American Government: Stories of a Nation

Students learn the nuts and bolts of political science through compelling stories that show how our diverse ideas shape the way we participate and behave and the laws we live by.  Learning concepts in context is a tested learning technique that works to help ideas stick. The key concepts are memorable because they are tied to real politics, where students see political action and political choices shaping how institutions advance or impede the fulfilment of fundamental ideas. Not only will all students see themselves reflected in the pages, but they will come to understand that they, too, are strategic players in American politics, with voices that matter.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments About the Author PART I: FOUNDATIONS 1. American Political Stories: Claiming Rights, Demanding to be Heard American Students Claim Their Rights People Matter! But So Do Ideas Drafting the Declaration of Independence: Affirming and Demanding Fundamental Rights The American Revolution: Ideals and Strategic Politics The American Radicals: From Ideas to Strategic Action to Political Institutions Institutions Matter, Too Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’S Letter From Birmingham Jail Conclusion: The American Experiment, Continued, and You Are Part of It Chapter Review 2. The Constitution of the United States: Practical Politics and a New Vision of Representative Government James Madison’s Research Project: “The Fathers Were Practical Men” American Government Before the Constitution: The Articles of Confederation, Problems of National Authority, and Differences between the States The Constitutional Convention In Philadelphia: “Experience Must Be Our Only Guide” Details of the New Government Ratification: Federalists versus Antifederalists Conclusion: What Is the Constitution? Chapter Review 3. Federalism: The Changing Boundaries Between the Nation and the States Between State and Federal Law: Fighting for Access to Medical Marijuana American Federalism and the Constitution The Supreme Court Weighs In: Medical Marijuana And American Federalism The Development of American Federalism The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Nation on the Brink of Failure and Revolution in American Federalism New Deal Expansion Modern American Federalism: Expansion, Restriction, and State Resistance Conclusion: American Federalism Challenged, in Progress, and Undecided Chapter Review 4. Civil Liberties: Building and Defending Fences “From Russia With Love”: Edward Snowden: Traitor, Hero, or None of the Above The Constitution and the Bill of Rights: The Foundations for the Protections for Americans’ Civil Liberties Another Outlaw: Another Charge against the Government’s Infringements upon Civil Liberties Selective Incorporation: Applying the Bill of Rights to State Laws and Actions The First Amendment: “Congress Shall Make No Law” Other First Amendment Protections: Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition The Second Amendment: Firearms Criminal Rights The Last Two Amendments in the Bill of Rights: Setting the Larger Boundaries around the Power of the Federal Government Americans Claim Their Rights to Marriage Equality Conclusion: Fences Still under Construction Chapter Review 5. Civil Rights: How Equal Is Equal? Securing Rights For Those With Disabilities: Refusing to Be Called a “Fire Hazard” “Equal Justice Under Law”: Confronting a History of Segregation and Oppression The Naacp’s Judicial Assault On Legal Segregation Securing Civil Rights for American Women Complexity And Change in Americans’ Efforts to Secure Their Civil Rights Conclusion: Have Americans’ Civil Rights Been Secured? Chapter Review PART II: POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND MASS POLITICS 6. Political Participation: Carry That Weight Shaping The Political Agenda: Testifying on the Problem of Sexual Violence and Firearms on College Campuses The Many Forms of Political Participation Mobilization and Pressure: Art and Protest as Tools of Social and Political Change Voting: Factors That Shape Electoral Participation Acting at a Very Local Level: Preventing Campus Sexual Assaults through Education and Distraction Young Americans: Political Participation and Nonparticipation in the Twenty-First Century Conclusion: Are Young Adult Americans Really Disconnected from the Political Process? Chapter Review 7. Public Opinion: How Are Americans’ Voices Measured? Does it Matter? The “Fergusons” of America: Differing Views on a Tragic Event What is Public Opinion? Shaping Public Opinion: The Battle over the “Fergusons” Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion The Formation Of Political Attitudes: Exploring Political Socialization Ferguson and the Effects of Public Opinion on Democratic Representation Conclusion: The Meanings of Public Opinion Chapter Review 8. The Media: New Technologies, Enduring Issues Blogging From War: Soldiers as Journalists The Development of the American News Media Regulating the Media: Ownership and Content Merging News and Entertainment: Journalists as Celebrities How The Media Shape American Politics Today: Bias, Campaign Coverage, and the Power of the Media Conclusion: Comedians as Respected Journalists Chapter Review 9. Political Parties: The Insurgents versus the Establishment Two Presidential Candidates Shake Up The Field What are Parties, and What Do They Do? The Presidential Election of 2016: Bye Bye, Conventional Wisdom The Development of American Political Parties Conclusion: The Fallout Chapter Review 10. Campaigns and Elections: Candidates and Voters in an Era of Demographic Change Latino Outreach in the 2016 Election Elections and Democratic Representation Competing for Latino Votes in a Presidential Campaign: Capturing an Unrealized Potential The Politics of Presidential Elections California’s Twenty-Fourth Congressional District: A First-Timer Runs for the House of Representatives The Politics of Congressional Elections Conclusion: From Candidate to Officeholder Chapter Review 11. Interest Groups and Social Movements: Collective Action, Power, and Representation Blowing Bubbles With Houses: The Roots of a Financial Crisis A Nation of Joiners: Acting Collectively in American Representative Democracy Interest Groups Act on their Members’ Behalf: Responding to the Financial Crisis, Part I The Interest Group Landscape: Types and Tactics The Origins of a Social Movement?: Responding to the Financial Crisis, Part II Social Movements: Pinning Down their Existence, Success, and Failure Conclusion: Organizing for Change Chapter Review PART III: INSTITUTIONS 12. Congress: Representation, Organization, and Legislation Women in Congress Today: Looking Around, Looking Back, and Looking Ahead The Constitution and Congress Stepping Up And Charting A Path To Congress The Politics of Congressional Elections The Organization of Congress “I’m Just a Bill”: The Legislative Process The Meanings and Challenges of Representation Conclusion: The Complexity of Representation Chapter Review 13. The American Presidency: Individuals, Institutions, and Executive Power The “Body” of Anwar Al-Awlaki: Presidential War-Making Power in the Twenty-First Century The Constitution and the American Presidency: A Vague Description of the Most Complicated Job in the World Testing The Limits Of Presidential Power During The American Civil War Individuals and the Development of Presidential Power The Modern Presidency in Context: Institutions and Informal Sources of Power The “Body” of Yaser Hamdi: The Supreme Court Restricts Presidential Power in the War on Terror Conclusion: The Paradox of Power Chapter Review 14. The Federal Bureaucracy: Putting the Nation’s Laws into Effect Hurricane Katrina: A National Crisis Places the Federal Bureaucracy under the Microscope Theories of Bureaucratic Organization The Development of the American Federal Bureaucracy The Structure of the Modern Federal Bureaucracy Federal Bureaucrats: Organizations, Tasks, and Oversight Handling the Bureaucracy: Control, Oversight, and Reform Conclusion: Another Devastating Hurricane, Another Federal Response Chapter Review 15. The Federal Judiciary: Politics, Power, and the “Least Dangerous” Branch The “Trial” of Sonia Sotomayor: Identity, Politics, and the Supreme Court The Constitution and the Federal Judiciary The “Trial” of John Marshall: The Establishment of Judicial Review The Federal Judiciary and the American Legal System Appointment to the Federal Judiciary The “Trial” of Robert Bork: Politics, Confirmation, and Constitutional Interpretation Judicial Review, Constitutional Interpretation, and Judicial Decision Making Conclusion: The “Trial” of Merrick Garland? Chapter Review PART IV: POLICY 16. Domestic Public Policy: The Politics of Promoting the General Welfare Crisis and Reform in American Public Education: Unlikely Political Coalitions and Radical Solutions The Domestic Policymaking Process: Nothing Clean or Neat about it American Education Policy: Markets and Politics Health Care Policy: President Obama Takes on Health Care Reform with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Health Care Policy before the ACA Other Major Areas of Domestic Policy Conclusion: Domestic Policy and Representative Democracy Chapter Review 17. Economic Policy: Representing Americans’ Financial Interests Student Debt, Politics, And Crisis Fiscal Policy: Guiding the Nation’s Economy through Decisions on Spending and Taxation Seeking Solutions For The Student Debt Crisis: Individual Activism, Public Policy, and Representation Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve System Student Debt: The Next Economic Bubble? Conclusion: Can Economic Policy Solve the Student Debt Problem? Chapter Review 18. Foreign Policy: Advancing American Interests in an Uncertain and Changing World The End And The Beginning Of History America in the World: From Founding to Present Spring, Winter, And Chaos in North Africa and the Middle East In The Twenty-First Century The Formation of American Foreign Policy: Multiple Players, Organizations, and Voices From Syria To North Texas: From War and Chaos to the Pursuit of the American Dream Conclusion: America in Progress Chapter Review Appendix Articles of Confederation Declaration of Independence Constitution of the United States Federalist No. 10 Federalist No. 51 Political Party Affiliations in Congress and the Presidency, 1789–2017 Summary of Presidential Elections, 1789–2016 Glossary Notes Index

About the Author :
Scott F. Abernathy was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. While an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, he volunteered for three months with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India. After graduation, hoping to do service work closer to home, Scott worked as an on-street counselor with homeless adolescents in Boston, Massachusetts. Scott then received an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and subsequently taught fourth and seventh grades in Wisconsin public schools. Hoping to learn more about the underlying systems that drove the educational outcomes he was trying to change, Scott completed an M.P.A. in domestic policy and then a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University. Scott is now an associate professor of political science and a University Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Minnesota. He is also the author of School Choice and the Future of American Democracy and No Child Left Behind and the Public Schools, both from University of Michigan Press. His current research explores the possibilities and challenges of moving beyond comparative grade-based assessment in PK–12 education. As part of that, Scott is about to embark on designing his first learning adventure game.

Review :
“Abernathy's American Government: Stories of a Nation is a text which effectively uses a narrative approach to present both the nuts and bolts of how government works in America, as well as weaving that content into the fabric of students' lives. Students are drawn into the stories, would find them compelling and interesting, and would want to learn more. It would excite students about government in America, which is a virtue in and of itself, as often students find the subject boring or politics as unrelated to their lives. This narrative structure better demonstrates to students that politics are vital and important to them, embeds the content into their minds, and engages them in critical thinking and questioning. A welcome addition to the field.” “I think this approach is amazing.” “The book has ‘energy’. It engages the student while providing the fundamentals of American Government.” “A refreshing change of pace.” “Well-written, detailed, comprehensive.” “A very comprehensive American government text that seeks, identifies and accomplishes the task of understanding American government and its associated principles in a clear and cogent manner.” “The student is treated as a serious reader without pretentious jargon.” “This narrative-style textbook functions as a powerful medium of learning, development, and transformation. It will help our students improve their critical thinking skills.” “Very timely, readable, and thorough.” “This book not only conveys important information about how the U.S. political system works, but is actually enjoyable to read.” “It is dynamic, compelling and written in a way that will be easy for students to understand.” “I like the writing style – it’s accessible and engaging.  That’s a stark contrast with most Intro American politics books.” “I applaud Chapter 1’s focus on political culture. One of my favorite outcomes from teaching this class is to hear a student say that s/he has a newfound ability to participate in adult conversations about historical and political topics after taking the class. This chapter reinforces that point.” “I like the narrative approach. It would work with my teaching style, which is narrative-based as well. I tell lots of stories and try to get students to engage with underlying principles rather than just to learn basic factual content. I like that the book is written in a way that elicits thinking, rather than just fact acquisition. It’s certainly better than most texts I’ve looked at.”  “I really enjoyed the Abernathy book. I think it would work well with the way I teach the subject. I tend to take an institutional approach and be a bit heavy on the history side—how we got this way. Abernathy’s approach would go well with that.”  “Scott Abernathy really knows his stuff and he writes clearly. He really captures a lot of the subtlety of the institutions and processes, and describes them in a clear, coherent way.  When he discusses congressional procedure, for example, it is clear that he is a veteran teacher.” “I like that Abernathy’s text, given its twin focus on narratives and inclusivity, is broad enough to permit each individual instructor to attach his or her preferred intellectual architecture to the text. For example, a student of behavior or institutions could emphasize that element of Abernathy’s text in giving lectures or leading discussions. Similarly, someone operating in the APD tradition (like myself) or the rational choice tradition could use Abernathy’s narratives as vehicles for doing more historical or game-theoretic work with students. This is a non-doctrinaire introduction to American Government. The author isn’t trying to push a particular perspective on how to understand our organizing principles, behavior, and institutions.”