History A326                                                                                           U.S. Constitutional History II

Spring, 2002                                                                                                            Prof. E.B. Monroe

Classroom CA                                                                                                               Office CA 529

Office Hours: Wednesday 1:30 to 2:30                                                                Telephone: 278-2255

                       And by appointment                                                              Email: emonroe@iupui.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

This course covers the historical development of United States Constitutional history after 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 history 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.

 

Principles of Undergraduate Learning: Students will be expected to read, write and discuss the materials presented in this course.  In written assignments particularly, students will be expected to analyze evidence, argument, and conclusions of the authors of assigned texts (and lectures) to reach reasoned conclusions.  Students will synthesize the materials of constitutional history to better understand how the Constitution and interpretations of it over time have influenced our cultural traditions.

 

Evaluation: Three essay exams will test the student’s knowledge of the material covered.  In addition to the exams, there will be five 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 be discussed in class.

 

Course grade: Each written exam is worth 25% of the final grade.  The five one-page written assignments are worth 5% each.  Extra credit portfolio: for as much as 10 extra points on the final grade students may rewrite the five essays.  It is important on rewrite not only to correct clerical mistakes, but also to reanalyze and reformulate the essay.  Both first and final versions of the essays must be included in the portfolio.  The revised portfolio will be due on April 17.

 

Graduate students: Each graduate student must take two of the three exams and prepare the five one-page essays.  Graduate students will also meet jointly with the instructor and research and prepare a term paper of about 20 pages on a topic related to the course subject.  It is anticipated we will meet four times over the semester.  The final paper is due May 1.   

 

 

TEXTS:

Alfred H. Kelly, Winfred A. Harbison and Herman Belz.  The American Constitution: Its Origins and Development.  (New York: Norton, 7th ed. 1991).  Vol. 2

 

Richard Kluger.  Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle for Equality.  (New York: Vintage, 1975).

Charles A. Lofgren.  The Plessy Case: A Legal-Historical Interpretation.  (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987).

 

G. Edward White.  The American Judicial Tradition: Profiles of Leading American Judges.  (New York: Oxford University Press, expanded edition, 1988).

 

U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISIONS:

 

Munn v. Illinois 94 U.S. 113 (1877)

Lochner v. New York

Schechter v. U.S.

 

Internet instructions: Access the Lexis-Nexis site at: http://web.lexis.com/universe

Must be on campus or logged into the IUPUI network via IUWARE.

Click on “Legal Research” on Screen 1

Click on “Get a Case” on Screen 2

On Screen 3 input the name(s) for the case you wish to view.

On Screen 4 click on the highlighted case name.

Scroll through screen 5 to read the case online or e-mail it to an e-mail account by clicking on the “e-mail” tab

Enter an email address on Screen 6.  Then click on “e-mail” to send.

 

 

POLICIES:

 

All students are expected to attend and participate in every class.  All assignments are due on the specified dates.

 

A grade of zero (0) will be assigned to any work which has been produced by cheating or plagiarism.  The definitions (from the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts Bulletin are:

 

Cheating: Cheating is dishonesty of any kind with respect to examinations, course assignments, alteration 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 a 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:

 

 

Jan         7        Introduction to the American judicial system and summary of the first semester

 

              9        Kelly, Harbison and Belz (KHB) Chapters 17 and 18: Reconstruction

 

            14        KHB Chap. 19: Constitutional Change and the Industrial Revolution

 

            16        KHB Chap. 20: The Supreme Court and Entrepreneurial Liberty

 

            21        NO CLASS–MLK DAY

 

            23        ONE PAGE SUMMARY OF MUNN DUE

                        See format discussion at end of syllabus

 

            28        KHB Chap. 21: Progressive Constitutionalism

 

            30        REVISION OF MUNN DUE

                        KHB Chap. 22: The Constitutional and World War I

 

FEB.      4        KHB Chap. 23: The Constitution in Transition

 

              6        REVIEW FOR FIRST EXAM

                        AMERICAN JUDICIAL TRADITION 84-149

           

            11        FIRST HOUR EXAM

 

            13        ONE PAGE SUMMARY OF LOCHNER DUE

            18        KHB Chap. 24: The New Deal

 

            20        ONE PAGE SUMMARY OF SCHECHTER DUE

 

            25        KHB Chap. 26 & 27: The Development of Modern Civil Liberties Law and World War II and the Constitution

 

            27        KHB Chap. 28: The Cold War

 

MAR     4        REVIEW FOR SECOND HOUR EXAM

                        AMERICAN JUDICIAL TRADITION 150-316

              6        SECOND HOUR EXAM

 

            11, 13  NO CLASS–SPRING BREAK

 

            18        KHB Chap. 29: Civil Rights and the Constitution

 

            20        ONE PAGE SUMMARY OF THE PLESSY CASE DUE

 

            25        KHB Chap. 30: The Warren Court

 

            27        TWO PAGE SUMMARY OF SIMPLE JUSTICE DUE

 

APR      1         KHB Chap. 31: Post New Deal Constitutionalism

 

              3        KHB Chap. 32: Watergate

                        ONE PAGE SUMMARY OF AMERICAN JUDICIAL TRADITION DUE

           

              8        KHB Chap. 33: The Burger Court

           

            10, 15  NO CLASS

 

            17        KHB Chap. 34: Divided Government and Separation of Powers

                        EXTRA CREDIT PORTFOLIOS DUE

 

            22        KHB Chap. 35: Constitutional Decisions in the Era of Divided Government

 

            24        KHB Chap. 36: Perspective

 

            26        REVIEW FOR FINAL EXAM

 

            29        NO CLASS

 

MAY     1        FINAL EXAM   1:00-3:00 pm

 

Written Assignment Format:

 

Fundamentals: typewritten, one-inch margins, double-spaced, typeface the size of the font in this syllabus or larger, excellent grammar and style, no spelling errors, about 250 words per page.

 

Type your name in the top right corner.  Two lines down beginning at the left margin, provide the legal citation of the case or the bibliographical citation for the book.  Two lines below this information begin your text.

 

For the case summaries you should provide four paragraphs with subheadings of: background, issues, decision, and impact.

 

For the book reviews you should evaluate the character of the book and report on the author’s major contributions.  Topics to include: author’s background, thesis, and how his sources support the thesis.  You should also consider: scope of the research, focus, most important features of the book and its organization if they affect the overall impact of the book.  Examples of reviews can be found in the major historical journals.  I particularly recommend: Journal of American History and American Historical Review.  For more in-depth reviews see Reviews in American History.  For the summary of Simple Justice you may use two pages.