Pinkmonkey.com American Government Study Guide

Chapter 1  The Constitution
1.0     Introduction
1.1     The Continental Congress
1.2     The Articles of Confederation
1.3     The Constitutional Convention
1.4     Key Concepts in the Constitution
1.5     Summary of the Constitution
1.6     The Debate over Ratification
1.7     The Amendment Process
1.8     The Bill of Rights
1.9     Subsequent Amendments (1789 - 1992)

Chapter 2 Federalism
2.0    Introduction
2.1    Concepts of Federalism
2.2    Defining Federal-State Relations
2.3    Recent Trends in Federalism

Chapter 3 Congress
3.0    Introduction
3.1    Powers of Congress
3.2    The Organization of Congress
3.3    How a Bill becomes a Law

Chapter 4 The President
4.0    Introduction
4.1    The Powers of the President
4.2    The Functions of the President
4.3    The Organization of the Executive Branch
4.4    The Vice President and Presidential Succession

Chapter 5 The Judiciary
5.0    Introduction
5.1    The State Court System
5.2    The Federal Court System
5.3    The Supreme Court in Operation

Chapter 6 The Bureaucracy
6.0    Introduction
6.1    Characteristics of the Bureaucracy
6.2    The Growth of the Federal Bureaucracy
6.3    Controlling the Size of the Bureaucracy
6.4    The Functions of the Federal Bureaucracy
6.5    The Structure of the Federal Bureaucracy
6.6    Bureaucracies and the Democratic Process

Chapter 7 Public Opinion
7.0    Introduction
7.1    How Public Opinion is measured
7.2    Political Socialization
7.3    Social Background and Political Values
7.4    Political Ideology
7.5    How Public Opinion is formed

Chapter 8 Mass Media
8.0    Introduction
8.1    The Evolution of the Mass Media
8.2    Structure of the Mass Media and Government Regulation
8.3   The Functions of the Mass Media
8.4   The Mass Media and Political Coverage

Chapter 9 Political Parties
9.0    Introduction
9.1    The Functions of Political Parties
9.2    The Development of Political Parties
9.3    Third parties in American Politics
9.4    The Structure of Political Parties
9.5    The Strength and Weaknesses of Political Parties

Chapter 10 Voting and Elections
10.0    Introduction
10.1    The Expansion of Suffrage
10.2    Obstacles to Voting
10.3    Voter Turnout
10.4    Voting Choices
10.5    Getting Nominated and Campaigning for Office
10.6    Electing Candidates to Office

Chapter 11 Interest Groups
11.0    Introduction
11.1    Types of Interest Groups
11.2    The Functions of Interest Groups
11.3    The Tactics of Interest Groups
11.4    The Regulation of Interest Groups

Chapter 12 Civil Liberties
12.0    Introduction
12.1    Perspective on Civil Liberties
12.2    The First Amendment: Freedom of Religion
12.3    The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech
12.4    The First Amendment: Freedom of Press
12.5    The Rights of Defendants
12.6    Implied Rights

Chapter 13 Civil Rights
13.0    Introduction
13.1    Slavery and Civil Rights
13.2    Segregation in the United States
13.3    Breaking down Segregation
13.4    The Civil Rights Movement
13.5    Civil Rights for Minorities and Women
13.6    Affirmative Action

Chapter 14 Public Policy
14.0    Introduction
14.1    The Policy Making Process
14.2    Politics and Policy Making
14.3    Policy Making in Action

Chapter 15 Economic Policy
15.0    Introduction
15.1    The Goals of Economic Policy
15.2    Theories of Economic Policy
15.3    The Federal Budget
15.4    Taxation and Spending
15.5    International Economic Policy

Chapter 16 Foreign Policy
16.0    Introduction
16.1    Background of American Foreign Policy
16.2    Making Foreign Policy
16.3    The Institutions of Foreign Policy
16.4    Issues in Foreign Policy

Questions

Appendix

Bibliography