AP United States Government and

Politics Exam Review

Edwards Chapter 6 (not covered in course) Edwards Chapter 7 (Unit 4 from

our course)Chapter 6 (review book)

Review --Day THREE

Public Opinion and Political ActionChapter 6 (Edwards)

Public Opinion and Political Action More than two centuries of immigration to

United States has created an incredibly diverse population of Americans

Numerous social and economic factors therefore contribute to a varied forum of public opinion

Despite differences, Americans overall share a common political culture based on democracy and federalism

Today, public opinion can be a powerful tool, especially during elections politicians, pundits, and even voters pay close

attention to what polls tell them is the public’s opinion

The American People

Constitution requires census be taken every 10 yearscensus collects demographic data about the

population of the United States information is used to:

distribute money to federal and state programs,reapportion seats in the House to each state,determine each state’s number of electors in the

Electoral College, redraw state and federal congressional districts, allocate funds for public services such as schools, roads, and public transportation

The American People

Census reports confirm United States a nation of immigrants, a melting pot of cultures, ideas, and people

According to recent census datapercentage of minorities is increasing while

the percentage of Caucasians is decreasingcould lead to a minority majority in the next

few decades(Also) first time, Hispanic Americans

outnumbered African Americans

The American People Reapportionment in the last two decades

has given more seats to the increasingly populated states of California, Florida, and Texasstates in the Northeast have lost seats

Senior Citizens make up the largest population group by agegives them significant political influencewill put a serious strain on the Social

Security system in the next few decade Despite ethnic, age, and geographic diversity,

US has a shared political culture, with a common set of political values that are widely shared

How Americans Learn About Politics: Political SocializationPeople learn about politics and

form their political beliefs through the process of political socializationseveral different means through

which people informally acquire political information

How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization Family:

Families have a significant degree of influence, especially over younger members

most people identify with the same party as their parents do

Mass media: Most Americans, especially children and teenagers,

watch a significant amount of television Political information is often disseminated through TV Younger people are much less likely to watch the news

than are adults, however, and as a result, the political knowledge of young people today is significantly lower than that of young people a few decades ago

How Americans Learn About Politics: Political SocializationSchool:

Schools educate children in American values such as democracy and capitalism, both through academics and through practices such as reciting the Pledge of Allegiance

good education also tends to produce more politically active and aware citizens

young people also influenced by members of their peer group when formulating their political attitudes and beliefs

How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization Religious groups and associations influence

political attitudes Example -- during the last decade, fundamentalist

Christians have played an ever-increasing role in the politics of the US

Socialization is a dynamic process, with learning taking place over one’s entire lifetime Socialization is part of the very important nurturing

process

Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Polls are the most common means of

assessing public opinion random sample, or a group that statistically

represents the whole population of the US, is asked to fill out a questionnaire or answer some questions over the phone

famous non-random sampleThe Literary Digest Poll of 1936, wrongly

predicted that Republican Alf Landon would defeat Franklin Roosevelt in the election that year

wording of a question is critical, and ambiguously worded questions can affect the accuracy of a poll

size of the sample can also affect the accuracy of a poll and thus the level of confidence in the poll (sampling error)

Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Commonly, modern polls rely on random

digit dialing to draw telephone samples Some critics argue that polls allow politicians

to be influenced easily by shifts in public opinion and that polls receive more media attention than do candidates’ political platforms during elections

Others assert that, by advancing the public’s political agenda to poll-sensitive politicians, polls advance the principles of democracy

Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Recent polls indicate that Americans have little

political knowledge and little faith that the government is acting on their behalf

Exit polls are conducted by media as voters leave the voting booth to predict the outcomes of elections

Public opinion polls have shown a trend indicating that Americans trust government less than they used to

What Americans Value: Political Ideologies Conservative ideology:

Favors limited government and freedom of the private sector

more likely to support military spending, free markets, prayer in school, and reduced taxes

opposes abortion, affirmative action, and government spending on social programs

What Americans Value: Political Ideologies Liberal ideology:

Favors an active central government with social and economic responsibilities

Favors a more equal distribution of wealth, more government regulation of big business, more government spending on social programs, and abortion

Opposes increases in defense spending and military actions, prayer in school, and tax breaks for the wealthy

What Americans Value: Political Ideologies Women and minorities tend to be more liberal

gender gap pattern that predicts that women are more likely to

vote for a Democratic candidate; however this was less prevalent in the 2004 elections

Traditionally, people of higher socioeconomic classes tend to be conservative trend is declining

Conservative groups tend to have more resources and therefore more political power

Ronald Reagan was one of the most conservative presidents of the 20th century

Bill Clinton shifted the Democratic Party and government back to a more centrist position

How Americans Participate in Politics Americans express their political views and try

to influence policy by voting, petitioning, participating in protests, or corresponding with their representatives

Voter turnout has been declining (2008 - exception) over the last few decades, though it is still the most common way people participate in politics Young people are the group least likely to vote

Campaign contributions to candidates as a form of political participation are on the rise.

How Americans Participate in Politics Protest and civil disobedience have a long

tradition in American historyProtests against globalization and war continue

to be a means of political expression todayTEA Party today classic example

People of high socioeconomic status are much more likely to participate in politics, although African Americans and Hispanic Americans are becoming more active

The Mass Media and the Political AgendaChapter 7

The Mass Media and the Political Agenda mass media, including newspapers, radio,

television, and the Internet have had a profound impact on politics In today’s media-savvy world, politicians are highly

visible to the publicthis has had both positive and negative consequences

for policymakers, campaigns, and the public’s trust in government

impact of the media on American politics is referred to as high-tech politics, in which thee media can shape the political agenda and the behavior of policy makers

The Mass Media Today

Political leaders have learned to use the media to set their agenda

media event is an event that is staged by a political leader with the purpose of getting it covered in the media to shape an image or draw attention to a chosen issue

political leaders can more deliberately use advertisements to make up the majority of spending on political campaigns

Presidents also use the media to make direct appeals to the public.

The Development of Media Politics Politics and the mass media go hand in hand

(whereas) once they worked together to communicate with the public, today they often oppose each other

Press conferences are a common means by which presidents convey their goals and opinions to the public recent phenomenon begun by Franklin Roosevelt in

the 1930s FDR first president to address the electorate directly

through the radio

The Development of Media Politics Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War

changed the government’s relationship with the press, as the press became more suspicious about political motives

Today the media engage in investigative journalism, often with the intent of revealing scandals

The Print Media

Only a few corporations own all the newspapers in the United States, as well as radio and television stations These major corporations have significant control

over information conveyed in the media Newspaper readers tend to be politically

informed, active citizens, but newspaper circulation has been declining since the advent of television

The Broadcast Media

Now, most Americans, especially young people, get their information from the broadcast media

Television shifts the public’s focus from a politician’s achievements and political views to his or her appearance and performance in front of the cameras

The Broadcast Media Cable television encourages narrowcasting,

which allows viewers to select what information they do and do not want to see Critics fear that this will lead to an even less informed

electorate that can selectively avoid politics Media in America is free and independent

because it is privately owned, but that also means it is totally dependent upon advertising Over four-fifths of the newspapers in America are

owned by large corporations (chains) and this applies to much of the broadcast media

Government Regulations of the Broadcast Media

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a regulatory agency that monitors the use of the air waves (independent), but subject to many political

pressuresCongress controls the funding Presidential appointments to the agency are made

with political considerations in mindFCC prevents monopolies, conducts periodic

examinations of stations as part of its licensing authority, and issues fair treatment rules concerning access to the airwaves for political candidates and office holders

If a person is attacked on the air, they have the right to respond on the same station

(However), the fairness doctrine that was once in place (required equal time to differing views) was abolished

From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: The rise of Cable News Channels first major news networks were described as

“broadcasting” because messages were sent to a broad audience

with development of cable TV, narrowcasting (media programming on cable TV or Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a narrow audience) is a more appropriate term

while there is now a wide variety of news programs available, the quality of content has not necessarily improved profit motive is still the driving force behind most

news programs

The Impact of the Internet

internet has made political information easily accessibleCitizens can now use it to easily retrieve voting

records and text of legislation for example (However) researchers have discovered that few

Americans are taking advantage of the technology to be better informed citizens

impact of the Internet on politics has been subtle

Reporting the News Newscasting

business geared toward achieving high ratings can have detrimental consequences for both the

political agenda addressed in the news and for the political knowledge of Americans

Profits largely determine what is considered news, and sensational, unusual, or negative events usually receive more attention than more positive or everyday policymaking does leads the public to believe that most of politics is

scandalous and to distrust political leaders

Reporting the News Journalists usually have regular beats such as

the White House, the Senate, or the Pentagon most of their information comes directly from press

secretaries at these institutions this has significant advantages for politicians, who can

control how much information is reported to the public, including intentional leaks (trial balloons), which can gauge political reaction

News reporting, especially through the broadcast media, has very little depth of content Information is reported in sound bites, which gloss over

the complexity of issues and focus the public’s attention on politicians rather than on their policies

contributes further to Americans’ lack of political knowledge

Reporting the News Sound bites allow politicians to craft political

agendas without having to directly address an issue typical sound bite is only seven seconds long

Bias is not apparent so much in the way news is presented, but it is a actor in determining what news is reported and what news is not Cable News more likely to distort Dramatic stories of violence or conflict are more likely to

draw an audience, so they are more likely to be featured in the news

The News, Public Opinion, and the Media’s Agenda-Setting Function mass media have an enormous influence over

the public agenda by selecting what issues to focus on, news

organizations define which are the most pressing political topics and thereby determine the political priorities of the public

by selectively assigning importance to certain issues, the media essentially tell Americans what to think

Politicians, interest groups, and protestors use the media to their advantage by staging dramatic media events to draw attention to themselves and their message

The News, Public Opinion, and the Media’s Agenda-Setting Function media have shifted attention to individual

politicians and away from government as a whole consequence of this is the increasing amount of attention

paid to the president, which as a result enhances power media perform a watchdog function by forcing the

government to be answerable to the public (However) they strongly discourage Americans from

thinking critically about politics. At the same time, because the news is based on ratings,

its content reflects what citizens want to see and read -- and they seem to express little interest in politics

Understanding the Mass Media/The Media and the Scope of Government media acts as a key linkage between the people

and government media’s watchdog function also helps to restrict

politicians watchdog orientation of the press can be

characterized as liberal or conservative