What's New in each Chapter:

This chapter includes an expanded discussion of key concepts such as power and democracy. A new section on social capital has been added (the importance of social capital—citizen action and interaction—is an underlying theme of the new boxed inserts). The new chapter has less coverage of the historical context of American ideals than the previous version (some of the old material has been shifted to Chapter 2).

This chapter was previously Chapter 3. There is greatly expanded coverage of the historical conditions, political experience, and political thought that led up to the American Revolution and contributed to the underlying principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. The chapter emphasizes the provisions of the Constitution and their philosophical and political foundation. The debate over ratification of the Constitution also receives more attention than in the previous edition. Some of the material on the post-1789 development of American constitutionalism is shifted to later chapters (e.g., the sections on Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy are abridged and some of this material appears in the discussion in Chapter 8 of the development of the party system).

This chapter was previously Chapter 2. The material on the constitutional structure of federalism and the Great and North-South compromises is shifted to the new Chapter 2. The discussion of the historical development of federalism is expanded somewhat (for example, racial equality is added to the discussion of the 1865-1937 period, which currently focuses on government-business relations). The section on contemporary federalism is expanded substantially to emphasize new concepts and developments in federalism, e.g., devolution, welfare reform.

Chapter 4. Civil Liberties

This chapter has been updated to include recent important civil liberties cases. The section on crime and punishment has been expanded as has the section on the right of privacy (which previously was limited to abortion and now also includes homosexuality and the right to die issues). Material on the privacy, intellectual property, and free expression issues raised by the Internet has also been added to the chapter.

The text of the chapter has been expanded to include equal-rights issues as they relate to the disadvantaged and gay communities. The discussion of affirmative action has been expanded to include the most recent developments, including those in California and Texas. The racial-redistricting controversy gets increased attention. The sections on Hispanic Americans and Native Americans have also been expanded.

The section on agents of socialization has been expanded to include "churches," a category suggested by Professor Henry Pratt and his students at Wayne State University.

The impact of the Internet on political participation is now included and a more detailed discussion of the decline of confidence in government and its implications for participation is provided.

"Lessons learned" from the 1996 elections and recent opinion polls are applied to the discussion of realignment and dealignment.

This chapter has been substantially revised to capture more fully the shift to candidate-centered campaigns. The material on party organizations has been abridged. A long section on candidate-centered campaigns has been added: it includes sections on the "money chase" (including the prominence of soft money in today’s campaigns); professional consultants; strategy, targeting, and positioning as applied by political consultants; and televised advertising as the principal medium of the modern campaign.

Chapter 10. Interest Groups

The sections on types of interest groups have been expanded to include specific examples of groups at work, notably business, environmental, labor, and religious groups. The Internet as a tool of interest-group mobilization has also been added to the chapter.

This chapter has been expanded to include the Internet and "soft news" programs and how they have affected the definition of news and the gatekeeping role of the traditional media. Another new subject is the importance of scandal (e.g., the Monica Lewinsky case) as a "story" and as a political and commercial instrument of journalists and others.

Expanded coverage of congressional campaign funding, including the obstacles to reform. The impact of the congressional reforms initiated by the Republicans when they took control in 1995 is assessed.

This chapter has a new section (a hypothetical situation in which a body of 535 students has been chosen to revamp a university’s core course requirements) that is designed to clarify why Congress’s size and fragmentation are a limit on its policymaking role and to illustrate why congressional action is normally slow and rooted in compromise. The congressional hearings on campaign finance abuses in the 1996 election are introduced as a case study of oversight and its limitations.

This chapter has been augmented with new material on presidential campaign finance and White House communications (as the new political "center" in the organization of the presidency).

The main change in this chapter is a section on how communication and position taking are used to pressure Congress, a strategy pursed by Reagan and Bush and perfected by Clinton. The revised chapter also has material on the use of scandal as a strategy of those who oppose a seated president.

This chapter is augmented by the latest efforts to increase bureaucratic efficiency and an assessment of the impact of recent efficiency policies.

The major change in this chapter (reflected in a change in the chapter’s title—the old title was "Economic Policy") is a section on environmental policy, a subject that is also addressed in other sections of the chapter (for example, the use of market mechanisms—pollution credits—as an efficiency tool). The revised chapter also places greater emphasis on globalization of the economy and the policy and political implications of this trend. The relationship between monetary policy and the equities markets is another new topic.

Chapter 19. Social Welfare and Education Policy

The chapter’s title has been changed (previously, "Social Welfare Policy") to reflect the substantially expanded treatment of the federal government’s role in education policy. The chapter also provides a "mid-term" assessment of the new welfare policy and includes a discussion of the pending reform of the social security system (for example, the issue of whether a portion of the system should be "privatized.")

The historical treatment of foreign policy has been trimmed in the new edition to make room for new and augmented subjects including: the effect of transnational actors (e.g., World Wildlife Fund, Amnesty International) on the environmental and human rights policies of sovereign governments, including the United States; the impact of economic globalization on foreign and defense policy; the impact of new communication technology on foreign and defense policy (for example, on "information warfare" and the "CNN-effect"); and how technology and a changing world are impacting on the shape and use of military power.

This appendix has been substantially overhauled. Its format is now the same as the regular chapters, and it provides what is customarily found in a state and local government chapter within an American national government text. The change is designed to accommodate those instructors who prefer to include a state and local chapter in their national government course. It has been written in a way that allows its placement in several different chapter sequences, e.g., after the federalism chapter or after the chapters on national governmental institutions or after the policy chapters.

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