This course introduces the learner to the historical background, the institutions, and the political processes in American national government. The focus is on process, but the appropriate attention is given to the institutions of government in which the political processes occur. The course employs a systems model of politics to identify how politics works in America on the national scene. Both process and institutions are studied from a systems perspective so that critical functions and decision points can be identified, described, and judged as they influence system outputs: public law and policy.