Now in its Third Edition, this collection gathers together nearly four dozen classic and contemporary readings that provide essential insights into the workings of the American political and governmental processes.
This collection examines the strategic behavior of key players in American politics from the Founding Fathers to the Super PACs, by showing that political actors, though motivated by their own interests, are governed by the Constitution, the law, and institutional rules, as well as influenced by the strategies of others.
Perspectives on Political Parties is a collection of primary documents that show the changing understandings of partisan politics during the nineteenth century, the first era in which parties played a central role in governing. The texts taken from British, American, German and French publication, speak to today's students and scholars of history and political science by showing the deep roots of still-current debates about representative democracy and mass politics. The reader is designed to fill a hole in contemporary teaching and scholarship by assembling hard to access sources that form the basis of modern debates about parties.
Now in its Third Edition, this collection gathers together nearly four dozen classic and contemporary readings that provide essential insights into the workings of the American political and governmental processes.
"Principles and Practice of American Politics is a well-balanced reader covering all the major topics of an American Government course." —Blake Jones, Ohio Valley University Combining timeless readings with cutting-edge articles and essays, Principles and Practice of American Politics, Seventh Edition, enriches students’ understanding of the American political system by examining the strategic behavior of key players in U.S. politics. This collection of classic and contemporary readings brings concepts to life by providing students with real examples of how political actors are influenced by the strategies of others and are governed by the Constitution, the law, and institutional rules. Carefully edited by award-winning authors Samuel Kernell and Steven S. Smith, each reading is put into context to help students understand how political actions fall within a major national political forum. New to the Seventh Edition Nine new and updated essays encourage students to reflect on the continuing debates over the polarization of the American electorate and Congress, the role of social media and "fake news" in influencing public views of politicians and issues, the fragile Trump coalition, the efficacy of polling in tracking public opinion, and other issues more relevant than ever in the wake of the 2016 elections. Additional essays challenge students to think more carefully about alternative institutions and political arrangements. The new essays present institutions of majority rule, the nature of racial discrimination, and the proper role of the court as less settled issues that provide students an opportunity to think through (and discuss) their views on the future direction of American civic life. Each selection is artfully framed by Kernell and Smith’s contextual headnotes to make them appropriate for classroom use. Original readings written specifically for the volume give the book a coherent treatment of the performance of U.S. political institutions.
Analyzing American Democracy teaches students to think analytically by presenting current political science theories and research in answering the engaging, big questions facing American politics today. It serves as both an introduction to American politics and to the discipline of political science by reflecting the theoretical developments and empirical inquiry conducted by researchers. Every chapter highlights the most current research and discusses related public policy. It demonstrates for students how to think critically and analytically, bringing theoretical insight to contemporary American politics. More than just a comprehensive overview and description of how American politics works, Jon Bond and Kevin Smith demonstrate how politics can be studied systematically. Throughout the text, they introduce students to the insights gleaned from rational choice, behavioral, and biological approaches to politics. Understanding these three social scientific models and their applications helps students get the most out of their American government course and out of this text--they learn a way of thinking that they can use to make sense of future challenges facing the American polity. A number of features help aid comprehension and critical thinking: Key Questions at the start of every chapter frame the learning objectives and concepts Politics in Practice boxes in every chapter encourage students to think critically about how practice compares with theory Tables, Figures, Charts, and Maps throughout present the empirical details of American politics, helping students gain quantitative literacy Top Ten Takeaway Points at the end of every chapter recap the most important points covered but also help students discern the general principles that make sense of the numerous factual details Key Terms are bolded in the text, defined in the margins, recapped at the end of the chapter, and compiled in a glossary, all to help insure that students can effortlessly master the vocabulary of American politics and political science in order to move on to the more important concepts.
Princeton Readings in American Politics offers an exciting and challenging new way to learn about American politics. It brings together political science that has stood the test of time and recent cutting-edge analyses to acquaint undergraduate and graduate students with the substantive, conceptual, and methodological foundations they need to make sense of American politics today. Princeton Readings in American Politics features writings by such eminent scholars as Larry M. Bartels, Robert Dahl, Martha Derthick, Howard Gillman, Jacob Hacker, Kay L. Schlozman, Deborah Stone, Marta Tienda, and Kent Weaver, among others. The book is organized in sections that cover the major American political institutions--the presidency, Congress, the courts--as well as core topics such as political parties, macroeconomic management, voting and elections, policymaking, public opinion, and federalism. Richard Valelly provides an insightful general introduction to political science as a vibrant form of inquiry, as well as a succinct, informative introduction to each reading. Rigorous yet accessible, Princeton Readings in American Politics can serve as a primary textbook or as a supplement to standard introductory texts. Offers an exciting new way to learn about American politics Features accessible scholarship by leading political scientists Covers all the major topics Serves as a primary textbook or supplementary reader for undergraduate and graduate students
Every section and every feature in the book has one goal in mind: to get students to think critically and be skeptical of received wisdom. Serving as a true aid to teachers, each chapter is designed to build students' analytical abilities. By introducing them to the seminal work in the field and showing them how to employ the themes of power and citizenship, this proven text builds confidence in students who want to take an active part in their communities and governmentuto play their part in keeping the republic, and to consider the consequences of that engagement.
Excerpt from Readings in American Government and Politics While the materials come from a large variety of sources, I have chosen wherever possible from the writings of men who have had a practical experience in the conduct of government. I have also sought to illustrate the larger and more permanent features of our political system, rather than to furnish a handy guide to the law and practice. To facilitate the work of the student and teacher, I have endeavored to make each extract clear, compact, and self-explanatory, and in several instances I have condensed considerably by omitting obscure allusions and passages not bearing directly on the principles which I have wished to bring out. To avoid marring the pages with unsightly points, I have merely placed an asterisk at the head of each selection which has been subjected to this process of condensa tion. The side notes are intended primarily to help the teacher in conducting class discussions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.