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Summer Reading for 2011-2012

You will be reading, at minimum, three books this summer in preparation for next school year. Everyone will read Thomas Paine's Common Sense, but the other two involve some choice.

Choose one:

• Ackerman, Bruce. The Failure of the Founding Fathers: Jefferson, Marshall, and the Rise of Presidential Democracy. New York: Belknap Press, 2005.
• Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist Papers. New York: Penguin Classics, 1987.
• Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. Hanover University. http://history.hanover.edu/early/Locke/J-L2-001.html.

Choose one:

• O’Brien, David. Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics, Seventh Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2005.
• Toobin, Jeffrey. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. New York: Doubleday, 2007.
• Woodward, Bob and Scott Armstrong. The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.

The purpose of the readings is to give you a firmer basis in the background of American political science. Not reading the books or merely skimming them only hurts you. I have read them and understand them; you have not and do not. I am not someone who believes in frivolity or inefficiency, so I am not assigning these readings just to assign something. Please take them seriously.

Should you have questions as you read through your books, feel free to email me questions and I will try to answer as quickly as possible.

Background

This class will focus on the political journey of the United States, particularly the organization and structure of government, the intricacies of the Constitution and its subsequent Amendments, and the role of the “common citizen” as seen with and without special interest groups. It will be taught at an advanced, college level and, thus, will demand much of your time and effort.

Topics

This course provides instruction in each of the following six broad topics:

• Political Beliefs and Behaviors
• Constitutional Underpinnings of United States Government
• Institutions of National Government and States’ Rights
• Civil Rights and Liberties
• Political Parties, Interest Groups, and the Mass Media
• Public Policy

Expectations

You will on a regular basis, be required to:

• practice analyzing and interpreting data and other information relevant to both historical and current United States government and politics through the study of United States Supreme Court cases, primary source materials, polling data, political cartoons, et cetera
• read a variety of materials, ranging from primary source materials to contemporary news analyses, and demonstrate understanding through any number of written and oral assignments
• accurately and at an advanced level answer analytical and interpretive free-response questions
• evaluate the significance of current events

Assignments:

• weekly chapter questions and extensions
• two case studies (one per quarter) based on United States Supreme Court cases
• mid-semester paper on approved topic of political study
• examinations from each major topic of study, as necessary

Readings/Texts

Readings will be gathered from a variety of sources, many originating in the following texts:

• Ackerman, Bruce. The Failure of the Founding Fathers: Jefferson, Marshall, and the Rise of Presidential Democracy. New York: Belknap Press, 2005.
• Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England. The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/blackstone/blacksto.htm.
• Edwards, George, Martin Wattenberg, and Robert Lineberry. Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy; AP Edition. New York: Prentice Hall, 2006.
• Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist Papers. New York.: Penguin Classics, 1987.
• Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. Hanover University. http://history.hanover.edu/early/Locke/J-L2-001.html.
• Montesquieu, Charles. L'esprit des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws). University of Paris. http://www.efm.bris.ac.uk/het/montesquieu/spiritoflaws.pdf.
• O'Brien, David. Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics, Seventh Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2005.
• Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. New York: Penguin Classics, 1987.
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Du Contrat Social, ou Principes du Droit Politique (The Social Contract, or Principles of Political Right). Modern History Sourcebook. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Rousseau-soccon.html.
• Shute, Stephen and Susan Hurley, eds. On Human Rights: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures 1993. New York: BasicBooks, 1993.
• Toobin, Jeffrey. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. New York: Doubleday, 2007.
• Woodward, Bob. and Scott Armstrong. The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.

On-line/Newsprint

• The Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/)
• The Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/)
• The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/)
• The Philadelphia Inquirer (http://www.philly.com/inquirer/)
• The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/)
• The Washington Times (http://www.washtimes.com/)
• Democratic National Committee (http://www.democrats.org/)
• Republican National Committee (http://www.rnc.org/)
• White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov/)
• Unites States House of Representatives (http://www.house.gov/)
• United States Senate (http://www.senate.gov/)
• Supreme Court of the United States (http://www.supremecourtus.gov/)

Case Law

In order to better understand the constitutional underpinnings of the U.S. government, institutions of national government, and civil rights and liberties, we will also analyze many U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding important political ideas. Case law will be discussed throughout the semester, providing you with a methodology of connecting sometimes seemingly uncorrelated details of American politics.

Classroom Environment

With the nature of this class stated, one can easily see the topics to be discussed can be sensitive; abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, and religion are basic examples. It will be my main goal to foster an open, blameless environment in which to share our ideas.

 

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1. Political Beliefs and Behaviors
1. Should we consent to be governed?
1. What is government?
2. How is government formed (e.g. force vs. evolution)?
3. What types of governments are there?
4. What is political science?
2. Early Political Systems
1. Where were the earliest governments?
2. What were the earliest government?
3. Is there a transition from early to modern political thought?
3. The Age of Revolutions
1. The Enlightenment
1. Primary source documents
1. John Locke, Two Treatises of Government [1690]
2. Charles de Secondat, Baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu, L’esprit des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws)
[1748]
3. William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England [1758 (1765)]
4. Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract [1763]
2. What is the time frame?
3. What is the world climate?
4. What is important?
5. What are the overall ramifications?
2. The British Revolution
1. Primary source documents
1. Magna Carta (The Runnymede Charter) [1215]
2. The Petition of Right [1628]
3. The English Bill of Rights [1688]
2. What is the time frame?
3. What is the world climate?
4. What is important?
5. What are the overall ramifications?
3. The American Revolution
1. Primary source documents
1. The Albany Plan of Union [1754]
2. The American Declaration of Independence [1776]
2. What is the time frame?
3. What is the world climate?
4. What is important?
5. What are the overall ramifications?
2. Constitutional Underpinnings of United States Government
1. The Constitution and Bill of Rights
1. Historiography
2. Primary source documents
1. The Constitution [1789]
2. The Bill of Rights [1791]
3. Institutions of National Government and States’ Rights
1. Checks & Balances and Separation of Powers
1. Historical Evidence
2. Branches of American Government
1. What is the role of the Judiciary?
1. Judicial Review
1. Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch (5 U.S.) 137 (1803)
1. Syllabus
2. Eakin v. Raub, 12 Sargeant&Rawle 330 (PA, 1825)
2. Justiciable Controversies
1. Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
3. Decision-making Process
1. O'Brien, Law and Politics in the Supreme Court: Jurisdiction and Decision-Making Process
4. How has the role of the judiciary changed through history?
5. What is the modern role of the judiciary?
2. What is the role of the Legislature?
1. Membership
1. Hutchinson v. Proxmire, 443 U.S. 111 (1979)
2. Investigative, Contempt, and Impeachment
1. Watkins v. United States, 354 U.S. 178 (1957)
2. Barenblatt v. United States, 360 U.S. 109 (1959)
3. Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224 (1993)
3. Classical View
1. McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819)
2. Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
4. Legal Formalism
1. United States v. E.C. Knight Company, 156 U.S. 1 (1895)
2. Hammer v. Dagenhart, 247 U.S. 251 (1918)
5. From the New Deal to the Administrative State
1. National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, 301 U.S. 1 (1937)
2. Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1941)
3. Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964)
4. Katzenbach v. McClung, 379 U.S. 294 (1964)
5. United States v. Lopez, (1995)
6. Taxing and Spending Powers
1. Steward Machine Co. v. Davis, 301 U.S. 548 (1937)
2. South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203 (1987)
7. How has the role of the legislative changed through history?
8. What is the modern role of the legislative?
3. What is the role of the Executive?
1. President as Commander-in-Chief
1. United States v. Curtiss-Wright Corporation, 299 U.S. 304 (1936)
2. Dames & Moore v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654 (1981)
2. Treaty Powers and Executive Independence
1. United States v. Pink, 315 U.S. 203 (1942)
2. Goldwater v. Carter, 444 U.S. 996 (1979)
3. War-making and Emergency Powers
1. The Prize Cases, 67 U.S. 935 (1863)
2. Ex parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 2 (1866)
3. Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)
4. Domestic and National Security Powers
1. Youngstown Sheet & Tube, Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952)
2. New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971)
5. Appointment and Removal Powers
1. Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
2. Bowsher v. Synar, 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
6. Legislative Powers
1. Schechter Poulty Corporation v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935)
2. Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919 (1983)
7. Accountability and Immunity
1. United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (1974)
2. Clinton v. Jones, (1997)
8. How has the role of the executive changed through history?
9. What is the modern role of the executive?
4. What is the role of the Bureaucracy?
1. Interest groups
1. What are the most influential and powerful interest groups?
2. What makes an interest group effective or ineffective?
3. How do interest groups affect federal national government policy?
2. Appointed bureaucrats
1. What is the role of “special commissions” (e.g. 9/11 Commission) in modern United States politics?
2. What is the role of international diplomats in modern United States politics?
3. How do the national political party chairs (e.g. Howard Dean, Michael Steele) affect policy?
3. Congressional subcommittees
1. What are the most influential and powerful congressional subcommittees?
2. What makes a congressional subcommittee more or less "prestigious?"
4. How has the role of the bureaucracy changed through history?
5. What is the modern role of the bureaucracy?
3. Modern Issues in Checks & Balances and Separation of Powers
1. Executive privilege
1. Secrecy in the White House
2. From Jackson's “Open Door” to Bush’s “Closed Room”
2. Appointment and confirmation powers
1. Federal government in the post-9/11 world
2. States’ Rights
1. Commerce
1. Cooley v. The Board of Wardens of the Port of Philadelphia, 53 U.S. 229 (1851)
2. Tenth Amendment
1. Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, 469 U.S. 528 (1985)
3. Federalism
1. Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee, 14 U.S. 304 (1816)
2. Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
3. Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958)
4. Voting Rights, Franchise, Campaigns, and Elections
1. South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U.S. 301 (1966)
2. Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339 (1960)
3. Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993)
4. Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
5. How do the states “fit” into a cohesive federal government?
4. Civil Rights and Liberties
1. Human Rights
1. How do civil rights fit into the broader concept of human rights?
2. Steven Lukes, Five Fables about Human Rights
3. Modern examples of human rights issues
1. Ha Shoah
2. Kosovo
3. Rwanda
4. Darfur
2. Civil Rights
1. First Amendment
1. Judicial Approaches
1. Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919)
2. Gitlow v. The People of New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925)
3. Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
2. Obscenity, Pornography, and Offensive Speech
1. Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
2. Stanley v. Georgia, 394 U.S. 561 (1969)
3. Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
4. FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
5. New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
6. R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
7. Wisconsin v. Mitchell, 508 U.S. 476 (1993)
3. Freedom of the Press
1. Near v. State of Minnesota ex rel. Olson, 283 U.S. 697 (1930)
2. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
3. New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971)
4. Symbolic Speech and Speech-plus-Conduct
1. West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
2. Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
3. Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
4. Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007)
5. Freedom of Religion
1. Disestablishment of Religion
1. Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963)
2. Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
2. Free Exercise of Religion
1. Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
3. What different modern perspectives are there concerning the First Amendment?
2. Fourth Amendment
1. Warrants
1. Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752 (1969)
2. Exceptions to warrant rules
1. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968)
2. United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1 (1989)
3. School searches
1. Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton, 515 U.S. 646 (1995)
2. Safford Unified School District #1 v. Redding, No. 08-479 (2009)
4. Police Surveillance
1. Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928)
2. Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967)
5. The Exclusionary Rule
1. Wolf v. People of the State of Colorado, 338 U.S. 25 (1949)
2. Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
3. United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (1984)
6. What different modern perspectives are there concerning the Fourth Amendment?
3. Fifth Amendment: Coerced Confessions
1. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
4. Sixth Amendment: Right to Counsel
1. Powell v. State of Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932)
2. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
5. Eighth Amendment: Capital Punishment
1. Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972)
2. Gilmore v. Utah, 419 U.S. 1012 (1976)
3. Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976)
4. McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 (1987)
5. Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. ___ (2008)
6. How does the death penalty function in a democratic republic like the United States?
6. The Right of Privacy
1. Reproductive Freedom
1. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
2. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
3. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
2. Personal Autonomy
1. Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986)
2. Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, 497 U.S. 261 (1990)
3. Is the right of privacy a legitimate constitutional protection?
7. Fourteenth Amendment: Equal Protection of the Laws
1. Racial Issues
1. Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857)
2. The Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3 (1883)
3. Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
2. Educational Issues
1. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (Brown I), 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
2. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (Brown II), 349 U.S. 294 (1955)
3. Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1954)
3. Affirmative Action
1. Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
2. City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson, 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
4. Non-racial Issues
1. San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
2. Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973)
5. What is the significance of the Fourteenth Amendment in the 21st Century?
3. Political Parties, Interests Groups, Mass Media, and Public Policy
1. The American Political System
1. Democracy, Federalism, and Republicanism
1. What is Democracy?
2. What is Federalism?
3. What is Republicanism?
2. Political Participation
4. Public Opinion
1. Political Spectrum
1. Which political spectrum is correct?
1. Single axis
1. The Eysenck Line
2. Multi-axis
1. Eigenvector model
2. Friesian model
3. Greenburg & Jones’ Ideological Rigidity model
4. Pournelle Chart
5. The Inglehart study
6. The Nolan Chart
2. Where do you fit on a spectrum?
2. Political Image
1. How does a politician craft his or her image?
2. What are assets and liabilities in running for political office?
3. Socialization
1. How do differences occur?
5. Evolution of Political Parties
1. First Party System (before 1824)
1. Federalists
2. Antifederalists
2. Second Party System (1824-1854)
1. Democratic-Republican Party
2. Whig Party
3. Third Party System (1854-1896), Progressive Era (1896-1932), New Deal Era (1932-1964), Late 20^th Century
1. Democratic Party
2. Republican Party
4. Realignment of Political Parties
5. Elections and Campaigns
1. Political Campaigns
1. National vs. State vs. Local
2. Primary vs. General
3. Presidential vs. Congressional
4. Issues
5. Modern political campaigns
1. John F. Kennedy vs. Richard M. Nixon (1959)
2. Ronald Reagan vs. James “Jimmy” Carter (1979)
3. William “Bill” Clinton vs. George H.W. Bush (1991)
4. George W. Bush vs. Albert “Al” Gore (1999)
5. George W. Bush vs. John Kerry (2003)
6. Interest Groups
1. Campaign Financing
1. Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCFRA, 2002)
2. “Soft” vs. “Hard” Money
2. “Special” Interests
1. Political Action Committees (PAC’s)
2. 527 Groups
7. Mass Media
1. Role
1. Historic (pre-1960)
2. Modern (post-1960)
2. Television, Debates, Mailings
1. Impact of Paid Advertisements
2. News Bias
3. Debates
4. Use of the Internet
5. Polling Data
1. Methodology
1. How is information gathered prior to an election? After an election?
2. What kind of questions are functional for pollsters?
2. Impact
1. What role does polling play in elections?
2. Does polling negatively or positively affect election outcomes?
3. Interpretation
1. How does one interpret polling data?
2. In what ways can polling data be skewed?
8. Public Policy
1. The Policy-making Process
1. Primary Players
2. Secondary Players
2. Economic Policy
1. Spending and Taxation
1. Balanced Budget vs. Deficit Spending
2. What is the connection between government and politics?
2. Economic Theories
1. Monetarism
2. Keynesianism
3. Planning
4. Supply-side Tax Cuts (Laffer)
5. “Reaganomics”
3. Fragmentation of Policy-making
1. Council of Economic Advisors
2. Office of Management and Budget
3. Department of the Treasury
4. Federal Reserve
4. Social Welfare
1. Origins
1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1. New Deal
2. Social Security Act (1935)
3. Medicare Act (1965)
4. Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
1. Food Stamps
2. Earned Income Tax Credit
3. Free School Lunches
4. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
9. Environmental Policy
1. Local vs. State vs. National vs. International
1. European Union vs. United States
2. Kyoto Protocol
3. Clean Air Act
4. Endangered Species Act
2. Business vs. Government
3. Taxation
4. Technological Advancements