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Schedule of Readings
The Institute for American Constitutional Government
Schedule of Readings
Monday, June 18, 1990 to Friday, June 22, 1990 and
Monday, June 25, 1990 to Friday, June 29, 1990
Primary Reading Materials
- Hamilton, Madison, Jay The Federalists
- Kurland and Lerner, eds., The Founders' Constitution: Major Themes
- James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787
- Edmund Morgan, The Birth of the Republic: 1763-1789
- Herbert Storing, What the Anti-Federalists Were For: The Political Thought of the Opponents of the Constitution
- Herbert Storing, ed., The Anti-Federalist
- Paul Gagnon, Democracy's Half Told Story
- Various authors, The Seminar Notebook
Reading Assignments
General Background Reading
- The Birth of the Republic: 1763-89
- Walter Berns, "The Writing of the Constitution of the United States"
(in Seminar Notebook)
Monday Morning, June 18 (Professor Flannery)
Topic: The Revolution and the Formation of a New Nation
Reading:
From The Founders' Constitution:
- Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British America, pp. 435-441
- Continental Congress, Declaration and Resolves, October 14, 1774, pp. 1-3
- Virginia Declaration of Rights, June 12, 1776, pp. 6-7
- The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, pp. 9-11
- John Locke, Second Treatise, selections, pp. 42-46
- David Hume, Of the Original Contract, pp. 49-52
- James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, 1764, pp. 52-53
- John Locke, Second Treatise, selections, pp. 82-86
- William Blackstone, Commentaries, pp. 87-89
- Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, February 23, 1775, pp. 90-92
- John Locke, Second Treatise, selections, pp. 614-18
- Resolutions of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts, October 29, 1765, pp. 629-30
Focus: How did the American revolutionaries understand "the laws of nature and of nature's God" and the "unalienable rights" of man? What did they mean by proclaiming that all men are created equal and free? How did they deduce from the natural equality and liberty of man the necessity for government founded on consent? How did they reconcile the sovereignty of the people with the rule of law? Why and how did they shift their appeal from the British Constitution to a "higher law"?
Tuesday morning, June 19 (Professor Frisch)
Topic: Establishing Republican Institutions: Hobbes, Montesquieu and the Founding Fathers
Reading:
From Seminar Notebooks:
- Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, chaps. 21, 29
- Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws Pt. 2, Bk. 12, chaps. 1, 2, 3
From The Federalist:
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 87
Focus: To what extent did the Americans take their bearings from "experience," to what extent from abstract theory, in forming their constitutions? What is the peculiar distinctiveness of the American Constitution?
Tuesday afternoon, June 19 (Professor Flannery)
Topic: Education for Democracy
Reading:
From Democracy's Half Told Story:
"Education for Democracy: A Statement of Principles," Appendix, pp. 159-71
Wednesday morning, June 20 (Professor Frisch)
Topic: The Critical Period: The Collapse of the Articles of Confederation
Reading:
From Seminar Notebook:
- Thomas Jefferson, Answers to Demeunier's First Queries, January 24, 1786
- Alexander Hamilton to James Duane, September 3, 1780
- Alexander Hamilton to an Unknown Addressee, December 1799-March 1781
- Alexander Hamilton, Unsubmitted Resolutions Calling for a Convention to Amend the Articles of Confederation, July 1783
From The Founders' Constitution:
From Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787:
- Preface to Debates in the Convention: A sketch Never Finished nor Applied, 1835, pp. 3-19
Focus: What was defective about the republican theory emanating from the American Revolution? What were the central weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
Thursday morning, June 21 (Professor Frisch)
Topic: The Constitutional Convention
Reading:
Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787[in its entirety with special attention to Randolph's Virginia Plan (pp. 28-33, 115-117), Patterson's New Jersey Plan (pp. 118-121), Madison's June 6th speech, and Hamilton's June 18th speech on a Plan of Government]
From The Founders' Constitution:
From Seminar Notebook:
- James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, October 17, 1788
- Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, December 20, 1787
- Charles C. Thach, Jr., "The Presidency in the Federal Convention,"
- The Creation of the Presidency, 1775-1789, Chaps. 4, 5.
Focus: What different principles animated the New Jersey and Virginia Plans and the Hamilton proposal? In what respects was the emerging Constitution a "bundle of compromises," in what respects a product of principled choice? Follow the discussions as they lead to the crucial Connecticut Compromise. Consider the different proposals for selecting an executive. Consider the question of the role of executive power in a republican government beyond that of law enforcement and administration.
Friday morning, June 22 (Professors Schramm and Wilson)
Topic: Introduction to the Anti-Federalist/Federalist Debate: The Structure of the Arguments and the Large, Commercial Republic
Reading:
The Two Arguments:
From What the Anti-Federalists Were for:
From The Federalist:
From The Anti-Federalist:
- Impartial Examiner, pp. 277-28
- Patrick Henry, pp. 295-97
- Melancton Smith, pp. 334-35
The Large, Commercial Republic:
From The Federalist:
From The Anti-Federalist:
- Brutus, pp. 113-17
- Agrippa, pp. 234-36
Focus: What is the structure of the broad argument for and against the Constitution? Where does each argument start and where does it end? Why does it start where it does? Where is each argument strongest and weakest? Do the Federalists have the stronger argument? To what extent do the arguments share a common premise or end? Does it matter whether one argument is stronger?
What is the case for and against the large republic? Which is more persuasive? Which is more realistic? Which is more elevated? Are these republics different means to a common end or do they have different views of the ends of the community? What role does citizen virtue play in the large and in the small republic? To what extent are the two views of American politics implicit in these views still with us in American politics?
Monday morning, June 25 (Professor Emmert)
Topic: The Anti-Federalist/Federalist Debate—The Granting and Separation of Powers
Reading:
Granting and Limiting Powers:
From The Federalist:
- Federalist nos. 23 and 31
From The Anti-Federalist:
- Federal Farmer, pp. 48-49
- Brutus, pp. 145-50
Federalism:
From The Federalist:
- Federalist nos. 37 and 39
From The Anti-Federalist:
- Federal Farmer, pp. 32-43
- Brutus, pp. 135-38
Separation of Powers:
From The Federalist:
- Federalist nos. 47(pp. 323-25), 48 and 51
From The Anti-Federalist:
- Centinel, pp. 13-16
- Patrick Henry, pp. 318b-321t
Focus: What is Publius' ends/means argument? Does it imply our Government is unlimited in its powers? What is the Anti-Federalist response to Publius? To what extent can and should government be limited by restricting Constitutional grants of power?
What is Publius' view of Federalism? Does the Constitution establish a stable, limited federalism or an uneasy compromise tending toward consolidation? How important is federalism to the maintenance of limited government?
What is the case for the separation of powers? What view of politics underlies it? What is the argument against it as presented by the Anti-Federalists? To what extent do they agree with current critics of separation? Is separation a source of energy, liberty and institutional vigor or a cause of stagnation, confusion and irresponsible government?
Tuesday morning, June 26 (Professor Emmert)
Topic: The Anti-Federalist/Federalist Debate: Democratic Representation and Aristocracy as they relate to the House and Senate
Reading:
Representation and the House:
From The Federalist:
- Federalist nos. 35 and 37
From The Anti-Federalist:
- Brutus, pp. 188-91
- Melancton Smith, pp. 335-44
Aristocracy and the Senate:
From The Federalist:
- Federalist nos. 62 and 63
From The Anti-Federalist:
- Brutus, pp. 188-91
- Maryland Farmer, pp. 261-65
- Melancton Smith, pp. 344-52
Focus: How do Publius and the Anti-Federalists differ concerning the nature of representation? Which view is more democratic? Which view is more sound? What does Publius understand to be the character of the House?
In what ways does Publius see the Senate as differing from the House? What gives it that different character? Does a democracy need a less democratic legislative chamber? Is the Constitution sufficiently democratic? To what extent has its democratization since the Founding improved it?
Wednesday morning, June 27 (Professor Emmert)
Topic: The Anti-Federalist/Federalist Debate: Energetic Government and Liberty—The Presidency and the Bill of Rights
Reading:
The Executive:
From The Federalist:
From The Anti-Federalist:
- Patrick Henry, pp. 310-11
The Bill of Rights:
From The Federalist:
From The Anti-Federalist:
- Federal Farmer, pp. 79-86
- Brutus, pp. 117-22
- Impartial Examiner, pp. 278-82
Focus: What is Publius' argument for an energetic government? What leads his executive to be a source of that energy? How does he understand the job of presidential leadership? How democratic is his executive? Does the Constitution establish Presidential government?
What is Publius' argument against a Bill of Rights? Why do the Anti-Federalists desire a Bill of Rights? Do their arguments differ from the current defenses of a Bill of Rights? How essential is the Bill of Rights to the maintenance of liberty in America?
Thursday morning, June 28 (Professor Thurow)
Topic: The Judiciary: Origins, Powers, and Early Landmarks
Reading:
From The Federalist:
- Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist nos. 78-83
From The Anti-Federalist:
From Seminar Notebook:
- Marbury v. Madison
- McCulloch v. Maryland
- Gibbons v. Ogden
Focus: What role did the Framers envision for the federal judiciary? What possibilities for structuring the judiciary were entertained? Was the power of judicial review intended, or did the Marshall Court invent it? What were the Anti-Federalists' fears and criticisms of the powers given by the Constitution to the courts? What did the Marshall Court's jurisprudence contribute to the founding of the American republic?
Friday morning, June 29 (Professor Thurow)
Topic: Constitutional Development: The Civil War Amendments and Race Relations
Readings:
From Seminar Notebook:
- Abraham Lincoln, Speech at Springfield, Illinois, June 26, 1857
- Excerpts from the Fourteenth Amendment ratification debates
- Brown v. Board of Education
- University of California v. Bakke
- Brennan, "The Constitution of the United States: Contemporary Ratification," October 12, 1985
- Meese, Address before the D.C. Chapter of the Federalist Society of Lawyers Division, November 15, 1985
From The Constitution of the United States:
- The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
Focus: What is the enduring relevance of the work of the Founders? Race relations are profoundly different than they were at the time of the founding. In what way has this involved Constitutional change and how has this change come about? What relevance do Constitutional principles have to understanding the contemporary situation? What questions about the durability of the Framers' work are raised by these changes and the accompanying contemporary debate over the Supreme Court's jurisprudence?
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