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1. Request Access
2. Course Introduction
3. I Need Help
4. Introduction
5. What is Government?
6. Who Governs? Elitism, Pluralism, and Tradeoffs
7. Engagement in a Democracy
8. Glossary
9. Collective Action Presentation
10. Introduction
11. The Pre-Revolutionary Period and the Roots of the American Political Tradition
12. The Articles of Confederation
13. The Development of the Constitution
14. The Ratification of the Constitution
15. Constitutional Change
16. Glossary
17. Introduction
18. The Division of Powers
19. The Evolution of American Federalism
20. Intergovernmental Relationships
21. Contemporary Issues in Federalism
22. Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism
23. Glossary
24. Federalist Papers #10 and #51
25. Unit One: Audio and Video Links
26. Landmark Cases in Federalism
27. Divided Government and Partisan Polarization
28. Introduction
29. The Institutional Design of Congress
30. Congressional Elections
31. Congressional Representation
32. House and Senate Organizations
33. The Legislative Process
34. Glossary
35. Introduction
36. The Design and Evolution of the Presidency
37. The Presidential Election Process
38. Organizing to Govern
39. The Public Presidency
40. Presidential Governance: Direct Presidential Action
41. Glossary
42. Introduction
43. Guardians of the Constitution and Individual Rights
44. The Dual Court System
45. The Federal Court System
46. The Supreme Court
47. Judicial Decision-Making and Implementation by the Supreme Court
48. Glossary
49. Introduction
50. Bureaucracy and the Evolution of Public Administration
51. Toward a Merit-Based Civil Service
52. Understanding Bureaucracies and their Types
53. Controlling the Bureaucracy
54. Glossary
55. Unit Two: Text and Audio Links
56. Introduction
57. What Is the Media?
58. The Evolution of the Media
59. Regulating the Media
60. The Impact of the Media
61. Glossary
62. Introduction
63. What Are Parties and How Did They Form?
64. The Two-Party System
65. The Shape of Modern Political Parties
66. Glossary
67. Introduction
68. Interest Groups Defined
69. Collective Action and Interest Group Formation
70. Interest Groups as Political Participation
71. Pathways of Interest Group Influence
72. Free Speech and the Regulation of Interest Groups
73. Glossary
74. Unit Three: Text and Audio Links
75. Introduction
76. What Are Civil Liberties?
77. Securing Basic Freedoms
78. The Rights of Suspects
79. Interpreting the Bill of Rights
80. Glossary
81. Introduction
82. What Are Civil Rights and How Do We Identify Them?
83. The African American Struggle for Equality
84. The Fight for Women’s Rights
85. Civil Rights for Indigenous Groups: Native Americans, Alaskans, and Hawaiians
86. Equal Protection for Other Groups
87. Glossary
88. Unit Four: Text and Audio Links
89. Landmark Supreme Court Cases—Selective Incorporation Highlights
90. The Nature of Public Opinion
91. Glossary
92. What Does the Public Think?
93. How Is Public Opinion Measured?
94. The Effects of Public Opinion
95. Introduction
96. Glossary
97. Voter Registration
98. Voter Turnout
99. Elections
100. Campaigns and Voting
101. Direct Democracy
102. Introduction
103. Foreign Policy Instruments
104. Institutional Relations in Foreign Policy
105. Approaches to Foreign Policy
106. Glossary
107. What Is Public Policy?
108. Glossary
109. Declaration of Independence
110. The Constitution of the United States
111. Electoral College Votes by State, 2012–2020
112. Selected Supreme Court Cases
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Basics of American Politics Copyright © by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.