American Government Reader

This text offers solid and succinct overviews of key topics plus timely and timeless readings that bring classic ideas to bear on current issues. This reader is designed to introduce students to classic texts and current debates in American politics. It brings together key primary documents with enduring scholarly studies of the ideas, institutions and individuals that make up the American political system. It also highlights significant questions that Americans face in the 21st century, from civic participation to homeland security to affirmative action. The readings will help students grapple with the dilemmas about liberty, equality and power that the framers faced at the nation's founding and that continue to underlie policy making today.