SDG Detail

HIST 167J Congress in the Light of History

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Project description

This course begins by studying analytic themes, including congressional structure, incentives bearing on members and parties, conditions of party control, supermajority rules, and polarization, followed by narrative works of major political showdowns entailing Congress such as those in 1850, 1876-77, 1919 (defeat of the Versailles Treaty), 1937 (defeat of court-packing), 1954 (the McCarthy-Army hearings), 1964 (civil rights), 1973-74 (Watergate), and 1993-94 (defeat of health care). Students also examine a series of policy performances, for the better or the worse in today�s judgments, ranging from early state-building through reacting to the Great Depression, constructing a welfare state, and addressing climate change. This is a reading course and does not accommodate senior essays