This document provides an overview of course materials for HIS 303 Entire Course, which covers United States history and constitutional law from the colonial period through the early 1800s. It lists discussion questions and reading assignments for each of the 5 weeks in the course. The questions and readings examine topics like the influence of English political traditions on colonial America, the drafting and ratification of the US Constitution, debates around federalism and states' rights, the expanding powers of the presidency, and early constitutional controversies involving issues like the national bank and judicial review.

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In this file of HIS 303 Entire Course you will find the next
docs:
HIS 303 Week 1 DQ 1 English Politics and Political
Traditions.doc
HIS 303 Week 1 DQ 2 The Constitutional Convention of
1787.doc
HIS 303 Week 2 DQ 1 Powers of the Federal Government.doc
HIS 303 Week 2 DQ 2 A Symbolic Figurehead.doc
HIS 303 Week 2 Early Constitutional Controversies.doc
HIS 303 Week 3 DQ 1 The Constitution and
Reconstruction.doc
HIS 303 Week 3 DQ 2 Populists and Progressives.doc
HIS 303 Week 3 Supreme Court Decision.doc
HIS 303 Week 4 DQ 1 The New Deal.doc
HIS 303 Week 4 DQ 2 The Bill of Rights.doc
HIS 303 Week 5 DQ 1 Conservative Constitutionalism.doc
HIS 303 Week 5 DQ 2 Expansion of Executive Power.doc
HIS 303 Week 5 Final Paper.doc
History - General History
Week 1
English Politics and Political Traditions . Americans often
imagine that their political institutions and principles are
unique and unheralded; yet, many of them might be traced
back to the heritage of England at the time the colonies were
first formed, and over the course of the colonial period as

2. English political institutions evolved. Identify the ways that
English politics and political traditions influenced the political
and legal institutions of colonial America.
What aspects of the English political heritage did the
colonists claim for themselves? How did English institutions
and principles evolve in the colonies? How and why had
English and American conceptions of their shared political
heritage diverged so sharply by the middle of the 1700s?
What constitutional disagreements brought about the
American Revolution?
In responding to the above questions, draw from the
material in one of the following videos:
1. In the beginning
2. Larry Kramer: American legal history: Colonial era to 1800
3. Liberty! Episode 1 – The reluctant revolutionaries (1763-
1774)
DQ 2 The Constitutional Convention of 1787 . Americans
today generally revere the Constitution and appeal to it as an
impeccable authority on current events (even when the
Americans in question have never closely read the
Constitution). However, when the Constitution was first
presented to the American people, many of them opposed it
and the nation almost did not ratify it. Even among the
original framers of the Constitution (Framers) themselves,
some, like Benjamin Franklin, thought it was imperfect and a
few, like George Mason, refused to sign it. Identify the events
and developments which led to the Constitutional
Convention of 1787 and explain the opposition to the new
Constitution.
What weaknesses did the earlier Articles of Confederation
seem to contain and how specifically did the Constitution

3. address those apparent weaknesses? What major differences
divided the Framers at the Constitutional Convention and
how were those differences resolved? What objections did
the anti-federalists raise with regard to the Constitution?
How valid were their objections?
When responding to these questions, draw from the
documents in any one chapter of John J. Patrick’s Founding
the Republic: A Documentary History (except for Part I: “The
Decision for Independence”), available from the Ebrary
database.
Week 2
DQ 1 Powers of the Federal Government . Many Americans
today believe the federal government has acquired too much
power, size, and influence in the nation’s domestic affairs.
Throughout U.S. history, a tension has existed regarding what
powers the federal government can assume and what
powers should be left to the states. Review the text of the
Constitution for evidence about the relationship the
document establishes between national and state
governments. Then review the history of the United States
through the Civil War for evidence of how that relationship
worked in progress, and changed over time.
What major controversies during this time period raised
questions about the proper relationship between the state
and federal governments? How did proponents and
opponents of state sovereignty defend their respective
positions? How did the question of slavery intermix with the
question of states’ rights?
When responding to the above questions, draw from three of
the following documents:
South Carolina exposition and protest

4. President Jackson's proclamation regarding nullification,
December 10, 1832
The Kentucky resolution – Alien and sedition acts
Abraham Lincoln: Inaugural address, March 4, 1861
Declaration of the immediate causes which induce and justify
the secession of South Carolina from the federal union
DQ 2 A Symbolic Figurehead . Americans tend to pay more
attention to the president than to any other government
official, blaming him when things go wrong, even in areas
over which the president has little control, and crediting him
with successes which stem from the legislature instead of the
executive. In many ways, the president serves as a symbolic
figurehead of both the government and the nation, with the
consequence that the executive often overshadows the other
branches of government. Review the powers and
responsibilities which the Constitution grants to the
president. Then explain how presidents from, George
Washington through Abraham Lincoln, have wielded and
expanded those powers.
How did the role of the president change from 1789 to 1865?
Which presidents were most responsible for those changes?
How did the judiciary and the legislature encourage or seek
to curtail the expansion of executive power?
Early Constitutional Controversies . In 1788, Alexander
Hamilton and James Madison, who had both played active
roles at the Constitutional Convention, worked together to
write The Federalist Papers, a series of articles originally
published in New York newspapers to convince readers to
back the ratification of the Constitution. Constitutional
scholars often refer to these papers to gain an appreciation
of the “original intention” of the Framers, how those men

5. expected the federal government to operate under the
Constitution, and the powers they sought to grant or deny
the federal government. By the early 1790s, however,
Hamilton and Madison had divided over basic constitutional
questions, such as whether or not the federal government
could charter a national bank. The American electorate,
which had ratified the Constitution, had split on the issue as
well, dividing into rival Federalist and Republican parties.
For this assignment, explore one significant constitutional
controversy, from the first two decades of the United States
under the Constitution (1789 to 1821). Topics to consider
include:
4. The incorporation of the Bank of the United States
5. Debt assumption
6. The Jay Treaty
7. The Alien and Sedition Acts
8. The Election of 1800
9. John Marshall’s use of judicial review
10. The Louisiana Purchase
11. The trial of Aaron Burr
Describe opposing views of the topic under consideration,
and explain how each side used the Constitution to support
its position. Assess the validity of...
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