American Political Culture
Chapters 4, 7, 8, & 9
Alexis de Toqueville
• Democracy in America
• The effects of “culture”
• “Problems” of America
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Size
Languages
“melting pot”
Religion
Class Consciousness
Political Equality over
Economic Equality
Elements of the American Political System
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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/politicalspectrum-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
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Straw polls
George Gallup
Random sampling
Margin of error (sampling error)
Exit polls
Effect of Elites
Bill Clinton – Overpolling?
Political Socialization
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Family
Age
Education
Religion
Gender
Class
Race/Ethnicity
Region
(basics > party) (kids less partisan)
(younger = more socially liberal)
(more schooling = less partisan)
(attendance increases Conserv.)
(Women!)
(Economics trumps all.)
(Party and Issues)
(“Stronghold” – myth?)
How do we participate?
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Voting
“Getting out” the vote
Campaigning
Donating
Being informed
Signing petitions
Letter-writing
Volunteer work
A Brief History of Voting
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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%)
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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
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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
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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
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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
2380
Govt. 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?