POLI 100K: RAILROADS AND AMERICAN POLITICS

Winter Quarter AY2009-2010
Department of Political Science
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA, 92093-0521

Classroom: CSB 001
Time: 3:00 - 3:50PM Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Instructor: Keith T. Poole

Office: Room 368 Social Sciences Building
E-Mail: KPoole@ucsd.edu
WebSite: Voteview Home Page

Office Hours: 12:00 - 2:00PM Thursdays

Grader: Lindsay Nielson, E-Mail: lnielson@ucsd.edu, Room SSB 322, Office Hours: 2:00-3:00 Tuesdays

The following texts will be used in this course:

• John F. Stover, American Railroads


• Harold C. Livesay, Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business


• John Steele Gordon, An Empire of Wealth

1. Introduction: Why are Railroads Important?
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapters 1, 2 and 3, An Empire of Wealth
  
  Agenda For Topic 1
  
  Handout For Topic 1 (Part 1)
  Handout For Topic 1 (Part 2)
  Handout For Topic 1 (Part 3)
  The Railroad in American Life
  The Unanticipated Effects of Economic Change
  The Unanticipated Effects of Economic Change -- Wired Magazine 2010
  
  
2. American Politics, Economics, and Business prior to the Railroads: 1800 - 1830
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapters 4 - 8, An Empire of Wealth
  
• Chapters 1 and 2, American Railroads
  
  Agenda For Topic 2
  
  Handout For Topic 2
  
  
3. Railroads as Big Business
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapters 9 - 12, An Empire of Wealth
  
• Chapter 3, American Railroads
  
  Agenda For Topic 3
  
  Handout For Topic 3
  Early Railroad Corporate Charters
  Why Railroads Became the Dominant Form of Transportation
  
  
4. Andrew Carnegie, the Standard Railway of the World, and the Industrialization of the U.S.
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapter 13, An Empire of Wealth
  
• Chapters 1 - 11, Andrew Carnegie
  
  Agenda For Topic 4
  
  The Political Problems of the Railroads (part 1)
  Current Railroad Freight Numbers
  The Importance of the Pennsylvania Railroad
  Handout For Topic 4
  
  
Study Questions for Midterm


5. The Nature of Railroad Competition
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapter 5, American Railroads
  
  Agenda For Topic 5
  
  Handout For Topic 5
  The Political Problems of the Railroads (part 2)
  
  
6. Railroads and the Development of Agriculture
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapter 4, American Railroads
  
• Chapter 14, An Empire of Wealth
  
  Agenda For Topic 6
  
  The Political Problems of the Railroads (part 3)
  Farmers, Silver, and Gold
  Truth and Politics
  Handout For Topic 6
  
  


7. Railroads and Government Regulation: 1887-1920
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapters 6 to 8, American Railroads
  
• Chapters 15 to 17, An Empire of Wealth
  
  Agenda For Topic 7
  
  The Political Problems of the Railroads (part 4)
  Corrupt Practices by Railroad Managers
  Handout For Topic 7 (Part 1)
  Supreme Court Rulings on State Regulation
  The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
  Regulatory Acts 1903-1916
  Handout For Topic 7 (Part 2)
  
  

Study Questions for Final


8. Railroads Triumphant: 1980 - 2001
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Chapters 9 and 10, American Railroads
  
• Chapters 18 to 20, An Empire of Wealth
  
  
9. Railroads and the Future of the American Transportation System
   
   Assignment:
   
   
• Stop This Train! Are Trains Slower Now than they were in the 1920s? Tom Vanderbilt, Slate, May 15, 2009
  
• Beware of Low Flying Aircraft! Chris Camp, The Northwest's Own Railfan
  

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