Keeping the Republic: Power and Citizenship in American Politics - Brief Edition

Keeping the Republic draws students into the study of American politics, showing them how to think critically about "who gets what, and how" while exploring the twin themes of power and citizenship. Carefully condensed from the full version by authors Christine Barbour and Gerald Wright, Keeping the Republic, Brief Edition gives your students all the continuity and crucial content, in a more concise, value-oriented package.

Table of Contents:
Preface To the Student 1 POWER AND CITIZENSHIP IN AMERICAN POLITICS What Is Politics? Political Systems and the Concept of Citizenship Democracy in America Who Is a Citizen and Who Is Not? What Do American Citizens Believe? How to Use the Themes and Features in This Book Citizenship and Politics 2 THE POLITICS OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDING The Split From England The Articles of Confederation The Constitutional Convention The Constitution Ratification Citizenship and the Founding 3 FEDERALISM What Is Federalism? American Federalism Over Time Federalism Today Citizenship and Federalism 4 FUNDAMENTAL AMERICAN LIBERTIES Rights in a Democracy The Bill of Rights and the States Freedom of Religion Freedom of Expression The Right to Bear Arms The Rights of Criminal Defendants The Right to Privacy Citizenship and Civil Liberties 5 THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS The Meaning of Political Inequality Rights Denied on the Basis of Race: African Americans Rights Denied on the Basis of Other Racial and Ethnic Identities Rights Denied on the Basis of Gender Rights Denied on Other Bases Citizenship and Civil Rights Today 6 CONGRESS Understanding Congress Congressional Powers and Responsibilities Congressional Elections Congressional Organization How Congress Works Citizenship and Congress 7 THE PRESIDENCY The Presidential Job Description The Evolution of the American Presidency Presidential Politics Managing the Presidential Establishment The Presidential Personality Citizenship and the Presidency 8 THE BUREAUCRACY What Is Bureaucracy? The American Federal Bureaucracy Politics Inside the Bureaucracy External Bureaucratic Politics Citizenship and the Bureaucracy 9 THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM AND THE COURTS Law and the American Legal System Constitutional Provisions and the Development of Judicial Review Federalism and the American Courts The Supreme Court Citizenship and the Courts 10 PUBLIC OPINION The Role of Public Opinion in a Democracy Citizen Values What Influences Our Opinions About Politics? Measuring and Tracking Public Opinion Citizenship and Public Opinion 11 PARTIES AND INTEREST GROUPS What Are Political Parties? The American Party System The Roles, Formation, and Types of Interest Groups Interest Group Politics Interest Group Resources Citizenship and Political Groups 12 VOTING, CAMPAIGNS, AND ELECTIONS Exercising the Right to Vote in America How America Decides Presidential Campaigns Citizenship and Elections 13 MEDIA, POWER, AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION Where Do We Get Our Information? How Does Media Ownership Affect Control of the Narrative? Spinning Political Narratives Politics as Public Relations Citizenship and the Media 14 DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICY Making Public Policy Social Policy Economic Policy Foreign Policy Citizenship and Policy Appendix Material Articles of Confederation Declaration of Independence Constitution of the United States Notes Glossary Index

About the Author :
Christine Barbour teaches in the Political Science Department at Indiana University, and directs the department’s IU POLS DC internship program. She is a faculty liaison for the University’s dual-credit program, which delivers an online version of her Intro to American Politics class to high school students across the state. At Indiana, Professor Barbour has been a Lilly Fellow, working on a project to increase student retention in large introductory courses, and a member of the Freshman Learning Project, a university-wide effort to improve the first-year undergraduate experience. She has served on the New York Times College Advisory Board, working with other educators to develop ways to integrate newspaper reading into the undergraduate curriculum. She has won multiple teaching honors, but the two awarded by her students mean the most to her: the Indiana University Student Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Faculty and the Indiana University Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Brown Derby Award. When not teaching or writing textbooks, Professor Barbour enjoys traveling with her coauthor, blogging about food and travel, and playing with her dogs and cat. She contributes to Bloom Magazine of Bloomington and is a coauthor several cookbooks. She also makes jewelry from precious metals and rough gemstones. If she ever retires, she will open a jewelry shop in a renovated Airstream on the beach in Apalachicola, Florida, where she plans to write another cookbook and a book about the local politics, development, and fishing industry. Gerald C. Wright taught political science at Indiana University from 1981 until his recent retirement. An accomplished scholar of American politics, and the 2010 winner of the State Politics and Policy Association’s Career Achievement Award, his work includes Statehouse Democracy: Public Opinion and Policy in the American States (1993), coauthored with Robert S. Erikson and John P. McIver, and more than fifty articles on elections, public opinion, and state politics. Professor Wright’s research interests focus on representation – the fundamental relationship among citizens, their preferences, and public policy. He writes primarily about state politics, representation, political parties, and inequality. He is currently working on a book about parties and representation in U.S. legislatures. He has been a consultant for Project Vote Smart for a number of years and was a founding member of Indiana University’s Freshman Learning Project. In retirement, Professor Wright grows vegetables, golfs, fishes, travels, and plays with his dogs and cat. He is an awesome cook.

Review :
"Barbour and Wright′s Keeping the Republic, Brief Edition is the gold standard among condensed American Government textbooks. Its crisp writing and engaging narratives about "What′s at Stake" set it apart from the field substantively; its comprehensiveness and affordability make it attractive to students."