The Long Campaign: U.S. Elections 2008

This edition of eJournal USA presents an introduction to the upcoming 2008 U.S. elections. In these elections, U.S. voters will have the opportunity to vote for president and vice president, congressional representatives, state and local officials, and ballot initiatives. The journal describes aspects of this election which make it different from most recent elections and includes a pro-con debate of the Electoral College.

USA Elections in Brief

A background guide to the entire U.S. electoral system, from federal, state, local, and primary elections to related topics such as polling and the role of the parties and the media.

Human Rights in Brief

In all civilized nations, attempts are made to defi ne and buttress human rights. The core of the concept is the same everywhere: Human rights are the rights that one has simply because one is human. They are universal and equal. Human rights are also inalienable. They may be suspended, rightly or wrongly, at various places and times, but the idea of inherent rights cannot be taken away. One can no more lose these rights than one can stop being a human being.

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Principles of Democracy

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.

A Responsible Press Office: An Insiders Guide

A how-to publication for government leaders and public information officials who want to create an effective mechanism of communication between the media and the government. This handbook offers practical advice based on the significant professional experience of author Marguerite Hoxie Sullivan and other top-level U.S. government spokespersons.

Handbook of Independent Journalism

This handbook covers the ins and outs of what every professional journalist should know — from how to research, write, and edit a story to how to write headlines, choose graphics, and select quotes and sound bites. Print, radio, TV, and Web-based or online journalism forms are discussed in detail, as well as the skills required in beat reporting.

Edward R. Murrow, Journalism at Its Best

The career of Edward R. Murrow, the eminent broadcast journalist, is discussed in this publication as an example of the essential role the free press plays in a democratic society. With his reports from London during World War II and his exposé of Senator McCarthy's anti-Communist campaign in the 1950s, Murrow showed how a fearless reporter can use journalistic skills in the public's service in times of crisis.

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Rights of the People: Individual Freedom and the Bill of Rights

"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)

What Is Democracy?

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)

About America: The Constitution of the United States of America With Explanatory Notes

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)  

Basic Readings in U.S. Democracy

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)

Democracy Papers

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)

Iraq: A Population Silenced

Focuses on human rights abuses that have occurred in Iraq since Saddam Hussein assumed power in 1979. Discussion includes physical and psychological torture, use of chemical weapons, execution and imprisonment of political opponents, and persecution of women and children. The pamphlet includes first-person and eyewitness accounts of the atrocities.  (February 2003)

An Unfettered Press

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)

U.S. Elections 2004

This publication is a non-partisan guide intended to help international audiences understand the upcomi ng U.S. presidential and congressional elections of 2004. Primaries, political party conventions, polling techniques, media issues, campaign finance, and other aspects of the American elections process are discussed and elucidated by experts. This publication also includes an interview with noted U.S. elections analyst Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution, a glossary of common terms, and a calendar of events.  (September 2003)