In an effort to articulate the environmental ethic of the Ojibwa, this book focuses on the Ojibwa narrative, myths, legends, stories and rituals. An examination of these sources demonstrates the worldview of the group, their social inclusiveness and their ethical commitments. Introductory essays and interpretive essays accompany the narratives themselves to offer a theory of environmental ethics, an overview of the field of environmental ethics and place the Ojibwa within this contemporary debate. The volume examines environmental ethics, a cultural worldview and culture, language and cultural relativism, the Ojibwa narratives, key cognitive elements of an Ojibwa worldview, Ojibwa environmental ethics, and controversy about American Indian environmental ethics. For individuals looking for a systematic treatment of the environmental attitudes and practices of American Indians.

American Indian Environmental Ethics: An Ojibwa Case Study

History

Callicott, J.

Nelson, Michael

Americas

Pearson

Black and Blue: How African Americans Judge the U.S. Legal System

The American legal system is experiencing a period of extreme stress, if not crisis, as it seems to be losing its legitimacy with at least some segments of its constituency. Nowhere is this legitimacy deficit more apparent than in a portion of the African American community in the U.S., as incidents of police killing black suspects - whether legally justified or not - have become almost routine. However, this legitimacy deficit has largely been documented through anecdotal evidence and a steady drumbeat of journalistic reports, not rigorous scientific research. This book offers an all-inclusive account of how and why African Americans differ in their willingness to ascribe legitimacy to legal institutions, as well as in their willingness to accept the policy decisions those institutions promulgate. Based on two nationally-representative samples of African Americans, this book ties together four dominant theories of public opinion: Legitimacy Theory, Social Identity Theory, theories of adulthood political socialization and learning through experience, and information processing theories. The findings reveal a gaping chasm in legal legitimacy between black and white Americans. More importantly, black people themselves differ in their perceptions of legal legitimacy. Group identities and experiences with legal authorities play a crucial role in shaping whether and how black people extend legitimacy to the legal institutions that so much affect them. This book is one of the most comprehensive analyses produced to date of legal legitimacy within the American black community, with many surprising and counter-intuitive results.

Gibson, James L.

Criminal Law

Oxford University Press

Presidents, Politics, and Policy

Politics & Social Sciences

Hargrove, Erwin C.

Politics & Government

Mcgraw-Hill College

To look at the partisan polarization that paralyzes Washington today is to see what first took shape with the presidential election of 1968. This book explains why. Urban riots and the Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the politics of outrage and race—all pointed to a reordering of party coalitions, of groups and regions, a hardening and widening of an ideological divide—and to the historical importance of the 1968 election as a watershed event. Resilient America captures this extraordinary time in all its drama— the personalities, the politics, the parties, the events and the circumstances, from the shadow of 1964 through the primaries to the general election that pitted Richard Nixon against Hubert Humphrey, with George Wallace and Eugene McCarthy as the interlopers. Where most accounts of this pivotal year—and the decade that followed—emphasize the coming apart of the nation, this book focuses on the fact that because of measures taken after the election the country actually held together. An esteemed scholar of the American presidency, Michael Nelson turns our attention to how, in spite of increasing (and increasingly vehement) differences, the parties of the time managed to make divided government work. Conventional political processes—peaceful demonstrations, congressional legislation, executive initiatives, Supreme Court decisions, party reforms, and presidential politics—were flexible enough to absorb most of the dissent that tore America deeply in 1968 and might otherwise have torn it apart. This fraught time, as Nelson's work clearly demonstrates, produced unity as well as results well worth noting in our current predicament.

Resilient America: Electing Nixon in 1968, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government (American Presidential Elections)

University Press of Kansas

Richard E. Neustadt Award To look at the partisan polarization that paralyzes Washington today is to see what first took shape with the presidential election of 1968. This book explains why. Urban riots and the Tet Offensive, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the politics of outrage and race—all pointed to a reordering of party coalitions, of groups and regions, a hardening and widening of an ideological divide—and to the historical importance of the 1968 election as a watershed event. Resilient America captures this extraordinary time in all its drama—the personalities, the politics, the parties, the events and the circumstances, from the shadow of 1964 through the primaries to the general election that pitted Richard Nixon against Hubert Humphrey, with George Wallace and Eugene McCarthy as the interlopers. Where most accounts of this pivotal year—and the decade that followed—emphasize the coming apart of the nation, this book focuses on the fact that because of measures taken after the election the country actually held together. An esteemed scholar of the American presidency, Michael Nelson turns our attention to how, in spite of increasing (and increasingly vehement) differences, the parties of the time managed to make divided government work. Conventional political processes—peaceful demonstrations, congressional legislation, executive initiatives, Supreme Court decisions, party reforms, and presidential politics—were flexible enough to absorb most of the dissent that tore America deeply in 1968 and might otherwise have torn it apart. This fraught time, as Nelson's work clearly demonstrates, produced unity as well as results well worth noting in our current predicament.

In the presidential elections of 1980, 1984, and 1988, the three Democratic nominees won an average of about 10 percent of the Electoral College vote--a smaller share than any party in any three consecutive presidential elections in US history. In the next seven elections, Democrats won the popular vote in all but one (2004), a feat not achieved by a political party since the Democratic Party's inception in the 1820s. What separated these record-setting runs was the election and presidency of Bill Clinton, whose pivotal role in ushering in a new era of American politics--for better and for worse--this book explores. Perhaps because Clinton's presidency was hobbled by six years of divided government, ended in a sex scandal and impeachment, and was sandwiched between Republican administrations, it is easy to forget that he revived a presidential party that had become nearly moribund. In Clinton's Elections Michael Nelson describes how, by tacking relentlessly to the center, Clinton revived the Democrats' presidential fortunes--but also, paradoxically, effectively erased the center, in the process introducing the new political reality of extreme partisan divisiveness and dysfunctional government. Tracing Clinton's place in American politics from his emergence as a potential nominee in 1988 to his role in political campaigns right up to 2016, Nelson draws a deft portrait of a savvy politician operating in the midst of divided government and making strategic moves to consolidate power and secure future victories. With its absorbing narrative and incisive analysis, his book makes sense of a watershed in the modern American political landscape--and lays bare the roots of our current era of political dysfunction.

Clinton's Elections: 1992, 1996, and the Birth of a New Era of Governance (American Presidential Elections)

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Vaulting Ambition: FDR's Campaign to Pack the Supreme Court (Landmark Presidential Decisions)

Nothing embodied Franklin D. Roosevelt’s campaign to lastingly embed the New Deal in the major institutions of American government more than his effort to pack the Supreme Court. Vaulting Ambition, the inaugural volume in the Landmark Presidential Decisions series, presents a balanced assessment of FDR’s 1937 effort to fundamentally change the highest court in the land. 
Unlike most work on the subject, Michael Nelson centers his study on the president’s series of decisions to reform the Court, rather than on the Court’s responses. At the heart of the book is an analytical narrative of FDR’s crusade to expand the Court and pack it with those sympathetic to his cause. While keeping this story front and center, Vaulting Ambition also presents the Court-packing effort as part of FDR’s larger campaign to shape the executive branch bureaucracy, Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Democratic Party all in service to enduringly entrench the New Deal into US government and politics. 
Although FDR never achieved the mastery over the entire federal government that he sought, his efforts to expand and transform the three branches of government and the Democratic Party were of great consequence and endured long beyond his tenure. Nelson offers a clear understanding of how FDR’s campaign sheds essential light on today’s raging controversy over changing the Supreme Court.

Review\n"Franklin D. Roosevelt was justifiably frustrated by Supreme Court decisions that struck down New Deal programs, but his attempt to pack the court with sympathetic justices caused an uproar that seriously damaged his relations with Congress. Michael Nelson meticulously reconstructs Roosevelt’s fateful decision-making and the alternatives he rejected. The issue remains as timely as today’s headlines."—Donald A. Ritchie, author of Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932 
"How did the maestro of modern presidential politics, Franklin D. Roosevelt, blunder into an ill-fated scheme to pack the Supreme Court? In a fresh and insightful narrative, Michael Nelson takes us step-by-step through Roosevelt’s decision-making process and its spate of erroneous assumptions. Here is a tale of hubris—and its costs—on the grand scale."—Bruce Miroff, author of Presidents on Political Ground: Leaders in Action and What They Face 
"Vaulting Ambition: FDR’s Campaign to Pack the Supreme Court is distinguished political scientist Michael Nelson’s brief but detailed analysis of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision-making process. Nelson offers a fresh look behind the scenes at FDR’s plans and how they impacted institutions such as the executive branch, Congress, and the Democratic Party. Highly recommended for anyone interested in this formative era of US politics and its legacy."—Jeffrey Crouch, coauthor of Newt Gingrich: The Rise and Fall of a Party Entrepreneur 
"Any POTUS who wins smashing reelection, with strong majorities for his party in the House and Senate, should study Vaulting Ambition assiduously to prepare for the second term. Michael Nelson’s dissection of the attempt by FDR to pack the US Supreme Court will be especially compelling whenever the Justices face sustained attack. Vaulting Ambition mixes trenchant political analysis with rich historical detail, providing a delightful read and serious insight into presidential politics."—Taylor Reveley, president emeritus, William and Mary"This dramatic, provocative, and concise account of FDR’s court fight is perfect for classroom use. Highly recommended!"—Laura Kalman, author of FDR’s Gambit: The Court-Packing Fight and the Rise of Legal Liberalism\nNothing embodied Franklin D. Roosevelt’s campaign to lastingly embed the New Deal in the major institutions of American government more than his effort to pack the Supreme Court. Vaulting Ambition, the inaugural volume in the Landmark Presidential Decisions series, presents a balanced assessment of FDR’s 1937 effort to fundamentally change the highest court in the land. 
Unlike most work on the subject, Michael Nelson centers his study on the president’s series of decisions to reform the Court, rather than on the Court’s responses. At the heart of the book is an analytical narrative of FDR’s crusade to expand the Court and pack it with those sympathetic to his cause. While keeping this story front and center, Vaulting Ambition also presents the Court-packing effort as part of FDR’s larger campaign to shape the executive branch bureaucracy, Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Democratic Party all in service to enduringly entrench the New Deal into US government and politics. 
Although FDR never achieved the mastery over the entire federal government that he sought, his efforts to expand and transform the three branches of government and the Democratic Party were of great consequence and endured long beyond his tenure. Nelson offers a clear understanding of how FDR’s campaign sheds essential light on today’s raging controversy over changing the Supreme Court.

A national map of legalized gambling from 1963 would show one state, Nevada, with casino gambling and no states with lotteries. Today's map shows eleven commercial casino states, most of them along the Mississippi River, forty-two states with state-owned lotteries, and racetrack betting, slot-machine parlors, charitable bingo, and Native American gambling halls flourishing throughout the nation. For the past twenty years, the South has wrestled with gambling issues. In How the South Joined the Gambling Nation, Michael Nelson and John Lyman Mason examine how modern southern state governments have decided whether to adopt or prohibit casinos and lotteries. Nelson and Mason point out that although the South participated fully in past gambling eras, it is the last region to join the modern movement embracing legalized gambling. Despite the prevalence of wistful, romantic images of gambling on southern riverboats, the politically and religiously conservative ideology of the modern South makes it difficult for states to toss their chips into the pot. The authors tell the story of the arrival or rejection of legalized gambling in seven southern states -- Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, and Alabama. The authors suggest that some states chose to legalize gambling based on the examples of other nearby states, as when Mississippi casinos spurred casino legalization in Louisiana and the Georgia lottery inspired lottery campaigns in neighboring South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee. Also important was the influence of Democratic policy entrepreneurs, such as Zell Miller in Georgia, Don Siegelman in Alabama, and Edwin Edwards in Louisiana, who wanted to sell the idea of gambling in order to sell themselves to voters. At the same time, each state had its own idiosyncrasies, such as certain provisions of their state constitutions weighing heavily as a factor. Nelson and Mason show that the story of gambling's spread in the South exemplifies the process of state policy innovation. In exploring how southern states have weighed the moral and economic risk of legalizing gambling, especially the political controversies that surround these discussions, Nelson and Mason employ a suspenseful, fast-paced narrative that echoes the oftentimes hurried decisions made by state legislators. Although each of these seven states fought a unique battle over gambling, taken together, these case studies help tell the larger story of how the South -- sometimes reluctantly, sometimes enthusiastically -- decided to join the gambling nation.

How the South Joined the Gambling Nation: The Politics of State Policy Innovation

Humor & Entertainment

Mason, John Lyman

Puzzles & Games

LSU Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Nelson, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Nelson, Michael

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Nelson, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

American Indian Environmental Ethics: An Ojibwa Case Study

Black and Blue: How African Americans Judge the U.S. Legal System

Black and Blue: How African Americans Judge the U.S. Legal System

Presidents, Politics, and Policy

Resilient America: Electing Nixon in 1968, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government (American Presidential Elections)

Resilient America: Electing Nixon in 1968, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government (American Presidential Elections)

Clinton's Elections: 1992, 1996, and the Birth of a New Era of Governance (American Presidential Elections)

Vaulting Ambition: FDR's Campaign to Pack the Supreme Court (Landmark Presidential Decisions)

Vaulting Ambition: FDR's Campaign to Pack the Supreme Court (Landmark Presidential Decisions)

How the South Joined the Gambling Nation: The Politics of State Policy Innovation