Political theorist Justin Lewis examines how polling data presented in the media do not simply reflect what Americans think, but construct public opinion itself. Exploding the myth that most Americans are moderate or conservative, Constructing Public Opinion demonstrates how political elites help to promote militarism, and how mainstream media sustain an electoral system with a built-in bias against the interests of ordinary people.

Beyond Good and Evil argues that U.S. political leaders and news media responded to the 9/11 tragedy by simplifying complex international relationships into a fight between good and evil. The video examines how this "good and evil" narrative shapes our perceptions of, and response to, conflict more generally. Focusing on the impact of such rhetoric and imagery on children, the film asks viewers to consider the long-term consequences of reductive...

Abraham Lincoln was widely and deeply unpopular during his presidency. And for good reason. He overturned our original constitutional order, violated the rights of Americans both North and South, massively inflated the federal government, and plunged the nation into a wholly unnecessary war. Why? Not to free the slaves, as his hagiographers would have you believe, but out of personal ambition, greed for power, and, incidentally, to enrich the railroad...

In this analysis of the years of greatest American friendship with the Soviet Union, Levering comes to two conclusions. First, cosmopolitan, educated Americans of all classes were much more likely to change their negative attitudes of 1939 to positive ones by 1943 than were the provincial and poorly educated. Second, governmental leaders and the media, whether conservative or liberal, did not prepare the public for the probable realities of postwar...

The lazy greaser asleep under a sombrero and the avaricious gringo with money-stuffed pockets are only two of the negative stereotypes that North Americans and Latin Americans have cherished during several centuries of mutual misunderstanding. This unique study probes the origins of these stereotypes and myths and explores how they have shaped North American impressions of Latin America from the time of the Pilgrims up to the end of the twentieth...

This history of early American political thought examines the emergence, evolution, and manipulation of public opinion. In the early American republic, the concept of public opinion was a recent-and ambiguous-invention. While appearing to promise a new style of democratic politics, the concept was also invoked to limit self-rule, cement traditional prejudices, stall deliberation, and marginalize dissent. As Americans contested the meaning of this...

Abraham Lincoln was our greatest president and perhaps the most influential American who ever lived. But what is his place in our country today? In Land of Lincoln, Andrew Ferguson packs his bags and embarks on a journey to the heart of contemporary Lincoln Nation, where he encounters a world as funny as it is poignant, and a population as devoted as it is colorful. In small-town Indiana, Ferguson drops in on the national conference of Lincoln presenters,...

The news of Abraham Lincoln's assassination on April 15, 1865, just days after Confederate surrender, astounded the war-weary nation. Massive crowds turned out for services and ceremonies. Countless expressions of grief and dismay were printed in newspapers and preached in sermons. Public responses to the assassination have been well chronicled, but this book is the first to delve into the personal and intimate responses of everyday people - northerners...

A provocative blueprint for how the United States can successfully disengage from failing wars without compromising its core values or interests.

"This planner discusses the customizable framework "The E's of Libraries" to give you the tools to prove your library's value to the community in a persuasive, organized, and memorable way."--