The Handy American Government Answer Book

Editor/Author Misiroglu, Gina
Publication Year: 2018
Publisher: Visible Ink Press

Price: Core Collection Only
ISBN: 978-1-57859-639-3
Category: History - United States -- History
Image Count: 139
Book Status: Available
Table of Contents

Filling the breach and answering basic questions about how our very complex government operates and what it promises, The Handy American Government Answer Book: How Washington, Politics, and Elections Work takes a comprehensive look at the historic development of the government, the functions of each branch of government, and the systems, people, and policies that comprise American democracy.

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Table of Contents

  • PHOTO SOURCES
  • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  • TIMELINE
  • INTRODUCTION
  • INTRODUCTION TO THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
  • Politics and Government
  • Democracy and Other Forms of Government
  • Fundamental Values
  • Political Ideologies
  • Shifting Demographics and Political Implications
  • THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
  • The Colonial Background
  • Early Colonial Government
  • The Road to Revolution
  • The First State Governments
  • The Constitutional Convention
  • Principles of the Constitution
  • Amending the Constitution
  • FEDERALISM
  • Federalism and Its Constitutional Basis
  • State Rights and Budgets
  • State and Local Government
  • THE U.S. CONGRESS
  • The Nature and Functions of Congress
  • House–Senate Differences and Congressional Privileges
  • Congressional Elections and Apportionment
  • How Congress Is Organized
  • Lawmaking and Budgeting
  • THE PRESIDENT
  • Who Can Become President?
  • The President's Roles and Responsibilities
  • Presidential Powers
  • The Executive Organization
  • The Role of the Vice Presidency
  • THE COURTS
  • The Federal Court System
  • The Selection of Federal Judges
  • The Supreme Court at Work
  • Policymaking and the Courts
  • State Versus Federal Courts
  • CIVIL LIBERTIES AND CIVIL RIGHTS
  • Differences between Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
  • The Bill of Rights
  • The First Amendment: Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition
  • The Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments: From the Right to Bear Arms to the Rights of the Criminally Accused
  • Civil Liberties vs. Security Issues
  • The Right to Privacy
  • Experiences of Ethnic Groups, Women, Gays and Lesbians, and Juveniles
  • POLITICAL OPINION
  • What Is Political Opinion and How Is It Measured?
  • Political Preferences and Voting Behavior
  • Political Opinion and the Political Process
  • PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS
  • The Role of Public Interest Groups
  • Types of Interest Groups
  • Strategies That Make Interest Groups Successful
  • Regulating Lobbyists
  • POLITICAL PARTIES
  • Functions of Political Parties in the U.S.
  • The Two-Party System
  • A History of Political Parties in the U.S.
  • Mechanisms of Political Party Change: Realignment, Dealignment, Tipping
  • CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS
  • How Are Elections Conducted?
  • The National Convention
  • The Election Campaign
  • Campaign Finance
  • The Popular Vote and the Role of the Electoral College
  • THE MEDIA MACHINE
  • The Media and Public Opinion
  • The Power of the Press: The Media and Political Campaigns
  • Political Campaigns and the Internet
  • Freedom of the Press
  • The Media under Various Administrations
  • FURTHER READING
  • THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
  • THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
  • THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
  • THE BILL OF RIGHTS