Essentials of American Government 2009: Roots and Reform

Guided by the belief that readers must first understand the origins of American government to fully understand the issues facing the United States today, this market-leading text offers the strongest coverage of both history and current events of any college textbook devoted to American politics.  

From hallmark features like “The Living Constitution” to new features like the illustrated historical timelines, Essentials of American Government: Continuity and Change provides the historical context readers need to understand our government and the most crucial and controversial issues affecting the nation in the 21st century.  This Essentials edition includes the coverage found in the comprehensive version of the text but in a condensed format. 

This bestselling book has been extensively revised to provide in-depth coverage of the 2008 presidential and congressional elections, President George W. Bush’s second administration and the 110th Congress, continued controversies related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terrorism, and domestic concerns related to rising gas and food prices and the subprime mortgage crisis.

Features:

• "Politics Now" boxes examine contemporary issues to illustrate how American politics has evolved. Excerpts from news articles are followed by critical thinking questions that allow students to analyze current political issues for themselves. New boxes discuss Nancy Pelosi s style as House Speaker, presidential signing statements, media coverage of the Supreme Court, and the impact of frontloading on the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination contest.

• "Join the Debate" boxes explore provocative, student-oriented topics and provide extensive, well-balanced coverage of both sides of a debate. Each box begins with a topic overview, provides accessible summaries of the opposing arguments, and concludes with critical thinking questions that allow students to examine their own stance on the topic and suggested readings for further research. New topics in this edition include the living wage movement, budget allocations for the Iraq War, and voting rights for felons.

• Analyzing Visuals features ask students to closely examine and assess a variety of different types of images including photographs, tables, bar graphs, line graphs, and maps. These features have been redesigned to emphasize open-ended, critical thinking questions.

• Superior coverage of the diverse groups comprising the American electorate is a hallmark of O Connor/Sabato. Karen O Connor, founder and director of the Women and Politics Institute in the School of Public Affairs at American University, draws on her own research as well as the work of other scholars to provide extensive coverage of the role of women in American government since the Founding. Gender issues and their close relationship with issues of race and ethnicity are addressed in every chapter of the text. Age, sexual orientation, and disability status are also examined throughout the book. This edition features increased attention to the immigration debate and its affect on politics in the United States, as well as expanded coverage of Hispanic Americans and Asian Pacific American populations.

New to this Edition: