: Respect and Loathing in American Democracy: Polarization, Moralization, and the Undermining of Equality

GBS_insertPreviewButtonPopup('ISBN:9780748638802); The US political system is designed to ensure that freedom and opportunity will always be protected, by making it almost impossible for power to become concentrated in the hands of a few people seeking to run society for their own benefit. Have these aims been achieved? The answer is that Americans have sharply contrasting views on how well their political system works. They disagreed with each other when they established the system at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and have continued to disagree ever since. This book covers the key issues, political systems and governing institutions at the heart of these disagreements, outlining the thinking behind the main points of view, to help its readers decide for themselves which viewpoint they find most persuasive. This new edition of the best-selling introduction to US Government and Politics has been completely revised and updated to reflect the changes in the area since the election of the new President. Key Features Presents a readable, accessible but academically stimulating introduction to the government and politics of the USA Evaluates the US political system through the topics of: the Constitution; Race; the Supreme Court; Federalism; Elections; Political Parties; Pressure Groups; Congress; The Presidency "

"Smith, Prof. Adam Inness Paul, (born 1973), Edward Osborn Professor of US Politics and Political History, and Director, Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford, since 2019; Fellow, University College, Oxford" published on by Oxford University Press.

Exploring the history of US politics from the first European contact with the ‘New World’ in 1492, up to the 2024 presidential elections, this book is an engaging account of America’s development from colony to world superpower. Using religion as a central theme to navigate through this vast topic, it moves beyond the realm of political parties, leaders and ideologies to understand how politics has intersected with the individual and societal hopes, fears and values which have underpinned US political culture and theology. Taking the reader from colonial times and the constitution through the civil war, the New Deal, the Cold War and into contemporary America, A Political History of the USA offers a compelling yet balanced account of US political, cultural and religious history, ideal for undergraduate students of US history and politics. New for this edition: - Updated discussion on the constitution to understand recent events such as the overturning of Roe v Wade - Three new chapters on 1972 to the 2024 election covering topics such as the COVID pandemic, the rise of China and the Ukraine War - Additional material on race and gender, through the eyes of African Americans and women - Expanded discussion on the rise of social media and politization of cable news - New timeline of major events

The recent decline of American exceptionalism has coincided with a critical reassessment of the fundamental ideas and forces that shaped the culture and politics of the US in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Whereas the idea of the nation, with its investment in the creation of a distinctly American identity and culture, organized the exceptionalist project, the role of empire, particularly in the guise of colonialism, has become the new focal point of a postor even anti-exceptionalist reinterpretation of the history and culture of the early US. In the case of scholarship grounded in the eighteenth century, the old story of a gradual but inexorable movement of the colonies away from Great Britain that culminates in the Revolution has been replaced with a narrative of Anglicization that essentially inverts the exceptionalist story. According to the Anglicization thesis, as the colonies developed economically and culturally over the course of the eighteenth century and became more entangled in Britain’s commercial empire, they also grew increasingly similar to the imperial metropolis. In the nineteenth century, on the other hand, the exceptionalist insistence that the US was fundamentally anti-imperial has given way to a new “postnationalist” understanding of the racial politics and territorial goals of the US that situates its imperial ambitions at the center of the story. It would seem logical therefore that we ought to be able to construct a longer term narrative that flows smoothly from the Anglicization thesis’s account of the colonies’ relationship to the British Empire in the eighteenth century to the postnationalist American studies’ vision of the US as an incipient imperial power in the nineteenth century. Yet we cannot, because both Anglicization and postnationalist American studies cast the Revolution as a national moment. In essence, then, Anglicization describes a movement from empire to nation that mirrors the

Teaching Political Inequality Through Political Campaign Content Analysis

The American democracy is experiencing strain from the erosion of democratic norms and its political, judicial, social, and economic institutions. In short, the American democracy shows signs of democratic deconsolidation. Community colleges are higher education institutions that help consolidate the U.S. democracy by representing democratic values such as equality and opportunity. The purpose of my study was to explore how selected community college presidents understand and articulate the responsibility of their institutions to prepare students for a meaningful role in the American democracy. Qualitative narrative inquiry methods, including in-depth semistructured interviews and document analysis, were used to collect data for the study. Three primary themes emerged from the data that addressed the purpose of this study: 1) community college philosophy: blueprint for a vision, 2) consolidating local democracies, and 3) citizens as students, students as citizens. These three themes supported further interpretation of the data that was organized under these headings, 1) the community college democratic mission, 2) community colleges help deepen democracy, and 3) the role of community colleges in the American democracy: public goods, private goods. In summary, my research found that first, my participants believed that community colleges have a responsibility to the American democracy and this responsibility is reflected in their community college mission. Second, my participants framed the American democracy as a continual work in progress and that community colleges help deepen democracy. Third, for my participants, community colleges are not merely distinct in their institutional mission and philosophy, but in their role in supporting the American democracy.

The study of US politics in Europe has always been small-scale. In the UK, it is often tied to contemporary history. In much of continental Europe, it is distanced from political science (which largely eschews area studies) and is instead, intellectually and institutionally, an adjunct to American studies. Whereas many other fields within political science have been compelled to consider the methodological underpinnings of their work, US politics has yet to do this. In contrast, within the US, political science has, since the behaviouralist revolution, been largely structured around quantitative forms of analysis. There is therefore a significant gulf between the study of US politics in Europe and political science in both Europe and the US. Furthermore, American studies is itself under long-term threat in some European countries because, forecasters suggest, the demand for English-language teaching (to which American studies is generally tied) will decline in the long term. As a consequence of these developments, those who study US politics at university level are not being replaced as they retire and there are few new entrants into the profession. The article suggests that US politics should, as a subdiscipline, seek out openings that might bring the subject back towards political science. In particular, it argues that US politics researchers in Europe should look more closely at developments within historical institutionalism, American political development (APD) and comparative politics.

US politics is living a tense period of transformation. Approaching the presidential elections of 2024, many commentators question the fate of the US representative democracy and its political system. Political scientists have largely contributed to the critical analysis of the US case. A special mention goes to Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson. The two scholars have marked the last two decades of US political science with a brilliant reconstruction of the American crisis and some of its key trends: the progressive increase of inequality; the mounting role of business lobbies; the decline of the US political economy and the erosion of the federal institutions. The present research note reviews three key books that shed light on contemporary US political economy through a typical political science approach. The value of these books goes well beyond the originality of the analysis of US politics. The books remind us the importance of three theoretical domains that marked political science and that merit to be further developed: interest group theory, neo-institutionalism and historical theories of democratization. Then, they shed light on the current dramatic tensions over representative democracies, well beyond the US exceptionalism. Hacker and Pierson provide an illuminating analysis of democratic tensions and give insights for the future research agenda of scholars of western political economies (including Italy and Europe). The books eventually outline some interesting methodological lines of future research.

“Strange Bedfellows” examines how the political economy of Medicaid and hospital provision shaped the social, political, and thus material response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. By doing so, this study explores the consequences of a decade-plus shift that began in the late 1960s, wherein federal, state, and local policymakers deemphasized epidemic preparedness and acute care in favor of downsized hospitals, increased outpatient services, and more “personal responsibility.” Over the course of seven chapters, the study links the transformation of Medicaid into a welfare medicine program; federal health planning’s shift from the pursuit of equality to cost-cutting; the role that anti-inflation policy played in curtailing subsidies for hospitals and clinics, which reduced access to acute care; the diminution of civil rights protections for quality healthcare; and the effects these developments had on the response to HIV/AIDS. Challenging the notion that the HIV/AIDS epidemic was unforeseen and, thus, impossible to plan for, the study demonstrates how a series of purposeful decisions by presidential administrations, Congress, state legislatures, and city officials led to chronic underinvestment in public and voluntary hospitals that served poor people and people of color. A story of the neoliberal transformation of the Medicaid program and public and voluntary safety net hospitals, this dissertation illustrates how healthcare and welfare politics intertwined from the mid-1960s to the new millennium in ways that confounded the United States’ epidemic preparedness. A healthcare system focused on chronic disease by the 1960s and cost cutting in the 1970s could not cope with an emergent infectious disease like HIV/AIDS.

There has long been an animated discussion about the overall economic impact of immigration. More recently, an associated yet distinct argument has developed about the use of government benefits and services by the immigrant population. This issue, that had already sparked vociferous debate in various state capitals, rose to the fore of national politics in 2006 as the possible budgetary impact of different immigration reform proposals being considered by Congress became evident. This issue was disputed by pro- and anti-immigrants’ rights campaigners. The focus of this chapter is to examine the policy and the ongoing politics underlying the debate about the relationship of immigrants, both legal and illegal, with the American welfare state.

Youth Policy and Politics in the United States: Toward an Increased Focus on Prevention

With the election (or should we say judicial selection?) of a new president in the United States (US) out of the way, it is an opportune moment to consider how US policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) might change in the next few years. George W. Bush, the president-elect, is no stranger to Latino politics in the United States. A (modest) Spanish-speaker himself, with a Mexican sister-in-law and a brother who governs Florida with its diverse range of immigrants from LAC countries, George W. Bush has learnt from the voters in Texas about the main issues of interest to Latin America and has already made it clear that bringing the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) to a successful conclusion will be one of his

From Barton to Rove: Advertising and Politics in the United States during the "American Century"

Many people believe that democracy is something that can lead everyone toward a better nation and a free and fair society. In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education fundamentally changed the education system in the United States and was a turning point in the evolution of U.S. democracy that made the beautiful American dream available for each individual. However, six decades later, the debate over educational inequality continues. People are still fighting for their equality and well‐being. Along with dramatically influential political, economic, and social factors in the United States, educational inequality destroys the commitment of this democratic nation to offer equal opportunity, care, and social justice to younger members of the community. This paper discusses the current problem of educational inequality as it relates to racial and socioeconomic discrimination in urban schools. The aim of this study is to explore knowledge of inequality in the U.S. school system and to raise social and educational awareness to help American children to have equal chances in education and to achieve future success.

Introduction Part I General: The United States army and the institution of slavery in Louisiana, 1803 - 35, Tommy R. Young II Part II 1784 - 1815: The role of the army in western settlement: Josiah Harmar's command, 1785 - 90, Alan S. Brown General Charles Scott, the Kentucky Mounted Volunteers, and the Northwest Indian Wars, 1784 - 94, Paul David Nelson General Josiah Harmar's campaign reconsidered: how the Americans lost the Battle of Kekionga, Michael S. Warner General Wilkinson's vendetta with General Wayne: politics and command in the American Army, 1791 - 96, Richard H. Kohn Jefferson, Meriweather Lewis, and the reduction of the United States Army, Donald D. Jackson The antinavalists: the opponents of naval expansion in the early national period, Craig L. Symonds James Madison and the coercion of Great Britain, Canada, the West Indies, and the War of 1812, J.C.A. Stagg The fog and friction of Frontier War: the role of logistics in American offensive failure during the War of 1812, Jeffrey Kimball High army leadership in the era of the War of 1812: the making and remaking of the Officer Corps, William B. Skelton Part III 1815 - 1846: 'Nature unsubdued': diplomacy, expansion and the American military buildup of 1815 - 16, Michael S. Fitzgerald Calhoun's expansible army: the history of a military idea, Roger J. Spiller The army and the Indians, 1800 - 30 - a reappraisal: the Missouri Valley example, Roger L. Nichols The 'Foxardo affair' revisited: porter, pirates and the problem of civilian authority in the Early Republic, Michael Birkner Negroes and the second Seminole War, 1835 - 42, Kenneth Wiggens Porter 'Some prefer the Seminoles': violence and disorder among soldiers and settlers in the second Seminole War, 1835 - 42, James M. Denham General John E. Wool in Cherokee Country, 1836 - 37: a reinterpretation, Lawrence M. Hauptman The origins of the Fremont expeditions: John J. Abert and the scientific exploration of the Trans-Mississippi West, Vernon L. Volpe Army officers' attitudes towards Indians, 1830 - 60, William B. Skelton Officers and politicians: the origins of army politics in the United States before the Civil War, William B. Skelton Professionalization in the US Army Officer Corps during the age of Jackson, William B. Skelton Knowledge, interest, and the limits of military professionalism: the discourse on American coastal defense, 1815 - 60, Samuel J. Watson Manifest destiny and military professionalism: junior United States Army officers' attitudes toward war with Mexico, 1844 - 46, Samuel J. Watson US Army officers fight the 'Patriot War': responses to filibustering on the Canadian border, 1837 - 39, Samuel J. Watson Part IV 1846 - 1861: Young American males and filibustering in the age of manifest destiny: the United States Army as a cultural mirror, Robert E. May Filibusters and regular troops in San Francisco, 1851 - 55, Durwood Ball The struggle between sectionalism and nationalism at ante-bellum West Point 1830-1861, James L. Morrison Jr. 'The velvet glove': the army during the Secession crisis in California, 1860 - 61, Robert J. Chandler Former Whigs in conflict: Winfield Scott, Abraham Lincoln, and the Secession crisis revisited, Ethan S. Rafuse Name Index.