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Introduction to American Government

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Introduction to American Government

Eighth Edition   Turner, et al., © 2016, 594 pages

Introduction to American Government provides students with a comprehensive, readable, and balanced study of the context, structure, and process of American politics. The text highlights the importance of economics and ideology in the context of American government.

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Instructor's Manual
The Instructor's Manual consists of lecture and discussion topics, chapter objectives, and project suggestions to better assist you with your teaching curriculum.
Study Guide
This thorough and practical student study guide includes learning objectives, chapter outlines, questions, and ideas that help the student review material presented in the text. Also included are student activities and projects designed to enhance the practical application of the concepts.
PowerPoint Slides
This PowerPoint slide set combines graphics and text to further illustrate the principles discussed in the text. Each chapter will contain around 20 PowerPoint slides summarizing learning objectives and chapter overview.
Test Bank
The Test Bank contains multiple choice and true/false questions.
Test Bank (Blackboard)
The Test Bank contains multiple choice and true/false questions. This file is an archive of per-chapter zipped Blackboard pool files.
2017 Addendum
The goal of this supplement is to provide users of the eighth edition of Introduction to American Government with some of the context and reminders of the changes that have taken place in the past two years, since that edition went to press. Arguably, four of the most significant events of the past two years have been the constitutional recognition of marriage equality for same-sex couples, the changing partisan and demographic makeup of Congress, the judicial vacancy created by the death of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, and the many surprising events surrounding the 2016 presidential election. For that reason, each topic receives its own discussion here.
2017 Addendum Questions


Excerpts

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About the Authors

Charles Turner person
Charles C. Turner is a professor of political science at California State University, Chico. His PhD is from Claremont Graduate University. He has taught at Chico State since 2000 and has served as department chair and as president of the Chico chapter of the California Faculty Association. Turner’s published research focuses on the political behavior of Congress and the Supreme Court, as well as on the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Robert Bresler person
Robert J. Bresler received his AB degree from Earlham College and his PhD from Princeton University. He has taught at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, the University of Delaware, and Penn State University–Harrisburg, where he completed a thirty-two-year career. During his time at Penn State, Professor Bresler served for some years as the director of the School of Public Affairs. He has been a visiting professor at the U.S. Army War College and the Franklin & Marshall College and a Senior Fulbright Fellow at the National University of Singapore. He was the recipient of the James A. Jordan Award for Teaching Excellence and the Outstanding Civilian Award from the Department of the Army. Professor Bresler is the National Affairs Editor of USA Today: The Magazine of the American Scene, where he writes a regular column on American politics. His books include Us vs. Them: American Political and Cultural Conflict from WWII to Watergate and Freedom of Association: Civil Rights and Liberties Under the Law. His articles have appeared in Political Science Quarterly, Politics and Society, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Commonweal, Inquiry, The Nation, Intellect, and Telos.
Robert Friedrich person
Robert J. Friedrich is an associate professor in the Department of Government at Franklin & Marshall College, where he teaches courses in American government, public opinion and mass political behavior, political ideology, and research methods. His research interests are in electoral politics and electoral institutions, particularly the relationship between seats and votes in legislative elections, and in political values and ideology. He has reviewed manuscripts for the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, and the Journal of Politics, for which he also served on the editorial board. Dr. Friedrich received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and his master’s and doctor of philosophy degrees from the University ofMichigan.
Joseph Karlesky person
Joseph J. Karlesky is the Honorable and Mrs. John C. Kunkel Professor of Government. He received his Bachelor’s degree from La Salle College and his PhD in public law and government from Columbia University. He is co-author of The State of Academic Science: The Universities in the Nation’s Research Effort and of American Government, an American government textbook. He has also authored the monograph “Thinking About Environmental Policy.” He has been a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, and has served as a consultant for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on home rule for municipalities and on academic science policy for the state of Montana. He has served as associate dean for academic affairs at Franklin & Marshall and as codirector of the University of Pennsylvania Master of Governmental Administration Program in Harrisburg. His teaching and research interests focus on public policy, particularly the interrelationships between public policy and science and technology and the consequences of these interrelationships for policies in energy and health. He is currently doing research on decision-making models and dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel. He regularly teaches courses in American government, understanding public policy, public policy implementation, and a seminar on health policy.
D. Grier Stephenson Jr. person
Donald Grier Stephenson Jr. is a Charles A. Dana Professor of Government at Franklin & Marshall College. He is general editor of ABC-CLIO’s America’s Freedoms Series, author of Campaigns and the Court: The U.S. Supreme Court in Presidential Elections, and co-author of American Constitutional Law, 15thedition.

Description

A distinguishing feature of this book is the explicit recognition that economics and ideology significantly influence American politics. No student or instructor in a course on American government is immune to the ideological and economic forces that help shape the perennial pursuit of power in a democracy. Nor is any class or instructor untouched by recurring problems ranging from budget deficits and health care to unemployment and the underclass. Economics and ideology, in one way or another, intersect nearly all of them.

This text highlights, in several ways, the importance of economics and ideology in the context of American government. The chapter on public policy and economics explores the relationship between politics and economics, as does a series of "Politics and Economics" boxes throughout the rest of the book. Students see how economic decisions have political consequences and how political decisions affect the economy. This is essential information in a day when economic topics frequently dominate electoral campaigns, television news, and conversation at the dinner table. However, the text assumes no prior knowledge of economics, and references to economic policy are free of confusing jargon.

Understanding differences among political beliefs is likewise essential at a time when the labels "liberal" and "conservative," "left" and "right" are hurled about. Such terms can be baffling, particularly because their meanings have not been consistent. Consequently, the text underscores the importance of political ideology - the ideas people have about what government should or should not do and what kind of government they should have. This emphasis is reflected in a series of "Politics and Ideas" boxes that appear throughout the text. The chapter on political ideologies is nearly unique among shorter volumes on American government because it draws a road map that guides students through intellectual debates, past and present, in American politics. Additionally, the chapter that deals with civil liberties and civil rights probes ideological distinctions among Americans concerning fundamental freedoms. Such an encompassing survey of the spectrum of political ideas encourages students both to comprehend and to tolerate points of view other than their own, enabling them to gain further insight into political differences that exist nationwide.

New to the Eighth Edition

American politics is a constantly changing montage of people and events, of facts and opinions. In order to keep up with our changing environment, and to make sure students have the most up-to-date information available, each new edition of Introduction to American Government undergoes a vigorous process of fact-checking and updating. In this edition, for example, readers will find revised weblinks and readings for further study; more critical thinking questions; and discussions of the latest events in American government - such as the 2014 elections, immigration reform, conflict with ISIS, racial tensions, and important Supreme Court decisions on same-sex marriage and on the First Amendment. In addition, each chapter contains important new material.

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