Combining timeless readings with cutting-edge, current selections, Kernell and Smith bring judicious editing and important context for students learning the ropes of American government. This collection effectively examines the strategic behavior of key players in American politics, showing that political actors, though motivated by their own interests, are governed by the Constitution, the law, and institutional rules, as well as influenced by the strategies of others.

Package Principles and Practice of American Politics with The Logic of American Politics and save your students money! Use ISBN 978-1-60426-620-7.

1. DESIGNING INSTITUTIONS

1.1. from The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups
Mancur Olson Jr.
1.2. The Tragedy of the Commons
Garrett Hardin
1.3. The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life
Robert D. Putnam

2. THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

2.1. The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action
John P. Roche
2.2. New! Anti-Federalist, No. 3
Brutus
2.3. Federalist, No. 10
James Madison
2.4. Federalist, No. 51
James Madison

3. FEDERALISM

3.1. Federalism as an Ideal Political Order and an Objective for Constitutional Reform
James M. Buchanan
3.2. Updated! Federalism: Battles on the Front Lines of Public Policy
Donald F. Kettl
3.3. New! A Separate Peace
Jonathan Rauch

4. CIVIL RIGHTS

4.1. Immigration and the Future of Identity Politics in the United States
Taeku Lee 
4.2. American Diversity and the 2000 Census
Nathan Glazer

5. CIVIL LIBERTIES

5.1. New! from Republic 2.0
Cass Sunstein
5.2.Miranda v. Arizona
5.3. Roe v. Wade
5.4. The Real World of Constitutional Rights: The Supreme Court and the Implementation of the Abortion Decisions
Gerald N. Rosenberg
5.5. New! The Puzzling Case of the Abortion Attitudes of the Millennial Generation
Clyde Wilcox and Patrick Carr

6. CONGRESS

6.1. New! Congress, The Troubled Institution
Steven S. Smith
6.2. New! The Transition to Democratic Leadership in a Polarized House
Kathryn Pearson and Eric Schickler
6.3. New! Congressional Committees in a Continuing Partisan Era
John H. Aldrich and David W. Rohde

7. THE PRESIDENCY

7.1. from Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan
Richard E. Neustadt
7.2. New! The Gatekeeper: Rahm Emanuel on the Job
Ryan Lizza
7.3. New! from Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership
Samuel Kernell
7.4. How Cable Ended the Golden Age of Presidential Television
Matthew Baum and Samuel Kernell

8. THE BUREAUCRACY

8.1. The Politics of Bureaucratic Structure
Terry M. Moe
8.2 New! Bush and the Bureaucracy: A Crusade for Control
Paul Singer
8.3. New! from The Politics of Presidential Appointments: Political Control and Bureaucratic Performance
David E. Lewis

9. THE JUDICIARY

9.1. from A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law
Antonin Scalia
9.2. from Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution
Stephen Breyer
9.3. Federalist, No. 78
Alexander Hamilton
9.4. Congress and the Politics of Judicial Appointments
Sarah A. Binder and Forrest Maltzman
9.5. The Voting Behavior of George W. Bush’s Judges: How Sharp a Turn to the Right?
Robert A. Carp, Ronald Stidham, and Kenneth L. Manning

10. PUBLIC OPINION

10.1. Analyzing and Interpreting Polls
Herbert Asher
10.2. Dynamic Representation
James A. Stimson, Michael B. MacKuen, and Robert S. Erikson
10.3. America’s Ignorant Voters
Michael Schudson
10.4. from Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America
Morris P. Fiorina

11. VOTING, CAMPAIGNS, AND ELECTIONS

11.1. from The Reasoning Voter: Communication and Persuasion in Presidential Campaigns
Samuel L. Popkin
11.2. Party Polarization in National Politics: The Electoral Connection
Gary C. Jacobson
11.3. New!  from Air Wars: Television Advertising in Election Campaigns, 1952–2008
Darrell M. West
11.4. New! The Triumph of Diversity: Obama, Race, and the 2008 Presidential Election
Alan Abramowitz

12. POLITICAL PARTIES

12.1. from Why Parties?: The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America
John H. Aldrich
12.2. Partisanship and Voting Behavior, 1952–1996
Larry M. Bartels
12.3. New! Parties as Problem Solvers
Morris P. Fiorina

13. INTEREST GROUPS

13.1. The Scope and Bias of the Pressure System
E. E. Schattschneider
13.2. The Evolution of Interest Groups
John R. Wright
13.3. New! Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees
Richard L. Hall and Frank W. Wayman

14. NEWS MEDIA

14.1. The Market and the Media
James T. Hamilton
14.2. New! The New Washington Press Corps: As Mainstream Media Decline, Niche and Foreign Outlets Grow
Project for Excellence in Journalism
14.3. New! Free Falls, High Dives, and the Future of Democratic Accountability
Scott L. Althaus

Constitution of the United States

I have found Principles and Practice of American Politics invaluable in introducing leading political science scholarship to students who are new to higher-level study of American politics. This anthology allows me to flesh out themes that otherwise might get insufficient attention in a one-semester introductory course. Moreover, both the ‘classics’ and the contemporary contributions are insightful and accessible in a way that demystifies political science for new students. - Jeremy Buchman, Long Island University

Samuel Kernell is professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, where he has taught since 1977. Previously, he taught at the University of Mississippi and the University of Minnesota. Kernell’s research interests focus on the presidency and American political history. His books include Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership, 4th Edition, an edited collection of essays, James Madison: The Theory and Practice of Republican Government, and, with Gary C. Jacobson, The Logic of American Politics, 4th Edition and Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections, 2nd Edition.

Steven S. Smith is professor of political science and director of the Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He has taught at the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, and George Washington University and has served as a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. His research interests include American politics, congressional politics, Russian politics, positive theories of politics, and theories of institutional development. He is author or coauthor of Politics or Principle: Filibustering in the United States, Committees in Congress, 3rd Edition, The American Congress, Call to Order: Floor Politics in the House and Senate, Managing Uncertainty in the House of Representatives, and The Politics of Institutional Choice: The Formation of the Russian State Duma.

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