Details of Table of Contents, American Government and Politics, Abigail Press

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Detailed Table of Contents
American Government and Politics
in the New Millennium

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Introduction

How Do Political Scientists Know What They Know?	1
How Do They Know?	1
Methods, Techniques, and Approaches: The Differences	5
Methods and Techniques	5
Nonpolitical Techniques	5
Political Techniques	6
Limitations of Political Techniques	12
Approaches	13
Two Broad Approaches	14
Traditional Approaches	14
Behavioral Approaches	14
Reading the Matrix	17
Why Government Leaders Play Games	17
Why Political Scientists Take This Approach	18
Micro and Macro Approaches	18
Systems Analysis (S/A)	18
A System	19
A Political System	20
Conclusion	22
Chapter Notes	23
Suggested Readings	23

Chapter 1

The Language of Political Science	25
Evolution, Concepts, Theories, and Definitions	26
Evolution	26
Concepts	27
Theories	27
Definitions	27
American Government Terminology	28
Politics	28
Lasswell's Definition	29
Easton's Definition	29
Political Science	29
Government/American Government	30
Political Institutions	30
The "People"	30
Democracy	32
Direct and Indirect Democracy	33
The Political Spectrum	33
Power	35
Group Theories	37
Elite Theory	38
Authority and Legitimacy	38
Conclusion	40
Chapter Notes	41
Suggested Readings	41

Chapter 2

Constitutional Beginnings	43
Abuse of Political Power: The Case of England and America	43
Declaring Independence	43
The Declaration of Independence: An Anatomy	44
Section 1. Introduction	44
Section 2. Abuses of Natural Rights by King George III	44
Significance of the Colonial Experience	45
The First Constitution: The Articles of Confederation (1781-1789)	46
What is a Constitution?	46
Framework for Governing	46
Articles of Confederation	46
Two Points of View	47
Structure of National Government	48
Problems Under the Articles of Confederation	49
National Debt	49
National Economy	50
Creditors vs. Debtors	50
Failures of the Articles of Confederation	53
Constitution of 1787	54
Delegates to the Convention	54
Compromises	58
Virginia Plan	59
New Jersey Plan	59
Connecticut Compromise	61
Slavery	62
How the Constitution Manages Power	64
Federalism (National and State Levels of Government)	64
Separation of Powers (Branches of National Government)	65
Checks and Balances	66
Limited Government and the Bill of Rights	67
The Constitution: An Anatomy	69
The Preamble	69
An Overview of Articles I- VII	70
Ratification	75
Conclusion	76
Chapter Notes	76
Suggested Readings	77

Chapter 3

Federalism: Theories of Governing	79
Unitary System	80
Fusion/Federal + Unitary	80
Historical Roots of United States Federalism	81
Native American Influence	83
Implementation of Federalism	85
U.S. Constitution/Federalism	85
Grants of Constitutional Power	85
National Powers	86
National Supremacy Clause	88
McCulloch v. Maryland	89
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)	90
The Civil War	91
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)	94
States' Powers	97
Reserved Power/Tenth Amendment	97
Boundaries Established by the Tenth Amendment	97
Concurrent Powers	100
Powers Denied by the Constitution	100
The Nature of Federalism Today	101
Concurrent Majorities	101
Dual Federalism	102
Cooperative Federalism	103
New Federalism	105
"Devolution Revolution"	106
Conclusion	107
Chapter Notes	110
Suggested Readings	111

Chapter 4

Public Opinion, Political Culture, and Political Socialization	113
Public Opinion	114
The Importance of Public Opinion	114
Limited Range Importance	114
Extended Range Importance	117
Public Opinion and Democracy	117
Public Opinion and Political Culture	118
American Political Culture	119
A Few Selected Descriptions of U.S. Political Culture	119
Benjamin Franklin	119
Alexis de Tocqueville	120
Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba	120
The Source of Political Culture	121
Political Socialization	121
Political Socialization and the Individual	122
Agents of Socialization	122
The Significance of Political Socialization	128
Conclusion	129
Chapter Notes	130
Suggested Readings	131

Chapter 5

Political Parties	133
Political Parties and Elections	134
Historical Roots	135
Development: Factions to Parties	135
Constitution/The Early Days	137
First Parties	137
The Document	139
Governmental Structures	141
Two Party System	141
Separation of Powers/Federalism	145
Illusion	146
Local	148
Urban Political Machines	149
State	150
National	150
Functions of Political Parties	152
Party Decline	152
Indicators	153
Voter Turnout	153
Party Identification	154
Reasons for Decline	156
Rise of the Media	157
Media/Rise of Candidate	159
The Internet	161
Election Reform	162
Direct Primary	162
Political Patronage	163
Third Parties	165
Conclusion	168
Chapter Notes	169
Suggested Readings	171

Chapter 6

Campaigns and Elections	173
The Changing Face of American Campaigns and Elections	174
Nominating the Candidates	176
Historical Background	176
The Caucus System	176
The Primary System	177
The Entitlement Revolution	178
Special Interests and the Nominating Conventions	180
Independent and Third-Party Nominees	180
Nominations for Congress and State Offices	181
Campaigning for the Nomination	181
The General Elections	182
House Elections	182
Single-Member Plurality Districts	182
Criticism of the Single-Member System	184
Senate Elections	186
Presidential Elections	186
The Electoral College	186
Abolish the Electoral College?	186
Campaigning in the General Election	189
The Political Context	189
Financing Campaigns	190
How Much Campaigns Cost	190
Regulating Campaign Finance	190
Soft Money Contributions to Political Parties	191
Independent Expenditures	192
Unregistered PACs	192
On Behalf of Spending	192
Campaign Finance Reform in 2002	193
New Loopholes in the Wake of the 2002 Campaign Finance Reform	193
Effects of the American Campaign Finance System	194
The Incumbency Advantage	194
Selling Access and Influence	194
Increased Number of Personally Wealthy Candidates	195
Raising Campaign Money: A Distraction	195
Increased Role of Political Parties in Campaign Fundraising	195
Abuse and Scandals: The Case of Enron	196
Campaign Strategies and Tactics	198
Polling	198
Making the News	198
The Tabloids	199
Advertising	199
Internet and High Tech Campaigning	200
The Mechanics of Elections	200
Hanging Chads, Pregnant Chads	200
Political Participation in Elections: The Waxing and Waning of the American Electorate	202
The Waxing of the American Electorate	202
The Waning of the American Electorate	203
Explaining Turnout	203
Increasing Turnout	204
The Voters: Explaining Vote Choice	204
Long Term Forces: Group and Party Identification	205
Short Term Forces: Issues and Candidate Image	206
Issues	206
Candidate Image	206
Conclusion	207
Chapter Notes	208
Suggested Readings	209

Chapter 7

The Media	211
Democracy and the Mass Media	212
The Structure of the Mass Media	213
Books	213
Magazines	213
Newspapers	213
Television	213
Radio	214
Records	214
Motion Pictures	214
The Internet	214
Government Regulation of the Media	215
Technical and Ownership Regulation	215
Regulation of Content	216
Political Functions of the Mass Media	217
Entertainment	217
Surveillance	218
Interpretation	218
Socialization	218
Persuasion and Propaganda	218
Agenda Setting	218
The Increased Importance of the Modern Mass Media	219
A Pervasive News Media	219
An Autonomous Press	220
Phase I: The Early Partisan Press	220
Phase II: The Penny Press and Yellow Journalism	221
Phase III: Investigative Journalism	222
Phase IV: Conglomerate Ownership of the Press	222
Phase V: Atomization of the Media	224
The News Gathering Process	225
Personal Background and Values	225
Professional Values	225
Organizational Factors	226
The Content of the News: Informational Biases	226
The Bias Debate	226
Informational Biases	226
Infotainment	226
Negativity	227
Coverage of Campaigns	227
The Horserace	228
Gaffes	228
Coverage of the Incumbent	229
Coverage of the President	229
Coverage of Congress	230
The Politicians Respond: The Management of News Coverage	230
Shorter Campaign Speeches	230
Presidential Debates	231
Political Advertisements	232
The Effects of the Mass Media	233
What People Remember and Know	233
Influencing Public Opinion	234
Setting the Political Agenda	234
Cynicism, Alienation, and Declining Efficacy	234
Behavior	234
Conclusion	235
Chapter Notes	236
Suggested Readings	237

Chapter 8

Interest Groups	239
Defining Interest Groups	240
Interest Groups versus Political Parties	240
The Roles of Interest Groups	241
Representation	241
Political Participation	241
Education	241
Agenda Building	241
Program Monitoring	241
Who is Organized?	242
Economic Interest Groups	242
Business Groups	242
Organized Labor	243
Agriculture	244
Professional Associations	244
Citizen Groups	244
Women's Groups	245
Religious Groups	245
Gays and Lesbians	245
The Elderly	246
Environmental Groups	246
Single-Issue Groups	247
Foreign Governments	247
Government Interest Groups	248
Common Features of Interest Groups	248
Biases in Interest Group Formation and Maintenance	248
Obstacles to Interest Group Formation	249
Overcoming the Obstacles Through Interest Group Maintenance	251
Interest Group Bias	251
The Proliferation of Interest Groups	252
Sources of Interest Group Proliferation	252
Increased Government Regulation	252
Postindustrial Changes and Public Interest Groups	254
Interest Group Friendly Laws and Actions	255
Cheaper Forms of Communication	255
The Rise of Single-Issue Groups	255
Interest Group Methods and Strategies	256
Electioneering and Political Action Committees	256
The Creation of Political Action Committees	256
The Effects of PACs and Campaign Contributions	257
Direct, or Inside Lobbying	259
Providing Information	260
Providing Perks	260
The Effects of Direct Lobbying	261
Regulating Lobbying	262
Grassroots, or Outside Lobbying: Going Public	262
Litigating	263
Protest and Civil Disobedience	264
Bribery	264
Prospects for Reform	265
Conclusion	265
Chapter Notes	266
Suggested Readings	267

Chapter 9

The Congress	269
The Origin and Powers of Congress	270
The Constitution and the Great Compromise	270
The Powers of the House and Senate	270
The Expressed Powers	270
The Implied Powers	271
The Ebb and Flow of Congressional Powers	271
The Era of Divided Government	273
Representation in Congress	274
Theories of Representation	274
The Instructed-Delegate View of Representatives	274
The Trustee View of Representation	274
The Politico View of Representation	275
The Quality of Congressional Representation	275
Descriptive Representation	275
Constituent Ties	276
Congressional Elections	277
Congressional Reapportionment	277
Gerrymandering	278
Racial Gerrymandering and "Minority-Majority" Districts	278
Candidates for Congress	278
The Advantage of Incumbency	279
The Role of Gerrymandering in House Incumbency	279
Campaign Finance and Incumbency	280
The Issue of Term Limits	280
The Organizational Structures of Congress	281
The Formal Leadership of Congress: The Political Parties	281
Leadership in the House	281
Leadership in the Senate	282
Party Discipline	282
The Committee and Subcommittee System	283
The Work of Committees: Legislation and Oversight	283
The Committee System in the Era of Divided Government	284
Types of Congressional Committees	285
Standing Committees	285
Select Committees	285
Joint Committees	286
Conference Committees	286
The House Rules Committee	286
Committee Membership	287
Committee and Subcommittee Chairs	287
The Staff System	288
The Caucuses	288
The Legislative Process	289
Step One: The Bill is Introduced	289
Step Two: The Bill is Assigned to Committee	289
Step Three: Floor Action	290
Step Four: The Conference Committee	292
Step Five: The President	292
Step Six: Oversight	293
Disillusionment With Congress and Divided Government	294
Scandal	294
Gridlock	294
Conclusion	295
Chapter Notes	296
Suggested Readings	297

Chapter 10

The Bureaucracy	299
The Development of the Bureaucratic State	300
Constitutional Beginnings	300
The Progressive Movement	301
The New Deal and Social Welfare Legislation	301
World War II	301
The Great Society and the Entitlements Revolution	302
Lobbying by Administrators	303
Ronald Reagan and Deregulation	303
Budget Cuts and the Size of the Bureaucracy	305
The Expanding Functions of the Bureaucratic State	305
National Maintenance	305
Clientele Services	305
Regulation	306
Income Redistribution	306
The Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy	306
Cabinet Departments	306
The Fifteenth Department: The Department of Homeland Security	307
Independent Agencies	307
Regulatory Agencies or Commissions	307
Government Corporations	308
Who are the Bureaucrats?	308
A Bureaucracy of Gentlemen	308
The Spoils System	309
The Civil Service	309
Changes in the Demographic Composition of the Bureaucracy	310
Presidential Appointees	310
Where are the Bureaucrats?	310
What Bureaucracies Do	311
Policy Development	311
Rule Administration	311
Rule Making and Regulation	311
Rule Adjudication	312
Litigation	312
Program Evaluation	312
The Political Resources of the Federal Bureaucracy	312
Authority	312
Administrative Discretion	313
Rule Making	313
Expertise	313
Clientele Support	314
How Bureaucracies Make Decisions	315
The Rational Comprehensive Model	315
The Incremental Model of Bureaucratic Decision Making	315
Bureaucratic Accountability	316
Presidential Control over the Bureaucracy	316
Congressional Control over the Bureaucracy	316
Iron Triangles and Issue Networks	318
Reform and Reorganization	318
Benefits of Bureaucracy	319
Managing Complexity	319
Stability and Predictability	319
Conclusion	319
Chapter Notes	320
Suggested Readings	321

Chapter 11

The Presidency and Leadership	323
The Presidency	324
Qualifications: Formal and Informal	324
Getting Elected: The Electoral College	325
Presidential Powers and Duties: Given and Assumed	326
Powers Given	326
Powers Assumed	327
Presidential Roles	328
Chief of State	328
Chief Executive: The Executive Office of the President, The White House Office, and The Cabinet	329
Commander in Chief	333
Chief Diplomat	334
Chief Legislator	338
Presidential Roles v. The Whole Picture	341
Leadership and Leaders	342
What is Leadership?	342
Leadership and Headship	343