"Franklin's 'Autobiography' and Jefferson's 'Notes on the State of Virginia' are exemplary expressions of the principles that inform the American way of life. The course aims to recover what such a claim means by paying careful attention to what the books say about nature, human desires, reason, education, religion, government, farming, commerce, and several other things. As time permits, we will consider related writings of Franklin and Jefferson."

"A study of the sectional conflict beginning with the nullification crisis. The course will not only examine the political, social and economic developments in the period leading to the Civil War, but will emphasize the political thought of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and John C. Calhoun."

"This course is an intensive study of the constitutional convention, the struggle over ratification of the Constitution, and the creation of the Bill of Rights. It will include a close examination of the Federalist Papers and the antifederalist papers."

"This course examines the lives, character, political thought and political practice of two of America's leading thinkers and statesmen, viz., James Madison and Woodrow Wilson. Close attention will be given to the relationship between ideas and actions in their political careers."

"James Madison's 'Notes' are by far the best record we have of the deliberations in the Constitutional Convention. They are one of the most authoritative records we have of the intentions of the framers of the Constitution when they were drafting that document. In this course we will study these 'Notes' as thoroughly as we can, aiming at a fuller understanding of the Constitution and the founding statesmanship that produced it."

"The transition to an industrial economy posed many problems for the United States. This course examines those problems and the responses to them that came to be known as progressivism. The course includes the study of World War I as a manifestation of progressive principles. The course emphasizes the political thought of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and their political expression of progressive principles."

"In the last decades of the 19th Century, the United States took decisive steps away from its rural, agrarian past toward its industrial future, assuming its place among world powers. This course examines that movement, covering such topics as business-labor relations, political corruption, immigration, imperialism, the New South, and segregation and racism."

"This course focuses on the development of an indigenous political culture in the British colonies. It pays special attention to the development of representative political institutions and how these emerged through the confrontation between colonists and King and proprietors."

"This course is an examination of the political and constitutional development of the office of president from Reconstruction to the present. It focuses on how changing conceptions of the presidency have shaped American political life in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially as America has become a global power."

"Even though the powers of the American Executive are controlled and limited, extraordinary acts of statesmanship are possible. This seminar examines two presidents who demonstrated extraordinary political leadership. We will examine these statesmen and the political circumstances in which their prudence revealed itself."