GATEWAYS TO DEMOCRACY, ESSENTIALS begins and ends with student engagement. This new textbook by authors John G. Geer, Wendy J. Schiller, Jeffrey A. Segal, and Dana K. Glencross peels back the layers of the American political system to expose its inner workings and examine how competing interests can both facilitate and block the people's will. The authors provide a realistic yet optimistic view of the ways American Government can both be influenced by students and responsive to their hopes and dreams. GATEWAYS TO DEMOCRACY covers the core concepts required in an introductory course while challenging students to figure out their own standards for the society in which they want to live in the twenty-first century.