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.