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Detailed Table of Contents
American Government and Politics
in the New Millennium


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Introduction

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

How Do Political Scientists Know What They Know? 1

How Do They Know?

1
Methods, Techniques, and Approaches: The Differences 5
Methods and Techniques 5
                       Nonpolitical  Techniques 5
                       Political  Techniques 6
Limitations of Political Techniques 12
Approaches  13
Two Broad Approaches 14
                       Traditional Approaches 14
                       Behavioral Approaches 14
Reading the Matrix 17
Why Government Leaders Play Games 17
Why Political Scientists Take This Approach 18
Micro and Macro Approaches 18
Systems Analysis (S/A) 18
                       A System 19
                       A Political System 20
Conclusion 22

Chapter Notes

23

Suggested Readings

23
Chapter 1

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

The Language of Political Science 25

Evolution, Concepts, Theories, and Definitions

26
Evolution 26
Concepts 27
Theories 27
Definitions 27
American Government Terminology 28
Politics 28
                       Lasswell's Definition 29
                       Easton's Definition 29
Political Science 29
Government/American Government 30
                       Political Institutions 30
                       The "People" 30
Democracy  32
                       Direct and Indirect Democracy 33
The Political Spectrum 33
Power 35
Group Theories 37
Elite Theory 38
Authority and Legitimacy 38
Conclusion 40

Chapter Notes

41

Suggested Readings

41
Chapter 2

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Constitutional Beginnings 43

Abuse of Political Power: The Case of England and America

43
Declaring Independence 43
The Declaration of Independence: An Anatomy 44
                       Section 1. Introduction 44
                       Section 2. Abuses of Natural Rights by King George III 44
Significance of the Colonial Experience 45

The First Constitution: The Articles of Confederation (1781-1789)

46
What is a Constitution? 46
Framework for Governing 46
Articles of Confederation 46
Two Points of View 47
Structure of National Government 48
Problems Under the Articles of Confederation  49
                       National Debt 49
                       National Economy 50
                       Creditors vs. Debtors 50
Failures of the Articles of Confederation 53

Constitution of 1787

54
Delegates to the Convention 54
Compromises 58
Virginia Plan 59
New Jersey Plan 59
Connecticut Compromise 61
Slavery 62
How the Constitution Manages Power  64
                       Federalism (National and State Levels of Government)  64
                       Separation of Powers (Branches of National Government) 65
                       Checks and Balances 66
                       Limited Government and the Bill of Rights 67

The Constitution: An Anatomy

69
The Preamble 69
An Overview of Articles I- VII 70
Ratification 75
Conclusion 76

Chapter Notes

76

Suggested Readings

77
Chapter 3

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Federalism: Theories of Governing 79
Unitary System 80
Fusion/Federal + Unitary 80
Historical Roots of United States Federalism 81
Native American Influence 83

Implementation of Federalism

85
U.S. Constitution/Federalism 85
Grants of Constitutional Power 85
National Powers 86
National Supremacy Clause  88
                       McCulloch v. Maryland 89
                       Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) 90
                       The Civil War 91
                       Brown v. Board of Education (1954) 94
States' Powers  97
                       Reserved Power/Tenth Amendment 97
                       Boundaries Established by the Tenth Amendment 97
Concurrent Powers 100
Powers Denied by the Constitution 100
The Nature of Federalism Today 101
Concurrent Majorities 101
Dual Federalism 102
Cooperative Federalism 103
New Federalism 105
"Devolution Revolution" 106
Conclusion 107

Chapter Notes

110

Suggested Readings

111
Chapter 4

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Public Opinion, Political Culture, and Political Socialization 113

Public Opinion

114
The Importance of Public Opinion 114
                       Limited Range Importance 114
                       Extended Range Importance 117
Public Opinion and Democracy 117
Public Opinion and Political Culture 118
American Political Culture 119
A Few Selected Descriptions of U.S. Political Culture 119
                       Benjamin Franklin 119
                       Alexis de Tocqueville 120
                       Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba 120
The Source of Political Culture 121

Political Socialization

121
Political Socialization and the Individual 122
                       Agents of Socialization 122
The Significance of Political Socialization 128
Conclusion 129

Chapter Notes

130

Suggested Readings

131
Chapter 5

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Political Parties 133

Political Parties and Elections

134
Historical Roots 135
Development: Factions to Parties 135
Constitution/The Early Days 137
First Parties 137
The Document 139

Governmental Structures

141
Two Party System 141
Separation of Powers/Federalism 145
Illusion 146
Local 148
Urban Political Machines 149
State 150
National 150
Functions of Political Parties 152
Party Decline 152
Indicators 153
Voter Turnout 153
Party Identification 154
Reasons for Decline 156

Rise of the Media

157
Media/Rise of Candidate 159
The Internet 161

Election Reform

162
Direct Primary 162
Political Patronage 163
Third Parties 165
Conclusion 168

Chapter Notes

169

Suggested Readings

171
Chapter 6

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Campaigns and Elections 173

The Changing Face of American Campaigns and Elections

174
Nominating the Candidates 176
Historical Background 176
The Caucus System 176
The Primary System 177
The Entitlement Revolution 178
Special Interests and the Nominating Conventions 180
Independent and Third-Party Nominees 180
Nominations for Congress and State Offices 181
Campaigning for the Nomination 181

The General Elections

182
House Elections  182
                       Single-Member Plurality Districts 182
                       Criticism of the Single-Member System 184
Senate Elections 186

Presidential Elections

186
The Electoral College 186
Abolish the Electoral College? 186

Campaigning in the General Election

189
The Political Context 189
Financing Campaigns  190
                       How Much Campaigns Cost 190
                       Regulating Campaign Finance 190
                       Soft Money Contributions to Political Parties 191
                       Independent Expenditures 192
Unregistered PACs 192
                       On Behalf of Spending 192
Campaign Finance Reform in 2002 193
New Loopholes in the Wake of the 2002 Campaign Finance Reform 193
              Effects of the American Campaign Finance System 194
                       The Incumbency Advantage 194
                       Selling Access and Influence 194
                       Increased Number of Personally Wealthy Candidates 195
                       Raising Campaign Money: A Distraction 195
                       Increased Role of Political Parties in Campaign Fundraising 195
              Abuse and Scandals: The Case of Enron 196

Campaign Strategies and Tactics

198
Polling 198
Making the News 198
The Tabloids 199
Advertising 199
Internet and High Tech Campaigning 200
The Mechanics of Elections 200
                       Hanging Chads, Pregnant Chads 200

Political Participation in Elections: The Waxing and Waning of the American Electorate

202
The Waxing of the American Electorate 202
The Waning of the American Electorate 203
Explaining Turnout 203
Increasing Turnout 204

The Voters: Explaining Vote Choice

204
Long Term Forces: Group and Party Identification 205
Short Term Forces: Issues and Candidate Image 206
                       Issues 206
                       Candidate Image 206
Conclusion 207

Chapter Notes

208

Suggested Readings

209
Chapter 7

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

The Media 211

Democracy and the Mass Media

212
The Structure of the Mass Media 213
                       Books 213
                       Magazines 213
                       Newspapers 213
                       Television 213
                       Radio 214
                       Records 214
                       Motion Pictures 214
                       The Internet 214
Government Regulation of the Media 215
                       Technical and Ownership Regulation 215
                       Regulation of Content 216
Political Functions of the Mass Media 217
                       Entertainment 217
                       Surveillance 218
                       Interpretation 218
                       Socialization 218
                       Persuasion and Propaganda 218
                       Agenda Setting 218
The Increased Importance of the Modern Mass Media 219
A Pervasive News Media 219
An Autonomous Press  220
                       Phase I: The Early Partisan Press 220
                       Phase II: The Penny Press and Yellow Journalism 221
                       Phase III: Investigative Journalism 222
                       Phase IV: Conglomerate Ownership of the Press 222
                       Phase V: Atomization of the Media 224
The News Gathering Process 225
Personal Background and Values 225
Professional Values 225
Organizational Factors 226
The Content of the News: Informational Biases 226
The Bias Debate 226
Informational Biases 226
                       Infotainment 226
                       Negativity 227
Coverage of Campaigns 227
The Horserace 228
Gaffes 228
Coverage of the Incumbent 229
Coverage of the President 229
Coverage of Congress 230
The Politicians Respond: The Management of News Coverage 230
Shorter Campaign Speeches 230
Presidential Debates 231
Political Advertisements 232
The Effects of the Mass Media 233
What People Remember and Know 233
Influencing Public Opinion 234
Setting the Political Agenda 234
Cynicism, Alienation, and Declining Efficacy 234
Behavior 234
Conclusion 235

Chapter Notes

236

Suggested Readings

237
Chapter 8

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Interest Groups 239

Defining Interest Groups

240
Interest Groups versus Political Parties 240
The Roles of Interest Groups  241
                       Representation 241
                       Political Participation 241
                       Education 241
                       Agenda Building 241
                       Program Monitoring 241

Who is Organized?

242
Economic Interest Groups 242
                       Business Groups 242
                       Organized Labor 243
                       Agriculture 244
                       Professional Associations 244
Citizen Groups 244
                       Women's Groups 245
                       Religious Groups 245
                       Gays and Lesbians 245
                       The Elderly 246
Environmental Groups 246
                       Single-Issue Groups 247
                       Foreign Governments 247
Government Interest Groups 248

Common Features of Interest Groups

248

Biases in Interest Group Formation and Maintenance

248
Obstacles to Interest Group Formation 249
Overcoming the Obstacles Through Interest Group Maintenance 251
Interest Group Bias 251

The Proliferation of Interest Groups

252
Sources of Interest Group Proliferation 252
                       Increased Government Regulation 252
                       Postindustrial Changes and Public Interest Groups 254
                       Interest Group Friendly Laws and Actions 255
                       Cheaper Forms of Communication 255
                       The Rise of Single-Issue Groups 255

Interest Group Methods and Strategies

256
Electioneering and Political Action Committees 256
                       The Creation of Political Action Committees 256
                       The Effects of PACs and Campaign Contributions 257

Direct, or Inside Lobbying

259
                       Providing Information 260
                       Providing Perks 260
                       The Effects of Direct Lobbying 261
                       Regulating Lobbying 262

Grassroots, or Outside Lobbying: Going Public

262

Litigating

263

Protest and Civil Disobedience

264

Bribery

264

Prospects for Reform

265
Conclusion 265

Chapter Notes

266

Suggested Readings

267
Chapter 9

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

The Congress 269

The Origin and Powers of Congress

270
The Constitution and the Great Compromise 270
The Powers of the House and Senate  270
                       The Expressed Powers 270
                       The Implied Powers 271
The Ebb and Flow of Congressional Powers 271
The Era of Divided Government 273

Representation in Congress

274
Theories of Representation  274
                       The Instructed-Delegate View of Representatives 274
                       The Trustee View of Representation 274
                       The Politico View of Representation 275
The Quality of Congressional Representation  275
                       Descriptive Representation 275
                       Constituent Ties 276
Congressional Elections 277
                       Congressional Reapportionment 277
                       Gerrymandering 278
                       Racial Gerrymandering and "Minority-Majority" Districts 278
                       Candidates for Congress 278
                       The Advantage of Incumbency 279
The Role of Gerrymandering in House Incumbency 279
Campaign Finance and Incumbency 280
The Issue of Term Limits 280

The Organizational Structures of Congress

281
The Formal Leadership of Congress: The Political Parties 281
                       Leadership in the House 281
                       Leadership in the Senate 282
Party Discipline 282

The Committee and Subcommittee System

283
The Work of Committees: Legislation and Oversight 283
The Committee System in the Era of Divided Government 284
Types of Congressional Committees  285
                       Standing Committees 285
                       Select Committees 285
                       Joint Committees 286
                       Conference Committees 286
                       The House Rules Committee 286
Committee Membership 287
Committee and Subcommittee Chairs 287
The Staff System 288
The Caucuses 288
The Legislative Process 289
Step One: The Bill is Introduced 289
Step Two: The Bill is Assigned to Committee 289
Step Three: Floor Action 290
Step Four: The Conference Committee 292
Step Five: The President 292
Step Six: Oversight 293
Disillusionment With Congress and Divided Government 294
Scandal 294
Gridlock 294
Conclusion 295

Chapter Notes

296

Suggested Readings

297
Chapter 10

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

The Bureaucracy 299

The Development of the Bureaucratic State

300
Constitutional Beginnings 300
The Progressive Movement 301
The New Deal and Social Welfare Legislation 301
World War II 301
The Great Society and the Entitlements Revolution 302
Lobbying by Administrators 303
Ronald Reagan and Deregulation 303
Budget Cuts and the Size of the Bureaucracy 305

The Expanding Functions of the Bureaucratic State

305
National Maintenance 305
Clientele Services 305
Regulation 306
Income Redistribution 306

The Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy

306
Cabinet Departments 306
The Fifteenth Department: The Department of Homeland Security 307
Independent Agencies 307
Regulatory Agencies or Commissions 307
Government Corporations 308

Who are the Bureaucrats?

308
A Bureaucracy of Gentlemen 308
The Spoils System 309
The Civil Service 309
Changes in the Demographic Composition of the Bureaucracy 310
Presidential Appointees 310

Where are the Bureaucrats?

310

What Bureaucracies Do

311
Policy Development 311
Rule Administration 311
Rule Making and Regulation 311
Rule Adjudication 312
Litigation 312
Program Evaluation 312

The Political Resources of the Federal Bureaucracy

312
Authority 312
Administrative Discretion 313
Rule Making 313
Expertise 313
Clientele Support 314

How Bureaucracies Make Decisions

315
The Rational Comprehensive Model 315
The Incremental Model of Bureaucratic Decision Making 315

Bureaucratic Accountability

316
Presidential Control over the Bureaucracy 316
Congressional Control over the Bureaucracy 316
Iron Triangles and Issue Networks 318

Reform and Reorganization

318

Benefits of Bureaucracy

319
Managing Complexity 319
Stability and Predictability 319
Conclusion 319

Chapter Notes

320

Suggested Readings

321
Chapter 11

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

The Presidency and Leadership 323

The Presidency

324
Qualifications: Formal and Informal 324
Getting Elected: The Electoral College 325
Presidential Powers and Duties: Given and Assumed 326
                       Powers Given 326
                       Powers Assumed 327
Presidential Roles 328
                       Chief of State 328
                       Chief Executive: The Executive Office of the President, The White House Office,
                       and The Cabinet
329
                       Commander in Chief 333
                       Chief Diplomat 334
                       Chief Legislator 338
Presidential Roles v. The Whole Picture 341

Leadership and Leaders

342
What is Leadership? 342
Leadership and Headship 343
Leadership Failures: Two Case Studies  343
                       The Case of Jimmy Carter 344
                       The Case of George Herbert Walker Bush 345
Presidential Types 348
Barber's Presidential Typology 348
Clinton Typed  351
                       Activity Energy Expended Doing the Job 351
                       Affect: Enjoyment of the Job 352
                       The Socialization of an Active-Positive President: William Jefferson Clinton 354
George W. Bush Typed  355
                       Activity Energy Expended Doing the Job 356
                       Affect: Enjoyment of the Job 356
                       The Socialization of a Passive-Positive President: George W. Bush 358

Presidential Types and Leadership

359
Conclusion 360

Chapter Notes

361

Suggested Readings

363
Chapter 12

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

The Judiciary 365
Judicial Foundations 367
Constitutional Convention 368

Congress and the Courts

370
Inferior Courts 370
Checks and Balances 371
Separation of Powers 372

Federal Court Structure

375
Federalism 375
Federal/State: Common Ground 375
Federal Courts: District Courts 376
Courts of Appeal 379

The Supreme Court

380
Judges of the Supreme Court 380
Selection Process 381
Good Behavior 385
Demographics of the Court 387
The Court and Its Traditions 387
Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court 389
Case Criteria 389
Final Selection and Hearing 391

Judicial Policymaking

392
Judicial Review 394
         Marbury v. Madison
394
Judicial Interpretation 397
         Bush v. Gore
397
Conclusion 399

Chapter Notes

399

Suggested Readings

401
Chapter 13

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Civil Liberties 403

The Concept of Civil Liberties

404
Due Process 408
The Importance of the First Amendment  409

                       Freedom of Religion

409

                       Freedom of Speech

414

                       Obscenity

418

                       Freedom of the Press

419

                       Assembly and Association

421
The Second Amendment 424
Protecting the Rights of the Accused 424
Protection of Property and Privacy 433
Homeland Security and the Preservation of Civil Liberties 435
Conclusion 437

Chapter Notes

438

Suggested Readings

441
Chapter 14

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Civil Rights 443
Civil Rights and Racism 447
Theories of Racism 448
Racism in America 451
Native Americans 455
African Americans 461
The Hispanic Experience 476
Gender Issues 487
The Homosexual Community 496
Disabled Americans 498
Conclusion 499

Chapter Notes

501

Suggested Readings

505
Chapter 15

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Public Policy 507

Public Policy Development

509
Who Makes Public Policy? 510
What is the Purpose of Public Policy? 517
The Public Policy Process  519
        Problem Identification
520
        Agenda Building
520
         Formulation of Policy
523
         Budgeting
527
         Political Implications
534
         Adoption/selling
535
         Implementation
536
         Evaluation
538
Conclusion 538

Chapter Notes

538

Suggested Readings

541
Chapter 16

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Social Services 543

The Vocabulary of Poverty

545
A Profile of America's Poor 550
The Philosophy and Politics of Poverty 560
The Historical Development of the Welfare State 563
The Programs of the Welfare State Entitlements: Social Security and Unemployment Compensation 568
Public Assistance Programs 570
The Reform Bandwagon 571
Welfare Reform---Is It Working? 572
Health-care Reform 575
Conclusion 582

Chapter Notes

582

Suggested Readings

585
Chapter 17

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

The Environment 587

Federal and State Roles in Environmental Policies

589
The Air We Breathe 593
The Water We Drink 603
Oil Spills and Toxic Wastes 606
Superfund Programs 611
Forest and Wetland Conservation 612
Endangered Species 613
Policy Options and the Political Climate 614
Conclusion 619

Chapter Notes

621

Suggested Readings

623
Chapter 18

 

 

 

 

 

Catalog

Foreign Policy 625
September 11, 2001 625
Terrorism 627
Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden 628
War with Iraq 630

National Interests

634
Security 635
Models for Decision Making 639
Patterns of Behavior 640
Consistent Policies 641
Patterned "National Interests" 642

External Influences

645
World Structure 645
Balance of Power 645
Unipolar 645
Bipolar 646
Bipolycentric 648
Today, System in Transition 649

Internal Influences

650
Governmental Constraints  650
        Formal Powers
651
Societal Level 655
Public Opinion 656
        Demographics/Gender Gap
658
        Impact of Public Opinion
659
Interest Groups 661
        Economic
661
        Multinational Influence/Chile
662
         Ethnic Groups
663
         Human Rights
664
         The Media
665
         Television
665
Gatekeeper and Agenda Setting 666

Role/Individual Level of Analysis

667
Role Theory 668
Rational Policy Making 669
Great Individuals in History? 672
Conclusion 673

Chapter Notes

673

Suggested Readings

676
Appendix




A: Declaration of Independence
677
B: Constitution of the United States of America
680
C: Presidential Elections
696
D: Supreme Court Justices
700
Glossary
702
Index
730
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