The Essentials of American Government

We decided to write this textbook because as instructors ourselves, we understand that everyone teaches about the American Government system differently. Although we all teach differently, there still exists essential and fundamental knowledge that we all touch upon at some point and we wanted to provide this text as a place for that essential knowledge. Our goal is to provide students with a text that will provide them with multiple opportunities to think critically about our political system and how regardless of who they are or where they are from, they can recognize the impact that the government has on their lives.This text is not an anthology, nor is it meant to be the only means by which you engage in meaningful teaching and discussion. We fully expect that you may want to supplement information in areas that you choose to focus more upon within your individual course. Our goal has been to create a text that engages students to be critical and reflective while building their analytical skills. Each chapter presents its own perspective on the American political system with the end goal of providing instructors and students a foundation with which to discuss and think critically and compassionately about the world and others.