POLSC 317.53 American Political Development
Professor Andrew J. Polsky
Spring 2006

Topics for the First Paper

    Write a 6-8 page essay (double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point font) on one of the following topics. Be sure to put the question number on your essay. Remember that your work will be evaluated on the basis of the grading rubric distributed in class. Please consult the paper guidelines on my web page (http://urban.hunter.cuny.edu/~apolsky/papers.htm), observe the standard formatting rules listed there, and be sure to cite properly and fully all material taken from the texts. Due: Monday, March 6th, at the beginning of the class period. The late penalty (without a valid, documented reason for the lateness) will be one-third letter grade for each day the paper is late, beginning at 11 AM on the 6th. Thus a paper submitted after class on the 6th loses one-third of a letter grade, and a paper submitted on the 7th loses two-thirds of a letter grade. Remember that a late paper (without a valid reason) may not be revised.

    1. Compare and contrast the view of American political culture presented by Louis Hartz and Rogers Smith and indicate how each might be applied to explain continuity or change in American political development.

    2. Identify two overarching "boundary conditions" and discuss their effects upon American political development.

    3. James Morone identifies "moral politics" as a driving force in shaping American politics since the 1600s. Briefly explain the recurring pattern he describes, discuss how that pattern manifested itself in two periods (e.g, the American Revolution; the mid-19th century, or the Victorian-Progressive era), and assess the value of his framework in accounting for the political outcomes he seeks to explain.

    4. Contrast and compare two theories of recurring political patterns (e.g., moral politics and partisan regimes) that seek to explain broad scale political development in the United States.

    5. Contrast and compare how Louis Hartz, Rogers Smith, and James Morone explain the political development of the antebellum South.

    6. Identify two specific policy and/or institutional outcomes that James Morone attributes to "moral politics" in two different periods, describe and evaluate the quality of the evidence he uses to support his causal argument, identify alternative (sometimes called "competing") explanations for each outcome, and assess whether his evidence suffices to test the alternative explanations. Note that the author may or may not have considered the alternative explanations you choose.