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Democracy and Human RightsThis book recounts how African-American slaves and their descendants struggled to win — both in law and in practice — the civil rights enjoyed by other Americans. It is a story of dignified persistence and struggle, a story that produced great heroes and heroines, and one that ultimately succeeded by forcing Americans to confront squarely the shameful gap between their universal principles of equality and justice and the inequality, injustice, and oppression faced by millions of their fellow citizens (January 2009) Free and fair elections are the keystone of any democracy. They are essential for the peaceful transfer of power. When voters elect representatives, they elect the leaders who will shape the future of their society. This is why elections empower ordinary citizens: they allow them to influence the future policies of their government, and thus, their own future.(January 2008) Democracy in Brief gives a concise account of the intellectual origins, history, and basic values of democratic systems of government. The book touches on topics such as rights and responsibilities of citizens, free and fair elections, the rule of law, the role of a written constitution, separation of powers, a free media, the role of parties and interest groups, military-civilian relations and democratic culture. (December 2007)  | |
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The name of Thurgood Marshall may not be as well-known outside the United States as that of his fellow civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. And yet, Marshall's achievement in demolishing the legal structure that sustained racial segregation in the American South advanced the civil rights cause as profoundly as the nonviolent protests led by King. (January 2007) This illustrated publication includes the complete text of the U.S. Constitution (preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments), as well an updated introduction and explanatory notes by J.W. Peltason, author of Understanding the Constitution and Government by the People. The introduction includes sections explaining how the Constitution set up the U.S. federal system, the background to the Constitutional Convention and how the participants arrived at a final version of the document, its ratification, and sections on the call for a Bill of Rights and the need for additional amendments over the years. Dr. Peltason is currently professor of Political Science Emeritus, University of California, Irvine, as well as President Emeritus, University of California. (July 2004) This joint publication of the State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs and Braddock Communications presents a comprehensive yet easy-to-read overview of the various levels of and institutions related to government in the U.S. "How the United States Is Governed" describes how federal, state, and local governments are elected, how they operate, and how the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government relate under the U.S. constitutional system. It also highlights how nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other institutions allow Americans to influence and shape government policy. This publication contains a glossary and a list of useful Web sites. (October 2005)  | |
This collection chronicles how 21 notable American women broke new ground, some by championing equal rights for all and others by their accomplishments in fields such as government, literature, and even in war. It consists of seven mini-chapters featuring: Pocahontas, Sacagawea, Anne Marbury Hutchinson, Anne Dudley Bradstreet, Abigail Adams, Margaret Cochran Corbin, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Jeannette Rankin, Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway, a Eleanor Roosevelt, Sandra Day O'Connor, Wilma Mankiller, Clara Barton, Jane Addams, Nellie Bly, Rosalyn Yalow, Sheila C. Johnson, and Maya Lin. (Revised November 2006)
Presents court decisions, legislative acts, and presidential decrees that form the bedrock of American democracy, as well as letters, essays, speeches, and poems that chart the country's search for itself as a democratic society. (September 2001, originally published in 1994)  | |
This series of 12 essays on democracy-building is the successor to the "Freedom Papers" series published by USIA in the early 1990s. It was edited by Melvin Urofsky, a professor of constitutional law at Virginia Commonwealth University and the editor of the USIA publication "Basic Readings in U.S. Democracy." Topics are: Introduction: Root Principles of Democracy; Constitutionalism: America and Beyond; Principles of Democratic Elections; Federalism and Democracy; Creation of Law in a Democratic Society; Role of an Independent Judiciary; Powers of the Presidency; Role of a Free Media; Protecting Minority Rights; Role of Interest Groups; Civilian Control of the Military; The Public's Right to Know: Transparency in Government. (November 2001)  | |
Traces the development of human rights from their origins as political theory in 17th-century Europe to their present-day acceptance as an international standard; examines the historic contributions of heroic individuals to the course of human rights history. (April 2001)  | |
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What makes U.S. government uniquely American...its Constitution, the separation of powers, the concept of “checks and balances,” the decentralized roles of state and local governments, and a citizenry with wide opportunity to be part of it all. (September 2000) Explains fundamental principles that contribute to making a democratic government work effectively. This series of one-page primers provides the reader with a concise definition of democracy and expands on supporting elements such as good governance and the rights and responsibilities of people living in democracies. (Updated March 2005) "Rights of the People" is a history of American law and justice, written by Constitutional historian Melvin Urofsky. By focusing on the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution, and the legal interpretations, many of them written by America's finest jurists, that refined and expanded the Bill of Rights, Urofsky presents a history of the United States from the standpoint of individual liberty. (December 2003)  | |
Discusses the importance of opening government deliberations and rule-making processes to the public and of making government documents available to concerned citizens. While using, for the most part, American examples, the pamphlet suggests the universal advantages of an open society with a vibrant civic infrastructure. (December 1999) The media in America...constitutional protections, right-to-know laws, editing and managing newspapers, radio and television broadcasting, electronic newspapers, and libel law. (April 2001, originally published in 1994) Highlights such aspects of democratic society as rights of the individual, the rule of law, elections, the democratic culture and government, and politics, economics, and pluralism. Emphasizes how the citizens of a democracy must take responsibility for the fate of the society in which they live. (September 1998, originally published in 1992)
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