American Political Culture

American Political CultureChapters 4, 7, 8, & 9

Alexis de Toqueville

• Democracy in America• The effects of “culture”• “Problems” of America– Size– Languages– “melting pot”– Religion– Class Consciousness– Political Equality over

Economic Equality

Elements of the American Political System

• Liberty• Equality• Democracy• Civic Duty• Individual Responsibility• The Role of the Civil Society• The Necessity of Political Tolerance

• How do we know that Americans share these beliefs?

• Why is our society inconsistent with our beliefs?

• Why is there so much political conflict?• Does the economy reflect our values?• What is the affect of Religion?• Are we Red, Blue, or Purple?

Elements of the American Political System

• Proper Definition of Terms– Conservative– Liberal

• Where did the Political Spectrum originate?

The Political Spectrum

The Political Spectrum

The Political Spectrum

Check YOUR Political Standing

•http://www.gotoquiz.com/politics/political-spectrum-quiz.html

The Value of Public Opinion

• Plenty of Problems:– There are many “publics”– Difficult to measure accurately– “We know very little, but we reason fairly well.”

• Errors occur:– We don’t use terms correctly.– Our desires are inconsistent.– We hide our truest thoughts.

• “Public opinion is often dynamic, not static.”

“Inside Information”

• Table 4.2 ~ Survey says: We take more pride, believe that we are in control, think kids should be taught the value of hard work, and believe that belief in God is essential to morality than Europe.

• Table 4.3 ~ In the past 40 years, confidence in church, schools, newspapers, unions, business, and Congress have all declined.

• Table 7.1 ~ young adults are pretty jaded.

Scientific Polling

• Straw polls• George Gallup• Random sampling• Margin of error (sampling error)• Exit polls• Effect of Elites• Bill Clinton – Overpolling?

Political Socialization

• Family (basics > party) (kids less partisan)

• Age (younger = more socially liberal)• Education (more schooling = less partisan)• Religion (attendance increases Conserv.)• Gender (Women!)• Class (Economics trumps all.)• Race/Ethnicity (Party and Issues)• Region (“Stronghold” – myth?)

How do we participate?

• Voting• “Getting out” the vote• Campaigning• Donating• Being informed• Signing petitions• Letter-writing• Volunteer work

A Brief History of Voting

• 1776 ~ White, male, taxpayers (property)• 1828 ~ Removal of most property requirements• 1868 ~ Amd. 14 – male citizens, age 21• 1870 ~ Amd. 15 – race, color, servitude• 1920 ~ Amd. 19 – sex • 1961 ~ Amd. 23 – District of Columbia• 1964 ~ Amd. 24 – No poll taxes• 1971 ~ Amd. 26 – Age 18• “Motor voter” laws

Other voting issues

• NonVoting– Too busy (25%)– Family obligations (12%)– Lack of efficacy (12%)

• Disenfranchisement of Criminals• Literacy Tests• Grandfather Clauses• Numerous offices

Voting Trends

• Chart page 185– Older voters vote in larger percentages– Presidential elections draw larger turnouts than

Midterm elections– Less than half of registered voters ages 18-20 vote

in Midterms– Younger voters fluctuate more (disinterest?)– 2008 got the most out of every group

Choose your ballot wisely

• Early Party “Ballots”• The Australian Ballot• “Office bloc” Ballot (Mass.)• Straight ticket?• Voting machines– The Lever– The Punch Card (The Florida Fiasco - 2000)– The Video Game

Political Parties

• Despised by the Founders– Factional– Fighting– Treasonous?

• A basic label– Becoming less descriptive

• Perhaps in decline (but probably not)

A Brief History of Political Parties

• Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans– (Adams vs. Jefferson)– Killed the caucus system, created Conventions

• Whigs vs. Democrats– (Clay vs. Jackson)

• Republicans vs. Democrats– Created by Civil War– Union = Republican / Confederacy = Democrat

A Brief History of Political Parties

• William Jennings Bryan – Populism– Progressives and Mugwumps

• MAJOR CHANGES:– Primary elections, Nonpartisan local elections– Voters’ registration– Initiative and Referendum– Use of mass media– Decrease in patronage

A Brief History of Political Parties

• FDR and the Final Domination of Democrats

• Alternating Current– Democrats have controlled Congress– Republicans have “controlled” the Presidency– Continuous divided government

An even briefer history of “minor” parties

• 1964 – George Wallace• 1980 – John Anderson• 1992 & 1996 – Ross Perot• 2000 – Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan• 2010 – Tea Party

2 Parties or Multiple?

• Problems in a 2-Party system– Contentiousness– Corruption– Divisiveness

• Problems in a Multiparty system– Coalitions– Run-offs– Plurality

Political Conventions

• Primary or Caucus?• “Superdelegates”• Usually activists• Delegates do NOT reflect the masses

Who’s at the convention?

Democrats % Republicans %

Women 49 32

Blacks 23 2

Protestant 50 57

Catholic 25 30

Jewish 9 3

College degree 80 80

Income < $500,000 45 32

Income > $500,000 43 51

Union members 25 5

Born-again 14 34

Gun Owners 33 60

Who’s at the convention?2008 Dem Delegates % Voters % Rep. Delegates %

Male 50 46 68

Female 50 54 32

African American 23 12 2

Hispanic 11 8 5

Income > $75,000 70 31 66

Union Members 24 9 5

TOTAL (#) 4419 2380Govt. must solve national problems

83 43 3

Should have stayed out of Iraq

95 59 13

Abortion should be generally available

70 33 9

Religion ext. import 23 28 37

Restrict guns – laws 62 52 8

No legal gay unions 5 39 46

The problem of corruption

• Patronage – “To the victor…”

• Tammany Hall

• Political Machines

• Hatch Act

Questions

• If we do away with political parties…– How will candidates be found?– How will good candidates be recruited?– Where will candidates find support?– Who will hold candidates accountable for their

actions?

• Why don’t the best people run for office?