Particularly in n an election year, we should think carefully about the meaning and justification of the American Republic. In this course, we will study the founding of the United States by examining the political theory which sparked the revolution itself and which lay behind the writing of the Constitution. We will look at some of the key works that were read by the Founders, particularly the works of John Locke, the Baron de Montesquieu, and David Hume.  But we will also look at important works that from the period surrounding the revolution and the writing of the Constitution, like those by Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, and we also look at writers that were sometimes ignored at the time, like those from Black authors and women.  

The eighteenth century was a time of remarkable intellectual activity in the West, and the Americans played a central role in it, both reflecting the thought in Europe and influencing the course of thoughts and events there. Although it was over 200 years ago, the eighteenth century was a modern period:  their concerns are largely our concerns. But since they come from a different background, they approach these concerns in a different and (I hope) illuminating way.  So we want to examine these ideas in their context, but we also want to see what these thinkers can tell us about the role and nature of government and of society.

The W versions of 200-level courses all count toward the upper-level writing requirement for the major. The course descriptions for the W versions are the same as for the standard version, the only difference being that the W version requires additional written work including a component of revision of at least one assignment. 

Particularly in n an election year, we should think carefully about the meaning and justification of the American Republic. In this course, we will study the founding of the United States by examining the political theory which sparked the revolution itself and which lay behind the writing of the Constitution. We will look at some of the key works that were read by the Founders, particularly the works of John Locke, the Baron de Montesquieu, and David Hume.  But we will also look at important works that from the period surrounding the revolution and the writing of the Constitution, like those by Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, and we also look at writers that were sometimes ignored at the time, like those from Black authors and women.  

The eighteenth century was a time of remarkable intellectual activity in the West, and the Americans played a central role in it, both reflecting the thought in Europe and influencing the course of thoughts and events there. Although it was over 200 years ago, the eighteenth century was a modern period:  their concerns are largely our concerns. But since they come from a different background, they approach these concerns in a different and (I hope) illuminating way.  So we want to examine these ideas in their context, but we also want to see what these thinkers can tell us about the role and nature of government and of society.