Introduction to American Politics
Spring 2008
Evan Matthew Daniel
Ph.D. Candidate, New School for Social Research, History and Political Science
Email: evanmdaniel@gmail.com
Baruch College
Spring 2008
Introduction
This class introduces students to American politics and the study of Political Science.
While no background in the study of American politics or other prerequisite is required
for this course, students with an interest in history and political events will get much
more out of the course material than those lacking this interest. In addition to the required
text, students need to read a newspaper or a news magazine each week. The required text
includes primary sources and reading a paper or magazine will help contextualize the
historical issues we read about in the texts. To provide one example, the week where we
discuss federalism and the division of power and authority between local, state and
federal government will be an ideal time to discuss the response of the local, state and
federal government to Hurricane Katrina.
Texts and Assignments
The main text for this course is David T. Cannon, et al The Enduring Debate: Classic and
Contemporary Readings in American Politics. Second Edition. New York, Norton, 2000.
This text is not available in the Baruch Bookstore. You must purchase it online at
halfpricebooks.com, amazon.com, etc. Do not wait to order to the text. Delivery times
vary so please order the text as soon as possible.
You must read a newspaper or news magazine each week. Suitable examples include the
New York Times, Washington Times, Washington Post, National Review, New Republic,
the Nation, American Conservative, the Economist, Wall Street Journal, etc. Broadsheets
like AM New York, or Metro are not suitable. Neither is Newsday or the New York Post.
Blogs are also not acceptable. I want you to read serious, professional, journalistic pieces
whether news or opinion. If you have a magazine or paper you’d like to read that is not
on this list, please talk to me or send me an email and I will let you know if it is suitable
for the course or not. Do not hand in a reflection from a newspaper or journal that is not
on this list prior to receiving approval or you will not get credit for the assignment.
Each week you’ll photocopy an article of your choice (or print it from the Internet) and
write a short reading reflection on the article. Staple the reading reflection on top of the
article. I want well-informed opinions not simply a summary of the article. If you
disagree with the author, please say so. A short, concise, single-spaced reflection (1-2
paragraphs) is more than adequate. These will be due on Wednesday of each week and
must be handed to me in person. Email is not acceptable unless you are ill or have some
other form of excused absence. I do not accept late reading reflections, or any late
assignments, except in cases of illness or a personal or family emergency.
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One oral presentation is required for this course. You will give a brief presentation
(approximately 10-15 minutes) on one of the assigned readings. The format for the
presentation is a general summary of the article followed by 2-3 questions addressed to
the class. Oral presentation assignments will be assigned during the first week of class. If
you do not volunteer to present on an article, one will be assigned to you.
There will be two essay exams given for this course. One will be given at the semester
mid-point and the other prior to finals week. The general format for the essays is I will
ask two questions and you will pick one to answer. The essays need to be four pages at
the minimum and six pages at the maximum. If you write too little or too much you will
not pass the exam. The exam will be written at home (or at least, not in class). It is fine to
work with your colleagues on these assignments and I encourage you to do so. But it is
not fine for two (or more) individuals to hand in the same exam. Do your own work. The
exams are graded based on the following criteria:
1) Answering the question: You must answer the question you choose. Do not write
about anything that does not address the question at hand.
2) Argumentation: I am less interested in why you take a particular stand than in
your writing ability and how you back up your claims.
3) Citations/References: You must make reference to the works we read together in
class. I will discuss the acceptable forms of citation prior to assigning your first
paper.
4) Length of paper: Do not write less than four pages or more than six. Four pages is
the absolute minimum. Do not expect an A grade for four pages unless you think
you’ve made your case concisely and that you can not add anything more to your
argument to make it more persuasive.
Exams are assigned on Wednesday and due the next Monday. Since the exams are taken
at home no make-up exams will be offered unless there is a genuine family or individual
emergency. Any missed exams will result in a grade of zero (0).
All work for this class must be typed. I do not accept handwritten work. The only
exception is for occasional in-class writing assignments and the oral presentation. There
may be some additional, supplemental or required articles but I will let you know well in
advance if this is the case.
Readings must be completed before you come to class:
Class sessions will be spent discussing the readings and/or applying the readings to
contemporary events. It is important to make it to class both for your
attendance/participation grade and to learn about issues, concepts, and concerns not
covered in your weekly readings.
Grades
Grades are based on class attendance and participation, the weekly reading reflections
and two exams. Given the dynamics of a lecture course, I understand class participation
will be limited so attendance is more crucial than participation.
Here’s how you will evaluated for the course:
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Attendance/Class Participation: 20%
Reading Reflections: 20%
Oral Presentation: 20%
Exams: 20% x 2 = 40%
Week 1
Wednesday: Introduction: Basic theories, pluralism and elite rule. Assign oral
presentation topics.
Week 2: Intro to the United States Constitution and U.S. Politics
Monday: Read the United States Constitution and Michael Kammen’s “The Origins of
the American Constitution.”
Wednesday: Richard Hofstadter’s “The Paranoid Style in American Politics.”
Week 3: Federalism
Monday: Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, No. 15.
Wednesday: James Madison, The Federalist, Nos. 51 and 46.
Week 4: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Monday: Abraham Lincoln, “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions” and Martin
Luther King, Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963.”
Wednesday: Jonathan Rauch, “In Defense of Prejudice.”
Week 5: Institutions of U.S. Government, Congress
Monday: “Congress the First Branch,” David Mayhew, “Congress the Electoral
Connection.”
Wednesday: David Grann, “The Nihilists: If Only Congress Could be Truly Partisan.”
Week 6: Institutions of U.S. Government, The Presidency
Monday: Richard Neustadt, “The Power to Persuade.”
Wednesday: Herbert Stein, “Presidents and Economics: One-Star Generalizations.”
Week 7: Institutions of U.S. Government, Bureaucracy
Monday: Woodrow Wilson, “The Study of Administration.”
Wednesday: James Q. Wilson, “Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why
They Do It.”
Week 8: Institutions of U.S. Government, The Federal Judiciary
Monday: Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist, No. 78.
Wednesday: David O’Brien, “The Court in American Life.”
FIRST EXAM ASSIGNED
Week 9: Political Participation, Public Opinion and the Mass Media
Monday: George Gallup, “Polling the Public.”
FIRST EXAM DUE
Wednesday: Michael Nelson, “Why Americans Hate Politics and Politicians.”
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Week 10: Political Participation, Elections and Voting
Monday: V.O. Key, “The Voice of the People: An Echo” and Eileen Shields West,
“Give’em Hell’ These Days is a Figure of Speech.”
Wednesday: John A. Boiney, “Who Cares About Campaign Conduct? Discussing the
Consequences of Misleading Political Advertising,” and Vic Gresham, “Why Didn’t
Conservatives Turn Out?”
Week 11: Political Participation, Political Parties
Monday: Joshua Micah Marshall, “Elephantiatis: Weakness in the republican Coalition.”
Wednesday: Walter Berns and Gordon S. Black, “Third Parties and the Presidential
Race.”
Week 12: Political Participation, Groups and Interests
Monday: Alexis de Tocqueville, “Political Association in the United States.”
Wednesday: Mancur Olson, “The Logic of Collective Action.”
Week 13: Public Policy, Politics and Policy
Monday: Theodore J. Lowi, “American Business, Public Policy, Case Studies, and
Political Theory.”
Wednesday: William A. Niskanen, “Why Our Democracy Doesn’t Work.”
Week 14: Public Policy, Government and the Economy
Monday: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “Call for Federal Responsibility,” and Herbert
Hoover, “Against the Proposed New Deal.”
Wednesday: Charles R. Morris, “It’s Not the Economy, Stupid.”
Week 15: Public Policy, Government and Society
Monday: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “A Program for Social Security” and Gary Burtless,
“Growing American Inequality: Sources and Remedies.”
Wednesday: Nicholas Lemann, “The New American Consensus: Government of, by, and
for the Comfortable.”
SECOND EXAM ASSIGNED
Week 16: Public Policy, Foreign Policy and World Politics
Monday: George Kennan, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” and Burt Solomon “Isolation
Be Damned.”
SECOND EXAM DUE
Wednesday: Michael Glennon, “The New Interventionism: The Search for a Just
International Law.”