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The Enduring Democracy
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The Enduring Democracy

Eighth Edition
Available with:
Learning platform
January 2025 | 424 pages | CQ Press
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How can our history provide us with a roadmap to the future?

The Enduring Democracy provides the essentials of American government, with a focus on placing current issues and debates into a historical perspective. By looking back, students can better understand the challenges and controversies characterizing American government today. This allows them to tap into those "lessons learned" to identify, understand, and even provide solutions to today's changing politically reality.

The highly anticipated Eighth Edition frames the 2024 presidential elections from the perspective of what they mean to students, so that they can see the relevance of American government in their daily lives.
 
Letter to Instructors
 
Letter to Students
 
Digital Resources
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Career Opportunities: Political Science
 
Part I Foundations
 
Chapter 1 Introduction to the Enduring Democracy
Presidential Election Results 2024

 
Forms and Functions of Government

 
American Government and Politics

 
American Political Culture

 
Is American Democracy in Decline?

 
 
Chapter 2 The Founding and the Constitution
The Beginnings of a New Nation

 
The Constitutional Convention

 
The New Constitution

 
The Ratification Battle

 
Changing the Constitution

 
 
Chapter 3 Federalism
What Is Federalism?

 
The History of American Federalism

 
Why Federalism? Advantages and Disadvantages

 
 
Chapter 4 Civil Liberties
The Bill of Rights: Origins and Evolution

 
Freedom of Religion and the Establishment Clause

 
Free Expression Rights

 
The Right to Bear Arms and the Rights of the Criminally Accused

 
The Modern Right to Privacy

 
 
Chapter 5 Civil Rights, Equality, and Social Movements
Types of Equality

 
The Struggle for Equality: Approaches and Tactics

 
The Struggle for Equality: Civil Rights Battles

 
The Struggle for Equality: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality

 
Continuing Struggles Over Equality in the Modern Era

 
 
Part II Institutions
 
Chapter 6 Congress
Article I and the Creation of Congress

 
The Structure and Organization of Congress

 
The Committee System

 
How a Bill Becomes a Law

 
Oversight and Personnel Functions of Congress

 
Constituent Service: Helping People Back Home

 
 
Chapter 7 The Presidency
Who is eligible to be president, and how can he or she be removed under the Constitution?

 
The Evolution of the American Presidency

 
Express Powers and Responsibilities of the President

 
Implied Powers and Responsibilities of the President

 
Presidential Resources

 
Important Presidential Relationships

 
 
Chapter 8 The Federal Bureaucracy
What Is Bureaucracy?

 
What Does the Federal Bureaucracy Do?

 
The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy

 
Getting Control of the Growing Bureaucracy

 
The Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy

 
The Federal Workforce

 
 
Chapter 9 The Judiciary
Types of Law

 
The Structure of the U.S. Legal System

 
The Adversarial System of Justice

 
Judicial Review and Its Implications

 
Limitations on Courts

 
Electing and Appointing Judges

 
How a Case Proceeds Within the U.S. Supreme Court

 
Judicial Decision-Making and Debates Over the Exercise of Judicial Power

 
 
Part III Political Behavior
 
Chapter 10 Public Opinion
Public Opinion in American Politics

 
The Levels of Public Opinion

 
How Informed Is Public Opinion?

 
How Does Public Opinion Form?

 
How Is Public Opinion Measured?

 
Interpreting Public Opinion Data

 
 
Chapter 11 Interest Groups
Pluralism and the Interest-Group System

 
Interest Groups in Action

 
Types of Interest Groups

 
How Interest Groups Achieve Their Goals

 
 
Chapter 12 The Media and American Politics
The Media in American Politics

 
Historical Development of the Media

 
The Mass Media Today

 
Effects of the Media

 
Criticisms of the News Media

 
 
Chapter 13 Political Parties and Voting
The Development of Political Parties in the United States

 
The Functions of Political Parties

 
Why a Two-Party System?

 
Party Organizations

 
Voting

 
Exercising the Franchise

 
Participation Beyond Voting

 
 
Chapter 14 Campaigns and Elections
American Presidential Elections in Historical Perspective

 
The Nomination Campaign

 
The General Election Campaign

 
Campaign Funding

 
Congressional Campaigns and Elections

 
 
Part IV Public Policy
 
Chapter 15 American Public Policy
An Overview of the Policy-Making Process

 
Theories and Practice in Economic Policy

 
The Welfare State and Programs for the Poor

 
The Social Security System and Health Care Policy

 
Foreign Policy

 
 
Appendix
 
Glossary
 
Endnotes
 
Index

Supplements

Instructor Resources
For additional information, custom options, or to request a personalized walkthrough of these resources, please contact your sales representative.

LMS cartridge included with this title for use in Blackboard, Canvas, Brightspace by Desire2Learn (D2L), and Moodle

The LMS cartridge makes it easy to import this title’s instructor resources into your learning management system (LMS). These resources include:
  • Test banks
  • Editable chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides
  • Lecture notes
  • All tables and figures from the textbook
Don't use an LMS platform?

You can still access the online resources for this title via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site.

In my opinion, the main strength of The Enduring Democracy is the writing style. Concepts are described and explained in a manner that is similar to how I explain them to my students. This provides them with an easy transition from reading to lecture. This book does a nice job of balancing readability with content. It feels up-to-date and the visual elements are engaging.

Bo Wood
University of North Dakota

The Enduring Democracy is an excellent core textbook for American Government. It is a clear presentation of the basic information with an emphasis on institutions and context. This text has been well-liked by my students. I like the strong institutionalist elements of the book, which pair well with its emphasis on accessibility for students. The balance between understanding the institutions, how they shape political behavior, and the influence of historical context is good. Further, it avoids the overly technical elements of some institutionalist texts. Students see the impact of institutions without getting deterred by the more complicated elements.

Gregory Dixon
University of West Georgia

In my post-lecture survey of students, one comment students make all the time is that they enjoy the way The Enduring Democracy explores demographic changes in the country, and how it helps them understand political changes in the United States.

Augustine Ayuk
Clayton State University

I find the writing style to be perfect. I believe The Enduring Democracy is a well-researched and well-written survey on the federal government. The book provides a nice historical context and covers topics in a thoughtful and thorough manner.

Tracy Cook
Central Texas College
Key features
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
  • The new edition is available in Sage Vantage, an intuitive learning platform that integrates quality Sage textbook content with assignable multimedia activities and auto-graded assessments to drive student engagement and ensure accountability. Unparalleled in its ease of use and built for dynamic teaching and learning, Vantage offers customizable LMS integration and best-in-class support.
    • Flashcards and note-taking tools help students better prepare for class.
    • NEW! Audiobook Player allows students to listen to text content, boosting comprehension and retention. It offers flexible, on-the-go access, engaging both reluctant readers and auditory learners, improving the overall reading experience.
    • The Offline Reading option in the Student Dashboard offers greater accessibility to Vantage’s reading content, regardless of where students are or how strong their internet connection may be.
    • New video animations for the American Government course help students understand key concepts like redistricting and gerrymandering, voter turnout, and public opinion.
  • Thoroughly updated throughout to account for recent developments of the 2024 election. Please contact your Sage sales rep for a list of chapter-by-chapter changes.
KEY FEATURES:
  • Learning Objectives open each chapter and serve as a road map to the key concepts and major sections students will find within the chapter, helping them focus on the most important points and assess their reading comprehension.
  • Throughout the narrative, there's a focus on rapidly changing demographics in our population that asks us to reconsider many aspects of American political behavior and how that will influence both the present and future.
  • Then & Now boxes help students to understand that debates and events being played out in American politics today have occurred before in different forms. Examples for this edition include:
    • When the Popular Vote and the Electoral Vote Diverge;
    • Balancing Police Surveillance Techniques with Individual Privacy;
    • Partisan Divisiveness in Congress; and
    • The Power of the Media in Effecting Change.
  • From Your Perspective discussions focus on how political decisions impact college students and on how student engagement in politics can make a difference. Examples for this edition include:
    • The Impact of the Youth Vote;
    • The Benefits of Attending College Close to Home;
    • An Internship as a Stepping Stone;
    • How Social Media Has Changed the Presidency; and
    • Getting Involved in Political Campaigns.
  • Critical Thinking questions at the end of every thematic box help students think about the material in new and interesting ways and spark classroom discussion.

Sample Materials & Chapters

144232_book_item_144232.pdf

Vantage Reference: 
The Enduring Democracy - Vantage Learning Platform

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