|
Master of American History and Government
Ashland University
AHG 510B:
Great American Texts: The Federalist
Sunday, June 29 to Friday, July 4, 2008
Instructor: David Foster
Course Description:
Thomas Jefferson called it the "best commentary on the principles of government, which ever was written." It is certainly the definitive interpretation and defense of the Constitution of the United States. The Federalist is a complex political work comprised of arguments about war, economics, national unity, and liberty (among other things) based on appeals to human nature, history, reason, and prudence. In this course we will examine and discuss The Federalist as fully and as deeply we can, aiming to understand how (or whether) its parts fit together in a coherent whole and its enduring contribution to our understanding of politics.
Learning Objectives:
This course has three broad objectives: to engage in the serious reading of an important text in American history and government; to understand the overall argument of The Federalist and how its various parts and subordinate arguments contribute to the development of that argument; and to understand The Federalist's approach to politics. More specifically, therefore, students will:
- Begin to reflect self-consciously on what it means to study a book thoroughly and comprehensively. Among other things, this includes reflecting on topics and questions such as the following: What kind of book is The Federalist and what approach is required to understand it? How do we discover the main intention or purpose of a book? What kinds of arguments (e.g., appeals to human nature, reason, history) are made and why? What are the author's standards for judging the cogency of arguments, or for evaluating the justice or prudence of a particular policy or constitutional provision? Are these standards consistently applied? Are they adequate?
- Understand the main divisions of argument and subject matter in The Federalist.
- Understand the case for the Union and why the Confederation cannot preserve the Union.
- Understand how the powers of government are constituted in the US Constitution.
- Understand Publius' view of human nature (interest, pride, ambition, reason, etc.).
- Understand how this understanding of human nature is reflected in the Constitution.
- Understand the concepts of an "extended republic", republican government, representation, "responsibility", "energy" in government, faction, the people, constitutional government.
- Understand Publius' view of the ends or aims of good government.
Course Requirements:
A short seminar paper and a final examination. Grades will be assigned in the following way:
- Contribution to in-class discussions: 25%
- Seminar paper: 25% This will be due during the week; instructions for it will be given in the first meeting of the course.
- Final examination: 50%
Students auditing the course as a part of a Teaching American History Grant program must complete the readings and fully participate in the seminars during the week.
Required Texts:
- Alexander Hamilton, et. al. The Federalist. Jacob E. Cooke, ed. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1982. ISBN 0819560774
- Alexander Hamilton, et. al. The Federalist Papers. Clinton Rossiter, ed., with a new introduction and notes by Charles R. Kesler. New York: Mentor Books, 1999. ISBN 0451628810
Note: Both editions of The Federalist are required texts.
Recommended Text:
- Douglas Adair. Fame and the Founding Fathers. Indianapolis: The Liberty Fund, 1998. ISBN 0865971935
Schedule
You should read through the entire Federalist at least once before the class begins, and it would be very useful to make your own outline of main sections and topics.
The course schedule is subject to change according to the pace of our reading and conversation.
Sunday, June 29
4:30 - 6:00pm:
Session 1 – Introduction to the course; Reflection and Choice; Utility of Union to American political prosperity: the problem of foreign enemies and war among the states.
Focus:
What is the nature of the crisis facing Americans in 1787 and how does Publius prepare his readers and fellow citizens to address it? What do we learn about Publius' view of the fundamental character of political life from his comments on the possibility of establishing government by "reflection and choice," on the causes of war, on the desire for safety, peace, and tranquility, and on the "natural and necessary progress of human affairs"?
Reading:
7:00 - 8:30pm:
Session 2 – Ashbrook Lecture (Attendance Required)
Monday, June 30
9:00 - 10:30am:
Session 3 – Utility of Union: The Mortal Diseases of Popular Government
Focus:
What is a faction and why is faction such a difficult problem to solve? Why is representative government, especially when large, superior to democracy?
Reading:
10:50am - 12:20pm:
Session 4 – Utility of Union: The Commercial Republic
Focus:
What are the economic advantages of Union? How does Publius expect these to contribute to the security and political health of the United States and even to vindicating the "honor of the human race"?
Reading:
4:30 - 6:00pm:
Session 5 – Weakness of the Present Confederation
Focus:
What is the fundamental political error of the Confederation and what are its main consequences? What is the "fatal charm" that attaches some Americans to this flawed system, preventing them from solving their most urgent problems? How does Publius' attempt to address this problem reveal his view of the "first principles" of government and even of human nature? How persuasive is the argument (in #17) that the Union will not become too powerful with respect to the States?
Reading:
Tuesday, July 1
9:00 - 10:30am:
Session 6 – Weakness of the Present Confederation
Focus:
What is it that gives the people "affection, esteem, and reverence" towards a government? How does Publius distinguish between "the people" and the "speculative men"? Does he think his argument will be equally persuasive to both groups? If, as Publius writes in #20, "experience is the oracle of truth" and where it speaks unequivocally, its lessons ought to be regarded as "conclusive and sacred", what lessons can we glean from the examples discussed in #18, 19, 20 (the longest historical discussion in the work)? What is the proper relation between coercion and law?
Readings:
10:50am - 12:20pm:
Session 7 – The Necessity for Energetic Government: The Common Defense
Focus:
The purposes to be served by the Federal government; that the powers necessary for these purposes must be given without limitation. What is "energy" in government? What are the "necessities of society" and why is it not only impossible but also bad (especially for Constitutional government) to establish rules that run counter to them? Does Publius' view that man is "very much a creature of habit" together with his expectation that the federal government will not only be well administered but will "put in motion the most active springs of the human heart" require a revision of the view that the State governments will always have the advantage over the Union? (see #17)
Reading:
4:00 - 6:00pm:
Session 8 – The Necessity for Energetic Government: Taxation
Focus:
The power of taxation. How does Publius attempt to protect the States' power of taxation while granting to the Federal government an unlimited power of taxation? What is the precise difference between the sciences of morals and politics, on the one hand, and a science like geometry, on the other? What are the implications of this difference for the kinds of arguments one must make in politics? Compare the contribution made to the happiness of the people by local administration (that done by the States) with the contribution Publius expects to be made by the federal administration. Which one seems to contribute more to the people's happiness? (See also, #17, beginning.)
Readings:
Wednesday, July 2
9:00 - 10:30am:
Session 9 – Publius' Political Science
Focus:
Essays #37 and 38 introduce the second main part of the work, the examination of the particular details of the proposed plan of government and the demonstration of its republican character. The new task requires in those who would undertake it a "spirit of moderation" (compare #1). What is this spirit, why is it necessary, and how does Publius work to produce it in the reader? The new task also requires a lengthier discussion of "political science". How does "political science" differ from the study of non-human nature? How does Publius handle the opponents of and the objections to the proposed Constitution, and how does this handling help us understand the spirit of moderation and his view of the task of political science? Does Publius claim that the Constitution was written with divine assistance (#37, end)? If so, what does that mean for the honorable American determination to "rest all our political experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government" (#39, beginning)?
Readings:
10:50am - 12:20pm:
Session 10 – General Form of the Proposed Government and the "General Mass of Power" Allotted to it.
Focus:
What are the distinctive features of the republican form of government, and what are the main differences between this and a national form of government? In what ways is the proposed Constitution both federal and national? Based on Publius' account of the powers to be vested in the federal government, what are the primary purposes or ends of that government?
Readings:
4:30 - 6:00pm:
Session 11 – General reflections on the separation and distribution of powers in government
Focus:
Why does the separation of powers require a judicious mixing and blending of the powers? Why is the legislative department of government most to be feared in a republic and what is the proper republican remedy for the problem?
Readings:
Thursday, July 3
9:00 - 10:30am:
Session 12 – Constituting Government: the House of Representatives
Focus:
In #57, Publius writes that the "aim of every political Constitution is or ought to be first to obtain for rulers, men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous, while they continue to hold their public trust." At the same time, however, he argues that to safeguard liberty the government in general "should have a common interest with the people;" and the House, in particular, "should have an immediate dependence on, & an intimate sympathy with the people." How, according to Publius, does the constitutional structure of the House of Representatives advance the double aim of wisdom and virtue, on the one hand, and a common interest with the people, on the other? In other words, how are wisdom and virtue, the proper aims of "every political Constitution", pursued within republican principles and forms of government? Publius appears to suggest that the avoidance of tyranny depends finally on the existence of a "vigilant and manly spirit" in the people of America. Does the system of representation elaborated here help to nourish that spirit?
Readings:
10:50am - 12:20pm:
Session 13 – Constituting Government: The Senate
Focus:
What is the Senate's role in attaining the "happiness of the people" and why does that happiness depend on preventing the people from acting "in their collective capacity"? What does Publius mean by a "due sense of national character"? In what precise sense does the Senate increase "responsibility" in the government? In his discussion of the Senate Publius shows a great concern for information, knowledge, and virtue. What functions of government particularly require these things? How successfully does the plan attain them?
Readings:
4:30 - 6:00pm:
Session 14 – Constituting Government: The Executive
Focus:
How does the proposed plan ensure that men of virtue and wisdom occupy the office of the Presidency? What specific virtues and qualities are presidents likely to possess? What is "energy" in the executive department and what provisions of the constitution aim to produce it? How does Publius intend that a wise, virtuous, and energetic president will comport himself with regard to the desires and wishes of the people? Finally, after conferring great powers of command, secrecy, and dispatch on the executive department, how does Publius ensure that a President can still be held "responsible"?
Reading:
Friday, July 4
9:00 - 10:30am:
Session 15 – Constituting Government: The Judiciary
Focus:
How did Publius attempt to ensure that the judiciary would remain separated (in practice and not just on paper) from the other departments of government, thereby ensuring liberty? Looking back over the departments of government, why were they treated in the order in which they were treated? That is, is there a principle that determines the order of the discussion? If so, what is it?
Reading:
10:50am - 12:20pm:
Session 16 – Summary and Review
Reading:
1:30 - 3:00pm:
Session 17 – Exam
| 
