Keeping the Republic: Power and Citizenship in American Politics: The Essentials

Effectively using the themes of power and citizenship, Christine Barbour and Gerald C. Wright explain how and why institutions and rules determine who wins and who loses in American politics. Whether you get your news from a popular blog or a traditional media outlet, this book models critical thinking and provides the tools you need to be a savvy consumer of political information. And with your purchase of this Media Edition, you get FREE access to an enhanced eBook, which includes links to audio, video, data, articles, historical background, profiles, and CQ Researcher policy reports that bring depth and interactivity to the book
Keeping the Republic is filled with phenomenal resources that help students fully engage in the text. It is well written and extremely substantive. Students rave about the graphics, pictures, and other visuals that help guide them as they understand the material. The transitions from topic to topic are smooth and clear, and the real-world applications are also extremely well done. A terrific textbook for intro students, and a great foundation for budding political scientists."–-Alison Dagnes, Shippensburg university
"Keeping the Republic presents the information in a balanced and visually appealing style that gets, and keeps, students reading and engaged with the content. The graphics and `Don't Be Fooled By…' features are well above the competition. The online instructor resources are excellent." –-Gary A. Johnson, Weber State University
"The political science faculty at our Virginia state university have utilized Keeping the Republic for many years. Barbour and Wright offer current and helpful pedagogical features that encourage class discussion and reinforce the students' understanding of critical information. The text's organization offers a useful means of breaking down the semester-length course, and my students genuinely like the layout of the text."–-Peter M. Carlson, Christopher Newport University
"Keeping the Republic simplifies complicated concepts without losing the key points. Students find the book easy to read and well organized for study. The book is especially well suited for the non-political science major and works well for large-sized sections or for online courses. The `Thinking Outside the Box' questions, along with the helpful test bank, encourage discussion in class or in online forums."–-Donald S. Inbody, Texas State University
"Keeping the Republic holds the attention of my students better than books I have used in the past. I like to include as much pop culture as I can in the teaching of my class, and this book is the best one I have found that makes an effort to do the same."–-Norman Rodriguez, John Wood Community College
"What's at stake? This book repeats that question over and over. It defines a perspective that makes Keeping the Republic meaningful to all students of American government. Citizenship is a skill, and this text approaches government from the point of view of the citizen. It asks the reader to be critical, not in the sense that government is necessarily the problem, but rather in asking how government structure and operations can be improved to enhance the lives of the citizens of the United States, of which the reader is one. And, importantly, the book requires the reader to confront the question of what role and responsibility do I, the citizen, have. By default, the approach pulls the student in and makes the stu