Textbook focusing on American Government and the specificities of the American political system. In covering American government and politics, this text:
• introduces the intricacies of the Constitution, the complexities of federalism, the meanings of civil liberties, and the conflicts over civil rights;
• explains how people are socialized to politics, acquire and express opinions, and participate in political life;
• describes interest groups, political parties, and elections—the intermediaries that link people to government and politics;
• details the branches of government and how they operate; and
• shows how policies are made and affect people’s lives.

The anniversaries of the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, and the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, provide us an opportunity to reflect upon who we are as Americans, examine our most fundamental values and principles and affirm our commitment to them, and evaluate progress toward the realization of American ideals and propose actions that might narrow the gap between these ideals and reality. The following lessons are designed to accomplish these goals.

This is a free textbook written for introductory undergraduate courses in American politics and government, covering the creation and principles of the Constitution, the fundamentals of American public opinion and political behavior, and the basic functions of the three branches of government.

 American Government is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester American government course. This title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including Insider Perspective features and a Get Connected Module that shows students how they can get engaged in the political process. The book provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of American government and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. American Government includes updated information on the 2016 presidential election.Senior Contributing AuthorsGlen Krutz (Content Lead), University of OklahomaSylvie Waskiewicz, PhD (Lead Editor)

Contents include:

1. Why Government? Why Politics? 2. The U.S. System of Constitutional Government 3. Congress 4. The Presidency 5. The Judiciary 6. Federalism 7. The Media, Government, and Politics 8. Public Opinion 9. Political Ideology 10. Political Participation 11. Political Parties 12. Interest Groups 13. Public Policy 14. Economic Policy 15. Food Policy 16. Crime Policy 17. Global Affairs 18. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

American Government is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester American government course. This title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including Insider Perspective features and a Get Connected Module that shows students how they can get engaged in the political process. The book provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of American government and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. American Government includes updated information on the 2016 presidential election.

This is a powerpoint for chapter one of the text.
Faculty using this text can use it as a jumping off place to create their own slideshows for the class.

This is a powerpoint with an outline of chapter 3 of the text.

This is a powerpoint for chapter FOUR of the text.
Faculty using this text can use it as a jumping off place to create their own slideshows for the class.

Welcome to American Government, an OpenStax resource. This textbook was written to increase student access to high-quality learning materials, maintaining highest standards of academic rigor at little to no cost.

This is an ADA compliant downloadable version of the American Government online textbook at U.S. History.org by The Independence Hall Association.

The videos covered in this playlist are from the American Government and Civic Engagement from the American Government 3rd edition textbook published by Open Stax https://openstax.org/details/books/american-government-3e

The videos cover chapters 1 - 14.

This text is a comprehensive introduction to the vital subject of American government and politics. Governments decide who gets what, when, how (See Harold D. Lasswell, Politics: Who Gets What, When, How, [New York: McGraw-Hill, 1936]); they make policies and pass laws that are binding on all a society’s members; they decide about taxation and spending, benefits and costs, even life and death.Governments possess power—the ability to gain compliance and to get people under their jurisdiction to obey them—and they may exercise their power by using the police and military to enforce their decisions. However, power need not involve the exercise of force or compulsion; people often obey because they think it is in their interest to do so, they have no reason to disobey, or they fear punishment. Above all, people obey their government because it has authority; its power is seen by people as rightfully held, as legitimate. People can grant their government legitimacy because they have been socialized to do so; because there are processes, such as elections, that enable them to choose and change their rulers; and because they believe that their governing institutions operate justly.Politics is the process by which leaders are selected and policy decisions are made and executed. It involves people and groups, both inside and outside of government, engaged in deliberation and debate, disagreement and conflict, cooperation and consensus, and power struggles.In covering American government and politics, this text introduces the intricacies of the Constitution, the complexities of federalism, the meanings of civil liberties, and the conflicts over civil rights;explains how people are socialized to politics, acquire and express opinions, and participate in political life; describes interest groups, political parties, and elections—the intermediaries that link people to government and politics; details the branches of government and how they operate; and shows how policies are made and affect people’s lives.

Using an inquiry based approach, Michigan high school students will learn about the foundations of American government by studying the Constitution and exploring how it works today.

This is a module framework. It can be viewed online or downloaded as a zip file.

As taught Autumn Semester 2010/2011.

This is a self-contained study of the institutions and processes of the government and politics of the United States. It explores the concepts of limited government, constitutionalism and checks and balances, and the way in which they operate in the American political system.

It examines how American governments seek to make policy, the extent to which they can make an impact on society and the different types of constraints on their actions. It also looks at democracy in the American context, how citizens attempt to influence the activities of government and their expectations and beliefs about what is the appropriate role of government.

Module Code: M12019

Suitable for study at: Undergraduate level 1

Credits:20

Dr Sue Pryce, School of Politics and International Relations

Dr Pryce's interests include British and US politics; the premiership, politics and drugs.

Modules taught: Power and Leadership; European Union Studies; American Government and Politics; Political Ideas in Revolution; Political Ideas in Conflict; Politics and Drugs (all undergraduate).

Course documents for Introduction to United States Government and Politics. The following sections are included:

1) Syllabus for the course
2) Tentative schedule of activities for the course
3) Five Units of study with all reading and writing assignments linked on the activity sheets.

Course Description:
Political Science 201 examines the Constitution and its major themes: separation of powers, federalism, judicial review, checks and balances, limited government, and
individual liberties. The course includes examination of the basic principles of American democracy, the philosophical and historical roots of the American political
system, and the relationship between the major institutions of our government with each other and the people. The politics of American democracy will be explored through an analysis of political ideology, political parties, voting, special interest group behavior, and public opinion. Individual liberties and civil rights will be examined in the context of the evolving American nation.

This standalone Civics course was developed by educators in Puyallup School DIstrict in Washington state.

Civics is the study of our national government, constitution, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Topics include democracy and other forms of government; legislative, executive, and judicial functions; the political process; and foreign and domestic policies. It also includes a summary of Washington State History and local native sovereignty.

Adapted from CSPAN Classroom: https://www.c-span.org/classroom/document/?9413 to allow for discussion on ranking of United States Presidents, focusing specifically on Andrew Jackson.