Nearly all men can stand adversity but
if you want to test
a man's character, give him power. - Abraham Lincoln
I. Title: The Executive Process
II. Course description: A survey of executive powers at the national, state, and local levels with special emphasis on the office of the Presidency.
III. Instructor: Dr. Winfield H. Rose
Office location: 5A-10 Faculty Hall
Phone numbers: (502) 762-2662 (office); 753-0126 (home); 762-2688
(fax)
E-mail: winfield.rose@murraystate.edu
URL: http://campus.murraystate.edu/academic/faculty/winfield.rose/main.htm
Office hours: 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. MWF
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon TTh
IV. Class location, meeting time and language of
instruction: 507
Faculty
Hall, 12:30 - 1:45 p.m. TTh, August 24 - December 7, 2006;
English (it is not necessary to press 1).
V. Content outline: see Course Outline and Topics of Study.
VI. Required texts: (1) Sidney M. Milkis and Michael Nelson, The American Presidency: Origins & Development, 1776 - 2002 (4th edition), CQ Press, 2003; (2) Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, The Federalist Papers (any edition); (3) Raymond Tatalovich and Thomas Engeman, The Presidency and Political Science: Two Hundred Years of Constitutional Debate, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003; and (4) POL 443 Supplement, a collection of supplementary materials which may be purchased at Copy Express. Supreme Court opinions may be accessed via Findlaw.
VII. Instructional activities: Classes will be a combination of discussion and lecture. Students should come to class with their assignment read and they should be prepared to answer as well as ask questions. Class attendance is important and expected; roll be will taken every day. Use will be made of the Internet for some class reading materials. When your textbook mentions court cases, use Findlaw to access them for further study. You are also encouraged to watch appropriate programming on the A & E, Discovery, PBS, TLC, and History channels.
VIII. Academic honesty: The policy statement on academic honesty adopted by the Board of Regents on February 14, 1975 and reprinted in the Undergraduate Bulletin is hereby incorporated into this syllabus.
IX. Course requirements: There will be two tests (September 21 and October 26) and a final exam at the officially designated time (December 12); these together will constitute 60% of your grade (20%@). Your outside writing requirement, as prescribed below, will count as 20% of your grade. Attendance (15%) and class participation (5%) will form the basis of the final 20% of your course grade.
X. Prerequisites: Junior standing, an inquiring mind, a desire to learn, and a willingness to work.
XI. Purpose and Objective: To understand
the
origin, development, and current status of the executive process with
primary
emphasis on the American Presidency.
XII. Students with
disabilities: Students with bona fide disabilities should
contact me privately and appropriate arrangements will be made.
The White House
Presidency Research Group
Center for the Study of the
Presidency
American
Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library
American Presidents: Life
Portraits
The Inaugural
Classroom
The American
Presidency
A Chronology of U. S.
Historical
Documents
Townhall's Congressional
Resource Center
Presidential
Libraries
Presidents of the United States
THOMAS: Legislative Information on
the Internet
National Archives and Records
Administration
Findlaw: U.
S. Supreme Court Opinions
Character Above All:
An Exploration of Presidential Leadership
Federal Law Pertaining to
Presidential
Elections and Controversies:
Title 3, United States Code,
Chapter
1
Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002
Public Law 107-243 - October 16, 2002
I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and
on
all that shall hereafter
inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule
under this roof.
John Adams, Second President of the United States
Letter to his wife, Abigail, November 2, 1800
On moving into the White House
Course Outline and Topics of Study
I. Introductory Session:
Go to Grolier Online: The American Presidency and take the quizzes.
II. The Basics:
The
United
States Constitution, Articles I & II. Amendments XII, XX,
XXII,
& XXV.
Examine Internet Public Library: POTUS/Presidents
of the United States.
Read the chapters on the Presidency and Executive Branch in your text
from
POL 140, American National Government.
Go to Court
TV
Law Links: Government Sites. and familiarize yourself with the
agencies
of the federal government via their websites. Also familiarize
yourself
with the Office of
the Federal Register and the official White
House website.
III. The Theoretical Basis of Executive Power
A. M. Henderson and Talcott Parsons, From Max Weber: The Theory of Social and Economic Organization, "The Three Pure Types of Legitimate Authority" et seq., pp. 324-373, including "The Routinization of Charisma." POL 443 Supplement.
IV. The American Presidency:
(1) Ancestry
"The Magna Carta and Its American Legacy" and the English Bill of Rights (find on Internet).
Milkis & Nelson,
chapters 1 & 2.
Alexander Hamilton, Federalist #’s 65-77.
Tatalovich &
Engeman, Introduction & chapter 1.
(3) Establishment: Washington, the indispensable man
Milkis & Nelson, chapter 3.(4) Jefferson and the Jeffersonians
See
Thomas
Jefferson on Politics & Government.
Milkis & Nelson, chapter 4; Winfield H. Rose, "Marbury
v. Madison: How John Marshall Changed History by Misquoting the
Constitution",
PS: Political Science & Politics, April 2003, pp.
209-214;
read the Marbury opinion at 5 U.S. 137 (1803).
David Mayer, “By the Chains of the Constitution: Separation of Powers
Theory and Jefferson’s Conception of
the Presidency.” Supplement.
Walter Williams,
"Is It Permissible?" Supplement.
Tatalovich
& Engeman, ch. 2.
(5) The Jacksonian Era
Milkis & Nelson, chapter 5.(7) Age of the Lilliputians
Milkis & Nelson, chapter 7.(13) The Presidency of Bill Clinton
Final examination Tuesday, December 12, 1:30 p.m., 507 FH.
Outside Writing Assignment:
Your outside writing assignment for POL 443 is to research and write
a scholarly paper on an
appropriate topic pertaining to the executive
process. This paper should be at least 20 pages in length with
text in #12 font, and should be done in a highly competent,
professional manner. It should be written according to the
American Political Science Association style manual and in comformity
with my handout "Tips on Good Writing" which can be accessed via my
homepage. Excessive errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation
cannot be accepted. The cornerstone concept here is the word scholarly; your assignment is not
to write a lengthy op-ed piece or what is commonly called a "screed,"
but a scholarly paper that is worthy of presentation during Scholars'
Week next spring, that is worthy of submission in the annual Pi
Sigma Alpha outstanding paper in political science competition,
and that is worthy of submission to Chrysalis.
While there is not much flexibility in the level of scholarship
expected, there is considerable flexibility in the selection of
topic. Here you should select something that really interests you
and that you will enjoy working on. Some possible topics are
listed below; narrow the list down to three or four and then come talk
with me.
This list is not exhaustive, but if you wish to
select another topic you definitely should discuss it with me
beforehand.
Aggressive fighting for the right is the noblest sport the world
affords.
Theodore Roosevelt
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do
for your country.
John F. Kennedy
If history teaches anything, it teaches that self delusion in the
face of unpleasant facts is folly.
Ronald Reagan
If we learned anything from World War II, we
learned that appeasement doesn't work.
George Bush
I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more
freedom and democracy - but that could change.
Al Gore