AmGov
Long Story Short

Second Edition

Christine Barbour - Indiana University, USA

Other Titles in:
American Government and Politics

December 2020 | 392 pages | CQ Press

All the fundamentals. No fluff. Learn more with less!

AmGov: Long Story Short helps students learn the nuts and bolts of American Government. Unlike competitors, this bestseller responds to the need for quick studying and skimming by design—the succinct ten chapters are separated by tabs that make it easy to flip, revisit, reorient, and return to content quickly. Reading aids like bullets, annotations, and arrows walk students through important facts and break up the material in short, engaging bites of information. Though brief, the Second Edition of this core book is still robust and current enough to provide everything that students need to be successful in their American Government course. Whether for the on-the-go student who doesn’t have time to read and digest a lengthy chapter, or for the instructor who wants a book that will stay out of their way and leave room for plenty of supplementary reading and activities, AmGov provides a perfectly simplified foundation for a successful American Government course.

This title is accompanied by a complete teaching and learning package. Contact your SAGE representative to request a demo.

Digital Option / Courseware
SAGE Vantage is an intuitive digital platform that delivers this text’s content and course materials in a learning experience that offers auto-graded assignments and interactive multimedia tools, all carefully designed to ignite student engagement and drive critical thinking. Built with you and your students in mind, it offers simple course set-up and enables students to better prepare for class.
- Assignable Video with Assessment
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

READ THIS FIRST (OR NOTHING ELSE WILL MAKE SENSE)

CHAPTER 1: Politics and Citizenship

Introduction to Politics

1.1. Coming to Terms: Politics, Government, and Economics

1.2. Political-Economic Systems

1.3. American Political Culture

1.4. American Political Ideologies

1.5. Political Narratives and the Media

1.6. Mediated Citizenship

Big Think

Key Terms

CHAPTER 2: The United States’ Founding

Introduction to the Founding

2.1. The Social Contract and the Declaration of Independence

2.2. The Articles of Confederation

2.3. The Constitutional Convention

2.4. Ratification

2.5. Translating Basic Constitutional Principles Into a New Government

2.6. Federalism

2.7. The Evolution of Federalism

Big Think

Key Terms

CHAPTER 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Introduction to Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

3.1. The Bill of Rights

3.2. Civil Liberties—Understanding the First Amendment

3.3. Civil Liberties—Understanding Due Process Rights

3.4. Civil Liberties—Understanding the Right to Privacy

3.5. Civil Rights—Battling Political Inequality

3.6. Civil Rights—The Case of Race

3.7. Civil Rights—The Case of Gender

3.8. The Persistence of Inequality in America

Big Think

Key Terms

CHAPTER 4: The Legislative Branch

Introduction to the Legislative Branch

4.1. How the Constitution Structures Congress

4.2. How Congress Organizes Itself

4.3. The Congressional Role in Checks and Balances

4.4. Doing the Hard Work of Making Laws

4.5. Tensions That Challenge Congress’s Ability to Do Its Job

4.6. Congressional Elections

4.7. Who Runs and Who Wins?

4.8. The 117th Congress

Big Think

Key Terms

CHAPTER 5: The Executive Branch

Introduction to the Executive Branch

5.1. The Job of the American President

5.2. The Evolution of the American Presidency

5.3. Presidents, Popularity, and Congress

5.4. What Is Bureaucracy, and Why Do We Need It?

5.5. The Purpose and Organization of the White House Bureaucracy.

5.6. The Purpose and Organization of the Federal Bureaucracy: The Rest of the Executive Branch

5.7. Power Plays in the Bureaucracy

Big Think

Key Terms

CHAPTER 6: The Judicial Branch

Introduction to the Judiciary

6.1. Kinds of Laws

6.2. The American Legal System

6.3. Who’s Who and What’s What in a Court of Law?

6.4. Equality and the Criminal Justice System

6.5. The Constitution, Congress, and the Dual Court System

6.6. The Supreme Court

Big Think

Key Terms

CHAPTER 7: Parties and Interest Groups

Introduction to Parties and Interest Groups

7.1. Parties and Interest Groups Defined

7.2. The Role of Parties in a Democracy

7.3. Party Organization and Decision Making

7.4. The Parties Today

7.5. Interest Group Basics

7.6. Interest Group Politics

7.7. Was Madison Right to Worry?

Big Think

Key Terms

CHAPTER 8: Public Opinion, Campaigns, and Elections

Introduction to Public Opinion, Campaigns, and Elections

8.1. The Quality of Public Opinion

8.2. How Do We Know What Americans Think

8.3. How Do We Form Our Opinions?

8.4. The Ultimate Poll—Voting in U.S. Elections

8.5. Presidential Elections

8.6. The General Election and the Electoral College

Big Think

Key Terms

CHAPTER 9: Media and Political Communication

Introduction to Media and Political Communication

9.1. Where We Get Our Information

9.2. Media Ownership and Government Regulation

9.3. What Do Journalists Do?

9.4. How Those in the Media Can Shape Political Narratives

9.5. The Stakeholders Strike Back

9.6. Imagine: How Citizens Can Reclaim the Narrative

Big Think

Key Terms

CHAPTER 10: Domestic and Foreign Policy

Introduction to Policy

10.1. Making Public Policy

10.2. Social Policy

10.3. Policy Making for Health Care

10.4. Economic Policy

10.5. Foreign Policy

Big Think

Key Terms

GLOSSARY

INDEX

AFTERWORD

Supplements

Student Resource Site
edge.sagepub.com/amgov2e

The open-access Student Study Site makes it easy for students to maximize their study time, anywhere, anytime. It offers flashcards that strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts, as well as learning objectives that reinforce the most important material.

Instructor Resource Site

edge.sagepub.com/amgov2e

For additional information, custom options, or to request a personalized walkthrough of these resources, please contact your sales representative.

LMS cartridge included with this title for use in Blackboard, Canvas, Brightspace by Desire2Learn (D2L), and Moodle

The LMS cartridge makes it easy to import this title’s instructor resources into your learning management system (LMS). These resources include:

Test banks
Editable chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides
Sample course syllabi
Lecture notes
All tables and figures from the textbook

Don’t use an LMS platform?

You can still access all of the same online resources for this title via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site.

The open-access Student Study Site makes it easy for students to maximize their study time, anywhere, anytime. It offers flashcards that strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts, as well as learning objectives that reinforce the most important material.

Used prior edition; like updates!

Kevin Lorentz

Political Science, Saginaw Valley State Univ

May 11, 2021

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I like the simplistic style that is easy for students to read in chunks. It feels more like a resource than a textbook, which makes it seem more accessible.

Professor Renee Prunty

Academic Affairs, Methodist College

August 18, 2022

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Being used for an on-line course. Contains good discussion points for students to share thoughts through discussion forums. Presented in a straightforward manner which should encourage students to explore American Government.

Dr Dennis Lambries

Social Science, Newberry College

February 21, 2022

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