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1. About This Course
2. Course Contents at a Glance
3. Preface
4. PDF
5. Introduction to American Government
6. What is Government?
7. Who Governs? Elitism, Pluralism, and Tradeoffs
8. Engagement in a Democracy
9. Introduction to the Constitution and Its Origins
10. The Pre-Revolutionary Period and the Roots of the American Political Tradition
11. The Articles of Confederation
12. The Development of the Constitution
13. The Ratification of the Constitution
14. Constitutional Change
15. Introduction to American Federalism
16. The Division of Powers
17. The Evolution of American Federalism
18. Intergovernmental Relationships
19. Competitive Federalism Today
20. Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism
21. Introduction to Civil Liberties
22. What Are Civil Liberties?
23. Securing Basic Freedoms
24. The Rights of Suspects
25. Interpreting the Bill of Rights
26. Introduction to Civil Rights
27. What Are Civil Rights and How Do We Identify Them?
28. The African American Struggle for Equality
29. The Fight for Women’s Rights
30. Civil Rights for Indigenous Groups: Native Americans, Alaskans, and Hawaiians
31. Equal Protection for Other Groups
32. Introduction to Public Opinion
33. The Nature of Public Opinion
34. How Is Public Opinion Measured?
35. What Does the Public Think?
36. The Effects of Public Opinion
37. Introduction to Voting and Elections
38. Voter Registration
39. Voter Turnout
40. Elections
41. Campaigns and Voting
42. Direct Democracy
43. Introduction to the Media
44. What Is the Media?
45. The Evolution of the Media
46. Regulating the Media
47. The Impact of the Media
48. Introduction to Political Parties
49. What Are Parties and How Did They Form?
50. The Two-Party System
51. The Shape of Modern Political Parties
52. Divided Government and Partisan Polarization
53. Introduction to Interest Groups and Lobbying
54. Interest Groups Defined
55. Collective Action and Interest Group Formation
56. Interest Groups as Political Participation
57. Pathways of Interest Group Influence
58. Free Speech and the Regulation of Interest Groups
59. Introduction to Congress
60. The Institutional Design of Congress
61. Congressional Elections
62. Congressional Representation
63. House and Senate Organizations
64. The Legislative Process
65. Introduction to the Presidency
66. The Design and Evolution of the Presidency
67. The Presidential Election Process
68. Organizing to Govern
69. The Public Presidency
70. Presidential Governance: Direct Presidential Action
71. Introduction to the Courts
72. Guardians of the Constitution and Individual Rights
73. The Dual Court System
74. The Federal Court System
75. The Supreme Court
76. Judicial Decision-Making and Implementation by the Supreme Court
77. Introduction to State and Local Government
78. State Power and Delegation
79. State Political Culture
80. Governors