The Enduring Democracy

“This textbook explains the ideas, institutions, and interests that form American government and politics through historical evolution and contemporary debates. It engages students with clear writing and informative visuals and provides a comprehensive overview of the American political system.” —Meena Bose, Hofstra University The Enduring Democracy examines the current state of American politics through the lenses of American history and the nation’s changing demographics. This two-pronged approach encourages students to place current issues and controversies into historical perspective, and to think critically about how those issues and controversies are impacted by America’s increasingly diverse population. By analyzing and understanding the influences of historical context and demographics, students can debate effectively with references, use historical outcomes to predict for the future, and create strong arguments based on what they know about fundamental changes in the political landscape. The highly anticipated Sixth Edition frames the 2016 general election and 2018 midterm elections from the perspective of what they mean to college students, so that they can see the relevance of American government in their daily lives. This title is accompanied by a complete teaching and learning package. Digital Option / Courseware SAGE Vantage is an intuitive digital platform that delivers this text’s content and course materials in a learning experience that offers auto-graded assignments and interactive multimedia tools, all carefully designed to ignite student engagement and drive critical thinking. Built with you and your students in mind, it offers simple course set-up and enables students to better prepare for class. Assignable Video with Assessment Assignable video (available with SAGE Vantage) is tied to learning objectives and curated exclusively for this text to bring concepts to life. LMS Cartridge (formerly known as SAGE Coursepacks): Import this title’s instructor resources into your school’s learning management system (LMS) and save time. Don’t use an LMS? You can still access all of the same online resources for this title via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site. .

Table of Contents:
Letter to Instructors Letter to Students SAGE Digital Resources Acknowledgments Reviewers About the Authors Career Opportunities: Political Science Introduction Careers in Political Science Preparing While Still on Campus Conclusion PART I FOUNDATIONS Chapter 1 Introduction to The Enduring Democracy Presidential Campaigns, History, Diversity, and American Politics Forms and Functions of Government American Government and Politics American Political Culture Is American Democracy in Decline? SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 2 The Founding and the Constitution The Beginnings of a New Nation The Constitutional Convention The New Constitution The Ratification Battle Changing the Constitution SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 3 Federalism What Is Federalism? The History of American Federalism Why Federalism? Advantages and Disadvantages SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 4 Civil Liberties The Bill of Rights: Origins and Evolution Freedom of Religion and the Establishment Clause Free Expression Rights The Right to Bear Arms and the Rights of the Criminally Accused The Modern Right to Privacy SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 5 Civil Rights, Equality, and Social Movements Types of Equality The Struggle for Equality: Approaches and Tactics The Struggle for Equality: Race, Ethnicity, and Civil Rights The Women’s Movement and Gender Equality Other Group Struggles for Equality Continuing Struggles over Equality in the Modern Era SUMMARY KEY TERMS PART II INSTITUTIONS CHAPTER 6 Congress Article I and the Creation of Congress The Structure and Organization of Congress The Committee System How a Bill Becomes a Law Oversight and Personnel Functions of Congress Constituent Service: Helping People Back Home SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 7 The Presidency Where Do Presidents Come From? Presidential Comings and Goings The Evolution of the American Presidency Express Powers and Responsibilities of the President Implied Powers and Responsibilities of the President Presidential Resources Important Presidential Relationships SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 8 The Federal Bureaucracy What Is Bureaucracy? What Does the Federal Bureaucracy Do? The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy Getting Control of the Growing Bureaucracy The Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy The Federal Workforce SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 9 The Judiciary Types of Law The Structure of the U.S. Legal System The Adversarial System of Justice Judicial Review and Its Implications Limitations on Courts Electing and Appointing Judges How a Case Proceeds within the U.S. Supreme Court Judicial Decision-Making and Debates over the Exercise of Judicial Power SUMMARY KEY TERMS PART III POLITICAL BEHAVIOR Chapter 10 Public Opinion Public Opinion in American Politics The Levels of Public Opinion How Informed Is Public Opinion? How Does Public Opinion Form? How Is Public Opinion Measured? Interpreting Public Opinion Data SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 11 Interest Groups Pluralism and the Interest-Group System Interest Groups in Action Types of Interest Groups How Interest Groups Achieve Their Goals SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 12 The Media and American Politics The Media in American Politics Historical Development of the Media The Mass Media Today Effects of the Media Criticisms of the News Media SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 13 Political Parties and Voting The Development of Political Parties in the United States The Functions of Political Parties Why a Two-Party System? Party Organizations Voting Exercising the Franchise Participation beyond Voting SUMMARY KEY TERMS Chapter 14 Campaigns and Elections American Presidential Elections in Historical Perspective The Nomination Campaign The General Election Campaign Campaign Funding Congressional Campaigns and Elections SUMMARY KEY TERMS PART IV PUBLIC POLICY Chapter 15 American Public Policy An Overview of the Policy-Making Process Theories and Practice in Economic Policy The Welfare State and Programs for the Poor The Social Security System and Health Care Policy Foreign Policy SUMMARY KEY TERMS Appendix Declaration of Independence Annotated Constitution of the United States of America Federalist Papers No. 10 and No. 51 Presidents of the United States Electoral College Results, 2000–2016 Glossary Notes Index

About the Author :
Kenneth J. Dautrich (PhD, Rutgers, 1995) is an emeritus professor of public policy at the University of Connecticut. He is also the founder and former director of the Center for Survey Research & Analysis at the University of Connecticut. Previously, Dr. Dautrich was a research fellow at the Media Studies Center in New York and has served as a senior faculty fellow at the Heldrich Center at Rutgers. His first book, How the News Media Fail American Voters (Columbia University Press, 1999), received scholarly praise in numerous political science circles. He also coauthored The First Amendment and the Media in the Court of Public Opinion (Cambridge University Press, 2002) and The Future of the First Amendment (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008). Dr. Dautrich’s research and teaching focus is on public opinion and American elections. He directs an annual “Future of the First Amendment” for the Knight Foundation. He has conducted hundreds of national and statewide public opinion polls on elections and public policy issues, and he founded the Master’s in Survey Research program at the University of Connecticut and taught in that program for three decades. David A. Yalof (PhD, Johns Hopkins University, 1997; JD, University of Virginia, 1991) is department head and professor of political science at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. His first book, Pursuit of Justices: Presidential Politics and the Selection of Supreme Court Nominees (University of Chicago Press, 1999), was awarded the American Political Science Association’s Richard E. Neustadt Award as the best book published on presidential studies in 1999. He is also author of Prosecution among Friends: Presidents, Attorneys General, and Executive Branch Wrongdoing (Texas A&M University Press, 2012). Along with Ken Dautrich, he is the coauthor of The First Amendment and the Media in the Court of Public Opinion (Cambridge University Press, 2002) and The Future of the First Amendment (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008). Dr. Yalof has written extensively on issues in constitutional law and Supreme Court appointment politics. His work has been published in Political Research Quarterly, Judicature, Constitutional Commentary, and various other journals. Christina E. Bejarano (PhD and MA, University of Iowa; BA, University of North Texas) is a professor of political science in the Department of Social Sciences & Historical Studies at Texas Woman’s University. Her research and teaching interests are in American gender politics, in particular the areas of gender, race/ethnicity, and political behavior. Her interest in the conditions under which racial/ethnic minorities and women successfully compete for U.S. electoral office is reflected in her first book, The Latina Advantage: Gender, Race, and Political Success (University of Texas Press, 2013). Her work also focuses on how racial/ethnic minorities and women can shape or influence the current electoral environment, which is reflected in her book, The Latino Gender Gap in U.S. Politics (Routledge, 2014). Professor Bejarano has also written journal articles for publication in Political Research Quarterly, Journal of Women, Politics & Public Policy, and Politics & Gender.

Review :
“This textbook explains the ideas, institutions, and interests that form American government and politics through historical evolution and contemporary debates. It engages students with clear writing and informative visuals, and provides a comprehensive overview of the American political system.” “A thorough American government textbook that has all of the nuts and bolts of American politics, which is inclusive and meaningful to students.” “This book is the best I have reviewed in encouraging student and critical thinking.” “This text describes US politics past and present while encouraging student political engagement.”