The American Political System

POLS 001-303; 001-304

Dr. Rachel Paine Caufield

 

Fall 2002

POLS001-303: MWF 11:00-11:50am

POLS001-304:  MWF 2:00-2:50pm

 

Contact Information:

I am very accessible to students.  Here¹s how to reach me:

Office:                         Meredith Hall 211

Office Phone:              271-1924

Email address:             rachel.caufield@drake.edu

Office hours:               MW 3:00-4:30; TR 11:00-12:15 and by appointment

 

Course Overview:

This course is designed to introduce students to American national government through analysis of American political institutions and processes.  The central message of the course is this:  Institutions matter.  By this, I mean to say that the policies that govern us on a day to day basis come from the institutions of government.  The formal organization of those institutions, the rules that structure institutional decision-making, and the ways that people come together to make decisions in institutional settings all have a significant influence in determining American public policy.

 

Thus, the centerpiece of the course will be the three major institutions of American national government:  namely, Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court.  First, however, we will examine the constitutional framework that sets the parameters for institutional behavior.  Thus, our first few weeks will be devoted to the American Constitution.  Then, we will move on to consider each major institution, including the rules that govern decision-making, the mechanisms by which people are selected to serve in that body, and the ways that citizens and interest groups participate in the decision-making of each. 

 

Although you will need to master factual material in this class, facts alone will not be enough.  Instead, we will focus on relatively broad theoretical and conceptual issues and on systematic ways of thinking about the American political system that will help you organize your factual knowledge and understand not only what happens (and what doesn¹t happen) but why it happens (or doesn¹t happen).  Thus, always think about how to integrate the factual material with the bigger conceptual themes of the class.

 

Although I highly encourage all students to follow current events and engage in the political world around them, this is not a course about current events and it is not the place to espouse one¹s own political opinions.  Having said that, I highly recommend that each of you keep up with the news by reading a daily newspaper, tuning in to television programs such as The News Hour, This Week, or Meet the Press and radio programs like Morning Edition or All Things Considered (both on National Public Radio).  We will use current events on occasion to illustrate concepts we study in class.

 

By the end of the course, I hope that all of you will emerge with a better understanding of how American government works, how American political institutions shape outcomes, how various individuals interact with government, and how policy is made.

Textbooks/Readings:

Without a doubt, the best thing that you can do to earn a good grade in this class is to keep up with class reading.  I know that there is a lot of reading in this class, and I firmly believe that all of the readings are necessary and helpful.  Not only will you get more out of class meetings if you have completed the assigned reading, but exam material will come from these readings.  If you find that you have trouble with any of the readings, please feel free to come see me to go over it.  I will administer multiple choice quizzes to be sure that everyone is keeping up with reading assignments. 

 

There are a number of textbooks that I have assigned for this course.  All are available at the bookstore, and all should be available from online bookstores, Borders, or Barnes and Noble (should you choose to patronize them instead of the University bookstore).  I will put a few additional readings on reserve at Cowles library.

 

Lowi, Theodore J., Benjamin Ginsberg, and Kenneth A. Shepsle.  2002.  American Government:  Power and Purpose.  Core 7th Edition.  W.W. Norton and Company.

 

Genovese, Michael A.  1997.  The Presidential Dilemma: Leadership in the American System.  Addison-Wesley.

 

Baker, Ross K.  2000.  House and Senate.  3rd Edition.  W.W. Norton and Company.

 

Baum, Lawrence.  2000.  The Supreme Court.  7th Edition.  CQ Press.

 

Attendance:

You are expected to attend class regularly and to be prepared for each class meeting ­ that means you have read the assigned reading and are prepared to discuss the topic listed on the syllabus.  I do not necessarily ³require² attendance, although I will periodically take attendance and ten percent of your final grade will be based on attendance and participation.  If you are faced with an extreme situation that will require extensive absence from the class, please come see me.

 

Grading:

During the semester, you will be asked to complete 2 short written assignments based upon your reading assignments, two essay exams (including the final, which will NOT be cumulative), along with two multiple choice quizzes based on your reading.  I will base your course grade on all of your graded assignments, weighted in the following way:

 

Exam #1:                                 20%

Exam #2:                                 20%

First short paper:                     15%

Second short paper:                 20%

Two quizzes:                           7.5% each

Attendance/participation:         10%

 

In order to pass this course, you must complete ALL course requirements (i.e., if you fail to complete and turn in any one assignment by the last day of the semester, you will fail the course).  There will be no extra credit offered. 

 

Only in extreme circumstances will extensions for written-assignments be granted.  If you would like to request an extension, you need to do so at least 24 hours prior to the due date.  If you fail to complete and turn in any written assignment by 5:00pm on the date that it is due, you will lose 5 points for each day that it is late (including weekend days).  You must turn in all coursework to me personally, and I will not accept any assignments over email.  If, for any reason, you must turn in an assignment and you cannot do so personally, I have a mailbox in Meredith 227.  I will pick up all assignments from my mailbox at 5:00pm on a due date.  If you turn in your assignment late, please be sure to have someone from the department (NOT a work study student) initialize the date and time.  If a late assignment does not have the date and time that it was turned in written clearly on the first page (initialized by someone), I will mark it as being received when I pick it up from my mailbox.  All assignments must be completed specifically for this course and academic integrity guidelines will be strictly enforced (i.e. plagiarism and other breaches of academic integrity will result in a failing grade for the course).  Remember that you must use citations and failure to do so is a breach of academic integrity.  If you have questions about how to cite sources, feel free to contact me and we can discuss this.

 

If you wish to request a make-up exam or quiz, you must do so at least 24 hours before it is administered.  I will administer make-up exams only in extreme circumstances.  No one is entitled to a make-up exam or quiz, they will be offered only at my discretion.

 

Should you require any testing or classroom accommodations due to learning disabilities or other circumstances, I will be happy to make those accommodations.  I will need to see proper documentation within the first two weeks of the semester.

 

Written assignments:

Two short papers based on reading assignments (approximately 5 pages each).  I will provide you with a question that essentially asks you to apply the theoretical and conceptual information from class to a hypothetical situation that could easily represent the current political environment.  You will answer this question in approximately five pages and will use the ideas put forth by various authors to reinforce your answer.  Remember that these are NOT opinion papers.  Instead, I am looking for broad conceptual understanding ­ applying theory to practice.  Thus, a paper about the presidency should have no normative language that reveals how you feel about George W. Bush or Bill Clinton personally.

 

You may choose to write these papers in groups, but you are not required to do so.  Thus, if you choose to write your paper in a group, the group dynamics are completely up to you and you will all receive the same grade.  Thus, be very careful when choosing a group.  No group should include more than three people. 

 

Each written assignment must be typed using 10 or 12 point font, double spacing, with one-inch margins.  In addition, please make sure that the print is dark enough to be easily read.  Please see my ³guidelines for papers² for more specific information.

 

Examinations:

I will administer two exams.  Each of these exams will include short answer and essay questions.  I will discuss the format of the exams in more detail as the semester progresses.  Some of the exam material will come from lectures and class discussion, some will come directly from the reading material.  Prior to each exam, I will prepare a study guide with the caveat that these are NOT intended to be completely comprehensive and you should not limit your studying to the information on the study guide.  I will also conduct special office hours to allow you to come ask questions.  I highly recommend that you take advantage of these office hours.

 

Your exams will be scheduled with my other section of POLS001.  Your midterm exam is scheduled for Thursday, October 17 from 6:00-7:30pm.  If you have a legitimate conflict that will prevent you from taking the exam at this time please contact me as soon as possible.  You are expected to be there regardless of extra-curricular activities. 

 

 

Schedule:

Here is a schedule of class topics and reading assignments.  Additional readings may be assigned and will be placed on reserve at the library.

 

 

Date                 Topic                                                               Reading Assignment

 

 

Week 1            :  Introduction to the Course

8/26/02            Introduction, go through syllabus, and meet each other

8/28/02            NO CLASS ­ American Political Science Association Annual Convention

8/30/02            NO CLASS ­ American Political Science Association Annual Convention

 

Week 2:  Constitutional Framework

9/2/02              NO CLASS ­ Labor Day

9/4/02              Constitutional framework                               LGS* Chapter 1

9/6/02              Constitutional framework                               LGS Chapter 2

 

Week 3:  Constitutional Framework/Constitution

9/9/02              Constitutional framework                               The Constitution (LGS Appendix)

9/11/02            Constitutional framework                               LGS Chapter 3

9/13/02            Constitutional framework

 

Week 4:  The Links Between Citizens and Institutions

9/16/02            Brief introduction to public opinion               LGS Chapter 9

9/18/02            Brief introduction to public opinion

9/20/02            Brief introduction to parties and elections     LGS Chapter 10

 

Week 5:  The Links Between Citizens and Institutions/The Legislative Branch

9/23/02            Brief introduction to parties and elections     LGS Chapter 11                     

9/25/02            The Congress                                                 LGS Chapter 5                       

9/27/02            The Congress

9/27/02            READING QUIZ

           


Week 6:  The Legislative Branch

9/30/02            The Congress ­ evolution                               Baker Chapter 1

10/2/02            The Congress ­ rules and procedure               Baker Chapter 2

10/4/02            The Congress ­ rules and procedure               Baker Chapter 3

10/4/02            FIRST SHORT PAPER DUE BY 5:00pm

 

Week 7:  The Legislative Branch

10/7/02            The Congress ­ elections                                Baker Chapter 4

10/9/02            The Congress ­ decision-making                    Baker Chapter 5

10/11/02          The Congress ­ decision-making                    Baker Chapter 6

 

Week 8:  The Legislative Branch

10/14/02          The Congress ­ decision-making                    Baker Chapter 7

10/16/02          The Congress ­ decision-making                    Wright (on reserve)

                        and outside interests

10/17/02          MIDTERM EXAM  6:00-7:30pm (location TBA)

10/18/02          The Presidency -- Introduction

 

Week 9:  The Executive Branch

10/21/02          NO CLASS ­ Fall Break

10/23/02          The Presidency                                               LGS Chapter 6

10/25/02          The Presidency ­ elections

 

Week 10:  The Executive Branch

10/28/02          The Presidency ­ the problem                                    Genovese Chapter 1-2

10/30/02          The Presidency ­ the problem

11/1/02            The Presidency ­ the problem                                    LGS Chapter 7

 

Week 11:  The Executive Branch

11/4/02            The Presidency ­ leadership                           Genovese Chapter 3

11/6/02            The Presidency ­ solutions                            Genovese Chapter 4

11/8/02            The Presidency ­ solutions   

 

Week 12:  The Executive Branch/The Judicial Branch

11/11/02          The Presidency and outside interests

11/13/02          The Supreme Court ­ introduction                 LGS Chapter 8

11/13/02          READING QUIZ

11/15/02          The Supreme Court ­ selection                      Baum Chapter 1

 

Week 13:  The Judicial Branch

11/18/02          The Supreme Court ­ selection                      Baum Chapter 2

11/18/02          SECOND SHORT PAPER DUE BY 5:00pm

11/20/02          The Supreme Court ­ cases                            Baum Chapter 3         

11/22/02          The Supreme Court ­ cases

Week 14:  The Judicial Branch

11/25/02          The Supreme Court ­ decisions                      Baum Chapter 4                                 

11/27/02          NO CLASS ­ Thanksgiving Break

11/29/02          NO CLASS ­ Thanksgiving Break

 

Week 15:  The Judicial Branch

12/2/02            The Supreme Court ­ decisions         

12/4/02            The Supreme Court ­ influence                      Baum Chapter 5

12/6/02            The Supreme Court ­ influence                      Baum Chapter 6

 

Week 16:  The Supposed ³Demons² of Government: Interest Groups and the Media

12/9/02            Recap: The role of groups in                          LGS Chapter 12

institutional decision-making

12/11/02          Recap: The role of the media in                      LGS Chapter 13

institutional decision-making

12/13/02          NO CLASS ­ Free Day for Study

 

 

12/17/02          FINAL EXAM  4:00-5:50pm (location TBA)

 

 

 

 

* LGS refers to the Lowi, Ginsberg, and Shepsle textbook