Date post: | 21-Jan-2015 |
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News & Politics |
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Political CultureAP Government
What is it?
▪ The widely shared beliefs, values, and norms citizens hold towards their government
▪ Varies from country to country and region to region
▪ Political Science
▪ Changes over time
▪ Used to predict political behavior (voters AND politicians)▪ Example: Politician is elected from a
conservative district, how is he or she expected to vote?
Main Influences on U.S. Political Culture
Warning—these are NOT absolutes, only trends
▪ Family: we acquire a majority of partisanship from our parents
▪ Religion: religious differences make for political differences, especially concerning social issues
▪ Gender: men = more Republican, women= more Democratic
▪ Schooling: college educations usually result in more liberal attitudes
▪ Social Class: political opinion closely associated with occupation, skilled = more conservative, unskilled= liberal
▪ Race : African Americans and Hispanics tend to be more liberal, whites and Asian Americans more conservative
▪ Region: different states tend to be either more Democratic or Republican depending on their location; the South tends to be more conservative
What Are American Shared Political Values?
▪ You make a list first
▪ Here’s what the book says:▪ Natural Rights▪ Liberty▪ Equality▪ Individualism▪ Majority rule▪ Popular Sovereignty▪ Justice and the Rule of Law▪ Patriotism and Nationalism▪ And a few more…
▪ What do these mean? Let’s debate!
Now, you get to do some research!
▪ Three steps:▪ One: Define Liberal, Conservative, Socialist, and Libertarian. Focus on
what these mean in America today. Also provide a broad ideological view of each (a paragraph)
▪ Two: List how these ideologies have changed because of these historical periods:▪ The Gilded Age▪ The Great Depression▪ The Reagan Era (1980s)▪ The current highly partisan political era
▪ Three: Select TEN current issues, and discuss how they fit into each political ideology (Ex. Taxing policy—what do Conservatives, Liberals, etc. believe about this?)
▪ Put this together in a nicely word-processed essay