American Government and Politics Today, 2007-2008, Alternate Edition,9780495007357

American Government and Politics Today, 2007-2008, Alternate Edition

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Edition: 1st
ISBN13: 9780495007357
ISBN10: 0495007358
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2006-12-05
Publisher(s): Wadsworth Publishing
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Summary

Go beyond the television newsrooms and the canned political speeches with AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS TODAY, 2007-2008, ALTERNATE EDITION. With up-to-date information and the inside track on public policy makers, this edition presents what you need to know about American politics in an easy-to-understand format. And, special sections on the impact of economics and foreign policy make this textbook particularly relevant in today's political climate.

Table of Contents

PART ONE THE AMERICAN SYSTEM
The Democratic Republic
1(26)
What If . . . Citizens Were Required to Vote?
2(1)
Politics and Government
3(1)
Why Is Government Necessary?
3(2)
The Need for Security
3(1)
Limiting Government Power
4(1)
Authority and Legitimacy
5(1)
Democracy and Other Forms of Government
5(3)
Types of Government
5(1)
Direct Democracy as a Model
6(1)
The Dangers of Direct Democracy
7(1)
A Democratic Republic
7(1)
What Kind of Democracy Do We Have?
8(1)
Democracy for Everyone
8(1)
Democracy for the Few
8(1)
Democracy for Groups
9(1)
Fundamental Values
9(5)
Political Socialization
10(1)
Liberty versus Order
10(1)
Equality versus Liberty
11(3)
Tensions over Big Government
14(1)
Political Ideologies
14(4)
Liberalism versus Conservatism
15(1)
The Traditional Political Spectrum
15(1)
``Classical'' Liberalism
15(1)
Problems with the Traditional Political Spectrum
16(1)
A Four-Cornered Ideological Grid
16(1)
Other Ideologies
17(1)
Ideology in the Islamic World
18(1)
The Changing Face of America
18(9)
The Aging of America
18(1)
Our Growing Population
19(1)
Ethnic Change
19(3)
Why the Term Hispanic?
22(1)
The Hispanic Vote in the 2006 Elections
23(1)
Other Trends
23(4)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
The Constitution
27(50)
What If . . . Roe v. Wade Were Overturned?
28(1)
The Colonial Background
29(2)
Separatists, the Mayflower, and the Compact
29(1)
More Colonies, More Government
30(1)
British Restrictions and Colonial Grievances
31(1)
The Colonial Response: The Continental Congresses
31(1)
The First Continental Congress
31(1)
The Second Continental Congress
31(1)
Declaring Independence
32(2)
The Resolution of Independence
32(1)
July 4, 1776---The Declaration of Independence
32(2)
The Rise of Republicanism
34(1)
The Articles of Confederation: The First Form of Government
34(3)
Accomplishments under the Articles
35(1)
Weaknesses of the Articles
36(1)
Shays' Rebellion and the Need for Revision of the Articles
36(1)
Drafting the Constitution
37(6)
Who Were the Delegates?
37(1)
The Working Environment
37(1)
Factions among the Delegates
38(1)
Politicking and Compromises
38(3)
Working toward Final Agreement
41(2)
The Final Document
43(1)
The Difficult Road to Ratification
44(3)
The Federalists Push for Ratification
44(2)
The March to the Finish
46(1)
Did the Majority of Americans Support the Constitution?
46(1)
The Bill of Rights
47(1)
A ``Bill of Limits''
47(1)
No Explicit Limits on State Government Powers
48(1)
Altering the Constitution: The Formal Amendment Process
48(3)
Many Amendments Proposed, Few Accepted
49(1)
Limits on Ratification
50(1)
The National Convention Provision
51(1)
Informal Methods of Constitutional Change
51(7)
Congressional Legislation
52(1)
Presidential Actions
52(1)
Judicial Review
52(2)
Interpretation, Custom, and Usage
54(4)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
Appendix to Chapter 2: The Constitution of the United States
58(19)
Federalism
77(30)
What If . . . One State's Same-Sex Marriages Had to Be Recognized Nationwide?
78(1)
Three Systems of Government
79(1)
A Unitary System
79(1)
A Confederal System
80(1)
A Federal System
80(1)
Why Federalism?
80(3)
A Practical Solution
80(1)
Other Arguments for Federalism
81(1)
Arguments against Federalism
82(1)
The Constitutional Basis for American Federalism
83(4)
Powers of the National Government
83(1)
Powers of the State Governments
84(1)
Concurrent Powers
84(1)
Prohibited Powers
85(1)
The Supremacy Clause
86(1)
Vertical Checks and Balances
86(1)
Interstate Relations
87(1)
Defining Constitutional Powers---The Early Years
87(2)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
87(1)
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
88(1)
States' Rights and the Resort to Civil War
89(2)
The Shift Back to States' Rights
89(1)
War and the Growth of the National Government
90(1)
The Continuing Dispute over the Division of Power
91(6)
Dual Federalism and the Retreat of National Authority
91(1)
The New Deal and Cooperative Federalism
92(2)
Methods of Implementing Cooperative Federalism
94(3)
The Politics of Federalism
97(3)
What Has National Authority Accomplished?
97(2)
Federalism Becomes a Republican Issue
99(1)
Federalism and the Supreme Court Today
100(7)
Reining in the Commerce Power
100(1)
State Sovereignty and the Eleventh Amendment
101(1)
Tenth Amendment Issues
101(1)
Other Federalism Cases
102(5)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
PART TWO CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
Civil Liberties
107(38)
What If . . . The Government Monitored All E-mail?
108(1)
The Bill of Rights
109(2)
Extending the Bill of Rights to State Governments
110(1)
Incorporation of the Fourteenth Amendment
110(1)
Freedom of Religion
111(7)
The Separation of Church and State---The Establishment Clause
111(6)
The Free Exercise Clause
117(1)
Freedom of Expression
118(8)
No Prior Restraint
119(1)
The Protection of Symbolic Speech
119(1)
The Protection of Commercial Speech
120(1)
Permitted Restrictions on Expression
120(2)
Unprotected Speech: Obscenity
122(1)
Unprotected Speech: Slander
123(1)
Campus Speech
124(1)
Hate Speech on the Internet
125(1)
Freedom of the Press
126(2)
Defamation in Writing
126(1)
A Free Press versus a Fair Trial: Gag Orders
126(2)
Films, Radio, and TV
128(1)
The Right to Assemble and to Petition the Government
128(2)
Street Gangs
129(1)
Online Assembly
130(1)
More Liberties under Scrutiny: Matters of Privacy
130(5)
Privacy Rights in an Information Age
130(1)
Privacy Rights and Abortion
131(2)
Privacy Rights and the ``Right to Die''
133(1)
Privacy Rights versus Security Issues
134(1)
The Great Balancing Act: The Rights of the Accused versus the Rights of Society
135(3)
Rights of the Accused
135(1)
Extending the Rights of the Accused
136(2)
The Exclusionary Rule
138(1)
The Death Penalty
138(7)
Cruel and Unusual Punishment?
138(1)
The Death Penalty Today
139(1)
Time Limits for Death Row Appeals
140(5)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
Civil Rights
145(44)
What If . . . Illegal Immigrants Were Granted Citizenship?
146(1)
African Americans and the Consequences of Slavery in the United States
147(6)
Ending Servitude
148(1)
The Civil Rights Acts of 1865 to 1875
148(1)
The Ineffectiveness of the Civil Rights Laws
149(2)
The End of the Separate-but-Equal Doctrine
151(1)
Reactions to School Integration
151(1)
An Integrationist Attempt at a Cure: Busing
152(1)
The Civil Rights Movement
153(2)
King's Philosophy of Nonviolence
153(1)
Another Approach---Black Power
154(1)
The Climax of the Civil Rights Movement
155(4)
Civil Rights Legislation
155(2)
Consequences of Civil Rights Legislation
157(2)
Women's Struggle for Equal Rights
159(7)
Early Women's Political Movements
160(1)
Women's Suffrage Associations
160(1)
The Modern Women's Movement
161(3)
Women in Politics Today
164(2)
Gender-Based Discrimination in the Workplace
166(2)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
166(1)
Sexual Harassment
166(1)
Wage Discrimination
167(1)
Immigration, Hispanics, and Civil Rights
168(3)
The Continued Influx of Immigrants
168(1)
Illegal Immigration
169(1)
Bilingual Education
170(1)
Affirmative Action
171(2)
The Bakke Case
172(1)
Further Limits on Affirmative Action
172(1)
State Ballot Initiatives
173(1)
Special Protection for Older Americans
173(1)
Age Discrimination in Employment
173(1)
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
174(1)
Securing Rights for Persons with Disabilities
174(2)
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
174(1)
Limiting the Scope and Applicability of the ADA
175(1)
The Rights and Status of Gay Males and Lesbians
176(1)
Growth in the Gay Male and Lesbian Rights Movement
176(1)
State and Local Laws Targeting Gay Men and Lesbians
177(1)
The Gay Community and Politics
177(3)
Gay Men and Lesbians in the Military
178(1)
Same-Sex Marriages
179(1)
Child Custody and Adoption
180(1)
The Rights and Status of Juveniles
180(9)
Voting Rights and the Young
180(1)
The Rights of Children in Civil and Criminal Proceedings
181(8)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
PART THREE PEOPLE AND POLITICS
Public Opinion and Political Socialization
189(30)
What If . . . Students Were Required to Pass a National Civics Exam?
190(2)
Defining Public Opinion
192(1)
How Public Opinion Is Formed: Political Socialization
193(4)
Models of Political Socialization
193(1)
The Family and the Social Environment
193(2)
The Impact of the Media
195(1)
The Influence of Political Events
196(1)
Political Preferences and Voting Behavior
197(6)
Demographic Influences
198(5)
Election-Specific Factors
203(1)
Measuring Public Opinion
203(5)
The History of Opinion Polls
204(1)
Sampling Techniques
205(1)
Problems with Polls
205(2)
Accuracy of the 2006 Polls
207(1)
Technology and Opinion Polls
208(2)
The Advent of Telephone Polling
208(1)
Enter Internet Polling
209(1)
Public Opinion and the Political Process
210(9)
Political Culture and Public Opinion
210(2)
Public Opinion about Government
212(2)
Public Opinion and Policymaking
214(5)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
Interest Groups
219(30)
What If . . . Retired Government Employees Could Not Work for Interest Groups?
220(1)
Interest Groups: A Natural Phenomenon
221(2)
Interest Groups and Social Movements
222(1)
Why So Many?
223(1)
Why Do Americans Join Interest Groups?
223(2)
Solidary Incentives
224(1)
Material Incentives
224(1)
Purposive Incentives
224(1)
Types of Interest Groups
225(9)
Economic Interest Groups
227(5)
Environmental Groups
232(1)
Public-Interest Groups
232(1)
Other Interest Groups
233(1)
Foreign Governments
234(1)
What Makes an Interest Group Powerful?
234(3)
Size and Resources
234(2)
Leadership
236(1)
Cohesiveness
237(1)
Interest Group Strategies
237(5)
Direct Techniques
238(2)
Indirect Techniques
240(2)
Regulating Lobbyists
242(2)
The Results of the 1946 Act
242(1)
The Reforms of 1995
243(1)
Recent Lobbying Scandals
243(1)
Interest Groups and Representative Democracy
244(5)
Interest Groups: Elitist or Pluralist?
244(1)
Interest Group Influence
244(5)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
Political Parties
249(36)
What If . . . Parties Were Supported Solely by Public Funding?
250(1)
What Is a Political Party?
251(1)
A History of Political Parties in the United States
252(8)
The Formative Years: Federalists and Anti-Federalists
253(1)
The Era of Good Feelings
254(1)
National Two-Party Rule: Democrats and Whigs
254(1)
The Civil War Crisis
254(1)
The Post--Civil War Period
255(1)
The Progressive Interlude
256(1)
The New Deal Era
256(2)
An Era of Divided Government
258(1)
Partisan Trends in the 2006 Elections
259(1)
The Two Major U.S. Parties Today
260(3)
The Parties' Core Constituents
260(1)
Economic Beliefs
260(2)
Cultural Politics
262(1)
The 2004 Elections: Economics and National Security
263(1)
The Three Faces of a Party
263(7)
Party Organization
264(1)
The National Party Organization
264(3)
The State Party Organization
267(1)
Local Party Machinery: The Grassroots
267(2)
The Party-in-Government
269(1)
Why Has the Two-Party System Endured?
270(2)
The Historical Foundations of the Two-Party System
270(1)
Political Socialization and Practical Considerations
270(1)
The Winner-Take-All Electoral System
271(1)
State and Federal Laws Favoring the Two Parties
272(1)
The Role of Minor Parties in U.S. Politics
272(4)
Ideological Third Parties
273(2)
Splinter Parties
275(1)
The Impact of Minor Parties
276(1)
Mechanisms of Political Change
276(9)
Realignment
278(1)
Dealignment
279(1)
Tipping
280(1)
On to the Future
280(5)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
Campaigns, Nominations, and Elections
285(38)
What If . . . Spending Limits Were Placed on Campaigns?
286(1)
Who Wants to Be a Candidate?
287(3)
Why They Run
287(2)
The Nomination Process
289(1)
Who Is Eligible?
289(1)
Who Runs?
289(1)
The Twenty-First-Century Campaign
290(2)
The Changing Campaign
290(1)
The Professional Campaign
291(1)
The Strategy of Winning
292(1)
Candidate Visibility and Appeal
292(1)
The Use of Opinion Polls
292(1)
Focus Groups
293(1)
Financing the Campaign
293(2)
Regulating Campaign Financing
293(1)
The Federal Election Campaign Act
294(1)
Interest Groups and Campaign Money
295(5)
PACs and Political Campaigns
295(1)
Campaign Financing beyond the Limits
296(3)
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002
299(1)
Campaign Financing and the 2006 Elections
300(1)
Running for President: The Longest Campaign
300(5)
Reforming the Primaries
301(1)
Types of Primaries
302(1)
Front-Loading the Primaries
303(2)
On to the National Convention
305(1)
The Electoral College
305(2)
The Choice of Electors
305(1)
The Electors' Commitment
306(1)
Criticisms of the Electoral College
306(1)
How Are Elections Conducted?
307(4)
Office-Block and Party-Column Ballots
307(1)
Voting by Mail
308(1)
Vote Fraud
308(3)
Turning Out to Vote
311(4)
The Effect of Low Voter Turnout
312(1)
Is Voter Turnout Declining?
312(1)
Factors Influencing Who Votes
313(1)
Why People Do Not Vote
314(1)
Legal Restrictions on Voting
315(8)
Historical Restrictions
315(2)
Current Eligibility and Registration Requirements
317(1)
Extension of the Voting Rights Act
317(6)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
The Media and Cyberpolitics
323(30)
What If . . . The Media Had to Reveal All of Their Sources?
324(1)
The Media's Functions
325(3)
Entertainment
325(1)
Reporting the News
326(1)
Identifying Public Problems
326(1)
Socializing New Generations
326(1)
Providing a Political Forum
327(1)
Making Profits
327(1)
A History of the Media in the United States
328(5)
The Rise of the Political Press
328(1)
The Development of Mass-Readership Newspapers
328(1)
The Popular Press and Yellow Journalism
329(1)
The Age of the Electromagnetic Signal
329(1)
The Revolution in the Electronic Media
330(1)
Talk-Show Politics and Satellite Radio
331(1)
The Internet, Blogging, and Podcasting
332(1)
The Primacy of Television
333(1)
The Increase in News-Type Programming
333(1)
Television's Influence on the Political Process
333(1)
The Media and Political Campaigns
334(7)
Advertising
335(2)
Management of News Coverage
337(1)
Going for the Knockout Punch---Presidential Debates
337(2)
Political Campaigns and the Internet
339(1)
The Media's Impact on the Voters
339(2)
The Role of the Media in the 2006 Elections
341(1)
The Media and the Government
341(2)
Prepackaged News
341(1)
The Media and the Presidency
342(1)
Setting the Public Agenda
342(1)
Government Regulation of the Media
343(5)
Controlling Ownership of the Media
343(2)
Government Control of Content
345(2)
The Public's Right to Media Access
347(1)
Bias in the Media
348(5)
Do the Media Have a Partisan Bias?
348(1)
A Commercial Bias?
349(4)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
PART FOUR POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
The Congress
353(36)
What If . . . Nonpartisan Panels Drew Congressional Districts?
354(1)
Why Was Congress Created?
355(1)
The Functions of Congress
356(3)
The Lawmaking Function
356(1)
The Representation Function
356(1)
Service to Constituents
357(1)
The Oversight Function
358(1)
The Public-Education Function
358(1)
The Conflict-Resolution Function
359(1)
The Powers of Congress
359(1)
Enumerated Powers
359(1)
The Necessary and Proper Clause
360(1)
House-Senate Differences
360(2)
Size and Rules
361(1)
Debate and Filibustering
361(1)
Prestige
362(1)
Congresspersons and the Citizenry: A Comparison
362(2)
Congress after the 2006 Elections
363(1)
Congressional Elections
364(3)
Candidates for Congressional Elections
364(2)
The Power of Incumbency
366(1)
Party Control of Congress after the 2006 Elections
366(1)
Congressional Apportionment
367(3)
Gerrymandering
367(1)
Redistricting after the 2000 Census
368(1)
``Minority-Majority'' Districts
369(1)
Constitutional Challenges
369(1)
Changing Directions
370(1)
Perks and Privileges
370(2)
Permanent Professional Staffs
370(1)
Privileges and Immunities under the Law
371(1)
Congressional Caucuses: Another Source of Support
371(1)
The Committee Structure
372(3)
The Power of Committees
372(1)
Types of Congressional Committees
373(1)
The Selection of Committee Members
374(1)
The Formal Leadership
375(3)
Leadership in the House
375(2)
Leadership in the Senate
377(1)
How Members of Congress Decide
378(1)
The Conservative Coalition
379(1)
``Crossing Over''
379(1)
How a Bill Becomes Law
379(2)
How Much Will the Government Spend?
381(8)
Preparing the Budget
381(1)
Congress Faces the Budget
382(1)
Budget Resolutions
383(6)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
The President
389(34)
What If . . . There Were No Executive Privilege?
390(1)
Who Can Become President?
391(1)
The Process of Becoming President
392(1)
The Many Roles of the President
393(13)
Head of State
393(1)
Chief Executive
394(3)
Commander in Chief
397(1)
Chief Diplomat
398(3)
Chief Legislator
401(4)
Other Presidential Powers
405(1)
The President as Party Chief and Superpolitician
406(3)
The President as Chief of Party
406(1)
The President's Power to Persuade
406(1)
Constituencies and Public Approval
407(2)
Special Uses of Presidential Power
409(1)
Emergency Powers
409(1)
Executive Orders
409(1)
Executive Privilege
410(1)
Abuses of Executive Power and Impeachment
410(2)
The Executive Organization
412(3)
The Cabinet
412(2)
The Executive Office of the President
414(1)
The Vice Presidency
415(8)
The Vice President's Job
416(1)
Presidential Succession
416(1)
The Twenty-fifth Amendment
417(1)
When the Vice Presidency Becomes Vacant
418(5)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
The Bureaucracy
423(28)
What If . . . The Public Graded Federal Bureaucracies?
424(1)
The Nature of Bureaucracy
425(2)
Public and Private Bureaucracies
425(1)
Models of Bureaucracy
426(1)
Bureaucracies Compared
426(1)
The Size of the Bureaucracy
427(2)
The Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy
429(7)
Cabinet Departments
431(1)
Independent Executive Agencies
431(3)
Independent Regulatory Agencies
434(2)
Government Corporations
436(1)
Staffing the Bureaucracy
436(4)
Political Appointees
436(2)
History of the Federal Civil Service
438(2)
Modern Attempts at Bureaucratic Reform
440(4)
Sunshine Laws before and after 9/11
440(1)
Sunset Laws
441(1)
Privatization
442(1)
Incentives for Efficiency and Productivity
442(2)
Helping Out the Whistleblowers
444(1)
Bureaucrats as Politicians and Policymakers
444(3)
The Rulemaking Environment
445(1)
Negotiated Rulemaking
445(1)
Bureaucrats Are Policymakers
446(1)
Congressional Control of the Bureaucracy
447(4)
Ways Congress Does Control the Bureaucracy
447(1)
Reasons Why Congress Cannot Easily Oversee the Bureaucracy
447(4)
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
The Courts
451
What If . . . Supreme Court Justices Had Term Limits?
452(1)
The Common Law Tradition
453(1)
Sources of American Law
454(1)
Constitutions
454(1)
Statutes and Administrative Regulations
455(1)
Case Law
455(1)
The Federal Court System
455(6)
Basic Judicial Requirements
456(1)
Types of Federal Courts
456(3)
Specialized Federal Courts and the War on Terrorism
459(1)
Parties to Lawsuits
459(1)
Procedural Rules
460(1)
The Supreme Court at Work
461(3)
Which Cases Reach the Supreme Court?
462(1)
Deciding Cases
462(1)
Decisions and Opinions
463(1)
The Selection of Federal Judges
464(4)
Judicial Appointments
464(2)
Partisanship and Judicial Appointments
466(1)
The Senate's Role
467(1)
Policymaking and the Courts
468(5)
Judicial Review
469(1)
Judicial Activism and Judicial Restraint
469(1)
Strict versus Broad Construction
470(1)
Ideology and the Rehnquist Court
470(3)
What Checks Our Courts?
473
Executive Checks
473(1)
Legislative Checks
473(1)
Public Opinion
474(1)
Judicial Traditions and Doctrines
475
Key Terms
Chapter Summary
Selected Print and Media Resources
Appendix A The Declaration of Independence 1(2)
Appendix B How to Read Case Citations and Find Court Decisions 3(1)
Appendix C Federalist Papers Nos. 10, 51, and 78 4(8)
Appendix D Justices of the United States Supreme Court since 1900 12(3)
Appendix E Party Control of Congress since 1900 15(1)
Appendix F Spanish Equivalents for Important Terms in American Government 16
Glossary 1(1)
Index 1

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