Preface xix
Acknowledgments xxii
PART I FOUNDATIONS
1 ★ Introduction: The Citizen and Government 2 Government Is How We Are Ruled 5 Is Government Needed? 5
Different Forms of Government Are Defined by Freedom and Power 5
Limits on Government Encouraged Freedom 7 The Expansion of Participation Shifted Political Power 8
Participation in Government Is How People Have a Say in What Happens 8
Citizenship Is Based on Participation, Knowledge, and Efficacy 9 Who Are Americans? 10
Immigration Has Changed American Identity 11 Who Are Americans in the Twenty-First Century? 12
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Forms of Government 15
American Political Culture Is Built on Liberty, Equality, and Democracy 17
Liberty Means Freedom 17
Equality Means Treating People Fairly 18
WHO PARTICIPATES? Can Young People Make a Difference in Politics? 19
Democracy Means That What the People Want Matters
21
What Americans Think about Government 21 HOW TO Debate Respectfully 22
Trust in Government Has Declined 24
The Citizen and Government: What Do You Think? 24
Study Guide 25
2 ★ The Founding and the Constitution 28
The First Founding: Interests and Conflicts 31
British Taxes and Colonial Interests 31
Political Strife Radicalized the Colonists 32
The Declaration of Independence Explained Why the Colonists Wanted to Break with Great Britain 33
The Articles of Confederation Created America’s First National Government 34
The Failure of the Articles of Confederation Made the “Second Founding” Necessary 34
The Annapolis Convention Was Key to Calling a National Convention 35 Shays’s Rebellion 35
The Constitutional Convention Didn’t Start Out to Write a New Constitution 36
The Constitution Created Both Bold Powers and Sharp Limits on Power 39
The Legislative Branch Was Designed to Be the Most Powerful 41
The Executive Branch Created a Brand-New Office 42 The Judicial Branch Was a Check on Too Much Democracy 43
National Unity and Power Set the New Constitution Apart from the Old Articles 43
The Constitution Establishes the Process for Amendment 44
The Constitution Sets Forth Rules for Its Own Ratification 44
Constitutional Limits on the National Government’s Power 44
Ratification of the Constitution Was Difficult 47
Federalists and Antifederalists Fought Bitterly over the Wisdom of the New Constitution 47
From Layer Cake to Marble Cake: Cooperative
Federalism and the Use of Categorical Grants 74
Regulated Federalism and the Rise of National Standards
75
Federalism Today Is as Important as Ever 76
States’ Rights 77
Devolution 78
Federal–State Tensions in Two Issue Areas 80
State–Local Tensions 80 WHO PARTICIPATES? Who Participates in Local Elections Compared to National Elections? 81
Political Ramifications of Federalism 83
Federalism: What Do You Think? 84
Study Guide 85
4 ★ Civil Liberties 88
The Bill of Rights Originated with Opponents of the Constitution 91
The Fourteenth Amendment Nationalized the Bill of Rights through Incorporation 93
The First Amendment Guarantees Freedom of Religion 94
Separation between Church and State 94 Free Exercise of Religion 97
The First Amendment’s Freedom of Speech and of the Press
Ensure the Free Exchange of Ideas 97
Political Speech 98
Fighting Words and Hate Speech 99
Student Speech 100
Commercial Speech 100
Symbolic Speech, Speech Plus, and the Rights of Assembly and Petition 101
Freedom of the Press 102
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Global Freedom of the Press 103
The Second Amendment Protects the Right to Bear Arms 104
Rights of the Criminally Accused Are Based on Due Process of Law 107
The Fourth Amendment and Searches and Seizures 107
The Fifth Amendment 108
The Sixth Amendment and the Right to Counsel 110
The Eighth Amendment and Cruel and Unusual Punishment 111
The Right to Privacy Means the Right to Be Left Alone 112
Eminent Domain 112
Birth Control 112
WHO PARTICIPATES? Abortion and the Right to
Privacy 113
Abortion 114
Sexual Orientation 114
Civil Liberties: What Do You Think? 115
Study Guide 116
5 ★ Civil Rights 118
Civil Rights Are Protections by the Government 121
Slavery and the Abolitionist Movement 121
The Women’s Rights Movement 122
The Civil War Amendments to the Constitution and Their Aftermath 122
Civil Rights and the Supreme Court: “Separate but Equal” 123
Litigating for Equality after World War II 124
Civil Rights after Brown v. Board of Education 125
The Civil Rights Acts 127
Civil Rights Have Been Extended to Other Groups 132
Women and Gender Discrimination 132
WHO PARTICIPATES? Have Women Achieved Equal Rights? 133
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Global Economic Gender Equality 135
Latinos 136
Asian Americans 137
Native Americans 139
Disabled Americans 139
LGBTQ Americans 140
Affirmative Action Seeks to Right Past Wrongs 141
The Supreme Court and the Burden of Proof 141
Civil Rights: What Do You Think? 143
Study Guide 144
PART II POLITICS
6 ★ Public Opinion 148
Public Opinion Is Defined by Basic Values and Beliefs 151
Political Values 151
Political Ideology 152
How We Form Public Opinions 156
Political Socialization 156
Social Groups and Public Opinion 158
WHO PARTICIPATES? Who Talks about Politics? 159
Political Leaders 163
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Confidence in Democratic Institutions 164
Political Knowledge Is Important in Shaping Public Opinion 165
Political Knowledge 165
Public Opinion Can Shape Government Policy 167
Government Responsiveness to Public Opinion 167
Does Everyone’s Opinion Count Equally? 168
Measuring Public Opinion Is Crucial to Understanding What It Is 169
Measuring Public Opinion from Surveys 169
HOW TO Evaluate a Poll 172
When Polls Are Wrong 174
Public Opinion: What Do You Think? 176
Study Guide 177
7 ★ The Media 180
The Media Are Indispensable to American Democracy 183
Journalism 184
The Profit Motive 185
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Internet Freedom 186
Mass Media Ownership 187
Modern Media Have Been Digitally Transformed 187
Newspapers 189
Television 191
Radio 192
Digital Media 192
Citizen Journalism 195
Benefits of Online News 195
Concerns about Online News 196
HOW TO Evaluate a News Source 198
Do Americans Trust the Media Today? 200
Media Influence Shapes What We Think About 200
WHO PARTICIPATES? Who Sees Fake News . . . and
Who Does Something about It? 201
How the Media Influence Politics 202
Journalists Shape Political News 205
Media Leaks 205
Adversarial Journalism 206
Regulation of the Media Is Limited 207
The Media and Democracy: What Do You Think? 208
Study Guide 210
8 ★ Political Parties and Interest Groups 212
What Are Political Parties? 215
The United States’ Two-Party System 215
Political Parties Organize and Channel Many Voices 216
Recruiting Candidates 216
Party Organizations Define How Parties Operate 216
National Committees 216
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Comparing Party Systems
217
Parties Seek to Control Government 218
Factions within the Parties 219
Party Identification Guides Voters 220
Who Are Republicans and Democrats? 221
Party Polarization in Society 224
WHO PARTICIPATES? Who Votes in Primaries and Caucuses? 225
Electoral Realignments Define Party Systems 226
The First Party System: Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans 226
The Second Party System: Democrats and Whigs 228
The Civil War Party System 228
The System of 1896: Populism and Republican Responses 229
The New Deal Party System: Government Helps the Working Class 229
The Contemporary American Party System 230
Third Parties 231
Interest Groups Are Composed of Many Types 232 Types of Interest Groups 233
Why Do Interest Groups Form? 235
HOW TO Start an Advocacy Group 236
What Interests Are Not Represented? 239
What Do Interest Groups Do? 240
Interest Groups Influence Congress through Lobbying 241
Using the Courts 244
How Influential Are Interest Groups? 244
Measuring Interest Group Influence 245
Regulating Lobbying 245
Political Parties and Interest Groups: What Do You Think?
246
Study Guide 247
9 ★ Participation, Campaigns, and Elections 250
Who Participates and How? 253
Riots and Protests 253
Political Participation in Elections 253
Online Political Participation 256
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Voter Turnout in
Comparison 257
Socioeconomic Status 258
Age 259
Race and Ethnicity 259
Gender 261
Religion 261
State Electoral Laws Regulate Most Voting 262
Registration Requirements 263
HOW TO Register . . . and Vote 264
Voter Identification Requirements 266
The Ballot 266
Presidential Elections 267
Election Campaigns Are a Political Marathon 269
Campaign Consultants 270
Fundraising 270
Campaign Strategy 273
Voters Decide Based on Party, Issues, and Candidates
277
Partisan Loyalty 277
Issues and Policy Preferences 277
Candidate Characteristics 278
The 2020 Presidential Elections: A Tale of Three Crises 278
The Backdrop: Polarization 279
The Campaign 280
The Results 282
The Aftermath 283
Analyzing the 2020 Elections 284 WHO PARTICIPATES? Who Participates in Political Campaigns and Elections? 285
Conclusion: The 2020 Election and America’s Future
Political Participation and Elections: What Do You Think?
10 ★ Congress 290
Congress Represents the American People 293
House and Senate: Differences in Representation 293
Trustee versus Delegate Representation 294
Descriptive versus Substantive Representation 295
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Women’s Legislative
Representation 298
Congressional Elections 300
WHO PARTICIPATES? Who Elects Congress? 301
HOW TO Contact Your Member of Congress 306
Congressional Organization Determines Power 308
Party Leadership in the House 308
Party Leadership in the Senate 309
The Committee System 309
The Staff System 312
Rules of Lawmaking Explain How a Bill Becomes a Law 313
Committee Deliberation 313
Debate 315
Conference Committee: Reconciling House and Senate
Versions of Legislation 317
Presidential Action 317
Is Regular Order Still Regular? The Rise of the New Order in Congress 317
“Follow-the-Leader” Lawmaking 318
Who Influences Congressional Decision-Making? 320
Constituency 321
Interest Groups 321
Party 322
When Congress Has Trouble Deciding 324
Congress Does More Than Make Laws 324
Oversight 325
Advice and Consent: Special Senate Powers 326
Impeachment 326
Congress: What Do You Think? 327
Study Guide 329
11 ★ The Presidency 332
Presidential Power Is Rooted in the Constitution 335
Expressed Powers 336
Implied Powers 341
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Comparing Executive
Authority 343
Delegated Powers 344
Inherent Powers 344
Presidents Claim Many Institutional Powers 346
The Cabinet 346
The White House Staff 347
The Executive Office of the President 348
The Vice Presidency 348
The President’s Party 349
The First Spouse 350
WHO PARTICIPATES? Who Supports the President’s Agenda? 351
Presidential Power Grew in the Twentieth Century 352 Going Public 352
The Administrative Strategy 354
The Limits of Presidential Power: Checks and Balances 359
Presidential Power: What Do You Think? 360 Study Guide 362
12 ★ The Bureaucracy 364
What Is the Federal Bureaucracy? 367
What Bureaucrats Do 367
How the Bureaucracy Is Organized 371
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Bureaucracy in Comparison 372
HOW TO Apply for a Federal Job 376 WHO PARTICIPATES? What Do People Think of Federal Agencies? 379 Who Are Bureaucrats? 380
The Bureaucracy Needs to Be Managed 383
The President as Chief Executive 384
Congressional Control 385
Presidential–Congressional Struggle for Bureaucratic
Control: A Case Study 387
Judicial Oversight 389
Whistleblowing 389
Citizen Oversight 389
The Difficulties of Bureaucratic Control 390
Bureaucracy: What Do You Think? 391
Study Guide 392
13 ★ The Federal Courts 394
The Legal System Settles Disputes 397
Cases and the Law 397
Types of Courts 399
Federal Courts Hear a Small Percentage of All Cases
402
Federal Trial Courts 403
Federal Appellate Courts 403
The Supreme Court 403
How Judges Are Appointed 404
The Power of the Supreme Court Is Judicial Review 407
Judicial Review of Acts of Congress 407
Judicial Review of State Actions 408
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Courts in Comparison 409
Judicial Review of Federal Agency Actions 410
Judicial Review and Presidential Power 410
Most Cases Reach the Supreme Court by Appeal 411
Accessing the Court 411
Beyond the Judges: Key Players in the Federal Court Process 414
WHO PARTICIPATES? Comparing How States Select Judges 415
Lobbying for Access: Interests and the Court 416
The Supreme Court’s Procedures 416
Supreme Court Decisions Are Influenced by Activism and Ideology 420
Influences on Supreme Court Decision-Making 420
Judicial Power and Politics 423
The Federal Judiciary: What Do You Think? 424 Study Guide 425
PART IV POLICY
14 ★ Domestic Policy 428
The Government Shapes Economic Policy with Three Tools 431 Fiscal Policies 431
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Global Tax Rates 433
Monetary Policies 435
Regulation and Antitrust Policy 437
Economic Policy Making Is Inherently Political 438
How Much Should the Government Intervene in the Economy? 438
The Welfare State Was Created to Address Inequality 441
Foundations of the Welfare State 441
Social Policies Open Opportunity 445
Education Policies 445
Health Policies 447
Housing Policies 450
Who Gets What from Social Policy? 451
The Elderly 452
The Middle and Upper Classes 452
WHO PARTICIPATES? Who Receives Benefits from
Social Programs? 453
The Working Poor 454
The Nonworking Poor 455
Minorities, Women, and Children 455
Domestic Policy: What Do You Think? 457
Study Guide 459
15 ★ Foreign Policy 462
The Goals of Foreign Policy 465
Security 465
Economic Prosperity 469
Human Rights 470
American Foreign Policy Is Shaped by Government and
Nongovernment Actors 471
The President and the Executive Branch 471
AMERICA SIDE BY SIDE Foreign Aid in Comparison
473
Congress 477
Interest Groups 478
Tools of American Foreign Policy: Diplomacy, Money, and Force 479
Diplomacy 480
The United Nations 480
The International Monetary Structure 481
Economic Aid and Sanctions 481
Collective Security 482
Military Force 482
Soft Power 484
Arbitration 484
WHO PARTICIPATES? Who Serves in the U.S.
Military? 485
Daunting Foreign Policy Issues Face the United States 486
A Powerful China and a Resurgent Russia 486
Nuclear Proliferation in Iran and North Korea 487
Trade Policy 487
Global Environmental Policy 488
Foreign Policy: What Do You Think? 489
Study Guide 490
1. The Declaration of Independence A1
2. The Articles of Confederation A5
3. The Constitution of the United States of America A11
4. Amendments to the Constitution A21
5. The Federalist Papers A30
6. The Anti-Federalist Papers A38
7. Presidents and Vice Presidents A45
Endnotes A49
Answer Key A87
Credits A89
Glossary/Index A93
Introduction: The Citizen and Government
During the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020, the Strategic National Stockpile was deployed to help get health care workers across the United States personal protective equipment. However, some states received more equipment for their health care workers than others, depending on the population and need of each state. Here, nurses in Florida don masks and face shields as they begin testing for the virus at a senior center.
WHAT GOVERNMENT DOES AND WHY IT MATTERS
When Kimberly Green-Yates, chief operating officer of a group of nursing homes in Oklahoma, heard about the coronavirus deaths in Washington State nursing homes in early 2020, she ordered a large supply of PPE, personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves, and locked it away. “The people we take care of are the most vulnerable. Without PPE, we can’t keep them safe,”
she said. But Green-Yates worried; some of the equipment was used up during the flu season and it wasn’t clear whether new equipment would be available. Her state’s department of emergency management had requested additional supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile, which is managed by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for use during crises that overwhelm local resources. Usually such emergencies— think of hurricanes or chemical plant explosions—are geographically concentrated. But the nationwide coronavirus outbreak forced HHS to make decisions about how to allocate its stockpile around the country. It chose to allot medical masks, gloves, and gowns by a formula using outbreak severity and state population, rather than outbreak severity alone. That meant that Florida, population 21 million, received all of the 180,000 masks it requested, while Oklahoma, population 4 million, received only 10 percent of its
500,000-mask request. Moreover, nearly all of the supplies in the national stockpile were expired. Most had been purchased in 2007 when extra funding for pandemic flu preparation had been included in the federal budget. But by 2020 they had “exceeded their shelf life,” according to an HHS letter. “Public health emergency preparedness . . . has been chronically underfunded for years,” said Michael Lanza, spokesman for the New York City Health Department, which had requested 2.2 million masks and received 78,000, all expired.
1
Every day, government affects our lives and those of our family members, friends, and community. Sometimes those efforts are difficult to recognize, like when we eat a hamburger that because of government meat inspection doesn’t make us sick. Sometimes government’s activity is very visible, like
when the governors of New York and Washington State, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, requested major disaster declarations, which the federal government approved, freeing government resources such as new medical stations for those states. And sometimes government’s activity falls short, like the beleaguered Strategic National Stockpile, undermining Americans’ security and well-being. Americans have a variety of different views about the appropriate role of government. Some saw the work-from-home orders put in place by some local and state governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic as threats to their liberty and a classic case of government overreach. Yet others thought such mandates came too late to ensure Americans’ health and security. Moreover, the pandemic affected Americans very differently, as both the coronavirus’s health effects and its economic implications varied by
age, gender, race, and class. Government’s success in offsetting the virus’s health and economic effects varied across different groups as well. Thus government affects us all in ways big and small. The purpose of this book is to show what government does, how, and why—and what you can do about it.
CHAPTER GOALS
Differentiate between forms of government (pp. 5–9)
Describe the rights and responsibilities that citizens have in a democracy (pp. 9–10)
Describe the social composition of the American population and how it has changed over time (pp. 10–17)
Describe how cultural values of liberty, equality, and democracy influence the U.S. system of government (pp. 17–21)
Summarize Americans’ attitudes toward government (pp. 21–24)
Endnotes Lydia DePillis et al., “Here’s Why Florida
Got All the Emergency
Medical Supplies It Requested While Other States Did Not,” ProPublica, March 20, 2020, www.propublica.org/article/hereswhy-florida-got-allthe-emergency-medical-supplies-it-requested-whileother-states-did-not (accessed 3/23/20). Return to reference 1
Government Is How We Are Ruled
Differentiate between forms of government
Government is the term generally used to describe the formal institutions through which a territory and its people are ruled. A government may be as simple as a town meeting in which community members make policy or as complex as the vast establishments found in many large countries today, with extensive procedures, laws, and bureaucracies. In the history of civilization, thousands of governments have been established. The hard part is establishing one that lasts.
Even more difficult is developing a stable government that is true to the core American political values of liberty, equality, and democracy. Though in principle these three values are endorsed by most Americans, in practice each of them means different things to different people, and they often seem to conflict with one another. This is where politics comes in. Politics refers to conflicts and struggles over the leadership, structure, and policies of governments.
IS GOVERNMENT NEEDED?
Government is needed to provide basic services, sometimes called “public goods,” that citizens all need but probably cannot individually provide adequately for themselves. These include defense against foreign aggression, maintenance of public order, a stable currency, enforcement of contractual obligations and property rights, and some measure of economic security.
Government, with its powers to tax and regulate, is viewed as the best way to provide public goods. However, there is often disagreement about which public goods are essential and how they should be provided.
Much of what citizens have come to depend on and take for granted as part of their everyday environment is in fact created by government. Throughout the day, for example, a typical college student relies on a host of services and activities organized by national, state, and local government agencies. The extent of this dependence is illustrated in Table 1.1 on p. 6.
DIFFERENT FORMS OF GOVERNMENT ARE DEFINED BY FREEDOM AND POWER
Two questions are of special importance in determining how governments differ: Who governs? And how much government control is permitted?
Some nations are governed by a single individual—a king or dictator, for
example. This system is called autocracy. Where a small group—perhaps landowners, military officers, or the wealthy controls most of the governing decisions, that government is said to be an oligarchy. If citizens or the general adult population have the power to rule themselves, that government is a democracy.
TABLE 1.1
The Presence of Government in the Daily Life of a Student at “State University”
TIME SCHEDULE
7:00
A.M. Wake up. Standard time set by the national government.
7:10
A.M.
Shower. Water courtesy of local government, and supplied by either a public entity or a regulated private company.
7:30 A.M.
Have a bowl of cereal with milk for breakfast. “Nutrition Facts” on food labels are a federal requirement.
8:30 A.M.
Drive or take public transportation to campus. Airbags and seat belts required by federal and state laws. Roads and bridges paid for by state and local governments.
8:45 A.M.
Arrive on campus of large public university. Buildings are 70 percent financed by state taxpayers.
9:00 A.M.
First class: Chemistry 101. Tuition partially paid by a federal
loan (more than half the cost of university instruction is paid for by taxpayers), chemistry lab paid for with grants from the National Science Foundation (a federal agency) and smaller grants from business corporations made possible by federal income tax deductions for charitable contributions.
Noon
Eat lunch. College cafeteria financed by state dormitory authority on land grant from federal Department of Agriculture.
2:00 P.M.
Second class: American Government 101 (your favorite class!). You may be taking this class because it is required by the state legislature or because it fulfills a university requirement.
4:00 P.M.
Third class: Computer Science 101. Free computers, software, and internet access courtesy of state subsidies plus grants and discounts from Apple and Microsoft, the costs of which are deducted from their corporate income taxes; internet built in part by federal government. Duplication of software prohibited by federal copyright laws.
6:00
P.M.
Eat dinner: hamburger and french fries. Meat inspected for bacteria by federal agencies.
7:00 P.M.
Work at part-time job at the campus library. Minimum wage set by federal, state, or local government.
8:15
P.M.
Go online to check the status of your application for a federal student loan (FAFSA) on the Department of Education’s website at studentaid.gov.
10:15
P.M.
Watch TV. Networks regulated by federal government, cable public-access channels required by city law. Weather forecast provided to broadcasters by a federal agency.
Midnight
Put out the trash before going to bed. Trash collected by city sanitation department, financed by user charges.
Governments also vary considerably in terms of how they govern. In the United States and a number of other nations, constitutions and other laws limit what governments can do and how they go about it. Governments
limited in this way are called liberal or constitutional governments.
In other nations, including some in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, the government recognizes no formal limits, but is nevertheless kept in check by other political and social institutions that it cannot control—such as selfgoverning territories, an organized religion, business organizations, or labor unions. Such governments are generally called authoritarian.
In a third group of nations, including the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, Nazi Germany, and North Korea today, governments not only lack legal limits but also try to eliminate institutions that might challenge their authority. These governments typically attempt to control all of a nation’s political, economic, and social life and, as a result, are called totalitarian.
Americans have the good fortune to live in a nation in which limits are placed
on what governments can do and how they can do it. By one measure, 52 percent of the global population lives in democracies, but only 14 percent enjoy true liberal democracy with free and fair elections, the rule of law, and constraints on the executive (president or prime minister); 38 percent live in more limited democracies.
2
LIMITS ON GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGED FREEDOM
The founding generation of the young United States established many of the principles that would come to define individual liberty for all citizens— freedom of speech, of assembly, and of conscience, as well as freedom from arbitrary search and seizure. Yet the Founders generally did not favor democracy as we know it. They supported property requirements and other restrictions for voting and for holding office so as to limit political
participation to the White middle and upper classes. Once these institutions and the right to engage in politics were established, however, it was difficult to limit them to the economic elite.