Introduction to American
Government
Government 30
Spring Term 2006
Daniel
Carpenter
Department of Government
Harvard University
Office Hours & All
Student Meetings:
CGIS
Café (1st Floor), Thursdays, 1pm to 5pm
e-mail: dcarpenter@gov.harvard.edu
Course Description: An introduction to
national institutions and political processes of American Government. Topics to
be covered include American constitutionalism, American political culture,
civil rights and civil liberties, bureaucracy, political parties, interest
groups, the media, and the policy process.
This course surveys the general institutions
and cultural underpinnings of American government. These structures of American
government shape our policy and our political experience. Throughout the
semester we will attempt to answer several core questions concerning American
government. What are the critical institutions of American government and how
do they shape our political life? What is the nature of American political
culture and how does it affect our politics? How did we get the rights,
institutions and culture we have today - restraint of governmental power, the
two party system, congressional seniority, affirmative action, interest groups,
the welfare state, the regulatory state? How can we account for political
change? And how can attention to the history and causal processes of American
government help us to understand the dilemmas now facing the American political
system?
Format:
The course is divided into five modules, as follows.
- Constitutionalism,
American Political Traditions, and the Logic of Political Life
- American
Politics: Opinions, Interests, and Organizations
- American
Government: National Institutions
- Civil Rights and
Civil Liberties in America
- American
Politics, Government, and Public Policy
Requirements: Students should read
all scheduled materials and be prepared to discuss them in class or in the
section session. For all writing requirements, all students should be
familiar with The Elements of Style, by William Strunk,
Jr., and E.B. White. This small book will function as the standard for proper
grammar and style for writing assignments in this course. Flawless grammar and
correct spelling are minimum
requirements for acceptable papers.
(1) Participation and Discussion
Papers: Students are expected to maintain pace with class readings (one or two
book chapters or articles per lecture, or about 80-100 pages per week) and to
participate actively in class and GSI discussion. Four times during the
semester students will submit a paper before a discussion section (2-3 pages).
In these papers you may either (1) assess the class readings critically, or (2)
ask how contemporary American politics has been influenced by the developments
studied. Participation and the papers will account for 70 percent of your
grade.
IMPORTANT: Punctuality in the completion and
submission of discussion papers is essential. One-third of a grade is
subtracted for every day late. That is, if a paper is one day late, the highest
grade it can receive is an A-. If two days late, a B+, and so
on.
(2) Midterm Examination: Covering the first
two modules in the course, this examination will count for 10 percent of your
grade
(3) Final Examination or Final Paper:
Covering the entire class, this examination will account for 20 percent of your
grade.
Readings:
The course is designed so that you will read two (sometimes three) book
chapters or article for each class lecture. The following books will comprise
the principal texts used during the quarter. There is no coursepack
and no reserve list, unless your TFs
and I decide to supplement the syllabus with a few readings. Those marked with
an asterisk ("*") are available at the Coop.
* Al, John and Jim. The Federalist Papers (Rossiter
Edition).
* Kernell, Samuel and Steven Smith, editors. Principles
and Practice of American Politics: Classic and Contemporary Readings (Washington, D.C. CQ Press). [“K&S”]
* Kernell, Samuel and Gary C. Jacobson. [“K&J”]
The Logic of American Politics (Washington, D.C. CQ
Press).
* Shafritz, Jay M., and
Lee S. Weinberg. [“S&W”] Classics in American Government,
Second Edition (New York;
Harcourt Brace, 2000)
* Riker, William. The Art of Political Manipulation
* Kingdon, John. Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies.
* McCullough, David. John
Adams.
Optional: Waldman, Steven. The Bill; How Legislation Really
Becomes Law: A Case Study of the National Service Bill, (New York; Penguin USA Books). David T. Canon, John J.
Coleman, and Kenneth R. Mayer, editors. [“CCM”] The Enduring
Debate: Classic and Contemporary Readings in
American Politics (New York: Norton).
Course
Schedule: ("#" denotes a required reading. "R" denotes
reserve reading. "K" denotes packet reading.)
I. CONSTITUTIONALISM AND THE
AMERICAN POLITICAL TRADITION
Lecture 1 (Wednesay, February 1): Introductory lecture and information about the class.
Lecture 2 (Monday, February 6): Introduction to American Constitutionalism.
# The Declaration of Independence and
the U.S.
Constitution (K&J,or the
Web).
# The
Federalist; Rossiter's Introduction and Nos. 1,
2, 6, 9, 10, 14-16, 51.
# John P. Roche, “The Founding Fathers: A Reform
Caucus in Action,” K&S, pp. 47-70.
# James MacGregor Burns,
“Showdown: The Election of 1800,” K&S, pp. 85-92.
James Madison Explains the Constitution to Thomas
Jefferson, Chapter 2-1 (pp. 60-71) in K&S.
Background: K&J, Chapter 2.
Lecture 3 (Wednesday, February 8): The Federalists versus the Anti-Federalists.
Background: The un-amended U.S. Constitution,
re-read (K&J, pp. 500-505).
# The
Federalist; re-read Nos. 1,6,10,51; read nos. 23, 35, 37, 39, 45, 47, 48,
55, 57, 62, 63, 68, 70, 84, 85.
# Robert Yates, Letters of Brutus, On the
Web (one place to look is the Constitution Society's
collected letters of Brutus). Read letters 1 and 2.
# Charles A. Beard, "An Economic Interpretation
of the Constitution," S&W, pp. 56-67.
# Thurgood Marshall,
"An African American's Perspective on the Constitution," S&W, pp.
39-44.
Optional: William Riker, Trading Votes at the
Constitutional Convention, Chapter 2-2 (pp. 72-83) in K&S
Lectures 4 & 5 (Monday, February 13 and Wednesday,
February 15): Why a Constitution? Why Politics? Some
Concepts for the Study of Politics and Constitutions
Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives and
Public Policies, selections.
Riker, The Art of Political Manipulation, selections.
# Mancur Olson, The Logic of Collective Action, p. 2 ff. in
K&S.
# Garrett Hardin, "The Tragedy of
the Commons," Chapter 1-2 (pp. 12-25) in K&S.
# Douglas Jehl, “Arkansas Rice
Farmers Run Dry, and U.S.
Remedy Sets Off Debate,” Chapter 1-3 (pp. 25-28) in K&S.
# Robert D. Putnam, "The Prosperous
Community: Social Capital and Public Life," Chapter 1-4 (pp. 29-38) in
K&S.
# The Federalist, review Nos. 1, 10, 51; read Nos. 4, 25, 30. NEW!!
Optional: Kenneth A. Shepsle
and Mark S. Boncheck, Analyzing Politics.
Background: K&J, Chapter 1
*** (Thursday, February 16) Topics for First
Discussion Papers distributed.
Papers (2-3 pages) are due Monday, February 27th, 9AM, by
e-mail to your TF.
Monday, February 20:
University Holiday (President’s Day)
Lectures 6 & 7(Wednesday, February 22 and part of
Monday, February 27): Federalism:
Protector or Enemy of Liberty?
Background: K&J, Chapter 3
Theme for Lecture 6: The Political and Constitutional Logic of
Federalism
# The Federalist, re-read Nos. 1, 9, 10,
14, 16, 23, 37, 39, 45; read Nos. 17, 31, 36, 40, 43, 44, 59, 80, 82.
# James M. Buchanan, “Federalism as an Ideal Political Order and an
Objective for Constitutional Reform,” Chapter 3-1, K&S
# James Bryce, "Dual Federalism," S&W.
# Morton Grodzins,
“Marble-Cake Federalism,” S&W.
Optional: Paul Peterson, excerpt from The Price of Federalism, CCM, 73-82.
Samuel Beer, “The Rediscovery of American Federalism.”
Theme for Lecture 7: The Historical Development and Contemporary Operation
of Federalism
# Thomas Jefferson, Kentucky
Resolve, on the Web at the Constitution Society.
# McCulloch v Maryland, S&W,
pp. 49-55.
# Daniel Webster, Reply to Hayne, on the Web at Dartmouth's
Webster site.
# Theodore Roosevelt, The New
Nationalism, on the Web at the USIA site or
at Texas A&M's Presidential Rhetoric site.
# Ronald Reagan, Inaugural Address
(1981), on the Web at Yale's Avalon
Project site.
# Donald F. Kettl,
“Federalism: Battles on the Front Lines of Public Policy,” Chapter 3-2,
K&S.
# Matthew L. Wald,
“Clean-Air Battlefield,” Chapter 3-3, K&S.
Lecture 8 (Monday, February 27): American Political Culture.
# Richard Hofstadter, "The Paranoid Style in American
Politics," S&W.
# Murray
Edelman, "Political Symbols," S&W.
# Martin Luther King. Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham
Jail.” See also "I Have a Dream" Speech,
on the Web at Northwestern's
DOUGLASS site.
# Henry David Thoreau, Civil
Disobedience, on the Web at University of
Indiana's site.
# Rogers
Smith, “Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal and Hartz: The Multiple Traditions in America,” American Political Science Review [E].
Louis Hartz, “The Liberal Tradition in America: An
Interpretation of American Political Thought Since the Revolution,” CCM, 3-9.
Gordon Wood, excerpts from The
Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787, CCM,
9-17.
Optional:
DeTocqueville, Democracy in America, Author's
Introduction, and Book One, Chapters 3-5, 10, 14 & 15 (pp. 26-38, 55-61,
95-100, 128-42 in Penguin edition)
II. AMERICAN POLITICS:
OPINIONS, INTERESTS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Lecture 9 & 10 (Wednesday, March 1 & Monday, March
6): Public Opinion and Political
Participation. Has America been going left, right, center, or nowhere? Race
and gender as forces in American politics.
# Herbert Asher, "Analyzing and
Interpreting Polls," Chapter 10-1 in K&S.
# Stimson, MacKuen and Erikson,
"Dynamic Representation," Chapter 10-2 in K&S.
# John R. Hibbing, “The People’s Craving for
Unselfish Government,” Chapter 10-3, K&S.
Optional DeTocqueville
on associationalism in Democracy in America;
re-read Book One, Chapter 10 ("Political Associations in the United
States"); read Book Two, Chapters 27-31 (pp. 192-208). Richard Morin (Washington Post), “Choice Words: If You
Can’t Understand Our Poll Questions, Then How can We Understand Your Answers?”
CCM, 301-306.
# V.O. Key, Jr., "Leaders Mold and Influence Public Opinion,"
S&W, pp. 156-160.
Background, K&J, Chapter 10.
Lectures 11 & 12 (Wednesday, March 8 & Monday, March
13): Political Parties: Why do they exist? Are
they dead or dying? How, if at all, have they mattered?
# The Federalist, No 10; read Nos. 26, 49,
81, 85.
# John Aldrich, selection from Why
Parties? Chapter 12-1 in K&S.
# Larry M. Bartels, “Partisanship and
Voting Behavior, 1952-1996,” Chapter 12-2 in K&S.
Background, K&J, Chapter 12.
# William L. Riordan [George Washington Plunkitt], Holding Your District, S&W, pp.
215-218.
# Harold Gosnell, "Urban Political
Machines," S&W, pp. 174-180.
# Maurice Duverger, "The Electoral Basis
of the Two-Party System," S&W, pp. 197-202.
Optional: DeTocqueville,
Democracy in America, Book One, Chapter 8 (pp. 87-91 in Penguin/Mentor
edition).
*** (Wednesday, March 8) Topics for Second Discussion Papers (2-3
pages) distributed. Papers are due Friday, March 17, 5PM, at a location to be
determined by your GSI.
Lectures 12 & 13 (Wednesday, March 15 & Monday,
March 20): Political Campaigns and Elections.
Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives and
Public Policies, selections.
Riker, The Art of Political Manipulation, selections.
# Samuel L. Popkin,
selection from The Reasoning Voter, Chapter 11-1 in K&S.
# Gary C. Jacobson, “Party Polarization in
National Politics: The Electoral Connection,” Chapter 11-3 in K&S.
# Walter Dean Burnham, "Critical Realigning
Elections," S&W, pp. 223-226.
# Kevin Phillips, "The Emerging Republican
Majority," S&W, pp. 206-211.
Themes: the Election of 1912, the Election of 1992, and the Elections
of 2000 and 2004.
Background: K&J, Chapter 11. Optional:
Waldman, The Bill, Chapter 1, "The
Anatomy of a Campaign Promise."
MIDTERM EXAMINATION:
(Wednesday, March 22).
III. AMERICAN GOVERNMENT:
NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Lectures 14 & 15: (Monday, April 3 & Wednesday,
April 5): Congress.
# The Federalist, re-read Nos. 23, 44, 45, 47,
48, 51, 55, 59, 62, 63, 65, 66, 69, 81; read Nos. 24, 26, 29-34, 41, 46, 49,
50, 52-54, 57, 58, 60, 61, 64.
# Richard F. Fenno, Jr, "The Senate in Bicameral Perspective,"
Chapter 6-1 in K&S
# David R. Mayhew, selection from Congress: The Electoral Connection Chapter 6-2 in K&S.
# Steven Smith, “Congressional Trends,”
Chapter 6-3 in K&S.
Background: K&J, Chapter 6.
Optional: Waldman, The Bill, rest of book.
Questions to be addressed:
- Why does Congress operate by
committee? In fact, why does Congress organize itself in the way that it
does? Stanford's Keith Krehbiel has done some of the best thinking
on this problem.
- How do members of Congress vote? Is
it all ideology, as Princeton's Howard Rosenthal and Houston's Keith
Poole think?
they've developed a set of methods called NOMINATE that tries to numerically estimate
legislators' ideology using their recorded roll-call votes.
- Why might participation in Congress
matter as much as voting? U-M's Rick Hall might help us here.
- Do committees alter policy, and how?
- Do congressional parties control all the
relevant outcomes?
- How important is it to be in the congressional
majority if you want to be heard, or if you want to change policy or law?
- Who controls Congress, or does anyone for that
matter?
*** (Monday, April 10): Topics for Third Discussion Papers distributed,
due Friday, April 21, at a location to be determined by your TF.
Lectures 16 & 17 (Monday, April 10 & Wednesday,
April 12): The Presidency.
# The Federalist, re-read Nos. 64, 68-71, 76; read Nos 38, 67, 72-75.
Background: K&J, Chapter 7.
# Richard E. Neustadt,
selection from Presidential Power, Chapter 7-1 in K&S.
# Samuel Kernell,
selection from Going Public, Chapter 7-2 in K&S
# Elizabeth Bumiller,
David E. Sanger, and Richard W. Stevenson, “How 3 Weeks of War in Iraq
Looked from the Oval Office,” Chapter 7-3 in K&S.
# Aaron Wildavsky,
"The Two Presidencies," S&W, pp. 329-343.
# Abraham Lincoln, "The Prereogative
Theory of the Presidency," S&W, pp. 318-320.
# Theodore Roosevelt, "The Stewardship Theory of the
Presidency," S&W, pp. 320-322.
# William Howard Taft, "The Literalist Theory of the
Presidency," S&W, pp. 322-325.
Lecture 18 (Monday, April 17) and Lecture 19 (Wednesday,
April 19): The Bureaucracy, and
presidential-congressional and bureaucratic-congressional relations. Who
controls whom?
# James Q. Wilson, selection from Bureaucracy,
chapter 8-1 in K&S
# Terry M. Moe, "The Politics of
Bureaucratic Structure," Chapter 8-2 in K&S.
# Max Weber, "The Nature of Bureaucracy," S&W, pp.
388-91.
# Michael Lipsky, "Street-Level
Bureaucrats," S&W, pp. 401-412.
# Ivo Daalder et al, “Assessing the Department of Homeland
Security,” Chapter 8-3 in K&S.
# Daniel Carpenter, “The Political Economy of FDA Drug Approval
Background: K&J, Chapter 8.
Optional: Waldman, The
Bill, Chapters 6-11.
Lecture 20 (Monday, April 24): Interest Groups: Have the "mischiefs
of faction" been cured, or have they worsened?
# The Federalist, re-read No. 10.
# E. E. Schattschneider,
"The Scope and Bias of the Pressure System," Chapter 13-1 in K&S.
# David Truman, "Defending Pluralist Politics," S&W, pp.
254-59.
# John R. Wright, "The Evolution of
Interest Groups," Chapter 13-2 in K&S.
# R. Kenneth Godwin and Barry J. Seldon, “What Corporations Really Want from Government,”
Chapter 13-3 in K&S.
Background:
K&J, Chapter 13.
Lecture 24 (Wednesday, April 26): The Media: Cynicism, Bias, Agendas.
Daniel J. Boorstin,
"Pseudo-Events," S&W, pp. 277-283.
Michael Schudson, “Is
Journalism Hopelessly Cynical?” Chapter 14-1 in K&S
Thomas B. Edsall, “The
People and the Press: Whose Views Shape the News?” Chapter
14-2 in K&S.
Scott L. Althaus,
“American News Consumption during Times of National Crisis,” Chapter 14-3 in
K&S.
Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives and
Public Policies, selections.
Background: K&J, Chapter 14.
Optional: Jonathan Last, “The Not-so-Swift
Mainstream Media,” CCM, 306-311. Robert J. Bresler, “Media Bias and the Culture Wars,” CCM, 312-14.
Howard A. Myrick, “The Search for Objectivity in Journalism,” CCM, 314-320.
Brent Cunningham, “Rethinking Objective Journalism,” CCM, 320 ff.
Waldman, The
Bill, Chapters 2-5.
Questions
that we'll address:
o Does the media really affect public opinion, and if so,
does it do so in a way that affects electoral outcomes, or even law and policy?
o How might Reverend Bayes
(with some help from Larry Bartels) helps us
understand this?
o Is the media liberal? Is the media
conservative? Might the media be “both”?
What sort of evidence might we use to address this question?
Lectures 22 & 23 (Monday, May 1 and Wednesday, May 3): The Judiciary: Should courts find or make law? Or is there something
in between that constitutes “jurisprudence”?
# The Federalist, re-read Nos. 52, 78,
80-82; read Nos. 79, 83
# Lee Epstein and Jack Knight, selection from
The Choices Justices Make, chapter 9-1 in K&S
# Simon Lazarus, “The Most Dangerous
Branch?” Chapter 9-2 in K&S.
# Deborah Sontag,
“the Power of the Fourth,” Chapter 9-4 in K&S.
# Eugene Rostow,
"The Democratic Character of Judicial Review," S&W, pp. 374-378.
# Marbury v. Madison,
S&W, pp. 366-372.
# Gibbons v. Ogden, S&W, pp. 55-60.
Optional: DeTocqueville,
Democracy in America, Book One, chapter 6, "Judicial Power in the United States,"
pp. 72-77 of the Penguin edition.
Background: K&J, Chapter 9.
*** Wednesday, May 3: Fourth Discussion Paper Topics distributed. Due Friday, May 12, at a location to be determined by your GSI.
ALTERNATIVE MODULE:
CIVIL RIGHTS, CIVIL LIBERTIES AND POLICY IN AMERICA
Lecture 1: Civil Liberties: Just
how free ought a free society to be?
# The Federalist, re-read Nos. 1, 26, 37,
52.
Background: K&J, Chapter 5.
# Thomas Jefferson, Virginia
Statute of Religious Liberty, available on
the Web at the USIA's site.
# Elizabeth Cady Stanton, The Seneca
Falls Declaration, on
the Web at Kansas University's site.
# Schenck v. U.S., WV State Board of Education v. Barnette, Engel v.
Vitale, all on the Web.
# Gitlow v. New
York, Gideon v. Wainwright, Roe v. Wade, Miranda v.
Arizona, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services; Mapp v. Ohio; Griswold v. Connecticut;
all in S&W.
Lecture 2: Civil Rights:
Whose rights ought to be protected, when, how?
Background: K&J, Chapter 4.
# Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have A Dream" Speech,
re-read.
# Standing Bear, The Land Was Owned by Our
Tribe, Young, pp. 96 ff.
# The Civil Rights Act of 1964, see the summary on the Web at Congress
Link.
# The Americans with Disabilities Act, see the summary on the Web at
West Virginia University's site.
# Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown
v. Board of Education, Baker v. Carr,all in
S&W.
Regents v. Bakke,
available on the Web at tourolaw. Also, Gratz
v. Bollinger and recent Michigan affirmative action cases.
Bowers v. Hardwick, available on the Web at Bowdoin's Supreme Court decisions site
Lecture 3: Concluding
Lecture: Regulation and Welfare. Why does government step in to the fray? And
what happens when it does?