Public Opinion and PoliticalBehaviors
Unit 2A
American Political Culture
Political Culture
nA set of basic values and beliefs
nHow political and economic life ought tobe carried out
nShared by most citizens
nSubcultures
–Distinctions and patterns based on region,religion, ethnicity, culture
Basic American Values
nIndividualism
nLiberty
nEquality
nMajority Rule
nLimited Government
nRule of Law
nCivic Duty
nPrivate Property
nFree Enterprise
nEquality of opportunity
Political Socialization
nThe process which acitizen acquires one’ssense of political identity
nLearning and becomingaware of the values andbeliefs the politicalsystem is based
nInfluences shape politicalidentity from childhood toadulthood
Influences on Political Identity
nFamily and Home
nEducation and Schools
nGroup Affiliations
nDemographic Factors
nMass Media
nOpinion Leaders
nEvents
The Family and Home
nArguably the strongestand lasting influence onone’s political identity
nStrongest when bothparents identify withsame political party
n60% of adults still hadparty affiliation ofparents
Education and Schools
nSchools andcolleges tend tomake citizens moreliberal
nMore access toinformation
nAtmosphereconducive forexploration of newideas
Religion
nSocial Status
–Catholics and Jewssuffered discrimination
FDemocrats appealed tothem and gained theirsupport
nReligious Tradition
–Evangelical protestantsemphasize personalsalvation therefore moreconservative in socialpolicies
Religious Affiliation of 114th Congress
Gender
nGender Gap - difference inpolitical views between menand women
nWomen tend to voteDemocrat; pro-choice issues
nMen more conservative;voting more Republican
n2000 Election
–55% women voted Gore (D)
–54% men voted Bush (R)
Social Class
nLower-class
–Limited education
–Prefer more government economicintervention
–Tend to vote Democrat, but lowvoter turnout
F41% voter turnout for $15,000 or less
nWorking-class (blue-collar)
–Tend to vote Democrat, but subjectto other influences
–White blue-collar workers tend tovote more Republican
nMiddle-class (white-collar)
–Tend to be split and dependent onother influences
nUpper-class
–Tend to vote Republican with pro-business policies and lessgovernment economic intrusion
–78% voter turnout
Race and Ethnicity
nWhites
–64.1% voter turnout in 2012
–Vote more Republican
nBlacks
–66.2% voter turnout in 2012
–Vote more Democrat
nHispanics
–48.0% voter turnout in 2012
–Vote more Democrat
nAsians
–47.3% voter turnout in 2012
–Recent trend of Democratic
2008 Democratic primary campaign betweenBarack Obama and Hillary Clinton
Race and Social Class
RACE
WHITE
BLACK
HISPANIC
ASIAN
MEDIANINCOME
$48,977
$30,134
$34,241
$57,518
RACE
WHITE
BLACK
HISPANIC
ASIAN
U.S.
POPULATION
%
63.7%
12.6%
16.3%
4.8%
Region
nNew England - more liberal
nSoutheast/Bible Belt - moreconservative
nMidwest - moreconservative
nPacific - more liberal
nUrban - moreliberal/Democratic
nSuburbs/small towns -more conservative
nRural - moreconservative/Republican
Sexual Orientation
nHomosexuals tend to sidewith liberal policiesespecially regarding socialissues
nHomosexuals concentratedin urban areas
nStrong religious affiliationscompel most heterosexualsto deny equal rights tohomosexuals
Media
Opinion Leaders
Dr. Martin Luther KingJr. on civil rights
The DalaiLama onhumanrights
Norman Bramanlaunched largestmunicipal recallelection
BarackObamabecamefirst blackpresident
Events
nPresident LyndonJohnson signs CivilRights Act of 1964
–Prompts SouthernDemocrats to shiftRepublican
n9/11
–Americans becomemore patriotic and morewilling to limit freedomsfor sake of security
Cleavages in Public Opinion
nPublic opinions are never absolute and alwaysoverlap
nExamples:
–Blacks vote Democrat due to support on affirmativeaction and equality policies, but most blacks are againstgay marriage
–Cubans vote Republican despite majority of Hispanicsvoting Democrat for immigration policies
–A blue-collar worker would vote Democrat for pro-unionpolicies, but votes Republican due to conservativereligious traditions
–Though men tend to vote more Republican than women,most men support pro-choice policies