Lehrman American Studies Center

Introduction

This course will explore the politics of political leadership in the United States. First, we will consider the different perspectives on political leadership offered by traditional political science, and by modern political science and the other social sciences. Second, we will examine how the structure of American political institutions and American political culture define opportunities and limits for political leaders. Third, we will discuss some prominent American political leaders and some of the different settings within which political leadership occurs in the United States. Each member of the class will also conduct independent research on an American political leader of his or her choosing.

Reading

The Following Books are the Required Text for the Course:

• Alan Brinkley, Voices of Protest: Huey Long Father Coughlin and the Great Depression. (New York: Random House, 1983)
• James M. McPherson, Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992)
• Andrew Sabl, Ruling Passions: Political Offices and Democratic Ethics. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002 )

Assignments

• Examinations: There will be an in-class midterm examination on ... and a takehome final examination which will be due by ... .

• Paper: An 8-10 page research paper will be due on ... . The paper will involve research on an American political leader of the student's choosing. A brief proposal indicating the topic and sources for the paper must by turned in by ... .

• Grading: Midterm examination 25%; paper 35%; final examination 40%

Course Outline

I. Introduction

(1 class period)

II. Leaders and Leadership

(2 Class Periods)

A. What is political leadership?

B. Do leaders make history or does history make leaders?

Reading

Kellerman, 'Political Leadership', selections by Burns; Carlyle; Spencer; Hook ; Greenstein

Tocqueville, 'Democracy in America', Vol. 2, Section I, Chap. 20 "Some Characteristics of Historians in Democratic Times" http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/ch1_20.htm

III. How Should Leaders Act? Traditional Political Science on the Ethics of Leadership in Democratic Regimes

(2 Class Periods)

Reading

Sabl, Ruling Passions, pp. 1-16, 45-95

IV.What Causes Leaders to Lead, and Followers to Follow? Political Leadership and Modern Social Science

A. Political Science and Sociology (2 Class Periods)

Reading

Kellerman, 'Political Leadership', selection by Machiavelli

Putnam, 'The Comparative Study of Political Elites', pp.2 19

Kellerman, 'Political Leadership', selection by Weber

B. Psychology and Economics (2 Class Periods)

Reading

Kellerman, 'Political Leadership', selections by Lasswell; George

Fiorina and Shepsle, "Formal Theories of Leadership: Agents, Agenda setters and Entrepreneurs," in Jones, Leadership and Politics, pp. 17-40.

Kiewiet and McCubbins, "Delegation and Agency Problems," Chap. 2 in Kiewiet and McCubbins, The Logic of Delegation

PAPER TOPIC DUE

V. The American Context

A. American Political Institutions (2 Class Periods)

Reading

Hamilton, Madison and Jay, The Federalist, #'s 10, 37, 47-51, 70

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fedpapers.html or

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed.htm

Strahan, Personal Motives, Constitutional Forms, and the Public Good: Madison on Political Leadership. In Samuel Kernell, ed., James Madison: The Theory and Politics of Republican Government

SEMESTER BREAK

B. American Political Culture (3 Class Periods)

Reading

Tocqueville, 'Democracy in America', Vol. II, Section I, Chaps. 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/toc_indx.html

Wildavsky, "A Cultural Theory of Leadership," in Jones, 'Leadership and Politics', pp. 87-113

MIDTERM EXAMINATION(1 Class Period)

VI. "Outside" Leadership: Interest Groups and Social Movements

A. Entrepreneurs and Leaders in Voluntary Associations (2 Class Periods)

Reading

Wilson, 'Political Organizations', pp. 30-55, 195-204

Sabl, 'Ruling Passions', Chap. 6

B. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement (3 Class Periods)

Reading

Sabl, 'Ruling Passions', Chap. 5

Film

'Bridge to Freedom, 1965', from 'Eyes on the Prize'

VII. "Inside" Leadership

A. Governors (3 Class Periods)

Reading

Brinkley, Voices of Protest, pp. 3-81, 143-175, 179-186, 192-215, 242-251, 261-265

Additional readings on governors TBA

Film

Huey Long

3 DAY BREAK (e.g. Thanksgiving)

PAPER DUE

B. Congress (2 Class Periods)

Reading

Sabl, Ruling Passions, Ch. 4

Strahan and Palazzolo, "The Gingrich Effect" 'Political Science Quarterly' 119 (Spring 2004): 89-114. (eJournals Woodruff Library website)

C. The Presidency (2 Class Periods)

Reading

McPherson, 'Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution'

Additional reading on the presidency TBA

VIII. Conclusion: Understanding Political Leadership

(1 Class Period)

FINAL EXAMINATION DUE