The Enduring Debate

Note: Items in bold are new.

Part I The Constitutional System

Chapter 1. Political Culture

• Louis Hartz, from The Liberal Tradition in America: An Interpretation of American Political Thought Since the Revolution
• Gordon S. Wood, from The Creation of the American Republic 1776-1787
• Rogers M. Smith, "Beyond Tocqueville, Myrdal, and Hartz: The Multiple Traditions in America"

Debating the Issues: What Does It Mean to Be an American?

• Sarah Song, "What Does It Mean to Be an American?"
• Steven M. Warshawsky, "What Does It Mean to Be an American?"
• Daniel J. Elazar, "The Three Political Cultures"

Chapter 2. The Founding and the Constitution

• Michael Kammen, "The Nature of American Constitutionalism"
• Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No 15.
• James Madison, The Federalist No. 51

Debating the Issues: How Democratic Is the Constitution?

• Eric Lane and Michael Oreskes, from The Genius of America: How the Constitution Saved Our Country-and Why It Can Again
• Sanford Levinson, from Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Save It)

Chapter 3. Federalism

• James Madison, Federalist No. 46
• Paul Peterson, "The Price of Early Federalism"
• George J. Annas, "Jumping Frogs, Endangered Toads, and California's Medical Marijuana Law"

Debating the Issues: Nullifying Health Care Reform

• Arizona House Concurrent Resolution 2014, "A Constitutional Amendment Relating to Health Care Services"
• Clint Bolick, "Health Care Freedom Act Q and A"
• Sean Wilentz, "States of Anarchy: America's Long, Sordid Affair with Nullification"
• Timothy S. Jost, "Can the States Nullify Health Care Reform?"

Chapter 4. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

• Abraham Lincoln, "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions"
• Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
• Jonathan Rauch, "In Defense of Prejudice"

Debating the Issues: Corporate Spending in Campaigns and the First Amendment

• Ronald Dworkin, "The Decision That Threatens Democracy"
• Bradley A. Smith, "Citizens United We Stand"

Part II Institutions

Chapter 5. Congress

• Edmund Burke, Speech to the Electors of Bristol, Nov. 3, 1774
• David Mayhew, from Congress: The Electoral Connection
• John R. Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, "Too Much of a Good Thing: More Representation Is Not Necessarily Better"

Debating the Issues: Pork Barrel Politics

• Cato Handbook for Policymakers, "Corporate Welfare and Earmarks"
• 2010 Pig Book Summary, Citizens Against Government Waste
• Brian Friel, "Inhofe: Earmarks Are Good For Us"
• Jonathan Rauch, "Earmarks Are a Model, Not a Menace"

Chapter 6. The Presidency

• Richard Neustadt, "The Power to Persuade"
• Charles O. Jones, "Perspectives on the Presidency"

Debating the Issues: Is Obama a Transformational President?

• David Greenberg, "The Honeymooners"
• Katrina Vanden Heuvel and Robert L. Borosage, "Change Won't Come Easy"
• Richard Lowry and Ramesh Ponnuru, "An Exceptional Debate"

Chapter 7. Bureaucracy

• Woodrow Wilson, "The Study of Administration"
• James Q. Wilson, from Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It

Debating the Issues: Policy Czars and Presidential Control of the Bureaucracy

• James P. Pfiffner, "Presidential Use of White House 'Czars,'" testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Oct. 22, 2009
• Matthew Spalding, "Examining the History and Legality of Executive Branch Czars," testimony before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Oct. 8, 2009
• Winter Casey, et al., "Will Army of Czars March or Meander?"

Chapter 8. The Judiciary

• Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 78
• David O'Brien, "The Court in American Life"
• Leon Friedman, "Overruling the Court"

Debating the Issues: Interpreting the Constitution: Originalism or a Living Constitution?

• Antonin Scalia, "Common-Law Courts in a Civil-Law System: The Role of United States Federal Courts in Interpreting the Constitution and Laws"
• Stephen Breyer, "Our Democratic Constitution"

Part III Political Behavior: Participation

Chapter 9. Public Opinion and the Media

• George Gallup, "Polling the Public"
• Richard Morin, "Choice Words: If You Can't Understand Our Poll Questions, Then How Can We Understand Your Answers?"
• Markus Prior, "News vs. Entertainment: How Increasing Media Choice Widens Gaps in Political Knowledge and Turnout"

Debating the Issues: The Future of Political Journalism

• Tom Price, "Future of Journalism"
• Paul Starr, "Goodbye to the Age of Newspapers (Hello to a New Era of Corruption)"
• James Fallows, "How to Save the News"

Chapter 10. Elections and Voting

• V. O. Key Jr., "The Voice of the People: An Echo"
• Richard D. Parker, "Power to the Voters"
• Louis Menand, "The Unpolitical Animal: How Political Science Understands Voters"

Debating the Issues: Voter Identification

• Chandler Davidson, "The Historical Context of Voter Photo-ID Laws"
• Hans von Spakovsky, "Requiring Identification by Voters," Testimony before the Texas Senate, Mar. 10, 2009
• Edward B. Foley, "Is There a Middle Ground in the Voter ID Debate?"

Chapter 11. Political Parties

• Morris P. Fiorina, "The Decline of Collective Responsibility in American Politics"
• Gerald M. Pomper, "Parliamentary Government in the United States?"

Debating the Issues: Red versus Blue America-Are We Polarized?

• Morris P. Fiorina, "What Culture Wars? Debunking the Myth of a Polarized America"
• James Q. Wilson and Morris P. Fiorina's Response, "How Divided Are We?"
• John B. Judis, "Tea Minus Zero"

Chapter 12. Groups and Interests

• Alexis de Tocqueville, "Political Association in the United States"
• Mancur Olson, "The Logic of Collective Action"
• Theda Skocpol, "Associations Without Members"

Debating the Issues: Was Madison Right?

• David Truman, "The Alleged Mischiefs of Faction"
• E. E. Schattschneider, "A Critique of Group Theories of Politics"
• Jonathan Rauch, "The Hyperpluralism Trap"

Part IV Public Policy

Chapter 13. Politics and Policy

• Charles E. Lindblom, "The Science of Muddling Through"
• Theodore J. Lowi, "American Business, Public Policy, Case Studies, and Political Theory"

Debating the Issues: Global Warming

• Bill Mckibben, "Climate Change"
• Bjorn Lomborg, "Mr. Gore: Your Solution to Global Warming Is Wrong"

Chapter 14. Government and the Economy

• Franklin Roosevelt, "Call for Responsibility"
• Herbert Hoover, "Against the Proposed New Deal"
• Jon Gertner, "The Rise and Fall of the GDP"

Debating the Issues: Bailing Out Wall Street

• Matt Taibbi, "Wall Street's Bailout Hustle"
• Timothy Geithner, Testimony before the Congressional Oversight Panel, Dec. 10, 2009

Chapter 15. Government and Society

• Gary Burtless, "Growing American Inequality: Sources and Remedies"
• Jonathan Rauch, "Objections to These Unions"
• David C. John, "Providing Social Security Benefits in the Future: A Review of the Social Security System and Plans to Reform It"

Debating the Issues: Health Care Reform

• Barack Obama, Congressional Address on Health Care Reform, Sept. 10, 2009
• Marilyn Werber Serafini, "Grading Health Reform: Experts Assess Whether the Bill Delivers on Its Promises"
• Yuval Levin, "Repeal: Why and How Obamacare Must Be Undone"

Chapter 16. Foreign Policy

• George Soros, "The Age of Open Society"
• Peter Sutherland, "Reality Check"

Debating the Issues: What Direction for National Security?

• George W. Bush, The National Security Strategy of the United States, Sept. 2003
• Barack Obama, The National Security Strategy of the United States, June 2010