Description
Think like a political scientist
Understanding American Politics and Government, 2012 Election Edition, provides students with the fundamental tools used by political scientists to question our world. The text shows students how to reach behind today’s headlines and understand why things really happen in politics.
Understanding American Politics and Government shows students how to gather and analyze evidence, evaluate research, and interpret arguments. It presents the field of American government as a dynamic field full of interesting questions, controversies, and puzzles, and then gives students the tools needed to solve these puzzles.
A better teaching and learning experience
This program will provide a better teaching and learning experience—for you and your students. Here’s how:
- Personalize Learning–MyPoliSciLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals. Now compatible with BlackBoard.
- Engage Students–The text’s unique approach encourages students to ask questions about the political process, and solve political puzzles. Visually stunning new design captures student interest.
- 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: 0205950043 / ValuePack ISBN-13: 9780205950041.
Table of Contents
1. Brief Table of Contents
2. Full Table of Contents
1. Brief Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Thinking About American Politics
Chapter 2: Political Culture
Chapter 3: The Constitution
Chapter 4: Federalism
Chapter 5: Civil Liberties
Chapter 6: Civil Rights
Chapter 7: Public Opinion
Chapter 8: Political Participation and Voting
Chapter 9: Elections and Campaigns
Chapter 10: Media and Politics
Chapter 11: Political Parties
Chapter 12: Interest Groups
Chapter 13: Congress
Chapter 14: The Presidency
Chapter 15: The Federal Court System
Chapter 16: The Bureaucracy
Chapter 17: Economic and Social Policy
Chapter 18: Foreign Policy
2. Full Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Thinking About American Politics
The Purpose of Government
Contexts for Studying American Government and Politics
Thinking about Politics
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Candidate for Congress
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: How Do You Measure Freedom?
Chapter 2: Political Culture
What Does It Mean to Be an American?
| Unresolved Debate: Does Belief in the American Dream Lead Americans to Oppose Government Programs?
The Beliefs of the American Creed
Consequences and Implications of the American Creed
Challenges to the American Creed
| How Do We Know? Why Was the Path to Universal Health Insurance So Difficult?
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a City Council Member
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Can You Get Ahead in America?
Chapter 3: The Constitution
From Revolution to Constitution
Crafting the Constitution
| Unresolved Debate: Does the Constitution Limit the Authority of the President in His Role as Commander in Chief?
The Battle for Ratification
| How Do We Know? What Motivated the Framers of the Constitution?
Amending the Constitution
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Founder
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: How Long Did It Take to Ratify the Constitution?
Chapter 4: Federalism
The Nature of the Union
State and Local Governments
Dual Federalism
Cooperative Federalism
| Unresolved Debate: Should Federal Grants be Allocated Based on Competitions Instead of Formulas?
| How Do We Know? Are States Engaged In A Race To The Bottom?
Federalism in Flux
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Federal Judge
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Which States Win or Lose the Federal Aid Game?
Chapter 5: Civil Liberties
Civil Liberties in American Politics and the Constitution
Freedom of Speech
| How Do We Know? Does War or Fear of War Lead to Public Support for Civil Liberties Restrictions?
Freedom of Religion
Rights of the Accused
Discovering New Rights That Are Protected by the Constitution
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Police Officer
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Should the Government Apply the Death Penalty?
Chapter 6: Civil Rights
Equality and Civil Rights
Equal Protection of the Laws Gains Meaning
| How Do We Know? Is White Opposition to Affirmative Action Racist?
The Politics of Civil Rights
Extension of Equal Protection to Other Groups
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Mayor
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Are All Forms of Discrimination the Same?
Chapter 7: Public Opinion
The Nature of Public Opinion
| How Do We Know? Can Surveys Accurately Gauge the Opinions of More Than 300 Million Americans?
Political Socialization
Public Opinion Formation
| Unresolved Debate: Do American Citizens Have the Stable, Informed Opinions Necessary to Make Good Decisions about Politics?
Making Public Opinion Work in a Democracy
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Polling Consultant
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: What Do Young People Think about Politics Today?
Chapter 8: Political Participation and Voting
The Costs and Benefits of Political Participation
The Paradox of Political Participation
| How Do We Know? Why Is It So Difficult to Determine How Many People Vote on Election Day?
Factors That Influence Participation
Comparative and Historical Puzzles of Voter Turnout
| Unresolved Debate: Can Any One Factor Explain the Decline in Voter Participation in the United States?
Understanding Individual Vote Choice
Who Gets Heard? Does It Matter?
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Voting Registration Volunteer
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: How Are People Involved in Politics?
Chapter 9: Elections and Campaigns
The Basic Rules Governing American Elections
| How Do We Know? How Much Does Congressional Candidate Spending Affect Election Outcomes?
Understanding Presidential Election Outcomes
Conducting Campaigns
| Unresolved Debate: Do Presidential Campaigns Matter?
Paying for Campaigns
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Campaign Strategist
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Is the Electoral College Democratic?
Chapter 10: Media and Politics
The Unique Role of the American Media
Constraints on American Media Freedom
Patterns of Media Use
Are the Media Biased?
Media Effects on Public Opinion
| How Do We Know? Do people react to coverage of events or to the events themselves?
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Newspaper Editor
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Where Do You Get Your Political News?
Chapter 11: Political Parties
What Political Parties Do
| Unresolved Debate: Is Divided Government an Accident?
The Two-Party System
Party Organization
The Evolution of Party Competition and Party Coalitions
| How Do We Know? Is America Polarized?
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Voter
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Which Party Governs Better?
Chapter 12: Interest Groups
The Problem of Factions and the Pluralist Answer
Critics of Pluralism
| How Do We Know? Is It Possible to Measure the Impact of an Issue’s Absence From the Policy Agenda?
Solving the Collective Action Problem: Group Formation and Maintenance What Groups Do, and Why They Do It
Do Groups Matter?
| Unresolved Debate: Do interest Groups influence Legislative Decisions?
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Lobbyist
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Can interest Groups Buy Public Policy?
Chapter 13: Congress
An Institution with Two Chambers and Shared Powers
| How Do We Know: Has Congress Abdicated Its War-Making Authority?
Principles and Dilemmas of Representation
| Unresolved Debate: Do Majority-Minority Districts Improve Minority Representation in Congress?
How Members Make Group Decisions
Imposing Structure on Congress
Lawmaking
The Appropriations Process
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Consumer Advocate
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Can Congress Get Anything Done?
Chapter 14: The Presidency
Presidential Authority and Leadership
| How Do We Know? What Makes a President a Successful Leader?
Powers of the President
Public, Electoral, and Contextual Resources for Presidential Leadership
| Unresolved Debate: Do Presidential Public Appeals Work As a Political Strategy?
Institutional Resources for Presidential Leadership
Public Opinion of the President
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a First-Term President
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: What Influences the President’s Public Approval?
Chapter 15: The Federal Court System
The Constitutional Design of the Federal Judiciary
The Organization of the Federal Judiciary
The Number and Types of Cases That Courts Process
Making and Interpreting the Law
| Unresolved Debate: Are Liberal Judges Really More Likely Than Conservative Judges to Be Activists?
| How Do We Know? Was Bush v. Gore a Political Decision?
Judicial Appointments
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Supreme Court Clerk
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Who Are the Activist Judges?
Chapter 16: The Bureaucracy
What Bureaucrats Do
Growth and Organization of the Bureaucracy
Challenges of Bureaucracy
| How Do We Know? Does the Federal Bureaucracy Deserve Credit for Preventing Another 9/11?
Controlling and Reforming the Bureaucracy
| Unresolved Debate: Should Businesses Be Required to Privately Fund Public Services?
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are Head of Fema
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: What Puts the ‘Big’ in Big Government?
Chapter 17: Economic and Social Policy
Enacting Economic and Social Policies
Economic Policy
| Unresolved Debate: Did the 2009 Economic Stimulus Package Work?
Social Security
Welfare
Education
| How Do We Know? Why Are U.S. Students Falling Behind?
Health Care
> MyPoliSciLab Video Series
> MyPoliSciLab Simulation: You Are a Federal Reserve Chair
> MyPoliSciLab Explorer: Is Health Care a Public Good?
Chapter 18: Foreign Policy
A Brief History of U.S. Foreign Policy
The Role of the Foreign Policy Bureaucracy
| How Do We Know? Do Economic Sanctions Work?
The Role of Congress
The Role of Interest Groups
Contemporary Foreign Policy Challenges
| Unresolved Debate: Is There Such a Thing as the Democratic Peace?
> 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
Purchase Info
ISBN-10: 0-205-87520-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-205-87520-7
Format: Paper
$133.20 | Free Ground Shipping.
Digital Choices
MyLab & Mastering 
MyLab and Mastering products deliver customizable content and highly personalized study paths, responsive learning tools, and real-time evaluation and diagnostics. MyLab and Mastering products help move students toward the moment that matters most—the moment of true understanding and learning.
Buy AccessNEW MyPoliSciLab -- Instant Access -- for Understanding American Politics and Government, 2012 Election Edition, 3rd Edition
$42.40 | ISBN-13: 978-0-205-93681-6
Print Choices
Loose Leaf Version
Books a la Carte are less-expensive, loose-leaf versions of the same textbook.
$86.67 | ISBN-13: 978-0-205-86286-3
