historic Preservation Society, National Archives
Posted in PAthway Essay, Primary Documents, Syllabus, What's Hot | Comments Off

“The Age of Experiments”: The United States, 1789-1845

Monday, August 30th, 2010

History 4720

Lewis and Clark

Professor Michelle Orihel

Southern Utah University

Fall 2010

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10-11:20 a.m.

Location: SC 225

―This I hope will be the age of experiments in government, and that their basis will be founded on principles of honesty, not of mere force. We have seen no instance of this since the days of the Roman republic, nor do we read of any before that.‖

Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, February 28, 1796

Course Description

From catalog: ―A study of the new nation, the War of 1812, the Jacksonian era, placing special emphasis on the political, social, and economic democratization of the United States, together with the difficulties created by change.‖

In an era dominated by monarchical powers, a group of British North American colonists in 1776 declared their independence from King George III. They established a republic, a government based on the consent of the people. This republican experiment was a bold move, a ―leap in the dark,‖ as historian John Ferling has called it. Throughout history, most republics had failed. Never before did a people attempt to establish a republican government over such a large and expanding territory. How did Americans confront the challenge of establishing and securing a republican form of government? How did they adjust to their new roles as republican citizens rather than monarchical subjects? What other challenges did Americans face during the early years of the new republic, a period marked by tremendous political, economic, social, and cultural change?

This course will examine these and other questions about the nature of the early republic, providing an overview of the major political, social, economic, and cultural developments in the United States from roughly the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. We will cover such topics as the creation of a new national government, the development of conflict between Federalists and Jeffersonian-Republicans during the 1790s, the Jeffersonian Presidency, the Lewis and Clark expedition, the War of 1812, the development of a market economy, religious revivalism, the growth of reform movements and abolitionism, the expansion of slavery in the South, the rise of sectional conflict, Jacksonian democracy, and western expansion. As an upper-division course, this course will combine lectures with discussions. Active student participation is encouraged and expected for students to gain the most from taking the course. Ultimately, this course aims to provide students with an opportunity to enter into an ongoing and vibrant debate about the revolutionary origins of the early republic, the nature of the American founding, and its implications for the United States today.

Learning Objectives.

Students will be able to identify and understand better the main issues, themes, events, and historical actors in the United States from 1789 to 1845.

Through readings in the primary sources and through a variety of active learning exercises, students will gain a vivid understanding of what it meant to live through such a period of tremendous social, economic, and political change.

In this reading-intensive course, readings in primary and secondary sources will help students to develop such practical skills as interpreting evidence, making arguments based on that evidence, and evaluating other historians‘ arguments.

Class discussions and written assignments will further help students to hone the habits of critical thinking, reading, and writing.

Required Books

1. Bookstore: Sean Wilentz, ed., Major Problems in the Early Republic, 1787-1848. 2nd edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. (ISBN-13: 978-0-618-52258-3)

2. Bookstore: Gunther Barth, ed., The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Selections from the Journals Arranged by Topic. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 1998. (ISBN-13: 978-0-312-11118-2)

3. Online: Lance Banning, ed., Liberty and Order: The First American Party Struggle. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2004. (ISBN: 0-86597-418-7)

Note: This textbook is available to download for free as a complete pdf file at the Liberty Fund‘s ―Online Library of Liberty‖ website; go to the following webpage: http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=875&Itemid=27

4. Online: Various items on electronic reserve at the library‘s website

Evaluation

Participation/ Effort: 15%

Reading Journal: 10%

Annotated Bibliography: 10%

Peer Review of Gerrit Smith Document Analysis: 5%

Gerrit Smith Final Document Analysis: 30%

Final Exam: 30%

Assignments

Reading Journal

Over the course of the semester, students will keep a journal that records their reactions to and assessments of the assigned readings for each class. For some classes, the instructor will provide a question for the student to focus on in their reflection. For other classes, the student will decide what question or issues seem most pressing from that day‘s reading. These entries should be between one and two pages. They should demonstrate that you have read and understood the assigned course materials. Students should particularly write about what intrigues them the most about the reading and how that reading helps to advance their understanding of the early American republic. The instructor will collect journal entries at the end of each class. Late entries will not be accepted. These entries will be graded on a Pass/ Fail basis. Therefore, the only grades for this assignment will be 100 (pass) and 0 (fail). These grades will then be tallied at the end of the semester for the final reading journal grade. However, students can opt out of turning in up to three journal entries without it adversely affecting their final grade.

Other Assignments

Information and instructions on the annotated bibliography, the Gerrit Smith essay assignment (peer review and essay), as well as on the final, take-home exam will be forthcoming.

Weekly Schedule of Topics and Readings (Subject to Revision)

Unless marked as optional, all readings are required.

Abbreviations:

MP = Sean Wilentz, ed., Major Problems in the Early Republic, 1787-1848.

LO = Lance Banning, ed. Liberty and Order: The First American Party Struggle

Week One—Aug 23

TUESDAY:

From Subjects to Citizens: Introduction to the History of the Early American Republic

THURSDAY:

The Revolutionary Origins of the Early Republic

Reading:

1. The Declaration of Independence (you can download and print a transcript of the D of I at this website: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html )

2. MP, chapter 3, essay by Waldstreicher

3. Online Exhibition: ―Declaring Independence: Creating and Re-Creating America‘s Document, organized by the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia, (http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/declaration/index.html)

Week Two – Aug 30

TUESDAY:

The Constitutional Settlement of 1787-88

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 2: documents 1-4, 6, essay by Wood

2. LO, chapter 1: pp. 3-9

3. (Optional) Online Exhibition: Library of Congress, online exhibition on ―Madison‘s Treasures,‖ which illuminates Madison‘s role in drafting the constitution, in the subsequent debates over ratification, and in producing the Bill of Rights: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/madison/

4. (Optional) Podcast Listening: Monticello podcasts, ―Jefferson‘s Worlds: Three Letters on the New Constitution,‖ listed at: http://www.monticello.org/podcasts/index.html

THURSDAY:

Understanding the Process of Historical Change: Interpreting the Early Republic

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 1: essays by Wilentz, Rossiter, Pasley, Perkins 5 5

Week Three—Sept 6

TUESDAY:

Forming a New National Government and George Washington’s Leadership

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 3: documents 1, 2

2. LO, chapter 2: TBA

3. Simon P. Newman, ―Principles or Men?: George Washington and the Political Culture of National Leadership, 1776-1801,‖ Journal of the Early Republic 12, 4 (Winter, 1992), 477-507. (Electronic Reserve)

4. Online Exhibition: ―Alexander Hamilton and the Creation of the United States,‖ organized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History:

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/online/hamilton/index.html

THURSDAY:

The Impact of the French Revolution on America: Popular Politics and Partisan Conflict

Reading:

1. LO, chapter 3: pp. 141-150; 169-170

2. Handout of newspaper articles that covered celebrations of the French Revolution

3. Albrecht Koschnik, ―The Democratic Societies of Philadelphia and the Limits of the American Public Sphere, circa 1793-95, ‖ William and Mary Quarterly 58, 3 (2001): . (Electronic Reserve)

Week Four – Sept 13

TUESDAY:

The Deepening of Political Divisions: From Jay’s Treaty to Washington’s Farewell

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 3: documents 5-7

2. LO, chapter 3: 188-197; 203-221

3. Todd Estes, ―Shaping the Politics of Public Opinion: Federalists and the Jay Treaty Debate,‖ Journal of the Early Republic 20, 3 (Fall 2000), 393-422. (Electronic Reserve)

THURSDAY:

The Presidency of John Adams

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 3: documents 8-11 6 6

2. LO, chapter 4: TBA

3. James Morton Smith, ―The ‗Aurora‘ and the Alien and Sedition Laws: Part I: The Editorship of Benjamin Franklin Bache, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 77, 1 (Jan 1953), 3-23. (Electronic Reserve)

Week Five—Sept 20

TUESDAY:

The Second American Revolution?: The Election of 1800

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 3, documents 12-13; two essays in chapter

2. Handout of newspaper editorials on the election

3. Douglas R. Egerton, ―Gabriel‘s Conspiracy and the Election of 1800,” Journal of Southern History 56, 2 (May 1990), 191-214. (Electronic Reserve)

THURSDAY:

Thomas Jefferson: His Presidency and Political Thought

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 4, documents 1-3; 5-10, essays by Appleby, McDonald, Gordon-Reed

2. LO, TBA

3. Website Viewing (Spend some time viewing ONE of the two links from the Monticello website):

For links about Monticello (a virtual tour of the house and images), go to the following website: http://www.monticello.org/house/index.html

For links about the lives of enslaved African Americans who lived and worked at Monticello, go to the following website:

http://www.monticello.org/plantation/index.html

4. (Optional) Website Viewing for additional information:

For links to such topics as ―A Day in the Life of Thomas Jefferson,‖ A ―Brief Biography of Thomas Jefferson,‖ A ―Timeline of Jefferson‘s Life,‖ and ―The Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia,‖ go to the following website: http://www.monticello.org/jefferson/index.html

For an online exhibition of Jefferson‘s life and works organized by the Library of Congress, go to: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/

Week Six—Sept 27

TUESDAY

The First American West: The Settlement of the Ohio Valley

Reading:

1. Gail S. Terry, ―Sustaining the Bonds of Kinship in a Trans-Appalachian Migration, 1790-1811: The Cabell-Breckinridge Slaves Move West,‖ Virginia Magazine of History and Biography (October 1994): 455-476. (Electronic Reserve)

2. Online Reading Assignment: TBA–selected documents from ―The First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820,‖ American Memory Project, Library of Congress: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/icuhtml/

THURSDAY

Library Instruction Session (preparation for the annotated bibliography)

Week Seven – Oct 4

TUESDAY and THURSDAY :

The Corps of Discovery: the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Reading:

1. Gunther Barth, ed., The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Selections from the Journals Arranged by Topic.

2. (Optional) Website Viewing:

To browse through primary sources on the Lewis and Clark expedition at the American Philosophical Society, including images of the original journals, go to the following website: http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/digcoll/landc

For background on Jefferson‘s role in the expedition, go to:

http://www.monticello.org/jefferson/lewisandclark/index.html

Week Eight—Oct 11

TUESDAY:

The Second War for American Independence: The War of 1812

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 5

THURSDAY:

The Market Revolution: The Modernization of the American Economy

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 7 8 8

2. Online Exhibition: ―Risky Business: Winning and Losing in the Early American Economy, 1780-1850,‖ organized by the Library Company of Philadelphia: http://www.librarycompany.org/Economics/RiskyBusiness/index.htm

3. (Optional) Website Viewing: For maps and historical images of the Erie Canal, go to: http://www.eriecanal.org

Week Nine, Oct 18

TUESDAY

The Expansion of Slavery in the South

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 8, documents 1-2; 4-6; 8-10; essays by Johnson and McCurry

2. MP, chapter 13, essay by Genovese

THURSDAY (Instructor will be away at a conference) The Experiences of Enslaved African Americans

1. Film Viewing (in–class): ―Solomon Northup‘s Odyssey‖

2. Optional Reading: Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853. Electronic edition available at the website, ―Documenting the American South: Primary Resources for the Study of Southern History, Literature, and Culture,‖ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/northup/northup.html

3. Optional Listening: To listen to recordings of interviews with former slaves, go to the Library of Congress American Memory Project, ―Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories‖: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/voices/

Week Ten – Oct 25

TUESDAY

Finish viewing ―Solomon Northup‘s Odyssey‖ and discuss the experience of slavery

THURSDAY

The Missouri Crisis and the Rise of Sectionalism

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 10

Week Eleven – Nov 1

TUESDAY

Jacksonians, Whigs, and 1830s Politics

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 11 9 9

THURSDAY Native Americans, Western Expansion, and the Trail of Tears

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 9

2. (Optional) Website Viewing:

For an exhibition on eastern Indian wars organized by the Smithsonian Museum of American History, go to: http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/printable/section.asp?id=3

For information about the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, go to: http://www.nps.gov/trte/index.htm

For a link to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, go to: http://www.cherokeemuseum.org/html/collections_tot.html

3. Optional Audio Interview:

For an interview with documentary film maker Philip Coulter who traveled along the Trail of Tears, go to http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/features/trail-of-tears/index.html

Week Twelve – Nov 8

TUESDAY:

Antebellum Reform Movements

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 12

THURSDAY Abolitionism and the Underground Railroad

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 13, documents 1-5; 10; essay by Jeffrey

2. Website Viewing:

Online exhibition from the Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library: ―‘That laboratory of abolitionism, libel, and treason‘: Syracuse and the Underground Railroad,‖ http://libwww.syr.edu/digital/exhibits/u/undergroundrr/

Week Thirteen—Nov. 15

The Literature of Politics, Reform, and Abolition: The Gerrit Smith Broadside Collection

To view the various pamphlets contained in the Gerrit Smith Broadside collection, go to: http://libwww.syr.edu/information/spcollections/digital/gerritsmith/

TUESDAY

Writing workshop 10 10

Reading:

George Orwell, ―Politics and the English Language,‖ (Electronic Reserve)

THURSDAY

Bring draft of your Gerrit Smith document analysis to class

Peer Review

Week Fourteen – Nov. 22

TUESDAY:

The Second Great Awakening

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 6

2. Website Viewing:

Library of Congress, online exhibition on ―Religion and the Founding of the American Republic,‖ http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel07.html

THURSDAY:

THANKSGIVING

Week Fifteen – Nov. 29

TUESDAY:

Manifest Destiny, Slavery, and the Politics of Western Expansion

Reading:

1. MP, chapter 15

THURSDAY Final Assessment and Review

December 10, 2010: 11am-12:50pm.: Final Exam

Tags: History, Jacksonian Era, John Adams, Lewis and Clark Expedition, Michelle Orihel, Thomas Jefferson, United States, War of 1812
Posted in Syllabus, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Theory of Executive Power

Monday, December 28th, 2009

The Republican Executive in Theory and Practice

Dr. Chris West

Govt. 473

Georgetown University, Fall 2009

“There is an idea which is not without its advocates, that a vigorous executive is inconsistent with the genius of republican government.”

-Alexander Hamilton

Course Description

The purpose of this course of study is to introduce you to the theoretical foundations of the modern American presidency, the debates and problems associated with them, and their demonstration in the history and development of the American Chief Executive. We will explore the concept of the modern executive that developed prior to the American founding and examine how it was joined to liberal constitutionalism. And, as we study the greatest American presidents, we will endeavor to come to an understanding of how the modern republican executive both challenges and undergirds the project of American constitutional democracy, as well as how it has met the problems of partisanship and popular rhetoric.

Required Texts

Marc Landy and Sidney M. Milkis, Presidential Greatness, University Press of Kansas
Jeffrey Tulis, The Rhetorical Presidency, Princeton University Press
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
Niccolo Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy
Blackboard, electronic reserve and on-line content

Evaluation and Grading

You will be required to write one short paper (5-7 pages) and one longer paper (8-10) pages, and to complete a final exam. Your attendance at lectures is also required.

Paper 1: 25% Paper 2: 35% Exam: 30% Attendance: 10%

Schedule of Classes and Readings

September 3: Introduction: The Form and the Matter of the American Republic

Peter Simpson, Aristotle’s Regime of the Americans http://www.aristotelophile.com/Books/Articles/AristotleRegimeAmericans.pdf; the U.S. Constitution, (see Blackboard)

(September 8, 10: The Invention of the Modern Executive: Machiavelli and Hobbes

Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr, Taming the Prince, Ch.6-7 (e-reserve)

September 15, 17: Republican Leadership: The Prince, the nobles and the education of the people

Niccolo Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, Bk I, chs. 6-12, 16-18, 55, 58;
Bk II, Intro and chs. 1-2; Bk III, chs. 1, 40-41

September 22, 24: The Executive in the Modern Constitution

John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, selections
Nathan Tarcov,”A Non-Lockean’ Locke and the Character of Liberalism,” in Liberalism Reconsidered, ed. Douglas MacLean and Claudia Mills (e-reserve)
Mansfield, Taming the Prince, Chapter 9 (e-reserve)

Partisanship, “Corruption” and the Enlightened Executive

Henry St. John Lord Bolingbroke, Idea of a Patriot King (Blackboard)

Week 6: The American Executive: Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist

The U.S. Constitution, Article 2 (Blackboard)
Publius, The Federalist: 1, 67, 69-74 (B)
An Old Whig V, Cato V (B)
Luther Martin, “Genuine Information” (B)
Patrick Henry, et al, Virginia Ratifying Convention Debates, 17-18 June, 1788 (B)

Week 7: A Parting of Ways: Hamilton and Madison after Publius

The Letters of Pacificus and Helvidius, selected
James Madison, National Gazette writings (selected): “Consolidation,” “Parties,” “Public Opinion”

Week 8: Presidents against Party?

George Washington, Farewell Address
Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural
Richard Hofstadter, The Idea of a Party System (selected)
Landy and Milkis, Presidential Greatness, Ch.1-2

Week 9: The Jeffersonian Paradox

Landy and Milkis, Ch.3
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John C. Breckenridge, 12Aug 1803
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Justice William Johnson, June 1823

Week 10: The President as Democratic Partisan: The Road Not Taken

Landy and Milkis, Ch.4
John Quincy Adams, “Inaugural Address”
Andrew Jackson, “Bank Veto Message,” “Veto of the Maysville Road”

Week 11: Abraham Lincoln: The Lion and the Fox

Landy and Milkis, Ch. 5
Brian Danoff, “Lincoln, Machiavelli and American Political Thought,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, 2000
“Gettysburg Address,”
“The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions:”

Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, January 27, 1838

“Second Inaugural Address”

Week 12: The Progressive Turn: Modern Rhetorical Leadership

Jeffrey Tulis, The Rhetorical Presidency
Terri Bimes and Stephen Skowronek, “Woodrow Wilson’s Critique of Popular Leadership: Reassessing the Modern-Traditional Divide,” in Richard Ellis, ed., Speaking to the People
Theodore Roosevelt, Autobiography (selections: “Stewardship”)

Week 13: State Power and the End of American Innocence

Herbert Croly, “The Promise of American Life” (selected)
H.L. Mencken, “TR: An Autopsy”
Henry Adams, “The Virgin and the Dynamo”
Bertrand deJouvenel, “The Principate”

Week 14: The New Deal Persuasion: FDR and Beyond

Neustadt, Presidential Power (selections)
Landy and Milkis, Ch. 6

Week 15: Conclusions

Mansfield, Taming the Prince, Ch.11, “The Form and the End”
Landy and Milkis, Ch.7: “The Modern Presidency and the Absence of Greatness”

Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Chris West, Executive Power, Georgetown University, Harvey Mansfield, Presidential Greatness, Taming of the Prince
Posted in Syllabus | No Comments »

Scottish Enlightenment, Skidmore College

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

The Scottish Enlightenment: Adam Smith and David Hume on Liberty, Commerce and the Moral Life

Flagg Taylor

Skidmore College

Course Description:

In this course we will seek to understand and assess the distinctive contributions of David Hume and Adam Smith to the Enlightenment. We will compare their ideas against the backdrop of other thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries such as Locke, Hobbes, Voltaire and Rousseau.

Students will judge the debates and disagreements among key figures in modern political philosophy. Students will also gain an appreciation for breadth and depth of the ideas of these thinkers, Adam Smith in particular. Smith is generally known today as the father of “capitalism.” His work, however—even his most famous work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations—is not much read anymore. Students will come to understand Smith’s full view of commercial life and its relation to the political order. We will also focus on both Hume and Smith’s vision of the moral life—paying particularly close attention to Smith’s neglected work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments.

Required Texts (for purchase):

1. David Hume, Essays: Moral, Political, Literary, Eugene Miller ed., Liberty Fund 1985

2. Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Raphael & Macfie eds, Liberty Fund 1984

3. Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Campbell &

Skinner eds., Liberty Fund 1981 (two volumes)

Other Readings (handouts):

1. John Locke, Second Treatise of Government

2. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan

3. Bernard Mandeville, The Fable of the Bees

4. Voltaire, “The Worldling,” “The Man of the World”

5. Rousseau, “Luxury, Commerce, and the Arts”

Course Outline:

• Introduction: 9/1

• Part I: On the Origins and Ground of Government

• Locke, Second Treatise

• ST, chs. 1-5 (9/9)

• ST, chs. 7-9 (9/11)

• Hume, Essays

• Of the Original Contract, Of Passive Obedience, Of the Coalition of Parties

(9/16)

• Of the First Principles of Government, Of the Origin of Government, That

Politics May Be Reduced to a Science, Of the Liberty of the Press(rec) (9/18)

• Part II: The Moral Life

• Hobbes, Leviathan, Part I, chs. 6, 13-14 (9/23)

• Mandeville, The Fable of the Bees (9/25)

• Hume, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals

• Enquiry, Sec. I, Of the General Principles of Morals; Sec. V, Why Utility Pleases

(9/30)

• Enquiry, Sec. IX, Conclusion; Appendix II, Of Self-Love (10/2)

• Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments

• Part I, sections 1 (10/7)

• NO CLASS 10/9 YOM KIPPUR

• Pt. I, sec. 2-3 (10/14)

• Pt. II, chs., 1-2 (10/16)

• Pt. III, chs. 1-4 (10/21)

• Pt. IV, chs. 1-2; (10/23) FIRST PAPER DUE

• Pt. VI, sec. 1-2 (10/28)

• Pt. VI, sec. 3 (10/30)

• Pt. VII, sec. 1; sec. 2, ch. 4; sec. 3 (11/4)

• Part III: Liberty, Commerce and the Arts

• Voltaire, “The Worldling”; “The Man of the World” (11/6)

• Rousseau, “Liberty, Commerce, and the Arts” (11/6)

• Hume, Essays, The Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth, Of Refinement in the Arts, Of the

Rise and Progress of the Arts and Sciences (11/11)

• Smith, The Wealth of Nations

• Bk. I, chs. i-iii (11/13)

• Bk. I, chs. iv-v, viii (11/18)

• Bk. II, chs. iii, Bk. III, ch. I (11/20)

• Bk. III, chs. iii-iv (11/25)

• NO CLASS 11/27 THANKSGIVING BREAK

• Bk. IV, ch. ii, ch. iiic, ch. ix (12/2)

• Bk. V, ch. I, f-g (12/4) SECOND PAPER DUE

• Hume, Essays, Of Commerce, Of Money, Of the Balance of Trade (12/9)

• FINAL EXAM: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 9AM-12PM

Course Requirements:

1. Reflection Papers, 10%

2. Essay #1, 25%

3. Essay #2, 30%

4. Final Exam, 35%

Reflection Papers:

• In an attentive reader, the act of reading evokes a response. A response can take many different

forms. Some readers underline key passages. Some write comments in the margins. Some take

notes an a separate sheet of paper. All of these are ways of carrying forward your inquires. In

this course I will be asking you to pursue yet another method: reflection papers. These short

papers (two pages) are an extension and heightening of the more casual and distracted responses

which you may now give to the things you read.

• In preparation for class, you should commit to paper your thoughts about the text (or a portion

of the text) and the questions that arise from it. This should be more than some scratchy,

appreviated notes intelligible only to you; however, this is some a polished essay. You have the

leisure to explore, inquire, questions, and wander. By wandering, I do not mean aimless

wandering. Since our discussions in class will be guided always by two questions, your

reflection papers should be so guided: what is the author saying? Is it true? Sometimes it will

take all of your effort to figure our what the author means. Other times you will want to take a

step back and evaluate the claims made in the text. These are distinct questions, but in pursuing

one, the other should always be kept silently in mind.

Essays:

These are formal essays where you are expected to have an identifiable thesis with arguments to

support it. They should demonstrate a command of the text at hand, and a thoughtfulness about the

claims made therein. I will hand out topics approximately two weeks before the essays are due. These

are not research papers and you are not required to read any secondary literature. I want you to engage

these authors directly.

Final Exam:

This will be a comprehensive, essay exam taken during the exam period.

General Expectations:

• You are expected to read the assignments carefully and reflectively, remaining open to the

possibility that what you are reading is right. Your first duty as an attentive reader is to

understand the what is being said. This means grasping the argument of the author—identifying

central claims and seeing how these claims are supported. When you encounter something you

strongly disagree with, make sure you first understand the argument. You are expected to give

reasons for your opinions.

• You will be attentive in class and always display the demeanor of one who is interested in the

material and respectful of others. You will take your share of responsibility for the quality of

class time, coming prepared to discuss the assignments thoughtfully.

Attendance:

Attendance is mandatory. There is no such thing as an unexcused absence. All absences must therefore

be cleared ahead of time. If you must miss class, you remain responsible for all the material covered

that day. After 1 absence, each subsequent absence will bring your final grade down by one half of a

letter grade. After 4 absences, I will require you to withdraw from the course.

Tags: Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Flagg Taylor, Theory of Moral Sentiments, Wealth of Nations
Posted in Syllabus | Comments Off

Consitution and Legal History, University of Western Florida

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

U. S. Constitutional and Legal History (to 1877)

(AMH4551-1962)

Monday & Wednesday, 1:00-2:15

Building 52, Room 152A

Dr. Steve Belko

Building 50, Room 138

wbelko@uwf.edu

(850) 474-2680

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course provides a comprehensive examination of the development of the U. S. constitutional and legal system from the colonial period through Reconstruction. Although the history of the U. S. Supreme Court plays an integral role in this course, constitutional and legal history transcends the mere study of great cases and judicial decisions; the preeminent role of the president, congress, and the states in the making and development of the constitutional and legal system during the antebellum period – and the larger political, social, and economic forces surrounding and influencing this development – are given greater weight.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the foundations, formation, and development of the U. S. constitutional and legal system during the antebellum period.
Define the political, social, and economic forces that have shaped U. S. constitutional and legal history.
Describe the role and development of the U. S. Supreme Court and the interaction between the federal court system and the state courts.
Describe how the president, the congress, the states, and the people determined constitutional development from the early 1600s to the end of Reconstruction in 1877.
Develop the skill to explicate the legal ruling in a case and place it in its proper historical and developmental context.
Delineate the major issues, events, and personalities that have defined the nature and character of the U. S. Constitution.

RECURRING THEMES

Power vs. Liberty
Centralization vs. Decentralization
States’ Rights vs. Union
Federalism
Republic vs. Democracy
Activism vs. Restraint
Civic Humanism (Classical Republicanism) vs. Acquisitive Individualism (Liberal Capitalism)
Executive vs. Legislative vs. Judicial Power and Authority

READINGS

Books

Jack P. Greene, Peripheries and Center: Constitutional Development in the Extended Polities of the British Empire and the United States, 1607-1788

Forrest McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution

Jackson Turner Main, The Antifederalists: Critics of the Constitution, 1781-1788

Richard Ellis, The Jeffersonian Crisis: Courts and Politics in the Young Republic

Richard Ellis, The Union at Risk: Jacksonian Democracy, States’ Rights, and the Nullification Crisis

R. Kent Newmyer, The Supreme Court under Marshall and Taney

Primary Documents

Melvin Urofsky, ed., Documents of American Constitutional & Legal History

Articles (To be provided by the professor and accessible on reserve at Pace Library)

From Terence Ball and J. G. A. Pocock, eds., Conceptual Change and the Constitution (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1988)

Peter S. Onuf, “State Sovereignty and the Making of the Constitution.” (78-98)
Terence Ball, “A Republic — If You Can Keep It.” (137-164)

From Leonard Levy and Dennis Mahoney, eds., The Framing and Ratification of the Constitution (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987)

John M. Murrin, “The British and Colonial Background to American Constitutionalism.” (19-35)
Jack P. Greene, “Origins of the American Revolution: A Constitutional Interpretation.” (36-53)
Donald S. Lutz, “The First American Constitutions.” (69-81)
Peter S. Onuf, “The First Federal Constitution: The Articles of Confederation.” (82-97)
Michael P. Zuckert, “A System without Precedent: Federalism in the American Constitution.” (132-150)
Murray P. Dry, “The Case Against Ratification: Anti-Federalist Constitutional Thought.” (271-291)
Herman Belz, “Constitutionalism and the American Founding.” (333-354)

From Richard Beeman, Stephen Botein, and Edward C. Carter II, eds., Beyond Confederation: Origins of the Constitution and American National Identity (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987)

Gordon S. Wood, “Interests and Disinterestedness in the Making of the Constitution.” (69-112)
Lance Banning, “The Practicable Sphere of a Republic: James Madison, the Constitutional Convention, and the Emergence of Revolutionary Federalism.” (162-187)
Richard E. Ellis, “The Persistence of Antifederalism after 1789.” (295-314)

From Jack P. Greene, ed., The Reinterpretation of the American Revolution, 1763-1789 (New York: Harper & Row, 1968)

Edmund S. Morgan, “Colonial Ideas of Parliamentary Power, 1764-1766.” (151-180)
David S. Lovejoy, “‘Rights Imply Equality’: The Case Against Admiralty Jurisdiction in America, 1764-1766.” (181-206)
Forrest McDonald, “The Anti-Federalists, 1781-1789.” (365-377)
Douglass Adair, “‘Experience Must Be Our Only Guide’: History, Democratic Theory, and the United States Constitution.” (397-415)
Douglass Adair, “‘That Politics May be Reduced to a Science’: David Hume, James Madison, and the Tenth Federalist.” (487-503)
Cecelia Kenyon, “Men of Little Faith: The Anti-Federalists on the Nature of Representative Government.” (526-567)

From Isaac Kramnick, Republicanism and Bourgeois Radicalism: Political Ideology in Late Eighteenth-Century England and the United States (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1990):

“‘The Great National Discussion’: The Discourse of Politics in 1787.” (260-288)

Leonard Levy, “Liberty and the First Amendment, 1790-1800.” American Historical Review LXVIII (October 1962): 22-37.

From Kermit Hall and James Ely, eds., An Uncertain Tradition: Constitutionalism and the History of the South (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1989)

Donald Nieman, “Republicanism, the Confederate Constitution, and the American Constitutional Tradition.” (201-224)
Michael Les Benedict, “The Problem of Constitutionalism and Constitutional Liberty in the Reconstruction South.” (225-250)

USEFUL RESOURCES

Kermit L. Hall, ed. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States.
The Supreme Court Historical Society http://www.supremecourthistory.org/
H-Law/American Society for Legal History http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~law/index.html

ASSIGNMENTS

Exams

There will be six take-home exams covering the material provided in the lectures. The exams will consist entirely of essay questions. You will receive the essay questions one week prior to the due date. The essays must be typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, and must be handed in by the end of the class period in which they are due. An electronic version of the exam must also be submitted at that time (preferably as an e-mail attachment). Due dates are set in the class schedule and exams turned in late will not be accepted. Essay questions will be graded on organization, clarity, and accuracy of information. You should be comprehensive in covering all the major aspects and support these with specific examples. The first five assignments are worth 100 points each and the final (sixth) exam, a comprehensive assignment, is worth 200 points.

Readings Questions

The professor will provide you at the beginning of each series of lectures a series of short answer questions that will cover the assigned readings – books, articles, and primary documents – listed above. Answers should be between 100 and 250 words per question and must be typed out and handed in on the respective due date given in the class schedule. You must also submit an electronic version of the assignment (preferably as an e-mail attachment). Each readings assignment is worth 100 points.

ATTENDANCE

Attendance is expected and will be taken at every class period. For every class you miss, fifty points will be deducted from your total points at the end of the semester. If you have completed all the assignments and finish the semester with a borderline grade, then perfect attendance will raise your final grade one full average point to the next grade level.

Tags: James Madison, Supreme Court of the United States, United States Constitution
Posted in Syllabus | Comments Off

Archive for the ‘Syllabus’ Category

November 1: Mid-term Examination

December 10: Final Examination, 8 a.m.

General Websites

Founding Document Audio Recordings

Documents

Constitution Games

Elementary Sites

Constitution Day Law

Lessons and Activities

Bill of Rights

Preamble

Presentations

Organizations

Steven Bilakovics Course: PLSC 274 Office: RKZ 223 Spring 2011

Steven Bilakovics Course: PLSC 254

Search the Papers of Abraham Lincoln

The Republican Executive in Theory and Practice

The Scottish Enlightenment: Adam Smith and David Hume on Liberty, Commerce and the Moral Life

U. S. Constitutional and Legal History (to 1877)