Introduction to American Politics
CMC Government 20 Honors Fall 2021
MW 11:10AM-12:25PM
Roberts North 105
ZOOM: https://cmc-its.zoom.us/j/92228697468
J.J. Pitney
Office: Kravis 232
E-mail: jpitney@cmc.edu
Office Hours: Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu 1-2 pm and by appointment
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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.
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 by that.
A third is the meaning of citizenship and its connection to deliberation and community service. Finally, we will consider the idea of 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 the RealClearPolitics or Politico. Also see the college's statement on credit values.
Grades
- 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 skills in writing, research, and political analysis. When grading, I take the quality of writing into account, applying the standards of Strunk and White. If you object to this approach, do not take this course – or anything else that I teach.
- The take-home final examination 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 on the blog. 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. Every week, moreover, you will also email me brief (250 words max) reflections on the readings.
Viewpoint Diversity (Heterodox Academy)
- Treat fellow students with respect, even if you disagree with their opinion;
- Treat every opinion as open to examination, even if it comes from someone (including your professor) with more experience or expertise than you;
- Reasonable minds can differ on many perspectives, opinions, and conclusions;
- Your grade will not depend on whether your professor or peers agree with your opinions;
- Instead, your grade will depend on the evidence and reasoning that leads to your conclusions, along with the quality of your writing. (There is no such thing as a good badly-written paper.)
Other points:
- As a courtesy to your fellow students, please arrive promptly and refrain from eating in class.
- Carefully check the due dates for papers, as well as the date of the final exam. Arrange your schedule accordingly. Do not plan on seeking extensions or make-up work.
- Plagiarism is not a victimless offense, because it hurts fellow students. Please study our Statement of Academic Integrity, which reads in part: "The faculty of Claremont McKenna College is firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity. Each faculty member has the responsibility to report cases of academic dishonesty to the Academic Standards Committee, which has the duty of dealing with cases of alleged academic dishonesty."
- Your experience in this class is important 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 in this course. You can start by forwarding me your accommodation letter. If you have not yet established accommodations but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability (e.g., mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health), please get in touch with Assistant Dean for Academic Success and Accessibility Services, Maude Nazaire, at Accessibilityservices@cmc.edu to ask questions or begin the process. General information and accommodations request information is at the CMC Accessibility Services website.
Blog
Our class blog is right here at http://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. You will all receive invitations to post to the blog. (Please let me know if you do not get such an invitation.) I encourage you to use the blog in these ways:
- To post questions or comments about the readings before we discuss them in class;
- To follow up on class discussions with additional comments or questions.
- To post relevant news items or videos.
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]).
- 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 deTocqueville, 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 gone through 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).
In addition to the readings below, I may also supply you with additional material via the Internet.
August 30, Sept 1: Introduction
- Declaration of Independence,
- Allen, prologue, ch. 1-4.
Sept 8: Reading and Writing about Politics
- Allen, ch. 5-18.
"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
- Allen, ch. 19-45.
- Frederick Douglass, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" July 5, 1852. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july/ .
- Alexander Stephens, "The Cornerstone Speech," March 21, 1861, http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/cornerstone-speech/
FIRST ESSAY ASSIGNED SEPTEMBER 15,
DUE IN SAKAI DROPBOX BY SEPTEMBER 24.
Sept 20, 22 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 deTocqueville http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/speech-on-the-occasion-of-the-one-hundred-and-fiftieth-anniversary-of-the-declaration-of-independence/
- Tocqueville, 9-20, 231-261, 277-315, 340-363, 525-530.
- Allen, ch. 46-50 and epilogue
- Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address.
["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, 542-568.\
- Wurman, Introduction, ch. 1-5.
- Hamilton, Federalist # 1, 8, 9, 10, 39, 45, 46, 49, 51.
SECOND PAPER ASSIGNED SEPT 29, DUE IN SAKAI DROPBOX BY OCT 15
Oct 4, 6: Congress and the Executive I
"In a president, character is everything. A president doesn't have to be brilliant; Harry Truman wasn't brilliant, and he helped save Western Europe from Stalin. He doesn't have to be clever; you can hire clever. White Houses are always full of quic -witted people with ready advice on how to flip a senator or implement a strategy. You can hire pragmatic, and you can buy and bring in policy wonks. But you can't buy courage and decency, you can't rent a strong moral sense." -- Peggy Noonan
Oct 20: Law and the Courts
“What we can decide, we can undecide. But stare decisis teaches that we should exercise that authority sparingly. Cf. S. Lee and S. Ditko, Amazing Fantasy No. 15: ‘Spider-Man,’ p. 13 (1962) (‘[I]n this world, with great power there must also come — great responsibility’)." -- Justice Elena Kagan
Oct 25, 27: Citizenship, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights
"I met my wife in jail after being arrested during a civil rights march." -- Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)
"Mass violence in Congress seemed possible in 1850. Now, 171 years later, it’s in the national mindscape once again. And for good reason. The echoes of 1850 are striking. We’re at a moment of extreme polarization when outcomes matter, sometimes profoundly." -- Joanne Freeman, PO `84
"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.
"We weren't there to steal things, We weren't there to do damage. We were just there to overthrow the government." -- Saundra Kiczenski, January 6 insurrectionist
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“On January 6, 2021, a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic. " -- Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY)
- Hamilton, Federalist # 47, 48, 57, 63.
- Tocqueville, 196-230.
- Excerpts from House and Senate memoirs (on Sakai)
"In a president, character is everything. A president doesn't have to be brilliant; Harry Truman wasn't brilliant, and he helped save Western Europe from Stalin. He doesn't have to be clever; you can hire clever. White Houses are always full of quic -witted people with ready advice on how to flip a senator or implement a strategy. You can hire pragmatic, and you can buy and bring in policy wonks. But you can't buy courage and decency, you can't rent a strong moral sense." -- Peggy Noonan
- Hamilton, Federalist # 70, 71, 73
- Tocqueville, pp. 121-138, 690-695
- Excerpts from executive-branch memoirs (on Sakai)
- Ronald Reagan, Remarks at the Annual Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, March 8, 1983, https://gov20h.blogspot.com/2021/10/evil-empire.html
OCT 18 FALL BREAK
“What we can decide, we can undecide. But stare decisis teaches that we should exercise that authority sparingly. Cf. S. Lee and S. Ditko, Amazing Fantasy No. 15: ‘Spider-Man,’ p. 13 (1962) (‘[I]n this world, with great power there must also come — great responsibility’)." -- Justice Elena Kagan
- Tocqueville, pp. 99-105, 262-276
- Federalist # 78.
- Wurman, ch. 6.
- Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, "The Joy of Jury Duty," The Atlantic, May 3, 2013, http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/05/the-joy-of-jury-duty/275444/
THIRD PAPER ASSIGNED OCTOBER 20, DUE IN SAKAI DROPBOX BY NOV 5.
Oct 25, 27: 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
- The Seneca Falls Declaration, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/senecafalls.asp
- Edwards v. Aguillard (482 U.S. 578 (1987)), https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/482/578/case.html See background materials here: https://www.oyez.org/cases/1986/85-1513
"Mass violence in Congress seemed possible in 1850. Now, 171 years later, it’s in the national mindscape once again. And for good reason. The echoes of 1850 are striking. We’re at a moment of extreme polarization when outcomes matter, sometimes profoundly." -- Joanne Freeman, PO `84
- Lee Fang, "Where Have All the Lobbyists Gone?" The Nation, February 19, 2014, http://www.thenation.com/article/shadow-lobbying-complex/
- Tocqueville, pp. 174-179, 189-203, 513-524.
- Jonathan Rauch, "Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy," Brookings, May 2015, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/political-realism-rauch2.pdf
"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.
- Nathaniel Persily and Charles Stewart III, "The Miracle and Tragedy of the 2020 U.S. Election," Journal of Democracy, April 2021, https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/the-miracle-and-tragedy-of-the-2020-u-s-election/
- Excerpts from books on the 2020 election (on Sakai)
"We weren't there to steal things, We weren't there to do damage. We were just there to overthrow the government." -- Saundra Kiczenski, January 6 insurrectionist
- Martin Luther King, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
- Alinsky, pp. xiii-97, 125-164
Nov 22: Texas v. California
"California, the department-store state. The most of everything and the best of nothing." -- Raymond Chandler
- Miller, ch. 1-5.
Nov 29, Dec 1: Texas v. California II
"Texas is a state of mind." -- John Steinbeck
- Miller, ch. 6-10.
Dec 6, 8: 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.
TAKE-HOME FINAL DUE AT NOON ON DECEMBER 17
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