American Federal Government
• Introductory Themes
• American Political Culture
Introductory Themes and
American Political Culture
•Political Power
Authority
Legitimacy
Conceptions of Democracy
• Democratic Centralism
• Direct Democracy
• Representative Democracy
popular sovereignty
citizen demands and government action
participation
deliberation
majority rule
Majority Rule: Good or Bad?
• No guarantee of good decisions
• Majority tyranny can threaten minorities
• Apathy toward politics
Who Really Governs?
• Different approaches
Marxist
Elitist
Bureaucratic
Pluralist
Political Culture
• Definition
A basic set of shared values, attitudes and
beliefs that differentiate Americans from
citizens of other countries
Myths about the Founding of the
American Republic
•
•
•
•
British as tyrranical
All the colonists favored independence
Colonists were militarily superior
American Revolution as a symbol of
freedom for the world
• Constitution was divinely inspired
Characteristics of American
Political Culture
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Equality of opportunity, not outcome
Individual responsibility
Mistrust of government & governmental power
Limited government
Religion and faith
Providence, abundance, and Manifest Destiny
Associationalism and civic duty
• Greater inclusion of “out-groups”?
American Political Culture
Compared
• High confidence in political institutions
• Lower confidence in people running
political institutions
• Religiosity
• Declining sense of political efficacy
Confidence in Institutions:
America and Europe Compared
90
83
86
84
85
77
80
69
70
Percent
60
US
Great Britain
50
Germany
40
France
Spain
30
20
10
0
Congress
(Parliament)
Courts
Press
Business
Armed
Forces
Church
Confidence in People Running
American Institutions
60
55
50
50
42
41
Percent
40
1966
29 29 28
30
1971-79
29
1980-89
23
20
19 20
19
22
18
16
16
1990-96
18 18
12
10
10
0
Congress
Supreme
Court
Federal
Bureaucracy
Press
Major
Companies
Religiosity:
The United States Compared
(World Values Study, 1990s)
Respondents who say they are a religious person
29
Sweden
48
France
Germany
54
55
UK
64
Spain
69
Canada
Mexico
72
US
82
0
10
20
30
40
Percent
50
60
70
80
90
Religion is Important in My Life
(Associated Press/IPSOS Poll, Summer 2005)
84
64
63
55
54
46
43
te
s
om
d
ni
te
U
ni
te
d
Ki
n
gd
ai
n
Sp
U
So
ut
h
Ko
re
a
ic
o
M
ex
ly
Ita
y
m
an
G
er
ce
Fr
an
C
an
a
da
ia
37
st
ra
l
Au
86
80
St
a
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Religious Leaders Should/Should Not
Try to Influence Government Decisions
75
72
75
63
61
77
72
22
25
12
20
30
20
68
21
76
77
Should Not
Should
37
17
20
Ita
l
M y
So ex
ic
ut
o
h
Ko
re
a
U
ni
Sp
te
d
ai
Ki
n
n
U
ni gdo
te
m
d
St
at
es
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Au
st
ra
lia
C
an
ad
Fr a
an
ce
G
er
m
an
y
Percent (%)
(Associated Press/IPSOS Poll, Summer 2005)
Population of the US by Race and Ethnicity
(Census Bureau)
Population Change in the US
1980-2000
Changes in U.S.
Occupational Structure
Changes in Where We Live
Race & Ethnicity
• Blacks/African-Americans
– migration, political protest, civil rights
– issue divisions
• Latinos/Hispanics
– diversity as a group
– low political mobilization
• exception? South Florida
Race & Ethnicity
• Asian Americans
– recent immigration
– considerably diverse group
– issue foci
• Native Americans
– scattering of distinct cultures
– conquered nations, poverty, and protest
– new economic development: casino gambling
1996 Presidential Vote
by Ethnicity
84
90
72
80
70
Percent
60
44
49
45
42
50
40
21
30
12
20
10
0
White
Black
Clinton
Hispanic
Dole
Asian
2000 Presidential Vote
by Ethnicity
90
90
80
65
Percent (%)
70
54
55
60
50
42
41
35
40
30
20
9
10
0
White
Black
Gore
Hispanic
Bush
Asian
Class in American Politics?
• Most Americans believe they are in the
middle class
– What is the definition? Gingrich vs. Clinton
• Tolerance for income inequality
Income Distribution:
The U.S. Compared
Gender in American Politics
• The Gender Gap
– a distinctive pattern of voting behavior
reflecting differences in views between men
and women
• Example:
--> Sexual Harassment in the workplace
– 24% of men say it is a serious problem
– 38% of women say it is a serious problem
(ICPSR /ANES 1992 pre/post election surveys)
Gender Gap in Voting:
1992/96 Vote for Clinton
48
50
41
37
38
Percent
40
30
Men
Women
20
10
0
1992
1996
Gender Gap in Voting:
2000 Election, Gore/Bush
60
54
53
50
43
42
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
Bush
Gore
Men
Women
Religion in American Politics
• Secularism and protest
• Values, culture, and moral issues
– abortion
• Rise or Demise of the Christian Right?
– The GOP connection
Number of Members
Membership in the Christian Coalition,
1989-95
1800000
1600000
1400000
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0
1989
1990
1991
1992
Year
1993
1994
1995
Ideology: Moderates Carry the Day