Instructor: Cindy Cates

Office: Linthicum Hall 118D

Phone: (410) 704-3586

E-Mail: ccates@towson.edu

cates.cindy@gmail.com

Home Page: (with on line syllabus): http://pages.towson.edu/cates/

Hours: Tues/Thurs: 11AM-12:15PM

POSC 103

Fall 2009

AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

Course Description from the Course Catalog:

POSC 103 AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT (3) Structure and

functions of the government of the United States and the problems involved in the extension of the scope of democratic government in our contemporary life. GenEd II.C.2.

Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes

The goal of the Department of Political Science is to provide students with an understanding of politics that will prepare them for further study in graduate or professional education or that will prepare them to enter the world of domestic or international public service or business. To meet this goal, the department seeks to accomplish the following four general student learning outcomes:

1. Substantive Knowledge about Politics - Describe the structure and nature of politics in international relations.

2. Critical Thinking Skills - Identify historical, cultural, and socio-economic assumptions that underlie understandings about politics and explain how they affect one’s perspectives and actions.

3. Affective Meanings of Politics - Explain the importance of politics in the attitudes and beliefs about current issues that affect local, national and international affairs.

4. Skills for Learning and Life - Present articulate and persuasive arguments about politics in written and oral communications.

POSC 103 addresses these learning outcomes through a critical survey of American government and politics. By the end of this course, students who attend class regularly, do all of the assigned readings, study diligently, complete every assignment with care, and engage enthusiastically in the subject matter should be able to do the following:

1. Be able to describe and understand how our system of government is structured and the theory behind that structure.

2. Be able to describe and understand methods of popular participation.

3. Be able to describe and understand the functions and politics of the three branches of government.

4. Be able to describe and understand how policy is produced

4. Be able to describe and understand the importance of, and limits to, civil liberties in American society.

6. Be able to think and write critically about political issues, leaders and policies, and the system that produces them.

This section of POSC 103 addresses these objectives by examining the constitutional and ideological foundations of American governance, comparing and contrasting those foundations to the actual operations of American government and politics. Toward those ends, we will utilize textbook, founding documents, several works of fiction, lecture, and vigorous discussion.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

FIRST REQUIREMENT:

Read the remaining requirements thoroughly

REMAINING REQUIREMENTS:

Required Texts

Available at bookstore:

1) Ginsberg, Lowi, Weir, and Spitzer, We the People, Essentials Edition. (7^th 2009).

2) Wright, Native Son*

3) Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

4) Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale*

*titles available as Kindle Books

Required online:

5) Madison, Hamilton, Jay, The Federalist Papers, available online at the following location**:

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fedpapers.html

**Also available in hardcopy for about $5.00, as a Kindle Book for 80¢, or as a smartphone application for 99¢.

Attendance: Your regular attendance in class is essential. You will be tested not only on the required readings, but on the lectures and discussions as well, some of which will include material not contained in the regular readings. Bottom line: over the years I have noticed that students who do not attend class regularly almost never receive As or Bs! Thus, you miss class at your own peril! As an added incentive, points can be earned for attendance. For this class, there will be 19 lecture/discussion meetings. For each class attended, students can earn 1/4 of a point toward their final grades (to earn this attendance point, you may arrive no more than 10 minutes late). Thus, a student who attends all possible classes can earn 5.25 added to the final grade.

Casual late comings and goings can be very disruptive, so, as a matter of common courtesy, I ask that you refrain from such "partial attendance." Please get to campus early enough to find a parking place before class and once class has begun, I would ask you to stay seated. So, please get drinks and take care of personal business before the class session begins. However, there may be those rare instances when tardiness or early departure is unavoidable. In such cases, I ask the individuals concerned to come and go as quietly and unobtrusively as possible. Leaving class in order to get drinks or “stretch legs” is not OK. Please be certain that all electronic devices, such as cell phones and beepers, are either turned off or in some silent mode. And, please, no texting during class. Also, unless absolutely necessary, laptops should not be used during class.

If at any time during the semester you would like to talk over the readings or other course-related issues with me, my door is open to you (preferably during office hours or by appointment). Of course, I am always available via email or, if you are a gmail client, we can chat whenever.

Readings: You are responsible for and can expect to be tested on all of the readings, including those in the text, the Federalist Papers, and the novels. For your own sakes, try not to get too far behind. In order to facilitate discussion and understanding, you should, of course, read assigned materials prior to class.

A Note on Reading the Novels: It is my belief that we often learn more about ourselves -- our society, its virtues and vices -- through the eyes of the novelist than we do through the prosaic pen of the academic text writer. Thus, three times during the course of this semester you will be asked to read and report on novels. (More on the mechanics of this in a while.) Hopefully, you will find reading these novels to be a welcome break from the routine and an uplifting experience to boot. In any event, they are to be taken quite seriously, as both papers and test questions will result from them.

A Note on Reading the Federalist Papers: Throughout the course of the semester, you will be asked to read a number of selections from The Federalist Papers, a series of articles written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. Although short, and often beautifully written, you probably will find these 200-plus year old documents difficult to read. The fact that they are demanding, however, does not excuse you from reading and (really) trying to understand them (you may have to read each one more than once). I feel that no serious student of American government can truly grasp our constitutional framework and governing principles without familiarizing her- or himself with these papers. Therefore, if you don't intend to give the assigned Federalist Papers serious consideration because "they're too hard," this course isn't for you. (By the way, you will be tested on them.) FOR A SUMMARY AND EXPLANATION OF RELEVANT FEDERALIST PAPERS SEE APPENDIX 1 TO THIS SYLLABUS!!!!!

General Participation: If at any time during regular class lectures you have questions or relevant comments, please do not hesitate to raise your hands and voice your questions/comments. Moreover, I will try to devote ample class time to general discussion. Such discussions will be vital to our understanding and learning, so please come prepared. Please note, also, that in cases of borderline or "close call" grades, intelligent class participation will be taken into consideration. (i.e., Jane Doe has been a consistent and thoughtful contributor to class discussions but has tested at the 78%, C+ level. She'll probably get her B.)

Evaluation: Your grade will be determined primarily on the basis of two in-class examinations and three book analyses. I will grade on a +/- scale (except for D and F), such that

Letter Grade	Range
A	92-100
A-	90-91
B+	88-89
B	82-87
B-	80-81
C+	78-79
C	72-77
C-	70-71
D	60-69
F	59 & below

EXAMS

You will be taking one midterm and one final exam. The midterm will be valued at 26% of your final grade, as will the final, for a total exam value of 52%. Both exams will be essay style and the final will be cumulative.

One week before the exams, you will be given a study guide containing 6 or 7 possible essay questions. Two of those questions will appear on your EXAMS. Because there will be no surprises (except which questions I ultimately pick), your answers are to be especially thorough (incorporating all relevant readings, discussions, and lectures through specific examples), well thought out, and well written. You will need to purchase exam booklets from the bookstore. Failure to take either of the two required exams will result in a grade of F for the entire course.

SHORT NOVEL ASSIGNMENTS

In conjunction with your reading of each of the novels, I will be asking you to submit a brief writing assignment. The assignments are listed below along with due dates. They should be between 3 FULL and 5 pages in length (not counting cover page), typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins, and in Times New Roman 12-point font, with no extra spaces between paragraphs. The work should be free of typos and grammatical errors. And each paper should use specific examples from the relevant book to illustrate your points. All papers should be submitted to me electronically as word processed attachments at cates.cindy@gmail.com. They should be in my mailbox by no later than 8AM on the day they are due. Each short assignment will be worth 16% of your final grade.

NATIVE SON. Please address the following: CLASSICAL LIBERALISM, the ideology behind our entire constitutional/governing framework, purports to be all about INDIVIDUAL empowerment. In turn, individuals are supposedly empowered through a system which fosters personal LIBERTY, legal EQUALITY, access to PROPERTY, and POPULAR CONTROL of government. How does this classical liberal model apply to Bigger's situation? Does it apply to Bigger's situation? Does Bigger benefit from any of these values? Does the presence or absence of these liberal values in Bigger's life explain his actions? In other words, I want you to be thinking about this book in the larger context of the American ideological, legal, and social milieu. Due date: September 24 no later than 8AM

FAHRENHEIT 451. In reading and writing on FAHRENHEIT 451 you should focus on the IMPACT OF GROUPS OR FACTIONS ON LIBERTY. Specifically, you will want to compare and contrast this work to FEDERALIST #10. To that end, think and write about the following: 1) In Federalist #10, Madison argues that while factions are inevitable, they might have interests adverse to the rights of other citizens. Madison, of course, argues that there is a solution to this dilemma. What is his solution? 2) The society in Fahrenheit finds other ways of dealing with the problem of factions. In contrast to Madison, how does the Fahrenheit regime seek to deal with factions and factional discord? Is it successful? 3) How does banning books and regulating television enable the government in Fahrenheit to deal with factions? 4) Beatty makes much of the fact that the people in his society are happy. Like Beatty, we often loosely bandy about the phrase, "pursuit of happiness." What does the phrase mean to you? What do you suppose Jefferson meant to convey by the phrase? With those thoughts in mind, were the residents of the Fahrenheit society happy? Due Date: November 3 no later than 8AM.

THE HANDMAID’S TALE. In considering this novel, we will be coming full circle back to a theme we began this course with: the need to balance individual liberty against social order. (LIBERTY v. ORDER) Thus, in general, your papers should analyze the novel from the perspective of what it has to say about this balance. Which of the two values is more prized in the Republic of Gilead (i.e., do those in power place a greater emphasis on individual liberty or social order)? Why (i.e., what led to the novel's situation)? And what is the effect of valuing one more than the other? Due Date: December 8 no later than 8AM

Plagiarism. Please note also (although I know this is an unnecessary warning for the great bulk of you) that these works are to be original. I take plagiarism very seriously. Copying from previously done papers (most of which I have copied and on file) or from portions of book reviews or from Spark or Cliff Notes (by the way, Spark or Cliff Notes are very unhelpful in dealing with these novels in the context of this course) or from one of the many Web term paper and plot summary sites (yes, I’ve got ‘em all bookmarked) or from other on line or hardcopy sources will result in an automatic F in the course and, quite possibly, University judicial proceedings, which, in turn, could result in expulsion. For explanations of plagiarism and how to avoid it, see

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/plagiarism.html

http://www.towson.edu/~jpomy/plagiarism.html

GRADE RECAP

Midterm Exam 26%

Final Exam 26%

Native Son Assignment 16%

Fahrenheit Assignment 16%

Handmaid’s Tale Assignment 16%

EXTRA CREDIT: NONE!!!!!

Special Needs. If English is not your first language or if you have a documented learning disability, special arrangements can be made to improve your performance on the exams and assignments. Please see me prior to the first exam for more information.

DISRUPTION OF CLASSES DUE TO UNIVERSITY CLOSURE

In the unlikely event that the University temporarily closes in response to
health considerations related to an outbreak of the HINI (swine flu)
virus or any other reason, classes will be conducted during that period
on an on-line basis utilizing email.

Mini-lecture notes will be distributed on the scheduled days for class
along with study guides relating to the readings. Should closures
coincide with a scheduled exam, the exam will be given on an open-book,
open notes basis, distributed by email at the time it would have been
otherwise handed out in class, and due within 24 hours as an attachment
to an email to the instructor.

COURSE OUTLINE

The course outline, along with reading, meeting, exam, and paper due dates follows. Although it may not always be possible, we will try to keep to this schedule.

September 1 NO CLASS

READINGS: READ YOUR SYLLABUS THOROUGHLY AND COMPLETELY!!!!

ASSIGNMENT: Send me an email using your preferred email account (no message necessary). cates.cindy@gmail.com *Each person who submits an email by Wednesday, September 2 will receive a bonus ¼ point toward her/his final grade.

September 3 NO CLASS

PART I: FOUNDATIONS

September 8

TOPIC1: Syllabus, Class Organization and Introduction

TOPIC2: IDEOLOGY IN THE AMERICAN TRADITION:

CLASSICAL LIBERALISM

READINGS:

1) Declaration of Independence (Ginsberg et al, A1-A3)

2) Federalist #1 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_01.html

3) Ginsberg et al, pp. 13-32

4) Begin reading Wright, Native Son!!!

PART II: CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES

September 10

TOPIC: THE “AUXILIARY PRECAUTIONS”

READINGS:

1) The Constitution (Ginsberg et al,A11-A32)

2) Ginsberg et al, Chapter 2 and 3

3) Federalist #51 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_51.html

4) Federalist #47 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_47.html

5) Federalist #48 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_48.html

6) Continue reading Wright !!!

September 15

TOPIC: same as September 10 (Auxiliary Precautions)

READINGS: Same as September 10

September 17

TOPIC: “DEPENDENCE ON THE PEOPLE:” REPUBLICAN DEMOCRACY

READINGS:

1) Federalist 10 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_10.html

2) Review Ginsberg et al, Chapter 2

September 22

INDIVIDUAL PROJECT DAY. (Work independently or meet informally with me)

September 24

TOPIC: Native Son. Class discussion of Native Son.

DUE: Native Son assignments by 8A.M..

PART III: ACTING IN POLITICS

September 29

TOPIC: Public Opinion

READINGS:

1) Ginsberg et al, Chapter 5

2) You should begin reading Fahrenheit 451.

October 1

TOPIC: The Media

1) Ginsberg et al, Chapter 6

2) Continue reading Fahrenheit

October 6

TOPIC: Campaigns and Elections

READINGS:

1) Ginsberg et al, pp. 217-238

2) Federalist #52 (on House elections)

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_52.html

3) Federalist #68 (on the Electoral College) http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_68.html

4) Keep reading FAHRENHEIT 451

October 8

TOPIC: Same as October 6 (Campaigns and Elections)

October 13

TOPIC: Voting Behavior

READINGS: 1) Ginsberg et al, pp. 210-217

2) Continue Fahrenheit

October 15

TOPIC: INTEREST GROUPS

READINGS:

1) Ginsberg et al, Chapter 8

2) Federalist #10 (again) http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_10.html

3) Continue Fahrenheit

October 20

TOPIC: Political Parties

READINGS:

1) Ginsberg et al Chapter 7

October 22

Optional Midterm Study Session

October 27

MIDTERM EXAM

October 29

INDIVIDUAL PROJECT DAY. (Work independently or meet informally with me)

November 3

TOPIC: Fahrenheit 451. Class discussion of Fahrenheit.

DUE: Fahrenheit assignments by 8AM.

PART IV: NATIONAL STRUCTURES

November 5

TOPIC: CONGRESS: THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

READINGS:

1) Ginsberg et al, Chapter 9

2) Federalist #57 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_57.html

3) Federalist #62 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_62.html

4) Begin reading Handmaid’s Tale

November 10

TOPIC: Congress (same as November 5)

November 12

TOPIC: PRESIDENCY: THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

READINGS:

1) Ginsberg et al, Chapters 10 and 11

2) Federalist #69 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_69.html

3) Federalist #70 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_70-2.html

4) Continue reading Atwood.

November 17

Topic: Presidency continued

November 19

TOPIC: FEDERAL COURTS: THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

READINGS:

1) Ginsberg et al, Chapter 12

2) Federalist #78 http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fed_78.html

3) Continue reading ATWOOD.

November 24

Topic: Judiciary continued

November 26

THANKSGIVING!!

PART V: A PUBLIC POLICY DILEMMA:

CIVIL LIBERTIES

December 1

TOPIC: THE CASE OF CIVIL LIBERTIES

READINGS:

1) Ginsberg et al, Chapters 4

2) Federalist 1 (again) http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed01.htm

3) Federalist # 84 http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed84.htm

4) Continue reading Atwood.

December 3

INDIVIDUAL PROJECT DAY. (Work independently or meet informally with me)

December 8

TOPIC: Civil liberties continued with class discussion of Handmaid’s Tale

DUE: Handmaid’s Tale assignments due by 8AM.

December 10

Optional Final Exam Study Session

FINAL EXAM

MONDAY, DECEMBER 14: 8AM

IMPORTANT DATES

September 1-2: Send me your email address.

September 9: Change of schedule period ends. Last day to drop a course with no grade added to academic record. Last day to add classes.

September 22: Individual project day. Work on Native Son

September 24: Native Son assignments due.

October 22: Optional Study Session

October 27: Midterm exam.

October 29: Individual project day. Work on Fahrenheit

November 3: Fahrenheit assignments due.

November 11: Last day to withdraw with a grade of “W” Last day to change to “pass-fail.”

November 26: THANKSGIVING

December 3: Individual project day. Work on Handmaid’s Tale

December 8: Handmaid’s Tale assignments due.

December 10: Optional Study Session

December 14, 8AM: FINAL EXAM

APPENDIX 1

A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO

THE FEDERALIST PAPERS

It has been my experience that students react to The Federalist Papers with a combination of fear, loathing, confusion, and anxiety -- sounds pretty good so far, doesn't it? Well, in order to alleviate a little of this "Federalist-Phobia," I offer the following brief guide.

BACKGROUND (or WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THE FEDERALIST PAPERS?). As you know (you do know this, right?), the Constitution of 1787 was not greeted with universal enthusiasm. In short, it had a lot of powerful opponents. And, just as politicians have to sell their ideas and themselves today, so the backers of the new Constitution had to mount an aggressive campaign to garner support for the document. This campaign took a lot of forms, one of which (again, like to today) took shape in the media.

Now, of course, George Washington couldn't appear in television ads then, the way he does now, but constitutional defenders could use newspapers. And, that's precisely what The Federalist Papers are -- a series of newspaper articles designed to bolster support and allay fears about the Constitution.

The authors of these 85 articles (don't panic, you only have to read 14 of them) used the pen name, Publius (catchy, huh?). Actually, of course, they were written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, with Madison and Hamilton doing the bulk of the work. Not surprisingly, they present a very positive picture of society under the constitutional framework, as well as a real "gloom-and-doom" scenario should the Constitution fail to be ratified. In other words, The Federalist Papers are a classic work of political propaganda, and not simply the product of a sadistic group of 18th Century madmen whose sole insidious purpose was to confound and bore the hell out of innocent 21st century students.

PURPOSE (or IF IT'S ALL JUST A BUNCH OF OLD POLITICAL PROPAGANDA, WHY DO WE HAVE TO READ THIS?). Good question, class!!! Well, the answer is that The Federalist Papers are a whole lot more than mere propaganda. In effect, they spell out for us the Framers' theory of constitutional government. Beginning with their view of human nature, the authors of The Federalist Papers tell us both why and how they structured our government in the way that they did. If we want to understand the underlying basis for our government, if we want to comprehend our political structure, if we want to be able to argue -- either for or against -- our system of governance, we need to grasp at least some of the fundamental ideas presented in these articles. (So, there!)

GENERAL SUMMARY (or IF THESE GUYS WERE POSTING ON FACEBOOK TODAY, HOW WOULD THEY HAVE PUT IT?). Well, now, this is not a good question, class and you should be ashamed of yourselves. (After all, everyone knows that FACEBOOK has a firm policy against letting dead political philosophers sign up) But, since you asked. . . .

Like any classical liberal theorist worth his or her salt, Publius would tell us that human beings, in order to flourish, require liberty and self-governance. OK, so far, so good. But, liberty, taken to the extreme, is anarchy and self-governance, taken to the extreme, is majority tyranny over the minority. OK, so you make government strong to avoid anarchy and you make sure minorities are protected against majorities. But, strong government, taken to the extreme, is totalitarianism and if you rob the majority completely of any say, you've destroyed self-governance.

Obviously, then, you need balance -- balance between liberty and order; balance between majority rule and individual rights. And, indeed, The Federalist Papers are all about how to achieve those balances through a general theory and construction of government. Simple, right?

SPECIFIC SUMMARIES (or YOUR PAPER-BY-PAPER GUIDE TO THE THRILLING WORLD OF PUBLIUS). Well, then, what about those balances? What about a theory and construction of government? (Really excellent questions!!!!) The following offers a very brief (I don't want to give away any punch lines just yet) summary of each of the Papers I'll be asking you to read, followed by some questions to guide you in your study.

Federalist #1 (Hamilton): Hamilton comes out swinging in this, the first of the series. He generally praises the proposed Constitution and mocks the Articles of Confederation and their defenders. Despite the almost purely propagandistic flavor of this paper, Hamilton has some important things to say about the need to balance liberty and order. Consider the following: "An enlightened zeal for the energy and efficiency of government will be stigmatized as the offspring of a temper fond of despotic power and hostile to the principles of liberty. . . . On the other hand, it will be . . . forgotten that the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty. . . ." TRANSLATION: Strong government could lead to tyranny and the abolition of liberty, but without strong government liberty is also threatened. What do you make of this seemingly contradictory statement?

Federalist #10 (Madison): This is unquestionably the most important of The Federalist Papers, for in it, the "Father of the Constitution" sets out his theory of human nature and the structure of government that proceeds from that theory. Consider all of the following questions (hint: they will all be important come exam time): 1) In general, does Madison have a positive or negative view of unregulated human nature? 2) What does he mean by the term faction? 3) What's wrong with factions? 4) How might one cure "the mischiefs of faction?" 5) How would Madison suggest we cure them? 6) What's wrong with Democracy? 7) What is a Republic and why is that better than a Democracy?

Federalist #s 39, 47, 48, and 51 (all Madison): Having given us his general republican framework in FEDERALIST #10, Madison flushes out some of the crucial specifics in these papers. Throughout, he is concerned with maintaining these balances between individual liberty and social order and between majority rule and individual rights. 1) What does he mean when he says the Constitution is "neither wholly national nor wholly federal."? (Fed 39) 1a) Which institutions of government have a "federal" flavor? 1b) Which have a "national" flavor? 1c) Which combine the two elements? 2) He says (Feds 47 & 48) that the branches of government "ought to be separate and distinct, . . ." And, yet, "should [not] be wholly unconnected with each other." How does he propose to separate the branches of government, while at the same time, giving "to each a constitutional control over the others. . . . ."? 3) What is the rationale behind separation of powers and checks and balances? 4) What do you make of his contention that (Fed 51): "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition."?

Federalist #s 52 and 68 (Madison and Hamilton): In #52, Madison discusses the election of House members. Why is it important that representatives face the electorate every two years? In #68, Hamilton tackles the electoral college. Why does he support this seemingly convoluted means of selecting the president?

Federalist #s 57 and 62 (Madison): In #57, Madison discusses the relationship between members of the House of Representatives and the electorate. Why is he so certain that our representatives will reflect the will of the people? In #62, he turns to the Senate. What characteristics distinguish the Senate from the House? Why is it important that the two chambers differ?

Federalist #s 69 and 70 (Hamilton): In these two papers, Hamilton tackles the presidency. In #69, he primarily focuses on limitations to presidential power. In what ways is the president more constrained than a king? In #70, he argues that even while the presidency must be limited, it must also be strong. What does he mean when he talks about "energy" in the executive? Why must the presidency be "unified" in one person? Are you sufficiently convinced that we can have both a strong and a "safe" president?

Federalist # 78 (Hamilton): On to the courts. Why is the judiciary "the least dangerous" of the three branches? Why should judges have the luxury of life tenure and freedom from electoral politics? What do you think Hamilton sees as the chief function of federal courts?

Federalist # 84 (Hamilton): In this paper, Hamilton ties up a few loose ends, the most important of which revolves around the question of whether the Constitution should contain a Bill of Rights. As you know, we eventually got one, but both Hamilton and Madison were originally opposed to the idea. What are Hamilton's arguments for not including a Bill of Rights in the Constitution? Which features or elements of the original Constitution protect core individual rights? Overall, do you think it was a good thing that a Bill of Rights was ultimately appended to the Constitution?

Some Hints on Reading The Federalist Papers. Believe it or not, The Federalist Papers are written in modern English, and, at least in the case of Madison, exceptionally beautiful English to boot. The difficulty, of course, lies in syntax -- people wrote differently two centuries ago than they do now (HITAKS LOL). However, some important things to keep in mind: 1) These documents are essential to understanding constitutional theory and structure (bottom line: you gotta read 'em); 2) not everything worth reading was written yesterday; and 3) though syntactically odd in places, they are written in modern English, and thus are hardly akin to reading an untranslated version Chaucer, so quit griping.

Now, of course, all that's easy for me to say, but what about you -- how do you get through these things? Well to begin, before tackling any paper, read the thumbnail sketch and questions provided above. Then, with those questions in mind, read the assigned paper slowly, not once, but twice (they're all very brief). After your second reading, try to answer the questions. Finally, soon after class discussions of the articles, go back and, with the questions in mind, read one more time. Congratulations, you're on your way to becoming FEDERALIST scholars!

APPENDIX 2

QUICK REFERENCE STYLE GUIDE

Grammar, style, and usage are very important and I take this element of paper writing very seriously. Thus, your papers should be completely free of typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors. Please use the following as a quick reference. For more complete sources, please see the source list at the end of this appendix.

1. Using Words Correctly

The following is a list of words often used incorrectly. Correct usage matters and matters a lot!

THERE is used to identify a place. “John Doe is over there.”

THEIR is a possessive term. “John Doe and Mary Roe left their umbrellas in class.”

WHERE is used to identify place, usually in interrogative form. “Where is she going?”

WEAR is a verb. “She wears heavy clothing..”

TO is a preposition used as a function word to indicate movement or an action. “He is going to school.”

TOO is an adverb meaning either ‘also’ or ‘excessively.’ “Jane is going to school too.” “John is too studious.”

THEN is an adverb which denotes time. “Poindexter is going to the store and then he is going to school.”

THAN is a conjunction used as a function word to indicate the second member or the member taken as the point of departure in a comparison. It may also be used to indicate difference in kind. Sheila is much more studious than Evangeline.”

AN is an indefinite article meaning “one.” It usually replaces ‘a’ when the word following begins with a vowel. “He is an officer in the student government.”

AND is a conjunction used to indicate connection or addition. He is an officer and so is she.

IT’S is an abbreviation for IT IS. “Oh look, it’s John over there.”

ITS is the possessive form of IT. “The calf looked up and saw its mother.”

2. Constructing Proper Sentences

A SENTENCE MUST CONTAIN A SUBJECT AND A VERB!! A line which lacks either a subject noun or a verb is an incomplete sentence or mere phrase.

Tense agreement: Do not move back and forth between past, present, past perfect, and other verb forms. Pick an appropriate form and stick with it. For example, the following is grammatically wrong: “Mary went to class to take her exam. As she is going, she realizes that she forgot to get a blue book.” The following is grammatically correct: “Mary went to class to take her exam. As she was going, she realized that she forgot to get a blue book.”

Word Agreement: The subject and verb in a sentence must agree. If your subject is singular, the verb should be singular. If your subject is plural, the verb should be in agreement For example, the following is grammatically wrong: “Jane and her friend was going to the store.” The correct way to say this is: “Jane and her friend were going to the store.” The pronouns in a sentence must also agree. For example, the following is grammatically incorrect: “Each of them had their own computer.” (Each is a singular pronoun, but their is plural). Thus, the correct form would be, “Each of them had his or her own computer.”

3. Punctuation Marks

Apostrophes: Students tend to use apostrophes arbitrarily. This is NOT OK. There are rules for using these things. In general, apostrophes are used to denote possession. E.g.: “That is Gary’s car.” Or, “I placed the cat’s milk on the floor.” Apostrophes are NOT USED IN PLURAL WORDS. You would not say: “There are two Gary’s on my floor.” Or, “There are three cat’s drinking milk.” While there are exceptions to the apostrophe rule (apostrophes may be used, in some limited cases, as substitutes for letters, as in can’t, don’t or it’s), those exceptions NEVER involve plurals!

Semicolons: Semicolons are used to join independent clauses in compound sentences (example 1) and to separate long, complicated elements in a series which already includes commas (example 2).

Example 1: He took many pills; however, none seemed to work.

Example 2: Members of the department include John Doe, a professor specializing in American Foreign Relations; Jane Roe, whose specialities include urban government and planning; and Jim Zoe, a well-known political philosopher.

Colons: Colons are used after you have made a complete statement and want to list one or more complete ideas, such as a series of directions or a list.

Example: The daily newspaper contains four sections: news, sports, entertainment, and ads.

Capitalization: Capital letters are used in the first letter of the first word of a sentence, in the first letter of each word in a title (the exceptions being conjunctions and indefinite articles), in the first letter of proper nouns such as person and place names.

4. Additional Sources

For additional help in grammar and usage, a good (and cheap) reference source is: Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual. This is available in most book stores. The companion web site is very helpful as well. http://dianahacker.com/pocket/