Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) American Constitution Syllabus - Mumbai University 2026

Module 1: Evolution of the Constitution

• 1 American War of Independence
• 2 Making of the US Constitution
• 3 Basic Features

Module 2: The Political Branches (Legislative & Executive)

• 1 The Congress
• 2 The President
• 3 Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

Module 3: The Federal Judiciary

• 1 The Supreme Court
• 2 Judicial Review
• 3 Judicial Activism vs. Restrain

Module 4: Political Process and Social Movements

• 1 Afro-American Movement
• 2 Feminist Movement
• 3 Interest Groups

Text Books

• J.C. Johari – Select World Constitutions: It provides a detailed, point-wise analysis of the US Constitution, including its making, features, and government structure.
• B.L. Fadia – Comparative Politics: Excellent for understanding the US political process and the socio-political movements mentioned in Module 3.
• A.C. Kapoor & K.K. Misra – Select Constitutions: A classic academic text - very reliable for the Evolution and Government Structure sections.
• Vishnoo Bhagwan, Vidya Bhushan & Vandana Mohla – World Constitutions: A Comparative Study: Offers a very structured breakdown of the "Separation of Powers" and the functions of the US Congress.
• M.V. Pylee – Constitutions of the World: Useful for a quick but authoritative overview of basic features and judicial review.

Reference Books

• The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (Primary source for "Making of the Constitution").
• The Words That Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation by Akhil Reed Amar (Highly readable history of the document’s evolution).
• American Government and Politics Today by Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes (Standard introductory text).
• The American Presidency by Clinton Rossiter (Deep dive into the powers of the President).
• The Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader edited by Clayborne Carson (For the Afro-American movement).
• The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (Contextual reading for the Feminist movement).
• Interest Groups in American Politics by Anthony J. Nownes.

Internet References

• National Archives - America's Founding Documents: Original text and history of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
• ConstitutionNet - US Constitutional History: Excellent timeline of the War of Independence and the Constitutional Convention.
• US Senate & House of Representatives Official Sites: Use the "About the Senate" section for clear explanations of legislative processes.
• National Constitution Center - Interactive Constitution: Explains Articles I (Congress) and II (President) with scholarly debates on "Checks and Balances.”
• Library of Congress - Civil Rights History Project: Digital archives on the Afro-American movement.
• National Women’s History Museum: Comprehensive timelines and articles on the Feminist movement in the US.
• OpenStax - American Government 3e: A free, high-quality, peer-reviewed textbook covering all three of your modules.
• SupremeCourt.gov: The official site for the U.S. Supreme Court. Access "About the Court" for heritage and "Opinions" for the full text of modern rulings.
• Oyez (oyez.org): A multimedia archive that is excellent for students; it provides concise summaries of cases and audio of oral arguments.
• The Federal Judicial Center (fjc.gov): The education and research agency for the federal courts. Their "History of the Federal Judiciary" section is a goldmine for academic research.
• Constitution Annotated (constitution.congress.gov): The official record of how the Supreme Court has interpreted every clause of the Constitution over time.