Essentials Of American Politics Book

	List of Illustrations	xi
	Preface	xvii
	Acknowledgments	xxi
1	Limited Government in the Age of High Expectations	1
2	Beliefs, Values, and American Society	6
	The Nature of American Beliefs and Values	6
	Values and American Society	20
	Notes	44
	Further Reading	45
3	Constitutional Government	46
	Origins	47
	The American Constitution	50
	Ratification	58
	The Adaptive Constitution	59
	Assessing the Constitution	66
	Notes	69
	Further Reading	69
4	Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations	70
	Federalism in Theory and Practice	71
	The Evolution of American Federalism	75
	Fiscal Federalism: The Rise and Fall of the Federal Role	79
	A Changing Court Role?	88
	The Pressure for National Standards	90
	American Federalism and Public Expectations	91
	Notes	93
	Further Reading	93
5	American Political Parties in Transition	94
	The Functions of Parties	95
	Crisis and Change in the American Party System	101
	Party Decline?	109
	Explaining Party Change	115
	Toward the Millennium: A New Role for Political Parties	118
	Notes	120
	Further Reading	121
6	Political Participation and Electoral Behavior	122
	Patterns of American Electoral Behavior	123
	Dealignment, Realignment, and the Modern American Voter	142
	Nonelectoral Political Participation	147
	Notes	153
	Further Reading	154
7	U.S. Legislators and Their Constituents	155
	Representation and Congress	156
	Congressional Elections	159
	Legislators as Rational Actors	166
	The Work of Members of Congress	172
	Conclusion	174
	Notes	176
	Further Reading	176
8	Congress as Policymaker	177
	Functions of Congress	178
	Structure of Power in Congress	179
	Congress Under Fire	188
	Reform and Change in Congress	197
	Conclusion: Can Congress Lead?	203
	Notes	205
	Further Reading	205
9	Presidential Power	206
	Formal Sources of Power	207
	Informal Powers	210
	The Presidency in Crisis	213
	Presidential Abuse of Power and the Congressional Response	229
	Presidential Resources	233
	Assessing Presidential Power at Century's End	245
	Notes	246
	Further Reading	248
10	The Federal Bureaucracy	249
	The Federal Bureaucracy: Organization and Function	251
	The Bureaucracy: How Uncontrollable?	257
	Bureaucratic Critiques in Perspective	263
	Reform Attempts	264
	Conclusion	269
	Notes	269
	Further Reading	270
11	Organized Interests: The Real Power?	271
	Interest Groups and Lobbysts	273
	Economic Groups	275
	Professional Groups	281
	Promotional Groups	284
	Political Action Committees	286
	The Washington Lobby	290
	Interest Groups: For and Against	291
	Notes	295
	Further Reading	295
12	The Supreme Court and Judicial Politics	296
	The American Legal System	298
	The Supreme Court's Decisionmaking	302
	The Court and Political Power	310
	The Court, the Public, and Politics	324
	Notes	326
	Further Reading	327
13	Regulating Morality--Civil Rights, Liberties, and the Conscience Issues	328
	Overview of Morality Issues	329
	Civil Liberties	330
	Equality and Civil Rights	337
	Conclusion	342
	Notes	344
	Further Reading	344
14	Social Policy in America--Self-Reliance and State Dependence	345
	Federalism	348
	Social Security, Medicare, and the Electoral Connection	349
	Philosophy of Self-Reliance	352
	Health Care Reforms	353
	Conclusion	355
	Further Reading	355
15	Managing Economic Change	357
	State and Economy in the United States	358
	Ideology and Economic Policy	361
	Institutions and Economic Policy	365
	Economic Policy and Public Expectations	372
	Further Reading	373
16	The American World Role	374
	The Institutional Context	375
	American Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War World	379
	Conclusion	381
	Notes	383
	Further Reading	384
17	The American Political System at Century's End	385
	Assessing the American Polity	385
	Reform and Renewal	390
	Notes	391
Appendix	The Constitution of the United States of America	393
	Index	413