American Political Cultureand

Public OpinionAmerican political ideology

Unit 2: Political Beliefs and Behaviors (CR 2: 10-20% of

course/exam)

• Unit #2 comprises the following: Beliefs that citizens hold about their government and its leaders, processes by which citizens learn about politics, the nature, sources, and consequences of public opinion, the ways in which citizens vote and otherwise participate in political life, and factors that influence citizens to differ from one another in terms of political beliefs and behaviors. In this Unit, students will study sources of American’s political beliefs and behaviors. Particular attention will be paid to the influence of family, peers, and the media. Multiple types of political participation will be studied such as voting, protest, campaigning, and community activities. Students will evaluate why people do or do not participate in government. Data will be analyzed in search of historical and current trends in voting and other forms of political participation. Different demographics will be studied through the use of maps and graphs.

We are unique!!

Alexis de Tocqueville saw many reasons why democracy took hold in the US

“the fertile soil in which the roots (of democracy) could grow”

• No feudal aristocracy-low taxes-few legal restraints• Westward expansion-vast territory provided

opportunities• Nation of small independent farmers• Our moral and intellectual characteristics

What is political culture?

• It is defined as a universally accepted way of thinking about how politics and government ought to be carried out

Take Five

• What are some of the common

public beliefs that Americans think

are vital to our political system?

Take Five

• What are the differences between

Political culture and political ideology?

Our view of what’s important

• Liberty (our rights)

• Equality (equal vote and opportunity)

• Democracy (government accountability)

• Civic duty (being involved)

• Individual responsibility (for your own actions and well-being)

How do we know???

• Before polls, people looked at books, speeches and political choices

• Polls and personality tests show we share these beliefs and other nations don’t!!

Public Opinion Poll taken in 2002

Then why is there conflict?

• Self-interest and social circumstances

• Broad values may not apply to specific controversial subjects

• Beliefs contradict each other and are not consistently applied

• but evidence of a truly common political culture is the use of the terms………..

Americanismand

un-American

Take Five

• Who is responsible for individual

economic success or failure?

What of economics?

• Americans support free enterprise but also place limits on that freedom

• Believe in equality of opportunity but not equality of results

• And we share a commitment to economic individualism

• (See table 4.1 pg. 82

and table 4.3 & 4.4 pg 84)

A comparison to others

• Let’s look at Sweden – not participatory government, everyone votes but that’s all, government is for specialists, don’t challenge decisions, equality more important than liberty, value harmony and observe obligations

• In Japan they are very different – value group decisions and social harmony, avoid conflict, decisions reached through discussion not application of rules, tremendous importance given to respecting hierarchy

• But here in the USA – assert our rights, emphasize individuality, competition, rules, and we treat others fairly but impersonally

Public Opinion Poll Taken in 2000

More…

• Americans lag behind Europeans in voter turnout but not in other forms of participation

• Americans have more confidence in their government

• We acknowledge our flaws but still are “very proud” of our national identity and would be more willing “to fight” for our country in the event of war (See table 4.2 on pg 83)

Econ, religion and politics

• Americans favor economic freedom and value hard work

• We are more “religious” than Europeans

• Churches are a major source of volunteerism

• Religious beliefs have played an important role in US politics and everyone uses the pulpit to promote politics

• Candidates and religion go hand in hand here

Background? How about home!

• So where do these beliefs come from?• #1 place – the family instills the ways we think about

the world and politics!!!!!• Our kids have greater freedom and there is equality

among family members• This leads to a belief in rights and acceptance of

diverse views in decision making• We are not so class conscious – we consider ourselves middle class and success is there for those who work hard!!

The war over “values”…

• We clash over values

• The war over cultural values reflects

our deep differences in beliefs about

private and public morality – standards that ought to govern individual behavior and social arrangements

• There are two “camps” on this issue…

Did you say “camps”?

• Yes I did…• Orthodox believes that morality is as, or more,

important than self expression and morality derives from the fixed rules of God

• Progressive believes that personal freedom is as, or more, important than traditional rules and beliefs are based on circumstances of modern life and personal preferences

• Also associated with “liberal” and “conservative” viewpoints…

They lied!!

• The mistrust of government has increased dramatically since the 1950s

• That mistrust is directed at officials within the government, not the governmental system!!!

• Watergate• Vietnam• Clinton• Why such a change? Perhaps our naïve view

of government in the 50s, fewer ways to express patriotism in the 60s and 70s??

Political efficacy…

• Internal efficacy – the ability to understand and take part in politics (do I or can I make a difference)

• External efficacy – the willingness of the state to respond to the citizenry (does anyone care about me)

• External has dropped sharply since the 1960 while internal efficacy has remained constant –

• In other words, we believe in our governmental system but don’t think they believe in us…

Political tolerance (or lack of)

• Americans are steadily becoming more tolerant in general

• Still, many believe we are too tolerant of harmful behaviors and they tend to defend common moral standards over protecting individual rights

• Democracy is willing to defend a persons right to speak, even if what they say offends you to the core… a tough dilemma, huh??

What would you do??

• Protestants holding a revival meeting?

• Right to life group opposing abortion?

• People protesting a nuclear plant?

• Feminists organizing a march for women's rights?

• Gays organizing for homosexual rights?

• Atheists preaching against God?

• Students organizing a sit-in to shut down city hall?

Unpopular groups?

• Unpopular groups survive for several reasons

• Most don’t act on their beliefs

• Usually no consensus on whom to persecute

• Office holders and activists are more tolerant than the general public

• Courts are sufficiently insulated from public opinion to enforce constitutional protections

• In other words, they’re there and they’re not going away, sorry…

Public Opinion

• Public opinion is simply defined:• How do people feel about particular things,

food, clothing, sports, weather, stuff like that• Most people don’t spend much time thinking

about politics • This leads to a high level of public ignorance• Still people are really good at picking out clues

to figure out what candidates reflect their interests or values with limited information!!

Our opinions come from????

• Family – recently youngsters tending to be independent – no clear ideology

• Religion – very complicated but most pronounced regarding social issues

• Gender – men more Republican, women Democrats and big differences on gun control, size of gov’t, social programs and gay rights

• School – college students used to be more liberal, not now, less involved and tend to read less

What tears us apart?

• Social classes are less important in US than Europe but still exist

• Non-economic issues now define liberal and conservative more than money did

• Race and ethnicity – differences between blacks and whites narrowing but still concerns of discrimination

• Hispanics tend to be Democrats but not as much as African-Americans

• Asians tend to be more Republican than whites

We are complex!!

• No easy differentiation between liberals and conservatives

• Pure liberals – Pure conservatives – libertarians – populists

• All deal with economic and social issues• Pure liberals – liberal on economic and social• Pure conservatives – conservative on both• Libertarians – conservative economics, liberal social• Populists – liberal economic, conservative social

Polls and what to look for

• Scientific polls are worthy of covering, un-scientific are entertaining but useless (Gallup)

• Who did the poll?

• Who paid for it and why?

• How many people were questions?

• How were they chosen?

• What area, nation, state or region – or what group, teachers, lawyers, Democrats?

Take Five

What are the five criteria for creating

Public opinion polls?

More on polls…

• Are results based on answers?

• When was the poll done?

• How were the questions asked – phone, mail or in person and were the questions “weighted” to force a desired response?

• In what order were the questions asked?

• Was the poll part of a fund-raiser?

Terms to know

• Universal sample – means the whole population the poll aims to measure

• Random sample – anyone is a part of it• Quota sample – looking for a specific audience• Sampling error – reflects the difference in results of

two polls• Exit poll – done on election day as people leave the

polls• You must ask 1000+ people to get a +/- 3% sampling

error or the poll is invalid

Final word to the wise…

• A poll of 1,000 people can accurately reflect the opinions of 185,000,000 in a well conducted survey!!

• How you say?

• It’s all in the magic of polls!

What’s your political belief?

• Survey given to 10-14 year olds• One day the President was driving his car

to a meeting. Because he was late, he was driving very fast. The police stopped the car. (Finish the story)

• Different countries answer differently– England – Queen would be released– France – President would be excused– US – President would get a ticket like everyone

else

Types of Participation

2000 Election participation• 82% watched the campaign on television• 73% voted in the election• 34% tried to influence others how to vote• 10% put a sticker on their car• 9% gave money to help a campaign• 5% attended a political meeting• 3% worked for a party or candidate

• Is this true? 73% of people vote? – No

Who REALLY participates?

Different factors can tell us who votes

1. Education – MOST IMPORTANT, more education=more voting

2. Religious involvement

3. Race and Ethnicity – Whites higher than minorities (might be economic based)

4. Age – 18-24 is the lowest, and 45 and up is the highest

Who REALLY participates?

5. Gender – men traditionally voted more, now it is more equal

6. Two-party competition – more competitive elections have higher turnout

Cross-cutting cleavages – individuals influenced by many factors, it is important when testing for this that variables are controlled

Voting

• Trend of low voter turnout• 1964 – 69.3%(Voting Age Population %)• 1980 – 41.3%• 1984 – 60.9%• 1988 – 40.5%• 1992 – 55.2%• 1996 – 49.1%• 2000 – 51.3%• 2004 – 55.3%• 2008 – 56.8%

Take Five

What are the amendments

Associated with the

Expansion of voting rights?

Expanding Suffrage

1. Lifting of property restrictions (1830) – “universal manhood suffrage” gave voting rights to all white males

2. Suffrage for African-Americans (1863-1964)1. 1865 - 15th Amendment – Voting Rights to all

2. 1954 - Brown v. Board – separate but equal is illegal, killed Jim Crow laws

3. 1964 24th Amendment – banned poll tax

4. 1965 – Voting Rights Act of 1965 – federal law prohibited (no literacy tests, fair elections etc.)

Expanding Suffrage

3. Women’s Suffrage (1920) – 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote

4. 18-21 year-olds (1971) – 26th Amendment, sparked by Vietnam

Voter Turnout

• Registered Voter turnout

• Eligible Voter turnout

• Voter Registration – blamed as one of the causes of low turnout

• “Motor-Voter” (1993) – National Voter Registration Act – allowed people to register to vote while they get license

Other reasons for low turnout

• Difficulty of Absentee Voting

• Number of Offices to Elect too high

• Weekday, non-holiday voting

• Weak political parties – less “get-out-the-vote campaigns

Take Five

Should the government allow

online voting? How can it be

Authenticated?

Public Opinion

• The distribution of individual attitudes about a particular issue, candidate, political institution, etc.

Take Five

• What is a straw poll?

• What is the problem with straw polls?

Early Efforts to Influence and

Measure Public Opinion • Public opinion polling began in the 1930s• But, as early as 1824, people were trying

to predict the outcome of political races using polls

• Literary Digest used straw polls which have since proven problematic

• The American Voter was published in 1960 and continues to influence the way we think of mass attitudes and behaviors

George Gallup

• Developed “Gallup Polls”• Started in 1932• 1st “pollster”• Since 1936, agency has picked one general

election result incorrect• 1948 Harry S. Truman was behindin the Presidential race and Gallup stopped polling 2 weeks before the race, pickingThomas Dewey to win and the winner was…

So what’s a straw poll exactly?

• A straw poll is a vote that is non-binding

• Here is an idiom…the “straw man” or straw blowing in the wind…

• In short…not consistent or reliable

• See Gallup poll results…

Sampling

• Representative – must mirror population you want answer about

• Random – give everyone an equal possibility of being sampled

• Wording – questions can’t be leading

• Straw poll – poor polling technique

Random Sampling

• Case in point..1936 Presidential election• Digest survey predicted that Al Landon

would win the 1936 Presidential election• They conducted polls by phone and car

registries—people had to mail in surveys • Gallup on the other hand only polled 2,000

people, yet had the pulse of America—how? (Hint…what was happening in America in the 1930s?)

Political Socialization

• Factors that influence a person’s opinion

• People in different social “groups” tend to share certain opinions: group identification

Family

• #1 influence of political attitude

• Very strong correlation for Political Party support

Gender

Examples

• More men support military

• More women consider sexual harassment a serious problem

• Since ’60s, women vote Dem more than men, and vice versa

• Not as significant of an indicator as marriage (married vs. unmarried)

Religion

Example• Protestants are more conservative on

economic matters than Catholics or Jews• Jews tend to be liberal on economic and

social issues than Catholics or Protestants• Catholics tend to be more liberal on

economic issues than they are on social issues (Catholics becoming more conservative)

Education

Example

• Higher Education = more conservativeor

• College education = liberal views

Conflicting results, not always a correlation

Social Class

• “Blue collar” (Laborer) typically Democrat

• “White collar” (Businessmen) typically Republican

Relationship is becoming less clear

Race and Ethnicity

Examples• African Americans – 90% Democrats• Hispanic Americans – tend to affiliate with

Democrats, but less likely than African Americans

• Asian Americans – less liberal than Hispanic Americans or African Americans, but still consistently vote Democrat

• White, more divided, fluctuates by election

Geographic Region

Example

• East and West Coasts – more liberal

• Mid-West – more conservative

• Urban - liberal

• South – 1870-1950s - Democrat “Solid South” but today they are primarily social conservatives

• White Southerner always less liberal

Political Ideology

• Coherent set of values and beliefs about public policy

• Changes over time for all people

• Liberal and conservative mean different things at different time periods

What Americans Value: Political Ideologies

• Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives?– Views change over time

• Perfect example…BOTH democrats and republicans claim that Thomas Jefferson is the founder of their political party WHY?

– Currently about 37% conservative, 23% liberal, 40% moderate

How ideological are Americans?

• 1950 study – “The American Voter”

• 4 basic types of voter

1. Ideologues – 12% of people connect their opinions to party lines

2. Group Benefits Voter – 42% of people connect their opinion to their “group”. (labor union, interest group, class, race)

How ideological are Americans?

3. Nature of the times voter – 24% of the people linked good or bad times to the party in control and vote the opposite (usually based on economics).

4. No Issue Content – 22% of the people could give no reason

Take Five

• What are some ways, other than

voting, in which Americans

participate in politics?

How Americans Participate in Politics

• Political Participation:– All the activities used by citizens to influence

the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue.

• Conventional Participation– Voting in elections– Working in campaigns / running for office– Contacting elected officials

How Americans Participate in Politics

• Protest as Participation– Protest: A form of political participation

designed to achieve policy changes through dramatic and unconventional tactics.

– Civil disobedience: A form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.

Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action

• Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government– Many people have no opinion.

• Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action– We select our leaders, not policies.– We protest for specific policies, not against

the government.

Public Opinion Polls

• http://people-press.org/; http://people-press.org/reports/; http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1207/republican-party-identification-slips-nationwide-pennsylvania-specter-switch