Lehrman American Studies Center

The Two Dimensions of Public Policy

Public Policy is a field of theoretical inquiry with its own language and standards of judgment as well as a practical activity directed ultimately toward the preservation and alteration of the polity. This first-semester core course focuses on both “the state of the discipline” and on “the state of the nation.” Accordingly, we want to participate in the on-going conversations within the academic discipline, and also engage in an intelligent conversation with lawmakers of previous generations. We are interested in crossing the intersection between several disciplines and developing an interdisciplinary perspective toward the practical activity of public policy. And we encourage future leaders and citizens to ask how specific decisions and laws preserve or enhance the fundamental principles of the regime.

Public Policy as an Academic Discipline

On the one hand, Public Policy is an academic field of study plagued, like other fields, with ambiguity, equivocation, fragmentation, disenchantment, and self-doubt. As an academic discipline it is concerned about such issues as methodological disputes, “sub-field” identity--sorting out the differences between public policy, public administration, public management, public bureaucracy, and political science--critical self-examination, literature review, theory building and scientific validation, cutting-edge expertise, and boundaries of knowledge. It is concerned with “the state of the discipline.”

America needs decision makers who can apply the latest technical discoveries and specialized insights to solve the economic and social problems of contemporary society. To that end, America’s leaders need to excel in their understanding of the formulation, implementation, evaluation, and assessment of public policies designed by the private sector, or by one of the several levels of government, “to secure private rights and the public good.” Pepperdine University’s curriculum--as is the curriculum of similarly accredited Public Policy Programs--is designed to accomplish this shared professional understanding of what it means, as a MPP, to be policy analysts and policy makers, and to “do” public policy in the technical sense.

Public Policy as a Practical Activity

Technical competency, however, is the necessary (but not the sufficient) condition for effective public leadership. The primary aims of this core course are to inspire future leaders to work at the intersection of disciplines, rather than exclusively at the margins of specialization, and to consult the wisdom of the ages as they prepare for the uncertainy of the future. We need to bring an historical and humanistic dimension to the creation and evaluation of public policy. Leaders, and citizens, need to ask deep and thoughtful questions because important public policy aims at either the preservation or alteration of the political order. Does the specific law preserve, enhance, or undermine the fundamental principles of the regime? Public policy should be more than “who gets what, when, and, where?” It should answer the question: “does the nation get liberty and justice?”

Public Policy, then, is an activity engaged in by public officials who make, execute, and interpret laws that aim at some particular or public good. Moreover, individual citizens, as well as associations and groups, take a stand on a range of issues concerning what the law, or policy, should be and participate in the process of creating public laws. At best, it is a public activity that is concerned with the public good, private rights, institutional integrity, and the moral condition of the citizenry. And “doing” public policy involves confronting the crises of the republic and engaging the participants of those crises in a serious conversation.

Course Objectives

The objectives of this course are to 1) understand the changing nature of public policy as an academic discipline, 2) become aware of the world of the policy maker, 3) bridge the gap between the concerns of public policy analysts and scholars in related disciplines, 4) focus on racial, moral and religious, and institutional dimensions of contemporary public policy, 5) locate the contemporary issue being examined within the larger historical context of the American experience, 6) evaluate the arguments, opinions, decisions, and policies, of contemporary public figures, 7) examine the appeal, or lack of appeal, of public policy makers to the principles under girding the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, 8) determine the ability of the institutional framework to produce policies that are consistent with the purposes of the American Order, 9) take three important slices of historical material and examine the public policy issues of that era, and 10) drop in on the discussions of such public leaders as Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, Roosevelt and converse with them about their own public policy decisions, and explore the possibilities and limitations of applying their practical wisdom to the contemporary situation. Over and above these specific objectives, we are going to look at the role of the Supreme Court in shaping public policy over the years.

The activity of practical reflection directly engages us with the opinions of contemporary decision-makers responsible for the creation of “policies”--laws, orders, mores, decisions, habits, and customs--that have a direct bearing on the American Order. We will recall the practical wisdom of previous generations as well as consult the moral principles under girding the American Order. We also recur to earlier debates on the nature of constitutional politics and political discourse, decentralization, and the role of the states to help evaluate the quality of contemporary policy-making. To be sure, not all public policies have an impact on the character and future of the regime; but many do. MPP 600 is designed to examine those public policies that have profound regime implications. We are interested in promoting a conversation about the preservation of the public good and private rights in the American Order.

Few questions are more important than why some regimes undergo orderly change while others are destined to swing between tyranny and anarchy, why some endure for centuries, why another becomes “divided against itself,” why others pass away quickly, and why every political order undergoes such internal economic and cultural stress that few are capable of surviving. Unfortunately, insufficient attention is paid by public leaders and concerned citizens to these enduring questions of preservation and alteration. In this core course, we will give special attention to the following questions: How much should government do and how much should be left to the private sector of life? What is federalism and how have the different interpretations influenced public policy in America? How have race, morality, and religion shaped the conversation about public policy in America? Special attention will be given to the Founding, Secession, and the New Deal periods as important turning points in the life of the republic.

Course Requirements and Calendar

1. Attendance and Participation: 50%. Questions will be asked during the semester concerning the clauses of the Constitution and the assigned reading.  Please be prepared.
2. Comprehensive Final Exam: 50%. This will be a mixture of essay, IDs, and T/F. (Past exams are on reserve in the Library.

The website for the course is www.teachingamericanhistory. 

Please make sure that you read a daily newspaper—such as the Los Angeles Times or the Wall Street Journal--on a regular basis. Also consult the weekly issues of The Economist, Washington Post, National Journal, and the Congressional Quarterly. The Clauses of the Constitution outline will be handed out on the first day of class.

Books

• The Federalist, Clinton Rossiter and Charles Kesler, editors, New American Library. (Latest edition)
• The Complete Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, Paul Angle, editor, University of Chicago Press. (Paperback, 1991)
• The Essential Bill of Rights, Lloyd and Lloyd, editors, University Press of America (1998)
• The Essential Antifederalist, Allen and Lloyd, editors, Rowman & Littlefield (2002)
• The Two Faces Of Liberalism, Gordon Lloyd, editor, Scrivener Press (2006)

Packages: Several copies on reserve in the Library

• Crisis of the Republic. (Crisis Package)
• The Public Policy Profession. (Profession Package) 

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: The Clauses of the Constitution

Week 2: The Origins of the American Order: Why Study the Colonial and Early State based period?

All Readings are in The Essential Bill of Rights

Magna Carta: the foundations of reasonable government                       

The Mayflower Compact: we the covenanting people

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut: even more we the people

John Locke: natural rights, private property and limited government

The English Bill of Rights: even more reasonable government

Montesquieu: federalism and the separation of powers

David Hume; what social contract?

John Tucker: the case for disobedience

Edmund Burke: the obviousness of the American cause

The Declaration of Independence: the universal and the particular

The Virginia Bill of Rights and Constitution: the declaration of democratic republicanism

The Articles of Confederation: the centrality of the States 

The Northwest Ordinance: slavery in the territories

Pennsylvania Declaration and Constitution: the novelty of Penn’s place

Massachusetts Declaration of Rights: the right to religious establishment

Madison’s Remonstrance: be careful about religious establishment

Jefferson’s Statutes: Madison is a wise man

Madison’s Vices: what’s wrong with the Articles?                       

Weeks 3 and 4: The Constitutional Convention of 1787                                                          

Emphasis on The Four Act Drama: The Ups, the Downs, the Plans, the Arguments

The Major Themes of the Convention: Electoral College, Judicial Review etc.

Day by Day at the Convention: One Proposition after Another

Profile of the Delegates: Young, Educated, and Experienced

Historic Philadelphia: All in One Place

Madison’s Notes: Almost like Plato’s Republic?

The Christy Painting: How would you re-present the American Founding?

The Entertainment of Washington: isn’t anyone hungry?

Week 5: The Antifederalist Critique of the Constitution

The Federal Farmer and Brutus Essays in The Essential Antifederalist: The Out of Doors Argument

The Essential Bill of Rights, chapter 6: pp. 277-331: The Indoors Argument

Week 6 & 7: A New and More Noble Course, Federalist 1-36

Federalist 1: Our moment in History

Federalist 9: Let the Experiment Begin

Federalist 10: Making Democracy Safe for the World

Federalist 15: The Structural Defects of the Articles

Federalist 17: Which Level of Government is Best Administered?

Federalist 23: The Absurdity of the Antifederalists

Federalist 35: The Nature of Representation

Charles A. Beard, “Politics,” 1908

William H. Riker, “Political Science and Rational Choice,” 1990

Mark P. Petracca, “Rational Choice Approach to Politics: A Challenge to Democratic Theory,” 1991

Robert D. Putnam, “Tuning In, Tuning Out,” 1995. 

Pippa Norris, “Does Television Erode Social Capital? A Reply to Putnam,” 1996.

Week 8: The Great Difficulty of Founding,  The Federalist 37-51

Federalist 37: The Liquidation of Meaning

Federalist 38: The Uniqueness of the American Founding

Federalist 39: Republicanism and Federalism Revisited

Federalist 40: Did the Framers exceed their Authority?

Federalist 45: The powers of the federal government are few and defined

Federalist 47: Reconstructing Montesquieu

Federalist 48: Which is the Most Dangerous Branch?

Federalist 49: Passions and Reason

Federalist 51: The internal Structure of Government (Week 8 readings continue on page 4)

David Easton, “The Idea of a Political System,” 1953  

James Q. Wilson, “Interests and Deliberation in the American Republic,” 1990   

Jurg Steiner, “Rational Choice Theories and Politics: A Moral Question,”1990

Week 9: Liberty, Stability, Energy, and Judgment, The Federalist 52-85

Federalist 55: In Defense of the House

Federalist 57: Keeping the Representatives Accountable

Federalist 63: In Defense of the Senate

Federalist 70: The Case for a “Vigorous Executive”

Federalist 71: “The Deliberate Sense of the Community”

Federalist 78: The Case for an Independent Judiciary

Federalist 84: The Constitution is a Bill of Rights

James Madison’s June 8 Speech, et al., EBR, 331-357

Woodrow Wilson, “The Study of Administration,” 1887

James Q. Wilson, “Reinventing Public Administration,” 1994

Meese-Brennan debate, 1985

Weeks 10 & 11: The Second Crisis of the Republic

All Readings are in Crisis Package, Angle edition of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

Jefferson and Hamilton on the Bank: interpreting the constitution

The Alien and Sedition Acts: the reach of the federal government

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions: the rights of individuals and of the states

Marbury v. Madison, 1803: the origin of judicial review?

McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316: federal powers and public policy

The Missouri Compromise of 1820: drawing the line on slavery

The Abolitionist Movement: redrawing the line on slavery

The Compromise of 1850: federalism and slavery

The Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854: popular sovereignty in the territories

The South and Secession: give me slavery or give me disunion?

Dred Scott v. Sanford, 60 U.S. 390: the limits of public policy

Lincoln and Douglas at Ottawa, Freeport, and Alton: the Declaration and the Constitution

The Constitution of the Confederate States: a newer federalism?

The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments: Congressional Supremacy?

Weeks 12 & 13: The Third Crisis of The Republic

Selections from The Two Faces of Liberalism.   Special attention will be given to:                               

Herbert Hoover, 1928: in defense of individualism

Herbert Hoover, 1928: the role of government

Herbert Hoover, 1931: Annual Message

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932: the forgotten man

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932: Oglethorpe and bold experimentation

The Democratic Party Platform of 1932: extend federal power

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932: Commonwealth Club Speech

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933: first inaugural

The National Industrial Recovery Act, 1933: federal control of the economy

The Social Security Act of 1935: the origin of the welfare state

Schechter Poultry Corp. v. U.S. (1935): Is the NIRA unconstitutional?

Herbert Hoover, 1936: the confused state of the union

The Republican Party Platform of 1936: return to tradition

The Democratic Party Platform of 1936: reaffirm the New Deal

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1937: second inaugural

NLRB v. Jones (1937): Is the New Deal unconstitutional?

Herbert Hoover, 1937:       hands off the Court           

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1937: fair day’s pay

Reform of the Federal Judiciary, 1937: curb the Court

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1937: Address on Constitution Day

Herbert Hoover, 1939: the real state of the union

Week 14: The Fourth Crisis of the Republic?

Week 15: Final Exam