The #1 book provides a balanced understanding of American government and the citizen’s role in politics
Shows students why participation matters
We the People remains the best-selling book for American government courses because of its deeply engaged authors and their commitment to the book’s core tenets: balanced coverage; an emphasis on the citizen’s role in government and why participation matters; and an innovative, easy-to-use courseware package. The Sixteenth Edition welcomes new coauthor Jennifer Clark, who applies her own extensive teaching experiences to key updates, including a new Citizenship Toolkit feature in the Norton Illumine Ebook. Clark applies her subject-matter expertise in state and legislative politics to extensive revisions of the “Federalism” and “Congress” chapters, which now provide students with clearer and more engaging content that reveals how American government and politics work today.
An emphasis on participation and the citizen’s role helps students see politics as engaging and relevant
Chapter-opening stories, available as author videos in the ebook, focus on how real people have been affected by government and participated in the political process. The new Citizenship Toolkit feature in the ebook helps students apply core concepts to real-world situations and learn how to become effective, engaged citizens. Content updates, including coverage of the 2024 and 2026 elections, highlight the issues that are shaping American politics today.
A balanced approach encourages all students to participate
Since the First Edition, We the People has included a range of perspectives, and is praised by reviewers and adopters for its balanced coverage. Interactive Who Are Americans? and Who Participates?* infographics in the Norton Illumine Ebook ask students to explore data and think critically about how different groups—conservatives, liberals, young people, older people, and people of different races and ethnicities—are affected by politics and government.
*Who Participates? features are available in the Full and Core Editions.
What’s New in the Sixteenth Edition
- New coauthor Jennifer Clark (University of Houston) applies her teaching experience and subject-matter expertise to many of the book’s key revisions.
- New Citizenship Toolkit interactive exercises, created by Jennifer Clark, offer practical assignments that get students to more effectively engage with the political system.
- Extensive revisions of the chapters on federalism and Congress, both led by Jennifer Clark, front-load key information, provide more emphasis on why foundational concepts matter, and provide a more accurate picture of how American government and politics work today.
- Eight new chapter openers (seven in the Essentials Edition), which appear as videos in the Norton Illumine Ebook, feature the stories of real people from across the political spectrum and how they were affected by government or participated in politics.
About the authors
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