What If the American Political System Were Different?

First Published in 2015. This unique book is an ideal supplement for an introductory American politics course. Each chapter consider a basic aspect of the American political system or historical tradition and speculates as to the consequences were that aspect fundamentally different. Engagingly written by political scientists, historians and a legal solicitor, the book is non-ideological throughout and invites reflection and discussion. Each chapter will encourage readers to think critically about the American political system, elate the relationships between different political structures and policy outcomes and in general consider American politics in an exciting new way.

Herbert M. Levine taught political science at the University of Southwest Louisiana for twenty years. In addition to scholarly work, he has published numerous texts on introductory politics, American government, and international relations.
Neil B. Cohen is professor of law at Brooklyn Law School. He is a specialist in constitutional law and frequently writes for law reviews. Professor Cohen has also published a treatise on commercial law.
Joy E. Esberey has taught political science at the University of Toronto since 1970. She is the author of Knight of the Holy Spirit, a biography of Canadian prime minister Mackenzie King. Professor Esberey is especially interested in the comparative study of political systems in the western democracies.
Thomas H. Ferrell is professor of political science at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. His research and writing have been mainly in state, local, and urban politics. Judith F. Gentry is professor of history at the University of Southwest Louisiana. She has served as president of the Southern Association for Women Historians and of the Louisiana Historical Association. Professor Gentry’s major research interest is the public finance of the Confederacy; she is also an expert on the problem of eliminating sex bias in vocational education.
Glen Jeansonne is professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has written more than forty articles and four books, including biographies of Leander Perez and Gerald L. K. Smith. (The latter was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.) Professor Jeansonne was awarded a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellowship.
John J. Pitney, Jr. teaches government at Claremont McKenna College. He has been a Congressional Fellow of the American Political Science Association and has served as a senior domestic policy analyst in the House of Representatives and as the deputy director of research for the Republican National Committee.