Search This Blog

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Analyzing the Declaration

  "Yet if the Declaration resembles a wedding, it bears an even closer kinship to divorce" (p. 94 of hardcover)

This week's focus question: Identify one word, phrase, or passage in the Declaration that you understood differently after reading Chapters 1–18 of Our Declaration. What did you previously think it meant, what does Allen argue it means, and which interpretation do you find more convincing? Why?

For Monday: Allen, ch. 19-43. First writing assignment.

For Wednesday: Allen 44-45,  Douglass, Stevens  

(Frederick Douglass and Stephen A. Douglas were not the same guy.) 

Model UN.  The UN raises the question: to whom do people owe allegiance?

This book is not just about the Declaration, but about political writing in general.

Examples of democratic/group writing

REVIEW: Functions of writing

Framing

"The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America"
  • Why states instead of colonies?
  • Other examples of name changes: countries, historical figures, fictional characters.
 `When in the course of human events Latin cursus, meaning "flow" --a tide e-ventus "outcome"it becomes necessary .."
  • Why course?
  • “The course can be altered – with strenuous effort” (Allen, p. 111)
" for one people to dissolve the political bands, which have connected them with another and to assume, among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station"
  • What is a “nation”? Shared cultural life, having or wanting their own government.
  • What holds us together?
  • What is a “station”? (Allen, p. 119) -- Latin for “stand.”

CONJUNCTION JUNCTION!

Compare "separate and equal" with "separate but equal."

  • Keep in mind for our discussion of Lincoln's Second Inaugural:  "And the war came" means something radically different from "But the war came."

What does it mean to be equal? "But `equal' and `same" are not synonyms" (107).

"to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them"

Spinoza -- TJ himself was a Deist. Locke: "The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it, which obliges everyone, and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life,health, liberty or possessions."
 a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

  • Address to the whole world (France, in particular)
  • Impel (Allen, pp. 115-116) – to be pushed
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Slow Reading

 FOR NEXT TIME, READ ALLEN, CH. 5-18.

Cold calls and weekly writeups start next week.


Looking ahead to ch. 24: "The words `implicit' and `explicit' come from plicare, which means “to fold,” as when you fold your clothes. So think of a sound bite as a suitcase."

W.H. Auden, "September 1, 1939"

All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exi sts alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die.

Implicit meaning can be a folded truth as well as a folded lie.

Textual analysis and slow reading

Think about how one sentence relates to another.  When you read the Declaration, think about the order of thoughts.

Think about the origins of terms in the document. Virginia Woolf wrote: "Words, English words, are full of echoes, of memories, of associations—naturally. They have been out and about, on people's lips, in their houses, in the streets, in the fields, for so many centuries."

Think about the historical context.  A text without a context is a pretext. What did those words mean to people at the time?

Thinking about how the document relates to others (p. 33)

Thnk about what is missing. See pp. 22 on the 2012 campaign.

Think about the writers and speakers.  What had they read?  What did they think about?  What was their purpose in this message?

King's last speech




RFK the next day


And Ted Kennedy eulogized RFK:



Patrimony

Democracy
  • What is democracy?
  • Who decides who "the people" are?  What is citizenship?
  • Why is the word not in the Declaration or Constitution?
  • What are the conditions of democracy?
Posted by at No comments:

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. 
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.
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.


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

Getting right with MLK:  

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.


Posted by at No comments:

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

J.J. Pitney
Office: Kravis 232    
E-mail:  jpitney@cmc.edu

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
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.
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 
    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 
    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
    Oct 12, 14:  Congress and the Executive II

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

    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

    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
       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
    Posted by at No comments:

    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
    Posted by at No comments:

    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



    BUT CONSIDER DISTRIBUTIONAL EFFECT






    • Texas 4.5%
    • California: 15.4%




    Posted by at No comments:

    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.
    1. Democratic memos
    2. Original application and original sense
    3. Partisan trifectas
    4. Article II
    5. The jury “as a political institution”
    6. Majority faction
    7. The 10th Amendment
    8. The Creationism Act
    9. Transactional politics
    10. The exclusionary rule
    11. Timothy Matlack
    12. Upton Sinclair and EPIC
    13. Michele Bachmann
    14. 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.






    Posted by at No comments:
    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)