Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Spring Semester 2026

American Political Thought (Online)

POLS 4110-30I

Course: POLS 4110-30I
Credits: 3
Term: Spring Semester 2026
Department: PSCJ
CRN: 13564

Course Description

A historical approach to American political ideology and philosophy with an emphasis upon the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the origins and the evolution of American liberalism and conservatism as they relate to democracy and the role of government. (Spring - Even Years) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Registration Restriction(s): None

Required Texts

AMERICAN POLITICAL THOUGHT: READINGS AND MATERIALS
ISBN: 10 : 0199338868/13:: 978-0199338863
BY KEITH E. WHITTINGTON
PUBLISHED BY OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1ST Edition
PUBLICATION DATE: JAN. 26, 2016

Learning Outcomes

Course Objective: Upon successful completion of the course students will have a greater understanding of and appreciation for the ideologies and political movements that together comprise the American political experiment.

In this course we will explore the philosophical foundations of the American political experience. Drawing on the insights of various historically important writers and politicians we will read and discuss the many and diverse ideologies that comprise political thought in the United States. We will examine the concepts of democracy, republicanism, liberalism, conservatism, feminism, radicalism, socialism, race and the role of religion. We will also carefully analyze current political trends and events and the ideologies that underlie those trends and events in an attempt to understand their intellectual
antecedents.

Essential Learning Outcomes:


Critical Thinking: Through description and analysis, students will develop the capacity to conceptualize and understand competing American political
ideologies and movements.

Civic Engagement: Students will learn the importance of personal political involvement and become more engaged in the political system of the United States.

Course Requirements

Weekly Discussion Forum Prompt or Response to Another Student's Prompt.................................................................................... 60%
(5 prompts or responses to another student's prompt in total).

Each student will complete a two-page (500 word) response
to a weekly discussion forum prompt that will be posted by the professor. \\

Alternatively, each may complete a two page (500 word) response
to a weekly discussion forum prompt posted by another student.


7-Page Essay..............................................................................................................................................................................................40%
One 7-Page Essay will be assigned by the professor in the third week of the course 
that each student will complete and submit at the of the semester. 

Course Outline


  • As you will see below, we will cover a number readings each week in this course. 

  • However, as you can also see, they are quite short (usually no more than 2-3 pages each and sometimes only 1 page each). 

  • Moreover, students will have options on which readings they can choose to focus on in preparing the written assignments that are required for this course. 


Weeks 1 & 2 (WHITTINGTON Chapters 1-3)


Chapter 1: Introduction to American Political Thought (Week 1)
(pp 1-12)

Chapter 2:
The Colonial Era, Before 1776 (Week 2)
Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776) (pp. 33-38)
Mayflower Compact
(1620) (p. 40)
William Henry Drayton, Letters of Freeman (1769) (pp. 50-51)
Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence (1776) (pp. 77-80)

Chapter 3: The Founding Era, 1776–1791 (Week 2 cont'd)
John Adams, Thoughts on Government (1776) (pp. 87-89)
Thomas Jefferson, An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom (1777) (pp. 92-93)
Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers (1787) (pp. 94-99)
James Madison, Federalist Papers (1787) (pp. 100-110)
 

Weeks 3 & 4 (WHITTINGTON Chapters 4, 5 & 6)


Chapter 4: The Early National Era, 1791–1828 (Week 3)
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to a Committee of the Danbury Baptists (1802) (pp. 170-170)
John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison (1803) (pp. 171-173)
Alexander Hamilton, First Report on Public Credit (1790) (pp. 206-209)
Alexander Hamilton, Report on Manufactures (1791) (pp. 2010-2016)
John Quincy Adams, Speech on Independence Day (1821) (pp. 225- 226)
James Monroe, Seventh Annual Message (1823) (pp. 227-230)

Chapter 5 The Jacksonian Era, 1829–1860  (Week 4)
Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience (1849) (pp. 238-242)
John C. Calhoun, A Disquisition on Government (1850) (pp. 243-249)
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Politics (1844) (pp. 257-261)
Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? (1852) (pp. 272-275)
Abraham Lincoln, Speech at New Haven (1860) (pp. 282-283)
Andrew Jackson, Veto of the Bank Bill (1832) (pp. 285-287)
Henry Clay, Speech on the American System (1832) (pp, 288-290)
Andrew Jackson, Speech on Indian Removal (1830) (pp. 298-300)

Chapter 6 Secession, Civil War, and Reconstruction, 1861–1876 (Week 4 cont'd)
Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address (1861) (pp. 314-317)
Thaddeus Stevens, Speech on the Reconstruction Acts (1867) (pp. 318-320)
Jefferson Davis, Farewell to the Senate (1860) (pp. 322-324)
Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865) (pp. 325-326)
Frederick Douglass, Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln (1876) (pp. 340-342)
Susan B. Anthony, Is It a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote? (1873) (pp. 343-346)

 Weeks 5 & 6  (WHITTINGTON Chapters 7, 8, 9)


Chapter 7 The Gilded Age, 1877–1900 (Week 5)
Francis Parkman, The Failure of Universal Suffrage (1878) (pp. 368-369)
Henry Cabot Lodge, Speech to the Senate on Literacy Tests (1896) (pp. 382-383)
Grover Cleveland, Literacy Test Veto (1897) (pp. 384-385)
Booker T. Washington, Atlanta Exposition Address (1895) (pp. 390-392)
Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth (1889) (pp. 405-407)

Chapter 8 The Progressive Era, 1901–1932 (Week 5 cont'd)
T
heodore Roosevelt, The New Nationalism (1910) (pp. 432-435)
Woodrow Wilson, The New Freedom (1913) (pp.436-439)
John Dewey, The Public and its Problems (1927) (pp. 440-445)
W. E. B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903) (pp. 456-461)
Jane Addams, If Men Were Seeking the Franchise (1913) (pp. 462-464)

Chapter 9 The New Deal Era, 1933–1950 (Week 6)
Herbert Hoover, Rugged Individualism Speech (1928) (pp. 505-507)
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Commonwealth Club Address (1932) (pp. 508-512)
John Dewey, Liberalism and Social Action (1935) (pp. 520-522)
Ralph J. Bunche, A Critical Analysis of the Tactics and Programs of Minority Groups (1935) (pp. 531-532)
Huey P. Long, Every Man a King (1934) (pp. 541-543)
George F. Kennan, The Sources of Soviet Conduct (1947) (pp. 547-550)
Harry S. Truman, Address before a Joint Session of Congress (1947) (pp.551-553)

Week 7 (WHITTINGTON Chapters 10 & 11)


Civil Rights and the Great Society, 1951–1980 (Week 7)
Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (1962) (pp. 569-570)
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971) (pp. 579-582)
Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham City Jail (1963) (pp. 597-601)
Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream Speech (1963) (pp. 602-604)
Malcolm X, The Ballot or the Bullet (1964) (pp. 605-609)
John Kenneth Galbraith, American Capitalism (1952) (pp. 618-619)
Hans J. Morgenthau, In Defense of the National Interest (1952) (pp. 624-626)
J. William Fulbright, The Arrogance of Power (1966) (pp. 630-634)

Recent Politics, 1981–Present (Week 7 cont'd)
Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address (1981) (pp. 640-642)
Irving Kristol, The Neoconservative Persuasion (2003) (pp. 660-661)
Thomas Sowell, Civil Rights: Rhetoric or Reality? (1984) (pp. 666-667
Thurgood Marshall, Bicentennial Speech (1987) (pp. 668-670)
Richard A. Posner, The Economics of Justice (1981) (pp. 678-679)
Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations? (1993) (pp. 690-692)
Noam Chomsky, Understanding Power (2002) (pp. 693-699)







Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

NO LATE WORK WILL ACCEPTED IN THIS CLASS!!!!
Employers expect that those they hire arrive on-time and complete all of their work in a professional manner. To prepare students for the real-world and help them hone a strong professional work ethic, all students in enrolled in this course will be held to firm deadlines and high performance standards.

EXCEPTIONS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, ILLNESS, AND FAMILY EMERGENCIES
Very rare exceptions to the very strict "NO LATE WORK POLICY" policy may be made for students with physical and/or mental challenges who have first secured support from the SUU Disabilities Resource Center. Also, at the sole discretion of the instructor, exceptions may be made students for reasons of unforeseen personal illness or illness or death of a close relative. In any case, formal documentation from a physician or other pertinent authority will be required to be given consideration for an extension of any deadline for any assignment for any reason.
(Note: SUU's pregnancy policy is outlined clearly elsewhere in this syllabus).

Attendance Policy

There will be seven scheduled live online synchronous sessions set up at the beginning of the semester. The time and day of the week of these sessions will be set up once a survey of students' availability has been set out and assessed to find the best possible  time that will accommodate the availability of the majority (but not necessarily all) of the students enrolled.  As this is an online, intensive seven week-long class, all students are expected to attend all seven scheduled synchronous classes virtually online. All students will be graded according to their level of class participation in all scheduled asynchronous sessions. If a student cannot attend a given synchronous session (or any of them) for whatever reason, they may watch the recording of the missed synchronous session and prepare a three page summary of the missed session. This is a course requirement, full stop! Students are adult free agents that make choices in their own interest based on a rational assessment of the expected costs and benefits associated with those choices. If the expectations of this course are too demanding for the student, then the student is encouraged to drop this course and to enroll in another course. 

Course Fees

The are no course fees associate with this course

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.