UNIT V
PUBLIC BELIEFS & BEHAVIORS
II. Political Beliefs and
Behavior……………….10-20%
A. Beliefs that citizens hold about their government and
its leaders
B. Process by which citizens learn about politics
C. The nature, sources, and consequences of public
opinion
D. The ways in which citizens vote and otherwise
participate in political life
E. Factors that influence citizens to differ from one
another in terms of political beliefs and behaviors
Essential Questions
•
•
•
•
How are political beliefs formed?
How do they evolve?
How are they are transmitted?
Why do U.S. citizens hold certain beliefs about politics, and
how do families, schools, and the media act to perpetuate or
change these beliefs?
• How does political culture affect and inform political
participation?
– Why do individuals engage in various forms of political participation?
– How does that participation affect the political system?
• What leads citizens to differ in their political beliefs and
behaviors?
• What are the political consequences of these differences?
–
consider different views of the political process, the demographic features of
the American population, and the belief and behavior systems held by specific
ethnic groups, minorities, and other groups.
Explain this quote:
“America is the only nation in the world that is
founded on a creed.” - G.K. Chesterton
Creed: 1. any system, doctrine, or formula of
religious belief, as of a denomination. 2. any
system or codification of belief or of opinion.
American Political Culture
•
•
•
•
Equality of Opportunity
Liberty/Freedom
Individualism
Representative Democracy
Post 1950s: increasing mistrust of
government
– Declining political efficacy
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Gender
• The Gender Gap
– Differences in political
views and voting behavior
of men and women
• Men
– Favor Republicans
– Favor Conservatives
• Women
– Favor Democrats
– Favor Liberals
Differences between Men and Women
• Role of Government: Doing
too much?
– Yes: women (50%); men
(66%)
• Social Programs: Favor cuts?
– Favor: women (47%) men
(60%)
• Should more be done to
expand good, affordable child
care, or should it be left to
families and individuals?
– Do more women (63%); men
(41%)
• Should fed government
guarantee medical care?
– Yes women (69%) men (58%)
• Poverty and homelessness
important:
– One of most impt probs:
wom(63%); men 44%
• Should affirmative action be
continued or abolished?
Abolished wom 36%, men 52%
• Do you think women have
equal job opps
– No women 69% men 59%
Race/Ethnicity
• Affiliations are based on
freedom-equality issues and
socioeconomic conditions
– White
• Favor Republican
– Black
• Overwhelmingly favor
Democrats
– Hispanic
• Overwhelmingly favor
Democrats
• Except Cubans
– Asian
• Relatively Neutral
Equal Opportunity v Equal Results
• Equality of Opportunity
– A view that it is wrong to
use race or sex either to
discriminate against or give
preferential treatment to
minorities or women
• Equality of Results
– A view that government
should do everything in its
power to guarantee all a
standard quality of life
Changing of America’s Race
• White America is on the
decline
– What will this mean for
politics in the United
States?
•
•
•
•
•
Freedom
Equality
Rule of Law
Popular Sovereignty
Justice
“Minority-Majority” emerging
Progression of Race and Voting
• 15th Amendment (1870)
– The right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States
or by any State on account of
race, color, or previous condition
of servitude.
• 24th Amendment (1964)
– Prohibits a poll tax as
qualification to vote
• Voting Rights Act (1965)
– Prevents states from denying
citizens the right to vote based
on race
– Helps enforce the 15th
Amendment
Age and Voting
• 26th Amendment
– The right of citizens of the
United States, who are
eighteen years of age or
older, to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the
United States or by any
State on account of age
• What is the effect of this
Amendment?
Partisanship
• The tendency of a person
to support a specific
political party
– People tend to have the
same political
identification as their
parents
• Republicans have the
strongest party support
– Their party members
are more loyal
– Why?
Ideology
• Conservative
– In general a person who favors more limited and local government, less
government regulation of markets, more social conformity to traditional
norms and values, and tougher policies toward criminals
• Liberal
– In general a person that values individual liberties, larger role of
government, oppose death penalty, and heavily supports equality.
Marketplace of Ideas
19th-20th centuries...
• single national language
• expansion of literacy
– universal compulsory education
• communication & transportation
–
–
–
–
roads, rail lines, (automobiles…)
telegraph, telephone, radio, television
satellite-based networks
World Wide Web = internet
• legal protection for free expression
The Political Spectrum
Urban v. Suburban v. Rural America
• Population Density
– The more people living in
your area, the more
democratic your area tends
to be
– Higher populated cities
tend to benefit more from
federal spending
– More government services
are needed in densely
populated areas
Family Income
• The higher one’s income,
the more likely they are
to…
– Register to vote
– Vote
– Vote Republican
Education
– The more
education one
has the more
likely they will
• Register to
vote and vote
• Vote
Democrat
– Until
money is
earned
• Participate in
various
methods
Region
• Voting trends by region
– Northeast
• Democrat
– Midwest
• Republican
– South
• Republican
– West
• Democrat
– Swing States
• Ohio, Florida,
Pennsylvania
Religion
• Voter Tendencies by
Religion
– Evangelicals
• Republican
– Catholics
• Democrat
– Protestants
• Republican
– Jews
• Democrat
Type of Election
• Presidential Election
– People turn out at a higher
rate
– Presidency is seen as more
important
• Midterm Election
– Election in between
Presidential elections
• Primary Election
– Nominating election
– Many states restrict
participation
• General Election
– Decides who will win the seat
Public Opinion
• An aggregate of the individual
views, attitudes, and beliefs
about a particular topic,
expressed by a significant
proportion of a community
– 5 Core American Values
•
•
•
•
•
Freedom
Equality
Democracy
majoritarianism
Individual Responsibility
• Public Opinion Polls
• Conducted by news
organizations, politicians,
candidates, interest groups
Poll Legitimacy
•
Who conducted/sponsored the poll?
– Neutral polling organizations would produce the most accurate results
– Political parties or other biased organizations would not
•
How many persons were interviewed?
– Minimum 1,000 people
– Reduces the margin of error
•
Who was interviewed?
– Many people choose not to participate in polls; this can scew the results
•
How were the questions worded?
– Pollsters must be careful how to ask the question
•
When was the poll conducted?
– Temporary passions can also scew the results
•
How was the poll conducted?
– Phone, Internet, On the street
Types of Polls
• Exit Polls
– Questioned right after
voting
– Indicates who people
vote for
• Census Tracks/Tracking Polls
– Questioning specific
groups within the
population
– Indicates the public’s
tendencies across a
specific period of time
Our questions…
• Who are we as a society?
– More diverse, more spread out, and older!
• How we learn about politics?
– Family, the media, and school, just to start.
• How do we measure what we believe as a society?
– Through polls, which may or may not be accurate.
• What do we believe as a society?
– That we’re all over the place and that sometimes labels mean more
than anything else.
• How do we participate in politics?
– From the inside or the outside: by trying to change the system or
protesting the system to make a change.
Trust in Government
Elections in a Representative Democracy
•
•
•
•
•
Institutions of legitimacy
Safety valves for social discontent
Facilitate popular influence
Promote leadership accountability
Offer a measure of protection from the abuse
of governmental power
US v. The World
• Why does voter
participation in the
United States lag
behind the rest of the
democratic world?
– Lack of homogeneity
– Decreasing trust in
government
– Decrease in political
efficacy
– Decreasing roll of
parties
Types of Political Activity
U.S. Voter Turnout
Influences on Voters
• Partisan loyalty
–
–
–
–
–
stronger during 1940s-50s than today
family influence
reinforced by social & cultural ties
once formed, seldom change
more prominent in state & local races
• Issue and policy concerns
– larger impact if candidates articulate & publicize very
different positions
• Candidate characteristics
– shared background, views, & perspectives
– race, ethnicity, religion, gender, geography….
Electoral College System
• Each state receives same # as membership in Congress (=
535)
– subject to change every 10 years based on the
reapportionment of seats in the House of
Representatives
• Washington D.C. receives 3
– minimum any state could receive
• Total electoral votes = 538
• Candidate must receive at least 270 votes to become
president
• Political Parties choose people who will serve as electors
Electoral College System...continued...
• November
– General state elections
– Voters formally elect electors
• December
– Electors meet in state capitals to cast vote for
President & Vice President
• First Week in January
– Electoral votes counted by the President of the
Senate before a joint session of Congress
• January 20
– Inauguration of the President
Modern Presidency: From FDR to Bill Clinton
• Franklin Roosevelt - New Deal Coalition:
– Unionized labor
• labor legislation
– Members of urban ethnic groups & Northern blacks
• welfare & social service programs
– Southerners
• farm programs
– Middle-class liberals
• expansion of white-collar employment in the public sector;
support for education and the arts
– Important sectors of business community
• free trade and the expansion of industrial production
FDR’s New Deal Coalition
• Dominated government & politics until the 1960s
• Shattered by conflicts over:
– race relations
– Vietnam War
– fiscal & regulatory policies
• Segments of the business community, social & religious
conservatives, upper-middle-class suburbanites, Southern
whites, & many Northern blue-collar workers have been
drawn to the Republican Party
The Reconstituted Right - 1980s
• Ronald Reagan
– Middle-class suburbanites
• trim social programs, cut taxes & bring down inflation
– Social & religious conservatives
• “pro-family,” anti-abortion, & school prayer
– White Southerners
• end to federal support for affirmative action
– American business community
• relaxation of regulations
– Defense industry
• greatly increased rates of military spending
End of Reagan-Bush Era
• Change in two key elements:
– Prosperity at home
– Strength abroad
• Mired in economic downturn
• End of the Cold War Era diminished the threat
of a nuclear holocaust
Return of the Democrats (?)
• Move toward the center
• Democratic Leadership Council (DLC)
• Clinton / Gore
– founding members of DLC
– criticized welfare
– stressed individual responsibility & private enterprise
– kept away from black issues
– economic message appealed to business & middle
class without alienating working-class
Clinton / Gore in 1996
• Supported “middle class bill of rights” - series of
tax-cut initiatives
• Tough anti-crime measures
• Embraced voluntary school prayer
• Spoke out against sex & violence on television
• Dropped opposition to Republican welfare reform
proposals
• Advocated “family values”
Bush / Cheney 2004
• Emphasis on Foreign Policy
– War on Terrorism
– War in Iraq
• Tax cuts
• Homeland Security
• Support Constitutional Amendment to ban
gay marriage
Electoral Realignments, 1800-2008
1800 - Jeffersonian Republican dominate
1828 - Democrats dominate
1860 - Balance between Republicans & Democrats
1896 - Republicans dominate
1932 - Democrats dominate
Realignment ?
1968 - Divided government
1996 - Divided government
2004 – Republicans dominate; not at all levels
2008- Democrats dominate; not all levels
93% of black voters cast their ballot for Democrat Barack Obama.
Latino voters:71% voted for Obama while 27% voted for Republican Mitt Romney.
Asian voters: 73% supported Obama and 26% voted for Romney.
White voters supported Romney (59%) over Obama (39%).
Education level
Obama
Romney
Some High School
64
35
HS Grad
51
48
Some college
49
48
College grad
47
51
Post grad study
55
42
A. Choose two of the following groups, and for
each one, explain two effects that group
membership often has on voting behavior.
• Women
• Blacks
• Latinos
B. Choose two groups listed above, and give one
specific example of political participation
(other than voting) for each of them that has
affected the political process in the US since
1980.
Scoring – 6 points total
A. (4 points)
One explanation of an effect that group
membership has on voting behavior = 2 points
•
1 point = general understanding
• 2 points – specific explanation of how/why group
membership affects voting behavior
Possible effects
• Tendency to vote democratic
• Tendency to vote for candidates that support civil
rights (Latinos/blacks)
• Tendency to vote for candidates that support
women’s issues
• Tendency to vote for candidates that support
security/terrorism issues (women)
• Tendency to vote for candidates that support policies
that benefit the group (black, Latinos, women)
• Tendency to vote for candidates from the same
group
B) Points total
• 1 point = specific example for participation for
one group
• Possible examples
– Women: Participation/membership in NOW or
other group; more women candidates for public
office; more women elected/appointed as public
officials; marches & demonstrations
– Blacks: participation in NAACP;
marches/demonstrations; more black officials
elected to local and state office, House or
Representatives or appointed; candidates
• Latinos – Participation/members in specific
Latino interest groups; more officials elected
to state or local offices, House of
Representatives or appointed to political
positions.