POLISCI 150
:
American Political Thought
This course examines the foundations of American political thought through a close and careful reading
of key texts written by the Founding Fathers (most significantly, the Federalist Papers); an analysis of the
political thought of thinkers who most influenced the founders (including Aristotle, Machiavelli, Grotius, Hobbes,
Locke, and Montesquieu); and an examination of classic commentaries on American political thought, especially
Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. The main theme throughout the course is the tension in American political
thought between democracy and liberty; how the Founders viewed this tension (and why); and how this tension was
incorporated into the nation’s founding documents (the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution) as well
as how it has been differentially reflected in key Supreme Court decisions ever since the famous Marbury v.
Madison case in 1803.
