History A325 U.S. Constitutional History
Fall, 2001 Prof. E.B. Monroe
Classroom: 215 Office: CA 529
Office hours: immediately before class, M and W 9:15-10:00 Voice mail: 278-2255
and by appointment Email: emonroe@iupui.edu
This course treats the historical development of United States constitutional history before the Civil War. Students will gain a substantive understanding of the broad developmental themes in the history of American constitutional law and the impact of different methodologies on historical and legal inquiry.
Method: Students are expected to be familiar with readings in the standard text, legal documents and selected monographs. Most of the class periods will be devoted to lectures; however, there will be discussions of the legal documents and monographs, and questions will be encouraged.
Evaluation: Three essay exams will test the students’ knowledge of the material covered. In addition to the exams, there will be five formal one-page summaries of cases and books. All students are expected to participate in class. The written assignment format is included at the end of this syllabus. It will also be discussed in class.
Course grade: Each exam is worth 25% of the final grade. The five one-page written assignments are worth 5% each. Class participation, especially in the form of summarizing the previous day’s discussion, is expected of each student and will enhance the student’s final grade. Extra credit portfolio: for as much as 10 extra credit points on the final grade students may rewrite the five essays and submit the other two. It is important on rewrite not only to correct clerical mistakes, but also to reanalyze and reformulate each essay. Both first and final versions of the essays must be included in the portfolio.
Graduate students: Each graduate student must take two of the three essay exams and prepare the five one-page essays. Graduate students will also meet separately with the instructor about once each month and write extended reviews of mutually chosen books/articles of the secondary literature of constitutional history. The first meeting date will be chosen at the first class.
TEXTS:
Alfred H. Kelly, Winfred A. Harbison, and Herman Belz. The American Constitution: Its Origins and Development. 7th ed. (New York: Norton, 1991), vol. 1.
Paul Finkelman, Dred Scott v. Sanford: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997).
Donald S. Lutz (ed.). Colonial Origins of the American Constitution: A Documentary History. (Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 1998).
Stanley I. Kutler. Privilege and Creative Destruction: The Charles River Bridge Case. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1971).
Jill Norgren. The Cherokee Cases: The Confrontation of Law and Politics. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996).
A collection of documents available online through Lexus-Nexus in library or on Cornell University website through the web:
Judiciary Act of 1789
Marbury v. Madison
McCulloch v. Maryland
For reference as you read the books, you should also look at:
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)
Worcester v. Georgia (1832)
Proprietors of the Charles River Bridge v. Proprietors of the Warren Bridge (1837)
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
POLICIES:
All students are expected to attend and participate in every class. All assignments are due on the specified dates. Make-up tests will only be given in exceptional circumstances and will always be given at 7:00 am. All requests for make-ups must be made in advance of the test date.
A grade of zero (0) will be assigned to any work which has been produced by cheating or plagiarism. The following definitions are from the Indiana University Bulletin:
Cheating: Cheating is dishonesty of any kind with respect to examinations, course assignments, alterations of records, or illegal possession of examinations. It is the responsibility of the student not only to abstain from cheating, but, in addition, to avoid the appearance of cheating and to guard against making it possible for others to cheat. Any student who helps another student to cheat is as guilty of cheating as the student assisted. The student should also do everything possible to induce respect for the examining process and for honesty in the performance of assigned tasks in or out of class.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the offering of the work of someone else as one’s own. Honesty requires that any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged. The language or ideas taken from another may range from isolated formulas, sentences, or paragraphs to entire articles copied from books, periodicals, speeches, or the writings of other students. The offering of materials assembled or collected by others in the form of projects or collections without acknowledgment is also considered plagiarism. Any student who fails to give credit for ideas or materials taken from another source is guilty of plagiarism.
A grade of “incomplete” will not be assigned except in the event of catastrophe such as serious personal illness or death of a family member. All incompletes must be arranged in advance of the final day of class. Arrangement for an incomplete will require the instructor’s approval of a signed statement from the student about the reason for requesting the incomplete and a date when all remaining work will be submitted.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Aug 22 Legal Foundations of the American colonies, KHB Chap. 1
27 KHB Chap. 2
29 KHB Chap. 3
Sep 3 LABOR DAY
5 Lutz, Sections A and B
10 Lutz, Sections C and D ONE PAGE PAPER DUE
12 KHB Chap. 4
17 KHB Chap. 5
19
24 KHB Chap. 6
26 Summary for midterm exam
Oct 1 MIDTERM EXAM
3 KHB Chap. 7 Judiciary Act of 1789 ONE PAGE PAPER DUE
8 KHB Chap. 8
Oct 10 KHB Chap. 9
15 Marbury v. Madison ONE PAGE PAPER DUE
17 KHB Chap. 10
22 KHB Chap. 11
24 McCulloch v. Maryland ONE PAGE PAPER DUE
29 KHB Chap. 12
31 Summary for Second Exam
Nov 5 SECOND HOUR EXAM
7 The Cherokee Cases ONE PAGE PAPER DUE
12 KHB Chap. 13
14 Privilege and Creative Destruction ONE PAGE PAPER DUE
19 KHB Chap. 14
21 Thanksgiving holiday
26 KHB Chap. 15
28 Dred Scott v. Sandford [book] ONE PAGE PAPER DUE
Dec 3 KHB Chap. 16 EXTRA CREDIT PORTFOLIO DUE
GRADUATE STUDENT REVIEW PORTFOLIO DUE
5 Summary for final exam
10 No class
12 8:00-9:30 FINAL EXAM
One page summary format:
I WILL RETURN UNGRADED PAPERS THAT DO NOT CONFORM TO THE FOLLOWING FORMAT:
Fundamentals: typewritten, one-inch margins, double-spaced, font size no smaller than font for this syllabus (12), one page only. Excellent grammar and style, no spelling errors, about 250-300 words.
Type your name at the top right corner. Two spaces down provide the proper legal citation of the case or the bibliographical citation of the book. Two spaces below this information begin your text.
For the case summaries you should provide four paragraphs with subheadings of: background, issues, decision, impact.
For the book review you should evaluate the character of the book and report on the author’s major contributions. Topics to consider include: author’s background, thesis, summary of the book including scope, focus, most important features, organization. Examples of reviews can be found in historical journals in the library. I particularly recommend Journal of American History and American Historical Review.
For Lutz Colonial Origins one page paper and discussion:
Section A: New Hampshire and Massachusetts pages 31-49, 70-91, 141-160.
Section B: Rhode Island, Connecticut
Section C: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia
Section D: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Confederations