San Antonio College Library

"The recession-era days of state reliance on the federal government are waning. States and localities are increasingly assertive in seeking independence from Washington's policy priorities, especially when those priorities clash with their partisan leanings. Kevin Smith and Alan Greenblatt's trusted and proven text employs a comparative approach to show how the geography, history, political culture, institutional structures, economic underpinnings,...

The United States's system of federalism has presented significant constitutional conflicts throughout history, from the founding of the first national bank, through Congress's efforts to deal with the dire effects of the Depression, to constitutional aspects of today's conflicts involving, for example, health care and immigration law. Knowing this history is vital to understanding today's - and tomorrow's - regulatory and political disputes. Federalism:...

Mark Hanna, Frank Hague, and John V. Kenny are among the political bosses whose activities are recounted.

This program shows the process of lawmaking. Through dozens of interviews at state capitols across the United States, we meet officials in state legislatures and learn about their respective roles in the making of laws. We meet the speakers of the Senate and House, the minority leaders, the chief clerks; see caucuses, committees, and lobbyists in action; and develop an understanding of how they interact. Students learn how legislators compromise to...