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Updated in a new 13th edition, this book is organized around a "concise and contemporary" approach that provides an overview of the American Political system and its institutions by using the constitution as its backdrop. Free of ideological and political bias, this book is structured to engage the reader in a concise and stimulating way. Covering the framework of government, its institutions, the rights of the individual, and public policy, this updated edition contains both the the 2008 historic campaign and President Obama's first year in office.

I. THE FRAMEWORK OF GOVERNMENT

 1. Politics, Democracy, and the American People

 2. From Colonialism to Constitutionalism

     - The Constitution of the United States of America (Annotated).

     - Amendments to the Constitution (Annotated).

 3. The Federal System

 

II. POLITICS AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

 4. Public Opinion and the Mass Media

 5. Political Parties and Interest Groups

 6. Nominations and Elections

 

III. THE INSTITUTIONS OF GOVERNMENT

 7. Congress

 8. The Chief Executive

 9. The Federal Bureaucracy

10. The Judiciary

 

IV. THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIVIDUAL

11. Civil Liberties

12. Civil Rights

 

V. PUBLIC POLICY

13. Public Policy–What Government Does

14. Foreign Policy

 

APPENDICES

Appendix A: The Declaration of Independence

 

Appendix B: The Articles of Confederation.

 

Appendix C: The Antifederalists.

 

Appendix D: The Federalist.

 

Appendix E: Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States.

 

Glossary.

 

Index.