The structure and function of American political parties and their relationship to democratic government. Emphasis is placed upon party organization and strategy in the political process. Historical as well as current sources are utilized. Political thought from Puritan America to the present. Particular emphasis upon the great figures in the evolution of American political ideas.
Supplementary reading includes judicial biography and commentaries on the court.
An intensive analysis of the major American interest groups and their impact upon the formation and implementation of public policy at the local, state, and national levels of government. Major emphasis is given to ethnic, business, labor, agricultural, veterans, and religious associations. Issues include community control, educational power, and financial decision-making. A study and analysis of the major issue areas of state and urban administration such as finance, organization, public welfare, insurance regulation, parks and recreation, housing, and redevelopment. Emphasis is upon the diplomacy of independence, neutral rights, the Monroe Doctrine, Manifest Destiny, the Civil War and Imperialism.