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.

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