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American politics today / William T. Bianco, Indiana University, Bloomington, David T. Canon, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Author:
Bianco, William T., 1960-
Published:
New York : W. W. Norton & Company, [2015]
Copyright Date:
©2015
Edition:
Fourth essentials edition.
Physical Description:
xxviii, 482, A79 pages : color illustrations, color maps ; 28 cm
Additional Creators:
Canon, David T.

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Contents:
Machine generated contents note: pt. I FOUNDATIONS -- 1.understanding american politics -- Making Sense of American Government and Politics -- Why Do We Have a Government? -- Forms of Government -- What Is Politics? -- Politics Is Conflictual -- Political Process Matters -- Politics Is Everywhere -- Sources of Conflict in American Politics -- Economic Interests -- Cultural Values -- Racial, Gender, and Ethnic Differences -- Ideology -- Resolving Conflict: Democracy and American Political Values -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 2.the constitution and the founding -- The Historical Context of the Constitution -- Articles of Confederation: The First Attempt at Government -- Political Theories of the Framers -- Economic Interests -- The Politics of Compromise at the Constitutional Convention -- Majority Rule versus Minority Rights -- Small States versus Large States -- Legislative Power versus Executive Power -- National Power versus State and Local Power -- Slave States versus Nonslave States -- Ratification -- The Antifederalists' Concerns -- The Federalists' Strategies -- The Constitution: A Framework for Government -- Exclusive Powers -- Shared Powers -- Negative or Checking Powers -- Is the Constitution a "Living" Document? -- Changing the Constitution -- Flexibility and Interpretation -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 3.federalism -- What Is Federalism and Why Does It Matter? -- Levels of Government and Their Degrees of Autonomy -- A Comparative Perspective -- Balancing National and State Power in the Constitution -- A Strong National Government -- State Powers and Limits on National Power -- Clauses that Favor Both Perspectives -- The Evolving Concept of Federalism -- The Early Years -- Dual Federalism -- Cooperative Federalism -- Federalism Today -- Cooperative Federalism Lives On: Fiscal Federalism -- New Federalism -- The Rise of Coercive Federalism -- Fighting for States' Rights: The Role of the Modern Supreme Court -- Assessing Federalism Today -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 4.civil liberties -- Defining Civil Liberties -- Origins of the Bill of Rights -- Selective Incorporation and the Fourteenth Amendment -- Freedom of Religion -- The Establishment Clause and Separation of Church and State -- The Free Exercise Clause -- Freedom of Speech, Assembly, and the Press -- Generally Protected Expression -- Less Protected Speech and Publications -- The Right to Bear Arms -- Law, Order, and the Rights of Criminal Defendants -- The Fourth Amendment: Unreasonable Searches and Seizures -- The Fifth Amendment: Self-incrimination -- The Sixth Amendment: The Right to Legal Counsel and a Jury Trial -- The Eighth Amendment: Cruel and Unusual Punishment -- Privacy Rights -- Abortion Rights -- Gay Rights -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 5.civil rights -- The Context of Civil Rights -- African Americans -- Native Americans, Asians, and Latinos -- Women and Civil Rights -- Gay Men and Lesbians -- The Racial Divide Today -- Differences in Voting Access -- Socioeconomic Indicators -- Criminal Justice and Hate Crimes -- The Policy-Making Process and Civil Rights -- Social Movements -- The Judicial Arena -- The Legislative Arena -- The Executive Arena -- Continuing and Future Civil Rights Issues -- Affirmative Action -- Multicultural Issues -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- pt. II POLITICS -- 6.public opinion and the media -- What Is Public Opinion? -- Describing Public Opinion -- Many Opinions Are Latent -- How People Form Opinions -- Sources of Opinions -- Socialization: Family and Communities -- Events -- Group Identity -- Politicians and Other Political Actors -- Measuring Public Opinion -- Mass Surveys -- Problems in Measuring Public Opinion -- The Accuracy of Public Opinion -- Characteristics of American Public Opinion -- Ideological Polarization -- Evaluations of Government and Officeholders -- Policy Preferences -- Does Public Opinion Influence Government? -- The News Media -- Media Sources -- Regulating the Media -- Media Effects on Citizens and Government -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 7.political parties -- Parties and Party Systems -- The Evolution of American Political Parties -- Realignments -- Modern American Political Parties -- The Party Organization -- The Party in Government -- The Party in the Electorate -- The Role of Political Parties in American Politics -- Contesting Elections -- Cooperation in Government -- Minor Parties -- Effects on Election Outcomes -- Structural and Issues Differences -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 8.elections -- How Do American Elections Work? -- Two Stages of Elections -- Constituencies: Who Chooses Representatives? -- Determining Who Wins -- Presidential Elections -- Electoral Campaigns -- Setting the Stage -- Before the Campaign -- The General Election Campaign -- Campaign Finance -- How Do Voters Decide? -- The Decision to Vote -- How Do People Vote? -- Voting in Nationalized Elections -- Understanding the 2014 Elections -- The Path to 2014: The 2010 and 2012 Elections -- Analyzing the 2014 Elections -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 9.interest groups -- The Interest Group Universe -- Organizational Structures -- Membership: Benefits and Incentives -- Resources -- Staff -- The Business of Lobbying -- Interest Group Strategies -- Inside Strategies -- Outside Strategies -- How Much Power Do Interest Groups Have? -- What Determines When Interest Groups Succeed? -- How Groups Succeed -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- pt. III INSTITUTIONS -- 10.congress -- Congress's Place in Our Constitutional System -- Congress and the People -- Representation and the Constituency -- The Electoral Connection -- Redisricting -- Congress's Image Problem -- The Incumbency Advantage and Its Sources -- The Structure of Congress -- Informal Structures -- Formal Structures -- How a Bill Becomes a Law -- The Conventional Process -- Deviations from the Conventional Process -- Key Differences between House and Senate Processes -- Oversight -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 11.the presidency -- Presidential Power: Yesterday and Today -- Early Years through World War I -- The Great Depression through the Present -- The President's Job Description -- Head of the Executive Branch -- The President as Politician -- The President as Party Leader -- Presidential Succession -- The Executive Branch -- The Executive Office of the President -- The Vice President -- The President's Cabinet -- The American Public and the President -- Assessing Presidential Power -- Unilateral Action and Signing Statements -- Congressional Responses to Unilateral Action -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 12.the bureaucracy -- What Is the Federal Bureaucracy? -- What Do Bureaucrats Do? -- Bureaucratic Expertise and Its Consequences -- How Has the American Bureaucracy Grown? -- The Beginning of America's Bureaucracy -- Building a New American State: The Progressive Era -- The New Deal, the Great Society, and the Reagan Revolution -- The Modern Federal Bureaucracy -- The Structure of the Federal Government -- The Size of the Federal Government -- The Human Face of the Bureaucracy -- Civil Service Regulations -- Political Appointees and the Senior Executive Service -- Limits on Political Activity -- Controlling the Bureaucracy -- Agency Organization -- Monitoring -- Correcting Violations -- The Consequences of Control -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 13.the courts -- The Development of an Independent and Powerful Federal Judiciary -- The Founders' Views of the Courts: The Weakest Branch? -- Judicial Review and Marbury v. Madison -- Judicial Review in Practice -- The American Legal and Judicial System -- Court Fundamentals -- Structure of the Court and Federalism -- How Judges Are Selected -- Access to the Supreme Court -- The Court's Workload -- Rules of Access -- The Court's Criteria -- Hearing Cases before the Supreme Court -- Briefs -- Oral Argument -- Conference -- Opinion Writing -- Supreme Court Decision Making -- Legal Factors -- Political Factors -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- pt. IV POLICY -- 14.economic and social policy -- Making Public Policy -- The Policy-Making Process -- The Key Players in Economic and Social Policy Making -- Economic Policy -- Goals of Economic Policy -- Tools and Theories of Economic Policy -- Case Study: The 2008-2009 Economic Crisis -- Social Policy -- History and Context of Social Policy -- Social Policy Today -- Education Policy -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- 15.foreign policy -- What Is Foreign Policy? -- Foreign Policy Principles and Perspectives -- History of American Foreign Policy -- Foreign Policy Makers -- The President and the Executive Branch -- Congress -- The Federal Courts -- Groups outside the Federal Government -- The Tools of Foreign Policy -- Diplomacy -- Trade and Economic Policies -- Foreign Aid -- Alliances and Treaties -- Military Force -- The Politics of Foreign Policy -- Foreign Policy Issues Facing America Today -- Conclusion -- Study Guide -- APPENDIX -- The Declaration of Independence -- The Articles of Confederation -- The Constitution of the United States of America Amendments to the Constitution -- The Federalist Papers.
Subject(s):
Genre(s):
ISBN:
9780393937022
039393702X
Bibliography Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
View MARC record | catkey: 18359589