American Political Development focuses on the causes, nature, and consequences of key transformative periods and central patterns in American political history that affect the relationship between the state, politics, and institutional development. The course explores patterns in the public policy process and examines historical processes to analyze American political institutions and policy outcomes from a political standpoint. Students focus on the degree to which ideas and institutions from the Founding period created stability in American politics and investigate the role of events, ideas, and other forces in leading to periods of change. After starting with an in-depth review of the American Founding, we will examine the major epochs of state development to understand their causes and effects on political institutions, politics, and public policy. Special emphasis will be placed on the rise of the unique American regulatory and welfare state. Lastly, we will examine how the course of American political development contributes to the features of today?s political environment and what these patterns of development suggest for the future of American politics.
