History 432: Brief Syllabus

Note: All readings are subject to change, and each class also contains documents and commentary on the secondary reading available through the course schedule page of the web site. Items with * in coursebook.

  1. Introduction
  2. Colonial Foundations

    3. Rakove, Original Meanings, pp. 3-22, 288-302.

  3. Crisis of Empire

    4. *Bailyn, Ideological Origins, pp. 145-172.

    *Beeman, Beyond Confederation, pp. 36-62.

  4. Revolution/Constitutional Experimentation

    5. Rakove, Original Meanings, pp. 23-56.

    *Wood, Creation of the American Republic, pp. 67-81.

  5. Constitutional Convention

    6. Rakove, Original Meanings, pp. 57-93.

    *Beeman, Beyond Confederation, pp. 63-81.

  6. Debate over Constitution

    7. Rakove, Original Meanings, pp. 94-160.

  7. Limits of Liberty

    8. Rakove, Original Meanings, pp. 337-368.

    Lynch, Negotiating the Constitution, pp. 114-140.

  8. Legacy of John Marshall

    9. *Nelson, Marbury v. Madison, pp. 54-71.

    *Irons, People’s History, pp. 96-107, 121-136.

  9. Slavery, Union, and the Constitutional Order, I

    10. *Peterson, The Great Triumvirate, pp. 210-245.

  10. Slavery, Union, and the Constitutional Order, II

    11. Kyvig, Explicit and Authentic Acts, pp.289-314.

    *Potter, Impending Crisis, pp. 346-361.

  11. Civil War and Federal Power

    12. *Bestor, "The American Civil War,"

    *Donald, Lincoln, pp. 216-242.

  12. The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson

    13. All readings on web

  13. Reconstruction

    14. Kyvig, Explicit and Authentic Acts, pp. 154-187.

  14. Defining Substantive Due Process

    15. *Keller, Affairs of State, pp. 343-370.

    Przybszewski, The Republic According to John Marshall Harlan, pp. 81-117.

  15. Following the Flag?

    16. Przybszewski, The Republic According to John Marshall Harlan, pp. 118-146.

    *May, American Imperialism, pp. 3-16.

  16. Progressivism and the Law

    17. Przybszewski, The Republic According to John Marshall Harlan, pp. 147-184.

    *Kens, Lochner v. New York, pp. 143-176.

  17. Origins of the American Civil Liberties Movement

    18. All readings on web

  18. The Supreme Court and National Politics

    19. Kyvig, Explicit and Authentic Acts, pp. 241-288.

  19. The New Deal as a Constitutional Revolution?

    20. Kyvig, Explicit and Authentic Acts, pp. 289-314.

    *Leuchtenburg, The Supreme Court Reborn, pp. 132-162.

  20. National Security State and the Constitutional Order

    21. *Rovere, Senator Joe McCarthy, pp. 18-73.

  21. The Civil Rights Movement

    22. *Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights, pp. 3-23.

    *Mann, The Walls of Jericho, pp. 210-236.

    *Graham, The Presidency and Civil Rights, pp. 25-63.

  22. The Warren Court

    23. Kyvig, Explicit and Authentic Acts, pp. 372-393.

    *Ball, Of Power and Might, pp. 193-228.

  23. The Right to Privacy

    24. *Graham, Civil Rights and the Presidency, pp. 170-203.

    *Garrow, Liberty and Sexuality, TBA.

  24. Watergate

    25. *Kutler, The Wars of Watergate, pp. 211-256.

  25. Politics, Ideology, and the Judicial Nominating Process
  26. The Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton

    27. *Posner, An Affair of State, pp. 8-23.

    Additional web readings

  27. Bush v. Gore, the Constitution, and the 2000 Election

All readings on the web