Essentials of American Politics

by Spitzer, Robert J.; Ginsberg, Benjamin; Lowi, Theodore J.; Weir, Margaret; Spitzer, Robert J.

• ISBN13: 9780393976076
• ISBN10: 0393976076
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-01
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xix
Introduction: The Citizen and the Government	p. 1
Citizenship Is Based on Knowledge of and Participation in Politics	p. 5
Government Is Made Up of the Institutions and Procedures by Which People Are Ruled	p. 6
America Is Built on the Ideas of Liberty, Equality, and Democracy	p. 10
The Founding and the Constitution	p. 17
Narrow Interests and Political Conflicts Shaped the First Founding	p. 19
The Failure of the Articles Made the "Second Founding" Necessary	p. 24
The Constitution Created Both Bold Powers and Sharp Limits on Power	p. 29
Ratification of the Constitution Was Difficult	p. 38
Constitutional Amendments Dramatically Changed the Relationship between Citizens and the Government	p. 42
Federalism	p. 53
Federalism Shapes American Politics	p. 55
Civil Liberties and Civil Rights	p. 79
The Origin of the Bill of Rights Lies in Those Who Opposed the Constitution	p. 80
Dual Citizenship Was Defined by Barron v. Baltimore	p. 82
The Fourteenth Amendment Created the Doctrine of Incorporation	p. 84
The First Amendment Guarantees Freedom of Religion	p. 86
The First Amendment and Freedom of Speech and the Press Assure Free Exchange of Ideas	p. 88
The Second Amendment Protects the Right to Bear Arms in a Militia	p. 94
Rights of the Criminally Accused Are Based on Due Process of Law	p. 94
The Right to Privacy Is the Right to Be Left Alone	p. 99
Civil Rights Are Protections by the Government	p. 100
The Civil Rights Struggle Was Extended to Other Disadvantaged Groups	p. 108
Affirmative Action Attempts to Right Past Wrongs	p. 114
Public Opinion and the Media	p. 123
Fundamental Values Shape Our Opinions	p. 124
Measuring Public Opinion Is Crucial to Understanding What It Is	p. 137
Public Opinion Must Matter in a Democracy	p. 139
The Media Must Also Matter in a Democracy	p. 140
News Coverage Matters Because People Rely on It	p. 140
The Media Affect Power Relations in American Politics	p. 143
Public Opinion, Media, and Democracy Are Closely Linked	p. 149
Political Parties and Elections	p. 155
Parties and Elections Have Been Vital to American Politics and Government	p. 156
America Is One of the Few Nations with a Two-Party System	p. 160
Voters Decide Based on Party, Issues, and Candidate	p. 170
Elections Are Important to Democracy, but the System Can Seem Complicated	p. 172
The 2000 Elections	p. 178
Money Is the Mother's Milk of Politics	p. 180
Interest Groups	p. 191
Pluralist and Elitist Views Both Explain the Group Process	p. 192
Interest Groups Represent Different Interests but Have Similar Organizations and Membership	p. 194
The Number of Groups Has Increased in the Last Thirty Years	p. 200
Interest Groups Use Different Strategies to Gain Influence	p. 202
Interest Groups Both Help and Hurt Democracy	p. 213
Congress	p. 219
Congressional Power Is Rooted in the Constitution	p. 221
Congress Represents the American People	p. 222
The Organization of Congress Is Shaped by Party	p. 230
Rules of Lawmaking Explain How a Bill Becomes a Law	p. 237
There Are Several Influences on How Congress Decides	p. 240
Much Congressional Energy Goes to Tasks Other Than Lawmaking	p. 244
The Presidency	p. 253
Presidential Power Is Rooted in the Constitution	p. 255
Institutional Resources of Presidential Power Are Numerous	p. 264
The President Has Numerous Political Resources	p. 270
Bureaucracy	p. 283
Bureaucracy Exists to Improve Efficiency	p. 284
The Executive Branch Is Organized Hierarchically	p. 291
Several Forces Control Bureaucracy	p. 302
Democracy Can Control Bureaucracy	p. 306
The Federal Courts	p. 311
The Legal System Settles Disputes	p. 313
The Federal Courts Hear a Small Percentage of All Cases	p. 318
The Power of the Supreme Court Is Judicial Review	p. 323
Domestic Policy	p. 341
The Tools for Making Policy Are Techniques of Control	p. 343
Social Policy and the Welfare State Buttress Equality	p. 349
Social Policy Spending Benefits the Middle Class More Than the Poor	p. 356
The Cycle of Poverty Can Be Broken by Education, Employment, Health, and Housing Policies	p. 362
Foreign Policy	p. 371
The Makers and Shapers of Foreign Policy Include the President, the Bureaucracy, and Congress	p. 372
America Is Historically Suspicious of Foreign Entanglements	p. 377
The Instruments of Modern American Foreign Policy Include Diplomacy, Money, and Military Force	p. 380
Foreign Policy Values for America Today Emphasize Economic Relationships	p. 389
Appendix	p. A1
The Declaration of Independence	p. A3
Articles of Confederation	p. A7
The Constitution of the United States	p. A13
Amendments to the Constitution	p. A23
The Federalist Papers	p. A33
Presidents and Vice Presidents	p. A41
Glossary	p. A45
Endnotes	p. A59
Answer Key for Practice Quizzes	p. A79
Index	p. A81
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