The Enduring Debate: Classic and Contemporary Readings in American Politics

by Canon, David T.; Khademian, Anne M.; Mayer, Kenneth R.

• ISBN13: 9780393975512
• ISBN10: 0393975517
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc

Summary

Still the most comprehensive reader available for courses in American government, The Enduring Debate provides breadth and balance in its ninety-four essays. The collection represents a unique blend of classic and contemporary selections of varying length from a variety of scholarly and popular sources. The Second Edition continues to feature a debate section in each chapter: two or more readings exploring different sides of an important issue. Issues tackled in the Second Edition include: free speech on the Internet, campaign finance reform, and the role of the government in the economy.

Author Biography

David T. Canon is associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin--Madison Anne Khademian is an independent scholar Kenneth R. Mayer is associate professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin--Madison

Table of Contents

PART I The Constitutional System
Constructing the Government: The Founding and the Constitution	3	(31)
From The Origins of the American Constitution	3	(9)
Michael Kammen
The Federalist, No. 15	12	(5)
Alexander Hamilton
``The Paranoid Style in American Politics''	17	(6)
Richard Hofstadter
The Debate: An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution	23	(1)
From An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States	23	(5)
Charles A. Beard
From Charles Beard and the Constitution: A Critical Analysis of ``An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution''	28	(6)
Robert E. Brown
Federalism and the Separation of Powers: Then and Now	34	(38)
The Federalist, Nos. 51 and 46	34	(9)
James Madison
From The Price of Federalism	43	(9)
Paul Peterson
``Guns, the Commerce Clause, and the Court''	52	(4)
Robert Katzmann
The Debate: Separation of Powers and the Balance of Institutional Power	55	(1)
``The Unimperial Presidency''	56	(9)
Akhil Reed Amar
``The Wounded Constitution''	65	(7)
Ronald Dworkin
The Constitutional Framework and the Individual: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights	72	(37)
``The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions''	73	(6)
Abraham Lincoln
``Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963''	79	(9)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
``In Defense of Prejudice''	88	(9)
Jonathan Rauch
The Debate: Free Speech and the Internet	96	(1)
``Policing Cyberspace''---[The Editors of The Nation]	97	(2)
``The Internet: A Clear and Present Danger?''	99	(4)
Cathleen A. Cleaver
``The Limits of Freedom''	103	(6)
Andrew Brown
Part II Institutions
Congress: The First Branch	109	(42)
From Congress: The Electoral Connection	109	(4)
David R. Mayhew
``Too Representative Government''	113	(15)
Steven Stark
``Reelection Tips for Legislators''	128	(5)
Ron Faucheux
``The Nihilists: If Only Congress Could Be Truly Partisan''	133	(5)
David Grann
The Debate: Pork-Barrel Politics	137	(1)
``Rolling Out the Pork Barrel''	138	(3)
Sean Paige
``Roll Out the Barrel: The Case Against the Case Against Pork''	141	(10)
Jonathan Cohn
The President: From Chief Clerk to Chief Executive	151	(40)
``The Power to Persuade'' from Presidential Power	151	(10)
Richard Neustadt
``The Clinton Affair''	161	(4)
Barbara Dafoe Whitehead
``Presidents and Economics: One-Star Generalizations''	165	(7)
Herbert Stein
The Debate: The Reach of Presidential Power	172	(1)
``Perspectives on the Presidency'' from The Presidency in a Separated System	172	(6)
Charles O. Jones
``The Out-of-Control Presidency''	178	(13)
Michael Lind
Bureaucracy in a Democratic System	191	(44)
``The Study of Administration''	191	(9)
Woodrow Wilson
From Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It	200	(9)
James Q. Wilson
``Reinvention Lite''	209	(11)
Robert Worth
The Debate: Is the IRS Out of Control?	219	(1)
``The IRS Mess''	220	(9)
James Bovard
``Accentuate the Negative''	229	(2)
Tom Shoop
``I Like the IRS''	231	(4)
Jodie T. Allen
The Federal Judiciary	235	(44)
The Federalist, No. 78	235	(7)
Alexander Hamilton
``The Court in American Life'' from Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics	242	(7)
David O'Brien
``The Demise of Race-Based Admission Policies''	249	(7)
Michael Greve
The Debate: Interpreting the Constitution and Original Intent	255	(1)
``The Imperial Judiciary...And What Congress Can Do About It''	256	(10)
Edwin Meese III
Rhett DeHart
``The Judicial Vigilantes''	266	(13)
Nicholas Confessore
Part III Political Participation
Public Opinion and the Mass Media	279	(37)
``Polling the Public'' from Public Opinion in a Democracy	279	(8)
George Gallup
``Choice Words: If You Can't Understand Our Poll Questions, Then How Can We Understand Your Answers?''	287	(5)
Richard Morin
``Why Americans Hate Politics and Politicians''	292	(7)
Michael Nelson
The Debate: Are the Media Out of Touch? Covering Monicagate	298	(1)
``Rush From Judgment: How the Media Lost Their Bearings''	299	(9)
James Fallows
``Newspapers Savaged Other Presidents Too''	308	(2)
Linda Lotridge Levin
``Polarization and Presidentialism''	310	(6)
Richard J. Ellis
Elections and Voting	316	(43)
``The Voice of the People: An Echo'' from The Responsible Electorate	316	(6)
V. O. Key
``Give'em Hell' These Days Is a Figure of Speech''	322	(9)
Eileen Shields West
``Who Cares About Campaign Conduct? Discussing The Consequences of Misleading Political Advertising''	331	(10)
John A. Boiney
``Why Didn't Conservatives Turn Out?''	341	(4)
Vic Gresham
``Democrats in Political Debt for Black Turnout in South''	345	(6)
Kevin Sack
The Debate: Should Campaign Finance Be Reformed?	350	(1)
``Five-Point Reform Proposal Would Fix Campaign System''	351	(3)
Norman Ornstein
``Ten Big Lies About Campaign Finance Reform''	354	(5)
Peggy Ellis
Political Parties	359	(51)
``The Decline of Collective Responsibility in American Politics''	359	(11)
Morris P. Fiorina
``Elephantiatis: Weakness in the Republican Coalition''	370	(8)
Joshua Micah Marshall
Third Parties and the Presidential Race	378	(5)
Walter Berns
Gordon S. Black
``A Pox on Both Our Parties''	383	(9)
Carl M. Cannon
The Debate: Party Politics in America: Should the Two-Party System Be Strengthened?	391	(1)
``A Report of the Committee on Political Parties: Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System''---American Political Science Association	392	(4)
``Of Political Parties Great and Strong: A Dissent''	396	(14)
Everett Carll Ladd
Groups and Interests	410	(41)
``Political Association in the United States'' from Democracy in America	410	(3)
Alexis de Tocqueville
``The Logic of Collective Action'' from The Rise and Decline of Nations	413	(10)
Mancur Olson
``The Grapes of Wrath''	423	(4)
W. John Moore
The Debate: PACs and Politics: Was Madison Right?	426	(1)
The Federalist, No. 10	427	(6)
James Madison
``The Alleged Mischiefs of Faction'' from the Governmental Process	433	(7)
David B. Truman
``The Hyperpluralism Trap''	440	(11)
Jonathan Rauch
Part IV Public Policy
Politics and Policy	451	(35)
``The Science of `Muddling Through'''	451	(9)
Charles E. Lindblom
``American Business, Public Policy, Case Studies, and Political Theory''	460	(7)
Theodore J. Lowi
``Why Our Democracy Doesn't Work''	467	(8)
William A. Niskanen
The Debate: What to Do with the Budget Surplus	474	(1)
``Would a 10 Percent Across-the-Board Tax Cut Be Fair to All Taxpapers?''	475	(3)
John Kasich
``Surplus Worship''	478	(8)
Robert Kuttner
Government and the Economy	486	(43)
``Call for Federal Responsibility''	486	(5)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
``Against the Proposed New Deal''	491	(5)
Herbert Hoover
``It's Not the Economy, Stupid''	496	(13)
Charles R. Morris
``The GDP Myth: Why `Growth' Isn't Always a Good Thing''	509	(9)
Jonathan Rowe
Judith Silverstein
The Debate: The Role of Government in the Economy	518	(1)
``Gray Markets and Greased Pigs''	518	(3)
John Hood
``The Era of `Big' Government: Why You'd Miss It If It Went''	521	(8)
E. J. Dionne, Jr.
Government and Society	529	(36)
``A Program for Social Security''	529	(4)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
``Growing American Inequality: Sources and Remedies''	533	(8)
Gary Burtless
``The New American Consensus: Government of, by, and for the Comfortable''	541	(11)
Nicholas Lemann
The Debate: Social Security Reform	551	(1)
``Whither Social Security? Transition It, Then Retire It''	552	(4)
William Niskanen
``Security Risk: The Plot to Kill Social Security''	556	(9)
Jonathan Chait
Foreign Policy and World Politics	565	(100)
``The Sources of Soviet Conduct''---``X''	565	(7)
George Kennan
``Isolationism Be Demned''	572	(5)
Burt Solomon
``The New Interventionism: The Search for a Just International Law''	577	(8)
Michael Glennon
The Debate: American Foreign Policy---Isolationism or Involvement?	584	(1)
``The Meaning of Kosovo''	585	(3)
David Pryce-Jones
``The Perils of a Moral Imperative''	588	(2)
Peter Wilby
``Bill Clinton's War''---[The Editors of The Progressive]	590	(5)
APPENDIX
Marbury v. Madison (1803)	595	(5)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)	600	(5)
Barron v. Baltimore (1833)	605	(2)
Roe v. Wade (1973)	607	(5)
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)	612	(2)
United States v. Nixon (1974)	614	(5)
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992)	619	(6)
United States v. Lopez (1995)	625	(8)
The Declaration of Independence	633	(4)
The Constitution of the United States of America	637	(14)
Amendments to the Constitution	651	(14)
Acknowledgments	665