Essentials of American & Texas Government: Roots and Reform, 2011 Edition (4th Edition)
New to the 4th Edition:All chapters have been updated extensivelyto reflect current events, including passage of health care reform, the BP oil spill, and the November 2010 congressional elections. Learning objectivesappear at the start of each chapter in the “What Should I Know About…” boxes to prime students for the material they are about to read and to help students navigate the chapters more efficiently. These objectives also appear in the body of the chapters and inform the structure of the “What Should I Have Learned?” summary sections and both the print and online supplements accompanying this book.“Test Yourself” quizzesat the end of each chapter provide students with avenues to check their understanding and reinforce each chapter’slearning objectives. Each quiz consists of ten questions: one multiple choice question (with five answer choices) for each objective, with the remaining short answer/essay questions focused on critical thinking.Annotations to Federalist Papers No. 10, 51, and 78in the Appendix guide students through an analysis of these seminal documents to enhance understanding.Chapters 17, 18, and 19 (Domestic, Economic, and Foreign and Defense Policy)have been dramatically revised to take acase study approachand to reflect the interactions among branches in domestic, economic, and foreign policy.Revised Analyzing Visuals featuresinclude targeted critical thinking questions that encourage students to progressively engage in deeper understanding and analysis. These features take students beyond answering solely the “what” and help them to better focus on the “why.”Streamlined "Join the Debate" boxesengage students and encourage them to develop their own well-thought out arguments “for” and “against” each position. New topics in this edition include debates over the federal government’s involvement in healthcare, student loans, the election of Supreme Court justices, interest group lobbying of Congress, and partisan bias in the news media."Politics Now" boxesin every chapter include new excerpts fromcurrent news articlesto guide students through in-depth examinations of contemporary issues.Illustrated Timelinesdetailing the development of key issues and events in American Governmentnow appear in every chapterwith images that cue students to the appropriate subject matter discussion in the text.ExpandedThinking Globally featuresinclude a more substantial overview of keycomparative topics, including visuals where relevant, followed by critical thinking questions that ask students to examine some of the most commonly held assumptions about how American government does or should function.Photo, figure, and table titles appear as questions, encouraging students to think critically about every visual element.Book End Papersfeature a timeline that examines major events in American politics.