We now move into a new phase of this course. We've been looking at the relationship between reason and social and political theory. Now we begin to look at the institutions through which men and women attempted to put those theories into practice. The first issue will reflect on "how the game is played" who gets to play becomes the next great issue.
For Tuesday, April 2
Read: in The West in the World,
Chapter 14, A New World of Reason and Reform, pp. 467 - 496
in The Democratic Idea,
#13 The Declaration of Independence pp. 59 - 61
#18 The Constitution of the United States of America, pp. 71 - 83
Remember your old techniques for working through the background information in The West and the World. The sections toward the end of this chapter are the most important for our purposes, but don't neglect the section "Questioning Truth and Authority"
Week of April 2, 2002
Don't let yourself get too bogged down in the Declaration and the Constitution. I'll want to spend most of our time looking at the Preambles of both documents, and less attention to the bodies. When considering the Constitution consider most carefully Article I Section 2, the third paragraph, and the Bill of Rights, (Amendments 1 - 10, passed as a block in 1791). Think about ways in which the Bill of Rights echoes certain ideas in the Declaration of Independence. See if you can find one of the amendments which expressly relates to one of the charges raised against the King and Parliament in the earlier document.
For Friday, April 5
Read: in The Democratic Idea,
# 19 Federalist #10 (James Madison) pp. 85-88
# 20 Federalist #51 (James Madison) pp. 89-91
The Federalist Papers were a series of essays published anonymously in the press during the debate over ratifying the Constitution of the United States. The authors were James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. It has been argued that the Constitution is a less democratic document than the Declaration of Independence is, and we're going to want to pursue that argument. We'll look to see whether the Federalist Papers express a particular view of human nature which might express itself in conservative principles. Is the view of human nature expressed in these two essays essentially optimistic (human beings are basically good) or pessimistic (human beings are basically flawed)
Or By Appointment
