Syllabus for Roster(s):

  • 17F PLAP 1010-002 (CGAS)
In the UVaCollab course site:   17F PLAP 1010-002 (CGAS)

PLAP1010

PLAP 1010: Introduction to American Government
The University of Virginia
Fall Semester, 2017
Mr. Todd
Phone: Home: (434) 973-8178; Cell (520) 299-1328; Office: (434) 924-3474
Email: jst3u@virginia.edu       Webpage: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~jst
Office Hours: after class each day and on Fridays, from 3:00-5:30, or by appointment
Office: Professor O’Brien’s office, S164 Gibson Hall


Course Description: This is an introductory course in American government that places emphasis on what was intended when American government was founded, what’s changed since the founding, an how it is working (or not working) today. The first part of the course will explore: the events, conditions, and theories that influenced the Founders; the different positions taken by the Founders during the Constitutional Convention of 1787; the compromises that resolved their differences; and the debate over whether the Constitution should be ratified and whether a bill of rights was necessary. Next we will look at the three branches of the national government and the bureaucracy and analyze for each the changes that have taken place since the founding; and the ways in which contemporary American government is different from that envisioned by the Founders.  Special attention will be paid to the 2016 presidential election.  
     I hope that the course will make all who take it more interested in American government, give them a better understanding of their Constitution, and nurture in them an abiding respect for the benefits and the responsibilities of citizenship.

Teaching philosophy:  For the first half of my teaching career I scrupulously avoided letting students know what I thought about political issues. In the second half I started expressing my own views freely. At the same time I assured students that I wanted them to feel free to express their own views, no matter how different from mine. Grades in my courses are not influenced by students’ expressions of views, and they will not be in this course.  I believe as Justice Holmes said,
“[W]hen men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe even more than they believe the very foundations of their own conduct, that the ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas, that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes safely can be carried out. That at any rate is the theory of our Constitution. It is an experiment, as all life is an experiment.” - Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes; Abrams v. United States; In dissent; 250 U.S. 616, 630 (1919).
Furthermore, while I want robust discussion in class of the important issues we will be exploring, I expect that all discussions will be carried out civilly and with respect for the participants.  We can all learn from Alexander Hamilton’s admonition in the first Federalist Paper: “So numerous indeed and so powerful are the causes which serve to give a false bias to the judgment, that we, upon many occasions, see wise and good men on the wrong as well as on the right side of questions of the first magnitude to society. This circumstance, if duly attended to, would furnish a lesson of moderation to those who are ever so much persuaded of their being in the right in any controversy.”

Course Requirements: Texts: There are three required texts: The Origins of the American Constitution, Michael Kammen, editor; American Democracy in Peril, 7th Edition, by William E. Hudson; and Trumped: the 2016 Election that Broke All Rules, Larry Sabato, et al., editors . In addition, if you have not had an American government class in high school, you should consider buying a used, older edition, American government text on line or in a local used book store.
     Familiarity with Current Events: Relevant issues concerning this fall’s general election campaigns, the Obama administration, Congress, and the Supreme Court will be discussed in class, and you are expected to be knowledgeable about them.  It is recommended that you read the daily Washington Post, Politico, Roll Call, The Hill, or New York Times; listen to NPR radio news broadcasts (Morning Edition and, in the late afternoon, All Things Considered); watch the BBC, Al Jazeera, or CNN on line; or watch the News Hour on PBS, 7:00-8:00 p.m. The purpose of this requirement is to get you interested in current events and to illustrate how current events relate to things we have studied. Exam questions may ask you to illustrate your answers with references to current events.
     Examinations: There will be two fifty minute mid-term examinations and a three-hour final exam.  The exams will be comprehensive essay exams, and students should bring blue books to them.  The second mid-term will be optional. There will also be one or two short quizzes on the reading assignments.
     Writing assignment. You should choose a member of the House or Senate and report on the their stances on issues, how much money they are raising, the sources of that money, and how they are evaluated by different groups. I hope you will find the person you have chosen to be interesting and that you will report any interesting aspects of it to the class. All of this should be summarized in a short, typed paper, no more than five pages long, and turned in at the start of class on November 20th. I will accept late papers, but there will be a small grade penalty assessed.
     Attendance: Students are encouraged to avoid missing class! Those with excessive absences will be penalized in that portion of their grade representing class participation or dropped from the course.
 
Grading:  Final grades in the course will be determined on the following basis: For those who take both mid-term exams:  first mid-term exam, 20%; second mid-term, 25%; writing project, 10%; class participation, 10%; and final exam, 35%. For those who take only one mid-term: mid-term, 35%; class participation, 10%; writing project, 15%; and final exam, 40%.

Schedule of Topics and Readings: You should have read the material assigned for a specific date before you come to class. If more than one day is listed for a topic, you should divide the number of pages assigned by the number of days listed to determine how much to read.

Aug. 23 and 25: Introduction to the Course and to Political Science
    Assignment: Hudson, Introduction (pp. 1-23).

Aug. 28: The Albany Conference and the Declaration of Independence. What is the significance of the Albany Confeence? Why was the Declaration revolutionary?
    Read the Declaration of Independence (on line)
        
Aug. 30 and Sept. 1: The Articles of Confederation; Shays's Rebellion. Why did it take so long to get the Articles ratified?  Why was Shays’s Rebellion significant?
Kammen, pp. 8-22 and vii-xiii

Sept. 4 (Labor Day) and Sept. 6 and 8: The Constitutional Convention; Madison's Theories; Checks and Balances; Separation of Powers; Auxiliary Precautions
Kammen, pp. 22-30. 145-152, 180-198. 202-206, and 301-31 (Federalist Papers Nos. 10, 39, 47, 48, and 51 and Essay of "Brutus" No. 1); Hudson, Chapter 1 (pp. 25-63). (Optional:"Faction: The Dangerous Vice", on my webpage.)

Sept. 11: Compromises; Miscellaneous Provisions; Omission  of a Bill of Rights; Signing of the Constitution.
Kammen, pp.53-55, 234-244 (Federalist No. 84) and 313-319 (Essay of "Brutus" No. 2) and Selections Nos. 18, 22, 29, 32, 42, 46, 54, and 82 (Miscellaneous letters of Madison, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Mason).

Sept. 13 The Federalist Papers
Kammen, pp. 126-140, 152-157, and 244-250 (Federalist Nos. 1, 2, 6, 14, and 85)

Sept. 15: The Anti-Federalist Writings
Kammen, pp. 261-301 (Letters from the "Federal Farmer").

Sept. 18 and 20: The Political Struggle over Ratification;   Early Experience; the Adoption of the Bill of Rights.
Kammen, Selections Nos. 23, 25, 26, 47, 48, 56 and 57, and 86-95  (Letters of Hamilton, Madison, Washington, Randolph, et al.).
 
Sept. 22: Discussion and Review

Sept. 25 (Monday): Mid-Term Examination No. 1

Sept. 27 and 29 (no class Oct.  2: reading days), Oct. 4, 6, and 9: Congress and Representation
Kammen, pp. 206-219 (Federalist Papers Nos. 62 and 63) and pp. 319-331 (Essays of "Brutus" Nos. 3 and 4), and pp. 30-38. Hudson, Chapter 4 (pp. 137-170)

Oct. 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, and 23. : The Executive Branch; Prerogative Power; Executive Privilege
Kammen, pp. 219-227 (Federalist No. 70).  Begin reading the Sabato book, if you have not yet done so.
    
Oct. 25 and 27: The Bureaucracy. Hudson, Chapter 6 (pp. 219-255)

Oct. 30 and Nov. 1: Lobbying and Interest Groups; Money and Politics
    Hudson, Chapter 7 (pp. 259--299).

Nov. 3, Discussion and Review : no assignment, but you should have finished reading the Sabato book by now.

Nov. 6: Mid-Term Examination No. 2

Nov. 8 and 10: Campaigns and Elections; Public Opinion; and the Media.
    Hudson, Chapter 5 (pp. 173-217)

Nov. 13, 15, and 17: The Judiciary
Kammen, pp. 227-234 (Federalist No. 78) and pp. 331-340 (Essays of “Brutus” Nos. 11-15); Hudson, Chapter 2 (pp. 67-104)

Nov. 20: The Judicial Branch continued; Constitutional interpretation. Judicial “activism”
    “Overturning Acts of Congress on the Rehnquist Court; Will the Real Activist Please Stand up?” http://www.allacademic.com//meta    /p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/6/0/4/9/p60496_index.html?type=info&PHPSESSID=68396240a2fae30bfa62bf2f66ec3edf

Nov. 22: No class; Thanksgiving break.

Nov. 27 and 29: The Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment; “Incorporation of the Bill of Rights”; How Extensive is the right to privacy? To what extent do corporations have the same rights as people? What happens when rights clash?
    Hudson, Chapter 8 (pp. 309-355)

Dec. 1 and 4: Radical Individualism; Problems with Libertarianism; Rights vs. Responsibilities; What does “promote the general welfare” mean?
    Hudson, Chapter 3 (pp. 103-135)

Dec. 12  (Tuesday) 9:00 a.m.: Final Examination. Please note that no final exam will be administered before this date but an exam can, in extenuating circumstances, be administered after it.