Political Science Department
San Diego State University
Fall 2014
Professor Ronald King
Nasatir Hall 118
rking@mail.sdsu.edu
POLS 620
SEMINAR IN AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
Monday 4:00 – 6:40
NH 131
This class is a graduate-level reading seminar in American government and politics. It
assumes substantial previous knowledge about U.S. governing institutions and
democratic practices. It should not be taken unless the student has extensive background
in the subject. Sessions are organized by topic, emphasizing general themes of
interpretation.
Students are expected to attend all class sessions and to participate fully in discussions.
Any student who must be absent should inform me of the fact in advance by e-mail. The
reading list includes twelve (12) required books, listed below. Supplemental articles for
the class are posted on Blackboard. They should be easily accessible for downloading.
Assigned readings must be completed before the relevant class session.
Each student will submit a one-page interpretive comment on the readings, due (strictly)
at the start of each class session. These will be used to prompt discussion. There will be
penalties for non-attendance, non-preparation, and non-submission of the one-page
comments, as these comprise 25% of the grade. There will also be three take-home
essays, each worth 25%.
Students are reminded that plagiarism is a major offense. They are responsible for
learning the university rules regarding plagiarism and for avoiding all violations. Any
student deemed guilty of plagiarism automatically will receive a failing grade in the class.
Student Learning Objectives:
-- To gain sophisticated understanding regarding topics of contemporary relevance in
American national politics.
-- To think, read, and write critically about the topics pertaining to fundamental American
political principles and institutional structures, the changing nature of American identity,
and developments within the current American political regime.
-- To develop better skills in close reading of texts, note-taking, verbal and written
communication, the organization of ideas, and research design.
-- To demonstrate the ability to produce essays that impart information, frame and
support an argument, use critical thinking and analysis, make logical assumptions, derive
sound conclusions from evidence, and display graduate-level use of language, grammar,
and rhetorical structure.
AGENDA FOR THE TERM
I. Structures of the American State
1. On Independence and its Justifications (August 25)
On Madisonian Principles
“The Declaration of Independence” (Blackboard)
“The Articles of Confederation” (Blackboard)
“The U.S. Constitution” (Blackboard)
James Madison, The Federalist Papers: #10 and #51 (Blackboard)
(September 1 – no class, Labor Day)
2. On the Coherence of U.S. Institutions/Congress (September 8)
William F. Connelly, Jr., Madison Rules America: The Constitutional Origins of
Congressional Partisanship (especially the Introduction and Chapters 1, 4,
6 and 9).
Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, It’s Even Worse Than It Looks (selection)
(Blackboard)
3. On Time and Patterns in U.S. Politics/Presidency (September 15)
V.O. Key, “A Theory of Critical Elections,” Journal of Politics, Vol. 17 (1955)
(Blackboard)
Stephen Skowronek, The Politics Presidents Make
4. On the Extent of U.S. Institutional Democracy (September 22)
Sanford Levinson, Our Undemocratic Constitution
5. Reform of the U.S. Constitutional System (September 29)
Brutus (Robert Yates), “Essay # 1” (Blackboard)
Woodrow Wilson, Congressional Government (selections). (Blackboard)
Lloyd Cutler, “To Form a Government,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 59 (1980).
(Blackboard)
Juan Linz, “The Perils of Presidentialism,” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 1
(1990). (Blackboard)
Scott Mainwaring and Matthew Shugart, “Juan Linz, Presidentialism, and
Democracy,” Comparative Politics, Vol. 29 (1997). (Blackboard)
Ronald F. King and Thomas Langston, “Narratives of American Politics,”
Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 6 (2008). (Blackboard)
II. Who Rules America?
6. On the Politics of Democratic Inclusion and Exclusion (October 6)
Richard Scher, The Politics of Disenfranchisement.
Ronald King and Justin Moeller. “Party Politics and the Popular Franchise:
Removal of the Property Qualification and the Democratization of
America,” unpublished manuscript. (Blackboard)
Christopher Uggen and Jeff Manza, “Democratic Contraction? Political
Consequences of Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States,”
American Sociological Review, Vol. 67 (2002). (Blackboard)
Rainer Baubock, “Expansive Citizenship – Voting Beyond Territory and
Membership,” PS, Vol. 38 (2005). (Blackboard)
TAKE-HOME EXAM #1 DUE – at start of class
7. On Inequality and Democracy (October 13)
Tax and Spending Data Tables (U.S. Budget/OECD) (Blackboard)
Inequality and Poverty Data Tables (U.S. Census/LIS) (Blackboard)
Joseph Stiglitz, The Price of Inequality. Chapter 1, pp. 1-34. (Blackboard)
Thomas Picketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Ch. 7-8, pp. 237-303.
(Blackboard)
APSA Task Force Report, “American Democracy in an Age of Rising
Inequality,” Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 2 (2004). (Blackboard)
8. Winner Take All Politics (October 20) – with Paul Pierson
Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, Winner Take-All Politics: How Washington
Made the Rich Richer – and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class.
9. Public Opinion and Policy Responsiveness (October 27) – with Larry Bartels
Robert Erikson, Michael MacKuen and James Stimson, The Macro Polity.
Chapter 8, pp. 284-324. (Blackboard)
Martin Gilens, Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power
In America.
Larry Bartels, Unequal Democracy, 2008, Chapter 9: “Economic Inequality and
Political Representation,” and Chapter 10: “Unequal Democracy,” pp.
252-282; 283-303. (Blackboard)
Larry Bartels, “Homer Gets a Tax Cut: Inequality and Public Policy in the
American Mind,” Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 3 (2005). (Blackboard).
Benjamin Page, Larry Bartels, and Jason Seawright, “Democracy and the Policy
Preferences of Wealthy Americans,” Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 11
(2013). (Blackboard)
10. On the Power of Elites (November 3)
C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite
G. William Domhoff, Clifford Staples, and Adam Schneider, “Interlocks and
Interactions Among the Power Elite,” 2013. (Blackboard)
Charles Lindblom, “Market as Prison,” Journal of Politics, Vol. 44 (1982).
(Blackboard)
III. The Nature of American Identity
11. Liberal Individualism (November 10)
Louis Hartz, The Liberal Tradition In America (especially Chapters I, II, III, VIII
and XI )
Herbert McClosky and John Zaller, The American Ethos. Chapter 9, pp. 264-290.
(Blackboard)
TAKE-HOME EXAM #2 DUE – at start of class
12. Religion and Morality (November 17)
John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity” (Blackboard)
James Morone, Hellfire Nation
13. A Nation of Races (November 24)
Rogers Smith, “Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal, and Hartz: The Multiple Traditions
in America,” American Political Science Review, Vol. 83 (1993).
(Blackboard)
Tali Mendelberg, The Race Card.
14. A Nation of Immigrants (December 1)
Daniel J. Tichenor, Dividing Lines: The Politics of Immigration Control in
America.
Samuel Huntington, “The Hispanic Challenge,” Foreign Policy, Issue 141
(2004). (Blackboard)
15. On the American Welfare State (December 8)
Welfare Spending Data Tables (U.S. Budget) (Blackboard)
Joe Soss, Richard C. Fording, and Stanford F. Schram, Disciplining the Poor.
December 15: TAKE-HOME EXAM #3
Due to my mailbox in the Political Science Department Office
Before 4:00 p.m.
Take-Home Exam 1 – Due October 6
At the Start of Class
Madisonian principles emphasize the importance of “auxiliary precautions” to
promote democratic deliberation and protect democratic liberty. Regarding participation,
the goal is to “extend the sphere” to incorporate a multiplicity of voices, so that “society
itself will be broken into so many parts, interests, and classes of citizens, that the rights of
individuals, or of the minority, will be in little danger.” Regarding institutions, the goal is
to fragment governing power, giving to “each department the necessary constitutional
means and personal motives to resist encroachments.” Both dimensions are essential to
the Madisonian ideal that “ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”
Nevertheless, Madisonian principles have been and remain quite controversial.
Not every commentator agrees about the allegedly beneficial implications of
constitutional multiplicity. You task is to comment, based on our class readings and
discussions, regarding the benefits and costs of such multiplicity in the U.S. In your
opinion, do Madisonian principles, as currently evident in American politics, serve the
U.S. well or not? What reforms, based on what possible alternative principles, would you
espouse/reject? Explain and justify your preferences.
Instructions: You are to write for approximately two hours. Before taking the
exam, feel free to consult your notes, discuss the topic with others, attempt draft answers,
etc. However, all books and papers must be put away before you begin taking the exam.
You should work un-interrupted (as much as possible) for the entire exam period, which
can begin whenever you choose. After the two hours are over, you do have permission to
re-type or re-format your response for clarity of reading, and to edit it for grammatical
and spelling mistakes.
Take-Home Exam 2 – Due November 10
At the Start of Class
Among the most important questions when investigating the politics of any
country is, “Who Governs?” Who exercises real political power? Whose interests are
served by the state apparatus, and whose are ignored? You task is to answer these
questions with respect to the contemporary United States. You are to base your answer
upon our assigned readings and class discussions, especially those from the second part
of the semester.
One of the great recent concerns is the rise of inequality in America. To what
extent does inequality distort democracy in the U.S.? Can we anticipate that electoral
democracy represents the interests of average Americans? Should we ever have
anticipated that it does? Is this a major issue facing the country? If so, why do so few
seem to care? What does your answer imply for the current state of American politics
and the challenges that it faces?
Instructions (as before): You are to write for approximately two hours. Before
taking the exam, feel free to consult your notes, discuss the topic with others, attempt
draft answers, etc. However, all books and papers must be put away before you begin
taking the exam. You should work un-interrupted (as much as possible) for the entire
exam period, which can begin whenever you choose. After the two hours are over, you
do have permission to re-type or re-format your response for clarity of reading, and to
edit it for grammatical and spelling mistakes.
Take-Home Exam 3 – Due December 15
Place in my mailbox in the Political Science Department Office
Before 4:00 p.m.
One of the great controversies in U.S. politics concerns what it means to be an
American. Louis Hartz provides an answer, that Americans are culturally distinct
because of their extreme, “natural” adherence to liberal individualism. The answer is both
perceptive and problematic. According to James Morone and to Rogers Smith, liberal
individualism provides an incomplete and possibly misleading portrayal of American
political culture. According to Tali Mendelberg, Dan Tichenor and Joe Soss, liberalism
sits uncomfortably with the American experience of racial and ethnic injustice. How can
a country that celebrates individualism also have a legacy of racism? How can a country
of immigrants to a large extent fear immigration? How can a country founded on the
intrinsic worth of each individual appear so insensitive to those in need?
Your task is to comment intelligently about this debate, emphasizing the readings
and classroom discussions from the final third of the semester. Among the topics you
might wish to discuss are: is there a definable American political culture? how does/does
not American political culture work to define membership/non-membership in the
American political community? What advantages/risks does it pose politically? How
does that political culture affect contemporary political life in the U.S.? Is that culture, as
Huntington claims, currently under threat?
Instructions (as before): You are to write for approximately two hours. Before
taking the exam, feel free to consult your notes, discuss the topic with others, attempt
draft answers, etc. However, all books and papers must be put away before you begin
taking the exam. You should work un-interrupted (as much as possible) for the entire
exam period, which can begin whenever you choose. After the two hours are over, you
do have permission to re-type or re-format your response for clarity of reading, and to
edit it for grammatical and spelling mistakes.