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A conference paper about investigating the effects of political science education on the feelings of the students for the U.S. and its political system is presented. It discusses impact of political scientists' curricular practices and pedagogical approaches on students. It examines the political courses introduced by political sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset, and explores how learning about American politics in comparative perspective affected students' attitudes towards the U.S.

The traditional survey course in Western policy theory remains generally popular with students, nonetheless students often fail to appreciate the relevance of political theory to the rest of their curriculum and to contemporary politics. This paper discusses how the instructor enhances the teaching of Western political theory by incorporating brief examples from the education and political thought of the American Founding Fathers. Among the examples used are Benjamin Franklin on Xenophon's Socrates, Alexander Hamilton on the justification of for independence in natural law, George Washington's use of the inspiration of Cato, Classical references in the Federalist Papers, and Thomas Jefferson on Aristotle's moderate democracy and Epicureanism, as well as the widespread influence of the writings and orations of Cicero. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]