united states government: our democracy textbook pdf united states government: our democracy textbook pdf

The framework/layout of each chapter is consistent which is an aid to both the instructor and the reader. The details and interpretations of major issues provided by the text are accurate and helpful. US Government Textbook . This text, American Government 2e by Krutz and Waskiewicz, covers all areas and ideas of the subject appropriately beginning with the origins of each political construct, through its evolution in America, and trends into the future. The text uses the 2016 election, in particular, to help the reader better understand the varying voting methods within the Electoral College by stating: "In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won one congressional district in Maine, even though Hillary Clinton won the state overall. The judiciary doesn't change that often and it rarely affects more than two members at a time. Please read our Terms of Use and Privacy Notice before you explore our Web site. Display features are intuitive and not confusing to the reader. Reviewed by Rod Hanson, Political Science Instructor, Central Oregon Community College on 5/26/19, Krutz textbook is set up exactly the same as the three different United States Government textbooks I have used in nine years of teaching at the community college level. The chapters contain accurate information. At the same time, I should point out that, at least in my view, the book is organized in an unconventional way. Further, each section within the chapters does contain a glossary of bolded terms. There are chapters on media literacy, public opinion and polls, civic engagement, that might be taken separately from the actual discussion of government structure. This book is very comprehensive. Words seem arbitrarily capitalized (why capitalize Scalia and McConnell)? The text provides an accurate, informative, cost-effective option for college students. There are a couple other places in the text where this is noticeable. The book is comprehensive, covering the major topics one would expect to find in a U.S. government textbook. I believe that modularity is one of the strengths of this text. The authors and reviewers sought to strike a balance between confronting the negative and harmful elements of American government, history, and current events, while demonstrating progress in overcoming them. If anything, the text may be a bit on the long side. The book is actually slightly longer and denser than other texts I have assigned for an introductory course in American Overall, the content is relevant and won't quickly become obsolete. Cumulative Hands-On Chapter Projects and additional Technology Extension activity provide authentic performance assessment. . font-weight: 400; : My goal in writing this book is to help you develop the knowledge, skills, and ideals you need to protect your own freedom; to keep democracy alive in the United States. - Good supplementary framing around the founding documents and federalism Bill of Rights Poster: File Size: 199 kb: File Type: pdf: . } For example, in talking about Courts, jumping from the concept of jurisdiction (complex) to Hamilton and the Federalist, and then to the historical evolution of the Court is a bit jarring. The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework. The fact that it is free is even more impressive. I am using this text in lieu of my regular purchased text for my intro class and I am excited for the possibilities available given the interesting and useful ways the authors have organized the material in the book - while ensuring all the bread & butter chapters for an intro American Gov text are here. So things will change and go out-of-date. I like the fact that the authors attempt to present both sides in discussing problems and issues which contributes to an unbias pr Table 17.1 on page 643 is useless. Feb. 23, 2017. Offers many examples and insights to a wide variety of political views and cultures. The textbook is written well. The pure number of citations is impressive, however they are shown to the reader throughout a chapter in a separated gray box. The first unit of the text ('Students and the System') outlines the necessary historical context without getting too bogged down in general introduction. The text does not run the risk of becoming obsolete in a short period of time; however, many of the examples are quite common to other introductory American Government texts. The authors certainly did not skimp on providing information nor did they fail to provide source material in most instances. The pros and cons of government regulation of group activity (spending) are both presented accurately, and the student is asked to make their own determination. I will likely use this book to replace and supplement my graduate level course materials. It is only mentioned in the chapter on civil rights. Might be using this text in the spring of 2020, Reviewed by Amedee George, Professor, SUNO on 4/23/19, The chapters in the Kurtz et al e-book covers all relevant chapters of American Government and even offers chapters on Foreign policy, Domestic policy and State and Local government. An easy example is seen in not grouping the federal bureaucracy in part 4 with the other institutions, instead placing it in section 5, the outputs of government. I can definitely see the advantage of having them all in one place. One issue that does not receive a lot of direct attention is American political culture, including the values that underlie our Established in the introduction are the necessity and rationale for student interest and participation in their government. I didnt notice obvious grammatical errors in this textbook. The text is free from interface issues as it was easy to read and navigate, and the graphics displayed properly. Particularly well written is the "Approach to Foreign Policy, p. 650, especially, the "Classic Approach" and the more recent history of U.S. foreign policy. There were no issues with this at all. Our School" Reopening Plan; Daily Bulletin; S3 Grant; Principal's Message; Mission & Vision Statement; Bell Schedule; Contact Us; Policies & Procedures; . The text is fairly clear but lacks some of the professional editing that I frequently see in pay-to-play textbooks. Reviewed by Charles Young, Associate Professor, Umpqua Community College on 1/3/20, The text covers exactly what an introduction to political science/government textbook should cover. I will admit, however, I could not get the hyperlinks to work. Excellent charts and interactive materiel. SKU: b117200 . I didnt find any interface issues in this textbook. This means that pretty much every major topic you could want is in this book and all you have to do is choose which chapters you want to cover. The use of the Electoral College and same-sex marriage across chapters are examples that I found useful in this regard. The book looks very good, is easily navigable, and has a pleasing visual style (viz. The text of each chapter does form a consistency. of the topic in a clear, straightforward way. United States Government Democracy in Action Student. The textbook follows the usual model of an American Government textbook. Well, longevity is a tough matter for this kind of text. } By the standards of Introduction to American Politics textbooks, this is a comprehensive offering. The comprehensiveness of Krutz's American Government text is such that it more than adequately addresses the curricular requirements of the American government and politics courses offered by the Virginia Community College System. The importance of this issue reflects so much for students about the goals of those at the convention and the individuals who ratified the document, coupled with the impact this very high hurdle for change has had on governing in America, leads me to believe that students need more time with this material and a further discussion of the impact that Article V has had. United States Government: Our Democracy, Student Learning Center Online interactive website, accessible with login and password. The historical approaches 33. Democratic backsliding in the United States is no longer a matter of speculative concern. The next time I teach American politics, I will definitely use this text. Content is very much up to date. The textbook is relevant and up to date, relative to the time it was published. Examples used are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and gender. The textbook is very comprehensive with more than 650 pages of content plus appendices with relevant documents. Its designed with the C3 Framework for social studies in mind. Sections open with learning objectives that tell students the 2-5 most important things to take away from that reading, and quiz questions populate the text at the end of sections to help students self assess their understanding of the reading. Because of the breakdown by the author, students can tackle smaller blocks of material easily and I believe that this will help with comprehension of the material. I certainly will moving forward. I found this textbook to have excellent coverage and scope. The authors for this book have used a standard structure that will stay relevant as long as any other. The consistency and cohesion of the organization of the textbook is on par with all the other material on the market. However, it would be helpful if there were a way to transition back to the main body of the text from the note in question. But fundamentally, I often found myself searching for particular lessons, only to find the introduction to those lessons a bit dry or even meandering. Question #55 61. For example, p. 44. and in most of the chapters. Grammar and sentence structure are appropriate for the reading comprehension level expected in an introductory level course. Overall, this is a solid choice in terms of comprehensiveness. 11.1 seems to overstate the present state of equality in Congressional elections, especially given voter suppression. Students can read individual sections or chapters online (in a way vaguely reminiscent of Wikipedia), they can download a free PDF of the entire book, or more traditional students can order a hard copy of the book from Amazon (at a price that's still less than half of what students might pay for a book from a commercial press). In fact, Kurtz et al. Information is presented in a logical order. Washington set precedents. Concept 1: Foundations of Government . The textbook does not include much material on current elections, but an instructor can easily add his or her own supplemental materials. Sixth, from pp. The book uses a standard framework/structure, and so there is no problem with consistency. In his haste to laud American democracy as a good, if evolving, system, the author sometimes fails to recognize critical perspectives, or interpret them as straw-men. I see no reason why that would be different with this text. Also, I was disappointed that I requested access to the instructor resources a few weeks ago, but as of the start of the semester I have still not received access. 11th Amendment: Grants states immunity from outside lawsuits, 1795. . Chapter 5 . The book addresses difficult issues in an appropriate way. Madison and Hamilton cite him in the Federalist Papers. One note of concern is that the captions thereon in many instances are not fully compatible for a text reader. My kudos to the author. I found no appreciable errors in the textbook. I would teach the course with Part 1 first, the Part 4 and Chapter 15, then Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. For example, the civil rights chapter is organized into five components, including: 1) what are civil rights, 2) African-American civil rights, 3) women's civil rights, 4) civil rights for indigenous groups, and 5) equal protection for other groups. The book is very up to date for early 2017, including data from the 2016 campaign and elections, as well as very contemporary policy debates and legal issues. And the book is missing some introductory material on theory of collective action/game theory that I is included in other texts that I like to teach in my course. I particularly liked the "Get Connected," "Links to Learning," and "Insider Perspectives." The overall textbook is structured clearly with important areas (1. This means that our government is elected by citizens. Those that do work, can take the reader away from the book and you can not hit the go back button. Overall, the text is free of interface issues and navigation problems; the main drawback is the sheer volume of links - can get a bit cumbersome. Given by award-winning professors and experts in their field, these recorded lectures dive deep into the worlds of religion, government, literature, and social justice.