Primary Navigation
Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.
Book Contents Navigation
Request Access
1. Introduction
2. Why It Matters
3. Creating a Government
4. A. Reading: The Philosophical Perspective
5. Popular Sovereignty
6. B. Reading: The Nature of Government
7. Video: Democracy and Majority Rule (I)
8. Video: Democracy and Majority Rule (II)
9. Reading: We, All of the People
10. The First American Political System
11. C. Reading: The First American Political System
12. Constitutional Convention
13. D. Reading: Creating and Ratifying the Constitution
14. Constitutional Principles
15. E. Reading: Constitutional Principles and Provisions
16. Video: Creating a Constitution
17. Video: Creating a Nation
18. Putting It Together
19. Why It Matters
20. Defining Federalism
21. Reading: Federalism As a Structure for Power
22. Video: Las Vegas Isn't Las Vegas
23. Reading: Federalism
24. Reading: The Powers of National Government
25. Reading: Police Power
26. Evolving Federalism
27. Reading: The Meanings of Federalism
28. Pros and Cons of Federalism
29. Reading: Why Federalism Works (More or Less)
30. Reading: State Legislatures As 'Laboratories of Democracy'
31. Video: United States of ALEC—A Follow-Up
32. Putting It Together
33. Why It Matters
34. Evolving Protections
35. A. Reading: The Bill of Rights
36. B. Reading: Vox Cards: The War on Drugs
37. The First Amendment
38. C. Reading: Religion, Speech, the Press, Assembly, and Petition
39. Video: The Kalb Report—Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Antonin Scalia
40. Fundamental Freedoms
41. D. Reading: Arms, Search and Seizure, Accusation, Punishment, Property, and Privacy
42. Reading: So You Think You Know the Second Amendment?
43. Reading: Death by the Barrel
44. Video: Eric Foner on the Origins of the Right to Privacy
45. Reading: The NSA Scandal
46. E. Reading: Vox Cards: The NSA Spying Debate
47. **Video: Munk Debate on State Surveillance - LINK
48. F. Reading: Civil Liberties in the Information Age
49. Achieving Equality?
50. G. Reading: Civil War Amendments and African Americans
51. Video: The Racism of the U.S. Justice System in 10 Charts
52. Reading: The Case for Reparations
53. Reading: The Use of Force Continuum: Police, Power, and Prejudice
54. H. Reading: Vox Cards: The 2014 Ferguson Protests
55. Reading: Urban Policing, without Brutality
56. Video: The Future of Race in America
57. Video: The Charleston Shooting
58. Expanding the Struggle for Equality
59. I. Reading: Other Minorities, Women, Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Disabled
60. Video: The March of Marriage Equality
61. Video: How Most States Discriminate against LGBT People
62. Video: Nine Facts About Violence against Women Everyone Should Know
63. Reading: Civil Rights in the Information Age
64. Putting It Together
65. Why It Matters
66. The Powers of Congress
67. A. Reading: The Powers of Congress
68. Bicameralism
69. B. Reading: A Bicameral Legislative Branch
70. Organizing Congress
71. C. Reading: Parties in Congress
72. D. Reading: Vox Cards: Congressional Dysfunction
73. E. Reading: House Leadership
74. F. Reading: Senate Leadership
75. G. Reading: Committees
76. The Legislative Process
77. H. Reading: The Legislative Process
78. I. Reading: Vox Cards: 7 Myths About the Filibuster
79. Video: The Decline of American Democracy in One Graph
80. Video: How a Bill Really Becomes a Law
81. Profiling Congress
82. J. Reading: Members of Congress
83. Reading: Congress in the Information Age
84. Putting It Together
85. Why It Matters
86. Executive Power
87. A. Video: Inventing the American presidency - Kenneth C. Davis
88. A. Reading: The Powers of the Presidency
89. Video: The Roosevelts History
90. Presidential Leadership
91. B. Reading: How Presidents Get Things Done
92. Presidents in the Information Age
93. C. Reading: The Presidency in the Information Age
94. Video: Gore Vidal—American Presidency
95. Putting It Together
96. Why It Matters
97. The U.S. Legal System
98. A. Video: Supreme Court of the United States
99. B. Video: SCOTUS (Part 1)
100. C. Video: SCOTUS (Part 2)
101. D. Video: SCOTUS (Part 3)
102. E. Reading: The U.S. Legal System
103. The Supreme Court
104. F. Reading: Power of the U.S. Supreme Court
105. Selecting Federal Judges
106. G. Reading: Selecting Federal Judges
107. Reading: The Courts in the Information Age
108. Video: The Surprising Wretched History of the Supreme Court
109. Video: Dean Chemerinsky Discusses His New Book: The Case Against the Supreme Court
110. Putting It Together
111. Why It Matters
112. Building Blocks of American Political Culture
113. A. Reading: Political Culture
114. Video: Politics and American Political Ideals
115. Reading: Civic Ideals (A Review)
116. Political Socialization
117. B. Reading: Political Socialization
118. Video: Why Conspiracy Theories Are Rational to Believe
119. C. Reading: Political Culture and Socialization in the Information Age
120. Public Opinion
121. D. Reading: What Is Public Opinion?
122. Public Opinion and Democracy
123. E. Reading: Democracy and Public Opinion
124. Video: Lawrence Lessig: We the People, and the Republic We Must Reclaim
125. Video: Martin Gilens on Political Inequality
126. Reading: Someone Finally Polled the 1%
127. Reading: The Irrational Electorate
128. Polling
129. F. Reading: Polling the Public
130. G. Video: Six of One—Obamacare vs. The Affordable Care Act
131. H. Reading: Public Opinion in the Information Age
132. Putting It Together
133. Why It Matters
134. Media Influence
135. Video: Agenda-Setting by Maxwell McCombs
136. Reading: The Media
137. Video: Rich Media, Poor Democracy
138. Video: The Future of Journalism (Glenn Greenwald)
139. Video: Glenn Greenwald's Plan to Poke, Prod, and Piss Off the Powerful
140. Reading: Types of Media
141. Reading: Organization and Ownership of Media
142. Reading: Who Owns the Media?
143. Agenda Setting
144. Reading: Agenda-Setting Theory
145. Video: Max McCombs on Agenda-Setting Theory
146. Reading: The Propaganda Model: An Overview
147. Video: The Propaganda Model of News
148. New Media
149. Video: The Future of Journalism (Tim Rosenstiel)
150. Putting It Together
151. Why It Matters
152. The History of Parties
153. A. Reading: History of American Political Parties
154. Reading: Dixie's Long Journey from Democratic Stronghold to Republican Redoubt
155. Political Parties Today
156. B. Reading: Political Parties Today
157. C. Reading: Party Organization
158. D. Reading: Party in Government
159. Party Identification
160. E. Reading: Party Identification
161. Third Parties
162. F. Reading: Minor Parties
163. Video: Third Parties Are the Underpants Gnomes of American Politics
164. Types of Interest Groups
165. G. Reading: The Interest Group System
166. Lobbying
167. H. Reading: Lobbying: The Art of Influence
168. Influencing Policy
169. I. Reading: Interest Groups and the Political System
170. Video: Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page Interview
171. Reading: Interest Groups in the Information Age
172. Putting It Together
173. Why It Matters
174. Organizing and Funding Elections
175. A. Reading: Election Campaigns
176. Reading: Vox Cards: The Citizens United Era of Money in Politics
177. Reading: Vox Cards: The 2014 McCutcheon v. FEC Case
178. Media Coverage
179. B. Reading: Media and Election Campaigns
180. Presidential Elections
181. C. Reading: Presidential Elections
182. D. Video: Primary Elections Explained
183. E. Video: How the Electoral College Works
184. F. Video: The Trouble with the Electoral College
185. G. Video: What If the Electoral College Is Tied?
186. Congressional Elections
187. H. Reading: Congressional and Other Elections
188. I. Reading: Vox Cards: The Fight over Voting Rights
189. Reading: Vox Cards: Gerrymandering
190. Video: Gerrymandering Explained
191. Video: How Politicians Rig Elections
192. Putting It Together
193. Why It Matters
194. Goals, Tools, and Trends
195. Reading: Economic Policy
196. Reading: Federal Spending: Where Does the Money Go?
197. Video: Stop Freaking out About the Debt
198. Reading: Vox Cards: The Fed and the 2008 Financial Crisis
199. Reading: Vox Cards: Federal Taxes
200. Video: Wealth Inequality in America
201. Video: How Wealth Inequality Is Dangerous for America
202. Video: The Most Important Chart of 2014
203. Video: Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson on Engineered Inequality
204. Video: The Scariest Chart in America
205. Video: Banned TED Talk: Nick Hanauer
206. Video: Fred Block: The Tenacity of the Free Market Ideology
207. Video: Mariana Mazzucato: The Entrepreneurial State
208. Video: End This Depression Now!
209. Social Welfare
210. Reading: Major Domestic Policies
211. Reading: Contrary to 'Entitlement Society' Rhetoric
212. Reading: 20,000 Leagues Under the State
213. Reading: Vox Card: Are Entitlement Cuts the Same As Austerity?
214. Reading: Vox Cards: Health-Care Spending
215. Reading: Vox Cards: Everything You Need to Know About Obamacare
216. Reading: Vox Cards: The Battle over Medicaid Expansion
217. Video: We Know How to End Poverty
218. Video: As if Teachers' Jobs Aren't Hard Enough
219. Foreign Policy Goals
220. Reading: Foreign Policy
221. Video: American Foreign Policy in Historical Perspective
222. Video: John Mearsheimer on America Unhinged
223. Video: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
224. Reading: The Iran Nuclear Deal, Translated into Plain English
225. Video: U.S. Democracy Promotion Means Toppling Governments
226. Video: Obama on the Goal of His Foreign Policy
227. Video: Obama on What Most Americans Get Wrong About Foreign Aid
228. Environmental Challenges
229. Video: Ray Anderson: The Business Logic of Sustainability
230. Reading: Vox Cards: Global Warming
231. Video: Ramez Naam: Living in a Finite World
232. Video: Ramez Naam: The Infinite Resource
233. Putting It Together
234. Contacting Me
235. My Expectations
236. Course Overview
237. Course Objectives
238. Course Learning Activities
239. Readings
240. Course Schedule
241. A Note on the Sequencing of Exams and Seminars
242. How You Will Be Graded
243. Students with Learning Disabilities
244. This Course is Completely Online
245. Instructor Feedback
246. Expectations for Interaction
247. Your Next Steps
248. Instructions for Proposing Your Topic
249. Research Paper Seminar
250. Instructions for Writing Your Paper
251. Scoring Rubric
252. How Seminars Will Be Graded - Part I
253. How Seminars Will be Graded - Part II
254. How Seminars Will Be Graded - Part III
255. Culminating Survey
256. Seminar on Ch. 1
Read “The Use of Force Continuum: Police, Power, and Prejudice” by Joe Ponce here.
Previous/next navigation
American Government Copyright © by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.