Examining US elections at the local, state, and national level, this book discusses the laws and practices that govern elections, the history of elections and voting rights, and contemporary voting controversies.Elections in America is an all-in-one resource for understanding the many facets of elections and voting trends since the United States came into being. It explains how, when, and why the franchise expanded in fits and starts after America's foundi...

An authoritative and accessible one-stop resource for understanding the U.S. judicial system and its place in the fabric of American government and society.The American judicial system plays a central role in setting and enforcing the legal rules under which the people of the United States live. U.S. courts and laws, though, are complex and often criticized for bias and other alleged shortcomings. The U.S. Supreme Court has emerged as a particular focal point of po...

First Amendment Freedoms: A Reference Handbook offers a comprehensive examination of the discourse on First Amendment freedom issues in an objective and unbiased manner and provides valuable data and documents to guide readers to further research on the subject.This accessible resource provides critically important information on the First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, and assembly, and the post-Civil War Fourteenth Amendment. Geared for high sch...

Party and Nation examines immigration as a means to understand party competition in American history. The rise of Donald Trump reflects an ongoing regime change in the U.S., in which multiculturalism and nationalism have emerged as central aspects of the major parties’ ideological and coalitional bases. This phenomenon of a multiculturalist Democratic Party and a nationalist Republican Party, the authors suggest, is a dramatic departure from the first American political regime. That older ...

A unique resource for the general public and students interested in immigration and public health, this book presents a comprehensive history of public health and draws 10 key lessons for current immigration and health policymakers.The period of 1820 to 1920 was one of mass migration to the United States from other nations of origin. This century-long period served to develop modern medicine with the acceptance of the germ theory of disease and the lessons learned ...

This book provides a comprehensive summary of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and efforts to protect the United States from international terrorism.Homeland Security: A Reference Handbook covers the precursor events and laws from 1965 to 2000 that set the stage for the 2002 law that established the Department of Homeland Security. It identifies and discusses a dozen problems associated with homeland security policy objectively, allowing...

This book offers answers to essential questions about the border between the United States and Mexico and connected issues that are accessible to readers interested in immigration, border security, and international relations.Readers will learn about the political, social, and economic contexts in which the border came to exist; the problems, controversies, and proposed solutions surrounding it; the major organizations and people who, as stakeholders in border poli...

This book covers civil rights and civil liberties politics in the United States from the ratification of the Bill of Rights to more recent controversies, such as the travel ban and proposals to end birthright citizenship.Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: A Reference Handbook provides a thorough overview of civil rights in U.S. history, detailing all the relevant amendments to the Constitution and reviewing key Supreme Court decisions and landmark cases on ...

This volume presents a comprehensive, unbiased, and easily accessible review of U.S. immigration reform, and explains why reform efforts have resulted in the current state of political deadlock over the issue in the United States Congress.Comprising seven chapters, Immigration Reform: A Reference Handbook surveys the complex topic for high school, undergraduate, and general readers. Chapter 1 gives the historical background to current immigration reform ef...

This volume thoroughly examines the operations and politics of the U.S. Congress. It guides readers to their own assessment of congressional politics and provides them with the basis for future reading and study of the subject.The American Congress: A Reference Handbook covers Congress from its inception to the present day, discussing the constitutional functions of Congress and how they have evolved over time. It presents a detailed discussion of 15 probl...

This invaluable resource investigates U.S. immigration policy, making connections between the ethnic and religious affiliations of immigrants and trends in immigration, both legal and unauthorized.U.S. Immigration Policy, Ethnicity, and Religion in American History is rich with data and document excerpts that illuminate the complex relationships among ethnicity, religion, and immigration to the United States over a 200-year period.The book uniquely...

This book offers an accessible reference on epidemic and pandemic diseases that provides background information and history, explains why pandemics are a newly emerging threat, identifies the difficulties in coping with them, and provides hope in the form of modern medicine.Global Pandemic Threats: A Reference Handbook provides all-encompassing coverage that introduces key concepts and traces the history of pandemics, enabling readers to grasp the complexi...