Sections cover the four basic ideas on which the American constitutional form of government is based: authority, privacy, responsibility, and justice. Each area is accompanied by lessons with critical thinking exercises containing hypothetical situations designed to encourage the student to think clearly about the issues. The primary goal of the text is to provide the student the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate, take, and defend positions on issues that arise in daily life; to permit the student to assume an active and effective role as a citizen in a free society.