American Government Field Examination Day One August 2001
Part I -Answer One

1. Work in the growing field of American Political Development raises questions about why and how political scientists study history. How would you describe the field of "APD" to a political scientist who is not closely associated with it? Do political scientists tend to study history as historians do? Or, are there distinctive political science approaches to the study of political development in the United States? In what sense, if any, does the American system "develop"? Be sure that your answer includes specific examples from works in American Political Development.

2. Recent scholarship has raised important questions about political culture and its influence oil American constitutional government. Contrary to Louis Hartz's seminal work, The Liberal Tradition in America, many recent studies have identified competing cultural traditions in American political history. Have political institutions and policy been shaped by a concept of freedom, as Hartz suggests, that values natural rights, and thus the primacy of individual liberty over community. Or have ideas of freedom, resting on self-governing communities or ascriptive identities, competed for the allegiance of American people? Be sure to give specific examples that illustrate how different conceptions of freedom have influenced institutional arrangements and public policy in the United States.

Part 11-Answer two

I. For much of the past fifty years, the United States has had "divided government," in which one party controls the White House while the other controls one or both of the Houses of Congress. Before that time, it was far more the exception than the rule. What are the major consequences, if any. of divided government as a feature of the American political system'? Should divided government be regarded as pathological, healthy, or not coherent or important enough to merit a judgment of this magnitude?

2. Stephen Skowronek argues in The Politics Presidents Make that certain presidents to history-Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt, and Reagan -have played the principal part in "reconstructing" tire American constitutional order during their time in office. Have presidents truly been "regime builders'"? Or has it been political parties? Or some relationship between presidents acrd parties? What features of the executive office make it possible for presidents to bring about such critical transformations? For parties to do so? Is the role of the regime builder compatible with the concept of republican government held by the Framers of the Constitution? Or, has the presidency played a part in history that was not anticipated by the architects of the Constitution'.'

3. Since the Warren Court, there has been much talk and anguish among scholars and pundits about an "imperial judiciary'? Has the Court been so dominant in American political life? Or does the Judiciary depend on institutional "partners," such as Congress, the executive, and advocacy groups, to make its presence felt in the work of American constitutional government? Give specific examples of how judicial action has affected other institutions arid public policy.

4. Political scientists and historians have debated the importance of the New Deal in shaping the American welfare state. Is the New Deal the critical historical period in the development of the welfare state? Or. is the welfare state better understood as developing in fits and starts from the Progressive era to the Great Society? Is the New Deal idea of social welfare still important in shaping the ideas, institutions, and policies in the United States?

5. Some argue that the goal of strengthening federalism (understood here u1 the sense of protecting an important role for state governments within the overall political system) is one more often preached than practiced. Does this describe the case today? What are the chief forces at work --political, economic, cultural. etc.-that affect the strength of federalism? Is there a realistic program today for "strengthening federalism"? If so, by the initiative of what process or which institution(s) might it be launched and sustained'? How might it proceed and succeed'?