Students can find information on interest groups they want to get involved in, check the status of items in this year's budget, contact their congressional representative, or research Supreme Court decisions or White House press releases. Not only are these sources helpful to students doing academic research, but they also encourage them to get involved in politics on their own. These boxes explore some of the social issues that arouse the most passionate political feelings in the United States today, from immigration to affirmative action, from same-sex marriage to censorship of the Internet. They frame the issue at stake, explore the differing nuances of positions, and tell students how to get more information about the issue and become involved in groups on either side. Extensive Comparative Material New material throughout the text helps students view the American political system in a comparative perspective.
Every chapter opens with an engaging story about politics.
Throughout the text, a series of boxed features, many of which fall into the following categories in addition to those already described, appeal to student interests and provide insight into the ways in which politics is at work in so many aspects of American life. People in Politics These informative profiles provide brief biographies of people who have made a difference in American political life. Spanning the political spectrum from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Christine Todd Whitman and from Thurgood Marshall to Newt Gingrich, they also focus on younger and lesser-known figures involved in party organizing and political journalism. These essays examine core constitutional issues that are involved in contemporary debates in American government. They include the line-item veto, the right of defendants to confront their accusers in child abuse cases, and the struggle between Congress and the president over the War Powers Act.