Concluding RemarksPOLS 21: The American Political System

The government is us; we are the government, you and I.“

—Theodore Roosevelt

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

What message are these political cartoons trying to convey?

Confidence in American Institutions, 2006

Source: CNN/USA Today/ Gallup poll, June 1-4, 2006.

"I am going to read you a list of institutions in American society. Please tell me how much confidence you, yourself, have in each one--a great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little?"

The militaryThe polic e

The c hurc hBanks

Supreme C ourtM edic al systePublic sc hools

The presidenc yTelevision news

NewspapersC riminal justic e Organized lab

C ongressBig business

HM Os

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Percent responding "great deal" or "quite a lot"

Confidence in government institutions is

comparatively low.

1964

1966

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

Post

9 /11

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Percent responding "most of the time" or "just about always"

Trust in the Federal Government, 1964-2006"People have different ideas about the government in Washington. These ideas don't refer to

Democrats or Republicans in particular, but just to government in general. We want to see how you feel about these ideas. How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right--just about always, most of the time, or only some of the time?"

Trust in government increased after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Making Democracy Work

O I see flashing that this America is only you and me,Its power, weapons, testimony, are you and me,Its crimes, lies, thefts, defections, are you and me,Its Congress is you and me, the officers, capitols, armies, ships, are you and me. Its endless gestation of new States are you and me,The war (that war so bloody and grim, the war I will henceforth forget), Was you and me…Freedom, language, poems, employments, are you and me,Past, present, future, are you and me,I dare not shirk any part of myself,Nor any part of America good or bad.

—Walt Whitman “By Blue Ontario’s shore”

Leaves of Grass (1881)