Theodore J. Lowi and Benjamin Ginsberg, American Government

Edward J. Harpham
The University of Texas at Dallas
Harpham@utdallas.edu

Video Presentation
Conference Discussion

Theodore J. Lowi and Benjamin Ginsberg, American Government Fifth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998.

Selecting an American government textbook is like choosing a spouse. Many factors go into your decision. Before a final selection is made, you do your best to get to know the text. Traits that you love must be balanced with those that drive you crazy. Compromises must be made. You must have faith that your choice will be willing to change in the future along with you and the world. Above all else, you hope that the union will last. Switching textbooks is a major decision that involves often an enormous amount of time and energy. Dropping a text is like getting divorced; adopting a new one is not unlike entering the dating scene again. Along with opportunities and possibilities, there is also heartbreak and despair.

The problem of selecting a textbook in American government in Texas is magnified by the fact that the state requires all students in state universities to take 2 courses (6 credits) that deal with the American and Texas constitutions. This requirement is met generally in one of two ways: through a course in American government and another in Texas government; or by two consecutive courses that treat issues in American and Texas government across two semesters. When the courses on American government and Texas government are distinct, there is really no problem in selecting texts. But when the courses are integrated, problems arise. Students are generally required to buy a text book on American government and one on Texas politics. But the quality of texts on Texas politics varies widely. Besides being rather boring and expensive for the student, they are often difficult to integrate in any meaningful way with any of the leading texts in American government. Significantly, Dye and Burns et al have put out "Texas editions" of their texts that include chapters on Texas government and politics. But even these texts have problems integrating themes at the national level with those at the state and local levels.

Because the University of Texas at Dallas has maintained separate American and Texas courses, my choice of an American text has been separate from that of a Texas text. For the reasons listed below, I have selected Lowi and Ginsberg’s American Government as the primary text for the course. Up until this year, I have supplemented the text with two additional books, one being a reader such as the companion to the text put out by Lowi and Ginsberg, the other being any one of a number of popular interpretations of contemporary politics by such authors as Kevin Phillips. This year I stopped using a reader entirely, supplementing the text with on-line readings from news sources on the web. This was highly successful and I plan to expand the on-line portion of my course in the future.

A number of features of the Lowi and Ginsberg text continue to draw me to it. First, it is a "high end" book. By that I mean that it demands a lot from the students and doesn’t talk down to them. It expects the students to read the text seriously and to grapple with what are often complex and difficult themes. A recurring theme developed throughout the text is the relationship between freedom and power. Rather than naively assuming that the United States has discovered some simple balance between the two, Lowi and Ginsberg argue that there is a tension that has intensified over time between growing government power and popular influence over governmental decisions. They trace out this tension throughout their analyses of the institutions and processes of American government and into their analysis of public policy. I like this theme because it enables me to focus attention upon another related theme: the growth of the state in twentieth century America and the ongoing problem of maintaining meaningful democratic control over the use of political power.

Second, the book provides students with a strong historical focus. Clear timelines that link together historical events with institutional development enable me as the lecturer to put analysis of current political issues into a broader context. Boxes highlighting the "core arguments" developed in each chapter and identifying the "critical questions" being posed in the text enable students to figure out what is going on in the book. After years of teaching American government I have come to the conclusion that one of the biggest problems we face is that our audience lacks a good sense of history. Our students have strong political values and a pretty good sense of what is going on in the world around them. What they lack, however, is any appreciation of historical development, or how history might shed light on the problems and possibilities that grip American politics today. The historical approach adopted by Lowi and Ginsberg helps to me put current discussions of government and politics into a proper context.

Third, I appreciate the overall organizational structure of the text. The text is organized around four major parts: Foundations, Institutions, Politics, and Policy. Unlike other leading texts like Dye or Burns et al, Lowi and Ginsberg situate their analysis of the major institutions of government (congress, executive, and courts) directly after a lengthy analysis of the constitutional foundations of American life. Structure and institutions are thus investigated in terms of the fundamental ideas underlying the American political system and before "politics" per se. Teaching students about political phenomena like parties, elections, public opinion and interest groups is important. But I have come to believe that students in an introductory class to American government are better served by focusing upon ideas and institutions rather than behavior. Unfortunately, students are going to forget most of the detailed information that we give them. My goal is to teach them to look at American government in terms of big constitutional and institutional questions.

In closing, let me note with regret that I may be back in the dating scene again. Our department is moving to a two semester sequence of courses that will integrate topics in Texas government with topics in American government. The pressure to adopt a common text for the department as a whole that treats American and Texas government together may prove to be overwhelming whatever my personal preferences.