PLAP 1010: Introduction to American Government
The University of Virginia
Spring Semester, 2016
Mr. James S. Todd
Phones: Home: 973-8178; Cell 520 299-1328; Office: 924-3474
Email: jst3u@virginia.edu                 Webpage: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~jst
Office Hours: 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, also after class, 11-11:30, 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, and 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 relations between the Congress and the Obama administration and the upcoming 2016 elections.
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: In the first few years of my teaching career I scrupulously avoided letting students know what I thought about political issues. Eventually I started expressing my own views freely. At the same time I assured students that I wanted them to feel free to express their 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 and Reading Assignments: 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 The Surge, Larry J. Sabato, editor. 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. Reading assignments are spaced out to make them manageable. When there is an assignment that covers several classes, you should divide the pages by the number of days and spread out your reading accordingly. Readings will often not be discussed in class but you are expected to complete them. There will be at least one quiz on the readings (and probably more) during the semester.and exam questions will ask you to incorporate references to the readings in your answers. Some of the readings take a strong point of view. You are not expected to accept those views, but you will be expected to be able to analyze them and discuss alternative points of view. Performance on any quizzes will be factored in to your class participation grade.
     Familiarity with Current Events: Relevant issues concerning the Obama administration, the 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 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. For entertainment along with news there’s always The Daily Show with Trevor Noah or Fox News. 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.
     Writing project: Each of you will be expected to select a member of the House or Senate and find out how s/he got into politics; how long they've served; how much money they've raised and from whom; the committees on which they serve; any leadership position they hold; and how they are rated by conservative and liberal groups. I will expect you to have your subject selected by March 21st at the latest. You may be called on in class and asked brief questions about your subject. You will also be required to summarize your research in a short, typed, double-spaced paper, no more than six pages long, and turned in at the start of class on  Monday, April 25th. 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.
     Office Hours: In addition to regular office hours Wednesday afternoon (2:30-5:30), I can also arrange to meet with you at other times if you cannot make the regular hours. In addition I will be available most days for thirty minutes or so after class. Office hours are for you to ask questions about lectures, classes you missed, upcoming exams or just to talk about whatever is on your mind. Professor O'Brien has very kindly been loaning me his office for many years, but the idea was not for me to sit in there a couple of hours by myself.
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%; November election project, 10%; class participation, 10%; and final exam, 35%. For those who take only one mid-term: mid-term, 35%; class participation, 10%; November election project, 15%; and final exam, 40%.

Schedule of Topics and Readings

January 20 and 22 : Introduction to the Course and to Political Science
Assignment: Hudson, Introduction (pp. 1-23).

Jan. 25: Snow and ice; no class 

Jan. 27: The Albany Conference and the Declaration of Independence. What is the significance of the Albany Conference? Why was the Declaration revolutionary?
Read the Declaration of Independence (on line)

Jan. 29 and Feb. 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

Feb. 3, 5, 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. 25-66). (Optional:"Faction: The Dangerous Vice", on my webpage.)

Feb. 10: 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. 12: The Federalist Papers
Kammen, pp. 126-140, 152-157, and 244-250 (Federalist Nos. 1, 2, 6, 14, and 85)

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

Feb. 17 and 19: 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. 22 (Monday): Mid-Term Examination No. 1

Feb. 24, 26, 29, Mar.2 and 4: Congress and Representation; specific powers; implied powers and the necessary and proper clause; the commerce clause
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. SChapters 1 through 4 (pp. 1-109)

[Spring Break, March 5 to 13]

March 14, 16, 18, 21, 23 and 25: The Executive Branch; Prerogative Power; Executive Privilege
Kammen, pp. 219-227 (Federalist No. 70). Sabato, Chapters 7-13 (pp. 141-223)

Mar. 28: Campaigns and Elections
Hudson, Chapter 4 (pp. 139-173)

Mar. 30 and April 1: The Bureaucracy. Hudson, Chapter 6 (pp. 223-263)

Apr. 4 and 6: Lobbying and Interest Groups; Money and Politics
Hudson, Chapter 7 (pp. 263--308). Sabato, Chapter 5 (pp. 111-127).

Apr. 8:  (Friday): Mid-Term Examination No. 2

Apr. 11 and 13: Public Opinion; and the Media; Scandals in American Politics
Hudson, Chapter 5 (pp. 175-219)

Apr. 15, 18, and 20: 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. 22: 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. 25 and 27: (Writing assignment due at the start of class April 25th) 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. 29: Radical Individualism; Problems with Libertarianism; Rights vs. Responsibilities; What does “promote the general welfare” mean?
Hudson, Chapter 3 (pp. 105-137)

May 2: Conclusion and summation of the course

May 5: (Thursday) 9:00 a.m.: Final Examination. Please note that no final exam will be administered prior to this date.