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American Government
and Politics Today
2021–2022 Brief Edition
Steffen W. Schmidt
Iowa State University
Mack C. Shelley II
Iowa State University
Barbara A. Bardes
University of Cincinnati
Australia • Brazil • Canada • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States
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Today 2021–2022 Brief Edition
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Print Number: 01 Print Year: 2020
Contents in Brief
Part I: The American System

Chapter 1 The Democratic Republic 1
Chapter 2 Forging a New Government: The Constitution 22
Chapter 3 Federalism 46
Chapter 4 Civil Liberties 68
Chapter 5 Civil Rights 96
Part II: The Politics of American Democracy

Chapter 6 Public Opinion, Political Socialization, and the Media 124
Chapter 7 Interest Groups and Political Parties 154
Chapter 8 Campaigns and Elections 183
Part III: Institutions of American Government

Chapter 9 Congress 210
Chapter 10 The President 237
Chapter 11 The Executive Branch 262
Chapter 12 The Courts 285
Part IV: Policymaking

Chapter 13 Domestic and Economic Policy 311
Chapter 14 Foreign Policy 334
Appendix A The Declaration of Independence 361

Appendix B The Constitution of the United States 363
Appendix C Federalist Papers No. 10 and No. 51 383
Appendix D Government Spending and Revenue Charts 391
Glossary 393
Index 405
iii
Contents
Part I: The American System
Chapter 1 The Democratic Republic 1

Politics and Government 2
Why Is Government Necessary? 2
Limiting Government Power 3
Authority and Legitimacy 3
SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Stock Photo

Democracy and Other Forms of Government 4
Types of Government 4
Direct Democracy as a Model 4
The Dangers of Direct Democracy 5
A Democratic Republic 5
What Kind of Democracy Do We Have? 6
Democracy for Everyone 7
Democracy for the Few 7
Democracy for Groups 8
At Issue: Will the Coronavirus Change Everything? 8
Fundamental Values 9
Liberty Versus Order 9
Liberty Versus Equality 11
The Proper Role and Size of Government 12
Political Ideologies 14
Conservatism 15
Liberalism 16
The Traditional Political Spectrum 17
Problems With the Traditional Political Spectrum 18
A Four-Cornered Ideological Grid 18
Making A Difference: Seeing Democracy in Action 19
Key Terms • Chapter Summary • Test Yourself
iv
Contents v
Chapter 2 Forging a New Government: The Constitution 22

The Colonial Background 23
Separatists, the Mayflower, and the Compact 23
More Colonies, More Government 24
At Issue: Is America a Christian Nation? 25
Garen Meguerian/Moment/Getty Images

British Restrictions and Colonial Grievances 26
The First Continental Congress 26
The Second Continental Congress 26
An Independent Confederation 27
The Resolution for Independence 28
July 4, 1776—The Declaration of Independence 28
The Rise of Republicanism 29
The Articles of Confederation: Our First Form of Government 30
The Constitutional Convention 32
Factions Among the Delegates 32
Politicking and Compromises 33
Working Toward Final Agreement 35
The Final Document 37
The Difficult Road to Ratification 37
The Federalists Push for Ratification 37
The March to the Finish 38
The Bill of Rights 39
Altering the Constitution 39
The Formal Amendment Process 40
Informal Methods of Constitutional Change 41
Making A Difference: How Can You Affect the U.S. Constitution? 43
Chapter 3 Federalism 46
Federalism and Its Alternatives 47
A Unitary System 47
A Confederal System 47
A Federal System 48
Why Federalism? 48
At Issue: Should Recreational Marijuana Be Legal? 50
vi Contents
Arguments Against Federalism 50

The Constitutional Basis for American Federalism 51
Powers of the National Government 51
Powers of the State Governments 52
Prohibited Powers 53
Concurrent Powers 53
NICK ADAMS/REUTERS/Newscom
The Supremacy Clause 53
Interstate Relations 54
Defining Constitutional Powers—The Early Years 54
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) 55
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) 55
States’ Rights and the Resort to Civil War 56
The Continuing Dispute Over the Division of Power 58
Dual Federalism 58
The New Deal and Cooperative Federalism 58
The Politics of Federalism 59
Methods of Implementing Cooperative Federalism 60
Federalism and Today’s Supreme Court 62
A Trend Toward States’ Rights 62
Recent Decisions 63
Making A Difference: Writing E-mails and Letters to the Editor 64
Chapter 4 Civil Liberties 68

The Constitutional Bases of Our Liberties 69
Protections Listed in the Original Constitution 69
Extending the Bill of Rights to State Governments 70
Incorporation Under the Fourteenth Amendment 70
Freedom of Religion 71
Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images
The Separation of Church and State—The Establishment Clause 71

The Free Exercise Clause 74
Freedom of Expression 75
No Prior Restraint 75
The Protection of Symbolic Speech 76
The Protection of Commercial Speech 76
Attempts to Ban Subversive or Advocacy Speech 76
Contents vii
The Eclipse of Obscenity as a Legal Category 77

Unprotected Speech: Slander 79
Student Speech 79
Freedom of the Press 80
The Right to Privacy 82
Privacy Rights and Abortion 82
Privacy Rights and the “Right to Die” 84
The Great Balancing Act: The Rights of the
Accused Versus the Rights of Society 85
Rights of the Accused 86
At Issue: Do Police Use Excessive Force Against Black Men? 87
Extending the Rights of the Accused 88
The Exclusionary Rule 88
Civil Liberties Versus Security Issues 89
Subsequent Revelations of NSA Activity 90
Making A Difference: Your Civil Liberties: Searches and Seizures 92
Chapter 5 Civil Rights 96
Samuel Corum/Getty Images News/Getty Images

The African American
Experience and the Civil Rights Movement 97
Ending Servitude 97
The Ineffectiveness of the Early Civil Rights Laws 98
The End of the Separate-but-Equal Doctrine 99
De Jure and De Facto Segregation 100
The Civil Rights Movement 101
Modern Civil Rights Legislation 101
Civil Rights and the Courts 105
Standards for Judicial Review 105
The Supreme Court Addresses Affirmative Action 106
Experiences of Other Minority Groups 108
Latinos and the Immigration Issue 108
National Security and the Rights of Immigrants 111
At Issue: Should We Deport Unauthorized Immigrants? 112
The Agony of the American Indian 113
viii Contents
Women’s Struggle for Equal Rights 113

Early Women’s Political Movements 114
The Modern Women’s Movement 114
Women in Politics Today 116
Gender-Based Discrimination in the Workplace 116
The Rights and Status of LGBTQ Americans 117
Growth in the Gay Male and Lesbian Rights Movement 117
State and Local Laws Targeting LGBTQ Persons 118
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” 118
Same-Sex Marriage 119
The Rights of Transgender Individuals 120
Making A Difference: Dealing with Discrimination 121
Part II: The Politics of American Democracy
Chapter 6 Public Opinion, Political Socialization,

and the Media 124
Public Opinion and Political Socialization 125
Consensus and Divided Opinion 125
Forming Public Opinion: Political Socialization 126
The Media and Public Opinion 127
Political Events and Public Opinion 128
The Influence of Demographic Factors 129
michael melia/Alamy Stock Photo

Educational Achievement 129
Economic Status 129
Religious Denomination 131
Religious Commitment and Beliefs 131
Race and Ethnicity 132
The Hispanic Vote 132
The Gender Gap 132
Geographic Region 133
Measuring Public Opinion 134
The History of Opinion Polls 134
Sampling Techniques 135
Contents ix
The Difficulty of Obtaining Accurate Results 136

Additional Problems With Polls 137
Public Opinion and the Political Process 138
Political Culture and Public Opinion 138
Policymaking and Public Opinion 138
At Issue: Was Impeaching President Trump the Right Thing to Do? 139
The Media in the United States 140

The Roles of the Media 140
Television Versus the New Media 142
Challenges Facing the Media 143
The Media and Political Campaigns 145
Political Advertising 145
Management of News Coverage 146
Going for the Knockout Punch—Presidential Debates 146
Political Campaigns and the Internet 147
Blogosphere Politics 147
Bias in the Media 148
Making A Difference: Being a Critical Consumer of the News 150
Chapter 7 Interest Groups and Political Parties 154

A Nation of Joiners 155
Thousands of Groups 155
Interest Groups and Social Movements 156
Reasons to Join—or Not Join 156
Types of Interest Groups 156
Economic Interest Groups 157
MedSci/Alamy Stock Photo

At Issue: Should States Raise the Minimum Wage? 159
Environmental Interest Groups 161
Public-Interest Groups 161
Additional Types of Interest Groups 162
Interest Group Strategies 162
Direct Techniques 163
Indirect Techniques 164
Regulating Lobbyists 164
x Contents
Political Parties in the United States 166

Functions of Political Parties in the United States 166
The Party Organization 167
The Party-in-the-Electorate 168
The Party-in-Government 169
A History of Political Parties in the United States 169
The Formative Years: Federalists and Anti-Federalists 170
Democrats and Whigs 171
The Civil War Crisis 171
The Post–Civil War Period 171
The Progressive Interlude 172
The New Deal Era 172
An Era of Divided Government 173
The Parties Today 173
Why Has the Two-Party System Endured? 174
The Historical Foundations of the Two-Party System 175
Political Socialization and Practical Considerations 175
The Winner-Take-All Electoral System 175
State and Federal Laws Favoring the Two Parties 176
The Role of Minor Parties in U.S. Politics 177
The Rise of the Independents 179
Making A Difference: You Can Be a Convention Delegate 180
Chapter 8 Campaigns and Elections 183

The Twenty-First-Century Campaign 184
Who Is Eligible? 184
Who Runs? 184
Managing the Campaign 185
Financing the Campaign 187
The Evolution of the Campaign Finance System 187
The Current Campaign Finance Environment 189
Vince360/Shutterstock.com
At Issue: Can Money Buy Elections? 191
Running for President: The Longest Campaign 192

Reforming the Presidential Primaries 193
The Invisible Primary 193
Contents xi
The Party Decides 194

Primaries and Caucuses 194
Front-Loading the Primaries 196
On to the National Convention 197
The Electoral College 197
How Are Elections Conducted? 199
Voting by Mail 199
Voting Fraud and Voter ID Laws 199
Turning Out to Vote 201
Legal Restrictions on Voting 202
Is the Franchise Still Too Restrictive? 203
How Do Voters Decide? 204
Party Identification 204
Other Political Factors 204
Demographic Characteristics 205
Making A Difference: Registering and Voting 206
Part III: Institutions of American Government
Chapter 9 Congress 210

The Nature and Functions of Congress 211
Bicameralism 211
The Lawmaking Function 211
The Representation Function 212
Service to Constituents 212
The Oversight Function 213
The Public-Education Function 214
AP Images/J. Scott Applewhite
The Conflict-Resolution Function 214

The Powers of Congress 214
House-Senate Differences and Congressional Perks 215
Size and Rules 215
Debate and Filibustering 216
At Issue: Is It Time to Get Rid of the Filibuster? 217
xii Contents
Congresspersons and the Citizenry: A Comparison 218

Perks and Privileges 218
Congressional Elections and Apportionment 219
Candidates for Congressional Elections 219
Apportionment of the House 219
Gerrymandering 220
“Minority-Majority” Districts 223
How Congress Is Organized 223
The Power of Committees 224
Committees Versus the Leadership 224
Types of Congressional Committees 225
The Selection of Committee Members 226
Leadership in the House 227
Leadership in the Senate 228
Lawmaking and Budgeting 229
How Much Will the Government Spend? 231
Preparing the Budget 231
Congress Faces the Budget 232
Budget Resolutions and Crises 233
Making A Difference: Learning About Your Representatives 234
Chapter 10 The President 237

Who Can Become President? 238
Birthplace and Age 238
The Process of Becoming President 238
The Many Roles of the President 239
Head of State 239
At Issue: Should We Elect the President by Popular Vote? 240
Geopix/Alamy Stock Photo
Chief Executive 241

Commander in Chief 242
Chief Diplomat 243
Chief Legislator 244
Party Chief and Politician 246
Presidential Powers 247
Emergency Powers 248
Executive Orders 249
Executive Privilege 249
Contents xiii
Signing Statements 250

Abuses of Executive Power and Impeachment 251
The Executive Organization 252
The Cabinet 253
The Executive Office of the President 254
The Vice President 255
The Vice President’s Job 255
Presidential Succession 257
Making A Difference: Communicating With the White House 259
Chapter 11 The Executive Branch 262

The Nature and Scope of the Federal Bureaucracy 263
Public and Private Bureaucracies 263
The Size of the Bureaucracy 263
The Federal Budget 264
At Issue: Can the Coronavirus Bankrupt the Government? 266
US Army Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

The Organization of the Executive Branch 267
Cabinet Departments 267
Independent Executive Agencies 268
Independent Regulatory Agencies 270
Government and Government-Controlled Corporations 271
Staffing the Bureaucracy 272
Political Appointees 273
History of the Federal Civil Service 273
Modern Attempts at Bureaucratic Reform 275
Sunshine Laws Before and After 9/11 275
Privatization, or Contracting Out 276
The Issue of Whistleblowers 277
Bureaucrats as Politicians and Policymakers 278
The Rulemaking Environment 279
Negotiated Rulemaking 280
Bureaucrats as Policymakers 280
Congressional Control of the Bureaucracy 282
Making A Difference: What the Government Knows About You 282
xiv Contents
Chapter 12 The Courts 285

Sources of American Law 286
Win McNamee/Getty Images News/Getty Images

The Common Law Tradition 286
Constitutions 287
Statutes and Administrative Regulations 287
Case Law 287
The Federal Court System 288
Basic Judicial Requirements 288
Parties to Lawsuits 288
Procedural Rules 289
Types of Federal Courts 289
Federal Courts and the War on Terrorism 291
The Supreme Court at Work 293
Which Cases Reach the Supreme Court? 294
Court Procedures 294
Decisions and Opinions 295
The Selection of Federal Judges 296
Judicial Appointments 296
At Issue: Should State Judges Be Elected? 297
Partisanship and Judicial Appointments 299
The Senate’s Role 299
Policymaking and the Courts 300
Judicial Review 301
Judicial Activism and Judicial Restraint 301
The Roberts Court 302
What Checks Our Courts? 305
Making A Difference: Changing the Legal System 308
Part IV: Policymaking
Chapter 13 Domestic and Economic Policy 311

At Issue: Does Entitlement Spending Corrupt Us? 312
The Policymaking Process: The CARES Act 313

The CARES Act: Agenda Building 313
Contents xv
The CARES Act: Policy Formulation 314

The CARES Act: Policy Adoption 314
The CARES Act: Policy Implementation 314
ZUMA Press/ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo

The CARES Act: Policy Evaluation 315
Health Care in the Twenty-first Century 315
The Affordable Care Act—Obamacare 317
Energy and the Environment 319
Energy Independence—A Strategic Issue 319
Climate Change 321
The Politics of Economic Decision Making 322
Good Times, Bad Times 322
Fiscal Policy 323
The Public Debt and Deficit Spending 325
Monetary Policy 327
The Politics of Taxation 329
Federal Income Tax Rates 329
Income Tax Loopholes and Other Types of Taxes 330
Making A Difference: Learning about Entitlement Reform 331
Chapter 14 Foreign Policy 334

Facing the World: Foreign and Defense Policies 335
Aspects of Foreign Policy 335
Idealism Versus Realism in Foreign Policy 336
Terrorism and Warfare 337
The Emergence of Terrorism 337
Wars in Iraq 339
Planetpix/Alamy Stock Photo

Afghanistan 339
The Civil War in Syria and the Rise of ISIS 340
U.S. Diplomatic Efforts 341
Nuclear Weapons 341
Israel and the Palestinians 343
The New Power: China 345
Economic Troubles in Europe 347
Who Makes Foreign Policy? 348
Constitutional Powers of the President 348
The Executive Branch and Foreign Policymaking 350
Congress Balances the Presidency 351
xvi Contents
The Major Foreign Policy Themes 352

The Formative Years: Avoiding Entanglements 352
The Era of Internationalism 352
Superpower Relations 353
At Issue: How Dangerous Is Putin’s Russia? 356
Making A Difference: Working for Human Rights 357
Appendix A The Declaration of Independence 361

Appendix B The Constitution of the United States 363
Appendix C Federalist Papers No. 10 and No. 51 383
Appendix D Government Spending and Revenue Charts 391
Glossary 393
Index 405
Preface
The 2020 elections were among the most consequential ever. In effect, American voters
passed judgment on Donald Trump, who they elected as president in 2016. Those elections
featured Trump, the Republican, and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Clinton carried the popular
vote—but our presidential elections are decided by the electoral college. There, Trump won.
Trump backed the Republicans’ attempts to repeal Obamacare and their successful
effort to pass pro-business tax reforms. In 2018, however, Trump turned to his own issues,
imposing tariffs (taxes) on imports from friend and foe alike. Throughout, he championed
his “base”—culturally conservative whites—against minority groups, feminists, and liber-
als alike.
In November 2018, the public made an initial assessment of this record by handing the
U.S. House of Representatives to the Democrats—a net 41 seats switched from Republican
to Democratic. The dramatic contest between Trump and Democratic presidential candidate
Joe Biden in 2020 completed this popular reassessment, even as America faced multiple
crises including the coronavirus pandemic, the resulting economic collapse, and massive
demonstrations against perceived police violence.
One thing was and continues to be certain: American politics today will never be with-
out tension, drama, and conflict. Throughout this Brief Edition of American Government
and Politics Today, you will read about how our government has responded to past issues
and how it is responding to current conflicts.
This edition is basically a condensed and updated version of the larger editions of
American Government and Politics Today. It has been created specifically for those of you
who want a text that presents the fundamental components of the American political sys-
tem while retaining the quality and readability of the larger editions. You will find that this
edition is up to date in every respect. The text, figures, tables, and all pedagogical features
reflect the latest available data. We have also included coverage of all recently issued laws,
regulations, and court decisions that have—or will have—a significant impact on American
society and our political system.
Like the larger editions, this volume places a major emphasis on political participation
and involvement. This brief, fourteen-chapter text has been heralded by reviewers as the
best essentials text for its affordability, conciseness, clarity, and readability.
New to This Edition

Of course, every chapter has been thoroughly revised and updated. But there is more.
Now in Full Color Throughout
A major objective of the Brief Edition has always been to provide students with an afford-
able textbook. To that end, most previous editions have been limited to using a single color
for contrast in most of the text. Now, however, we are able to produce a text in full color and
still keep it affordable. The use of color not only makes the chapters more attractive, but it
also adds to the impact of the various charts and graphs that appear throughout.
xvii
xviii Preface
Major Topical Updates

One of the most important changes in American politics and government since the last Brief
Edition has been the rise of Donald Trump. We give ample space to Trump’s populist cam-
paign and his use of the media, including Twitter. In Chapter 1 The Democratic Republic
and Chapter 6 Public Opinion, Political Socialization, and the Media, we describe Trump’s
supporters and the problems facing the white working class. We describe the alleged scan-
dals that Trump faced, for example questions about Russian involvement in the 2016 elec-
tions. Naturally, we discuss Trump’s impeachment, the coronavirus pandemic, the resultant
economic crisis, and the demonstrations against alleged police brutality following the death
of George Floyd. Other major new topics include:
•• In Chapter 1 The Democratic Republic, the progressive reaction against Trump and
an updated description of conservatism.
•• In Chapter 3 Federalism, recent Supreme Court decisions affecting the powers of
the states.
•• In Chapter 5 Civil Rights, Trump’s immigration policies and the growth of the
#MeToo movement.
•• In Chapter 6 Public Opinion, Socialization, and the Media, the growing gap
between urban and rural voters.
•• In Chapter 7 Interest Groups and Political Parties, the impact of Trump’s tariff
policies and the changing bases of the major parties.
•• In Chapter 8 Campaigns and Elections, Joe Biden’s victory in the Democratic
primaries and details on the voter suppression controversy.
•• In Chapter 9 Congress, the decline of the “regular order” based on committees and
the growing power of the congressional leadership.
•• In Chapter 10 The President, the Mueller investigation, Trump’s tax returns, and more.
•• In Chapter 11 The Executive Branch, what is required to revoke federal regulations
and the Trump administration's attempts to do so.
•• In Chapter 12 The Courts, recent Supreme Court appointment controversies and
crucial court rulings.
•• In Chapter 13 Domestic and Economic Policy, the CARES Act and the rapid
increase in U.S. oil production.
•• Finally, Chapter 14 Foreign Policy provides the latest details on Syria, North
Korea, and Iran. The section on the rise of China is completely rewritten.
Key to High Student Interest—Topical Debate-Style Features

Every At Issue feature focuses on a controversial topic and concludes with a For Critical
Analysis question to invite critical thinking. Many of these features are new:
•• Chapter 1: Does the Coronavirus Change Everything?
•• Chapter 2: Is America a Christian Nation?
•• Chapter 3: Should Recreational Marijuana Be Legal?
•• Chapter 4: Do Police Use Excessive Force Against Black Men?
Preface xix
•• Chapter 5: Should We Deport Unauthorized Immigrants?

•• Chapter 6: Was Impeaching President Trump the Right Thing to Do?
•• Chapter 7: Should States Raise the Minimum Wage?
•• Chapter 8: Can Money Buy Elections?
•• Chapter 9: Is It Time to Get Rid of the Filibuster?
•• Chapter 10: Should We Elect the President by Popular Vote?
•• Chapter 11: Can the Coronavirus Bankrupt the Government?
•• Chapter 12: Should State Judges Be Elected?
•• Chapter 13: Does Entitlement Spending Corrupt Us?
•• Chapter 14: How Dangerous Is Putin’s Russia?
Making a Difference Features

At the end of every chapter, a feature entitled Making a Difference enhances our empha-
sis on student participation. These features provide newly updated, useful information for
active citizenship. We offer tips on how to find information on issues, how to learn about
your elected representatives, how to join and participate in advocacy organizations, how to
protect your civil rights and liberties, and more.
Other Special Pedagogical Aids

The 2021–2022 Brief Edition of American Government and Politics Today retains many of
the pedagogical aids and features of the larger editions, including the following:
•• Learning Outcomes—A section-by-section focus on crucial questions that
students should learn to address.
•• Key Terms—Important terms that are boldfaced and defined in the text when they
are first used. These terms are defined in the text margins, listed at the end of the
chapter with the page numbers on which they appear, and included in the Glossary
at the back of the book.
•• InterAct—A mini-feature that directs students to selected websites and encourages
them to take one or more actions when they get there.
•• Chapter Summary—A point-by-point summary of the chapter text.
•• Test Yourself—A quiz and an essay question at the very end of each chapter.
Appendices
The Brief Edition of American Government and Politics Today includes, as appendices, both
the Declaration of Independence (Appendix A) and the U.S. Constitution (Appendix B). The
text of the Constitution has been annotated to help you understand the meaning and signifi-
cance of the various provisions in this important document. Appendix C presents Federalist
Papers No. 10 and No. 51. These selections are also annotated to help you grasp their impor-
tance in understanding the American philosophy of government. Appendix D contains pie
charts that explain the expenditures and revenues of the federal government.
xx Preface
MindTap
MindTap for American Government and Politcs Today: Brief Edition is an immersive,
outcomes-driven online learning experience built upon Cengage content and correlated to
a core set of learning outcomes. MindTap is the platform that gives you complete control of
your course to craft unique learning experiences that challenge students, build confidence,
and elevate performance.
MindTap introduces students to core concepts from the beginning of your course using
a simplified learning path that progresses from understanding to application. Built upon
proven learning research and theory, auto-graded assessments and content are paired in a
visually captivating side-by-side format.
A variety of activity types enable students to flex their critical thinking muscles while
soaking in key concepts. Learners are encouraged to read with close attention, write persua-
sively with logic, interpret data, consider and articulate their own positions on key topics,
and much more. You can further engage students with polling questions that spark discus-
sion and activate learning.
MindTap also provides ample opportunities for students to check themselves for where
they need extra help, as well as allowing faculty to measure and assess student progress. With
the Cengage Mobile App, you also give your students the power to read, listen and complete
activities on their mobile devices, so they’re empowered to learn on their own terms.
Students
Access American Government and Politics Today: Brief Edition resources by visiting
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a Product” and then enter your access code.
The Cengage Mobile App
Complete course work on the go with the Cengage Mobile App, which delivers a seamless
course experience on a smartphone or tablet. Read or listen to your textbook whether online
or offline and study with the help of flashcards, practice quizzes and instant feedback from
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convenience of your mobile device!
Instructor Supplements
This Instructor Companion Website is an all-in-one resource for class preparation, presen-
tation, and testing. Accessible through Cengage.com/login with your faculty account, you
will find available for download: book-specific Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations, a
Test Bank compatible with multiple learning management systems (LMSs), an Instructor
Manual, and more.
The Test Bank, offered in Blackboard, Moodle, Desire2Learn, and Canvas formats,
contains learning objective-specific multiple-choice and essay questions for each chapter.
Import the test bank into your LMS to edit and manage questions, and to create tests.
The Instructor’s Manual includes information about all of the activities and assessments
available for each chapter and their correlation to specific learning objectives, an outline,
key terms with definitions, a chapter summary, and several ideas for engaging with students
with discussion questions, ice breakers, case studies, and social learning activities that may
be conducted in an on-ground, hybrid, or online modality.
Preface xxi
The Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations are closely tied to the Instructor Manual,
providing ample opportunities for generating classroom discussion and interaction. They
offer ready-to-use, visual outlines of each chapter, which may be easily customized for your
lectures. A guide to teaching online presents technological and pedagogical considerations
and suggestions for teaching the Introduction to American Government course when you
can’t be in the same room with students. Access the Instructor Companion Website for these
resources and more at www.cengage.com/login.
Acknowledgments
In preparing American Government and Politics Today: 2021–2022 Brief Edition, we were
the beneficiaries of the expert guidance of a skilled and dedicated team of publishers and
editors. We have benefited greatly from the supervision and encouragement provided by
our Product Manager, Lauren Gerrish.
We are grateful to our Content Manager, David Martinson, for his ability to make this
project as smooth-running and as perfect as is humanly possible. We are indebted to the
staff at SPi Global. Their ability to generate the pages for this text quickly and accurately
made it possible for us to meet our ambitious printing schedule. We also thank Katy Gabel,
our content developer, for her work on the book’s revision plan and project coordination.
In addition, our gratitude goes to all those who worked on the various supplements offered
with this text. We would also like to thank Valerie Hartman, Senior Marketing Manager, for
her tremendous efforts in marketing the book.
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We are also very thankful for the constructive comments and advice provided by
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new edition:
Paul Blakelock, Lone Star College–Kingwood
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Any errors, of course, remain our own. We welcome comments from instructors and
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S.W.S.
M.C.S.
B.A.B.
About the Authors
Steffen W. Schmidt
Steffen W. Schmidt is professor emeritus of political science at Iowa
State University. He grew up in Colombia, South America, and has
studied in Colombia, Switzerland, the United States, and France.
He has a B.A. from Rollins College and obtained his Ph.D. from
Columbia University, in public law and government.
Dr. Schmidt has published 14 books and more than 130 articles
in scholarly journals and major newspapers.
He is the recipient of numerous prestigious teaching prizes,
including the Amoco Award for Lifetime Career Achievement in Teaching and the Teacher
of the Year award.
Schmidt is a pioneer in the use of web-based and real-time video courses and is a
founding member of the American Political Science Association’s section on Computers
and Multimedia.
He is known as “Dr. Politics” for his extensive commentary on U.S. politics and cyber
threats in U.S. and international media. He comments on CNN en Español, Fox, Telemundo,
Univision, and public radio, as well as CTV (Canada Cable TV) and the BBC. He has been
quoted in every major news source in the world including The Economist, the New York
Times, the Washington Times, Kyodo News of Japan, Agence France-Presse, Latin American
news media, and others. He is the guest of two weekly radio shows on KASI Clear Channel
and on Concord, New Hampshire, radio with Deborah “Arnie” Arnesen.
Dr. Schmidt is a founding member of the Department of Defense U.S. Strategic Com-
mand Academic Alliance, which focuses on cybersecurity policy.
He is on Facebook (SteffenWSchmidt) and Twitter (DrPolitics).
Mack C. Shelley II
Mack C. Shelley II is professor of political science and statistics at
Iowa State University. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from
American University in Washington, D.C., he completed graduate
studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received
a master’s degree in economics and a Ph.D. in political science. He
taught for two years at Mississippi State University before arriving at
Iowa State in 1979.
Shelley has published numerous articles, books, and monographs
on public policy. From 1993 to 2002, he served as elected coeditor
of the Policy Studies Journal. His published books include The Permanent Majority: The
Conservative Coalition in the United States Congress; Biotechnology and the Research
Enterprise (with William F. Woodman and Brian J. Reichel); American Public Policy: The
Contemporary Agenda (with Steven G. Koven and Bert E. Swanson); Redefining Family
Policy: Implications for the 21st Century (with Joyce M. Mercier and Steven Garasky); and
xxii
About the Authors xxiii
Quality Research in Literacy and Science Education: International Perspectives and Gold
Standards (with Larry Yore and Brian Hand).
His leisure time includes traveling, working with students, and playing with the family
dog and cats.
BARBARA A. BARDES
Barbara A. Bardes is professor emerita of political science and for-
mer dean of Raymond Walters College at the University of Cincin-
nati. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Kent State University.
After completing her Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati, she held
faculty positions at Mississippi State University and Loyola Univer-
sity in Chicago. She returned to Cincinnati, her hometown, as a col-
lege administrator. She has also worked as a political consultant and
directed polling for a research center.
Bardes has written articles on public opinion and foreign policy, and on women and
politics. She has authored Thinking about Public Policy; Declarations of Independence:
Women and Political Power in Nineteenth-Century American Fiction; and Public Opinion:
Measuring the American Mind (with Robert W. Oldendick).
Bardes’s home is located in a very small hamlet in Kentucky called Rabbit Hash,
famous for its 150-year-old general store. Her hobbies include traveling, gardening, needle-
work, and antique collecting.
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The Democratic Republic
A crowd at the National Mall in Washington D.C. on July 4, 2019. What do people mean when they wave the
American flag?
The five Learning Outcomes (LOs) below are designed to help improve your understanding of this chapter. After reading this
chapter, you should be able to:
LO 1-1 Define the terms politics, government, order, LO 1-4 Summarize the conflicts that can occur between the
liberty, authority, and legitimacy. values of liberty and order, and between those of liberty and equality.
LO 1-2 Distinguish the major features of direct democracy LO 1-5 Discuss conservatism, liberalism, and other
and representative democracy. popular American ideological positions.
LO 1-3 Describe majoritarianism, elite theory, and Check your understanding of the material with the Test
pluralism as theories of how democratic systems work. Yourself section at the end of the chapter.
P
olitics, for many people, is the “great game,” and it is played for high stakes. After all,
the game involves vast sums and the very security of the nation. In the last few years,
the stakes have grown higher still.
In 2020, American voters picked former vice president Joseph Biden to be the
next president of the United States. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), daughter of immigrants
from India and Jamaica, was the new vice president. The elections were hard fought. Allega-
tions of election fraud by the outgoing Donald Trump administration were not successful.
Biden’s popular vote margin was large. As we explain in this text, however, Americans
choose their president through the electoral college, not the popular vote. There, the margin
1
2 Part One | The American System
between the candidates was closer. Pending runoff elections, the Republicans appeared to
have kept control of the U.S. Senate. Democrats continued to hold the House, though they
lost seats. The Biden administration was poised to reverse many of the changes that Trump
had made to the executive branch of government, but new legislation seemed unlikely.
Politics and Government

LO 1-1: Define the terms politics, government, order, liberty, authority, and legitimacy.
Politics What is politics? Politics can be understood as the process of resolving conflicts and decid-
The struggle over power ing “who gets what, when, and how.”1 More specifically, politics is the struggle over power
or influence within
organizations or informal or influence within organizations or informal groups that can grant or withhold benefits or
groups that can grant privileges.
or withhold benefits or We can identify many such groups and organizations. In every community that makes
privileges.
decisions through formal or informal rules, politics exists. For example, when a church
decides to construct a new building or hire a new minister, the decision is made politically.
Politics can be found in schools, social groups, and any other organized collection of indi-
viduals. Of all the organizations that are controlled by political activity, however, the most
important is the government.
Institution What is the government? Certainly, it is an institution—that is, an ongoing organiza-
An ongoing organization tion that performs certain functions for society. An institution has a life separate from the
that performs certain
functions for society. lives of the individuals who are part of it at any given moment in time. The government is
an institution within which decisions are made that resolve conflicts and allocate benefits
Government and privileges. The government is also the preeminent institution within society because it
The institution that has
the ultimate authority for has the ultimate authority for making these decisions.
making decisions that
resolve conflicts and Why Is Government Necessary?
allocate benefits and
privileges within a society. Perhaps the best way to assess the need for government is to examine circumstances in
which government, as we normally understand it, does not exist. What happens when mul-
tiple groups compete violently with one another for power within a society? There are places
around the world where such circumstances exist. A current example is the Middle Eastern
nation of Syria, run by the dictator Bashar al-Assad. In 2011, the government killed peace-
ful protesters, which led to an armed rebellion. The government lost control of much of the
country, and its forces repeatedly massacred civilians in contested areas. Some rebels, such
as the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), were extreme Islamists. Others were more moderate.
By 2013, rebels were fighting each other as well as the government. In much of Syria, law
and order had broken down completely. By 2020, when the government forces had regained
control of most of the country, almost 500,000 people had been killed, and more than half
of the country’s people had been driven from their homes.
As the example of Syria shows, one of the foundational purposes of government is the
Order maintenance of security, or order. By keeping the peace, a government protects its people
A state of peace and from violence at the hands of private or foreign armies and criminals. If order is not present,
security. Maintaining
order by protecting it is not possible for the government to provide any of the other benefits that people expect
members of society from it. Order is a political value to which we will return later in this chapter.
from violence and
criminal activity is one
of the oldest purposes of
government.
1. Harold Lasswell, Politics: Who Gets What, When, and How (Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith Publisher,
1990). Originally published in 1936.
Chapter One | The Democratic Republic 3
Limiting Government Power

A complete collapse of order and security, as seen in
Syria, actually is an uncommon event. Much more
common is the reverse—too much government con-
trol. In January 2020, the human rights organiza-
tion Freedom House judged that 51 of the world’s
countries were “not free.” These nations contain
Rouzbeh Fouladi/ZUMA Press/Newscom

37 percent of the world’s population. Such countries
may be controlled by individual kings or dictators.
Saudi Arabia’s king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud,
and North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un are obvi-
ous examples. Alternatively, a political party, such
as the Communist Party of China, may monopolize
all the levels of power. The military may rule, as in
Thailand since 2014.
In all of these examples, the individual or group Image 1.1 Hard-line Iranian women protest against the
running the country cannot be removed by legal U.S. killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. He was
means. Freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial believed to be preparing an attack against U.S. forces
are typically absent. Dictatorial governments often in Iraq. The photos show Soleimani with Iran’s supreme
leader Ali Khamenei (left). Does the government of Iran
torture or execute their opponents. Such regimes have legitimacy? Why or why not?
may also suppress freedom of religion. Revolution,
whether violent or nonviolent, is often the only way
to change the government.
In short, protection from the violence of domestic criminals or foreign armies is not
enough. Citizens also need protection from abuses of power by their own government. To
protect the liberties of the people, it is necessary to limit the powers of the government.
Liberty—the greatest freedom of the individual consistent with the freedom of other Liberty
individuals—is a second major political value, along with order. We discuss this value in The greatest freedom
of the individual that
more detail later in this chapter. is consistent with
the freedom of other
Authority and Legitimacy individuals in the society.
Every government must have authority—that is, the right and power to enforce its deci- Authority
sions. Ultimately, the government’s authority rests on its control of the armed forces and The right and power of a
government or other entity
the police. In normal times, few people in the United States, however, base their day-to-day to enforce its decisions.
activities on fear of the government’s enforcement powers. Most people, most of the time,
obey the law because this is what they have always done. Also, if they did not obey the law,
they would face the disapproval of friends and family. Consider an example: Do you avoid
injuring your friends or stealing their possessions because you are afraid of the police—or
because if you undertook these actions, you no longer would have friends?
Under normal circumstances, the government’s authority has broad popular support.
People accept the government’s right to establish rules and laws. When authority is broadly Legitimacy
accepted, we say that it has legitimacy. Authority without legitimacy is a recipe for trouble. Popular acceptance of
the right and power of a
Events in several Arab nations since 2011 can serve as an example. The dictators who government or other entity
ruled Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia had been in power for decades. None of these nations had to exercise authority.
a tradition of democracy, and so it was possible for undemocratic rulers to enjoy a degree
of legitimacy. After years of oppressive behavior, these regimes slowly lost that legitimacy.
The rulers survived only because they were willing to employ violence against any opposi-
tion. In Egypt and Tunisia, the end came when soldiers refused to use force against massive
demonstrations. Having lost all legitimacy, the rulers of these two countries then lost their
authority as well. In Libya, the downfall and death of the dictator Muammar Gaddafi came
only after a seven-month civil war. (Egypt’s shaky new democracy collapsed in 2013, how-
ever, when the army seized power.)
Democracy and Other Forms of Government

LO 1-2: Distinguish the major features of direct democracy and representative democracy.
The different types of government can be classified according to which person or group of
people controls society through the government.
Types of Government
Totalitarian Regime At one extreme is a society governed by a totalitarian regime. In such a political system,
A form of government that a small group of leaders or a single individual—a dictator—has ultimate control over
controls all aspects of
the political, social, and all decisions for the society. Every aspect of political, social, and economic life is con-
economic life of a nation. trolled by the government. The power of the ruler is total (thus, the term totalitarianism).
Examples of such regimes include Germany under Adolf Hitler and the former Soviet
Union under Joseph Stalin.
Authoritarianism A second type of system is authoritarian government. Authoritarianism differs from
A type of regime in which totalitarianism in that only the government itself is fully controlled by the ruler. Social and
only the government itself
is fully controlled by the economic institutions, such as churches, businesses, and labor unions, exist that are not
ruler. Social and economic under the government’s control.
institutions exist that Many of our terms for describing the distribution of political power are derived from
are not under the
government’s control. the ancient Greeks, who were the first Western people to study politics systematically. One
form of rule was known as aristocracy, literally meaning “rule by the best.” In practice,
this meant rule by wealthy members of ancient families. Another term from the Greeks
is theocracy, which literally means “rule by God” (or the gods). In practice, theocracy
Democracy means rule by self-appointed religious leaders. Iran is a rare example of a country in which
A system of government supreme power is in the hands of a religious leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. One
in which political authority
is vested in the people. of the most straightforward Greek terms is oligarchy, which simply means “rule by a few.”
The Greek term for rule by the people was democracy. Within the limits of their culture,
Direct Democracy some of the Greek city-states operated as democracies. Today, in much of the world, the
A system of government
in which political people will not grant legitimacy to a government unless it is based on democracy.
decisions are made by
the people directly, rather Direct Democracy as a Model
than by their elected
representatives. The Athenian system of government in ancient Greece is usually considered the purest
model for direct democracy because the citizens of that community debated and voted
Initiative
A procedure by which
directly on all laws, even those put forward by the ruling council of the city. (Women, resi-
voters can petition dent foreigners, and slaves, however, were excluded because they were not citizens.) This
to vote on a law form of government required a high level of participation from every citizen. The Athenians
or a constitutional
amendment.
believed that although a high level of participation might lead to instability in government,
citizens, if informed about the issues, could be trusted to make wise decisions.
Referendum Direct democracy also has been practiced at the local level in Switzerland and, in the
An electoral device
whereby legislative United States, in New England town meetings. At these town meetings, important decisions—
or constitutional such as levying taxes, hiring city officials, and deciding local ordinances—are made by major-
measures are referred ity vote. Some states provide a modern adaptation of direct democracy for their citizens. In
by the legislature to the
voters for approval or these states, representative democracy is supplemented by the initiative or the referendum.
disapproval. Both processes enable the people to vote directly on laws or constitutional amendments.
The recall process, which is available in

many states, allows the people to vote to
remove an official from state office before
his or her term has expired.
The Dangers of Direct Democracy

Although they were aware of the Athenian
model, the framers of the U.S. Constitu-
tion were opposed to such a system. They
considered democracy to be dangerous
and a source of instability. But in the
1700s and 1800s, the idea of government
based on the consent of the people gained
increasing popularity. Such a government
AP Images/Toby Talbot
was the main aspiration of the American
Revolution of 1775–83. At the time of
the revolution, however, ordinary people
were still considered to be too uneducated
to govern themselves, too prone to the
influence of demagogues (political lead- Image 1.2 These Woodbury, Vermont, residents cast their ballots
ers who manipulate popular prejudices), after a town meeting to vote on the school budget and sales taxes.
What type of political system does the town meeting best represent?
and too likely to subordinate minority
rights to the tyranny of the majority.
James Madison, while defending the new scheme of government set forth in the U.S. Recall
Constitution, warned of the problems inherent in a “pure democracy”: A procedure allowing the
people to vote to dismiss
A common passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole . . . an elected official from
office before his or her
and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party or an obnoxious term has expired.
individual. Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and
contention, and have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of
property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in
their deaths.2
A Democratic Republic
The framers of the U.S. Constitution chose to craft a republic, meaning a government in Republic
which sovereign power rests with the people, rather than with a king or a monarch. A repub- A form of government in
which sovereign power
lic is based on popular sovereignty. To Americans of the 1700s, the idea of a republic also rests with the people,
meant a government based on common beliefs and virtues that would be fostered within rather than with a king or
small communities. a monarch.
The U.S. Constitution created a form of republican government that we now call a Popular Sovereignty
democratic republic. The people hold the ultimate power over the government through elec- The concept that ultimate
political authority is based
tions, but all national policy decisions are made by elected officials. For the founders, even on the will of the people.
this distance between the people and the government was not sufficient. The Constitution
made sure that the Senate and the president would not be elected by a direct vote of the Democratic Republic
A republic in which
people. Senators were chosen by state legislatures (although a later constitutional amend- leaders elected by the
ment allowed for the direct election of senators). The founders also established an electoral people make and enforce
laws and policies.
2. James Madison, in Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, The Federalist Papers, No. 10
(New York: Signet, 2003), p. 71. See Appendix C of this textbook.
college to choose the president, in the hope—soon frustrated—that such a body would
prevent voters from ultimately making the choice.
Despite these limits, the new American system was unique in the amount of power it
granted to the ordinary citizen. Over the course of the following two centuries, democratic
values became more and more popular, at first in Western nations and then throughout the
rest of the world. The spread of democratic principles gave rise to another name for our
Representative system of government—representative democracy. The term representative democracy has
Democracy almost the same meaning as democratic republic, with one exception. Recall that in a repub-
A form of government in
which leaders elected lic, not only are the people sovereign, but there is no king. What if a nation develops into a
by the people make and democracy but preserves the monarchy as a largely ceremonial institution? That is exactly
enforce laws and policies,
but in which the monarchy
what happened in Britain. The British, who have long cherished their kings and queens,
may be retained in a found the term democratic republic unacceptable. A republic, after all, meant there could
ceremonial role. be no monarch. The British therefore described their system as a representative democracy
instead.
Principles of Democratic Government. All representative democracies rest on the rule of

the people as expressed through the election of government officials. In the 1790s in the
United States, only free white males were able to vote, and in some states they had to be
property owners as well. Women in many states did not receive the right to vote in national
elections until 1920, and the right to vote was not secured in all states by African Americans
Universal Suffrage until the 1960s. Today, universal suffrage is the rule.
The right of all adults to Because everyone’s vote counts equally, the only way to make fair decisions is by
vote for their government
representatives. some form of majority will. But to ensure that majority rule does not become oppressive,
modern democracies also provide guarantees of minority rights. If political minorities were
Majority Rule not protected, the majority might violate the fundamental rights of members of certain
A basic principle of groups—especially groups that are unpopular or dissimilar to the majority population, such
democracy asserting that
the greatest number of as racial minorities.
citizens in any political To guarantee the continued existence of a representative democracy, there must be
unit should select officials free, competitive elections. Thus, the opposition always has the opportunity to win elective
and determine policies.
office. For such elections to be totally open, freedom of the press and freedom of speech
must be preserved so that opposition candidates can present their criticisms of the govern-
ment to the people.
Constitutional Democracy. Another key feature of Western representative democracy is

Limited Government that it is based on the principle of limited government. Not only is the government dependent
A government with on popular sovereignty, but the powers of the government are also clearly limited, either
powers that are limited
either through a written through a written document or through widely shared beliefs. The U.S. Constitution sets
document or through down the fundamental structure of the government and the limits to its activities. Such limits
widely shared beliefs. are intended to prevent political decisions based on the whims or ambitions of individuals
in government rather than on constitutional principles.
What Kind of Democracy Do We Have?

LO 1-3: Describe majoritarianism, elite theory, and pluralism as theories of how democratic
systems work.
Political scientists have developed a number of theories about American democracy, includ-
ing majoritarianism, elite theory, and pluralism. Advocates of these theories use them to
describe American democracy either as it actually is or as they believe it should be.
Some scholars argue that none of these

three theories, which we discuss next, fully
describes the workings of American democracy.
These experts say that each theory captures a
part of the true reality but that we need all three
theories to gain a full understanding of Ameri-
can politics.
Democracy for Everyone

Many people believe that in a democracy, the
government ought to do what the majority of
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

the people want. This simple proposition is
the heart of majoritarian theory. As a theory of
what democracy should be like, majoritarianism
is popular among both political scientists and
ordinary citizens. Many scholars, however, con-
sider majoritarianism to provide a surprisingly
poor description of how U.S. democracy actu-
ally works. Policies adopted by the U.S. gov- Image 1.3 Sean “Diddy” Combs at a university rally in Miami
ernment are often strikingly different from the aimed at encouraging college students to vote. Combs has
ones endorsed by the public in opinion polls. founded several groups over the years, all dedicated to get
One example is religion in the public schools. young people to the polls. Why is voting so important for
Solid majorities have long advocated a greater democracy?
role for religion in the public schools, even to
the point of teachers leading students in prayer. Most elected officials, however, have tried Majoritarianism
to uphold the constitutional principle of “separation of church and state.” A political theory holding
that in a democracy, the
government ought to do
Democracy for the Few what the majority of the
If ordinary citizens are not really making policy decisions with their votes, who is? One people want.
theory suggests that elites really govern the United States. Elite theory holds that society is Elite Theory
ruled by a small number of people who exercise power to further their self-interest. Ameri- The argument that society
is ruled by a small number
can democracy, in other words, is a sham democracy. Few people today believe it is a good of people who exercise
idea for the country to be run by a privileged minority. In the past, however, many people power to further their
believed that it was appropriate for the country to be governed by an elite. Consider the self-interest.
words of Alexander Hamilton, one of the framers of the Constitution:
All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and the
wellborn, the other the mass of the people. . . . The people are turbulent and changing; they
seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the first class a distinct, permanent share
in the government. They will check the unsteadiness of the second, and as they cannot
receive any advantage by a change, they therefore will ever maintain good government.3
Some versions of elite theory assume that there is a small, cohesive elite class that
makes almost all the important decisions for the nation,4 whereas others suggest that voters
choose among competing elites. Popular movements of varying political persuasions often
advocate simple versions of elite theory.
3. Alexander Hamilton, “Speech in the Constitutional Convention on a Plan of Government,” in Joanne B.

Freeman, ed., Alexander Hamilton: Writings (New York: Library of America, 2001).
4. Michael Parenti, Democracy for the Few, 9th ed. (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Publishing, 2011).
Democracy for Groups

A different school of thought holds that our form of democracy is based on group interests.
Even if the average citizen cannot keep up with political issues or cast a deciding vote in
any election, the individual’s interests will be protected by groups that represent her or him.
Pluralism Theorists who subscribe to pluralism see politics as a struggle among groups to gain
A theory that views benefits for their members. Given the structure of the American political system, group
politics as a conflict
among interest groups. conflicts tend to be settled by compromise and accommodation. Because there are a mul-
Political decision titude of interests, no one group can dominate the political process. Furthermore, because
making is characterized most individuals have more than one interest, conflict among groups need not divide the
by bargaining and
compromise. nation into hostile camps.
Many political scientists believe that pluralism works very well as a descriptive theory.
As a theory of how democracy should function, however, pluralism has problems. Poor
citizens are rarely represented by interest groups. At the same time, rich citizens may be
overrepresented. (Still, the unorganized poor do receive useful representation from religious
and liberal groups.) There are also serious doubts as to whether group decision making
always reflects the best interests of the nation. Indeed, critics see a danger that groups may
grow so powerful that all policies become compromises crafted to satisfy the interests of
the largest groups. The interests of the public as a whole, then, are not considered. Critics of
pluralism have suggested that a democratic system can be almost paralyzed by the struggle
among interest groups.
The arrival of the coronavirus in February 2020 raised new questions about the ability
of the nation to pull together. While there were encouraging examples of a “we’re all in this
together” spirit, the pandemic also appeared to have the power to pull the nation further
apart. We take a look at the impact of the pandemic in this chapter’s At Issue feature.
At Issue
Will the Coronavirus Change Everything?
At first, it was “a cloud as small as a man’s hand.” Many called stay six feet apart. Large gatherings seemed out of the ques-
it the coronavirus, though “corona” refers to a family of viruses. tion. What the world needed was a vaccine, but that seemed
The disease it caused was COVID-19. It was very contagious. unlikely before the summer of 2021.
The number of cases could double every few days. That means
exponential growth. In ten doublings, one case becomes more Nothing Can Ever Be the Same
than a thousand. In twenty doublings, one case becomes more Americans did not wait on the government. People everywhere
than a million. At first, the death rate seemed to be more than 1 did what they could. Yet only one institution existed with the
percent of those infected. The disease spread through the coun- power and wealth needed to truly defeat the pandemic. That
try, starting in February 2020. In mid-March, the nation woke up. institution was government. Many believed that the need for
State governors from coast to coast issued stay-at-home orders federal action to combat COVID-19 would change the way Ameri-
to stop the spread. Millions of people had already taken action. cans view their government. Only government could fund the vast
Festivals, sporting events, and theaters closed well before the medical effort necessary to defeat the enemy. Only government
official shutdowns. Restaurants, stores, and churches followed. had the power to support those facing financial ruin. Even as
By mid-April, at least a fifth of the workforce was out of a job. the virus raged, conservative lawyers were seeking to have the
The nation’s medical system was overwhelmed in certain Affordable Care Act ruled unconstitutional—a result that could
hot spots, such as New York City. The lockdown provided time to have deprived millions of health insurance. Such an attitude was
build up a response. Even as the country slowly reopened, face- unlikely to prevail. Health care, always a key issue, was now the
masks were everywhere. “Social distancing” required people to issue. Supporters of an active government were confident that
(Continued )
regardless of how the elections turned out, the popular demand in ways our ancestors never could. But not everyone endorsed
for effective, larger government would be permanent. government action. Some responded out of the nation’s tradition
of radical individualism. For them, the shutdown of Spring 2020
In a Few Years We’ll Be Right Back Where We Started and the following restrictions were as bad as the disease itself.
Others were not so sure. The one past event that most resem- Many observers thought the politics of the pandemic would
bled the COVID-19 pandemic was the influenza pandemic of soon be invisible. Liberals would draw one set of conclusions
1918. That virus infected about 500 million around the world from what happened. Conservatives would draw another.
and killed perhaps 50 million. Yet by 2020, how many people
remembered it? World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, ■■For Critical Analysis
Nazism, communism—these shaped the twentieth century. China, where the virus originated, gained control of it
Not the flu. Today’s coronavirus may have more to do with the through radically authoritarian measures. How does the
debate over “big government,” because we can respond to it American system prevent such a response?
Fundamental Values
LO 1-4: Summarize the conflicts that can occur between the values of liberty and order, and
between those of liberty and equality.
The writers of the U.S. Constitution believed that the structures they had created would pro-
vide for both popular sovereignty and a stable political system. They also believed that the
nation would be sustained by its political culture—the patterned set of ideas, values, and ways Political Culture
of thinking about government and politics that characterized its people. Even today, there is A patterned set of
ideas, values, and
considerable consensus among American citizens about certain concepts—including the rights ways of thinking about
to liberty, equality, and property—that are deemed to be basic to the U.S. political system. government and politics
Most Americans are descendents of immigrants who came from diverse cultural and that characterizes a
people.
political backgrounds. You can see how immigration will continue to change the composi-
tion of the nation in future years in Figure 1.1. Given the changing nature of our population,
now and in the past, how can we account for the broad consensus that exists around basic
values? Primarily, it is the result of political socialization—the process by which political Political Socialization
beliefs and values are transmitted to new immigrants and to our children. The two most The process by which
people acquire political
important sources of political socialization are the family and the educational system. beliefs and values.
The most fundamental concepts of the American political culture are those of the
dominant culture. The term dominant culture refers to the values, customs, and language
established by the groups that traditionally have controlled politics and government in a
society. The dominant culture in the United States has its roots in Western European civili-
zation. From that civilization, American politics inherited a bias in favor of individualism,
private property, and Judeo-Christian ethics.
Liberty Versus Order

In the United States, our civil liberties include religious freedom—both the right to practice Civil Liberties
whatever religion we choose and the right to be free from any state-imposed religion. Our Those personal freedoms,
including freedom of
civil liberties also include freedom of speech—the right to express our opinions freely on all religion and of speech,
matters, including government actions. Freedom of speech is perhaps one of our most prized that are protected for all
liberties, because a democracy could not endure without it. These and many other basic guar- individuals in a society.
antees of liberty are found in the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Bill of Rights
Liberty, however, is not the only value widely held by Americans. A substantial por- The first ten amendments
to the U.S. Constitution.
tion of the American electorate believes that certain kinds of liberty threaten the
Figure 1.1 Projected Changes in U.S. Ethnic Distribution

What political changes could result when non-Hispanic whites are no longer a majority of the
U.S. population?
Other Black Asian Hispanic White
100 3.0 3.2 3.7 4.3 5.0
90 12.2 12.5 12.7 13.0 13.3

4.7 5.8
80 6.7 7.5 8.2
70 16.3 18.7
21.1
23.5
60 25.7
Percent
50
40
63.7
30 59.7
55.8
51.7
47.8
20
10
0
2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
Year
Data for 2010 from the 2010 census. Data for 2020 through 2050 are Census Bureau projections.
Hispanics (Latinos) may be of any race. The chart categories White, Black, Asian, and Other are limited
to non-Hispanics. Other consists of the following non-Hispanic groups: American Indian, Native Alaskan,
Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, and two or more races.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census and author’s calculations.
traditional social order. The right to privacy is a particularly controversial liberty. The
United States Supreme Court has held that the right to privacy can be derived from other
rights that are explicitly stated in the Bill of Rights. The Supreme Court has also held
that under the right to privacy, the government cannot ban either abortion or private
homosexual behavior by consenting adults.5 More recently, the Court also held that the
government cannot prohibit same-sex marriage.6 Some Americans believe that such rights
threaten the sanctity of the family and the general cultural commitment to moral behavior.
Of course, others disagree with this point of view.
Security is another issue that follows from the principle of order. When Americans have
felt particularly fearful or vulnerable, the government has emphasized national security over
civil liberties. Such was the case after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which
led to the U.S. entry into World War II. Thousands of Japanese Americans were held in
internment camps, based on the assumption that their loyalty to this country was in question.
5. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) and Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003).
6. Obergefell v. Hodges, 133 S.Ct. 2584 (2015).
More recently, the terrorist attacks on the Penta-

gon and the World Trade Center on September
11, 2001, renewed calls for greater security at the
expense of some civil liberties.
Liberty Versus Equality

The Declaration of Independence states, “All
men are created equal.” The proper meaning of
equality, however, has been disputed by Ameri-
cans since the Revolution. Much of American
history—and indeed, world history—is the story
Bettmann/Getty Images
of how the value of equality, the idea that all
people are of equal worth, has been extended and
elaborated.
First, the right to vote was granted to all adult
white males, regardless of whether they owned Image 1.4 African Americans line up to register to vote in
property. The Civil War resulted in the end of Selma, Alabama, following passage of the 1965 Voting Rights
slavery and established that, in principle at least, Act. Why is voting so important for democracy?
all citizens were equal before the law. The civil
rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s sought
to make that promise of equality a reality for African Americans. Other movements have Equality
sought equality for additional racial and ethnic groups, for women, for persons with dis- As a political value, the
idea that all people are of
abilities, and for LGBTQ individuals. equal worth.
Although many people believe that we still have a way to go in obtaining full equality
for all of these groups, we clearly have come a long way already. No American in the nine-
teenth century could have imagined that the 2008 Democratic presidential primary elections
would be closely fought contests between an African American man (Illinois senator Barack
Obama) and a white woman (New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton). The idea that
same-sex marriage could even be open to debate would have been mind-boggling as well.
Promoting equality often requires limiting the right to treat people unequally. In this
sense, equality and liberty can be conflicting values. Today, the right to deny equal treatment
to the members of a particular race has very few defenders. Yet as recently as sixty years
ago, this right was a cultural norm.
It can also be argued that liberty and equality are complementary. For example, people
or groups cannot really enjoy liberty if they do not have equal rights under the law.
Economic Equality. Equal treatment regardless of race, religion, gender, or other

characteristics is a popular value today. Equal opportunity for individuals to develop their
talents and skills is also a value with substantial support. Equality of economic status,
however, is a controversial value.
For much of history, the idea that the government could do anything about the
division of society between rich and poor was not something about which people even
thought. Most people assumed that such an effort was either impossible or undesirable.
This assumption began to lose its force in the 1800s. As a result of the growing wealth
of the Western world and a visible increase in the ability of government to take on large
projects, some people began to advocate the value of universal equality, or egalitarianism.
Some radicals dreamed of a revolutionary transformation of society that would establish
an egalitarian system—that is, a system in which wealth and power were redistributed
more equally.
Many others rejected this vision but still came to endorse the values of eliminating
poverty and at least reducing the degree of economic inequality in society. Antipoverty
advocates believed then and believe now that such a program could prevent much suffering.
In addition, they believed that reducing economic inequality would promote fairness and
enhance the moral tone of society generally.
Property Rights and Capitalism. The value of reducing economic inequality is in conflict
Property with the right to property. This is because reducing economic inequality typically involves
Anything that is or may be the transfer of property (usually in the form of tax dollars) from some people to others.
subject to ownership.
For many people, liberty and property are closely entwined. Our capitalist system is
Capitalism based on private property rights. Under capitalism, property consists not only of personal
An economic system possessions but also of wealth-creating assets such as farms and factories. Capitalism is also
characterized by the
private ownership of typically characterized by considerable freedom to make binding contracts and by relatively
wealth-creating assets, unconstrained markets for goods, services, and investments.
free markets, and freedom Property—especially wealth-creating property—can be seen as giving its owner politi-
of contract.
cal power and the liberty to do whatever he or she wants. At the same time, the ownership
of property immediately creates inequality in society. The desire to own property, however,
is so widespread among all classes of Americans that radical egalitarian movements have
had a difficult time securing a wide following in this country.
The Proper Role and Size of Government

Americans have substantial differences of opinion on the values just described—liberty,
order, and equality. Americans also have a wide variety of needs and interests. From the very
beginning of the republic, these opinions and interests have yielded different conceptions
of what government ought to do and how large it should be. Traditionally, these varying
conceptions have taken the form of arguments over the size of government.
Many Americans believe that “That government is best which governs least,” a motto
popularized by Henry David Thoreau.7 The flaw in Thoreau’s slogan is that opposition to
“big government,” taken by itself, is a somewhat empty idea. Almost invariably, those who
oppose big government do so because there are things that they do not want the government
to do. Thoreau, for example, was opposed to the Mexican-American War and to federal
support for the institution of slavery.
Citizens often express contradictory opinions on the size of government and the role
that it should play in their lives. Americans tend to oppose “big government” in principle
even as they endorse its benefits. Those who complain about the amount of taxes they pay
each year may also worry about the lack of funds for more teachers in the local schools.
Such tensions have done much to shape American politics from the Revolutionary Era to
the twenty-first century.
Big Government and the Great Recession. In September 2008, a financial meltdown
threatened the world economy. The impact of the Great Recession was so strong that the
share of Americans with jobs did not return to the 2008 level until the beginning of 2020,
just before the pandemic struck, as you can see in Figure 1.2. The immediate result of this
disaster in the November 2008 elections was to guarantee Democrat Barack Obama the
presidency and grant the Democrats unusually large margins in the U.S. Senate and House
of Representatives. The newly empowered Democrats passed major spending programs
7. Thoreau, Henry David, “Resistance to Civil Government,” Aesthetic Papers, Elizabeth Peabody, ed.
(Boston and New York: The Editor and G.P. Putnam, 1849), pp. 189–211. Later reprinted under the titles
“Civil Disobedience” and “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience.”
Figure 1.2 Employment Rates for U.S. Persons Aged 25–54, 1977–2020
In March 2020, the pandemic suddenly put tens of millions out of work. If we had more current data, the three lines in
Figure 1.2 would suddenly break and head straight down. What problems can result if large numbers of adults leave the
workforce?
95
90
85
80
Percent
75
70
65 Employment rate: Aged 25–54: All persons for the United States
Employment rate: Aged 25–54: Males for the United States
60
Employment rate: Aged 25–54: Females for the United States
55
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Year
Source: Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED); Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
aimed at saving the economy. In 2010, Congress and President Obama also approved a
major health care initiative (called Obamacare) that had no direct connection to fighting
the recession.
Such actions persuaded millions that big government was out of control. In 2010, vot-
ers swung heavily to the Republicans, giving them control of the House. While Obama was
reelected in 2012, Republicans took control of the Senate in 2014. The result was divided
government and a near-absence of new legislation, an era that came to an end in 2016 when
Republican Donald Trump won the presidency.
Who Benefits From Government? It soon became clear that neither Trump nor his most
ardent followers were particularly enamored of the traditional small-government conservatism
endorsed by most Republican officeholders. This attitude had also been common among
supporters of the Tea Party, an earlier conservative movement.8 While the Tea Party built
itself around rhetorical opposition to big government, most Tea Party supporters had no
problems with programs such as Medicare and Social Security that benefited older voters,
many of whom were white. They did oppose programs such as Obamacare that were seen
as primarily benefiting poorer Americans and minority group members. The question, in
other words, was not so much the size of government but who benefits from government.
Under Trump, this underlying theme became dominant. For example, after Hurricane
Michael devastated the Florida Panhandle in 2018, many Floridians worried that the federal
government’s response was inadequate. As one Trump supporter put it, “He’s not hurting
the people he needs to be hurting.” 9 The point was not just that Trump was failing to help
his supporters. This voter also appeared to believe that “hurting people” is one of the legiti-
mate tasks of government.
8. Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2012).
9. Patricia Mazzei, “‘It’s Just Too Much’: A Florida Town Grapples With a Shutdown After a Hurricane,”
The New York Times, January 7, 2019, p. 1.
Trump’s Supporters. Trump won the presidency in part because loyal Republicans rallied
to his campaign. Still, a new block of voters—many of whom had not voted in previous
elections—put him over the top. Trump’s strongest support came from white voters without
Working Class a college education. This group is commonly called the white working class. By 2016, it
Currently, those with was clear that many members of this class were experiencing a social crisis marked by
no college education.
Traditionally, individuals despair, falling life expectancies, and drug abuse. In fact, county by county, poor health was
or families in which the as much an indicator of Trump support as low levels of education.10
head of household was New support for Trump was not based in the most troubled parts of the white working
employed in manual or
unskilled labor. class. Such people were likely not to vote at all. Trump voters, rather, were often somewhat
better off, but saw their communities unraveling around them. Stagnant incomes and closing
factories were part of the story. A belief that immigrants and minority group members were
“cutting in line” ahead of whites was clearly another.11 It was also no secret that as a result
of population growth among minority groups, the United States was on its way to becoming
a minority-majority nation by 2050, as you saw in Figure 1.1.
The Reaction Against Trump. Trump’s election came as a surprise to most observers—
apparently including Trump himself. Trump lost the popular vote by more than 2.8 million
votes, a margin of more than 2 percent. He won by carrying the electoral college, mentioned
earlier. His victory was based on very narrow margins in three traditionally Democratic
states—Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. At the same time, Democrat Hillary
Clinton was piling up huge margins in states such as California, Massachusetts, and New
York. Those extra popular votes won Clinton no electoral college votes, however.
The day after Trump’s inauguration, a women’s march drew crowds of several million
across the nation—the largest U.S. demonstrations seen in decades. Many were angry that
Trump had won despite multiple accusations of sexual harassment. In 2017, Republicans
in Congress passed a large tax bill that primarily benefited corporations and the wealthy.
An attempt to repeal Obamacare failed in the Senate by one vote. Repeal would have cost
millions their healthcare insurance.
In the mid-term elections of 2018, Democrats scored a net gain of 41 seats in the U.S.
House and took control of the chamber. The Republicans, however, gained two seats in
the Senate, despite losing the popular vote for that chamber by 17.5 million. Republican
turnout was high, but Democratic turnout was higher. The outcome was determined in part
by well-educated suburbanites, especially women. Some of the white working-class voters
who broke for Trump in 2016 also returned to the Democrats. In addition to the Obamacare
issue, many anti-Trump voters were motivated by the harsh treatment handed out to asylum
seekers, many of them from Central America.
Political Ideologies
LO 1-5: Discuss conservatism, liberalism, and other popular American ideological positions.
Ideology A political ideology is a closely linked set of beliefs about politics. The concept of ideology
A comprehensive set of is often misunderstood. Many people think that only individuals whose beliefs lie well out
beliefs about the nature
of people and about the on one or the other end of the political spectrum have an ideology. Actually, almost everyone
role of an institution or who has political opinions can be said to have an ideology. Indeed, many “non-ideological”
government.
10. “Illness as Indicator,” The Economist (London), November 19, 2016, p. 25.
11. Arlie Russell Hochschild, Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right
(New York: The New Press, 2016).
Aspects and Angles/Shutterstock.com

Image 1.5 A supporter of President Trump waits for him to speak at rally in Des Moines,
Iowa in January 2020. What were some of the concerns motivating Trump’s most ardent
supporters?
people actually carry two or more ideologies in their heads, which is why they can hold
some opinions that are conservative and others that are liberal.
Political ideologies offer people well-organized theories that propose goals for society
and the means by which those goals can be achieved. At the core of every political ideology
is a set of guiding values. The two ideologies most commonly referred to in discussions of
American politics are conservatism and liberalism.
Conservatism
Those who favor the ideology of conservatism seek to conserve traditional practices and Conservatism
institutions. In that sense, conservatism is as old as politics itself. Compared with other A set of beliefs that
includes a limited role for
political tendencies, conservatives place a high value on order, specifically in-group loyalty the national government
and respect for authority. This includes patriotism and support for a firm hand by the police. in helping individuals,
support for traditional
The conservative vision of the world includes a place for everyone, but also everyone in values and lifestyles, and
their place. Men and women have their appropriate roles. Many conservatives see members a cautious response to
of the LGBTQ community12 as violating the natural order. The rich and the poor also have change.
their natural place: success is attributed to hard work and other virtues, while poverty is the
consequence of personal failings. It is appropriate for employers to exercise authority over
employees.
These attitudes have major implications for economic policy. In the past, enterprises
were largely free to act as they pleased in the marketplace and in managing their employees.
Government regulation of business increased greatly in the 1930s, as Democratic president
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–45) initiated a series of massive interventions in the economy
in an attempt to counter the effects of the Great Depression. Many conservatives consider
the Roosevelt administration to be a time when America took a wrong turn.
12. LGBTQ 5 Lesbian, gay male, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning.
The Conservative Movement. It was in the 1950s, however, that American conservatism
Conservative Movement took its modern shape. The conservative movement that arose in that decade provided the
An American movement
founded in the 1950s that
age-old conservative impulse with a fully worked-out ideology. The new movement first
provides a comprehensive demonstrated its strength in 1964, when Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona was nominated
ideological framework for as the Republican presidential candidate. Goldwater lost badly to Democrat Lyndon B.
conservative politics.
Johnson, but from that time forward movement conservatives have occupied a crucial
position in the Republican Party.
Conservative Values. Modern conservatives strongly endorse liberty, but they generally
define it as freedom from government imposition of nontraditional ideals such as gay
rights or government interference in business. Conservatives believe that the private sector
probably can outperform the government in almost any activity.
Conservatives place a relatively low value on equality. Believing that individuals and
families are primarily responsible for their own well-being, they typically oppose high levels
of antipoverty spending and government expenditures to stimulate the economy, favor-
ing tax-rate cuts instead. Trump supporters, with their anti-immigrant, nationalist views,
emphasized different aspects of the conservative tradition than those championed by the
conservative movement. Still, Trump’s followers were clearly conservative in a broad sense.
Liberalism
Liberalism The term liberalism stems from the word liberty and originally meant “free from prejudice
A set of beliefs that
includes advocacy of
in favor of traditional opinions and established institutions.” Liberals have always been
positive government skeptical of the influence of religion in politics, but in the nineteenth century they were
action to improve the skeptical of government as well. From the time of Democratic presidents Woodrow Wilson
welfare of individuals,
support for civil rights,
(1913–21) and Franklin D. Roosevelt, however, American liberals increasingly sought to use
and tolerance for political the power of government for nontraditional ends. Their goals included support for organized
and social change. labor and for the poor. New programs instituted by the Roosevelt administration included
Social Security and unemployment insurance.
Modern Liberalism. American liberalism took its modern form in the

Interact 1960s. Liberals rallied to the civil rights movement, which sought to
obtain equal rights for African Americans. As the feminist movement
The Pew Research Center asks, grew in importance, liberals supported it as well. Liberals won new
“Are you a Solid Liberal? A Steadfast federal health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and
Conservative? Or somewhere in the promotion of such programs became a key component of liberal
between?” You may have a good sense politics. Finally, liberals reacted more negatively to U.S. participation
of your personal political ideology. in the Vietnam War (1965–75) than did other Americans, and for years
Then again, you may not. Pew has thereafter liberalism was associated with skepticism about the use of
a “Political Typology Quiz” that you U.S. military forces abroad.
can locate by searching for that term
in your browser. Take the quiz to find Liberal Values. Those who favor liberalism place a high value on
out how Pew classifies your politics. social and economic equality. As we have seen, liberals champion the
Alternatively, your instructor can set rights of minority group members and favor substantial antipoverty
it up so that your entire class can take spending. In contrast to conservatives, liberals often support
the quiz together (see the buttons at government intervention in the economy. They believe that capitalism
the bottom of the Pew web page). If works best when the government curbs capitalism’s excesses through
your class takes the test, responses of regulation. Like conservatives, liberals place a high value on liberty,
individual students are anonymous. but they tend to view it as the freedom to live one’s life according
to one’s own values. Liberals, therefore, usually support LGBTQ
rights, including the right to same-sex marriage. Liberals are an influential force within
the Democratic Party.
The Traditional Political Spectrum

A traditional method of comparing political ideologies is to arrange them on a continuum
from left to right, based primarily on how much power the government should exercise to
promote economic equality. Table 1.1 shows how ideologies can be arrayed on a traditional
political spectrum. In addition to liberalism and conservatism, this example includes the
ideologies of socialism and libertarianism.
Socialism falls on the left side of the spectrum.13 Socialist parties and movements have Socialism
been important in other countries around the world, but socialists have usually played a A political ideology
based on strong support
minor role in the American political arena. An obvious exception has been senator and for economic and social
presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (D-VT), a self-proclaimed “democratic socialist.” equality. Socialists
Following the 2018 mid-term elections, Sanders was no longer alone—socialists had estab- traditionally envisioned
a society in which major
lished a tiny but vocal presence on the left wing of the Democratic Party. businesses were taken
In the past, socialists typically advocated replacing investor ownership of major busi- over by the government or
by employee cooperatives.
nesses with either government ownership or ownership by employee cooperatives. Socialists
believed that such steps would break the power of the very rich and lead to an egalitarian
society. In more recent times, socialists in western countries have advocated more limited
programs that redistribute income and power.
On the right side of the spectrum is libertarianism, a philosophy of skepticism toward Libertarianism
most government activities. Libertarians strongly support property rights and typically oppose A political ideology
based on skepticism or
regulation of the economy and redistribution of income. Libertarians support laissez-faire opposition toward most
capitalism. (Laissez faire is French for “let it be.”)14 Libertarians also tend to oppose govern- government activities.
ment attempts to regulate personal behavior and promote moral values. We might expect,
therefore, that a consistent libertarian would support same-sex marriage. Many libertarians
are also skeptical about U.S. military interventions abroad. In recent years, libertarian ideas
have greatly influenced the Republican Party. President Trump’s “who benefits” approach
largely rejected the libertarian vision, however.
Table 1.1 The Traditional Political Spectrum

What issues are not addressed by this spectrum?
Socialism Liberalism Conservatism Libertarianism

How much power should Active government Positive government Positive government Almost no regulation
the government have over control of major action in the economy action to support of the economy
the economy? economic sectors capitalism
What should the Economic equality, Economic security, equal Economic liberty, Total economic and
government promote? community opportunity, social liberty morality, social order social liberty
13. The terms left and right in the traditional political spectrum originated during the French Revolution,
when revolutionary deputies to the Legislative Assembly sat to the left of the assembly president and
conservative deputies sat to the right.
14. For a classic and influential presentation of libertarian economics, see Milton Friedman, Capitalism and
Freedom (1962; repr., University of Chicago Press, 2002).
Problems With the Traditional Political Spectrum

Many political scientists believe that the traditional left-to-right spectrum is not sufficient.
Take the example of libertarians. In Table 1.1, libertarians are placed to the right of conser-
vatives. If the only question is how much power the government should have over the econ-
omy, this is where they belong. Libertarians, however, strongly advocate freedom in social
matters. They oppose government action to promote traditional moral values, although such
action is often favored by other groups on the political right. Their strong support for cultural
freedoms seems to align them more closely with modern liberals than with conservatives.
Liberalism is often described as an ideology that supports “big government.” If the objec-
tive is to promote equality, the description has some validity. In the moral sphere, however,
conservatives tend to support more government regulation of social values and moral deci-
sions than do liberals. Thus, conservatives tend to oppose gay rights legislation and propose
stronger curbs on pornography. Liberals usually show greater tolerance for a wide variety
of life choices and oppose government attempts to regulate personal behavior and morals.
A Four-Cornered Ideological Grid

For a more sophisticated breakdown of recent American popular ideologies, many scholars
use a four-cornered grid, as shown in Figure 1.3. The grid includes four possible ideologies.
Each quadrant contains a substantial portion of the American electorate. Individual voters
may fall anywhere on the grid, depending on the strength of their beliefs about economic
and cultural issues.
Economic Liberals, Cultural Conservatives. Note that there is no generally accepted

term for persons in the lower-left position, which we have labeled “economic liberals,
cultural conservatives.” Some scholars have used terms such as populist to describe this
point of view, but these terms can be misleading.
Populism more accurately refers to a hostility toward
Figure 1.3 A Four-Cornered Ideological Grid political, economic, or cultural elites, and it can be
Can you name some celebrities or politicians who fall combined with a variety of political positions, both
into the conservative category? The liberal category? If so, left and right.
who are they?
Individuals who are economic liberals and cultural
conservatives tend to support government action both
Economic Equality Economic Liberty to promote the values of economic equality and fairness
and to defend traditional values, such as the family and
Cultural Order
marriage. These individuals may describe themselves as

conservative or moderate. They may vote for a Republi-
Liberals Libertarians
can candidate based on their conservative values. More
often, they may be Democrats due to their support for
economic liberalism. Many of these Democrats are Afri-
The can Americans or members of other minority groups.
Political
Center Libertarians. The libertarian position on the four-
cornered grid does not refer to the small Libertarian
Cultural Equality
Party, which has only a minor role in the American

Economic Liberals, Conservatives political arena. Rather, libertarians typically support the
Cultural Conservatives Republican Party. Economically successful individuals
are more likely than members of other groups to hold
libertarian opinions.
Liberal Versus Progressive. Even though all four ideologies are popular, the various labels
we have used in the four-cornered grid are not equally favored. Voters are much more likely
to describe themselves as conservative than as liberal. In the political battles of the last
several decades, the conservative movement has consistently made liberal a term of derision,
and they have succeeded in devaluing the term among much of the public. Indeed, few
politicians today willingly describe themselves as liberal, and many liberals prefer to
describe themselves as progressive instead. This term dates back to the years before World Progressive
War I (1914–18), when it referred to advocates of reform in both of the major political A popular alternative to
the term liberal.
parties. Public opinion polls suggest that progressive is a relatively popular label.
Making A Difference
Seeing Democracy in Action
One way to understand the American political system is to up, for example? You might be able to change its policies by
observe a legislative body in action. By “legislative body,” lobbying your councilperson.
we don’t mean only the U.S. Congress and the various state
What Can You Do? To find out when and where local legislative
legislatures—there are thousands of elected legislatures in the
bodies meet, call the clerk of the council or commission. If you live
United States at all levels of government. You might choose
in a state capital, you can view a meeting of the state legislature
to visit the meeting of a city council or a county commission.
instead. In many communities, city council meetings and county
Why Should You Care? Local legislative bodies can have a board meetings can be seen on public-access TV channels.
direct impact on your life. City councils or county commissions While attending a business session of the legislature,
typically oversee the police or the sheriff’s department, and the keep in mind the theory of representative democracy. The com-
behavior of the police is a matter of interest even if you live on missioners or council members are elected to represent their
campus. If you live off campus, local authorities are responsible constituents (those who voted them into office). Observe how
for an even greater number of issues that affect you directly. often the members refer to their constituents or to the special
Are there items that the sanitation department refuses to pick needs of their district. Listen for sources of conflict within a
community. If there is a debate, for
example, over a zoning proposal
that involves an issue of land use,
try to figure out why some mem-
bers oppose the proposal.
To follow up on your visit, try
to get a brief interview with one
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of the members of the council or

board. In general, legislators are
very willing to talk to students, par-
ticularly students who also are vot-
ers. Ask the member how he or she
sees the job of representative. How
can the wishes of the constituents
be identified? How does the repre-
sentative balance the needs of the
Image 1.6 Young students meet with Nancy Pelosi at the U.S. Capitol particular ward or district that she
Building. Pelosi, a Democrat, was the Speaker (leader) of the U.S. House of
or he represents with the good of
Representatives. Why might elected officials be willing to meet with students?
the entire community?
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A TUAREG WOMAN.
Still the Tuareg woman is allowed to have friends of the opposite

sex, and, as in the days of the Troubadours, her praises are sung in
many a charming rondeau. These male friends, who correspond to
the Italian cicisbeos, draw their swords in honour of the fair lady of
their choice, and shout her name as a war-cry as they fling
themselves upon the foe in the clash of combat. The woman, in her
turn, celebrates the exploits of her cicisbeo in verse, and she adorns
his leather shield and the scabbard of his sword with the work of her
hands. All, however, ends there, and we are irresistibly reminded of
Petrarch’s songs in honour of his Laura when she was a stout,
middle-aged woman, the mother of seven children.
Alas! we must tell the whole truth, and this reference to Petrarch
brings me back to my subject: Tuareg women in general. What a pity
that after all I have said about their lofty spirit, their manners, and the
good influence they exercise, I am obliged to own that I cannot
admire their figure, which resembles that of a Durham cow ready for
a prize show, or of a moulting goose more than anything else.
Their faces are pleasing, sometimes even very pretty. Delicate
features, big eyes full of expression, and very long black hair parted
in the middle and plaited together at the back of the head, give them
a charming appearance, but they have absolutely no figures, they
are just one mass of fat; their arms are like the jellies exposed for
sale in pork-butchers’ shops, and the less said about the rest of their
bodies the better.
In striking contrast to their wives, Tuareg warriors are generally
very lean, and their figures are well knit. Their limbs are very finely
moulded, and they walk with a slow dignity all their own, raising their
feet rather high from the ground much as an ostrich does, a mode of
progression which is probably the reason for their habit of leaning on
their spears as they advance.
The most striking peculiarity of the Tuareg costume is the veil,
called the litham in Arabic, and the tagelmust in Tamschek, which
covers the face, leaving only the eyes visible. It consists of a band of
stuff, generally black, which goes round the head like a turban to
begin with, and then passes over the mouth and nose, coming round
a third time across the forehead, and looking rather like a visor.
The tribe to which a Tuareg belongs is shown by his tagelmust. A
well-bred Amacher never takes it off, not even to eat or sleep, and
the negroes of the riverside have adopted the custom in imitation of
their masters. Their veils are, however, generally white, as are also
those of Tuaregs who are not rich enough to buy the lustrous black
stuffs from Haussa, used by the well-to-do.
The veil seems to have been originally adopted as part of the
Tuareg costume on hygienic grounds, for in the long wanderings of
the tribes amongst the sand of the deserts it protects the respiratory
organs. By degrees, however, this tagelmust grew to be considered
a sign of the modesty of the wearer, and to show the face became a
breach of etiquette.
Strange to say, the women do not hide their faces, a very
noteworthy difference this between Mahommedans, whose females
are always veiled, and Tuaregs, amongst whom it is the men who
thus disguise their features. To make up for this, however, if a Tuareg
woman wishes to show great respect to any one she is talking to,
she covers her mouth with a piece of her robe.
The Tuaregs themselves tell the following legend—they have one
for every occasion—to explain this peculiarity of their costume.
“In olden times women used to keep their faces veiled as do the
Mahommedans, whilst men left their faces uncovered; but one day
the enemy surprised a camp of our ancestors. The attack was so
sudden and so utterly unexpected that the Tuaregs were seized with
panic and fled, leaving behind them their families and their property.
They flung down their arms, making no effort to defend themselves,
but trusting for escape entirely to the fleetness of their legs.
A TUAREG IN HIS NATIONAL COSTUME.
“The women, however, picked up the swords, the spears, and the
daggers, with which they faced the enemy and drove them off.
“From that day, to show their admiration for the conduct of their
wives, and their shame for their own cowardice, the men wore the
veil and the women left their features exposed to view.”
In addition to the veil the Tuaregs wear a tunic of lustrous black
cotton, which falls nearly to the ankles, and in the front of which is a
huge pocket.
The Tuareg who wishes to be very “chic,” to use the last slang
expression in vogue in France and England, has this pocket made of
red material; but whatever the colour it is always of huge size. It is
difficult to imagine what quantities of things that pocket will hold. In it
a Tuareg can stow away yards upon yards of stuff, any amount of
beads, whole coverlets, etc., etc.; and to see him dispose of
everything in such a limited space, reminds one of the conjurors who
put a cannon ball, a cage full of birds, and a bowl with gold fish all
into a single nut.
Long wide trousers envelope the lower part of the body, and are
drawn in at the waist with running strings, whilst sandals made of ox
or antelope hide protect the feet from the burning heat of the sun-
parched sand.
The costume is completed by quantities of little leather sachets,
containing amulets, hung round the neck on thin cords. These
amulets protect their wearer from all evil influences, and secure to
him all the good things his heart desires.
The weapons of a Tuareg are all what the French call armes
blanches, that is to say, swords, spears, daggers, etc., and it is rare
indeed for any of them to own firearms. Even if they have them they
will not use them unless they are positively driven to do so. They
have a kind of superstitious dread, and at the same time a contempt
for guns. “They are not weapons worthy of a man,” say these
Tuaregs, who admit that their women excel them in courage.
The national weapon par excellence is the so-called tellak or short
dagger, the sheath of which is fastened to the left wrist with a leather
armlet. The hilt of this tellak is of the shape of a cross, and the
wearer is not at all inconvenienced by wearing it. He generally rests
his hand on the hilt when he is not using the weapon. If he is
threatened with any danger, the dagger is drawn from the sheath
with the right hand in an instant.
The spear or lance is generally made entirely of iron, except for
certain copper ornaments; a few, however, have wooden handles,
though the actual weapon is of metal. The Ihaggaren alone have the
right of wearing the iron spear, and the so-called takuba or sword
worn at the side, suspended on a cotton or silk cord.
According to circumstances, the spear is used as a missile or as a
lance. Mounted Tuaregs use it much as European lancers do, but
when they are fighting on foot, they fling it with marvellous skill, and
will rarely miss an enemy at a distance as great as fifty feet. The red
and green leather shields of the Tuaregs are often decorated with
considerable taste, and we must not forget to mention the ahabeg,
which is alike a weapon and an ornament, consisting of a circlet of
stone worn on the left arm a little above the wrist.
The horses of the Tuaregs are very ugly and small but strong. The
saddles in use are of wood covered over with leather, and a thick
coverlet of felt protects the hinder quarters of the steed. The bits are
of very well forged iron, the bridle is of plaited leather; the stirrups of
copper are very small, no bigger than a child’s bracelet, and the
horseman only rests his big toe in them.
But the animal which takes first rank, whether for riding or for
carrying bales of merchandise, the equipment of camps, meat, milk,
etc., is the camel.
The Tamschek language has many names for this useful animal,
a different one being used for it according to its age and capacity.
The camel used as a beast of burden is a strongly-built and heavy-
looking animal, known as an amnis, whilst the areggan or saddle
camel, used for riding, is much lighter, has slenderer limbs, and is far
more spirited. For guiding the amnis or the areggan a bridle is used,
passing through a ring which was fixed in the nose of the animal at a
very early age.
The camel is the chief wealth of a Tuareg. “How many camels has
your father?” I was asked, and it was very difficult to convince my
questioner that this useful animal would be of no good to us in
France.
The costume of Tuareg women is simpler than that of their
husbands, and consists of a long piece of stuff, which is rolled round
and round the body, a pair of cotton drawers, and a fariuel, or shawl,
which they wear over their heads, and drape about their figures as
gracefully as their extreme stoutness will admit.
Copper ornaments are much valued and are very rare. As a
general rule the women and men both like any sort of trinket which
can be hung round the neck; an old sardine tin is a very suitable
present for an admirer to give to a Tuareg lady. A Tuareg’s house is
his tent. The very poor, however, live in straw huts called ehan.
The tent or ehakit is made of skins upheld by a central stake; the
edges of the skins are very irregular, and are fastened with the aid of
tags to pegs stuck in the ground.
During the night the tent is closed, and the owner is shut up within
it, but in the daytime it is left open on the side opposite the sun;
blinds made of very thin laths of wood, kept together with strips of
leather, plaited in and out, shield those in the tent from the heat and
glare of the rays reflected from the burning sands.
An encampment of tents is called an amezzar, a group of camps,
generally occupied by one tribe, is a tausi, and over such an
agglomeration the chief or amrar has full authority.
The imrad camps are surrounded
by palisades or afaradj, between
which and the tents occupying the
centre of the enclosure the flocks and
herds are sheltered at night and
protected from the lions, which still
prowl in the vicinity.
The Ihaggaren seldom have their
flocks and herds with them, but when
they have, certain of the imrads under
them live in the camp and look after
the animals.
TUAREGS.
Within the tent the woman is
mistress. It is her business to look
after and order about the slaves. She milks the cows and she does
the cooking. But amongst the more important tribes the house, or
rather tent-keeping cares do not occupy the whole of the day, and
the nights are so warm that all sensible Tuaregs sit up till midnight at
least.
Well, how does the woman employ her spare time? She does her
leather work very much as European ladies do their embroidery, or
she sings to the accompaniment of an amzad, or violin with but one
string. She even composes verses.
Yes, she makes verses! Will not this arouse the interest of all the
blue-stockings of Europe? Surely when their occupations are so
much alike their sympathies will go out to their sisters in the distant
desert.
I can even add that Tuareg verses will always scan, and that they
all rhyme. Surely this is a good deal more than can be said of the
effusions of most female scribblers!
The men too write poetry sometimes. I have not time or space to
give specimens of the productions of these writers of the Niger
districts; but I cannot refrain from quoting two examples given by
Commandant Hanotaux in his Tamschek grammar, which were
written by Tuaregs of the north.
The first is a madrigal, composed and transcribed in the album of
a young lady of Algiers by Bedda of Ida. It must be observed that
Bedda was the first Tuareg to visit Algeria.
I speak; and, Angelina, thine the name!
Love in my heart for thee can never die.
What son of Adam may endure the flame
That burns within that dark, alluring eye?
For love of thee, enslavèd by thy glance,
I e’en would journey forth afar to France!
Who holds thee, Angelina, in his arms,

May dream secure, the fairest vision thou!
We thought no human limbs the lissom charm
Of fleet gazelles could e’er surpass, but now,
Since we have seen thy perfect form and face,
We know that we were wrong; thou hast all grace!
If thou shouldst come to us, come to our land,

Each man among us would go forth to thee
And sue thy favour; and should one demand
What price I’d pay could I but purchase thee,
I ween, for such possession I would give, indeed,
Six thousand golden pieces, or my steed![7]
Are not the sentiments expressed in this madrigal wonderfully

gallant for a so-called savage?
The second piece of poetry is really a satire, the daughter of
Abukias apostrophized in it having been compelled to repulse the too
ardent advances of an admirer, who could not forgive her scorn.
Daughter of Aboukias! thou hast come,
And the sun was hot when thou didst say “good-day”;
Time was, when but to hear thy words repeated
Filled me with mad desire to be with thee,
For thou wast in mine eyes a houri.
But now we know thy nature through and through.
Rash are thy words—reserve unknown to thee;
And in thy treachery thou wilt die.
Wert thou of noble race, how would thy good blood show?
By silence golden—not by reckless blame of other women,
For thou wouldst know thyself!
Yet one more word before I close,
A word which many others will confirm;
Aye, others married ere thy birth,
Whose steps have led them far away to lands unknown to thee,
And towns, whose very names thou hast not heard.
Young men there are, thou fain wouldst know,
Owners of herds and camels which will ne’er be thine,
To saddle in war or to milk when at peace.
But as for thy lover, the man thou didst scorn,
What matter to us though thou left him forlorn?
No translation could really give any idea of the vigorous ring of

these verses in the original Tamschek. They are alike forcible and
rhythmic without any of that undue use of gutturals for which the
Tuaregs blame the Arabs, calling their language in derision the
Takhamkhamen.
When Tuareg women receive, or, as we should say, are “at home
to their friends,” they recite such verses as those quoted above, or
tell long stories which last for several meetings. The men gather
about them wearing their best clothes, and vieing with each other in
their efforts to appear to advantage. The worthy deeds of those who
acquitted themselves well in recent conflicts are recounted, whilst
the cowards (who take care not to put in an appearance) are held up
to public scorn. It will readily be understood that the Tuareg customs,
which differ in so marked a degree from those of the Mahommedans,
give a great influence to the female sex, and place a woman far
above her admirers, who often sue in vain for notice from her.
As long as there is plenty of pasturage for the flocks and herds
the days pass peacefully by, as we have described, in the Tuareg
camp, but directly grass becomes scarce the tents must be struck,
and the tribe moves on to better feeding-grounds.
When the word to break up the temporary home has been given
all is bustle and animation, the amezzar resembling some great
beehive. The camels which are to carry the loads are assembled, the
tents go down as if by magic, some of the imrads rapidly roll them
up, and pack them on the backs of the patient beasts, whilst others
stow away the modest furniture and household utensils.
Meanwhile the young Ihaggaren have gone forward to choose the
spot for the new camp. Presently they return, and place themselves
at the head of the party, acting alike as guides and protectors to it.
Behind them come the women, chattering together in the quaint,
cradle-like saddles they occupy on the fleeter camels, whilst the
older men gather round the amrar, and march solemnly on with him.
Last of all, led by the slaves, come the pack-saddle animals,
guarded by the warriors, who protect them from pillage, of which
there is always more or less danger in the desert.
The site of the new encampment reached, tents and furniture are
unladed, and all is arranged as it was before. The same kind of life
as that already described begins again, and goes on without
interruption for weeks or even for months, according to the fertility of
the district.
Of course all this refers only to times of peace, but amongst the
Ihaggaren constantly, and amongst the imrads more rarely, but still
pretty often, war, with its many complications, breaks out and upsets
everything.
Amongst nomad tribes constant struggle with others is all but a
necessity of existence. In certain dry seasons pasturage is alike
meagre and innutritious, but the flocks and herds must have food,
hence perpetual disputes and quarrels, in which the Amenokal, when
there is one, often intervenes to prevent bloodshed if the would-be
belligerents are of the same confederation.
If, however, there is no central authority to preserve order the
quarrel spreads and becomes general. This was the original cause
of the feud between the Awellimiden and the Hoggars of the north,
as well as with the Kel Gheres on the west, a feud which has been
going on uninterruptedly from time immemorial.
In time of war the imrad or worker suffers but little. Everything is,
in fact, so settled by tradition amongst the Tuaregs that even a battle
is more like a set of quadrilles than anything else.
To begin with, there is generally a palaver, and when all attempts
to patch up the quarrel have failed resort is had to arms. The
disputants separate, having fixed a time for their meeting, and on the
day and at the place agreed upon the two armies or attabu are
drawn up as in a mediæval tournament.
The forces advance in closely serried battalions. Sometimes the
Tuareg fights on horseback, but as a rule he prefers to meet his foe
on foot. The combatants hurl defiance at each other and rush
shouting to the fray. Spears are flung at a distance of some fifty feet,
but they are pretty well always caught on the shields of those at
whom they are hurled.
Meanwhile the confusion rapidly increases; the chiefs now begin
to challenge each other to single combat, and it is no unusual thing
for the two armies to cease hostilities with one accord to watch the
issue of the struggle between the leaders. Spears, no longer of any
use, are flung aside, the dagger and sword taking their place, and
gleaming in the sunshine as they are raised against the foe. Blood
begins to flow copiously on either side. Here two warriors are holding
each other at bay at arms’ length, each trying to pierce his
adversary’s heart with his sword; there two others are locked in a
murderous embrace, stabbing at each other with their daggers, or
trying to crack each other’s skulls with the stone amulet alluded to
above.
TUAREG HORSEMAN.
At last one side wavers, inferior in strength or in numbers to the

other. The warriors begin to flee, and the victors shout, “Ia! ia! Our
adellin rour’ onen imzaden!” (“Ah! ah! There will be no violins for
you!”) And this sarcasm, which means that their wives will be angry
and scorn them, often so stings the fugitives that they rally and go
back to the struggle, eager to win the praises of their women on their
return to their tents.
In these battles life is taken without pity or remorse; but, as I have
already said, when the victory is won the prisoners are spared. I
have even been told by several very trustworthy authorities, that
when peace is made on the request of one side or the other, the
victors will entirely reclothe the prisoners taken before sending them
home.
War, however, amongst the Tuaregs generally takes the form of
raids, such as those in vogue with the Arabs.
Dangerous as are these raids, they offer the advantage of taking
the enemy by surprise, and meeting him face to face instead of
being attacked in the rear. Moreover, the profit if victorious is
immediate, and the booty often considerable.
There is plenty of scope in them too for individual courage and for
skill in stratagem, promptitude in attack, and for showing off what
they greatly admire, the military virtues of endurance under privation,
knowledge of the country to be traversed, and so on.
Here I must just add, by way of parenthesis, that one of the chief
charges brought against the Tuaregs, that of being treacherous, is
the result of this habit of theirs of falling unawares upon their foe. I
really cannot blame them, however, for are not surprises and night
attacks amongst the tactics of European armies, and does any one
dream of attaching dishonour to them?
Military regulations deal with them quite openly, only stipulating
that they should not be attempted except with very well-disciplined
troops, who are thoroughly in hand. All the more honour then to the
Tuaregs that this is their usual way of going to work.
MOORS AND TUAREGS.
What I may call these hunting expeditions are greatly facilitated, if

not altogether necessitated, by the very nature of a nomad life. The
preparations are made with the greatest secrecy, and only the
sturdiest walkers and the best horsemen are allowed to take part in
them. The party, never very large, numbering at the most a hundred,
if the way is long as it often is, starts preceded by guides, who lead
the razzia by the least frequented route. The most important point to
be kept in view is the position of the various wells by the way, for on
a knowledge of this essential detail success chiefly depends.
Gliding silently between the encampments of the enemy on the
frontiers, the Tuaregs in which are always on the alert, for their
exposed situation makes them watchful, the marauding expedition
flings itself suddenly upon the amezzar or tribe chosen. The greatest
skill is needed to take the enemy unawares, and sometimes all the
precautions are in vain, for those attacked have had warning
beforehand, but not in time to send couriers out to summon their
friends to their aid.
The men then all take to flight, but the women remain, for though
the men who resist are slain, no Tuareg would stain his hands with
the blood of a defenceless woman; the flocks and herds with the
camels are hastily hidden in the bush, but the assailants, or
imihagen as they are called, know how to find and collect them.
The next thing to do is to carry off the booty before those pillaged
or the imihagen come back to avenge themselves, for they
meanwhile have not been inactive, but by means of messengers, or
by fires lit on the tops of the dunes, have let their relations know of
their need. A column is quickly formed, and starts in pursuit of the
raiders.
It is their turn now to have to flee for their lives. The big camels
used as beasts of burden and the flocks and herds hamper their
march. If they do not get a good start they are often overtaken, and
being far less numerous than those they have robbed they have to
pay dearly for their audacity.
The pursuing column now shows considerable skill in getting
ahead of the raiders, and awaiting them at some well or pond which
they must pass, they there in their turn fall suddenly upon the enemy.
The marauders are by this time weary, whilst the robbed are fresh
and in first-rate positions. The robbers are dying of thirst; their
enemies have drank their fill at their ease.
One such razzia succeeds another, until at last one party to the
quarrel is worn out and sues for peace, a marabout acting as
intermediary. Innumerable palavers now take place, the Tuareg
warriors holding forth to the assembled crowds in long speeches, for
they are as anxious to show off their eloquence as they are jealous
of their reputation for military skill. A truce is finally patched up, and
though it never lasts long it serves as an excuse for a feast, in which,
by the way, the Tuaregs, who are naturally frugal and abstemious,
rarely indulge.
Children are very kindly treated in Tuareg camps. Except to
compel the girls to empty the bowls of the curdled milk, the drinking
of which makes them fat, they are never beaten. As soon as they
can stand alone the little boys are taught to fling the spear, small
weapons suited to their size being specially made for them. The
father looks after the martial education of his sons, whilst the mother
teaches the girls to work leather, to sing, and to read the written
characters I have already described. This is how it comes about that
women can generally decipher inscriptions more readily than men.
A strange custom prevails with regard to inheritance, not only
amongst the Tuaregs but in other African tribes, and that is, the
nephew is the heir of the uncle, not the son of the father. The child of
an imrad woman is a serf, and the son of a slave is a slave no matter
whether the father is a free man or not. “It is the womb which gives
to the child its complexion,” say the Tuaregs. It is the law of Beni-
Omia.
The great Awellimiden tribes, however, repudiate this custom,
saying that it reflects unfairly upon the virtue of their women. “One is
always sure to be the son of one’s mother,” they say, “but not of
one’s father. That is why a race less noble than our own have
adopted the custom of inheritance from uncle to nephew. They are
sure that in the veins of the latter flows the blood of the former.”
The rest of the Tuaregs, however, who have always been noted
for their gallantry, date the origin of the so-called Beni-Omia law from
Gheres, the father of the Kel Gheres.
Gheres, they say, had a wife named Fatimata Azzer’a, and a
sister called Gherinecha. Each of them had a son; the child of the
former was called Ituei, that of the latter, R’isa.
Now Gheres, feeling old age gaining on him, wished to prove his
wife. He pretended he was ill, and went to consult an old sorcerer
who dwelt in a hut on a lofty dune, from which he never came down
into the plains. There was no well there, and the sorcerer had neither
sheep nor oxen nor camels, none knew what he drank or what he
ate.
On his return to his camp after his visit to the sorcerer, Gheres
sent for his wife and said to her—“Woman, thou alone canst cure
me. My days are numbered unless I can anoint my body with magic
ointment made from the brains of a child. Give me thy son.”
“My son is mine,” replied Fatimata; “I have had the trouble of
bearing and rearing him. It is true I love thee next to him, but even if
thy life depend on it, I will not have him die.”
The chief then sent for Gherinecha and made the same demand
of her as he had of his wife.
“After thee, my brother,” she said, “I love R’isa best. But if God
inflicts on me the anguish of choosing between thee and him, I
choose. Take thou the child, do as the sorcerer bids thee, and may
Allah protect thee.”
So Gheres hid his nephew in the bush, killed a kid, took its brains,
rubbed his body with them and returned to his camp, where he
summoned his relations and subjects to appear before him. He then
told the story of what he pretended had happened, and everybody
admired the devotion of Gherinecha. Then he called for the child—
who had been brought in unperceived under the cloak of a slave—
and presented him to the assembled crowds, saying, “Behold my
heir and my successor. As my sister loves me more than my wife
does, it is but just that after my death my sister’s son should inherit
my wealth and my rights.”
The Ben-Omia law has at least had the good result where it is
enforced of preserving the purity of the Tuareg blood, for the son of a
black slave woman would be and remain a slave all his life, no
matter how great the power or how high the lineage of his father.
Amongst the Awellimiden, on the other hand, that is to say,
amongst the three chief tribes, the Kel Kumeden, the Kel Ahara, and
the Kel Tedjiuane, which dominate the rest of the Confederation, this
system has not been observed, with the result that the complexions
of the Awellimiden have been notably darkened by the admixture of
negro blood.
The Tuaregs are extremely superstitious, and I have already
alluded to the number of charms with which they deck themselves.
The Demons or Alchinen play a great part amongst them, and are
looked upon as almost human. They are supposed to inhabit the
mountains, camping on them, and living a life very much like that of
the Tuareg tribes themselves. They have their own quarrels, their
own wars, and they too make raids on each other. They are,
however, endowed with the power of becoming invisible, and they
come unseen to take and to drink the milk of the cows belonging to
the Tuaregs. “Beware,” say the Tuaregs, “when you are out at night
that you do not run against an alchin (the singular of alchinen). You
will see nothing at the time, but the next morning when you wake you
will find that your foot is sore and you cannot walk. You have trodden
on the foot of a demon.”
A YOUNG TUAREG.
In spite of the undoubted courage of the Tuaregs, they hate the

idea of death. They do not say of any one who has died, “He is
dead,” but Aba, he has disappeared. It is a sign of very bad breeding
to speak of a dead relative or even to pronounce his name. He must
be alluded to only as mandam, or such an one. None but the
descendants of an illustrious chief or the sons of an Amenokal
tolerate any allusion to their ancestors, in which case pride is
stronger than superstition.
We came in contact on our journey with the two great
Confederations of the Igwadaren and the Awellimiden; the former, as
we have seen, are a prey to anarchy and they rob traders, but their
importance is almost nil.
It is very different with the Awellimiden. I do not of course deny
that certain tribes are dangerous to travellers; for frequent revolts
against the central authority occur, and during our stay at Say the
Cheibatan tried to shake off the suzerainty of the Amenokal, but they
were cruelly punished by Madidu and his nephew Djamarata.
As a rule, however, the protection promised by a chief can be
depended on, and for this reason the Awellimiden will certainly be
the first Tuaregs whom we shall be able to induce to lead a more
civilized life.
True Awellimiden, or direct descendants from Lemta, are few.
They include at present three tribes, the Kel Kumeden, the Kel
Ahara, and the Kel Tedjucane. The Amenokal or principal chief is
always a member of the first-named, and inherits in the usual order
of primogeniture in these districts, that is to say, the brothers reign in
succession according to age, then the son of the eldest, and so on.
It is, however, open to the Confederation to depart from this rule,
and the Amenokal is not regularly invested with authority until the
consent of the assembled Ihaggaren has been given. But it is a very
rare thing for an exception to be made, and the right of veto, though
it has been used, is seldom exercised.
The predecessor of Madidu was Alimsar, who had succeeded his
brother El Khotab, the protector of Barth. I transcribe below the
genealogy of the descendants of El Khotab and Alimsar just as it
was given to me.
EL KHOTAB

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Part I: The American System

Part II: The Politics of American Democracy

Part III: Institutions of American Government

Part IV: Policymaking

Appendix A The Declaration of Independence 361

Part I: The American System

Chapter 1 The Democratic Republic 1

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Chapter 2 Forging a New Government: The Constitution 22

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Arguments Against Federalism 50

Chapter 4 Civil Liberties 68

The Separation of Church and State—The Establishment Clause 71

The Eclipse of Obscenity as a Legal Category 77

Chapter 5 Civil Rights 96

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Women’s Struggle for Equal Rights 113

Part II: The Politics of American Democracy

Chapter 6 Public Opinion, Political Socialization,

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The Difficulty of Obtaining Accurate Results 136

The Media in the United States 140

Chapter 7 Interest Groups and Political Parties 154

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Political Parties in the United States 166

Chapter 8 Campaigns and Elections 183

At Issue: Can Money Buy Elections? 191

Running for President: The Longest Campaign 192

The Party Decides 194

Part III: Institutions of American Government

Chapter 9 Congress 210

The Conflict-Resolution Function 214

Congresspersons and the Citizenry: A Comparison 218

Chapter 10 The President 237

Chief Executive 241

Signing Statements 250

Chapter 11 The Executive Branch 262

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Chapter 12 The Courts 285

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Part IV: Policymaking

Chapter 13 Domestic and Economic Policy 311

The Policymaking Process: The CARES Act 313

The CARES Act: Policy Formulation 314

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Chapter 14 Foreign Policy 334

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The Major Foreign Policy Themes 352

Making A Difference: Working for Human Rights 357

Appendix A The Declaration of Independence 361

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