A merican Politics: A Very Short Introduction VERY SHORT INTRODUCTIONS are for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible way in to a new subject. They are written by experts and have been published in more than 25 languages worldwide. T he series began in 1995 and now represents a wide variety of topics in history, philosophy, religion, science, and the humanities. The VSI library now contains more than 300 volumes—a Very Short Introduction to everything from ancient Egypt and Indian philosophy to conceptual art and cosmology—and will continue to grow in a variety of disciplines. V ery Short Introductions available now: ADVERTISING Winston Fletcher ART HISTORY Dana Arnold AFRICAN HISTORY John Parker and ART THEORY Cynthia Freeland Richard Rathbone ATHEISM Julian Baggini AGNOSTICISM Robin Le Poidevin AUGUSTINE Henry Chadwick AMERICAN HISTORY Paul S. Boyer AUSTRALIA Kenneth Morgan AMERICAN IMMIGRATION AUTISM Uta Frith David A. Gerber THE AZTECS Davíd Carrasco AMERICAN POLITICAL PARTIES BARTHES Jonathan Culler AND ELECTIONS L. Sandy Maisel BEAUTY Roger Scruton THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY BESTSELLERS John Sutherland Charles O. Jones THE BIBLE John Riches ANAESTHESIA Aidan O’Donnell BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY Eric H. Cline ANARCHISM Colin Ward BIOGRAPHY Hermione Lee ANCIENT EGYPT Ian Shaw THE BLUES Elijah Wald ANCIENT GREECE Paul Cartledge THE BOOK OF MORMON ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY Julia Annas Terryl Givens ANCIENT WARFARE Harry Sidebottom BORDERS Alexander C. Diener and ANGELS David Albert Jones Joshua Hagen ANGLICANISM Mark Chapman THE BRAIN Michael O’Shea - THE ANGLO SAXON AGE John Blair BRITISH POLITICS Anthony Wright THE ANIMAL KINGDOM BUDDHA Michael Carrithers Peter Holland BUDDHISM Damien Keown ANIMAL RIGHTS David DeGrazia BUDDHIST ETHICS Damien Keown THE ANTARCTIC Klaus Dodds CANCER Nicholas James ANTISEMITISM Steven Beller CAPITALISM James Fulcher ANXIETY Daniel Freeman CATHOLICISM Gerald O’Collins and Jason Freeman THE CELL Terence Allen and THE APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS Graham Cowling Paul Foster THE CELTS Barry Cunliffe ARCHAEOLOGY Paul Bahn CHAOS Leonard Smith ARCHITECTURE Andrew Ballantyne CHILDREN’S LITERATURE ARISTOCRACY William Doyle Kimberley Reynolds ARISTOTLE Jonathan Barnes CHINESE LITERATURE Sabina Knight CHOICE THEORY Michael Allingham DOCUMENTARY FILM CHRISTIAN ART Beth Williamson Patricia Aufderheide CHRISTIAN ETHICS D. Stephen Long DREAMING J. Allan Hobson CHRISTIANITY Linda Woodhead DRUGS Leslie Iversen CITIZENSHIP Richard Bellamy DRUIDS Barry Cunliffe CIVIL ENGINEERING David Muir Wood EARLY MUSIC Thomas Forrest Kelly CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY Helen Morales THE EARTH Martin Redfern CLASSICS Mary Beard and ECONOMICS Partha Dasgupta John Henderson EGYPTIAN MYTH Geraldine Pinch - CLAUSEWITZ Michael Howard EIGHTEENTH CENTURY BRITAIN THE COLD WAR Robert McMahon Paul Langford COLONIAL AMERICA Alan Taylor THE ELEMENTS Philip Ball COLONIAL LATIN AMERICAN EMOTION Dylan Evans LITERATURE Rolena Adorno EMPIRE Stephen Howe COMMUNISM Leslie Holmes ENGELS Terrell Carver THE COMPUTER Darrel Ince ENGINEERING David Blockley THE CONQUISTADORS ENGLISH LITERATURE Jonathan Bate Matthew Restall and Felipe ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS Fernández-Armesto Stephen Smith CONSCIENCE Paul Strohm EPIDEMIOLOGY Rodolfo Saracci CONSCIOUSNESS Susan Blackmore ETHICS Simon Blackburn CONTEMPORARY ART THE EUROPEAN UNION John Pinder Julian Stallabrass and Simon Usherwood CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY EVOLUTION Brian and Simon Critchley Deborah Charlesworth COSMOLOGY Peter Coles EXISTENTIALISM Thomas Flynn CRITICAL THEORY FASCISM Kevin Passmore Stephen Eric Bronner FASHION Rebecca Arnold THE CRUSADES Christopher Tyerman FEMINISM Margaret Walters CRYPTOGRAPHY Fred Piper FILM Michael Wood and Sean Murphy FILM MUSIC Kathryn Kalinak THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION THE FIRST WORLD WAR Richard Curt Kraus Michael Howard DADA AND SURREALISM FOLK MUSIC Mark Slobin David Hopkins FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY David Canter DARWIN Jonathan Howard FORENSIC SCIENCE Jim Fraser THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS Timothy Lim FOSSILS Keith Thomson DEMOCRACY Bernard Crick FOUCAULT Gary Gutting DERRIDA Simon Glendinning FREE SPEECH Nigel Warburton DESCARTES Tom Sorell FREE WILL Thomas Pink DESERTS Nick Middleton FRENCH LITERATURE John D. Lyons DESIGN John Heskett THE FRENCH REVOLUTION DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY William Doyle Lewis Wolpert FREUD Anthony Storr THE DEVIL Darren Oldridge FUNDAMENTALISM Malise Ruthven DICTIONARIES Lynda Mugglestone GALAXIES John Gribbin DINOSAURS David Norman GALILEO Stillman Drake DIPLOMACY Joseph M. Siracusa GAME THEORY Ken Binmore GANDHI Bhikhu Parekh INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS GENIUS Andrew Robinson Paul Wilkinson GEOGRAPHY John Matthews ISLAM Malise Ruthven and David Herbert ISLAMIC HISTORY Adam Silverstein GEOPOLITICS Klaus Dodds ITALIAN LITERATURE GERMAN LITERATURE Nicholas Boyle Peter Hainsworth and David Robey GERMAN PHILOSOPHY JESUS Richard Bauckham Andrew Bowie JOURNALISM Ian Hargreaves GLOBAL CATASTROPHES Bill McGuire JUDAISM Norman Solomon GLOBAL ECONOMIC HISTORY JUNG Anthony Stevens Robert C. Allen KABBALAH Joseph Dan GLOBAL WARMING Mark Maslin KAFKA Ritchie Robertson GLOBALIZATION Manfred Steger KANT Roger Scruton THE GOTHIC Nick Groom KEYNES Robert Skidelsky GOVERNANCE Mark Bevir KIERKEGAARD Patrick Gardiner THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE THE KORAN Michael Cook NEW DEAL Eric Rauchway LANDSCAPES AND HABERMAS James Gordon Finlayson GEOMORPHOLOGY HEGEL Peter Singer Andrew Goudie and Heather Viles HEIDEGGER Michael Inwood LANGUAGES Stephen R. Anderson HERODOTUS Jennifer T. Roberts LATE ANTIQUITY Gillian Clark HIEROGLYPHS Penelope Wilson LAW Raymond Wacks HINDUISM Kim Knott THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS HISTORY John H. Arnold Peter Atkins THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY LEADERSHIP Keith Grint Michael Hoskin LINCOLN Allen C. Guelzo THE HISTORY OF LIFE Michael Benton LINGUISTICS Peter Matthews THE HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS LITERARY THEORY Jonathan Culler Jacqueline Stedall LOCKE John Dunn THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE LOGIC Graham Priest William Bynum MACHIAVELLI Quentin Skinner THE HISTORY OF TIME MADNESS Andrew Scull - Leofranc Holford S trevens MAGIC Owen Davies HIV/AIDS Alan Whiteside MAGNA CARTA Nicholas Vincent HOBBES Richard Tuck MAGNETISM Stephen Blundell HUMAN EVOLUTION Bernard Wood THE MARQUIS DE SADE John Phillips HUMAN RIGHTS Andrew Clapham MARTIN LUTHER Scott H. Hendrix HUMANISM Stephen Law MARTYRDOM Jolyon Mitchell HUME A. J. Ayer MARX Peter Singer IDEOLOGY Michael Freeden MATHEMATICS Timothy Gowers INDIAN PHILOSOPHY Sue Hamilton THE MEANING OF LIFE Terry Eagleton INFORMATION Luciano Floridi MEDICAL ETHICS Tony Hope INNOVATION Mark Dodgson MEDIEVAL BRITAIN John Gillingham and David Gann and Ralph A. Griffiths INTELLIGENCE Ian J. Deary MEMORY Jonathan K. Foster INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION METAPHYSICS Stephen Mumford Khalid Koser MICHAEL FARADAY Frank A.J.L. James MODERN ART David Cottington THE ORCHESTRA D. Kern Holoman MODERN CHINA Rana Mitter ORGANIZATIONS Mary Jo Hatch MODERN FRANCE PAGANISM Owen Davies Vanessa R. Schwartz PARTICLE PHYSICS Frank Close MODERN IRELAND Senia Pašeta PAUL E. P. Sanders MODERN JAPAN PENTECOSTALISM William K. Kay Christopher Goto-Jones THE PERIODIC TABLE Eric R. Scerri MODERN LATIN AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY Edward Craig LITERATURE PHILOSOPHY OF LAW Roberto González Echevarría Raymond Wacks MODERNISM Christopher Butler PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE MOLECULES Philip Ball Samir Okasha THE MONGOLS Morris Rossabi PHOTOGRAPHY Steve Edwards MORMONISM Richard Lyman Bushman PLAGUE Paul Slack MUHAMMAD Jonathan A.C. Brown PLANETS David A. Rothery MULTICULTURALISM Ali Rattansi PLANTS Timothy Walker MUSIC Nicholas Cook PLATO Julia Annas MYTH Robert A. Segal POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY David Miller NATIONALISM Steven Grosby POLITICS Kenneth Minogue NELSON MANDELA Elleke Boehmer POSTCOLONIALISM Robert Young NEOLIBERALISM Manfred Steger POSTMODERNISM Christopher Butler and Ravi Roy POSTSTRUCTURALISM NETWORKS Guido Caldarelli Catherine Belsey and Michele Catanzaro PREHISTORY Chris Gosden THE NEW TESTAMENT PRESOCRATIC PHILOSOPHY Luke Timothy Johnson Catherine Osborne THE NEW TESTAMENT AS PRIVACY Raymond Wacks LITERATURE Kyle Keefer PROBABILITY John Haigh NEWTON Robert Iliffe PROGRESSIVISM Walter Nugent NIETZSCHE Michael Tanner PROTESTANTISM Mark A. Noll - NINETEENTH CENTURY BRITAIN PSYCHIATRY Tom Burns Christopher Harvie and PSYCHOLOGY Gillian Butler H. C. G. Matthew and Freda McManus THE NORMAN CONQUEST PURITANISM Francis J. Bremer George Garnett THE QUAKERS Pink Dandelion NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS QUANTUM THEORY Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green John Polkinghorne NORTHERN IRELAND RACISM Ali Rattansi Marc Mulholland RADIOACTIVITY Claudio Tuniz NOTHING Frank Close THE REAGAN REVOLUTION Gil Troy NUCLEAR POWER Maxwell Irvine REALITY Jan Westerhoff NUCLEAR WEAPONS THE REFORMATION Peter Marshall Joseph M. Siracusa RELATIVITY Russell Stannard NUMBERS Peter M. Higgins RELIGION IN AMERICA Timothy Beal OBJECTIVITY Stephen Gaukroger THE RENAISSANCE Jerry Brotton THE OLD TESTAMENT RENAISSANCE ART Michael D. Coogan Geraldine A. Johnson RISK Baruch Fischhoff and John Kadvany THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR RIVERS Nick Middleton Helen Graham ROBOTICS Alan Winfield SPANISH LITERATURE Jo Labanyi ROMAN BRITAIN Peter Salway SPINOZA Roger Scruton THE ROMAN EMPIRE SPIRITUALITY Philip Sheldrake Christopher Kelly STARS Andrew King THE ROMAN REPUBLIC STATISTICS David J. Hand David M. Gwynn STEM CELLS Jonathan Slack ROMANTICISM Michael Ferber STUART BRITAIN John Morrill ROUSSEAU Robert Wokler SUPERCONDUCTIVITY RUSSELL A. C. Grayling Stephen Blundell RUSSIAN HISTORY Geoffrey Hosking TERRORISM Charles Townshend RUSSIAN LITERATURE Catriona Kelly THEOLOGY David F. Ford THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION THOMAS AQUINAS Fergus Kerr S. A. Smith TOCQUEVILLE Harvey C. Mansfield SCHIZOPHRENIA Chris Frith TRAGEDY Adrian Poole and Eve Johnstone TRUST Katherine Hawley SCHOPENHAUER Christopher Janaway THE TUDORS John Guy - SCIENCE AND RELIGION TWENTIETH CENTURY BRITAIN Thomas Dixon Kenneth O. Morgan SCIENCE FICTION David Seed THE UNITED NATIONS THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION Jussi M. Hanhimäki Lawrence M. Principe THE U.S. CONGRESS Donald A. Ritchie SCOTLAND Rab Houston THE U.S. SUPREME COURT SEXUALITY Véronique Mottier Linda Greenhouse SHAKESPEARE Germaine Greer UTOPIANISM Lyman Tower Sargent SIKHISM Eleanor Nesbitt THE VIKINGS Julian Richards SLEEP Steven W. Lockley VIRUSES Dorothy H. Crawford and Russell G. Foster WITCHCRAFT Malcolm Gaskill SOCIAL AND CULTURAL WITTGENSTEIN A. C. Grayling ANTHROPOLOGY John Monaghan WORK Stephen Fineman and Peter Just WORLD MUSIC Philip Bohlman SOCIALISM Michael Newman THE WORLD TRADE SOCIOLOGY Steve Bruce ORGANIZATION Amrita Narlikar SOCRATES C. C. W. Taylor WRITING AND SCRIPT THE SOVIET UNION Stephen Lovell Andrew Robinson A vailable soon: Rastafari The Napoleonic Wars E nnis B. Edmonds M ike Rapport Comedy Thought M atthew Bevis T im Bayne F or more information visit our web site w ww.oup.co.uk/general/vsi/ Richard M. Valelly American Politics A Very Short Introduction 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. 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Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the R ights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form, and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Valelly, Richard M. American politics : a very short introduction / Richard M. Valelly. p. cm.—(Very short introductions) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-537385-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. United States—Politics and government. I. Title. JK275.V36 2013 320.473—dc23 2012024527 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd., Gosport, Hants. on acid-free paper For Americanists everywhere