AMERICAN POLITICS
Spring 2014
Political Science 121
Haverford College
Steve McGovern
Phone: 896-1058 (w)
email: smcgover@haverford.edu
Office: Hall 105
Hours: Th 9-11
(and by appointment)
Course Description
This course introduces students to the dynamics and tensions that underlie American politics and
government. We will start with the creation of the United States and think about how the values and
practices of the Founders shaped the establishment of the nation’s political institutions and processes.
Much of the first half of the semester will then be devoted to analyzing the primary institutions of
governance, including the Congress, presidency, bureaucracy, and courts. Next, we will examine the
important mechanisms that link Americans to the government such as political parties, the electoral
system, interest groups, public opinion, and the media. Throughout the course we will contemplate a
number of fundamental questions: Who wields power in American society and politics? Do ordinary
citizens have adequate opportunities to express their views, influence decision makers, and shape public
policy? Does the government produce public policy that responds more or less to the will of the
majority? Are minority rights sufficiently protected? To what extent does the political system
appropriately balance competing ideals of liberty, equality, and democracy? Do political institutions
exercise undue power or are they essentially ineffectual? Is democracy in America flourishing or
floundering?
Course Requirements
Class Participation
Film outside of class (7:30 pm, Sunday, April 20)
First Paper (5 pages)
Second Paper (5 pages)
Third Paper (10 pages)
20%
no grade
20%
20%
40%
Note: Papers submitted after the due date will be penalized by one third of a grade each day they are late.
Required Texts
Samuel Kernell and Steven S. Smith, eds., Principles and Practice of American Politics: Classic and
Contemporary Readings, 5th ed. (Congressional Quarterly Press, 2013)
Lawrence Lessig, Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress – and a Plan to Stop It (Twelve, 2011)
Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism
(Oxford University Press, 2012)
All other assigned readings will be accessible on Moodle.
Topics and Readings
Weeks 1-2
I.
Introduction to Course
II.
The Founding
Joseph J. Ellis, “The Argument” in American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding
of the Republic
Richard Hofstadter, “The Founding Fathers: An Age of Realism” in The American Political
Tradition and the Men Who Made It
Brutus, Anti-Federalist No. 3 (K&S, 2-2)
James Madison, The Federalist No. 10 (K&S, 2-3)
James Madison, The Federalist No. 51 (K&S, 2-4)
John P. Roche, Jr., “The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action” (K&S, 2-1)
Jeffrey Toobin, “Our Broken Constitution,” The New Yorker, December 9, 2013
Week 3
III.
Federalism
James Madison, The Federalist No. 39 (K&S, 3-1)
Donald F. Kettl, “Federalism: Sorting Out Who Does What” (K&S, 3-2)
Jonathan Rauch, “A Separate Peace” (K&S, 3-3)
Amanda Sheely, “Devolution and Welfare Reform: Re-evaluating ‘Success,’” Social Work,
October 2012
Barbara Warner and Jennifer Shapiro, “Fractured, Fragmented Federalism: A Study in Fracking
Regulatory Policy,” Publius: The Journal of Federalism, Summer 2013
Weeks 4-5
IV.
Congress
A. The Congressional Experience
Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, “The First Branch of Government: Theory and
Practice,” The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It
Back on Track
David Mayhew, Excerpt from Congress: The Electoral Connection
Richard F. Fenno, Jr., Excerpt from Home Style: House Members in Their Districts
David Price, Excerpt from The Congressional Experience: A View from the Hill in The Lanahan
Readings in the American Polity, 5th ed., eds. Ann G. Serow and Everett C. Ladd
B. Polarization
Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, “The Seeds of Dysfunction” and “Beyond the Debt
Ceiling Crisis Fiasco” in It’s Even Worse Than It Looks
Sarah A. Binder, “The Politics of Legislative Stalemate” (K&S, 6-2)
John H. Aldrich and David W. Rohde, “Congressional Committees in a Continuing Partisan Era”
(K&S, 6-3)
Karin L. Tamerius, “Sex, Gender, and Leadership in the Representation of Women” in Gender
Power, Leadership, and Governance, eds. Georgia Duerst-Lahti and Rita Mae Kelly
C. Money and the Legislative Process
Lawrence Lessig, Introduction and Chs. 4-13, Republic, Lost
FIRST PAPER DUE
Week 6
V.
The Presidency
A. Presidential Power
Richard Neustadt, Excerpt from Presidential Power and Modern Presidents: The Politics of
Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan (K&S, 7-1)
Samuel Kernell, Excerpt from Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership (K&S,
7-3)
Sidney M. Milkis, Jesse H. Rhodes, and Emily J. Charnock, “What Happened to PostPartisanship? Barack Obama and the New American Party System,” Perspectives on
Politics, March 2012
B. Case Study: President Barack Obama
Michael Grunwald, “Introduction: Things That Never Were” and “Ready or Not” in The New
New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era
Robert Kuttner, “Introduction: The Man and the Moment” and “Missing a Rendezvous with
Reform” in A Presidency in Peril
Week 7
VI.
The Bureaucracy
Charles T. Goodsell, “Bureaucratic Bigness and Badness Reconsidered” in The Case for
Bureaucracy: A Public Administration Polemic
Paul C. Light, “Introduction” and “Reversing the Decline” in A Government Ill Executed: The
Decline of the Federal Service and How to Reverse It
Paul Singer, “Bush and the Bureaucracy: A Crusade for Control” (K&S, 8-2)
Hayley Sweetland Edwards, “He Who Makes the Rules,” Washington Monthly, March/April
2013
John F. Wasik, “Beauty Tips for the FDA: Did My Wife’s Cosmetics Give Her Breast Cancer?”
Washington Monthly, May/June 2013
John Gravois, “More Bureaucrats, Please,” Washington Monthly, March/April 2011
Week 8
SPRING BREAK
Week 9
VII.
The Judiciary
Antonin Scalia, Excerpt from “A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law” (K&S, 91)
David A. Strauss, “Introduction: Do We Want a Living Constitution?” in The Living Constitution
Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 78 (K&S, 9-3)
Eugene Rostow, “The Democratic Character of Judicial Review,” Harvard Law Review
(December 1952)
Weeks 9-10
VIII.
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
A. School Desegregation and the Politics of Race
Peter Irons, “War on the Constitution” in A People’s History of the Supreme Court
David A. Strauss, “Brown v. Board of Education and Innovation in the Living Constitution (with
a Note on Roe v. Wade) in The Living Constitution
Richard Thompson Ford, Excerpt from The Race Card: How Bluffing about Bias Makes Race
Relations Worse (K&S, 4-1)
Film in class: “Brick by Brick: A Civil Rights Story”
B. Abortion
Roe v. Wade (K&S, 5-3)
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992)
Gerald N. Rosenberg, “The Real World of Constitutional Rights: The Supreme Court and the
Implementation of the Abortion Decisions” (K&S, 5-4)
C. Gay Rights
Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
William N. Eskridge, Jr., “A Liberal Vision of U.S. Family Law in 2020” (K&S, 5-2)
D. Concluding Thoughts
Richard H. Fallon, Jr., “Judicial Power” in The Dynamic Constitution: An Introduction to
American Constitutional Law
Week 11
IX.
Political Parties
Diana Dwyre, “Party Organization and Mobilization of Resources: Evolution, Reinvention, and
Survival” in New Directions in American Political Parties, Jeffrey M. Stonecash, ed.
Mark D. Brewer, “Strategic Maneuvers: Political Parties and the Pursuit of Winning Coalitions
in a Constantly Changing Electoral Environment” in New Directions in American
Political Parties, Jeffrey M. Stonecash, ed.
John H. Aldrich, Excerpt from Why Parties? The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties
in America (K&S, 12-1)
Nicol C. Rae, “Be Careful What You Wish For: The Rise of Responsible Parties in American
National Politics,” Annual Review of Political Science, June 2007
Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, Introduction and Chs. 1-3, The Tea Party and the
Remaking of Republican Conservatism
SECOND PAPER DUE
Week 12
X.
Campaigns and Elections
Samuel L. Popkin, Excerpt from The Reasoning Voter (K&S, 11-1)
Gary C. Jacobson, “No Compromise: The Electoral Origins of Legislative Gridlock” (K&S, 112)
Alan I. Abramowitz, “Voting in a Time of Polarization: Why Obama Won and What It Means,”
in Barack Obama and the New America: The 2012 Election and the Changing Face of
Politics, ed. Larry J. Sabato
Paul Frymer, “Introduction” in Uneasy Alliances: Race and Party Competition in America
Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, Introduction and Chs. 5-6, The Tea Party and the
Remaking of Republican Conservatism
Week 13
XI.
Interest Groups
E.E. Schattschneider, “The Scope and Bias of the Pressure System” (K&S, 13-1)
Steve Coll, “Is the Earth Really Warming?” in Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American
Power
Richard L. Hall and Frank W. Wayman, “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization
of Bias in Congressional Committees” (K&S, 13-3)
Jeffrey M. Berry, “The Rise of Citizen Groups” in Civic Engagement in American Democracy,
eds. Theda Skocpol and Morris P. Fiorina
Kelly D. Patterson and Matthew M. Singer, “The National Rifle Association in the Face of the
Clinton Challenge” in Interest Group Politics, 6th ed. Allen J. Cigler and Burdett A.
Loomis, eds.
Dara Z. Strolovich, “A More Level Playing Field or a New Mobilization of Bias? Interest Groups
and Advocacy for the Disadvantaged” in Interest Group Politics, 7th ed., eds. Allan J.
Cigler and Burdett A. Loomis
Week 14
XII.
Public Opinion and the Media
A. The Media
James T. Hamilton, The Market and the Media (K&S, 14-1)
Kristen Purcell, et al., “Understanding the Participatory News Consumer” (K&S, 14-3)
Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, Ch. 4, The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican
Conservatism
Film outside of class: “All the President’s Men,” 7:30 pm, Sunday, April 20, Chase Auditorium
B. Public Opinion
Walter Lippman, “The Disenchanted Man” in The Phantom Public
V.O. Key, “Public Opinion and Democratic Politics” in Public Opinion and American
Democracy
Lawrence R. Jacobs and Robert Y. Shapiro, “Dilemmas of Democracy” in Politicians Don’t
Pander: Political Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness
Martin Gilens, “Two-Thirds Full? Citizen Competence and Democratic Governance” in New
Directions in Public Opinion, ed. Adam J. Berinsky
Week 15
XIII.
Concluding Thoughts: Democracy in America
Jeffrey A. Winters and Benjamin I. Page, “Oligarchy in the United States?” Perspectives on
Politics, December 2009
Russell J. Dalton, “Citizenship and the Transformation of American Society” in The Good
Citizen: How a Younger Generation Is Reshaping American Politics
Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson, “The Mindsets of Political Compromise,” Perspectives on
Politics, December 2010
FINAL PAPER DUE