PLAP 1010: Introduction to American Government
The University of Virginia
Spring 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: Monday, Friday, 2:15 to 5:15, Gibson S164; 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 first one hundred days of the incoming administration..  
     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, 8th Edition, by William E. Hudson; and American Maelstrom: The 1968 Election and the Politics of Division, by Michael Cohen. 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 the President, 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, Wall Street Journal, 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, Foxx News, MSNBC or CNN; 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 one of the members of the House or Senate and report on their stances on issues, how much money they are raising, and what groups and individuals are backing them. 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 April 24th. 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

Jan. 18 and 20: Introduction to the Course and to Political Science
    Assignment: Hudson, Introduction (pp. 1-23).

Jan. 23: 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)
        
Jan. 25 and  27: 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

Jan. 30 and Feb. 1 and 3: 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.)

Feb. 6: 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).

Feb. 8: The Federalist Papers
Kammen, pp. 126-140, 152-157, and 244-250 (Federalist Nos. 1, 2, 6, 14, and 85)

Feb. 10: The Anti-Federalist Writings
Kammen, pp. 261-301 (Letters from the "Federal Farmer").

Feb. 13 and 15: 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.).
 
Feb. 17:: Discussion and Review

Feb. 20  (Monday): Mid-Term Examination No. 1

Feb. 22, 24, and 27 and March 1 and 3: 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)

Mar. 4-12: Spring Break

Maar. 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, and 24: The Executive Branch; Prerogative Power; Executive Privilege
Kammen, pp. 219-227 (Federalist No. 70). If you haven't started the Cohen book by now, you should.
    
Mar. 27 and 29 : The Bureaucracy. Hudson, Chapter 6 (pp. 219-255)

Mar. 31 and Apr. 3: Lobbying and Interest Groups; Money and Politics
    Hudson, Chapter 7 (pp. 259--299).

Apr. 5: Discussion and Review (no assignment)

Apr. 7 (Friday): Mid-Term Examination No. 2
    
Apr. 10 and 12: : Campaigns and Elections; Public Opinion; and the Media  (By this point in the class you should have finished reading the Cohen book.)
    Hudson, Chapter 5 (pp. 173-217)

Apr.. 14, 17, and 19: 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)

Apr. 21: 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

Apr. 23 and 25: 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)

Apr. 28:: Radical Individualism; Problems with Libertarianism; Rights vs. Responsibilities; What does “promote the general welfare” mean?
    Hudson, Chapter 3 (pp. 103-135)

May 2: Summary and conclusion of the course (no assignment)
 (Friday) 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.

 May 11 (Thursday): Final Examination (9:00-12:00). No examinations will be given prior to this date.