POLSC301: American Political Thought « Saylor.org – Free Online Courses Built by Professors

American Political Thought

Purpose of Course show close

This course will cover American political thought from the nation’s early, formative years as a fledgling republic through the 1960s, exploring the political theories that have shaped its system of governance. As there is no one philosopher or idea that represents the totality of American political thought, you will survey the writings and speeches of those who have had the greatest impact over this period of time. You will begin by examining pre-revolutionary thought before moving on to the ideals and debates that brought forth the Constitution and the American governmental structure. Next, you will study the people and events that shaped the emergent nation, delving into concepts such as individualism, capitalism, and industrialism. You will also investigate the notions of slavery, equality, social progressivism, as well as the ideals explored in the civil rights movement. You will notice that much of the study required in this course is based on the original texts and speeches of those who influenced political thought throughout American history. You will learn and evaluate through their eyes and will discover the impact that their views and actions have had on the modern American state. You are encouraged to identify their continued influence upon current political and social systems.

Course Information show close

Welcome to POLSC301. Below, please find some general information on this course and its requirements.

Course Designer: Angela Bowie

Requirements for Completion: In order to complete this course, you will need to work through each unit and all of its assigned materials. Pay special attention to Unit 1, as it lays the foundation for understanding the more advanced, in-depth material presented in latter units.

In order to “pass” this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the final exam. Your score on the exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again.

Time Commitment: This course should take you a total of 154 hours to complete. Each unit includes a time advisory that lists the amount of time you are expected to spend on each subunit. These time advisories should help you plan your time accordingly. It may be useful to take a look at these time advisories and determine how much time you have over the next few weeks to complete each unit and then set goals for yourself. For example, Unit 1 should take you 16.5 hours. Perhaps you can sit down with your calendar and decide to complete subunit 1.1 on Monday night, split subunit 1.2 between Tuesday and Wednesday night, and so forth.

Learning Outcomes show close

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Describe the religious and political origins of the American political system.
Explain how Enlightenment thinkers, such as John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Jean-Jacque Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu, influenced the political philosophies of American founding fathers.
Analyze how the colonial American experience shaped many of the core values represented in American government and expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Compare and contrast the differing opinions on the role of the government that the founders expressed.
Trace the development and evolution of the concepts of “states rights” and “federal (national) supremacy.”
Connect the observations of De Tocqueville in Democracy in America to the concepts of equality, individuality, and civic engagement in American political discourse.
Examine the evolution of race in the American political system (from slavery to the 2008 election of Barack Obama).
Discuss the changes in the political role of women in America from its colonial days to the present.
Connect the concept of “American Exceptionalism” to the industrial revolution, capitalism, and imperialism.
Analyze the roots of reform in the Progressive Era and their impact on modern political discourse.
Explain major principles of American foreign relations over time.
Assess the purpose and impact of “American war rhetoric” over time.
Differentiate between “liberal” and “conservative” political beliefs in modern American government.
Illustrate how the political turmoil in the 1960s greatly shaped contemporary American political discourse.
Evaluate the current political discourse as represented in the 2008 and 2010 elections.

Course Requirements show close

In order to take this course, you must:

√ Have access to a computer.

√ Have continuous broadband Internet access.

√ Have the ability/permission to install plug-ins or software (i.e., Adobe Reader or Flash Player).

√ Have the ability to download and save files and documents to a computer.

√ Have the ability to open Microsoft files and documents (.doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.).

√ Have competency in the English language.

√ Have read the Saylor Student Handbook.

√ Have completed all courses listed in the Core Program of the Political Science discipline.

Unit Outline show close

1 Foundations
1.1 America: Political Roots and Origins
1.1.1 Early Colonial Political Thought
1.1.2 Religion and Government
1.2 Enlightened Thoughts Impact American Politics
1.2.1 Natural Rights and Natural Law
1.2.2 Property Rights
1.2.3 Social Contract and the Consent of the Governed
1.2.4 Republicanism and Structures of Government
1.3 Revolutionary Thoughts
1.3.1 Early Protest
1.3.2 Closer Steps Towards Revolution
1.3.3 Declaring Independence
1.4 Individual Liberty and the Issue of Slavery
1.4.1 Concept of “Enslavement” to England
1.4.2 Slavery as “Separable” From the Colonial Plight

2 The Constitution
2.1 The Articles of Confederation
2.1.1 Constitution Building
2.1.2 Sovereignty of States
2.1.3 Limitations of the Confederation
2.2 The Constitutional Convention
2.2.1 The Constitution
2.2.2 Constitutional Plans and Debates
2.2.3 Constitutional Compromises and Outcome
2.3 Federalists
2.3.1 Federalist Papers as National Support for the Constitution
2.3.2 Federalist No. 9 and 10: Danger of Political “Factions”
2.3.3 Federalist No. 51: Benefits of a Large Republic
2.4 Anti-Federalists
2.4.1 Anti-Federalist Position
2.4.2 Campaign Against Excessive Federal Power
2.4.3 Protecting Individual Liberty: The Need for a Bill of Rights
2.5 Drafting the Bill of Rights
2.5.1 Drafting the Bill of Rights
2.5.2 Following Examples from States’ Bills of Rights
2.5.3 The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments to the Constitution

3 Building a New Government
3.1 The Early Republic: The Presidency of George Washington
3.1.1 Washington’s Precedents for the Presidency
3.1.2 Washington’s Farewell Address & Advice for the Country
3.2 Jeffersonian Republicans
3.2.1 Importance of States’ Rights
3.2.2 Protection of Individual Freedoms
3.3 Hamiltonian Federalists
3.3.1 A Strong Central Government
3.3.2 Need for Implied Powers and Judicial Review
3.4 The Marshall Court
3.4.1 John Marshall
3.4.2 Marbury v. Madison (1803) and Judicial Review
3.4.3 McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Federal Power

4 Individualism and Democracy
4.1 Jacksonian Democracy
4.1.1 The Rise of Democratic Politics and a New Party System
4.1.2 The Presidency of Andrew Jackson
4.1.3 Jackson’s Impact & Legacy
4.2 Emerson and Self-Reliance
4.2.1 Religion and Ethics in Society
4.2.2 Individualism and the Value of Nonconformity
4.3 Thoreau and Government Resistance
4.3.1 The Importance of Individual Conscience
4.3.2 The Controlling Nature of Governments
4.4 Owen and Utopian Socialism
4.5 De Tocqueville Observes the American System
4.5.1 Key Elements of American Democracy
4.5.2 Equality and Individualism in America
4.5.3 Civic Life and Religion in America

5 Antebellum America and Lincoln
5.1 Abolitionist Movement
5.1.1 Anti-Slavery Society
5.1.2 “Rights” of Slaves
5.2 The Southern Argument
5.2.1 States’ Rights and Slavery
5.2.2 Slavery is Not “Immoral”
5.2.3 Southern Secession
5.3 From Abolitionists to Suffragettes: The Early Women’s Movement
5.3.1 Early Women Abolitionist Activism
5.3.2 Gender Equality
5.3.3 The Divergence of the Women’s Movement from Abolitionism
5.4 Abraham Lincoln
5.4.1 Emancipation Proclamation
5.4.2 Lincoln and Civil War
5.4.3 War’s End
5.4.4 Reconstruction and its Aftermath

6 The Industrial Age
6.1 “American Exceptionalism”
6.1.1 Anglo-Saxon and American Superiority
6.1.2 The Frontier and Turner’s Thesis
6.2 Capitalism and Free Markets
6.2.1 Defining Capitalism
6.2.2 Adam Smith and the Birth of Capitalism
6.2.3 Wealth, Poverty, and Responsibility
6.2.4 Problems with Laissez-Faire Economics and Free Markets
6.2.5 Government as Catalyst of Economic Growth
6.3 Imperialism and Trade
6.3.1 Expanding American Influence Beyond Its Shores
6.3.2 Anti-Imperialist Sentiments
6.3.3 China and the Open Door Policy
6.4 Immigration and Racism
6.4.1 America—“Land of Freedom and Opportunity”
6.4.2 Nativism and Backlash: American Restrictions on Immigration
6.4.3 The Continued Plight of African Americans

7 Progressivism and The New Deal
7.1 Responses to Industrialism
7.1.1 A Rejection of the “Gilded Age”
7.1.2 Class Conflict and Labor Relations
7.2 Third Parties in the Gilded Age
7.2.1 The Greenback Party
7.2.2 The People’s Party (The Populists)
7.3 The Progressive Era
7.3.1 Progressivism
7.3.2 The Progressive Party of 1912
7.4 Other Political & Reform Movements
7.4.1 Communism and Socialism
7.4.2 Anarchism
7.4.3 Muckraking and Social Reform
7.4.4 The Struggle for Women’s Suffrage
7.5 American Relations with the World and the First World War
7.5.1 The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
7.5.2 “Neutrality”
7.5.3 America in the Great War
7.5.4 Peace Time: Wilson, the Fourteen Points, and the League of Nations
7.6 Post-War America, the Great Depression, and New Deal Liberalism
7.6.1 Anti-Immigrant and Anti-Communist Sentiments
7.6.2 Herbert Hoover: American Individualism & “True Liberalism”
7.7 The Legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt
7.7.1 FDR: The Great Depression and New Deal Liberalism
7.7.2 Reactions to the Rise of “Big Government”
7.7.3 FDR and International Relations Leading To American Involvement in WWII
7.7.4 FDR and America at War
7.7.5 WWII: Victory and Aftermath

8 Post-War America and Seeds of Civil Unrest
8.1 Communism and the Cold War
8.1.1 “Combating Communists at Home”: McCarthyism
8.1.2 Combating Communism Abroad: Eisenhower’s Domino Theory
8.1.3 The Arms Race
8.2 Segregation and Race Relations
8.2.1 Desegregation of the Armed Forces
8.2.2 Brown v. Board: Decision and Reaction
8.2.3 Imposing Federal Authority: The Showdown in Little Rock
8.3 The Presidency of John F. Kennedy
8.3.1 The Religion Question”: The First Catholic President
8.3.2 Inaugural Address: Ideals and Optimism
8.3.3 The Peace Corps
8.3.4 The Space Race
8.3.5 The Arms Race Continues: The Cuban Missile Crisis
8.3.6 The Assassination of JFK

9 The Sixties: Rebellion and Backlash
9.1 Student Radicals and the Age of Campus Protest
9.1.1 The Anti-War Movement
9.1.2 Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
9.1.3 The Counterculture and Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll
9.2 Feminism and the Women’s Movement
9.2.1 Waves of Feminism
9.2.2 National Organization for Women
9.2.3 The Equal Rights Amendment
9.2.4 Radical Feminism
9.3 From Civil Rights to Black Power
9.3.1 Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): Sit-ins, Freedom Rides and Freedom Summer
9.3.2 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Non-Violent Protest and The March on Washington
9.3.3 Malcolm X and Black Nationalism
9.4 The Transformative Presidency of London B. Johnson
9.4.1 Civil Rights and Voting Rights
9.4.2 Social Reforms
9.4.3 Continuing Conflict: The Vietnam War
9.5 The Political Ideological Divide: Conservatives, Liberals, and Radicals
9.5.1 The Conservative Backlash
9.5.2 Liberalism Continued
9.5.3 The Ideology of the New Left

10 Contemporary American Thought
10.1 Vietnam, Nixon, and Watergate: The Decline of Public Trust in Government
10.1.1 The Legacy of Vietnam
10.1.2 Richard Nixon and Watergate
10.2 The Rise of Conservatism
10.2.1 The New Right
10.2.2 The “Silent Majority"
10.2.3 The Legacy of the War on Poverty
10.2.4 The Reagan Revolution
10.2.5 The Clinton Years and the Republican “Contract with America”
10.3 Women’s Rights, Religion, and Politics
10.3.1 Women’s Reproductive Rights
10.3.2 The “New Right” and the Rise of the Christian Coalition
10.3.3 Same-Sex Marriage and the Rights of Homosexuals
10.4 War Rhetoric: The Cold War and the War on Terrorism
10.4.1 Evil Empire and Star Wars
10.4.2 An End to the Cold War
10.4.3 September 11, 2001
10.4.4 The War on Terror Begins
10.5 Barack Obama: Hope and Reality
10.5.1 The Rise of Obama: 2004 DNC Convention Speech
10.5.2 Election 2008: “Outsiders” and “Mavericks”
10.5.3 Obama: Race and Religion
10.5.4 Crisis and Governing: Economic Downturn and Health Care Reform
10.5.5 Election 2010: The Tea Party and the Current Political Discourse

11 Final Exam

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Unit 1: Foundations

This unit will provide you with an understanding of political theory in the earliest days of the American colonies to the beginning of the American Revolution. You will learn about the mindset of the earliest colonists, their rationale for coming to the New World and how their concepts of freedom and unity helped shape later feelings of revolution and independence. In addition, this unit will also highlight how early American thought was conflicted about issues such as religion, independence, unity, freedom, equality and slavery. This unit will help you understand the diverse roots of American political thought and help demonstrate how these roots influenced the birth of the American nation.

Unit 1 Time Advisory show close

Unit 1 Learning Outcomes show close

1.1 America: Political Roots and Origins

1.1.1 Early Colonial Political Thought

Reading: U.S. Constitution On-line’s version of “The Mayflower Compact”
Link: U.S. Constitution On-line’s version of “The Mayflower Compact” (HTML)

Also available in:
PDF

Instructions: Read the brief introduction and the text of the Mayflower Compact.

Note on the Text: The Mayflower Compact was an early document that underscored some of the goals of the individuals who left Europe to travel to America on the Mayflower. This agreement served as the basis for the mutual understanding and commitment of all of the men aboard the Mayflower to create a government that would provide for the common good. This philosophy is a major component of later American political thought. To view in PDF format, please follow the "PDF" link above; in the center column of the table of resources, find and select the appropriate link.

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1.1.2 Religion and Government

Reading: John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity”
Link: John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity” (PDF)

Also available in:
PDF

Instructions: Read the introduction and the text of “A Model of Christian Charity.” To view in another PDF format, please follow the "PDF" link above; select the link at the bottom of the page.

Note on the Text: In this text, John Winthrop, a Puritan arriving in America in the 1600s, explains his vision of the new community that he and his fellow Puritans would create in America. The religious undertones you will notice in this text are representative of the religious sentiment that tended to characterize those who came to America at the time. Note that religious freedom was not the true motivation behind leaving for America: many of those who arrived wanted to have the opportunity to practice their own religion but did not necessarily tolerate other religions. This mindset was influential in colonial politics and in the shaping of the relationship between politics and religion in the United States going forward.

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Reading: Excerpts of Roger Williams’ “The Bloody Tenet of Persecution”
Link: Excerpts of Roger Williams’ “The Bloody Tenet of Persecution” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the introduction and the text of “The Bloody Tenet of Persecution.”

Note on the Text: In this text, Roger Williams, a Puritan who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635, explains his feelings about the relationship between religion and civil government. Williams’ experience in Massachusetts and his feelings about religious tolerance led to his founding of Rhode Island, the first colony to allow religious freedom. Williams, therefore, played a major role in helping shape American political thought and the concept of religious freedom, tolerance, and separation of church and state.

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Web Media: iTunes: National Constitution Center: “We the People” Stories: “‘American Gospel’ with Newsweek’s Jon Meacham”
Link: iTunes: National Constitution Center: “We the People” Stories: “‘American Gospel’ with Newsweek’s Jon Meacham” (iTunes Audio)

Instructions: Please scroll down to podcast #182 and then listen to this entire podcast (approximately 64 minutes). Note that Meacham, the author of “American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation,” discusses the history of religion in American public life and tells the story of how the Founding Fathers viewed faith and how they ultimately created a nation in which belief in God is a matter of choice.

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1.2 Enlightened Thoughts Impact American Politics

1.2.1 Natural Rights and Natural Law

Reading: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan

Link: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan (PDF)

Also available in:
Kindle (Free)
EPub format on Google Books

Instructions: Read Chapters 13-15.

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Lecture: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 13—The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan”
Link: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 13—The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan”

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MP3

Instructions: Watch this video lecture (45 minutes) which coincides with the assigned Hobbes reading above.

About the Lecture: This lecture is taken from Professor Smith’s Introduction to Political Philosophy course at Yale University’s “Open Yale Courses.”

Terms of Use: Steven Smith, Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed March 17, 2011) License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. The original version can be found here.
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Reading: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of John Locke’s Second Treatise

Link: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of John Locke’s Second Treatise (PDF)

Instructions: Read Chapter 1—“Of the State of Nature.”

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Lecture: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 15—Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise” (1-5)
Link: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 15—Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise” (1-5)

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Instructions: Watch this video lecture (45 minutes), which coincides with the assigned Locke reading above.

Terms of Use: Steven Smith, Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed March 17, 2011) License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. The original version can be found here.
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1.2.2 Property Rights

Reading: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of John Locke’s Second Treatise

Link: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of John Locke’s Second Treatise (PDF)

Also available in:
EPub Format

Instructions: Read Chapter 5—“Of Property.”

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Lecture: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 16—Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise” (7-12)
Link: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 16—Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise” (7-12)

Also available in:
iTunes U
HTML
MP3

Instructions: Watch the first half of this video lecture on Locke’s philosophy of property. You should stop viewing when Professor Smith begins talking about the consent of the governed, about 1/3 of the way through the lecture.

Terms of Use: Steven Smith, Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed March 17, 2011) License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. The original version can be found here.
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1.2.3 Social Contract and the Consent of the Governed

Reading: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan

Link: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of Thomas Hobbes’Leviathan (PDF)

Also available in:
Kindle (Free)
EPub format on Google Books

Instructions: Read Chapters 17-19 and Chapter 30.

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Lecture: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 14—The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan”
Link: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 14—The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan”

Also available in:
iTunes U
HTML
MP3

Instructions: Watch this video lecture (44 minutes) which coincides with the assigned Hobbes reading above.

Terms of Use: Steven Smith, Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed March 17, 2011) License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. The original version can be found here.
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Reading: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of John Locke’s Second Treatise

Link: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of John Locke’s Second Treatise (PDF)

Also available in:
EPub Format

Instructions: Read Chapter 8—“Of the Beginning of Political Societies.”

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Lecture: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 16—Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise” (7-12)
Link: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 16—Constitutional Government: Locke, Second Treatise” (iTunes U Audio)

Also available in:
HTML
MP3

Instructions: Watch the second half of this video lecture on Locke’s philosophy of the consent of the governed. You should begin viewing at minute 15:00, when Professor Smith begins to discuss the consent of the governed.

Terms of Use: Steven Smith, Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed March 17, 2011) License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. The original version can be found here.
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Reading: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of Jean-Jacque Rousseau’s The Social Contract

Link: University of Adelaide’s E-book Version of Jean-Jacque Rousseau’s The Social Contract (PDF)

Also available in:
Kindle ($2.99)
EPub format on Google Books

Instructions: Read Book I, Chapters 6-8.

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Lecture: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 20—Democracy and Participation: Rousseau, Social Contract, I-II”
Link: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 20—Democracy and Participation: Rousseau, Social Contract, I-II”

Also available in:
iTunes U
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Instructions: Watch this video lecture (41 minutes), which coincides with the Rousseau reading assigned above.

Terms of Use: Steven Smith, Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed March 17, 2011) License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. The original version can be found here.
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1.2.4 Republicanism and Structures of Government

Reading: The Constitution Society’s on-line version of Baron de Montesquieu’s Spirit of Laws: “Book XI. Of the Laws Which Establish Political Liberty, with Regard to the Constitution”
Link: The Constitution Society’s on-line version of Baron de Montesquieu’s Spirit of Laws :“Book XI. Of the Laws Which Establish Political Liberty, with Regard to the Constitution” (PDF)

Also available in:
Kindle ($0.95)
EPub format on Google Books (p.161)

Instructions: Read Book XI.

Note on the Text: Montesquieu’s Spirit of Laws was an extremely influential book in the mid-1700s. The purpose of the book was to explain human laws and social institutions. This chapter highlights two of the most important concepts derived from Montesquieu’s writings: the “separation of powers” into legislative, executive and judicial branches and “checks and balances.”

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Reading: Stanford University’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Baron de Montesquieu”
Link: Stanford University’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Baron de Montesquieu” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read section 4 of this entry. This reading will help make some of the important points from Montesquieu’s original text clearer.

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1.3 Revolutionary Thoughts

1.3.1 Early Protest

Reading: Hezekiah Nile’s “Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York; December 15, 1773”
Link: Hezekiah Nile's “Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York; December 15, 1773” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the primary source document written by the Sons of Liberty in New York.

Note on the Text: The Sons of Liberty was an early organization of colonists who opposed the actions of the British government. They organized protests, boycotts, and other political (and sometimes violent) actions to object to the unjust treatment of the colonies by the British government and royal crown. In this document, the Sons of Liberty articulate some of their objections to British action in the colonies and convey the overall sentiment of the patriots in the late 1700s.

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Reading: Hanover University’s version of Samuel Adams’ The Rights of the Colonists”
Link: Hanover University’s version of Samuel Adams’ “The Rights of the Colonists” (PDF)

Also available in:
Kindle ($0.99)

Instructions: Read the primary source document written by Samuel Adams, one of the Founding Fathers, for the Boston Town Meeting on November 20, 1773. At the meeting, Adamsmade a motion that “a committee of correspondence” be appointed to draft a statement about the rights that the colonists felt were due them. Based on the philosophies of John Locke, Adams and others believed natural rights were due them, under the protection of the British Constitution.

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1.3.2 Closer Steps Towards Revolution

Reading: The Writings of Samuel Adams': “Circulation Letter of the Boston Committee of Correspondence; May 13, 1774”
Link: The Writings of Samuel Adams': “Circulation Letter of the Boston Committee of Correspondence; May 14, 1774” (PDF)

Instructions: Read this primary source document written by the Boston Committee of Correspondence.

Note on the Text: Committees of Correspondence were assembled throughout the colonies in order to share information about unfair British actions. This document was written by the Boston Committee of Correspondence after the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773), a secret protest staged by the Boston Sons of Liberty against the British royal crown. The participants in the Boston Tea Party assembled to protest unfair taxes, but the consequences of their actions (the passage of the “Intolerable Acts”) were profound. This reading conveys the British response to the Boston Tea Party and the colonial sentiment concerning this punishment.

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Reading: Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Speech
Link: Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Speech (PDF)

Instructions: Read patriot Patrick Henry’s famous speech.

Note on the Text: Patrick Henry, an orator and politician who led the movement for independence from Britain, gave this speech in the House of Burgesses (the legislative body in the Virginia colony) to convince his fellow Virginians to support taking up arms against the British in an early battle leading up to the American Revolutionary War.

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1.3.3 Declaring Independence

Web Media: The Regents of the University of California’s “U.S. Government and Politics: Lesson 3- Documents from the Revolution and Beyond”
Link: The Regents of the University of California’s “U.S. Government and Politics: Lesson 3- Documents from the Revolution and Beyond” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Watch this two-part presentation. Be sure to watch both sections by clicking on the advance arrow in the top right-hand corner of the player (under the “Help” link). Additionally, click on the picture links under the “Explore” heading to learn more specific information on Thomas Paine and the Declaration of Independence. Finally, feel free to use the glossary to highlight and review important terms discussed in the presentation.

Note on the Web media: This presentation will provide you with a good historic general overview for the content covered in both the readings for this subunit

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Reading: Archiving Early America’s on-line version of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
Link: Archiving Early America’s on-line version of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (PDF)

Also available in:
Kindle (Free)
EPub format on Google Books

Instructions: Read the text of Common Sense.

Note on the Text: Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine prior to the colonies’ declaration of independence from Britain. The purpose of the document was to persuade colonists to support the revolution and independence. Paine’s words were influential, leading many individuals to support American independence.

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Reading: Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence”
Link: Thomas Jefferson’s“Declaration of Independence” (PDF)

Also available in:
EPub format on Google Books
Kindle ($0.99)

Instructions: Read the text of the Declaration of Independence.

Note on the Text: The Declaration of Independence was written after the first battles of the Revolutionary War were fought; it addresses the overall sentiment of many of the Patriots who were fighting for liberty against the British.

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1.4 Individual Liberty and the Issue of Slavery

1.4.1 Concept of “Enslavement” to England

1.4.2 Slavery as “Separable” From the Colonial Plight

Unit 2: The Constitution

The Constitution serves as the single governing document in America. In order to understand current governance issues, you will benefit from understanding this document, the basis on which the American structure is built. In this unit, you will study the roots of the Constitution and the major debates that surrounded the process of constructing this framework. You will explore some of the theoretical underpinnings of the Constitution, such as republicanism, separation of powers, and checks and balances. In looking at the debates that surrounded the drafting of the Constitution, you will uncover not only the viewpoints of those who succeeded in their arguments, but also on the ideas were not accepted in the final version of this foundational document.

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2.1 The Articles of Confederation

2.1.1 Constitution Building

Web Media: The Regents of the University of California’s “U.S. Government and Politics: Lesson 4- Constitution Building”
Link: The Regents of the University of California’s “U.S. Government and Politics: Lesson 4 - Constitution Building” (Adobe Flash)

Also available in:
Transcript (HTML)

Instructions: Watch the first two sections (“Articles of Confederation” & “State Constitutions”) of this three-part presentation. Be sure to watch both topics within the lesson by clicking on the advance arrow in the top right-hand corner of the player (under the “Help” link) after you view the presentation on the first topic. For both portions of the lesson, click on the picture links under the “Explore” heading to learn more specific information on Constitution building. Finally, feel free to use the glossary to highlight and review important terms discussed in the presentation.

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2.1.2 Sovereignty of States

Reading: Yale University: Avalon Project’s version of “The Articles of Confederation: March 1, 1781”
Link: Yale University: Avalon Project’s version of “The Articles of Confederation: March 1, 1781” (HTML)

Also available in:
Kindle ($0.99)
EPub format on Google Books (p. 26)
PDF

Instructions: Read the text of the Articles of Confederation.

Note on the Text: The Articles of Confederation served as the first form of government in America after it declared independence from Britain. The text was heavily influenced by the colonists’ fear of a strong executive branch or anything that might resemble the monarchy from which they had just escaped. Accordingly, the states are the primary power-holders under the government established by the Articles.

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2.1.3 Limitations of the Confederation

Reading: University of Chicago: The Founders’ Constitution, on-line version of Alexander Hamilton’s Letter to James Duane, “Deficiencies of the Confederation”
Link: University of Chicago: The Founders’ Constitution, on-line version of Alexander Hamilton’s Letter to James Duane, “Deficiencies of the Confederation” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of Hamilton’s letter to James Duane.

Note on the Text: In this letter to James Duane (Mayor of New York), Alexander Hamilton, founding father and federalist, discusses some of the problems he has identified in the Articles of Confederation. Hamilton demonstrates not only the weaknesses of the Articles, but discusses what he believes would make for a stronger government. Hamilton was not alone in his feelings about the Articles of Confederation; in the summer of 1787, there was a convention to revise the Articles in Philadelphia. This convention did not revise the Articles, but instead created an entirely new form of government which resulted in the U.S. Constitution.

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2.2 The Constitutional Convention

2.2.1 The Constitution

Web Media: The Regents of the University of California’s “U.S. Government and Politics: Lesson 4- Constitution Building”
Link: The Regents of the University of California’s “U.S. Government and Politics: Lesson 4- Constitution Building” (Adobe Flash)

Also available in:
Transcript (HTML)

Instructions: Watch the final section (“The U.S. Constitution”) of this three-part presentation. To get to the final section, click on the advance arrow in the top right-hand corner of the player (under the “Help” link). Additionally, click on the picture links under the “Explore” heading to learn more specific information on the Constitutional Convention. Finally, feel free to use the glossary to highlight and review important terms discussed in the presentation.

Note that this presentation will cover the material you need to know for subunits 2.2.2-2.2.3.

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2.2.2 Constitutional Plans and Debates

Reading: William Paterson’s Constitutional Plan (the New Jersey Plan)
Link: William Paterson’s Constitutional Plan (the New Jersey Plan) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of the New Jersey Plan. Paterson, the state’s leading delegate, proposed the plan on behalf of the smaller states. How does the plan address their concerns about representation?

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Reading: Edmund Randolph’s Constitutional Plan (the Virginia Plan)
Link: Edmund Randolph’s Constitutional Plan (the Virginia Plan) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of the Virginia Plan. As governor, Randolph proposed this plan on behalf of Virginia’s delegates, which was notable for setting the overall agenda for debate at the convention and putting forth the idea of populated-weighted representation (which would benefit the larger states).

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2.2.3 Constitutional Compromises and Outcome

Reading: U.S. Department of State’s About America: The United States Constitution: “The Great Compromise and other Compromises”
Link(s): U.S. Department of State’s About America: The United States Constitution: “The Great Compromise and other Compromises” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the historical background on the Great Compromise and other compromises at the Constitutional Convention. While reading the text, think about how the compromises addressed the major concerns of the delegates, particularly as they related to representation and slavery.

Note on the Text: The reading is accessible through the U.S. Department of State website, America.gov. Much of the content is available in other languages.

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Web Media: The Regents of the University of California’s “U.S. Government and Politics: Lesson 5- The Constitution”
Link: The Regents of the University of California’s “U.S. Government and Politics: Lesson 5- The Constitution” (Adobe Flash)

Also available in:
Transcript (HTML)

Instructions: Watch this two-part presentation to learn about the core principles behind and the structure of the Constitution. Be sure to watch both topics within the lesson by clicking on the advance arrow in the top right-hand corner of the player (under the “Help” link) after you view the presentation on the first topic. For both portions of the lesson, click on the picture links under the “Explore” heading to learn more specific information on the Constitution. Finally, feel free to use the glossary to highlight and review important terms discussed in the presentation.

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Reading: National Archives’ on-line official transcript of The United States Constitution
Link: National Archives’ on-line official transcript of The United States Constitution (HTML)

Instructions: Read the Preamble and then scroll through the text of the Constitution. The Constitution was, in significant and profound ways, influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as Locke and Montesquieu. While reading the document, consider how it reflects the governing concepts of these thinkers, particularly as they relate to separation of powers and checks and balances.

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2.3 Federalists

2.3.1 Federalist Papers as National Support for the Constitution

Reading: U.S. Department of State’s “How the Federalist Papers Persuaded a Nation”
Link: U.S. Department of State’s “How the Federalist Papers Persuaded a Nation” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this short excerpt on the Federalist Papers, which explains how advocates of ratification tried to convince the public to support the Constitution.

Note on the Text: This reading will provide you with some background information on the Federalist Papers. It is accessible through the U.S. Department of State website, America.gov, and available in a variety of other languages.

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2.3.2 Federalist No. 9 and 10: Danger of Political “Factions”

Reading: Yale University: Avalon Project’s version of Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist No. 9 and James Madison’s Federalist No. 10
Link: Yale University: Avalon Project’s version of Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist No. 9 (HTML) and James Madison’s Federalist No. 10 (HTML)

Federalist No. 10 also available in:
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Instructions: Read the texts of Hamilton’s “Federalist No. 9” and Madison’s “Federalist No. 10.”

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2.3.3 Federalist No. 51: Benefits of a Large Republic

Reading: James Madison’s "Federalist No. 51"
Link: James Madison’s Federalist No. 51 (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of Madison’s “Federalist No. 51.”

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2.4 Anti-Federalists

2.4.1 Anti-Federalist Position

Reading: Constitution Society’s version of Anti-Federalist Papers: “The Address and Reasons of Dissent of the Minority of the Convention of Pennsylvania to their Constituents”
Link:Constitution Society’s version of Anti-Federalist Papers: “The Address and Reasons of Dissent of the Minority of the Convention of Pennsylvania to their Constituents" (HTML)

Instructions: Read the text of the Anti-Federalist’s dissent from the Constitution. Note that this reading will cover the material you need to know for subunits 2.4.2-2.4.3.

Note on the Text: This reading will provide a general overview of the major concerns of the Anti-Federalists, who did not support the Constitution and the formation of a stronger central government.

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2.4.2 Campaign Against Excessive Federal Power

Reading: Constitution Society’s version of Anti-Federalist Papers: “Brutus, No. 3”
Link: Constitution Society’s version of Anti-Federalist Papers: “Brutus, No. 3” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the brief introduction to the “Brutus” papers and then click on and read the html or text (red or yellow box) versions of No. 3.

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2.4.3 Protecting Individual Liberty: The Need for a Bill of Rights

Reading: Constitution Society’s version of Anti-Federalist Papers: “Brutus, No. 2”
Link:Constitution Society’s version of Anti-Federalist Papers: “Brutus, No. 2” (PDF)

Instructions: Click on and read the html or text (red or yellow box) versions of No. 2.

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2.5 Drafting the Bill of Rights

2.5.1 Drafting the Bill of Rights

Web Media: The Regents of the University of California’s “U.S. Government and Politics: Lesson 6- The Bill of Rights”
Link: The Regents of the University of California’s “U.S. Government and Politics: Lesson 6- The Bill of Rights” (Adobe Flash)

Also available in:
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Instructions: Watch this three-part presentation on the Bill of Rights. Be sure to watch all topics within the lesson by clicking on the advance arrow in the top right-hand corner of the player (under the “Help” link) after you view the presentation on the first topic. Additionally, click on the picture links under the “Explore” heading in each topic to learn more specific information about the Bill of Rights. Finally, feel free to use the glossary to highlight and review important terms discussed in the presentation. Note that this presentation will cover the material you need to know for subunits 2.5.2-2.5.3.

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2.5.2 Following Examples from States’ Bills of Rights

Reading: National Archives’ “The Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)”
Link: National Archives’ “The Virginia Declaration of Rights” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the introduction and text of Virginia’s Bill of Rights.

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Reading: The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York’s online version of the “New York State Bill of Rights” (1787)
Link: The Historical Society of the Courts of the State of New York’s online version of the “New York State Bill of Rights” (1787) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of the New York State Bill of Rights.

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2.5.3 The Bill of Rights: The First Ten Amendments to the Constitution

Reading: The National Constitution Center’s “Interactive Constitution”
Link: The National Constitution Center’s “Interactive Constitution” (HTML)

Instructions: Go to the above website and read about each of the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The text of the amendments can be found in the upper section of the webpage and a more detailed explanation is given in the lower box. Click on the “Proceed to Amendment” link to view the next ones.

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Unit 3: Building a New Government

As the new nation was forming, questions of governmental supremacy had not yet been fully answered. As you will read, the first president under the Constitution, George Washington, left the country with important parting words in his farewell address on the issue of internal factions. He warned that splits within the government would not be good for the country as a whole. However, before, during, and after Washington’s presidency, leaders continued to be concerned with the distribution of power between the national government and its states. Some argued that the states should retain significant power in order to control the power of the national government. Others argued that the national government required strength in order to remain a formidable power at home and abroad. As with the ratification debate, the nation was split in its approach and against Washington’s advice, these differences of opinion led to the creation of the first political parties in America. In this unit, you will study how the balance of power began to evolve and how the issue of state verses federal supremacy divided the nation.

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3.1 The Early Republic: The Presidency of George Washington

3.1.1 Washington’s Precedents for the Presidency

Reading: University of Virginia: The Miller Center’s “American President—An Online Reference Resource: George Washington”
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center’s “American President—An Online Reference Resource: George Washington” (HTML)

Instructions: Please go to above webpage and read the sections entitled “Impact and Legacy” and “Creating the Presidency.”

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3.1.2 Washington’s Farewell Address & Advice for the Country

Reading: George Washington's “Farewell Address (1796)”
Link: George Washington's “Farewell Address (1796)” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of Washington’s Farewell Address.

Note on the Reading: Besides setting various precedents during his presidency, Washington’s tenure in office was underscored by the advice he gave to the country on foreign and domestic (political) affairs in his farewell address. Subsequent presidents tried to heed Washington’s advice; however, because of the political climate in the country and around the world, many were not successful.

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3.2 Jeffersonian Republicans

Reading: Thomas Jefferson's "Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank: 1791” and “First Inaugural Address (1801)”
Link: Thomas Jefferson's “Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank: 1791” (PDF) and “First Inaugural Address (1801)” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of both of Jefferson’s speeches. Note that these readings will cover the material you need to know for subunits 3.2.1–3.2.2.

Note on the Texts: Both of these texts should provide you with a great deal of insight into Jefferson’s opinions on a strong central government and the need to protect states’ and individual rights.

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3.2.1 Importance of States’ Rights

Note: This subunit is covered by the reading assigned beneath subunit 3.2. Focus specifically on the last three paragraphs of Jefferson’s opinion on the National Bank, where he asserts the importance of state sovereignty.

3.2.2 Protection of Individual Freedoms

Note: This subunit is covered by the reading assigned beneath subunit 3.2. As you read Jefferson’s inaugural address, think about in what way the speech reflects his political ideology.

3.3 Hamiltonian Federalists

Reading: Alexander Hamilton's “Opinion as to the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States: 1791”
Link: Alexander Hamilton's “Opinion as to the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States: 1791” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of Alexander Hamilton defense for the creation of the First National Bank. Note that these readings will cover the material you need to know for subunits 3.3.1–3.3.2.

Note on the Reading: The creation of the Bank of the United States was a major point of contention between many leaders within the early republic. Hamilton and his supporters of the bank believed it was necessary to create a centralized national bank to pay off debts and ensure national economic stability. On the other hand, many others (including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison) believed that the creation of a strong centralized bank infringed upon state sovereignty. Eventually, Washington sided with Hamilton and the bank was created. However, the debate between Jefferson and Hamilton would prove to be divisive and would foster the creation of the first political parties, the Federalists and the Democrat-Republicans.

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Web Media: PBS’ American Experience: “Alexander Hamilton”
Link: PBS’ American Experience: “Alexander Hamilton” (QuickTime and Windows Media)

Instructions: Watch the first five video clips from the documentary, after reading the film synopsis. All provide valuable insight into Hamilton’s life, career, and political beliefs. He was, according to the filmmakers, “arguably the most significant person in American history who never served as president.” Note that this video will cover the material you need to know for subunit 3.3.1.

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3.3.1 A Strong Central Government

Note: This subunit is covered by the reading and video assigned beneath subunit 3.3. For each, consider Hamilton’s central rationale for the need for a strong central government.

3.3.2 Need for Implied Powers and Judicial Review

Note: This subunit is covered by the reading assigned beneath subunit 3.3. Focus on the first section of Hamilton’s bank opinion where he articulates his views on implied powers.

3.4 The Marshall Court

3.4.1 John Marshall

Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “John Marshall: The ‘Man Who Made the Court Supreme’”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “John Marshall: The ‘Man Who Made the Court Supreme’” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the above article about U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall, whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches.

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3.4.2 Marbury v. Madison (1803) and Judicial Review

Reading: The Our Documents Initiative’s version of John Marshall’s “Opinion of the Court, Marbury v. Madison (1803)”
Link: The Our Documents Initiative’s version of John Marshall’s “Opinion of the Court, Marbury v. Madison (1803)” (PDF)

Instructions: Begin by reading the “Document Info” about this landmark Supreme Court Case. Then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” and read the actual text of John Marshall’s decision.

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3.4.3 McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Federal Power

Reading: The Our Documents Initiative’s version of John Marshall’s “Opinion of the Court, McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)”
Link:The Our Documents Initiative’s version of John Marshall’s “Opinion of the Court, McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)” (PDF)

Instructions: Begin by reading the “Document Info” about this landmark Supreme Court Case. Then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” and read the actual text of John Marshall’s decision.

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Unit 4: Individualism and Democracy

This unit of the course focuses on the philosophical concept of the relationship between the individual and the democratic state. In the early to mid-1800s, a selection of theorists began to question whether the individual could tolerate the conformity required of a democratic system of governance. In this unit, you will study the writings of these authors and investigate their arguments for the preservation of the individual in a democratic state. You may notice that these theoretical approaches have had a substantial impact upon the issues of slavery and civil rights (to be explored in subsequent units).

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4.1 Jacksonian Democracy

4.1.1 The Rise of Democratic Politics and a New Party System

Reading: Miller Center: University of Virginia: “American President: A Reference Resource”
Link: Miller Center: University of Virginia: “American President: A Reference Resource” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire webpage to get a sense of the shift in the American political landscape in the 1820s and 1830s toward more “democratic” politics and the hugely influential role that Andrew Jackson played in this phenomenon.

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4.1.2 The Presidency of Andrew Jackson

Reading: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Age of Jackson”
Link: Academic American History: Henry J. Sage’s “The Age of Jackson” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the above article on the presidency of Andrew Jackson, whose tenure in office helped to usher in a newly democratic age marked by increased voter turnout. Jackson, for better or worse, turned the presidency into a vastly more powerful office than previous administrations. However, these years would also be marked by significant sectional differences and an increasingly hostile debate over federal vs. state power.

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4.1.3 Jackson’s Impact & Legacy

Reading: University of Virginia: The Miller Center’s “Jackson Vetoes Bank Bill—July 10, 1832”
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center’s “Jackson Vetoes Bank Bill—July 10, 1832” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the historic background on Jackson’s bank veto and then click on the hyperlink at the end of the introduction to read the actual text of the veto.

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Reading: PBS’s version of “Andrew Jackson’s Second Annual Message”
Link: PBS’s version of “Andrew Jackson’s Second Annual Message” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the excerpt from Jackson’s Second Annual Message to Congress.

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4.2 Emerson and Self-Reliance

Reading: Emerson Central’s version of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”
Link: Emerson Central’s version of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” (PDF)

Also available in:
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Instructions: Please read the text of Emerson’s 1840 essay, “Self-Reliance.” Emerson, an essayist, lecturer, and poet, was a key figure in the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-nineteenth century. Among the transcendentalists’ core beliefs was the belief in an ideal spirituality that “transcends” the physical and empirical and is realized only through the individual’s intuition, rather than through the doctrines of established religions. Followers of this movement championed individualism and were prescient critics of the countervailing pressures of society. Note that this reading will cover the material you need to know for subunits 4.2.1–4.2.2.

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4.2.1 Religion and Ethics in Society

Note: This subunit is covered by the reading assigned beneath subunit 4.2 Consider Emerson’s criticism of religion, which he believed stifled the “soul.”

4.2.2 Individualism and the Value of Nonconformity

Note: This subunit is covered by the reading assigned beneath subunit 4.2 Focus on the section of Emerson’s essay where he calls on individuals to value their own thoughts, opinions, and experiences above those presented to them by other individuals, society, and religion.

4.3 Thoreau and Government Resistance

Reading: Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” (1849)
Link: Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” (1849) (PDF)

Also available in:
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Kindle

Instructions: Please read the introduction and all three parts of Thoreau’s essay, “Civil Disobedience.” As a leading transcendentalist (and friend of Emerson), Thoreau’s philosophy of individual resistance to civil government in moral opposition to an unjust state influenced the political thoughts and actions of such later figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Note that this reading will cover the material you need to know for subunits 4.3.1–4.3.2.

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4.3.1 The Importance of Individual Conscience

Note: This subunit is covered by the reading assigned beneath subunit 4.3. Consider how Thoreau espouses the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws.

4.3.2 The Controlling Nature of Governments

Note: This subunit is covered by the reading assigned beneath subunit 4.3. What are Thoreau’s major criticisms of government?

4.4 Owen and Utopian Socialism

Reading: Yale University: Avalon Project’s version of Robert Owen’s “A New View of Society”
Link: Yale University: Avalon Project’s version of Robert Owen’s “A New View of Society” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the preface and the 1-4 essays of Owen’s treatise, which proposes that society could be remolded into one of charity and virtue, by teaching new generations to act so that they increase the happiness of the whole.

Note on the Text: Robert Owen was an English social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism, a movement which was highly influential to transcendentalists. Followers of this tenet believed that social ownership of the means of production could be achieved by voluntary and peaceful surrender of their holdings by propertied groups. As a result, hundreds of “utopian communities” were formed in the mid-nineteenth century, including Owen’s New Harmony, Indiana community, where he sought to establish common ownership of property and abolish religion.

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4.5 De Tocqueville Observes the American System

4.5.1 Key Elements of American Democracy

Reading: University of Virginia: The American Studies Program’s version of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America
Link: University of Virginia: The American Studies Program’s version of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (HTML)

Also available in:
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Instructions: Under “Table of Contents: Volume I,” please read the sections entitled, “Government of the Democracy in the United States,” “What are the Advantages which American Society Derives from a Democratic Government,” “Unlimited Power of the Majority in the United States, and its Consequences,” and “Causes that Mitigate the Tyranny of the Majority in the United States.”

Note on the Text: de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian. Writing from the perspective of a detached social scientist, Tocqueville wrote of his travels through America in the early nineteenth century when the market revolution, Western expansion, and Jacksonian democracy were radically transforming the fabric of American life. He saw democracy as an equation that balanced liberty and equality, concern for the individual as well as the community. By the twentieth century, Democracy in America had become a classic work of political science, social science, and history.

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Lecture: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 21—Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America”
Link: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 21—Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America”

Also available in:
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Instructions: Watch this video lecture which coincides with the assigned reading from Democracy in America.

Terms of Use: Steven Smith, Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed March 17, 2011) License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. The original version can be found here.
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4.5.2 Equality and Individualism in America

Reading: University of Virginia: The American Studies Program’s version of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America
Link: University of Virginia: The American Studies Program’s version of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (PDF)

Also available in:
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Instructions: Please read the sections entitled, “How Equality Suggests to the Americans the Indefinite Perfectibility of Man,” “Why Democratic Nations Show a More Ardent and Enduring Love of Equality than of Liberty,” “Of Individualism in Democratic Countries,” and “That the Americans Combat the Effects of Individualism with Free Institutions.”

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Lecture: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 22—Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America”
Link: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 22—Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America”

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Instructions: Watch this video lecture which coincides with the assigned reading from Democracy in America.

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4.5.3 Civic Life and Religion in America

Reading: University of Virginia: The American Studies Program’s version of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America
Link: University of Virginia: The American Studies Program’s version of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (PDF)

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Instructions: Please read the sections entitled, “Of the Uses which Americans Make of Public Associations,” “Relation of Civil to Political Associations,” “That the Americans Apply the Principle of Self-Interest Rightly Understood to Religious Matters,” and “Of the Taste for Physical Well-Being in America.”

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Lecture: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 23—Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America”
Link: Yale University: Professor Steven Smith’s “Session 23—Democratic Statecraft: Tocqueville, Democracy in America”

Also available in:
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Instructions: Watch this video lecture which coincides with the assigned reading from Democracy in America.

Terms of Use: Steven Smith, Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed March 17, 2011) License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. The original version can be found here.
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Unit 5: Antebellum America and Lincoln

As the nation moved toward civil war, divergent opinions about race, equality, states’ rights, and slavery came to the forefront of American political thought. In this unit, you will explore discourse from this difficult time in American history.

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5.1 Abolitionist Movement

5.1.1 Anti-Slavery Society

Reading: Internet Archive’s version of William Lloyd Garrison’s “Declaration of Sentiments of the American Anti-Slavery Society” (1833)
Link: Internet Archive’s version of William Lloyd Garrison’s “Declaration of Sentiments of the American Anti-Slavery Society ” (PDF)

Also available in:
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Instructions: Read the text of the Declaration of Sentiments of the Anti-Slavery Society.

Note on the Text: The American Anti-Slavery Society was established in 1833 in Philadelphia. Led by the fiery abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, the society pledged to end slavery in the United States. The sentiments adopted at the founding meeting established the basic argument of the society for the next three decades, namely, that slavery was illegal, if not under the Constitution (which Garrison had damned as “a covenant with hell”), then certainly under natural law.

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5.1.2 “Rights” of Slaves

Reading: “Fugitive Slave Act, 1850”
Link: “Fugitive Slave Act, 1850” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of the Fugitive Slave Act.

Note on the Text: This law was enacted as part of the Compromise of 1850, which settled major disputes between the Northern and Southern states. The text illustrates the lengths to which the government would go in order to maintain the unity of the nation.

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Reading: PBS’ Africans in America: “The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act”
Link: PBS’ Africans in America: “The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire article.

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Reading: Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852)
Link: Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852) (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the text of Frederick Douglass’ speech. Note that Douglass, a former slave, leading abolitionist, and one of the most celebrated African Americans of the nineteenth century, gave this speech at an event commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Rochester, New York. Douglass delivered a scathing attack on the hypocrisy of a nation celebrating freedom and independence while still sanctioning the institution of slavery.

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Reading: “Dred Scott Case: The Supreme Court Decision (1857)”
Link: “Dred Scott Case: The Supreme Court Decision (1857)” (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the introduction about the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dred Scott case and read the original text of Chief Justice Roger Taney’s extremely controversial opinion, which had the effect of widening the political and social gap between the North and South.

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5.2 The Southern Argument

5.2.1 States’ Rights and Slavery

Reading: John C. Calhoun’s “Speech on the Importance of Domestic Slavery”
Link: John C. Calhoun’s “Speech on the Importance of Domestic Slavery ” (PDF)

Instructions: Please read these three speeches by John C. Calhoun, a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina. Calhoun built his reputation by his redefinition of republicanism to include approval of slavery and minority rights (the white South). He was also a staunch supporter of states’ rights and a leading proponent of the South’s secession from the Union.

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5.2.2 Slavery is Not “Immoral”

Reading: University of North Carolina: Documenting the South’s version of George Fitzhugh’s Cannibals All, or Slaves without Masters
Link: University of North Carolina: Documenting the South’s version of George Fitzhugh’s Cannibals All, or Slaves without Masters (HTML)

Instructions: Under “Learn More,” please click on the hyperlink and read “Summary of this Title.” Then, return to the menu page and click on the HTML full text version. Using the hyperlinks in the Table of Contents at the beginning of the text, please read the chapters entitled: “Introduction,” “Liberty and Slavery (Chapter VIII),” and “Negro Slavery (Chapter XXI).”

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5.2.3 Southern Secession

Reading: Furman University: Nineteenth Century Documents Project: “South Carolina’s Declaration of Secession”
Link: Furman University: Nineteenth Century Documents Project: “South Carolina’s Declaration of Secession ” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of South Carolina’s Declaration of Secession.

Note on the Text: South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union in 1860. Other southern states later followed suit to form the Confederacy. This text serves as an outline of some of the major disputes that South Carolina and other southern (Confederate) states had with the federal (Union) government.

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5.3 From Abolitionists to Suffragettes: The Early Women’s Movement

5.3.1 Early Women Abolitionist Activism

Reading: Enote's "American History Through Literature: Letters on the Equality of the Sexes"
Link: Enote's "American History Through Literature: Letters on the Equality of the Sexes" (HTML)

Instructions: Read the biographical information of the Grimke sisters.

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Reading: Angelina Grimke’s An Appeal to Christian Women of the South
Link: Angelina Grimke’s An Appeal to Christian Women of the South (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the entire text of the appeal. The essay is unique in that it was the only written appeal made by a Southern woman to other Southern women regarding the abolition of slavery.

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5.3.2 Gender Equality

Reading: Google Books’ Sarah Grimke’s “Letters on the Equality of the Sexes, and the Condition of Woman” (1837
Link: Google Books’ Sarah Grimke’s “Letters on the Equality of the Sexes, and the Condition of Woman” (1837) (HTML)

Instructions: Please scroll down to “Contents” and read Section 1,“The Original Equality of Women.”

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5.3.3 The Divergence of the Women’s Movement from Abolitionism

Reading: Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook’s version of “The Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls Conference, 1848”
Link: Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook’s version of “The Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls Conference, 1848 ” (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the text of “The Declaration of Sentiments.” At a time when traditional roles were still very much in place, the Declaration created much controversy. Many people respected the courage and abilities behind it; however, temperance and female property rights were major issues at the time, and many supporters of women's rights believed the Declaration’s endorsement of women’s suffrage would hinder the nascent women’s rights movement, causing it to lose much needed public support.

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5.4 Abraham Lincoln

5.4.1 Emancipation Proclamation

Reading: National Archives’ version of Abraham Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation”
Link: National Archives’ version of Abraham Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation ” (PDF)

Instructions: First, please read the introduction and then read the full text.

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5.4.2 Lincoln and Civil War

Reading: Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”
Link: Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address ” (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the introduction and the text of the Gettysburg Address (1863), one of the most well-known speeches in American history. It was delivered by Lincoln four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. In just over two minutes, Lincoln invoked the principles of human equality and redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the Union but as “a new birth of freedom” that would bring true equality to all of its citizens.

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Reading: Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address”
Link: Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address ” (PDF)

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Instructions: Please read the introduction and the text of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address (1865). At a time when Union victory was within days and slavery was near an end, Lincoln did not speak of happiness, but of sadness. Some see this speech as a defense of his pragmatic approach to Reconstruction, in which he sought to avoid harsh treatment of the defeated South by reminding his listeners of how wrong both sides had been in imagining what lay before them when the war began four years earlier. Lincoln balanced that rejection of triumphalism, however, with a recognition of the unmistakable evil of slavery.

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5.4.3 War’s End

Reading: Lincoln’s “Last Public Address”
Link: Lincoln’s “Last Public Address” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the introduction and the text of Lincoln’s Last Public Address (1865).

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Reading: Frederick Douglass.org’s version of Douglass’ “What the Black Man Wants.”
Link: Frederick Douglass.org’s version of Douglass’ “What the Black Man Wants .” (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the introduction and the text of Douglass’s speech (1865). Given at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society days before the end of the Civil War, Douglass argues in favor of black suffrage and equality.

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5.4.4 Reconstruction and its Aftermath

Reading: “Reconstruction Amendments: 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution”
Link: Text of the “Reconstruction Amendments: 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th Amendments to the Constitution" (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the text of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

Note on the Text: These amendments were passed after the Civil War in an era that was referred to as “Reconstruction.” During Reconstruction, the federal government attempted to once again unite the country. Many political leaders, however, wanted to ensure that the slavery cause for the war was rectified. These amendments were created to ensure that slavery would formally end and that former slaves would be treated as “equals” in the eyes of the law.

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Reading: U.S. Constitution On-line: “Constitutional Topic: Slavery”
Link: U.S. Constitution On-line: “Constitutional Topic: Slavery” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the text under the sub-heading “Jim Crow.”

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Reading: Cornell University: Legal Information Institute’s version of Supreme Court Justice Henry Brown’s “Plessy v. Ferguson—Opinion of the Court”
Link: Cornell University: Legal Information Institute’s version of Supreme Court Justice Henry Brown’s “Plessy v. Ferguson—Opinion of the Court ” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of Justice Brown’s majority decision on the Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896).

Note on the Text: This decision served as the basis for the notorious Jim Crow laws and the segregation that took place in the United States until the 1950s. Brown’s decision expressed the sentiments of many Americans, especially in the South who felt that—although slavery had ended—black Americans were different from white Americans and that as long as equality existed, separation between the races was a legitimate and legal course of action. This court decision effectively legitimized the move toward segregation practices begun earlier in the South and provided an impetus for further segregation laws, which would be upheld until the mid-twentieth century.

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Unit 6: The Industrial Age

At the close of the 19^th century, the American landscape was changing from one of small family farms and businesses to one characterized by growing cities and large corporate entities. In this unit, you will learn how these economic and social changes shaped American political thought at the time.

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6.1 “American Exceptionalism”

6.1.1 Anglo-Saxon and American Superiority

Reading: Josiah Strong’s Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis (1885)
Link: Google Books’ version of Josiah Strong’s Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis (1885) (ePub format on Google Books)

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Instructions: Read Chapters I (“The Time Factor in the Problem”), II (“Natural Resources”), and XIV (“The Anglo-Saxon and the World’s Future”).

Note on the Text: Throughout this book, Strong argues that the Anglo-Saxon, particularly the American Anglo-Saxon, is superior to other nationalities. In the first two chapters, you will learn what Strong believes makes America an exceptional country when compared to others around the world. Then, in the final assigned chapter, Strong argues that American Anglo-Saxons will play a significant role in the future of the world.

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6.1.2 The Frontier and Turner’s Thesis

Reading: PBS’ The West: “Frederick Jackson Turner”
Link: PBS’ The West: “Frederick Jackson Turner” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the short biography and summary on the webpage, which will provide some context for understanding the subsequent reading on Turner’s “frontier thesis.”

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Reading: Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook’s version of Frederick Jackson Turner’s “The Significance of the Frontier in American History, 1893”
Link: Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook’s version of Frederick Jackson Turner’s “The Significance of the Frontier in American History, 1893 ” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the excerpts of Turner’s thesis (1893).

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6.2 Capitalism and Free Markets

Reading: The Concise Library of Economics: Robert Hessen’s “Capitalism.”
Link: The Concise Library of Economics: Robert Hessen’s “Capitalism.” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entry on the definition and history of Capitalism. This reading covers subunits 6.2.1-6.2.4.

Note on the Text: Hessen’s entry offers great historical background on the concept of Capitalism and how it has evolved overtime. The information contained in the entry will provide you with an excellent foundation for exploring concepts in the entire subunit (6.2.1- 6.2.4).

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6.2.1 Defining Capitalism

Reading: The Concise Library of Economics: Robert Hessen’s “Capitalism.”
Link: The Concise Library of Economics: Robert Hessen’s “Capitalism.” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the entry on the definition and history of Capitalism. Note that this reading will cover the material you need to know for subunits 6.2.2-6.2.5.

Note on the Text: Hessen’s entry offers great historical background on the concept of Capitalism and how it has evolved overtime. The information contained in the entry will provide you with an excellent foundation for exploring concepts in the entire subunit

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6.2.2 Adam Smith and the Birth of Capitalism

Reading: The Concise Library of Economics’ “Biography of Adam Smith (1723-1790)”
Link: The Concise Library of Economics’ “Biography of Adam Smith (1723-1790)” (HTML)

Instructions: Read this biography of Adam Smith. Pay close attention to the section of the text that comments on Smith’s philosophy on wealth and charity and his seminal work, The Wealth of Nations.

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Reading: The New York Review of Books: Amartya Sen’s “Capitalism Beyond the Crisis”
Link: The New York Review of Books: Amartya Sen’s “Capitalism Beyond the Crisis” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read this article which, although focusing on the 2008 financial crisis, includes oft-lectured points by Sen and other scholars on Adam Smith and how he has consistently been misunderstood over time.

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6.2.3 Wealth, Poverty, and Responsibility

Reading: Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook’s version of Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” (1889)
Link: Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook’s version of Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” (1889) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth.”

Note on the Text: Andrew Carnegie was one of the richest men in America at the turn of the 20^th century. He clearly benefitted from free-markets and capitalism in the United States. Many considered Carnegie a ruthless businessman, yet he chose to be a great benefactor to many causes. In this reading, you will learn about Carnegie’s sentiments about his riches and about the duty he saw for himself (he believed that the wealthy should take care of the less fortunate).

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6.2.4 Problems with Laissez-Faire Economics and Free Markets

Reading: Henry George’s Progress and Poverty (1879)
Link: Henry George’s Progress and Poverty (1879) (HTML)

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Instructions: Read “Introduction: The Problem of Poverty in Amid Progress.”

Note on the Text: Appalled by the shocking poverty he saw around him in one of one of the world’s wealthiest countries, George ponders in this book where mankind had gone wrong and what could be done about it. During the nineteenth century, the circulation of Progress and Poverty was second only to that of the Bible. To this day, no other book on economics has been as widely distributed.

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6.2.5 Government as Catalyst of Economic Growth

Reading: Project Gutenberg’s version of John Stuart Mill’s The Principles of Political Economy
Link: Project Gutenberg’s version of John Stuart Mill’s The Principles of Political Economy (HTML)

Instructions: Under “Book V: On the Influence of Governments,” please read “Chapter I. On The General Principles of Taxation.”

Note on the Text: Principles of Political Economy was one of the most important economics textbooks of the mid-nineteenth century. Besides discussing descriptive issues such as which nations tended to benefit more in a system of trade, Mill also discusses ideal systems of political economy and critiques proposed systems such as communism and socialism.

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6.3 Imperialism and Trade

6.3.1 Expanding American Influence Beyond Its Shores

Reading: History of Cuba’s version of “The Teller Amendment”
Link: History of Cuba’s version of “The Teller Amendment” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the text of the amendment.

Note on Text: The Spanish-American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, as the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence (then a Spanish colony). Entry into the war was somewhat controversial as it exposed U.S. imperialist tendencies. In order to reassure anti-imperialist elements on the eve of declaring war on Spain, Congress adopted a measure, sponsored by Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado, pledging that the United States would not annex Cuba. While the Teller amendment pledged that the United States would not annex Cuba, it did not prevent us from interfering in the internal affairs of Cuba after the war was over.

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Reading: Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook’s version of Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Man’s Burden” (1899)
Link: Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook’s version of Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Man’s Burden” (1899) (HTML)

Instructions:Read the brief introduction and then the entirety of this poem.

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6.3.2 Anti-Imperialist Sentiments

Reading: W.W. Norton and Company’s version of “Platform of the Anti-Imperialist League” (1899)
Link: W.W. Norton and Company’s version of “Platform of the Anti-Imperialist League” (1899)

Instructions: Please read the League’s platform.

Note on Text: During the late 1800s, the United States acquired a number of offshore territories during the so called “Age of Imperialism.” Some of these lands were purchased (for example, the United States government purchased Alaska from Russia), while others were acquired as a result of military conflict, as was the case in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. During this era, the Anti-Imperialist League formed to stop the spread of American hegemony around the world.

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6.3.3 China and the Open Door Policy

Reading: Mount Holyoke College’s version of Secretary of State John Hay’s “The Open Door Note” (1899)
Link: Mount Holyoke College’s version of Secretary of State John Hay’s “The Open Door Note” (1899) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the text of Hay’s Open Door communiqué.

Note on the Text: In the late 1800s, many countries (including the United States) saw China as a clear imperialist opportunity. Although Americans appeared to have the “best interests” of China in mind in this document, Secretary Hay is really articulating America’s desire to not be left out of the Chinese markets, even though America was not seen as a major “world power” at that time.

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6.4 Immigration and Racism

6.4.1 America—“Land of Freedom and Opportunity”

Reading: Emma Lazarus’ poem, “The New Colossus” (1883)
Link: Emma Lazarus’ poem, “The New Colossus” (1883) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the introduction, the background of the poem on the first page and the full-text of the poem.

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6.4.2 Nativism and Backlash: American Restrictions on Immigration

Reading: The Atlantic Monthly (digital edition): Francis A. Walker’s “Restriction of Immigration” (1896)
Link: The Atlantic Monthly (digital edition): Francis A. Walker’s “Restriction of Immigration ” (1896) (PDF)

Instructions: Read this article by Francis Walker, originally published in the Atlantic Monthly in June of 1896.

Note on the Text: Francis Walker was a well-respected scholar in the 1890s. This essay expresses the sentiments of many Americans at the time concerning the need for restricting immigration. This essay was written just a year before Congress passed a bill authored by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge that required all immigrants to be literate in English. (The bill primarily targeted “new immigrants” from Southern and Eastern Europe.) It was later vetoed by President Grover Cleveland.

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6.4.3 The Continued Plight of African Americans

Reading: History Matters’ version of “The Atlanta Compromise Speech” (1895)
Link: History Matters’ version of “The Atlanta Compromise Speech” (1895)

Instructions: Please read the short introduction and text of Washington’s speech at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia.

Note on the Text: During this speech, Washingtonpublicly accepted disfranchisement and social segregation as long as whites would allow black economic progress, educational opportunity, and justice in the courts. Washington’s overall philosophy of accommodation rather than agitation of the white racist hierarchy was not without its critics, then and today. For example, W. E. B. DuBois (see below) believed the speech was insufficiently committed to the pursuit of social and political equality for blacks.

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Reading: PBS’ “The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow”: “W. E. B DuBois”
Link: PBS’ “The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow”: “W. E. B DuBois” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the short biography of DuBois.

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Reading: Yale University: Avalon Project’s version of W. E. B. Dubois’s The Souls of Black Folks
Link: Yale University: Avalon Project’s version of W. E. B. Dubois’s The Souls of Black Folks (HTML)

Instructions: Please read “The Forethought” and Chapters I–III of DuBois’s book.

Note on the Text: On the launch of this groundbreaking treatise, DuBois stated, “For the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.” Setting out to show to the reader “the strange meaning of being black here in the dawning of the Twentieth Century,” DuBois explains the meaning of the emancipation, and its effect, and his views on the role of the leaders of his race.

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Unit 7: Progressivism and The New Deal

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Americans began to question the wisdom and priorities of those leading the industrial revolution. Rapid industrialization yielded great wealth and opportunity for some, but was also blamed for the increases in poverty, class divisions, violence, and racism related to immigration. In this unit, you will study the resultant focus on social and economic issues and the rise of a variety of reform movements.

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Unit 7 Learning Outcomes show close

7.1 Responses to Industrialism

7.1.1 A Rejection of the “Gilded Age”

Reading: History Matters version of Lincoln Steffens’s “The Shame of the Cities” (1904)
Link: History Matters version of Lincoln Steffens’s “The Shame of the Cities” (1904) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the short summary and the “Introduction and Some Conclusions” to Steffens’s seminal piece on government corruption in major U.S. cities.

Note on the Text: Steffens, one of the most prominent “muckrakers” of the early twentieth century, sought to bring about political reform by appealing to the emotions of Americans and trying to provoke outrage with examples of corrupt governments throughout urban America.

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Reading: The Our Documents Initiative’s version of “Sherman Anti-Trust Act” (1890)
Link:The Our Documents Initiative’s version of “Sherman Anti-Trust Act” (1890) (HTML)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info” about this landmark legislation. Then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” and read the text of the Act.

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7.1.2 Class Conflict and Labor Relations

Reading: University of Maryland’s version of Samuel Gompers’s “What Does Labor Want?” (1893)
Link: University of Maryland’s version of Samuel Gompers’s “What Does Labor Want?” (1893) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the position paper from Gompers, which was read before the International Labor Congress in Chicago, Illinois.

Note on the Text: Gompers was a labor union leader and the founder of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). As its president nearly continuously between 1886 and 1924, Gompers led the labor movement in achieving solid gains for workers.

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7.2 Third Parties in the Gilded Age

Reading: University of Virginia: The American Studies Department’s “The Fall of Third Parties in the Gilded Age.”
Link: University of Virginia: The American Studies Department’s “The Fall of Third Parties in the Gilded Age.” (HTML)

Instructions: Begin by clicking on the “Introduction” hyperlink in the middle of the page. Read the Introduction and then the following four sections: “Background,” “Major Party Incorporations,” “Internal Problems,” and “Aftermath.” Note that this reading will cover the material you need to know for subunits 7.2.1–7.2.2.

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7.2.1 The Greenback Party

Note: This subunit is covered by the reading assigned beneath subunit 7.2. The reading “Historical Background” will provide more substantive information about the Greenback Party.

7.2.2 The People’s Party (The Populists)

Note: This subunit is covered by the reading assigned beneath subunit 7.2.
The reading “Historical Background” will provide more substantive information about the People’s Party.

7.3 The Progressive Era

7.3.1 Progressivism

Web Media: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 52—The Progressive Impulse” Presentation
Link: University of California College Prep’s US History Course: “Unit 7: Isolationist to World Power, Chapter 17: Reform, Lesson 52—The Progressive Impulse” Presentation (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please click on “Start Lesson” to launch the video. View the first section (“Origins of Progressivism”) and the second section (“Municipal, State, and National Reforms”) of the presentation. Also, read the accompanying text.

Note on the Media: Section 1of this presentation focuses on the origins of the Progressive Movement in the United States and the broad objectives of Progressive reformers.

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7.3.2 The Progressive Party of 1912

Reading: “Progressive Platform of 1912”
Link: “Progressive Platform of 1912” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of the Progressive Party’s national platform for the election of 1912.

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7.4 Other Political & Reform Movements

7.4.1 Communism and Socialism

Reading: Google Books: Robert L. Heilbroner’s The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers
Link: Google Books: Robert L. Heilbroner’s The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers (ePub format)

Instructions: Please read Chapter 6 of the book, entitled “The Inexorable System of Karl Marx.”

Note on the Text: Heilbroner offers an insightful analysis of Marx’s The Communist Manifesto, in which heattempts to explain the goals of Communism, as well as the theory underlying this movement. Manifestois widely recognized as one of the world’s most influential political manuscripts.

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Reading: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics: Robert Heilbroner’s “Socialism”
Link: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics: Robert Heilbroner’s “Socialism” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the webpage in its entirety.

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Reading: Academic American History’s version of “The Socialist Party Platform of 1912”
Link: Academic American History’s version of “The Socialist Party Platform of 1912” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the text of the Socialist Party’s national platform for the presidential election of 1912.

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7.4.2 Anarchism

Reading: Berkeley Digital Library’s version of Emma Goldman’s “Anarchy: What It Really Stands For” (1917)
Link: Berkeley Digital Library’s version of Emma Goldman’s “Anarchy: What It Really Stands For” (1917) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the essay by Goldman, considered one of the most important figures in the history of anarchism. Anarchism as a political ideology posited the notion that society should have no government, laws, police, or other authority, and that the violent overthrow of oppressive institutions was sometimes necessary. Few as they were in number, anarchists were viewed with alarm by the American community when the movement experienced a resurgence in the late nineteenth century. In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt denounced anarchism as “a crime against the whole human race.”

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7.4.3 Muckraking and Social Reform

Reading: Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906)
Link: Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) (HTML)

Also available in:
ePub format on Google Books

Note on the Text: Sinclair is known as one of the leading reform-oriented journalists who wrote largely for popular magazines, also known as “muckrakers” in the early twentieth century. He wrote The Jungle with the intention of portraying the life of the immigrant in the United States, but readers were more concerned with the large portion of the book pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking industry, and the book is now often interpreted and taught as a journalist’s exposure of the poor health conditions within the industry at that time.

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7.4.4 The Struggle for Women’s Suffrage

Reading: University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law’s version of Susan B. Anthony’s “Is it a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?” (1873)
Link: University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law’s version of Susan B. Anthony’s “Is it a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?” (1873) (HTML)

Also available in:
PDF

Instructions: Please read the text of Anthony’s speech.

Note on the Text: Susan B. Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the late nineteenth century women’s suffrage movement. This speech was delivered after she (illegally) voted in the 1872 presidential election. She was indicted in Albany, New York, and tried in the following year. She took her case to the court of public opinion in a direct effort to reach potential jurors and leads her audience through a reasoned set of arguments based on the nation’s founding documents. Anthony died fourteen years before passage of the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote.
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Reading: Academic American History’s version of Jane Addams’s “Utilization of Women in City Government” (1907)
Link: Academic American History’s version of Jane Addams’s “Utilization of Women in City Government” (1907) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the article in its entirety.

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7.5 American Relations with the World and the First World War

7.5.1 The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

Reading: The Our Documents Initiative’s version of Theodore Roosevelt’s “Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine” (1905)
Link:The Our Documents Initiative’s version of Theodore Roosevelt’s “Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine” (1905) (HTML)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info” about this landmark foreign policy proclamation. Then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” and read the actual text of Roosevelt’s speech.

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7.5.2 “Neutrality”

Reading: PBS’ American Experience’s version of Woodrow Wilson’s “Declaration of Neutrality” (1914)
Link: PBS’ American Experience’s version of Woodrow Wilson’s “Declaration of Neutrality” (1914) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read Wilson’s speech delivered before the U.S. Senate in which he warns citizens not to take sides in World War I for fear of endangering wider U.S. policy.

Note on the Text: In the summer of 1914, the nations of Europe took up arms against one another in a war that came to be known as World War I.
The United States maintained neutrality despite increasing pressure placed on Wilson after the Germans torpedoed a passenger liner with Americans on board. Soon after, Congress formally announced America’s entry into the war.

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7.5.3 America in the Great War

Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Woodrow Wilson’s “Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Germany” (1917)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Woodrow Wilson’s “Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Germany” (1917) (HTML)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info,” then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” and read the text of Wilson’s speech.

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7.5.4 Peace Time: Wilson, the Fourteen Points, and the League of Nations

Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” (1918)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” (1918) (HTML)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info,” then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” and read the text of Wilson’s speech.

Also available in:
HTML

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Reading: The First World War.com’s version of Henry Cabot Lodge’s “Speech on the League of Nations” (1919)
Link: The First World War.com’s version of Henry Cabot Lodge’s “Speech on the League of Nations” (1919) (HTML)

Instructions: Read the brief introductory information about Henry Cabot Lodge and then read the text of his August 12, 1919 speech.

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7.6 Post-War America, the Great Depression, and New Deal Liberalism

7.6.1 Anti-Immigrant and Anti-Communist Sentiments

Reading: W.W. Norton and Company’s version of A. Mitchell Palmer’s “The Case Against the Reds” (1920)
Link: W.W. Norton and Company’s version of A. Mitchell Palmer’s “The Case Against the Reds” (1920) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the short introduction and text of Palmer’s essay.

Note on the Text: The climate of repression against political dissent that the government established during World War I continued after the war ended: This time, government interest focused on communists, Bolsheviks, and “reds,” generally. With a broad base of support, Palmer intensified his attacks on dissent, although some of his opponents claimed that he devised the “Red Scare” to help him become the Democratic presidential candidate in 1920.

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Reading: Charles University’s, Institute of International Studies’ version of the “Immigrant Act of 1924”
Link: Reading: Charles University’s Institute of International Studies’ version of the “Immigrant Act of 1924” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the entire text of the legislation.

Note on the Text: This act was largely a legislative expression of the xenophobia—particularly toward eastern and southern European immigrants—that swept America in the 1920s. “It has become necessary that the United States cease to function as an asylum,” declared Congressman Albert Johnson (the author of the bill), during debate on the measure. The bill passed by large margins in both the House and Senate.

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7.6.2 Herbert Hoover: American Individualism & “True Liberalism”

Reading: Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association’s version of Herbert Hoover’s “American Individualism” (1922)
Link: Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association’s version of Herbert Hoover’s “American Individualism” (1922) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the excerpt of Hoover’s pamphlet.

Note on the Text: Many historians believe that Hoover’s perspective in his writings during this time was greatly influenced by his humanitarian service before and after World War I. What appears to have been his primary focus when writing American Individualism was the means by which lasting peace could be achieved and the ravages of war avoided.

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7.7 The Legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt

7.7.1 FDR: The Great Depression and New Deal Liberalism

Reading: National Archives: “Teaching With Documents: FDR’s First Inaugural Address”
Link: Reading: National Archives: “Teaching With Documents: FDR’s First Inaugural Address” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the background summary on FDR’s famous speech.

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Reading: Project Gutenberg’s version of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “First Inaugural Address” (1933)
Link: Project Gutenberg’s version of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “First Inaugural Address” (1933) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the short introduction in addition to the text of Roosevelt’s speech.

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Reading: The New School: “The Keynesian Impact on Public Policy”
Link: The New School: “The Keynesian Impact on Public Policy” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the on-line overview of Keynesian Economics.

Note on the text: This reading provides an important historical perspective on Keynesian economics worldwide. It is important, however, to pay particular attention to the definition of Keynesianism and its impact on American public policy. Try to connect the theories proposed by Keynes to the actions taken by FDR during the New Deal.

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7.7.2 Reactions to the Rise of “Big Government”

Reading: Hoover Association’s version of Herbert Hoover’s “This Challenge to Liberty” Speech (1936)
Link: Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association’s version of Herbert Hoover’s “This Challenge to Liberty ” Speech (1936) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of former president Herbert Hoover’s speech on the eve of the 1936 presidential election.

Note on the Text: After losing the presidential election in 1932 to FDR, Herbert Hoover went into political exile, watching the development of the New Deal from the sidelines. Hoover believed that the New Deal’s unprecedented expansion of federal power to be a serious threat to America’s heritage of liberty, and he made a series of speeches attacking the policy.

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7.7.3 FDR and International Relations Leading To American Involvement in WWII

Reading: Mount Holyoke College’s version of the U.S. Congress’s “Neutrality Act of 1935” (HTML)
Link: Mount Holyoke College’s version of the U.S. Congress’s “Neutrality Act of 1935” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the text of the law passed by Congress and signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Note on the Text: Between 1935 and 1939, Congress passed four neutrality acts to limit America’s involvement in foreign conflicts in response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia that eventually led to World War II. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and noninterventionism in the United States following its costly involvement in World War I and sought to ensure that the United States would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts.

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Reading: Mount Holyoke College’s version of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Arsenal of Democracy Address” (1940)
Link: Mount Holyoke College’s version of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Arsenal of Democracy Address” (1940)

Instructions: Please read the entire text of FDR’s radio address.

Note on the Text: The Lend-Lease Act, approved by Congress in 1941, gave President Roosevelt virtually unlimited authority to direct military supplies to help Great Britain fight against Nazi Germany without violating America’s official position of neutrality. Like other New Deal programs, Lend-Lease proposed a vastly expanded role for the U.S. government,particularly the President, and “Arsenal of Democracy” became a popular propaganda slogan.

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7.7.4 FDR and America at War

Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Annual Message (Four Freedoms) to Congress” (1941)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Annual Message (Four Freedoms) to Congress” (1941) (HTML)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info,” then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” and read the text of FDR’s speech.

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Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan” (1941)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan” (1941) (HTML)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info,” then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” and read the text of FDR’s speech.
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7.7.5 WWII: Victory and Aftermath

Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Harry S. Truman’s “Truman Doctrine” (1941)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Harry S. Truman’s “Truman Doctrine” (1947)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info,” then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” and read the text of FDR’s address before a joint session of Congress.

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Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of George C. Marshall’s “Marshall Plan Speech” (1947)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of George C. Marshall’s “Marshall Plan Speech” (1947) (HTML)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info,” then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” and read the text by U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall’s speech given at Harvard University on June 5, 1947.

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Unit 8: Post-War America and Seeds of Civil Unrest

After World War II, American culture and politics forever changed. In the 1950s, the country went through an “age of conformity,” where many in society and politics looked to instill American ideals and values upon all citizens. In addition, the 1950s gave rise to national and international fears of communist expansion and atomic war. The events of the 1950s created a need for change among many in society, change that would be brought about by a new decade and new struggles. In this unit you will explore topics that occurred in the post-war era in the United States and social and political conditions that were setting the stage for change in the 1960s.

Unit 8 Time Advisory show close

Unit 8 Learning Outcomes show close

8.1 Communism and the Cold War

8.1.1 “Combating Communists at Home”: McCarthyism

Web Media: PBS Web Media: Open Mind, “The File and McCarthyism: A Personal Odyssey” (March 7, 1984)
Link: PBS Web Media: Open Mind, “The File and McCarthyism: A Personal Odyssey” (March 7, 1984) (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Watch the Penn Kimball interview (28 minutes) on Open Mind with Richard Heffner.

Note on the Web Media: Open Mind is a Public Broadcast Station (PBS) television show that began in 1956. In this clip, host Richard Heffner interviews author Penn Kimball about his experience in the McCarthy era and the recent release of his book, The File. Although this show’s airdate is 1984, a great deal of the interview contextualizes the McCarthy era and American political thought in general.

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Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of “Senate Resolution 301: Censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy” (1954)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of “Senate Resolution 301: Censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy” (1954)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info,” then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” to read the text of the resolution.

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8.1.2 Combating Communism Abroad: Eisenhower’s Domino Theory

Reading: President Eisenhower’s News Conference (“Domino Theory”) (April 7, 1954)
Link: President Eisenhower’s News Conference (“Domino Theory”) (April 7, 1954) (PDF)

Instructions: Please read the text of Eisenhower’s press conference.

Note on the Text: The domino theory was used by Eisenhower and successive presidents during the Cold War to clarify the need for American intervention around the world.The theory stated that the “fall” of a noncommunist state to communism would precipitate the fall of noncommunist governments in neighboring states.

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Reading: The History Guide’s version of George F. Kennan’s “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” (1947)
Link: The History Guide’s version of George F. Kennan’s “The Sources of Soviet Conduct” (1947)

Instructions: Please read the short introduction and the text of Kennan’s essay.

Note on the Text: George Kennan was best known as “the father of containment” and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War. Historians consider this essay to be one of the foundation texts of the Cold War policy. How does Kennan suggest the United States deal with Soviet expansionism? Why does he favor that particular stance? Do you agree or disagree?

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8.1.3 The Arms Race

Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Farewell Address” (1961)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Farewell Address” (1961) (HTML)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info,” then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” to read the speech in which President Eisenhower famously identified the military-industrial complex, warning that the growing fusion between corporations and the armed forces posed a threat to democracy.

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8.2 Segregation and Race Relations

8.2.1 Desegregation of the Armed Forces

Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Harry Truman’s “Executive Order 9981” (1948)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Harry Truman’s “Executive Order 9981” (1948) (HTML)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info,” then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” to read the groundbreaking executive order which lifted the ban on segregation in the U.S. armed forces.

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8.2.2 Brown v. Board: Decision and Reaction

Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ( (HTML)

Instructions: Please begin by reading the “Document Info,” then, under the “current document” drop-down menu, click on “document transcript” to read this landmark Supreme Court decision.

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Reading: “The Southern Manifesto” (1956)
Link: “The Southern Manifesto ” (1956) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of the “Southern Manifesto” from the Congressional Record, March 12, 1956.

Terms of use: The material above is available in the public domain.
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8.2.3 Imposing Federal Authority: The Showdown in Little Rock

Web Media: The History Channel’s “Little Rock Nine”
Link: The History Channel’s “Little Rock Nine” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Watch the 2:28 minute video clip on the Little Rock Nine to learn more about the background of the struggle to integrate Central High School in 1957.

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Reading: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Executive Order 10730: Desegregation of Central High School” (1957)
Link: The Our Document Initiative’s version of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Executive Order 10730: Desegregation of Central High School” (1957) (HTML)

Instructions: Read the background information about Eisenhower’s Executive Order 10730 and then click on the image to read the original text in its entirety.

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8.3 The Presidency of John F. Kennedy

8.3.1 The Religion Question”: The First Catholic President

Reading: NPR’s version of John F. Kennedy’s “Address to Protestant Ministers” (1960)
Link: NPR’s version of John F. Kennedy’s “Address to Protestant Ministers” (1960) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the transcript from Kennedy’s religion speech. You can also listen to the speech by clicking on the hyperlink at the top of the page.

Note on the Text: In this speech, JFK addresses the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on the issue of his religion. Kennedy hoped to calm the fears of many Protestant Christians who remained concerned about the prospect of a Catholic president. He succeeded in doing so by reaffirming the separation of church and state, decrying any mixing of religion and politics, and vowing, if elected, never to let his religious views influence his decisions as president. Why do you think the speech was so effective in allaying the fears of Protestant Christians?

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8.3.2 Inaugural Address: Ideals and Optimism

Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of John F. Kennedy’s “Inaugural Address” (January 20, 1961)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of John F. Kennedy’s “Inaugural Address” (January 20, 1961) (Adobe Flash)

Also available in:
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Instructions: Watch this video of President Kennedy’s 1961 Inaugural Address, which is widely considered to be among the best presidential inauguration speeches in American history.

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8.3.3 The Peace Corps

Web Media: Universal News Reels: “Peace Corps, Kennedy Outlines Program, 1961/3/13”
Link: Universal News Reels: “Peace Corps, Kennedy Outlines Program, 1961/3/13”

Instructions: Watch the news reel from 1961 outlining the Peace Corps. How does Kennedy’s support of the creation of this agency reflect the sentiment behind the famous line from his inaugural address (above): “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country”?

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8.3.4 The Space Race

Web Media: YouTube Video, John F. Kennedy’s “Rice Graduation Address (We Choose to Go to the Moon)” (1962)
Link: YouTube Video, John F. Kennedy’s “Rice Graduation Address (We Choose to Go to the Moon)” (1962)

Instructions: Watch this clip of President Kennedy’s speech at Rice University in 1962.

Note on the Web Media: The transcript of the speech (HTML) is also available for your reference.

Note on the Text: In 1961, President Kennedy announced the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the moon before the end of the decade. He knew it to be a very challenging technological feat, but it was an area of space exploration in which the United States actually had a potential lead. Kennedy felt great pressure to have the United States catch up to and overtake the Soviet Union in the “space race.” Thus the Cold War is the primary contextual lens through which many historians now view Kennedy's speech.

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8.3.5 The Arms Race Continues: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Web Media: The Film Archives: John F. Kennedy’s “Special Presidential Address on the Cuban Missile Crisis” (October 22, 1962)
Link: The Film Archives: John F. Kennedy’s “Special Presidential Address on the Cuban Missile Crisis” (October 22, 1962) (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Watch parts I and II of the video of President Kennedy’s televised presidential address on the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Note on the Text: In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. After many long and difficult meetings, Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade around Cuba. The aim of this “quarantine” was to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more military supplies. He demanded the removal of the missiles already there and the destruction of the sites. On October 22, President Kennedy spoke to the nation about the crisis in a televised address. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear war.

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8.3.6 The Assassination of JFK

Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Address to Joint Session of Congress” (November 27, 1963)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Address to Joint Session of Congress” (Adobe Flash) (November 27, 1963)

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Instructions: Watch this video of President Johnson’s address after the assassination of President Kennedy where he talks about carrying out the work and wishes of Kennedy and coming together as one nation.

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Unit 9: The Sixties: Rebellion and Backlash

Cultural and political changes converged in the 1960s to create a situation seen by some as a welcome social revolution and by others as an unwanted, unpatriotic departure from established American ideals. In this unit you will learn about the changes in the political and social climate in the United States that would greatly influence American political thought. As you learn about the various revolutions in thought and their philosophical champions, consider the ways in which these movements affect contemporary political thought.

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9.1 Student Radicals and the Age of Campus Protest

9.1.1 The Anti-War Movement

Reading: University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry on-line digital archive’s version of Mark Barringer’s “The Anti-War Movement in the United States”
Link: University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry on-line digital archive’s version of Mark Barringer’s “The Anti-War Movement in the United States” (HTML)

Instructions: Read the text for background information about university student protest in the 1960s. Note that this reading will cover the material you need to know for subunits 9.1.2-9.1.3.
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9.1.2 Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

Reading: Students for a Democratic Society’s (SDS) “Port Huron Statement” (1962)
Link: Students for a Democratic Society’s (SDS) “Port Huron Statement” (1962) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of the Port Huron Statement.

Note on the text: The Port Huron Statement was written after a late 1962 gathering of college students near Port Huron, Michigan. This group originally came together to discuss politics, but their discussions included a number of important topics in American life, including civil rights and foreign policy. At the end of the four-day retreat, the students drafted this statement to express their overall sentiments on the political and social state of life in America. This document became the underlying foundation for student protest and the rise of the student “new left” in the 1960s.

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9.1.3 The Counterculture and Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll

Reading: Boundless: “Counterculture”
Link: Boundless: “Counterculture” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the entry above which describes the different settings in which counterculture manifested itself in the 1960s.

Reading this entry should take approximately 1 hour.

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9.2 Feminism and the Women’s Movement

9.2.1 Waves of Feminism

Reading: The Chicago Women’s Liberation Union (CWLU)’s online version of Ellen DuBois’ “Feminism Old Wave and New Wave” (1971)
Link: The Chicago Women’s Liberation Union (CWLU)’s online version of Ellen DuBois’ “Feminism Old Wave and New Wave” (1971) (HTML)

Instructions: Read the text of DuBois’ essay from the CWLU’s “Herstory Project: Classic Feminism Writings.” Note that this reading will cover the material you need to know for subunits 9.2.2-9.2.4.
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9.2.2 National Organization for Women

Reading: National Organization for Women’s “Statement of Purpose” (1966)
Link: National Organization for Women’s “Statement of Purpose” (1966) (HTML)

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Instructions: Please read the statement, written by feminist activists Betty Friedan and Pauli Murray. NOW is the largest feminist organization in the United States.

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9.2.3 The Equal Rights Amendment

Reading: The “Equal Rights Amendment”
Link: “The Equal Rights Amendment” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of the legislation and the brief introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Click the link at the bottom of the page to read the full historical account of the amendment.

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9.2.4 Radical Feminism

Reading: “No More Miss America!” (1968)
Link: “No More Miss America!” (1968) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of this 1968 press release and the “Ten Points We Protest.”

Note on the Text: This press release is made available via Redstockings’ on-line archive. Redstockings is a grassroots activist “think-tank” working on feminist issues in modern society. This press release is an example of some of the more “radical” thoughts and actions that women have taken.

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9.3 From Civil Rights to Black Power

9.3.1 Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): Sit-ins, Freedom Rides and Freedom Summer

Reading: SNCC’s “Position Paper: The Basis of Black Power”
Link: SNCC’s “Position Paper: The Basis of Black Power” (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of SNCC’s position paper on “black power” in the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Note on the text: The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was created in 1960 after the first black college students’ sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. Once SNCC was created, their non-violent protests extended beyond sit-ins in North Carolina and included a number of other forms of protest throughout the country. Many influential black leaders in American politics today got their political start in the SNCC movement; its actions and philosophy has impacted and continues to impact American political discourse even today.

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Web Media: YouTube: The History Channel’s History Lost and Found: “Woolworth Lunch Counter Sit-in Civil Rights Protest”
Link: YouTube: History Channel’s History Lost and Found:“Woolworth Lunch Counter Sit-in Civil Rights Protest” (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the 6:12 minute clip on the Woolworth Lunch Counter Sit-in and pay close attention to the political discourse and racial discrimination that were a part of American politics and culture in the 1960s.

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9.3.2 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Non-Violent Protest and The March on Washington

Reading: Ashland University: Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs’ version of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (April 16, 1963)
Link: Ashland University: Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs’ version of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (April 16, 1963) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of King’s profound “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail.”

Note on the Text: Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote this letter from jail after being arrested for non-violent protest against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. King was initially responding to a written statement by white Alabama clergymen who called for peace and asked protestors to “appeal to law and order and common sense” (Statement by Alabama Clergymen: “A Call to Unity,” 1963) by calling off the demonstrations. King expresses his thoughts on this proposal and his sense of urgency for an end to racial segregation.

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Web Media: American Rhetoric’s version of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” (1963)
Link: American Rhetoric’s version of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech” (1963) (HTML)

Instructions: Listen to the audio or read the transcript of King’s address at the March on Washington, August 28, 1963.

Note on the Text: “The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” was a non-violent rally of over 200,000 individuals who came together in support of civil rights. Although many performers and leaders spoke, King’s speech was perhaps the most memorable and influential of the day.

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9.3.3 Malcolm X and Black Nationalism

Reading: Double Consciousness: “Malcolm X on Black Nationalism and White Privilege”
Link: Double Consciousness: “Malcolm X on Black Nationalism and White Privilege” (PDF)

Instructions: Read this article.

Reading this article should take approximately 20 minutes.

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Reading: Oxford African American Studies Center’s “Black Nationalism and Independence Movements”
Link: Oxford African American Studies Center’s “Black Nationalism and Independence Movements” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the summary and then click on the hyperlink at the bottom to view the photo essay on the history of black independence movements.

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Reading: Ashland University: Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs’ version of Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” (April 3, 1964)
Link: Ashland University: Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs’ version of Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” (April 3, 1964) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech.

Note on the Text: This speech was delivered by Malcolm X at a black-Methodist church in Cleveland, Ohio. The speech demonstrates the more violent undertones that were emerging in the civil rights movement as individuals tired of non-violent protest.

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9.4 The Transformative Presidency of London B. Johnson

9.4.1 Civil Rights and Voting Rights

Reading: PBS’ American Experience: LBJ: “Domestic Politics” and “Foreign Affairs”
Link: PBS’ American Experience: LBJ: “Domestic Politics” (HTML) and “Foreign Affairs” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the above two articles on the public policies of Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency. Note that these readings will cover the material you need to know for subunits 9.4.2-9.4.3

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Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Remarks upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill” (July 2, 1964)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Remarks upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill” (July 2, 1964) (Adobe Flash and HTML)

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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of President Johnson’s 1964 speech.

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Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Speech Before Congress on Voting Rights” (March 15, 1965)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Speech Before Congress on Voting Rights” (March 15, 1965) (Adobe Flash and HTML)

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Instructions: Please watch this video or read the text of President Johnson’s 1965 speech. After reading the above two speeches, consider why Johnson so aggressively took up the mantle of civil rights. On one hand, Johnson has been credited with being one of the most important figures in the civil rights movement. However, some critics believe that he was merely an unprincipled politician who used the civil rights issue when he realized the worth of the “Black Vote.” With which view do you agree more? Why?

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9.4.2 Social Reforms

Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “State of the Union” (January 8, 1964)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “State of the Union” (Adobe Flash and HTML) (January 8, 1964)

Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of President Johnson’s 1964 speech.

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Web Media: Web Media: PBS’ American Experience: LBJ’s “War on Poverty”
Link: PBS’ American Experience: LBJ’s “War on Poverty” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please watch the two-minute video clip from the documentary.

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Reading: Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum’s version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Speech on the Great Society” (May 22, 1964)
Link: Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum’s version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Speech on the Great Society” (May 22, 1964) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the text of Johnson’s speech given at the University of Michigan.

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9.4.3 Continuing Conflict: The Vietnam War

Web Media: PBS’ American Experience: LBJ’s “Johnson’s War”
Link: PBS’ American Experience: LBJ’s “Johnson’s War” (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Please watch the three-minute video clip from the documentary.

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Reading: Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum’s version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Peace Without Conquest Speech” (April 7, 1965)
Link: Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum’s version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Peace Without Conquest Speech” (April 7, 1965) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the text of Johnson’s speech given at Johns Hopkins University where he reaffirms his commitment for U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Although his speech failed to bring peace to Southeast Asia, it was successful in temporarily fending off critics enough for the administration to escalate the war. Many historians believe LBJ’s speech exemplifies the powers and danger of rhetoric.

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Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Remarks on Decision not to Seek Re-Election” (March 31, 1968)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Remarks on Decision not to Seek Re-Election” (March 31, 1968) (Adobe Flash and HTML)

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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of President Johnson’s 1968 speech.

Note on the Web Media: President Johnson’s speech was made in the midst of continued protest and anti-war sentiment across the nation. Opposition to the war continued to grow, especially after the Tet Offensive and due to the barrage of wartime images presented to American citizens on the nightly news. In this speech, LBJ underscores his desire for peace and an end to partisan conflict and announces his decision not to seek re-election in the 1968 Presidential contest.

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9.5 The Political Ideological Divide: Conservatives, Liberals, and Radicals

9.5.1 The Conservative Backlash

Reading: American Rhetoric’s version of Barry Goldwater’s “Speech Accepting the Republican Presidential Nomination” (1964)
Link: American Rhetoric’s version of Barry Goldwater’s “Speech Accepting the Republican Presidential Nomination” (1964) (HTML)

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Instructions: Read or listen to the text of Goldwater’s 1964 acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. To view in PDF or Flash format, please select the appropriate link just above the transcript of Goldwater's speech.

Note on the Text: The Goldwater speech was seen as the beginning of a more conservative Republican party. His candidacy marked the shift from a more northern-elitist Republican party, to a more southern, conservative tradition. Although the conservative revolution would not fully come to fruition until the election of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, the Goldwater speech serves as a clear delineation of the conservative backlash that grew out of the turmoil in the 1960s and in many ways continues in American politics today.

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9.5.2 Liberalism Continued

Reading: George McGovern’s “Announcing Candidacy for the 1972 Democratic Presidential Nomination” (January 18, 1971)
Link: George McGovern’s “Announcing Candidacy for the 1972 Democratic Presidential Nomination” (January 18, 1971) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of McGovern’s statement announcing his candidacy for the 1972 presidential election.

Note on the Text: McGovern was seen as the champion of liberal, democratic values. In his announcement, he outlines many of the liberal political ideas of the day. McGovern and the liberals, however, were not successful in their bid for a more liberal national political agenda; McGovern lost the 1972 election to Richard Nixon.

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9.5.3 The Ideology of the New Left

Reading: Marxists Internet Archive’s version of C. Wright Mills’ New Left Review article, “Letter to the New Left” (1960)
Link: Marxists Internet Archive’s version of C. Wright Mills’ New Left Review article, “Letter to the New Left” (1960) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the text of Mills’s article, “Letter to the New Left.” The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators, and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had focused mostly on labor unionization and questions of social class. In the United States, the “New Left” was associated with the Hippie movement and college campus protest movements.

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Unit 10: Contemporary American Thought

The turmoil of the 1960s created a shift in American society and in the general political discourse. This shift continues to greatly impact the political scene today. Contemporary American thought is not only influenced by the changes in the 1960s, but also the various traditional philosophy of American politics in general. In this unit you will learn about the immediate fall-out and impact of the 1960s and then explore how the current political climate relates to the political discourse of the past. By the end of this unit, it will be clear that although times may change, many of the original American political philosophies shape the contemporary political world.

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10.1 Vietnam, Nixon, and Watergate: The Decline of Public Trust in Government

10.1.1 The Legacy of Vietnam

Reading: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS): The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, “Online Focus: Vietnam’s Legacy” (April 5, 2000)
Link: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS): The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, “Online Focus: Vietnam’s Legacy”(April 5, 2000) (HTML)

Instructions: Read the transcript of the segment with Glen Ifill from the NewsHourtranscript of the show that aired April 5, 2000.

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10.1.2 Richard Nixon and Watergate

Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Richard M. Nixon’s “Address to the Nation on Presidential Tape Recordings” (April 29, 1974)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Richard M. Nixon’s “Address to the Nation on Presidential Tape Recordings” (April 29, 1974) (Adobe Flash or HTML)

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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of President Nixon’s 1974 address to the American public.

Note on the Web Media: Nixon’s speech describes the Watergate Scandal and his involvement therein. The speech sparked debate about “executive privilege” and the president’s right to keep White House tapes private. This issue would ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court (see the additional assigned reading below) after a lengthy investigation and the eventual resign of Nixon from the presidency.

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Reading: Oyez U.S. Supreme Court Media’s version of United States v. Nixon (1974)
Link: Oyez U.S. Supreme Court Media’s version of United States v. Nixon (1974) (HTML)

Instructions: First, please read the “Facts of the Case,” “Question,” and “Conclusion” summaries at the top of the page, then click on the link under “Opinion” on the right side of the page.

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10.2 The Rise of Conservatism

10.2.1 The New Right

Reading: University of Virginia: “The Sixties Project” version of Paul Lyons’s “Another Sixties: The New Right” (1994)
Link: University of Virginia: “The Sixties Project” version of Paul Lyons’s “Another Sixties: The New Right” (1994) (HTML)

Instructions: Read the text of Lyon’s essay, part I and part II. Note that this reading will cover the material you need to know for subunits 10.2.2-10.2.4.

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10.2.2 The “Silent Majority"

Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Richard M. Nixon’s “Address to the Nation on The War in Vietnam” (November 3, 1969)
Link University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Richard M. Nixon’s “Address to the Nation on The War in Vietnam” (November 3, 1969) (Adobe Flash or HTML)

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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of President Nixon’s 1969 address to the American public.

Note on the Web Media: Although this speech is a speech about Nixon’s plans for peace (and not the “withdrawal” of troops) in Vietnam, it is famous for the line in which Nixon calls upon the “silent majority” for support. Nixon appeals to the more conservative, sympathetic Americans who were not a part of the liberal, radical, or anti-establishment turmoil of the 1960s.

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10.2.3 The Legacy of the War on Poverty

Web Media: National Public Radio (NPR): All Things Considered, “The Legacy of the War on Poverty” (January 8, 2004)
Link National Public Radio (NPR): All Things Considered, “The Legacy of the War on Poverty” (January 8, 2004) (Adobe Flash)

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Instructions: Click on the “Listen” icon at the top of the article to hear Robert Siegel’s interview with University of Michigan professor, Sheldon Danziger.

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10.2.4 The Reagan Revolution

Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” (October 27, 1964)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” (October 27, 1964) (Adobe Flash or HTML)

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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of Ronald Reagan’s 1964 speech at the Republican National Convention.

Note on the Web Media: Reagan delivered this speech at Barry Goldwater’s nominating convention in 1964. Although Goldwater was not successful in his presidential bid, the convention was noted for defining the conservative agenda for the future of the Republican Party. Reagan’s speech catapulted him into the national and political spotlight.

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Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Ronald Reagan’s “Farewell Address” (January 11, 1989)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Ronald Reagan’s “Farewell Address” (January 11, 1989) (Adobe Flash or HTML)

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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of Ronald Reagan’s 1989 Farewell Address.

Note on the Web Media: After eight years as president, Reagan reflects on his legacy in his farewell address. Note the recurring themes from past political thought and rhetoric. Reagan’s discussion of the deficit and balanced budgets underscore two of the conservative Republican coalition’s major talking points. This coalition had come to power in the Reagan era.

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10.2.5 The Clinton Years and the Republican “Contract with America”

Reading: “Republican Contract with America” (1994)
Link: “Republican Contract with America” (1994) (PDF)

Instructions: Read the text of the Republican “Contract with America” from the 1994 mid-term elections.

Note on the Text: The “Contract with America” was drawn-up by Republicans in the House of Representatives in order to outline their conservative agenda to the American public. The Contract underscored the Republican commitment to fiscal conservatism and high moral and ethical standards in government. The Contract was successful in attracting voters to the Republican Party in the mid-term 1994 election; the Republicans won control of the House of Representatives for the first time in over 40 years.

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Reading: The American Prospect: Todd Gitlin’s “Straight From the Sixties: What Conservatives Owe the Decade They Hate” (May 1, 1996)
Link: The American Prospect: Todd Gitlin’s “Straight From the Sixties: What Conservatives Owe the Decade They Hate” (May 1, 1996) (HTML)

Instructions: Read the text of Gitlin’s 1996 article in The American Prospect.

Note on the Text: The American Prospect is a progressive political journal in the United States. Its mission is to “strengthen the capacity of activists, engaged citizens, and public officials to pursue new possibilities for social justice” (The American Prospect website, “Our Mission”).

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10.3 Women’s Rights, Religion, and Politics

10.3.1 Women’s Reproductive Rights

Reading: Gale Cengage Learning: “Roe v. Wade: 1973”
Link: Gale Cengage Learning: “Roe v. Wade: 1973” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the article on the background of the Roe case.

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Reading: Oyez U.S. Supreme Court Media’s version of Roe v. Wade (1973)
Link: Oyez U.S. Supreme Court Media’s version of Roe v. Wade (1974) (HTML)

Instructions: Please click on the link under “Opinion” on the right side of the page to read the court’s majority opinion.

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10.3.2 The “New Right” and the Rise of the Christian Coalition

Reading: W. W. Norton’s version of Jerry Falwell’s “Listen America” (1980)
Link: W. W. Norton’s version of Jerry Falwell’s “Listen America” (1980) (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the short introduction and text of Falwell’s speech.

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10.3.3 Same-Sex Marriage and the Rights of Homosexuals

Reading: The New York Times: Times Topics, “Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships” (August 13, 2010)
Link: The New York Times: Times Topics, “Same Sex-Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships” (August 13, 2010) (HTML)

Instructions: Read the “Times Topics” on same-sex marriage to gain a better understanding of the political climate surrounding the issue.

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Reading: The Washington Post: “Same-Sex Marriage Gains GOP Support” (August 27, 2010)
Link: The Washington Post: “Same-Sex Marriage Gains GOP Support” (August 27, 2010) (HTML)

Instructions: Read the article on the changing political dynamic of same-sex marriage in the American public.

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10.4 War Rhetoric: The Cold War and the War on Terrorism

10.4.1 Evil Empire and Star Wars

Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Ronald Reagan’s “Address to the British Parliament” (June 8, 1982)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Ronald Reagan’s “Address to the British Parliament” (June 8, 1982) (Adobe Flash or HTML)

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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of Ronald Reagan’s 1982 so called “evil empire” speech to the British Parliament.

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Reading: Faulkner University’s “Ronald Reagan, Speech on Military Power, February 26, 1986”
Link: Faulkner University’s “Ronald Reagan, Speech on Military Power, February 26, 1986” (HTML)

Instructions: Please read the speech in its entirety.

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10.4.2 An End to the Cold War

Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Ronald Reagan’s “Address at the Brandenburg Gate (Berlin Wall)” (June 12, 1987)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Ronald Reagan’s “Address at the Brandenburg Gate (Berlin Wall)” (June 12, 1987) (Adobe Flash or HTML)

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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of Ronald Reagan’s 1987 speech at the Berlin Wall.

Note on the Web Media: Although Reagan’s speech was given relatively little attention at the time, he expressed the American political sentiment of the times and the need for the communist collapse and the reunification of Germany. After the eventual opening of the wall and the fall of the Communist government in 1989, many looked back to Reagan’s speech as somewhat of a turning point.

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Web Media: YouTube: ABC News: World News Tonight, Peter Jennings’ “Celebration at the Berlin Wall” (November 10, 1989)
Link: YouTube: ABC News: World News Tonight, Peter Jennings’ “Celebration at the Berlin Wall” (November 10, 1989) (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the 03:55 minute video from the November 10, 1989 newscast with Peter Jennings.

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10.4.3 September 11, 2001

Web Media: YouTube: American Rhetoric, “George W. Bush-9/11 Bullhorn Speech”
Link: YouTube: American Rhetoric, “George W. Bush-9/11 Bullhorn Speech”

Instructions: Watch the 02:03 minute video of President Bush’s speech from Ground Zero.

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10.4.4 The War on Terror Begins

Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of George W. Bush’s “State of the Union Address” (January 29, 2002)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of George W. Bush’s “State of the Union Address” (January 29, 2002) (Adobe Flash or HTML)

Also available in:
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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of George Bush’s 2002 State of the Union.

Note on the Web Media: This speech was the first State of the Union Address after September 11. In it, Bush explains his doctrine for preventing and combating terror around the world and against the United States.

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10.5 Barack Obama: Hope and Reality

10.5.1 The Rise of Obama: 2004 DNC Convention Speech

Web Media: YouTube: “2004 DemConvention Speeches: Barack Obama.”
Link: YouTube: “2004 DemConvention Speeches: Barack Obama.” (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch this video of Barack Obama’s 2004 DNC Convention speech.

Note on the Web Media: Obama delivered this speech as a candidate for Senate in the state of Illinois. He was relatively unknown before the speech, but his delivery and bi-partisan message catapulted him onto the national scene.

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10.5.2 Election 2008: “Outsiders” and “Mavericks”

Web Media: Public Broadcasting Service: Frontline, “The Choice 2008” (October 14, 2008)
Link: Public Broadcasting Service: Frontline, “The Choice 2008” (October 14, 2008) (Adobe Flash)

Instructions: Watch this Frontline special on the historic 2008 Presidential Election (approx. 116 minutes).

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Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Barack Obama’s “Inaugural Address” (January 20, 2009)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Barack Obama’s “Inaugural Address” (January 20, 2009) (Adobe Flash or HTML)

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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address.

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10.5.3 Obama: Race and Religion

Web Media: The New York Times’ video and transcript of Barack Obama’s “Speech on Race” (March 18, 2008)
Link: The New York Times’ video and transcript of Barack Obama’s “Speech on Race” (March 18, 2008) (Adobe Flash and HTML)

Also available in:
YouTube

Instructions: Watch this video or read the transcript of Obama’s speech on race in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008.

Note on the Web Media: This speech was delivered after a series of race-related incidents in the 2008 Presidential race. In particular, Obama was responding to the racially-charged remarks made by his pastor, Reverend Wright, and the response that many Americans had to them. His speech underscores the progress that the U.S. has made on the issue of race relations, but indicates that the race question continues to be a part of the American social and political dialogue.

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Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Barack Obama’s “Address at Cairo University” (January 20, 2009)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Barack Obama’s “Address at Cairo University” (January 20, 2009) (Adobe Flash or HTML)

Also available in:
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Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of Barack Obama’s speech at Cairo University.

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10.5.4 Crisis and Governing: Economic Downturn and Health Care Reform

Web Media: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Barack Obama’s “Address to Congress on Health Care” (September 9, 2009)
Link: University of Virginia: The Miller Center for Public Affairs’ version of Barack Obama’s “Address to Congress on Health Care” (September 9, 2009) (Adobe Flash or HTML)

Also available in:
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YouTube

Instructions: Watch this video or read the text of Barack Obama’s speech to Congress.

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10.5.5 Election 2010: The Tea Party and the Current Political Discourse

Reading: The New Yorker: Sean Wilentz’s “Confounding Fathers: The Tea Party’s Cold War Roots” (October 18, 2010)
Link: The New Yorker: Sean Wilentz’s “Confounding Fathers: The Tea Party’s Cold War Roots” (October 18, 2010) (HTML)

Instructions: Read the text of Sean Wilentz’s October 2010 article in the New Yorker.

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Web Media: YouTube: ABC News “The Election Aftermath” (November 3, 2010)
Link: YouTube: ABC News “The Election Aftermath” (November 3, 2010) (YouTube)

Instructions: Watch the 07:15 minute ABC News video to capture more about the current political discourse.

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Final Exam

Final Exam: The Saylor Foundation's "POLSC301 Final Exam"
Link: The Saylor Foundation's "POLSC301 Final Exam"

Instructions: You must be logged into your Saylor Foundation School account in order to access this exam. If you do not yet have an account, you will be able to create one, free of charge, after clicking the link.
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American Political Thought

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