American National Government - POSC 111 Resource Guide

Democratic governance in the modern world presumes regular elections in which the rights of citizenship include, in principle, equal participation and collective influence over the composition of government. For individuals, “casting a ballot is, by far, the most common act of citizenship in any democracy” (Verba, Scholzman, and Brady, 1995:23). The right to vote also provides the foundation for other political and social rights of individuals and groups.

The moral reform of American politics was a cause that spanned the decades between the Civil War and World War I. It became a particularly urgent priority among college-educated gentlemen, a small fraction of the whole population. Many of these men practiced trained professions, including law and education, in the urban Northeast during the Gilded Age

This term refers to the process of organizing social power in a community. Politics takes place at various levels of social interaction, from the micro-level — the politics of friendship, family politics, and so on — to the macro-level (international politics

nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.

As a policy-oriented enterprise steeped in academic tradition, the Hoover Institution seeks to deploy its unique intellectual resources toward practical and timely applications, focusing on peace, personal freedom, and safeguards to the US system.