Cengage Advantage Books: American Government and Politics Today, Brief Edition, 2014-2015 (with CourseMate Printed Access Card)

Steffen W. Schmidt is the Lucken Professor Emeritus of political science at Iowa State University. He has published 14 books and over 130 articles in scholarly journals and major newspapers. His numerous teaching honors include the Amoco Award for Lifetime Career Achievement in Teaching and Teacher of the Year. He is a pioneer in the use of web-based and real-time video courses, a founding member of the American Political Science Association's section on Computers and Multimedia, and a founding member of the USSTRATCOM academic alliance. Known as Dr. Politics" for his extensive commentary on U.S. politics in both U.S. and international media, he comments on CNN en Español and Univision as well as CTV Canada Cable TV. Dr. Schmidt grew up in Colombia, South America, and studied in Colombia, Switzerland, the United States and France. He received a B.A. from Rollins College and a Ph.D. in public law and government from Columbia University, New York. Dr. Schmidt is on Facebook (SteffenWSchmidt) and Twitter (DrPolitics)." Mack C. Shelley, II is a professor of political science and statistics at Iowa State University. After receiving his bachelor's degree from American University in Washington, DC, he went on to graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a master's degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Political Science. He arrived at Iowa State in 1979. From 1993 to 2002 he served as elected co-editor of the POLICY STUDIES JOURNAL. Shelley has also published numerous articles, books, and monographs on public policy, including THE PERMANENT MAJORITY: THE CONSERVATIVE COALITION IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS; BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE: A GUIDE TO THE LITERATURE (with William F. Woodman and Brian J. Reichel); AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY: THE CONTEMPORARY AGENDA (with Steven G. Koven and Bert E. Swanson); and QUALITY RESEARCH IN LITERACY AND SCIENCE EDUCATION: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES AND GOLD STANDARDS (with Larry Yore and Brian Hand). Barbara A. Bardes is professor emerita of political science at the University of Cincinnati. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Kent State University and her Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. She served as a faculty member in political science and dean of Mundelein College at Loyola University of Chicago. In 1993, she was appointed dean of Raymond Walters College of the University of Cincinnati, where she served until 2003. She returned to the political science department, where she held the position of graduate director before retiring. Bardes has written articles on public and foreign policy, and women and politics. She also has co-authored Declarations of Independence: Women and Political Power In 19th Century American Novels; Thinking About Public Policy; Public Opinion: Measuring The American Mind; and American Government And Politics Today.

1. The Democratic Republic.
2. Forging a New Government: The Constitution.
3. Federalism.
4. Civil Liberties.
5. Civil Rights.
6. Public Opinion, Political Socialization, and the Media.
7. Interest Groups and Political Parties.
8. Campaigns and Elections.
9. The Congress.
10. The Presidency.
11. The Bureaucracy.
12. The Judiciary.
13. Domestic and Economic Policy.
14. Foreign Policy.
Appendix A: The Declaration of Independence.
Appendix B: The Constitution of the United States.
Appendix C: Federalist Papers No. 10 and No. 51.