Table of Contents

1. The Founding: Debating the Constitution.
2. Democracy: Overrated or Undervalued?
3. The New Federalism: Does It Create Laboratories of Democracy or a Race to the Bottom?
4. Immigration: Does It Strengthen or Threaten American Democracy?
5. Political Economy: How Democratic Is the Free Market Economy?
6. Civil Liberties: Is Corporate Spending on Elections the Equivalent of Free Speech?
7. Civil Rights: Debating Same-Sex Marriage.
8. Church-State Relations: Was the United States Founded as a Christian Nation?
9. Digital Media: Do They Expand or Shrink Democracy?
10. Political Polarization: How Divided Are We?
11. Campaigns and Elections: Do Negative Ads Damage Democracy?
12. The Federal Budget: Is the Deficit a Threat to the Nation?
13. Congress: Can Our Representatives Serve the Public Good?
14. The Presidency: How Much Difference Does the Individual Make?
15. The Judiciary: How Should It Interpret Our Constitution?
16. Economic Inequality: A Threat to Democracy?
17. Foreign Policy: Has the United States Become an Imperial Power?

About the Author

Bruce Miroff earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley. He teaches and writes in the areas of the presidency, American political theory, and American political development. He is the author of PRAGMATIC ILLUSIONS: THE PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS OF JOHN F. KENNEDY; ICONS OF DEMOCRACY: AMERICAN LEADERS AS HEROES, ARISTOCRATS, DISSENTERS, AND DEMOCRATS; and THE LIBERALS' MOMENT: THE MCGOVERN INSURGENCY AND THE IDENTITY CRISIS OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. He regularly teaches an introductory lecture course on American Government and has received a teaching excellence award from SUNY Albany, where he is currently a professor. Raymond Seidelman earned his Ph.D. at Cornell University in 1979; he was a professor of political science at Sarah Lawrence College and wrote DISENCHANTED REALISTS: POLITICAL SCIENCE AND THE AMERICAN CRISIS (1985), a much-discussed history of the discipline. His areas of specialization included elections, voting, and political theory. Todd Swanstrom earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1981. Specializing in housing and urban policy, political economy, and metropolitan planning, he is co-author of PLACE MATTERS: METROPOLITICS FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.

Reviews

1. The Founding: Debating the Constitution. 2. Democracy: Overrated or Undervalued? 3. The New Federalism: Does It Create Laboratories of Democracy or a Race to the Bottom? 4. Immigration: Does It Strengthen or Threaten American Democracy? 5. Political Economy: How Democratic Is the Free Market Economy? 6. Civil Liberties: Is Corporate Spending on Elections the Equivalent of Free Speech? 7. Civil Rights: Debating Same-Sex Marriage. 8. Church-State Relations: Was the United States Founded as a Christian Nation? 9. Digital Media: Do They Expand or Shrink Democracy? 10. Political Polarization: How Divided Are We? 11. Campaigns and Elections: Do Negative Ads Damage Democracy? 12. The Federal Budget: Is the Deficit a Threat to the Nation? 13. Congress: Can Our Representatives Serve the Public Good? 14. The Presidency: How Much Difference Does the Individual Make? 15. The Judiciary: How Should It Interpret Our Constitution? 16. Economic Inequality: A Threat to Democracy? 17. Foreign Policy: Has the United States Become an Imperial Power?