"The Good Citizen is the perfect introduction to my class. It focuses on younger people, which gives it a direct relevance to my students. The basic argument of the book is very compelling, and was an important qualifier on the normal 'youth bashing' that can often happen with regard to millennials and politics. I highly recommend this book. It will not disappoint." -Michael Franz, Bowdoin College The Good Citizen uses a new 2014 national public opinion survey to describe how Americans' views of what it means to be a good citizen is changing. Contrary to conventional wisdom, younger generations are more politically engaged, are more politically tolerant, are supportive of a more active government, have stronger democratic ideals, and are more supportive of social justice. The young are creating new norms of citizenship that are leading to a renaissance of democratic participation. The new edition of this groundbreaking work will reshape the way we think about the American public, American youth, and the prospects for contemporary democracy. It uses evidence from the 2004 and 2014 General Social Surveys to describe Americans' changing citizenship norms, the emergence of the Millennial Generation, how the Internet is changing participation patterns, and a new statistical primer to help students understand the survey findings.

Chapter 1: Citizenship and the Transformation of American Society The Social Transformation of America The Plot of This Book Conclusion DEFINING THE NORMS OF CITIZENSHIP Chapter 2: The Meaning and Measurement of Citizenship Citizenship in Theory What Is a "Good" Citizen? The Two Faces of Citizenship The Distribution of Citizenship Norms What Kind of Citizenship? Appendix Chapter 3: Forming Citizenship Norms A Generational Gap? The Rising Tide of Social Status Gender and Ethnicity Patterns Citizenship and Religion Partisan Differences in Citizenship Bringing the Pieces Together The Social Roots of Citizenship THE CONSEQUENCES OF CITIZENSHIP Chapter 4: Bowling Alone or Protesting with a Group? The Repertoire of Political Action Voting in Elections Campaign Activity Contacting Government Collective Group Activity Protest and Contentious Actions Online Participation Old Repertoires and New Repertoires Citizenship Norms and Participation Engaged Democrats Appendix Chapter 5: Free Speech for Everyone? How to Measure Political Tolerance The Unconventional Evidence: Rising Political Tolerance Who Is Tolerant and Who Is Not Citizenship and Tolerance Implications of Citizenship and Tolerance Chapter 6: Is the Government the Problem or Solution? What Should Government Do? We Want Government to Be a Big Spender Public Policy Preferences Are Citizenship Norms another Term for Partisanship? Citizenship and Public Policy Chapter 7: Is a Good Citizen Trustful or Skeptical of Government? Changing Images of Government Trusting Political Institutions America, Right or Wrong Appendix - Multivariate Analysis Chapter 8: In Tcoqueville's Footsteps The Norms of Citizenship Comparing the Consequences of Citizenship Citizenship in Comparative Perspective CONCLUSION Chapter 9: The Two Faces of Citizenship Balancing the American Political Culture Understanding Millennials Tocqueville Revisited Norm Shift and American Democracy