Description
See why politics matters
Government in America illustrates the impact that government has on every American—especially students.
This practical text motivates students to become active participants in our political system and helps interest students in government by presenting a public policy view of American government.
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- Improve Critical Thinking— Learning Objectives open each chapter, giving students a clear learning path through the material. Strong end of chapter material – summaries, key terms, short quizzes - give students the tools to review for tests and quizzes.
- Support Instructors—A full set of supplements, including an Instructor’s Manual, Test Bank, Computerized Test Bank, PowerPoint presentation, and MyPoliSciLab provide instructors with the support they need to teach effectively and efficiently.
Note: MyPoliSciLab does not come automatically packaged with this text. To purchase MyPoliSciLab, please visit: www.mypoliscilab.com or you can purchase a ValuePack of the text + MyPoliSciLab (at no additional cost): ValuePack ISBN-10: 0205950051/ ValuePack ISBN-13: 9780205950058.
Table of Contents
1. Brief Table of Contents
2. Full Table of Contents
1. Brief Table of Contents
PART I: CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS
Chapter 1: Introducing Government in America
Chapter 2: The Constitution
Chapter 3: Federalism
Chapter 4: Civil Liberties and Public Policy
Chapter 5: Civil Rights and Public Policy
PART II: PEOPLE AND POLITICS
Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Action
Chapter 7: The Mass Media and the Political Agenda
Chapter 8: Political Parties
Chapter 9: Campaigns and Voting Behavior
Chapter 10: Interest Groups
PART III: THE POLICYMAKERS
Chapter 11: Congress
Chapter 12: The Presidency
Chapter 13: The Budget: The Politics of Taxing and Spending
Chapter 14: The Federal Bureaucracy
Chapter 15: The Federal Courts
PART IV: POLICIES
Chapter 16: Economic and Social Welfare Policymaking
Chapter 17: Policymaking for Health Care, the Environment, and Energy
Chapter 18: National Security Policymaking
2. Complete Table of Contents
1. Introducing Government in America
Government
Politics
The Policymaking System
Democracy in America
The Scope of Government in America
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Candidate for Congress
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Can You Get Ahead in America?
2. The Constitution
Politics in Action: Amending the Constitution
The Origins of the Constitution
The Government That Failed: 1776—1787
| Why It Matters: A Strong National Government
Making a Constitution: The Philadelphia Convention
Critical Issues at the Convention
| Why It Matters: Representation in the Senate
| A Point to Ponder
The Madisonian System
| Why It Matters: Checks and Balances
Ratifying the Constitution
Changing the Constitution
| America in Perspective: The Unusual Rigidity of the U.S. Constitution
|You Are the Policymaker: How Frequently Should We Amend the Constitution?
Understanding the Constitution
| Young People and Politics: Lowering the Voting Age
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Founder
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: How Long Did It Take to Ratify the Constitution?
3. Federalism
Politics in Action: Conflict between Levels of Government
Defining Federalism
| America in Perspective: Why Federalism?
The Constitutional Basis of Federalism
| Why It Matters: Protecting Rights
| Why It Matters: Commerce Power
Intergovernmental Relations
| Young People and Politics: Federal Support for Colleges and Universities
| Why It Matters: Grants-In-Aid
| A Point to Ponder
Diversity in Policy
| You Are The Policymaker: Should Whether You Live Depend On Where You Live?
Understanding Federalism
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Federal Judge
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Which States Win or Lose the Federal Aid Game?
4. Civil Liberties and Public Policy
Politics in Action: Free Speech on Campus
The Bill of Rights
Freedom of Religion
| Why It Matters: The Establishment Clause
| You Are the Judge: The Case of Animal Sacrifices
Freedom of Expression
| You Are the Judge: The Case of the Purloined Pentagon Papers
| You Are the Judge: The Case of the Drive-In Theater
| Why It Matters: Libel Law
Freedom of Assembly
| You Are the Judge: The Case of the Nazis’ March in Skokie
Right to Bear Arms
| Why It Matters: The Exclusionary Rule
| You Are the Judge: the case of Ms. Montoya
| You Are the Judge: The Case of the Enticed Farmer
| You Are the Judge: The Case of the First Offender
| Young People and Politics: College Students Help Prevent Wrongful Deaths
The Right to Privacy
Understanding Civil Liberties
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Police Officer
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Should The Government Apply The Death Penalty?
5. Civil Rights and Public Policy
Politics in Action: Launching the Civil Rights Movement
The Struggle for Equality
African Americans’ Civil Rights
| Why It Matters: brown v. Board of education
| Young People and Politics: Freedom Riders
| Why It Matters: The Voting Rights Act
The Rights of Other Minority Groups
The Rights of Women
| Why It Matters: Changes in the Workplace
| You Are the Judge: Is Male-Only Draft Registration Gender Discrimination?
Other Groups Active under the Civil Rights Umbrella
Affirmative Action
| A Point to Ponder
| You Are the Judge: The Case of the New Haven Firefighters
Understanding Civil Rights and Public Policy
| America in Perspective: Respect for Minority Rights
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Mayor
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Are All Forms of Discrimination the Same?
PART II: PEOPLE AND POLITICS
6. Public Opinion and Political Action
Politics in Action: The Limits of Public Understanding of Health Care Reform
The American People
| You Are the Policymaker: Should Immigration Be Based More On Skills Than Blood Ties?
How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization
Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information
| A Point to Ponder
| Why It Matters: Political Knowledge of the Electorate
What Americans Value: Political Ideologies
| Young People and Politics: How Younger and Older Americans Compare On the Issues
How Americans Participate in Politics
| America in Perspective: Conventional and Unconventional Political Participation
| Why It Matters: Political Participation
Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Voting Registration Volunteer
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: How Are People Involved in Politics?
7. The Mass Media and the Political Agenda
Politics in Action: The Increasing Difficulty of Getting Out a Presidential Message
The Mass Media Today
The Development of Media Politics
| You Are the Policymaker: Should Newspapers Be Allowed To Be Nonprofit Organizations?
| Young People and Politics: Learning From Comedy Shows?
| Why It Matters: Media as a Business
Reporting the News
| America in Perspective: The Length of Candidate Sound Bites in Four Countries
| Why It Matters: The Increasing Speed of News Dissemination
The News and Public Opinion
Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setting
Understanding the Mass Media
| A Point to Ponder
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Newspaper Editor
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Where Do You Get Your Political News?
8. Political Parties
Politics in Action: How Political Parties Can Make Elections User Friendly for Voters
The Meaning of Party
| Why It Matters: Political Parties
The Party in the Electorate
| Young People and Politics: The Parties Face an Independent Youth
The Party Organizations: From the Grass Roots to Washington
| You Are the Policymaker: Should Political Parties Choose Their Nominees In Open Or Closed Primaries?
The Party in Government: Promises and Policy Party Eras in American History
| Why It Matters: Divided Party Government
Third Parties: Their Impact on American Politics
| America in Perspective: Multiparty Systems in Other Countries
Understanding Political Parties
| A Point to Ponder
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Voter
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Which Party Governs Better?
9. Campaigns and Voting Behavior
Politics in Action: How Running for Office Can Be More Demanding Than Governing
The Nomination Game
| A Point to Ponder
| Why It Matters: Early Delegate Contests
The Campaign Game
| Young People and Politics: Will The Internet Revolutionize Political Campaigns?
Money and Campaigning
| Why It Matters: Money and Elections
The Impact of Campaigns
Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice
| America in Perspective: Why Turnout In the United States Is So Low Compared To Turnout in Other Countries
| Why It Matters: Youth Turnout
How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions
The Last Battle: The Electoral College
| You Are the Policymaker: Should We Make Every State A Battleground By Electing The President By A National Popular Vote?
Understanding Campaigns and Voting Behavior
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Voting Registration Volunteer
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Who Votes—and Who Doesn’t?
10. Interest Groups
Politics in Action: How the Beverage Industry Mobilized to Stop a Sugar Tax America in Perspective: Interest Group Participation
| America in Perspective: Interest Group Participation
The Role of Interest Groups
Theories of Interest Group Politics
| A Point to Ponder
| Why It Matters: Theories of Interest Group Politics
What Makes an Interest Group Successful?
| Young People and Politics: The Virginia 21 Coalition
How Groups Try to Shape Policy
| You Are the Policymaker: Should PACs Be Eliminated?
| Why It Matters: PACs
Types of Interest Groups
Understanding Interest Groups
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Lobbyist
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Can interest Groups Buy Public Policy?
PART III: THE POLICYMAKERS
11. Congress
Politics in Action: Governing in Congress
The Representatives and Senators
Congressional Elections
| Why It Matters: Incumbent Success
| You Are the Policymaker: Should We Impose Term Limits On Members Of Congress?
How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy
| Why It Matters: The Filibuster
| Why It Matters: Party Strength
| Why It Matters: Inconsistent Oversight
| Why It Matters: The Committee System
| Young People and Politics: Are Opportunities To Intern Biased In Favor Of The Wealthy?
The Congressional Process and Decision Making
| A Point to Ponder
Understanding Congress
| America in Perspective: Malapportionment in the Upper House
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Consumer Advocate
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Can Congress Get Anything Done?
12. The Presidency
Politics in Action: Presidential Power
The Presidents
| A Point to Ponder
| Why It Matters: Standards of Impeachment
| You Are the Policymaker: What Should Be The Criteria For Impeaching The President?
Presidential Powers
| America in Perspective: President or Prime Minister?
Running the Government: The Chief Executive
Presidential Leadership of Congress: The Politics of Shared Powers
| Why It Matters: The President’s Veto
The President and National Security Policy
| Why It Matters: War Powers
Power from the People: The Public Presidency
| Young People and Politics: The Generation Gap in Presidential Approval
The President and the Press
Understanding the American Presidency
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a First-Term President
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: What Influences the President’s Public Approval?
13. The Budget: The Politics of Taxing and Spending
Politics in Action: The Politics of Budgeting
Federal Revenue and Borrowing
| Why It Matters: The Progressive Income Tax
| Why It Matters: Deficit Spending
| Young People and Politics: Education and the Federal Tax Code
| America in Perspective: How Big Is The Tax Burden?
Federal Expenditures
| Why It Matters: “Uncontrollable” Expenditures A Point To Ponder
The Budgetary Process
| You Are the Policymaker: Balancing the Budget
Understanding Budgeting
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You are a President During a Budget Crisis
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: How High are Your Taxes?
14. The Federal Bureaucracy
Politics in Action: Regulating Food
The Bureaucrats
| Why It Matters: The Merit System
How the Federal Bureaucracy Is Organized
| Why It Matters: Independent Regulatory Commissions
Bureaucracies as Implementers
| Young People and Politics: Drug Offenses and Financial Aid
| Why It Matters: Bureaucratic Resources
| A Point to Ponder
Privatization
Bureaucracies as Regulators
| You Are the Policymaker: How Should We Regulate?
Controlling the Bureaucracy
| America in Perspective: Influencing Independent Agencies
Understanding Bureaucracies
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are Head of FEMA
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: What Puts the ‘Big’ in Big Government?
15. The Federal Courts
Politics in Action: Finding Justice in the Supreme Court
The Nature of the Judicial System
The Structure of the Federal Judicial System
The Politics of Judicial Selection
| Why It Matters: Judicial Election
| Why It Matters: Senatorial Courtesy
The Backgrounds of Judges and Justices
The Courts as Policymakers
| A Point to Ponder
| Why It Matters: The Lack of a Judicial Bureaucracy
The Courts and Public Policy: An Historical Review
| Young People and Politics: The Supreme Court Is Closer Than You Think
| America in Perspective: The Tenure of Supreme Court Judges
Understanding the Courts
| You Are the Policymaker: The Debate over Judicial Activism
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Supreme Court Clerk
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Who Are the Activist Judges?
PART IV: POLICIES
16. Economic and Social Welfare Policymaking
Politics in Action: The Debate over the Ryan Budget Plan
Economic Policymaking
| Young People and Politics: Unemployment Rates by Age and Race/Ethnicity, 2011
| Why It Matters: Interest Rates
| Why It Matters: Keynesian vs. Supply-side economics
| A Point to Ponder
Types of Social Welfare Policies
| Why It Matters: Perceptions of Poverty
Income, Poverty, and Public Policy
Helping the Poor? Social Policy and Poverty
| Why It Matters: The 1996 Reform of Welfare
| You Are the Policymaker: Should Government Benefits Be Denied To Illegal Immigrants?
Social Security: Living on Borrowed Time
Social Welfare Policy Elsewhere
| America in Perspective: Parental Leave Policies
Understanding Economic and Social Welfare Policy
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You are a Federal Reserve Chair
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Who Broke the Economy?
17. Policymaking for Health Care, the Environment, and Energy
Politics in Action: The President Tries to Reform Health Care
Health Care Policy
| America in Perspective: The Costs and Benefits of Health Care
| Young People and Politics: Health Insurance, Emergency Rooms, and Young Americans
| Why It Matters: National Health Insurance
Environmental Policy
| You Are the Policymaker: How Much Should We Do To Save A Species? The Florida Manatee
| Why It Matters: NIMBY
| Why It Matters: Global Warming
Energy Policy
| A Point to Ponder
Understanding Health Care, Environmental, and Energy Policy
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are an OMB Staffer
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Is Health Care a Public Good?
18. National Security Policymaking
Politics in Action: A New Threat
American Foreign Policy: Instruments, Actors, and Policymakers
| A Point to Ponder
American Foreign Policy through the Cold War
American Foreign Policy and the War on Terrorism
Defense Policy
| Why It Matters: The Defense Budget
The New National Security Agenda
| Why It Matters: The Only Superpower
| You Are the Policymaker: Defanging a Nuclear Threat
| Young People and Politics: Embracing Globalization
| Why It Matters: Economic Interdependence
| America in Perspective: Ranking Largesse
Understanding National Security Policymaking
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a President During a Foreign Policy Crisis
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: How Much Does America Spend on Defense?
> MyPoliSciLab Document: The Declaration of Independence
> MyPoliSciLab Document: The Constitution of the United States
> MyPoliSciLab Document: Federalist No. 10
> MyPoliSciLab Document: Federalist No. 15
> MyPoliSciLab Document: Federalist No. 51
> MyPoliSciLab Document: Federalist No. 78
> MyPoliSciLab Document: Anti-Federalist No. 17
> MyPoliSciLab Document: Marbury v. Madison
> MyPoliSciLab Document: McCulloch v. Maryland
> MyPoliSciLab Document: Brown v. Board of Education
> MyPoliSciLab Document: The Gettysburg Address
> MyPoliSciLab Document: Washington’s Farewell Address
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