CLARKSONUNIVERSITY
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
PHIL 420: The Philosophy of the American Founding
MW: 4:00–5:15 pm;SN169
Instructor: Dr. Bill VitekOffice: Snell 271
Phone: 268-4424E-mail:
Office Hours: MW: 11-12
T: 10-12, 3-5
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The American Founding is a monumental political and social event in American and world history. The Founders are viewed as men and women of action, revolutionaries, social and political architects, and as politicians. But those at the head of the Founder class—Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Adams, and Paine for example—were also men of deep philosophical convictions. Their writings are informed by many of the great philosophical writers including Aristotle, David Hume, John Locke, Montesquieu, among others. In many ways the founders were America’s first philosophers, and their writings reflect this philosophical commitment.
This course will explore the writings and philosophical influences of the primary American Founders with an eye toward understanding their assumptions about human nature, the natural world, and the social and political systems that could work best and last longest.
Course Objectives:
- Highlight some of the philosophical principles and concepts of American politics.
- Demonstrate the richness of philosophical concepts as applied to politics.
- Provide a philosophical framework in which to judge and critique the American Founding.
Course Outcomes:
By the end of the course students should be able to:
- Articulate the philosophical assumptions of the primary architects of the American Founding.
- Understand the history of the American Founding in philosophical terms.
- Think reasonably and thoughtfully about complex philosophical concepts.
- Make professional presentations—both written and oral—on political and philosophical material.
Course Texts:
Isaac Kramnick, The Portable Enlightenment Reader (K)
Gordon Wood, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different(WoodRC)
Gordon Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution(WoodRad)
Darren Staloff, Hamilton, Adams, Jefferson: The Politics of Enlightenment and the American Founding(S)
Roy Smith, Adam Smith and the Origins of American Enterprise(Smith)
Richard K. Matthews, The Radical Politics of Thomas Jefferson(M)
Digital Library (D): See pages 8-10 of the syllabus
REQUIREMENTS: Two4-5 page reader response papers (40%); 3-4in-class discussion-leader presentations(20%); Final 10-12page paper (40%).
TENTATIVE SYLLABUS
Jan14MIntroductions
16WK: Kant, Diderot, Dumarsais; WoodRad: Preface, Introduction, and Chapter 1
21 MK: Voltaire (51), Locke, Hume, Voltaire (115); WoodRad: Chapters 2-3
23 WK: Voltaire (190), Hume (195), la Mettrie; WoodRad: Chapters 4-5
28 M WoodRad: 6-8; D: Paine, Adams (John and Abigail); WoodRC: Chapter 7
30 WWoodRad: 9-10; D: Dickenson, Hamilton, Madison
Feb04 MWoodRad: 11-12; D: Declaration of Independence, Constitution of Virginia, Henry,
Revere
06 WK:Rousseau, Pope, Hutcheson; WoodRC: 1-64
13 Wednesday: WoodRC: 65-90; D:Franklin
15Friday: K: Vico, Rousseau (363), Voltaire (369)
18 MWoodRad: 13-14; K: Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire (416)
20 WWoodRad: 15-16
25 MWoodRad: 17-19;
27WD: Rush, Franklin, Shay’s rebellion, Webster
Mar 03 M S: Introduction; WoodRC: Chapter 4
05 WS: Chapter 1
10 MD: Hamilton (Founding and Republic links)
12 W WoodRC: Chapter 6
24 M S: Chapter 2
26 W D: Adams (Founding and Republic links)
31 M S: Chapter 5; D (Madison Founding and Republic Links)
Apr02W WoodRad: Chapter Three
07 M S: Chapter Three; D: Jefferson (Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom)
09 W M: Chapters 1-3; D: Jefferson on bank constitutionality
14 M M: Chapters 4-7; D: Jefferson inaugural addresses
16 W: Smith: Chapters 1-2; K: Franklin, Turgot
21 M: Smith: Chapters 3-5; K: Hume (491), Smith (280), Smith (378)
23 W: Open
PHIL 420
REQUIREMENTS AND COURSE POLICIES
Please read this document carefully. Failure to read this document does not constitute a valid excuse for missed deadlines or misunderstandings about course requirements.
GRADING: The grading system is based on a 100 point scale. At the end of the semester your individual grades are totaled, with points added for high quality journals and class participation, andpoints subtracted for unexcused absences. The grading is as follows: A: 94-100; B+: 8893; B: 8187; C+: 7680;C: 7075;D+: 6669:D: 6165; F: 60 and below.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Attendance is expected and required. Two unexcused absences are permitted. Thereafter each unexcused absence counts for one point off of your final grade. Excused absences must be properly documented. Absences are likewise awarded for unacceptable classroom behavior, including sleeping, inappropriate talking, doing other work, and general lack of preparation.
COMMUNICATIONS: I will use your Clarkson e-mail addresses to send you information and updates about the course. If you do not monitor your Clarkson e-mail account, you will miss these. I will also post announcements and course documents on Blackboard.
PARTICIPATION/IN-CLASS DISCUSSION-LEADER PRESENTATION (20%):This course will be run as an upper level seminar. Participation is encouraged and expected. Strong and consistent class participation will result in extra points added to your final grade. In addition, students working individually or in pairs are responsible 3-4 times during the semester to be discussion leaders for a particular reading assignment. You will be the teacher on that day, making a brief presentation on the day’s reading, and creating discussion questions to get the class talking.
READER RESPONSE ESSAYS (40%):Students are required to write 2 four-five page typed, double spaced reader response essays. These essays should be divided equally between a summary of the reading material and your own views. Grammar and spelling will be taken into account. Each paper is worth twenty points. Due dates for the papers are
Monday, February 25th and
Monday, March 31st
Late papers are not accepted. This course will use turnitin.com, a plagiarism prevention system, for all of your papers and journals. (Visit and click on the quick start button for students). If you have not already done so in another class, you will need to register on turnitin.com. Once you have done that you can register for the course. The class name is PHIL 420. The ID is 2089675, and the password is AmerFounding (no spaces). You will be required to submit your papers to this website, and I will read and grade your papers on-line.
FINAL PAPER (40%): A final 10-12 page paper is due at the end of the semester that summarizes your reflections and insights regarding the course material. You are encouraged to focus your paper around a central theme or on one specific founder and his connections to Western and Enlightenment philosophical principles. Your paper should contain substantial references to course material.
MISCONDUCT: Cheating and/or plagiarizing of any kind will lead to immediate dismissal from class, failure in the course, and an appearance before Clarkson's Academic Integrity Board. Three words about plagiarism: DON’T DO IT! Plagiarism is the representation of someone else’s work as your own. It can range from copying another essay word-for-word, to paraphrasing an article from Cliff or Monarch notes, to “reading my roommate’s paper to get some ideas” and then repeating them in your written assignments. I do not expect you to have thoughts no one else has had if nothing else you will bedrawing on class discussion. I do expect you to give credit when you build on the ideas of others. When in doubt, credit your source or inspiration. If I amin doubt about whether your work is your own, I will take it to the Academic Integrity Committee. (See Clarkson’s Regulations for a description of this Committee.) Thou shalt not plagiarize in this course—especiallysince it is a religion course. CASES OF PLAGIARISM WILL BESEVERELY PUNISHED.
CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE: `Etiquette' is an old word that means proper or expected behavior. I will do my best to 1) come to class well prepared and enthusiastic about the material; 2) start and end class on time; 3) present the material clearly; 4) engage in fair and open discussion; and 5) treat students like adults. I have similar expectations of you to: 1) do the reading; 2) come to class awake, on-time, and prepared; 3) be ready to learn and participate in discussions; and 4) listen and respect the views of others. In addition, with the exception of a loss of heat or medical reasons, my classroom is a no-hat zone. I assume that all of us will have the occasional bad hair day, but it is also my expectation that the good days will greatly outweigh the bad days. Absences will be awarded to students who consistently violate the no-hat rule.
Paper Tips
I expect your papers to be well organized, with a thesis, good paragraph structure, citations, and to contain all of the other characteristics that go into a good analytical paper.
I grade your papers using two central criteria:
- How well do you summarize the position/points of view of the author(s) you are presenting?
- How well do you present and defend your own point of view?
The questions and categories below guide me in reading and grading your papers.
Does the introductory paragraph/section:
1)Interest the reader?
2)Tell the reader what the paper is about, including the names of the authors to whom you will refer?
3)Clearly state your thesis/point of view?
Is there a general concluding paragraph/section?
Is there one central idea per paragraph?
Are there spelling, punctuation, and/or grammatical errors?
Are paragraphs too short (3 sentences) or too long (one page or more)?
Is there colloquial or inappropriate language? (Don’t write papers like you speak to your friends.)
Are authors correctly referenced? (You may use endnotes, footnotes or parenthetical citations.)
Are there good transitions between sentences and paragraphs?
Are there awkward sentences/phrases?
Are there sentences that are unclear?
Is there good overall balance between textual analysis and personal opinion (about 50-50)?
Does the paper do what the author says it will do?
There are two ways to insure a better paper:
1) Read your paper aloud, slowly, as if you were giving a speech.
2) Have someone else read your paper. Invite them to find errors and to give you honest advice.
If you have any questions or concerns about the syllabus, please do not hesitate to contact me at .
PHIL 420
Philosophy of the American Founding
Digital Library
The Revolution
Declaration of Independence
Constitution of Virginia
John Adams: A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law
Abigail Adams: Letter to John Adams
John Dickenson: Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms
Alexander Hamilton: The Farmer Refuted
Patrick Henry: “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech
James Madison: Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
Thomas Paine: Common Sense
Paul Revere: Memorandum on Events of April 18, 1775
The Founding
John Adams: Thoughts on Government
John Adams: A Defense of the Constitution of Government of the United States of America
Alexander Hamilton: Federalist 1, 9, 23, 70,
Thomas Jefferson: A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom
James Madison: Federalist 10, 49
Benjamin Rush: Address to the People of the United States
Benjamin Franklin: Convention Speech
Shay’s rebellion
Noah Webster: “America”
The Republic
John Adams: First Inaugural Address
Alien and Sedition Acts
Alexander Hamilton: “For the Bank”
Alexander Hamilton: “Report on Public Credit”
Thomas Jefferson: Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank
Thomas Jefferson: First Inaugural Address
Thomas Jefferson: Second Inaugural Address
James Madison: First Inaugural Address
Marbury v. Madison
George Washington: First Inaugural Address
George Washington: Second Inaugural Address
George Washington: Farewell Address
General Links
Thomas Jefferson:
Federalist Papers:
James Madison:
Alexander Hamilton:
Thomas Paine:
Benjamin Franklin:
Adam Smith:
Sam Adams:
John Adams:
Founding Documents:
1