AHG 630A: American Statesmen - Adams and Madison

Sunday, June 28, 2009 to Friday, July 3, 2009

Instructors: Richard Samuelson and Colleen Sheehan

Course Focus:

This course examines the lives, character, political thought and political practice of two of America's leading thinkers and statesmen, viz., James Madison and John Adams. Close attention will be given to the relationship between ideas and actions in their political careers.

Learning Objectives:

1. Students will understand the central ideas that informed the political thought of James Madison and John Adams.
2. Students will understand the major political events and practical challenges that faced Madison and Adams over the course of their political careers.
3. Students will understand how Madison's and Adams's ideas shaped their practical political stances during the eras in which they lived. They will understand their conception of natural law and natural rights; they will comprehend the definition of republican government advanced by each thinker/statesman.
4. Students will understand the problem that factions pose in republican government; they will understand how a particular understanding of human nature as well as such factors as the size of the territory, representation, separation of powers, bicameralism, and federalism contributed to Madison's and Adams's particular remedies for the problems associated with popular government.
5. Students will understand Madison's and Adams's unique conceptions of popular sovereignty. They will understand how each man's conception informed his thinking about republicanism and influenced his statesmanship in the new nation.

Requirements:

A. Class Preparation and Contribution
As you know, this course will proceed at a very quick pace. To the extent possible, you should do a fair amount of the reading in advance of the week at Ashland. The course will consist of both lectures and in-class discussions.

B. Examination
There will be a final, comprehensive examination in this course. This exam will consist of essays and short answer questions.

Note: Grading in this course is based on a combination of your contribution to class discussions and the final examination.

Students auditing the course as a part of a Teaching American History Grant program must complete all readings, attend all of the seminars, and fully participate during the week.

Required Texts:

• C. Bradley Thompson, John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty (Lexington: University Press of Kansas, 1993). ISBN 978-0-7006-1181-2
• The Political Writings of John Adams, George Carey, Ed. (Washington, DC: Regnery, 2000).
• Abigail Adams, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, The Adams-Jefferson Letters, Lester J. Cappon, ed. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1959).
• Marvin Meyers, The Mind of the Founders: Sources of the Political Thought of James Madison (Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press, 1981). ISBN-10: 874512018 or ISBN-13: 978-0874512014
• Colleen A. Sheehan, James Madison and the Spirit of Republican Self-Government (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009). ISBN: 978-0-521-72733-4

Recommended Texts:

• Lance Banning, The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the Founding of the Federal Republic (Cornell University Press, 1995). ISBN: 978-0801485244
• Jack N. Rakove, James Madison and the Creation of the American Republic, 2nd ed. (New York: Longman, 2002). ISBN: 0-321-08797-6

Schedule

Sunday, June 28

4:30 - 6:00 pm: Introduction & Session 1 Professor Samuelson

Topic: "Law, Liberty and the American Revolution"

Focus: Why did the American colonists find it necessary to declare independence in July, 1776? What understanding of law, constitutions, government, and liberty led to that decision?

Readings:

• Adams, "Notes on the Writs of Assistance Case," (SCP)
• "Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law," (Carey, 4-21)
• "Novanglus," Numbers 1 and 7 (1st half) (Carey, 22-30, 58-67)
• Thompson, ch. 1, 3, (3-23, 44-65. Optional, ch. 2)

7:30 - 9:00 pm: Session 2: Institute Lecture

Monday, June 29

9:00 am - 10:30 am: Session 3 Professor Samuelson

Topic: "Massachusetts Constitutionalism"

Focus: What set the Massachusetts Constitution apart from the other early state constitutions? How did Massachusetts apply the compact theory to its constitutional order? How did the Massachusetts Constitution understand the doctrine of rights? What was the nature and purpose of the religious establishment in Massachusetts?

Readings:

• Declaration of Independence, (CP pg 3)
• "The Constitution of the State of Massachusetts." (Preamble and Declaration of Rights) (Carey, 499-510).
• Return from the town of Concord, 1776 - On the Proposed Constitution (SCP).
• Thompson, ch. 4, pp. 66-87

10:50 am - 12:20 pm: Session 4 Professor Sheehan

Topic: "Social Compact Theory; Power, Right, and Majority Rule"

Focus: What is a social compact? What gives it authority? Are there any conditions upon which the social compact is based?

Reading:

• "Memorial and Remonstrance," and "Vices of the Political System of the United States" (Meyers, #2, #8)
• Selected Convention Speeches (Meyers, #10)
• Federalist 10 (Meyers)
• Rakove, chs. 1-4.

4:00 - 5:30 pm: Session 5 Professor Samuelson

Topic: "The Rule of Law"

Focus: Why does Adams think that "a government of laws, not of men" is the proper definition of a free republic? What is the frame of government he supports for Massachusetts? Why does he think that's a good form of government? How is that connected to his understanding of human nature and of checks and balances?

Readings:

• Adams, "Thoughts on Government," (Carey, 482-491)
• Defence of the Constitutions, (Carey, 108-128, 190-204)
• Constitution of Massachusetts (Carey, 511-512, 514-517, 521-522, 528-529, 540-543)
• Thompson (174-222)

Tuesday, June 30

9:00 am - 10:30 am: Session 6 Professor Sheehan

Topic: "The Problem of Faction in Republics"

Focus: What is a faction? What is Madison's proposed remedy for the problem of majority faction? What are the characteristics of republican government? Is republican government genuinely popular government?

Readings:

• Federalist 10 & 51 (Meyers)
• Rakove, chs. 5-7
• Diamond, "Ethics and Politics"(CP pg 9)
• Matthews, ch. 6 (SCP)

10:50 am - 12:20 pm: Session 7 Professor Sheehan

Topic: "Governmental Structure: The Practicable Sphere"

Focus: What is the nature of the American "union"? Where does sovereignty reside in the United States? What is the proper size of a republic, according to Madison—and why?

Readings:

• Letter to Washington, April 16, 1787 (Meyers, #9)
• Federalist 14, 20 39, 45, 46 (Meyers);
• Letter to Jefferson of 24 October 1787 (CP pg 27)
• Banning, ch. 7 (SCP)

4:00 - 5:30 pm: Session 8 Professor Samuelson

Topic: "The Problem of Bicameralism"

Focus: Why have a second house of the legislature? How do Adams' thoughts here connect with his ideas of rights, constitutionalism, and the rule of law?

Readings:

• Letter of Turgot on American governments (SCP)
• Adams, Defence of the Constitutions (Carey, 128-132, 161-166, 223-224, 236-255, 264-270, 292-303)
• Thompson, ch. 6 (107-125)

Wednesday, July 1

9:00 am - 10:30 am: Session 9 Professor Sheehan

Topic: "Representation and Responsibility"

Focus: What is the role of the representative in the American political system? Is the system designed to depend heavily on placing the "better sorts" of men in office and depending on their virtue and judgment? Is this consistent or inconsistent with the form and spirit of popular (republican) government? Is Madison's conception of representation more like the mirror theory of the Anti-federalists (e.g., Brutus and Federal Farmer) or the trustee theory of some of the Federalists (e.g., Caesar and Fisher Ames)?

Readings:

• Federalist 47-51, 57, 63 (47, 51, 57, and 63 in Meyers; 48, 49, and 50 CP pg 33)
• Antifederalist and "other" Federalist Views of Representation (CP pg 44)

10:50 am - 12:20 pm: Session 10 Professor Samuelson

Topic: "The Problem of Inequality in a modern Republic"

Focus: In what respects are all men created equal? In what respects is each individual unique? What are the implications of the answers to those questions for constitutional government?

Readings:

• Adams, Defence of the Constitutions (Carey, ed. 139-156)
• Adams, "Discourses on Davila" (Carey, ed., 305, 310-331, 355-362)
• Thompson, ch. 8 (148-173)

4:00 - 5:30 pm: Session 11 Professor Sheehan

Topic: "Republicans v. Federalists"

Focus: Madison was the philosophic leader of the "republican cause" that became the Republican Party in the United States. In 1791-92 he published a string of articles in Freneau's National Gazette, setting forth his understanding of republicanism and his criticism of "anti-republicanism." What were the essential elements of Madison's political thought? What was the disagreement between Republicans and Federalists in the early 1790s about?

Readings:

• "Consolidation,"(CP pg 58)
• "Charters" (CP pg 59)
• "Parties," (CP pg 60)
• "Republican Distribution of Citizens," (CP pg 61)
• "Fashion," (CP pg 63)
• "Property" (CP pg 64)
• Rakove, ch. 9
• Banning, chs. 10-11 (325-56 - Handout)
• Sheehan, chs. 1-2.

Thursday, July 2

9:00 am - 10:30 am: Session 12 Professor Samuelson

Topic: "Natural Aristocracy and History"

Focus: What is the nature of Adams and Jefferson's argument about natural aristocracy? How does each understand aristocracy? What is the role of history in their ideas?

Readings:

• Adams Jefferson Letters
  • JA to TJ, July 15, 1813 (AJL, 357-358), JA to TJ, August [14th] 1813, (AJL, 365-366), JA to TJ, September 2, 1813 (AJL, 370-372), JA to TJ, September 13, 1813, (AJL, 372-375), TJ to JA, October 28, 1813, (AJL, 387-392), JA to TJ, November 15, 1813 (AJL, 397-402), JA to TJ, February 21, 1820 (AJL, 560-561), TJ to JA, March 14, 1820 (AJL, 561-563), JA to TJ, May 12, 1820 (AJL, 563-565), TJ to JA, August 15, 1820 (AJL, 565-569)
• JA to James Madison, April 22, 1817, (CP pg 67)
• Works X:256-258, available here: http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=2127&chapter=193592&layout=html&Itemid=27
• JA to James Madison, June 17, 1817 (Carey, 699-701)
• Thompson, Ch. 7 (126-147)

10:50 am - 12:20 pm: Session 13 Professor Sheehan

Topic: "Republicans v. Federalists," continued

Focus: What is Madison's republican vision as expressed in the Party Press Essays?

Readings:

• "Spirit of Governments," (CP pg 70)
• "Public Opinion," (CP pg 71)
• "British Government" (CP pg 72)
• "A Candid State of Parties," (CP pg 73)
• "Who are the Best Keepers of the People's Liberties?" (CP pg 75)
• "The Union: Who are its Real Friends?" (CP pg 76)
• Sheehan, chs. 4-5.

Recommended:

• "Virginia Report of 1800" (Meyers, #20: pp. 229-243, 256-257, 269-273)
• Opinion on the Bank, 1817 (Meyers #36)
• Rakove, chs. 10-12
• Madison to N. P. Trist, December 1831 (http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1940&chapter=119370&layout=html&Itemid=27)

4:00 - 5:30 pm: Session 14 Professor Samuelson

Topic: "The Legacy of the American Revolution"

Focus: How did John Adams understand the American Revolution and its consequences? What good and what bad did he see in it? How did he reconcile his tragic view of life with his hopes for the future of republican government in American in particular, and in the West in general?

Readings:

• Carey, ed. 651-654, 701-711,
• JA to H. Niles, February 13, 1818,(CP pg 78) Works X:282-284, (Available here: http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=2127&;chapter=193604&layout=html&Itemid=27 ),
• JA to A Committee, June 7, 1826 (CP pg 83) (Works, 416-417, available here: http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=2127&chapter=193666&layout=html&Itemid=27 ),
• Adams Jefferson Letters,
  • TJ to JA, January 21, 1812, (AJL, 290-292), JA to TJ, June 20, 1815, (AJL, 445-446), JA to TJ, December 25, 1818 (AJL, 409-413), JA to TJ, August 24, 1815 (AJL, 454-456), JA to TJ, February 2, 1817 ( AJL, 506-508), Thompson, 250-279.

Friday, July 3

9:00 am - 10:30 am: Session 15 Professor Sheehan

Topic: "Madison and the Dream of Republican Self-Government"

Focus: Compare Madison's conception of republican government in The Federalist, including particularly Federalist 10, 14, 39, and 51, with his vision of republican government in the Party Press Essays. Did Madison undergo a material change of mind from the late 1780s to the early 1790s, as Hamilton alleged? What, according to Madison, is republican self-government? What, if any, is the significance of the experiment in self-government advanced by Madison to the American polity today?

Readings:

• Defense of Majority Rule, Meyers, #39, 41.
• Letter of Hamilton to Edward Carrington of 26 May 1792 (CP pg 85)
• Madison Memoranda, N. P. Trist, Montpelier, 27 September 1834 (CP pg 94)
• Robert Frost, "The Gift Outright" (CP pg 96)
• Robert Frost, Commencement Address to Sarah Lawrence College, 1956 (CP pg 97)
• Diamond, "Ethics and Politics" (CP pg 102)
• Matthews, chs. 6 & 8 (SCP)
• Sheehan, chs. Intro & Epilogue

Recommended:

• Banning, chs. 4-6
• Rakove, ch. 17.

10:50 am - 12:20 pm: Session 16

Session Review, Questions, & Discussion

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm: Session 17

Final Comprehensive Examination