Farrand Residential Academic Program

Political Science 3054

american Political thought

Spring 2012

http://socsci.colorado.edu/~gyoung/home/3054/3054_syl.htm

Instructor: Dr. Gregory D. Young

Office: Ketchum Hall Room 4A

Office Phone: 492-8637

Course Time and Location	Professor’s Office Hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 2:00-3:15pm in Farrand McCauley Lounge	Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30-12:20 or by appointment

Course Links

· Schedule for and links to the Reading Summaries

· Current Event Schedule

· Proposed Midterm Questions

· Midterm Exam Grade Summary

· Link to Final Exam Questions

Course Objectives and Description

Students in this course will examine liberal, conservative, and radical traditions of political thought in America. We will explore how Americans have thought about the problems of liberty, equality, federalism, and group identity. In particular, we will examine how different strains of political thought in America have contributed to conceptions of American democracy and American exceptionalism. In addition to strengthening their understanding of various authors, texts, and traditions in American political thought, students who successfully complete this course will have improved their capacity to analyze, discuss, and write about American politics and political theory in general.

Course Requirements

Required Readings

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1. Phillip Abbot (2005), Political Thought in America, 3^rdEd. Long Grove IL: Waveland Press.

2. All of the readings are available at http://www.americaandtheworld.com Access to this website will be purchased for $45.00. Access will be explained in detail in class.

READINGS AND CLASS PARTICIPATION

It is essential that students attend every class on time. Regular attendance and active participation in class discussion will enhance your understanding of the course material and almost certainly improve your performance on the mid-term and final exams, which are together worth 50% of the course grade. Attendance is also a large portion of your 10% participation grade. Attendance is also a large portion of your 10% participation grade. Notifying your instructor via email prior to class will constitute and excused absence. Send your email absence notifications to gyoung@colorado.edu. Due to the large amount of materiel covered in this semester, if a student misses six or more class periods, he/she will automatically fail the class. In this semester, the required readings range from 150 to 200 pages per week, as set out in the course schedule. Your knowledge and understanding of the required readings will be tested in the mid-term and final exams. Students should come to class having already completed (and thought carefully about) the assigned reading for each class period.

MIDTERM AND FINAL EXAMS

The mid-term exam will be held on Thursday, March 8^th in the usual class meeting time. The final exam will be in the normal classroom on Saturday, May 5^th from 1:30 to 4:00 pm. Students must write the final exam in order to pass the course. Blue books should be purchased by each student and brought in the class period prior to the midterm and final; 8.5x11 Blue books are preferred. Do not initially put your name on your Blue book. Make-up exams will not be given unless the instructor has been notified in advance or a doctor’s note is provided.

READING SUMMARIES

For each section of the reading, one to two students will be assigned to summarize the readings due in class that day. In a 3-4 page synopsis (either outline form or full paragraphs) of each assigned section, the designated students will give an overview of the key points of the reading. Each student will sign-up for one day of summaries. The summary should include an answer to the “so what?” question, in other words, why should one read this section or document when studying American political thought. The students will submit both a paper copy and an electronic copy prior to the beginning of the class period in which they are due. Your instructor will post on the web for the review of your classmates. These summaries will be 15% of your final grade.

CURRENT EVENTS

One or two students will present a current event orally in class each day. Students should sign up for two presentations each. The presentation should be no more than five minutes in length. The source should be from a respected news source, be less than one week old and pertain in some way to issues related to American political thought. Each student should try to relate the article to some element of what we have been discussing in class. News reports on the Internet are acceptable sources. The current event presentation will be part of your 10% participation grade.

BIORGRAPHICAL RESEARCH ESSAY

Each student in the course will be required to complete a research essay that examines the biography and chief philosophical tenets of one of the key writers of American political thought. This is only a short paper, so students must be concise. The paper consists of three parts: a brief biographical sketch of the philosopher, an equally brief overview of this scholar’s key philosophical views as they relate to American political thought, and finally your assessment as to the relationship between the biography and the influence on the evolution of American political thought. This should allow you to include those elements of biographical data which are important to the thesis of your paper; that is what parts of the philosopher’s life influenced the development of his/her political views. Each student will choose a scholar from the following list to profile. No more than two students will chronicle the same person. Additional subjects may be added at the approval of the instructor. Deliberately excluded: Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King.

The essay is due on Thursday, April 26^th either in class or in the instructor’s mailbox in Ketchum 106 by 4:30pm. The essay should be between 2500 and 3000 words in length (approximately 9 to 12 pages). Include a word count on the first page. Papers should be in 10-12 pitch in either Courier or Times Roman font. Late essays will be docked one grade per class day after the due date (e.g., A- to B-, C to D, etc.) up to 50%, unless you provide a doctor’s note explaining why it was impossible for you to meet the deadline. Computer malfunction is not an acceptable excuse for an essay being late. Re-read your essay for clarity, grammar, spelling and punctuation, since poor execution of these elements will also affect your grade. Append a bibliography of all sources and provide footnotes where appropriate. The essay will count 25% of your final grade. Each paper will be submitted in both paper and electronic formats (As an email attachment in Word). The electronic copy will be emailed to the instructor and will be run through an anti-plagiarism service to which CU subscribes.

Grading Criteria

Reading Summaries 15%

Mid-term exam 25%

Research Paper 25%

Final exam 25%

Current events, attendance & participation 10%

Total 100%

Final Course Grades will be curved unless a straight 90/80/70/60 etc… proves more beneficial to the students (higher overall grade average). If curved, the mean overall average will become the highest C grade, and two standard deviations below the mean will be necessary to fail the course. One standard deviation about the mean becomes the criteria for an A grade. The grading policy will be explained in detail on the first day of class.

PSCI 3054/Spring 2012/SCHEDULE OF LECTURES, READINGS, AND ASSIGNMENTS:

PSCI 3054/Spring 2012/SCHEDULE OF LECTURES, READINGS, AND ASSIGNMENTS:

Day, Date	Class Topic	Assignment
Tue, 17 Jan.	Course Intro & Administration	None
Thur, 19 Jan.	Farrand Common Readings	· Kurt Vonnegut, “There will be wailing in the streets” · Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave” · Stanley Milgram, “A Behavioral Study of Obedience”
Tue, 24 Jan.	American Exceptionalism	· Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism · John Bookman, Myths of American Politics · Almond & Verba, The Civic Culture · Alexis de Toqueville, Democracy in America (6 Chapters)
Thur, 26 Jan.	American Exceptionalism (2)
Tue, 31 Jan	COWA make up day	No Class
Thur, 2 Feb.	Inventing New Communities	· Abbot Ch. 1 (pp. 15-40) · John Winthrop - A Modell of Christian Charity (1630) · Anne Hutchinson - Trial Testimony (1637) · John Winthrop - The Little Speech (1639) · Roger Williams - The Bloody Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience (1644) · William Penn - Frame of Government of Pennsylvania (1682) · John Wise - Democracy is Founded in Scripture (1717) · Benjamin Franklin - Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, the Peopling of Countries, etc. (1751)
Tue, 7 Feb.	Inventing New Communities (2)
Thur, 9 Feb.	The American Revolution	· Abbot Ch. 2 (pp. 41-70) · Benjamin Franklin - Excerpts from the Great Law of the Iroquois Nations · Benjamin Franklin - Short Hints Towards a Scheme for Uniting the Northern Colonies (1754) · Benjamin Franklin - The Albany Plan of Union (1754) · Samuel Adams - The Rights of the Colonists (1772) · Thomas Paine - Common Sense (1776) · John Adams - Thoughts on Government (1776) · Declaration of Independence (1776) · John Adams - Correspondence with Abigail Adams (1776) · Jonathan Boucher - A View of the Causes and Consequences of the American Revolution (1797) · Thomas Paine - The American Crisis (1777) · Peter Oliver - The Origin and Progress of the American Revolution (1781) · Articles of Confederation (1781) · Thomas Jefferson - Notes on Virginia (1785)
Tue, 14 Feb.	The American Revolution (2)
Thur, 16 Feb.	The Second Founding	· Abbot Ch. 3 (pp. 41-70) · The United States Constitution (1787) · Richard Henry Lee - "Letters of a Federal Farmer" (1787) · Letter from Samuel Adams to Richard Henry Lee (1787) · John Adams - "A Defense of the Constitution of the United States" (1787) James Madison - Federalist Papers (1787-88) · Alexander Hamilton - Federalist Papers (1787-88) · James Madison - Vices of the Political System of the United States (1787) · Thomas Jefferson - Selected Letters (1787-1823) · Dissent of the Pennsylvania Minority (1787)
Tue, 21 Feb.	The Second Founding (2)
Thur, 23 Feb.	Faction, Development & Democracy	· Abbott Ch. 4 (pp. 99-135) · Alexander Hamilton - Report on Credit (1790) · Alexander Hamilton - Opinion on the Constitutionality of the Bank (1791) Alexander Hamilton - Report on Manufactures (1791) · Thomas Paine - Rights of Man Part One (1791) George Washington - Farewell Address (1796) Thomas Jefferson - Madisons Report to the Virginia General Assembly (1800) · Thomas Jefferson - First Inaugural Address (1801) · John Marshall - Marbury v. Madison (1803) Henry Clay - Excerpts from The American System (1805) · Fisher Ames - "Dangers of American Liberty" (1805) · John Taylor - "An Inquiry into the Principles and Policy of the Government of the United States" (1814) · John Marshall - McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) · Thomas Skidmore - "The Rights of Man to Property" (1829) · Webster-Hayne Debate (1830)
Tue, 28 Feb.	Faction, Development & Democracy (2)
Thur, 1 Mar.	Slavery and the American Civil War	· Abbot Ch. 5 (pp. 139-172) · William Lloyd Garrison - Declaration of Sentiments of the Anti-Slavery Society (1833) · Andrew Jackson - Farewell Address (1837) · John C. Calhoun - "Slavery is a Positive Good" (1837) · Orestes Brownson - "The Laboring Classes" (1840) · Ralph Waldo Emerson - "Self-Reliance" (1841) Henry David Thoreau - "Civil Disobedience" (1848) · Frederick Douglass - Speech at the Anti-Slavery Association (1848) · John C. Calhoun - A Disquisition on Government (1848) · Frederick Douglass - "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" (1852) · Frederick Douglass - "The Various Phases of Anti-Slavery" (1855) · George Fitzhugh - Cannibals All! (1857) Abraham Lincoln - Speech on the Dred Scott Decision (1857) · Abraham Lincoln - Letter to Boston Republicans (1859) · Abraham Lincoln - Cooper Union Address (1860) · Abraham Lincoln - First Inaugural Address (1861) · Abraham Lincoln - Second Annual Message to Congress (1862) · Abraham Lincoln - The Gettysburg Address (1863) · Abraham Lincoln - Second Inaugural Address (1865)
Tue, 6 Mar.	Slavery and the American Civil War (2)
Thur, 8 Mar.	Midterm Exam	Review
Tue, 13 Mar.	Reconstruction & Industrialization	· Abbot Ch. 6 (pp. 173-214) · The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution (1865-70) Excerpts from The Revolution (1869) · Debates at Meetings of the Equal Rights Assoc. (1869) · Susan B. Anthonys Statement at the Close of Her Trial (1873) · William Graham Sumner - What Social Classes Owe to Each Other (1884) · Edward Bellamy - Looking Backward (1888) The Ocala Demands (1890) · The Populist Party Platform (1892) · William Jennings Bryan - "Cross of Gold" speech (1896) · William Graham Sumner - "The Conquest of the United States by Spain" (1899) · Thorsten Veblen - "The Theory of the Leisure Class" (1899)
Thur, 15 Mar.	Reconstruction & Industrialization (2)
Tue, 20 Mar.	Go Over Midterm Exam	None
Thur, 22 Mar.	Rise of the Positive State	· Mark Twain - The War Prayer (1904) · Eugene Debs - "Revolutionary Unionism" (1905) · Emma Goldman - "Anarchism: What It Really Stands For" (1907) · Herbert Croly - The Promise of American Life (1909) · Emma Goldman - "The Tragedy of Woman’s Emancipation (1910) · Article V of the Colorado State Constitution (1910) · Ambrose Bierce - The Devils Dictionary (1911) · Frederick Taylor - The Principles of Scientific Management (1911) · Woodrow Wilson - "The Meaning of Democracy" (1912) · Eugene Debs - Acceptance speech as a candidate for the U.S. Presidency (1912) · Progressive Party Platform (1912) · Amendments Sixteen through Twenty-One of the U.S. Constitution (1913-33) · Eugene Debs - Statement to the court upon being indicted for violating the Alien and Sedition Act (1918)
Tue, 27 Mar.	Spring Break	No Class
Thur, 29 Mar.	Spring Break	No Class
Tue, 3 Apr.	Rise of the Positive State (2)
Thur, 5 Apr.	The Great Depression	· Abbott Ch. 7 (pp. 215-248) · Herbert Hoover - "American Individualism" (1922) · Franklin D. Roosevelt - Address to the Commonwealth Club (1932) · Huey Long - "Every Man a King" speech (1934) · Jane Addams - Twenty Years at Hull House (1935) · Franklin D. Roosevelt - Campaign Address (1936) · Franklin D. Roosevelt – An Economic Bill of Rights (1944)
Tue, 10 Apr	The Great Depression (2)
Thur, 12 Apr.	The Cold War	· Abbott Ch. 8 (pp. 249-292) · George Kennan’s "Long Telegram" to the U.S. State Department explaining the threat from the Soviet Union (1946) · John F. Kennedy - Inaugural Address (1961) · Students for a Democratic Society - Port Huron Statement (1962) · Ronald Reagan - First Inaugural Address (1981) · Ronald Reagan - State of the Union Address (1984)
Tue, 17 Apr.	The Cold War (2)
Thur, 19 Apr.	The New Left, Diversity & Discrimination	· Abbott Ch. 9 (pp. 293-322) · Elizabeth Cady Stanton - "Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions" (1848) · Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Address to the New York State Legislature (1860) · W.E.B. Du Bois - The Souls of Black Folk (1903) · John G. Neihardt - Black Elk Speaks (1932) · Martin Luther King, Jr. - Letter from the Birmingham City Jail (1963) Malcolm X - "The Ballot or the Bullet" speech (1964) National Conference of Catholic Bishops - Economic Justice for All: Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy (1986) · Articles of Amendment Not Ratified · State of California - Proposition 209 (1989)
Tue, 24 Apr.	The New Left, Diversity & Discrimination (2)
Thur, 26 Apr.	The Post-Cold War World & 9/11	· Abbott Ch. 10 (pp. 323-347) · William Clinton - Second Inaugural Address (1997) · Green Party Platform (2000) · President George W. Bush - Address to a Joint Session of Congress after the 9/11 attacks (2001) · The National Security Strategy of the United States of America (2002)
Tue, 1 May	The Post-Cold War World & 9/11 (2) Research Paper Due
Thur, 3 May	Putting American Ideology in Perspective: The Election of 2012	· Richard Hofstadter, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics” Harper’s Magazine, November 1964 · Center for American Progress “The New Progressive America · Ed Kilgore, “How the Republicans Did It. The New Republic · The Economist, “The Faith (and Doubts) of our Fathers” 17 Dec 2011
Sat, 5 May	Final Examination (1:30-4:00pm)	Study, Study, Study

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION:

CELLULAR TELEPHONE/LAPTOP COMPUTER POLICY

Needless to say, all cellular phones must be turned off and put away at the beginning of each class meeting. Classes failing to comply will be issued a stern warning on the first occasion. The entire class will have a pop quiz over the previous reading assignments/lectures on the second and subsequent occurrences. Phones, PDAs, MP3 players and Blackberrys will not be out on desks or used during any quiz or examination. Laptop computers will be allowed in class, I still believe that they can assist learning in the classroom. However, if abuse of the privilege appears to be a distraction in class, then they will be banned.

Students With Disabilities

If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to your professsor a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact: 303-492-8671, C4C N200, and www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices

Disability Services' letters for students with disabilities indicate legally mandated reasonable accommodations. The syllabus statements and answers to Frequently Asked Questions can be found at the same website. If you have a temporary medical condition or injury, see guidelines at http://www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices/go.cgi?select=temporary.html

Cheating and Plagiarism

Cheating (using unauthorized materials or giving unauthorized assistance during an examination or other academic exercise) and plagiarism (using another's ideas or words without acknowledgment) are serious offenses in a university, and may result in a failing grade for a particular assignment, a failing grade for the course, and/or suspension for various lengths of time or permanent expulsion from the university. All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/

The development of the Internet has provided students with historically unparalleled opportunities for conducting research swiftly and comprehensively. The availability of these materials does not, however, release the student from appropriately citing sources where appropriate; or applying standard rules associated with avoiding plagiarism. Specifically, the instructor will be expecting to review papers written by students drawing ideas and information from various sources (cited appropriately), presented generally in the student’s words after careful analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. An assembly of huge blocks of other individuals' existing material, even when cited, does not constitute an appropriate representation of this expectation. Uncited, plagiarized material shall be treated as academically dishonest, and the paper will be assigned an ‘F’ as a result. Papers submitted by any student, written in part or in whole by someone other than that student, shall be considered to constitute fraud under the University Honor Code, and result in the assignment of an 'F' for the entire course. If the student is confused as to what constitutes plagiarism, he/she should review the CU Honor Code on this topic. If you have any questions regarding proper documentation in your writing, please discuss it with your instructor.

RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES

The university has received valid complaints from students regarding the lack of adequate faculty accommodation for some students who have serious religious obligations, which may conflict with academic requirements such as scheduled exams. Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In this class, any notification of absence by email constitutes and excused absence. See full details at: http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html

A comprehensive calendar of the religious holidays most commonly observed by CU-Boulder students is at http://www.interfaithcalendar.org/

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

The University of Colorado Policy on Sexual Harassment applies to all students, staff and faculty. Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual attention. It can involve intimidation, threats, coercion, or promises or create an environment that is hostile or offensive. Harassment may occur between members of the same or opposite gender and between any combination of members in the campus community: students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Harassment can occur anywhere on campus, including the classroom, the workplace, or a residence hall. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been sexually harassed should contact the Office of Sexual Harassment (OSH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the OSH and the campus resources available to assist individuals who believe they have been sexually harassed can be obtained at http://www.colorado.edu/odh/

BASIC COURTESY TO YOUR CLASSMATE AND YOUR INSTRUCTORS

Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, color, culture, religion, creed, politics, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, disability,
and nationalities. See policies at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code

Please arrive on time and do not leave early. If you absolutely must leave early, please let me know at the beginning of class and sit near a door so you do not cause too much disruption. Similarly, if arriving late, please take a seat as quickly and quietly as possible. Take care of all your business before class begins; do not leave and return during class as this creates a disturbance to others.

Taking this course signifies acceptance of the terms and conditions stated in this syllabus.