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American Government 4e

by Glen Krutz and Sylvie Waskiewicz

Published by OpenStax

Social StudiesCollege

American Government 4e aligns with the topics and objectives of many government courses. The authors have worked to develop meaningful and memorable explanations, narratives, and examples regarding the actions, workings, and outputs of government. The offering focuses on the real-world impact of government, and presents the importance and benefits of civic engagement by students. This book follows a logical progression from the fundamental principles of institutional design at the founding, to avenues of political participation, to thorough coverage of political structures. American Government 4e is designed to continually build upon what students have already learned and emphasizes connections between topics as well as between theory and applications. The goal of each section is to enable students not just to recognize concepts, but to work with them in ways that will be useful in later courses, future careers, and as engaged citizens. In order to help students understand the ways that government, society, and individuals interconnect, the revision includes updated information on the 2024 election results, recent court decisions and legal actions, and new opportunities for civic engagement. Changes made in American Government 4e are described in the preface to help instructors transition to the fourth edition. The third edition of American Government by OpenStax is available in web view here .

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Attribution

Adapted from American Government 4e by Glen Krutz and Sylvie Waskiewicz, published by OpenStax (Rice University) under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Access the original for free at https://openstax.org/details/books/american-government-4e. Changes: converted to CuraCourse lessons, with interactive practice added.

Table of contents

117 pages in 19 modules. Sign up to read and adopt them.

  1. Preface1 page
    1. Preface
  2. 1American Government and Civic Engagement5 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 1.1What is Government?
    3. 1.2Who Governs? Elitism, Pluralism, and Tradeoffs
    4. 1.3Engagement in a Democracy
    5. Practice
  3. 2The Constitution and Its Origins7 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 2.1The Pre-Revolutionary Period and the Roots of the American Political Tradition
    3. 2.2The Articles of Confederation
    4. 2.3The Development of the Constitution
    5. 2.4The Ratification of the Constitution
    6. 2.5Constitutional Change
    7. Practice
  4. 3American Federalism7 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 3.1The Division of Powers
    3. 3.2The Evolution of American Federalism
    4. 3.3Intergovernmental Relationships
    5. 3.4Competitive Federalism Today
    6. 3.5Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism
    7. Practice
  5. 4Civil Liberties6 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 4.1What Are Civil Liberties?
    3. 4.2Securing Basic Freedoms
    4. 4.3The Rights of Suspects
    5. 4.4Interpreting the Bill of Rights
    6. Practice
  6. 5Civil Rights7 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 5.1What Are Civil Rights and How Do We Identify Them?
    3. 5.2The African American Struggle for Equality
    4. 5.3The Fight for Women’s Rights
    5. 5.4Civil Rights for Indigenous Groups: Native Americans, Alaskans, and Hawaiians
    6. 5.5Equal Protection for Other Groups
    7. Practice
  7. 6The Politics of Public Opinion6 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 6.1The Nature of Public Opinion
    3. 6.2How Is Public Opinion Measured?
    4. 6.3What Does the Public Think?
    5. 6.4The Effects of Public Opinion
    6. Practice
  8. 7Voting and Elections7 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 7.1Voter Registration
    3. 7.2Voter Turnout
    4. 7.3Elections
    5. 7.4Campaigns and Voting
    6. 7.5Direct Democracy
    7. Practice
  9. 8The Media6 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 8.1What Is the Media?
    3. 8.2The Evolution of the Media
    4. 8.3Regulating the Media
    5. 8.4The Impact of the Media
    6. Practice
  10. 9Political Parties6 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 9.1What Are Parties and How Did They Form?
    3. 9.2The Two-Party System
    4. 9.3The Shape of Modern Political Parties
    5. 9.4Divided Government and Partisan Polarization
    6. Practice
  11. 10Interest Groups and Lobbying7 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 10.1Interest Groups Defined
    3. 10.2Collective Action and Interest Group Formation
    4. 10.3Interest Groups as Political Participation
    5. 10.4Pathways of Interest Group Influence
    6. 10.5Free Speech and the Regulation of Interest Groups
    7. Practice
  12. 11Congress7 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 11.1The Institutional Design of Congress
    3. 11.2Congressional Elections
    4. 11.3Congressional Representation
    5. 11.4House and Senate Organizations
    6. 11.5The Legislative Process
    7. Practice
  13. 12The Presidency7 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 12.1The Design and Evolution of the Presidency
    3. 12.2The Presidential Election Process
    4. 12.3Organizing to Govern
    5. 12.4The Public Presidency
    6. 12.5Presidential Governance: Direct Presidential Action
    7. Practice
  14. 13The Courts7 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 13.1Guardians of the Constitution and Individual Rights
    3. 13.2The Dual Court System
    4. 13.3The Federal Court System
    5. 13.4The Supreme Court
    6. 13.5Judicial Decision-Making and Implementation by the Supreme Court
    7. Practice
  15. 14State and Local Government7 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 14.1State Power and Delegation
    3. 14.2State Political Culture
    4. 14.3Governors and State Legislatures
    5. 14.4State Legislative Term Limits
    6. 14.5County and City Government
    7. Practice
  16. 15The Bureaucracy6 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 15.1Bureaucracy and the Evolution of Public Administration
    3. 15.2Toward a Merit-Based Civil Service
    4. 15.3Understanding Bureaucracies and their Types
    5. 15.4Controlling the Bureaucracy
    6. Practice
  17. 16Domestic Policy7 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 16.1What Is Public Policy?
    3. 16.2Categorizing Public Policy
    4. 16.3Policy Arenas
    5. 16.4Policymakers
    6. 16.5Budgeting and Tax Policy
    7. Practice
  18. 17Foreign Policy6 pages
    1. Introduction
    2. 17.1Defining Foreign Policy
    3. 17.2Foreign Policy Instruments
    4. 17.3Institutional Relations in Foreign Policy
    5. 17.4Approaches to Foreign Policy
    6. Practice
  19. Appendices5 pages
    1. ADeclaration of Independence
    2. BThe Constitution of the United States
    3. CFederalist Papers #10 and #51
    4. DElectoral College Map
    5. ESelected Supreme Court Cases