Seminar in American Politics: Threats to American Democracy

This course examines the development of American democracy from 1776 to the present, focusing on different moments and events that have threatened its vitality. The class begins with the present day, following the aftermath of the events of January 6 and the 2020 election. We then go back to the nation's beginnings as democracy developed, starting with the threats of the 1780s into the contested election of 1800 and the nation's first partisan turnover. We will then move through the course both historically and thematically, examining when and why certain threats manifest, and how the nation's institutions responded.