Includes bibliographical references and index.

The intellectual and ideological context of American government: American political culture and ideology -- The constitutional framework and the federalist system: The constitutional foundation of American government. The evolution of American federalism -- Civil liberties and civil rights: Civil liberties. Civil rights -- Democratic participatory organizations: Interest groups. Political parties -- Democratic participatory processes: Electoral politics. The media and public opinion -- Institutions of national government: Congress. The presidency. The bureaucracy. The judiciary -- Dimensions of public policy: Domestic public policy making. American foreign policy.

"[This book] brings together over 40 selections of enduring intellectual value--classic articles, book excerpts, and U.S. Supreme Court decisions--that have shaped the study of American government and our contemporary understanding of it. [This book] provides the opportunity for readers to encounter many of the greatest thinkers in American government at first hand. The book includes carefully edited selections from the works of the most distinguished observers of American government, past and present, from James Madison and Richard F. Fenno, Jr., to Laurence H. Tribe, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Jane J. Mansbridge, and Aaron Wildavsky"--Back cover.