This brief, nuts-and-bolts introduction to American government has been a student favorite and a bestseller for over 30 years because of its lively, straight-forward approach to the basics, its brevity, and its always inexpensive price. This text uses a dynamic game metaphor to engage students in the basics of the American political system and the contact sport of politics. Beginning with a clear definition of politics, it introduces four governmental and four nongovernmental "players" who must abide by the "rules of the game" established by the Constitution and civil liberties. It ends by examining rival theories of who wins and who loses in American politics. Written to engage students, and kept short to provide a flexible foundation for instructors,The Basics of American Politicscovers all the terms and topics a student will need to understand the nuts-and-bolts of American government and poltics.

Table of Contents
Preface
Ch. 1 What Is Politics? 1
Ch. 2 The Constitution: Rules of the Game 18
Ch. 3 The Executive Branch: The Presidency and the Bureaucracy 52
Ch. 4 The Legislative Branch: Congress 96
Ch. 5 The Judicial Branch: The Supreme Court and the Federal Court System 140
Ch. 6 Civil Rights and Liberties: Protecting the Players 170
Ch. 7 Voters and Political Parties 204
Ch. 8 Interest Groups and the Media 242
Ch. 9 Who Wins, Who Loses: Pluralism Versus Elitism 280
Glossary 295
App The Declaration of Independence 303
App The Constitution of the United States 306
Index 327