CMC Introductory American Government -- Honors

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Sunday, August 30, 2026

Gov 20H, Fall 2026 -- It Begins!

Do not take this course if you dislike movie references. 😀

For Wednesday, read the Declaration of Independence and Allen through chapter 4. Relax: the reading is only 15 pages. Today, we adjourn a little early for convocation.

Slow reading and democratic writing.

The speech and its setting serve as an introduction to American politics

A CMC connection!

Who was on the program and why? Songs

I Have a Dream

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

Why the reference to Lincoln? Hint And another hint.
An allusion within an allusion: The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.(Psalm 90:10)

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Why the reference to the Declaration?
Why the reference to the Constitution?

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

Was he talking about anybody in particular? It's complicated...

We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.

What specific cases of police violence were on the audience's mind?

We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

How did Mississippi keep African Americans from voting?
What did he mean about New York?

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

What is the American dream?

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

What is a creed?
What is a self-evident truth?
What does the Declaration mean? (We shall return to this question)

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

Who was George Wallace? What was his connection to Gettysburg?

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Getting right with MLK:

In the May 1963 Gallup survey, 92% of Blacks but only 35% of Whites had a favorable opinion of MLK.
POTUS and VPOTUS here.
Trump here here here and here.

So what does the Declaration mean? Consider terms such as “equal,” “self-evident.” Think about the other readings and ask how they help us understand these terms.

The Declaration

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Gov 20H Syllabus Fall 2026

DRAFT: SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Introduction to American Politics

CMC Government 20 Honors Fall 2026

MW 9:35-10:50AM

Roberts North 15

ZOOM: https://cmc-its.zoom.us/j/92228697468

J.J. Pitney

Office: Kravis 232

E-mail: jpitney@cmc.edu

Web: http://www1.cmc.edu/pages/faculty/JPitney/

Student Hours:

Monday and Wednesday, 1-2 PM
If these times are inconvenient, just make an appointment for an in-person or Zoom meeting.

General

Daniel Patrick Moynihan observed: “Some . . . deny the existence of evil and others the existence of grace. The art of politics is to live with the reality of both.” With this comment in mind, we take a realistic overview of American politics. This course aims to:

Help you understand past and present political events.
Lay the groundwork for further study of government.
Sharpen your thinking, writing, and speaking.

In addition to providing general background on American politics, this course also emphasizes certain themes. One is the continuing relevance of the Declaration of Independence. Since 1776, Americans have argued about its meaning, particularly the phrase "that all men are created equal." We shall examine ways in which the United States has both honored these ideals and fallen short of them.

Another is the central role of religion in American political life. Tocqueville said that religion is the first of our political institutions, and we shall ponder what he meant.

A third is the meaning of citizenship and its connection to deliberation and community service. Finally, we will consider the role of mores and norms, the unwritten practices, habits, and attitudes that guide political activity.

Some of the readings are provocative. Do not assume that your professor agrees with everything in the readings, or that you need to do so. Because constructive disagreement sharpens thinking, deepens understanding, and reveals novel insights, I not only encourage it, I expect it. Feel free to challenge anything you read, but back up what you say. Bring light, not heat.

Classes

Classes will include lecture and discussion. Finish the readings before class because our discussions will involve those readings. We shall also talk about breaking news, so you must read a good news source such as Axios or Politico.

Grades

The following will make up your course grade:

One 3-page essay 15%
One 4-page research paper 20%
One 6-page research paper 25%
Take-home final 25%
Participation and weekly writeups 15%

The papers will develop your research and writing skills. In grading, I will take account of the quality of your writing, applying the principles of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. If you object, do not take this course or anything else I teach.

The take-home final will test your comprehension of the class sessions and readings. In addition to the required readings (below), I may also give you attachments and web links covering current events and basic factual information. The final will cover this material.

Participation includes your activity in class and online. I will call on students at random, and if you often miss sessions or fail to prepare, your grade will suffer. In addition, you may volunteer comments and questions. This experience will hone your ability to think on your feet.

Blog

Our class blog is right here at https://www.gov20h.blogspot.com. I shall post videos, graphs, news stories, and other material there. We shall use some of this material in class, and you may review the rest at your convenience.

Details

Check due dates for coursework. Do not plan on extensions.
As a courtesy to your fellow students, please arrive on time, and refrain from eating in class.
I strongly recommend that you take notes the old-fashioned way, by hand, on paper. Why? Research shows that it works better.
Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty are not victimless offenses because they hurt fellow students. Please study our Statement of Academic Integrity, which reads in part: "Each faculty member has the responsibility to report cases of academic dishonesty to the Academic Standards Committee."
You may use AI to brainstorm, format graphs, and locate sources, but misrepresenting AI-generated content as your own original work constitutes plagiarism.
This class welcomes viewpoint diversity. See: https://heterodoxacademy.org/library/advice-on-syllabus-language/
Your experience in this class matters to me, and I have a particular interest in disability. If you have set up accommodations with Accessibility Services at CMC, please tell me about your approved accommodations so we can discuss your needs. You can start by forwarding your accommodation letter to me. If you have not yet set up accommodations but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability, please email Aridai Martinez, Associate Director of Accessibility Services, at accessibilityservices@cmc.edu to ask questions and start the process. For general information and the Request for Accommodations form, go to the CMC Accessibility Services website.

Required Books

Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals (New York: Vintage, 1989).
Danielle Allen, Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality (New York: Liveright, 2014).
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, The Federalist Papers (New York: Signet, 2003 [1788]). It includes the Constitution as an appendix.
Kenneth P. Miller, Texas vs. California: A History of Their Struggle for the Future of America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020).
William Strunk and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, 4th ed. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999).
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. George Lawrence, ed. J.P. Mayer (New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, [1835/40]). Please use the Lawrence/Mayer edition, which has undergone several printings. Other translations have different wording, which would cause confusion.
Ilan Wurman, A Debt Against the Living: An Introduction to Originalism (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017).

Schedule (Subject to change, with advance notice).

In addition to the readings below, I may also supply you with additional material via the Internet.

Aug 31, Sept 2: Introduction

"Without missing a beat, King started improvising, transforming from a packaged presenter of rehearsed oratory into the Baptist preacher he was, letting his baritone voice whose words could dance like a melody, escape for the first time." -- Rob Carpenter `06, Of Kennedy and King.

Martin Luther King, "I Have a Dream," August 28, 1963. For the video, click here.
Declaration of Independence,
Allen, prologue, ch. 1-4.

Sept 7: Labor Day, no class.

"I have a lot of international friends - to them I ask, do you want to know what America is? It's this video. Where a black man and a band made up of Asian men perform a white woman's song so well that a lady in a hijab takes their card - all in front of an Italian restaurant and a waving American flag. I love this place!" (See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG8Qo-paJ9M) -- Aseem Chipalkatti `15

Sept 9: Reading and Writing about Politics

"Few ideas are correct ones and what are correct no one can ascertain. But with words we govern men." -- Benjamin Disraeli

Allen, ch. 5-18.

Sept 14, 16: Equality, Natural Law, and the Declaration

"If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people." -- Calvin Coolidge

FIRST ESSAY ASSIGNED BY SEPTEMBER 14,

DUE IN CANVAS BY SEPTEMBER 25.

READ STRUNK AND WHITE FIRST!

Sept 21, 23: Equality of Condition and American Civic Culture

“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers—and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce—and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” -- Not Alexis de Tocqueville

Tocqueville, 9-20, 231-261, 277-315, 340-363, 525-530.
Allen, ch. 46-50, and epilogue
Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address.
Barack Obama's keynote address at the Sojourners/Call to Renewal "Building a Covenant for a New America," June 26, 2006,

Sept 28, 30: Constitutionalism and Democratic Norms

["O]f those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants." -- Alexander Hamilton

"So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala

The Constitution, at Hamilton, pp. 542-568.
Wurman, Introduction, ch. 1-5.
Hamilton, Federalist # 1, 8, 9, 10, 39, 49, 51.
Akhil Reed Amar, "Founding Myths," ch. 2 of Myth America, ed. Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer (New York: Basic, 2022) ON CANVAS.

SECOND PAPER ASSIGNED SEPT 28,

DUE IN CANVAS BY OCT 16

Oct 5, 7: Congress and the Executive I

“When I was first elected to the House, I looked for the they. They who run things. They who know how things really work. They who know what they are doing. But I couldn’t find the they. I went to the Senate. But there was still no they. And then I started to get invited to the White House, and to closed-door briefings, and to meetings with top officials. No they. What I finally realized is that there is no they. There is only we, and we usually don’t know what the f--- we’re doing.” -- Lindsey Graham

Hamilton, Federalist # 47, 48, 57 , 63.
Tocqueville, 196-230.
Excerpts from House and Senate memoirs and readings, ON CANVAS.

Oct 12, 14: Congress and the Executive II

"All vice presidents eat enormous bowls of feces. That's the job." -- Jonah Goldberg (P `25)

Hamilton, Federalist # 70, 71, 73
Tocqueville, pp. 121-138, 690-695
Excerpts from executive-branch memoirs and readings. ON CANVAS.
Ronald Reagan, Remarks at the Annual Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, March 8, 1983.

OCT 19: FALL BREAK

Oct 21: Law and the Courts

"In all, the legislative process helps ensure each of us has a stake in the laws that govern us and in the Nation’s future. For some today, the weight of those virtues is apparent. For others, it may not seem so obvious. But if history is any guide, the tables will turn and the day will come when those disappointed by today’s result will appreciate the legislative process for the bulwark of liberty it is." -- Justice Neil Gorsuch (P `24)

Tocqueville, pp. 99-105, 262-276
Federalist # 78.
Wurman, ch. 6.

THIRD PAPER ASSIGNED OCTOBER 21,

DUE IN CANVAS BY NOV 6.

Oct 26, 28: Citizenship, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights

"I met my wife in jail after being arrested during a civil rights march." -- Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)

Wurman, ch. 7-8, epilogue.
Federalist # 84
Seneca Falls Declaration.
Edwards v. Aguillard (482 U.S. 578 (1987)).

Nov 2, 4: Parties and Elections

"A congressional campaign is a lot like unmedicated childbirth: it's painful, it's messy, you don't think you can do what's required even as you're doing it, you likely consented to it months ago and now you're questioning your decisions, your likelihood to request drugs increases proportionally as you get closer to the big event, you gained weight, you don't realize you're screaming but everyone around you looks distressed, and your mother doesn't remember what it's like. Also, once you get what you want, you'll never sleep again. I'm sure there are things I'm missing, but I hear hormones make you forget so you'll do it every two years." -- Candace Valenzuela (CMC `06), 2020 candidate for US House, Texas 24.

Mike Madrid, The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2024). EXCERPTS AT CANVAS.
Readings on the 2026 midterm, TBD.

Nov 9, 11: Parties and Interest Groups

"Mass violence in Congress seemed possible in 1850 ... The echoes of 1850 are striking. We’re at a moment of extreme polarization when outcomes matter, sometimes profoundly." -- Joanne Freeman, PO `84

Tocqueville, pp. 174-179, 189-203, 513-524.
J.D. Rackey and Lily Kincannon, "Parties and Electoral Reform: Insights from Political Operatives," Bipartisan Policy Center, July 13, 2026.

Nov 16, 18: Protest and Social Movements

"What starts out here as a mass movement ends up as a racket, a cult, or a corporation." -- Eric Hoffer

Martin Luther King, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
Alinsky, pp. xiii-97, 125-164.

TAKE-HOME FINAL ASSIGNED BY NOV 23,

DUE IN CANVAS DECEMBER 11.

Nov 23: Texas v. California

"California, the department-store state. The most of everything and the best of nothing." -- Raymond Chandler

Miller, ch. 1-3.

Nov 30, Dec 2: Texas v. California II

"Texas is a state of mind." -- John Steinbeck

Miller, ch. 4-10.

Dec 7, 9: Texas v. California III, Wrapup

"We must never forget that victory to the rebellion meant death to the republic. We must never forget that the loyal soldiers who rest beneath this sod flung themselves between the nation and the nation's destroyers." -- Frederick Douglass

Miller, ch. 11-14.

"And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is `what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.' It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal. -- Click here to learn who wrote these words.

Return to homepage

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

The End

Final exam is Tuesday, in this classroom, 9-noon.

A former Trump aide reviews Texas v. California:

The spirit of the Alamo still burns in Texans, in a way that, one hopes, the Spirit of ’76 still burns in American hearts. There may come a point when Texans stop simply wishing California would buzz off and mind its own business. If the Lone Star way of life is to survive, Texans must fight for it. Then we shall see whether California’s long experiment with postmodern deracination and anti-masculinity can stand up to Texas’s more robust embrace of the old virtues.

I’m not a betting man, but were that conflict to erupt, my money would be on Texas..

There is actually some support for Texas secession -- or "Texit."

The Russians promoted Texit.

There was also a CalExit campaign -- also with roots in Russia.

And some are even talking about a "national divorce."

The Founders rejected the idea of multiple confederacies.

Secession is unconstitutional

Lincoln explained:

The Constitution provides, and all the States have accepted the provision, that "the United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government." But if a State may lawfully go out of the Union, having done so it may also discard the republican form of government; so that to prevent its going out is an indispensable means to the end of maintaining the guaranty mentioned; and when an end is lawful and obligatory the indispensable means to it are also lawful and obligatory.

And next year comes the 250th anniversary of the Declaration

Danielle Allen!

Saving Private Ryan (start at 6;00) and the actual Lincoln letter

Sunday, November 30, 2025

Texas v. California IV

Questions on practice final?

War crimes

We shall adjourn at noon for course evaluations.

.............................California...........Texas.........Florida

Population 2020-22 -+233k.............+563k.............+467k

Supp. poverty rate.......17.7%..................14.3%..............16.0%

Homeless per 10k...........47........................9.......................13

Unemployment (Sept)...5.5%...................4.1%.................3.8%

Viol crimes per 100k....508.2....................406............... 290.2

Public schools rank.......#32.......................#40.................#41

Disability QOL.............#2........................#19...................#13

Taxes and Fiscal Policy

Stanford study:

BUT CONSIDER DISTRIBUTIONAL EFFECT

Top One Percent

The federal picture

Union representation in 2024:

Texas 4.5%
California: 15.4%

Opportunity Atlas

Practice Final 2025

The following will give you an idea of the format of the final exam. As you prepare, also reread the air midterm: https://gov20h.blogspot.com/2025/10/air-midterm-2025.html

I. Briefly identify 12 of 14 items (4 points each). Explain each item's meaning and significance. What is fair game for an identification?

Items that we have discussed in class or on the blog;
Items that appear in bold or italics in the readings;
Items that cover several pages in the readings.

Democratic memos
Original application and original sense
Partisan trifectas
Article II
The jury “as a political institution”
Majority faction
The 10th Amendment
The Creationism Act
Transactional politics
The exclusionary rule
Timothy Matlack
Upton Sinclair and EPIC
Michele Bachmann
The nuclear freeze

II. Short essays. Answer three of four. Each answer should take about half a page. (6 points each).

Briefly explain the origin and meaning of this passage: “[O]f those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.”
Explain the differences among PIE, PO, PIG, and POG.
Explain the origin and meaning of this passage: "Whenever possible, go outside the experience of the enemy."
What does Mike Madrid say about Latinx?

III. Answer two of three essay questions (17 points each). Each answer should take about 2-3 large bluebook pages or 3-4 small bluebook pages.

How would Tocqueville explain why a case such as Edwards v. Aguillard came to the Supreme Court?
See this article [below]. Why did the witness invoke Madison and Hamilton? What would supporters and opponents of the president say to these Founders?
In certain ways, do Texas and California depart from their red- state/blue-state stereotypes? Explain.

Bonus Questions (one point each). Very briefly identify the following:

Robert F. Prevost

Robert Bonta

Kevin Roberts

Robert Yandow

Robert Garcia

=====================

Harvard Law Prof. Noah Feldman's testimony during Wednesday's impeachment hearing took a turn for the mystical Wednesday afternoon, when he seemed to claim that impeaching President Trump was necessary so that lawmakers would be able to answer to Alexander Hamilton and James Madison when they bump into them in the afterlife.

Feldman was fielding questions from attorney Norm Eisen, who questioned witnesses at the behest of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., when he claimed that Trump's actions were exactly what the framers of the Constitution forewarned.

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARING ON TRUMP IMPEACHMENT: LIVE UPDATES

"It's very unusual for the framers' predictions to come true that precisely, and when they do we have to ask ourselves. Some day, we will no longer be alive, and we will go wherever it is we go, the good place or the other place, and we may meet there Madison and Hamilton," Feldman suggested. "And they will ask us, 'When the president of the United States acted to corrupt the structure of the republic, what did you do?' And our answer to that question must be that we followed the guidance of the framers, and it must be that if the evidence supports that conclusion, that the House of Representatives moves to impeach him."

Immediately prior to the morbid warning, Feldman claimed he had been an "impeachment skeptic" when Robert Mueller's Russia report came out. But he said that changed after President Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that resulted in the impeachment inquiry due to suspicion that the president sought help in investigating political rivals.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE FOX NEWS APP

His past social media activity, however, suggests otherwise. On March 7, 2017, less than two months after Trump took office, Feldman penned a Bloomberg piece that claimed Trump risked impeachment over tweets he posted accusing President Obama of tapping his phones.