THE VERMONT POLITICAL SYSTEM
(POLS 123 A 11204)
Spring 2008
Time: |
Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays 12:20 – 1:10 pm |
Place: |
Lafayette
100 |
Professor |
Frank
Bryan |
Tel: |
802-656-0570 |
Office: |
Room 503
Old Mill Building |
Office Hours: |
Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays 10-noon, and by appointment |
Web Page: |
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Email: |
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WebCT: |
Examinations |
Date |
Weight |
First Hour Test |
Wednesday, Feb. 27 |
20% |
Second Hour Test |
Friday, April 4 |
20% |
Paper Due |
Friday,
April 25 |
40% |
Final Exam |
Friday, May 9, 3:30 |
20% |
TEXTS:
Frank Bryan and John McClaughry, The Vermont Papers
Frank Bryan and Bill Mares, The Vermont Owner’s
Manual (on reserve)
Frank Bryan, Real
Democracy: The New England Town Meeting and How it Works
Michael
Sherman (ed.) Vermont State Government
Since 1965 (on electronic reserve)
Plus
assigned readings on reserve. Reserve readings
are a key requirement of the course. Be
sure to consult the readings list at the end of each section of lectures.
TOWN MEETING DAY ACTIVITY (One Required) Either Saturday, March 1 (limited number available); Monday night March 3; Tuesday day March 4; Tuesday evening March 4 (limited number available).
Attendance at class Friday, February 29,
and Monday, March 3 is mandatory. Because of your town meeting field
trip, class on Friday, March 7, is cancelled.
CLASSROOM
PROTOCOL
1. |
Students
are expected to attend and be prepared for ALL regularly scheduled classes. |
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2. |
Students
are expected to arrive on time and stay in class until the class period
ends. If a student knows in advance
that s/he will need to leave early, s/he should notify the instructor before
the class period begins. |
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3. |
Students
are expected to treat faculty and fellow students with respect. For example, students must not disrupt
class by leaving and reentering during class, must not distract class by
making noise, and must be attentive to comments being made by the instructors
and by peers. |
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4. |
Instructors
will inform students of any special alterations to the syllabus. |
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5. |
Students are expected to
check their UVM and WebCT email for this course on a regular basis. |
Introduction: This course treats the government and
politics of the state of Vermont in the context of conceptual frameworks found
in political science. It therefore has
two goals:
1. To give the
student a firm grounding in the governmental institutions and the political
processes that make the Vermont political system work.
2. To deal with
some of the "great questions" that political scientists seek to
answer. Here the intent is to teach
basic concepts by using Vermont as a case study.
To do
this each section deals with one or more fundamental questions in political
science and asks: What light does the
Vermont experience shed on this question?
Is what we have learned about any given general construct (by studying
Vermont) particular to Vermont? Is it
different elsewhere? In America at
large? In other American states?
Obviously
knowing the Vermont case thoroughly is essential. But it is equally essential to be able to think about Vermont in
terms of what it teaches us about social science. Examples are:
· Does the coming of a two-party system in Vermont verify the hypothesis that competitive party systems are beneficial to the less fortunate in society?
· Does the proliferation of interest groups in Vermont since the 1960's bear out the hypothesis that as "special interest politics" grows in influence the power of democratically elected legislatures declines?
· Does Vermont's two-year term for governor support the hypothesis that longer terms for executives are more conducive to efficient government?
· Does the Vermont town meeting show that the founders were right when they warned about the dangers of direct democracy?
Method of Instruction:
Lecture-Discussion, individualized projects (optional) and a
"participant observer" town meeting project.
Writing Assignment: Town
Meeting Paper (10-15 pages) Some library research required plus self-generated
town meeting data.
LECTURES
Part I: |
Vermont
Politics in a Systems Context |
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A. ". . . I shan't be gone long"
Does the “real Vermont” exist? |
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B. Living in the Backbeyond—Historical Footprints |
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C. Above the “Optimum Climatic Area”–the Socio-Economic Setting |
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Required
Reading: |
Bryan
& Mares, The Vermont Owner’s Manual
(on reserve) |
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Frank
Bryan, “The Back Beyond” (on reserve) |
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Duane
Lockard, Vermont: Political Paradox (on reserve) |
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Bryan
and McClaughry, The Vermont Papers, chapters 1-3 |
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IMPORTANT
NOTE: At this time you should begin
reading Real Democracy. You will be
tested on Chapters 1-7 and 12 on the first hour test on February 27. |
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Suggested
Reading: |
Earle Newton, The Vermont Story |
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Charles Morrissey, Vermont: A History |
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Part II: |
The Constitutional Context—Constraints on Political Action |
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A. Vermont in the Federal Matrix |
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B. The Vermont Constitution |
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C. Changing the Vermont Constitution |
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Required
Reading: |
Frank
M. Bryan, “Reducing the Time Lock on the Vermont Constitution” Vermont History (Winter, 1976), pp.
38-47 (on reserve). |
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Hill,
in Sherman 17-30 (on reserve) |
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Suggested
Reading |
Murray Bookchin, The Vermont Constitution |
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Part III: |
Political Socialization |
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A. The Political Culture of Ruralism |
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B. Country Mouse and City Mouse |
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C. Technology and the Axioms of Conflict |
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Required
Reading: |
Frank
Bryan, Politics in the Rural States–Introduction
(on reserve) |
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Frank
Bryan, “How to Preserve the Vermont Character,” (on reserve). |
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Porter
and Terry, in Sherman 107-137 (on reserve) |
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Bryan
and McClaughry, The Vermont Papers, chapters 4-5 |
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Part IV: |
Town Meeting |
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A. The
Town's Role in Vermont Politics |
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B. The Nature of Town Meeting |
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C. Patterns in Attendance and Participation |
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D. What the Future Holds |
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Required
Reading: |
Bryan, Real Democracy, chapters
1-7, and 12 |
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Suggested
Reading: |
Jane
J. Mansbridge, “Town Meeting Democracy” in Peter Collier (ed.) Dilemmas of Democracy (New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1976), pp.
148-177. |
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John Guy LaPlante, “What Killed the Town Meeting.” Nation 180 (February, 1958), pp. 96-7. |
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Andrew Nuquist, Town Government in Vermont (Government Research Center, The University of Vermont, 1964). |
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Part V: |
Interest Groups, Parties and Elections |
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A. The Changing Nature of Interest Group
Politics |
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B. The One-Party Era |
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C. Breakthrough Politics |
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D. New Patterns in the Election Fabric |
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Required
Reading: |
Bryan,
in Sherman 53-76 (on reserve) |
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Clark
Bensen and Frank Bryan, “Strengthening Democratic Control: Vermont’s 1986
Election in Historical Perspective,” Vermont
History (Fall, 1988). (on
reserve) |
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Graff,
in Sherman 77-91 (on reserve) |
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Bryan
and McClaughry, The Vermont Papers, chapters 6-7 |
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Supreme
Court Case Randall, et al v. Sorrell, et al (on reserve) |
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Suggested
Reading: |
Bensen and Bryan (two other articles on the elections of 1984 and 1982, published in Vermont History, fall of 1985 and fall of 1983). |
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Edward P. Brynn, “Vermont’s Political Vacuum of 1845-1856 and the Emergence of the Republican Party,” Vermont History 38 (1970), pp. 113-123. |
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George T. Mazuzan, “Vermont's Traditional Republicanism vs. the New Deal: Warren R. Austin and the Election of 1934,” Vermont History39 (1971), pp. 128-141. |
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Melvin S. Wax, “Vermont’s New Dealing Yankee,” Nation (1949) pp. 659-660. |
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Part VI: |
The Legislature |
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A. The Reapportionment Revolution |
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B. Correlates of Voting 1947-1982 |
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C. The Politics of Innovation and Metamorphosis Denied |
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Required
Reading: |
Frank
Bryan, “Pivot Point for Democracy,” (on reserve) |
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Bryan
and McClaughry, The Vermont Papers, chapters 8-9 |
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Sanford
and Doyle, in Sherman 31-52 (on reserve) |
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Suggested
Reading: |
Frank Smallwood’s Free and Independent (in paper) published by Stephen Greene press (1976) is the best account of legislative politics in Vermont. It is enjoyable reading and should be on the shelf of every serious scholar of the Vermont political process. |
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Vic Maerki, “A Vermont House Gets Remodeled,” Reporter 33 (October, 1965). |
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Part VII: |
The Governorship |
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A. The Governor in Comparative Perspective |
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B. Ranking the Governors |
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Required
Reading: |
Fitzhugh,
in Sherman 91-106 (on reserve) |
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Bryan
and McClaughry, The Vermont Papers, chapter 10 |
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Suggested
Reading: |
Frank Bryan, “The Governorship: People, Position, and Power” in Joseph Milbourn (ed.) New England Politics (on reserve) |
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Part VIII: |
The Bureaucracy: Implementing Policy |
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A. The Structure of Bureaucracy |
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B. Overlays of Confusion |
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C. Where is the buck, anyway? |
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Required
Reading: |
Douglas,
in Sherman 137-156 (on reserve) |
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Bryan
and McClaughry, The Vermont Papers, chapter 16 |
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Part IX: |
The Judiciary, Adjudicating Policy |
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A. The
Judicial System |
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B. Choosing Judges |
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Required
Reading: |
Dooley, in Sherman 187-242 (on reserve) |