American Political Culture Chapter 4 American Political Culture

Learning Objectives What is American political culture? How does political culture differ from political ideology? Does the United States have a unique political culture compared to other advanced industrialized democracies? Do Americans trust their government? Why do Americans accept great differences in wealth and income? Why does the American government behave differently than governments in countries with similar constitutions? Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning All rights reserved.

Introduction WHO GOVERNS? TO WHAT ENDS? 1. Do Americans trust their government? 2. Why do we accept great differences in wealth and income? TO WHAT ENDS? 1. Why does our government behave differently than governments in countries with similar constitutions? Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Political Culture Political culture: a patterned and sustained way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out Americans believe strongly in political equality Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Political Culture Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote Democracy in America, a profound analysis of our political culture. The Granger Collection

Political Culture Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Underwood & Underwood/CORBIS At the height of immigration to this country, there was a striking emphasis on creating a shared political culture. Schoolchildren, whatever their national origin, were taught to salute this country’s flag. Underwood & Underwood/CORBIS

Political Culture The Political System Liberty Equality Democracy Civic duty Individual responsibility Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. How would you define “Americanism?”

Political Culture Three questions concerning the American political system: How do we know that the American people share these beliefs? How can we explain the existence in our society of behavior that is obviously in conflict with these beliefs? Why has there been so much political conflict in our history? Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Political Culture The Economic System Judged by similar standards Tolerate economic inequality Support economic individualism and personal responsibility Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. What is symbolic racism? How does it apply to economic values?

How We Compare: Comparing America with Other Nations The Political System Americans exhibit Stronger sense of civic duty Stronger sense of civic competence Confidence in public institutions High confidence in private institutions Patriotism Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Attitudes in the USA and Other Democracies Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Table 4.1 Source: © 2006 by Andrew Kohut and Bruce Stokes. Reprinted by permission of Henry Holt and Company, LLC and the Pew Research Center.

Political Culture in America and Other Democracies Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Figure 4.1 Sources: World Values Survey Wave 4; International Social Survey Program National Identity Module II (2003–2004).

How We Compare: Comparing America with Other Nations The Economic System Americans support Equality of opportunity No limits on income Freedom (more than equality) Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

How We Compare: Comparing America with Other Nations The Civic Role of Religion U.S. among most religious nations Affects U.S. politics First Great Awakening Abolitionist and temperance movements Support for civil rights Christian Coalition Funding for faith-based nonprofits Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Americans’ Beliefs about Religion, 2012 Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Table 4.2 Source: Pew Forum for Research on Religion and Public Life, “Nones” on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation , October 9, 2012, p. 22.

The Sources of Political Culture Personal liberty vs. social control Class consciousness The Culture War Orthodox Progressive Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Mistrust of Government Trust declining in officials Only 13% have trust in Congress But trust remains in system of government Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Source: Gallup Poll

Trust in the Federal Government, 1958-2013 Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Source: Data for 1958-2008 compiled from the American National Election Studies (ANES); data for 2009-2011 compiled from the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) Survey, September 2011; data for 2013 is from the Pew Research Center, February 2013

Confidence in American Institutions 1973 2013 Churches 66% 48% Public Schools 58 32 Newspapers 39 23 Labor unions 30 20 Big business 26 22 Congress 42 10 The military 76 Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Table 4.3 Source: Gallup Poll

New Polling Shows Public Disapproval for the President and Congress Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Click picture to play video

New Polling Shows Public Disapproval for the President and Congress Taking a closer look: Have you lost confidence in your elected representative? Does he or she represent your political views? What about Congress as a whole? Why do Americans tolerate economic inequality, but not political inequality? What is our most important political value? Is it demonstrated by Congress? Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Mistrust of Government Civil Society More important as trust in government declines Importance of social capital Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Civil society is voluna

The American Civic Health Index Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Figure 4.3 Source: 2010 Civic Health Assessment: Executive Summary, “Involvement by Group Membership,” Washington, D.C.: National Conference on Citizenship. (September 2010), p. 3. Used by permission.

Political Tolerance Democracy requires civic tolerance Discussion of ideas Selection of leaders Usually no agreement on intolerance Courts enforce constitutional protections Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. There have been times (1919 to 1920, and again in the early 1950s) when socialists and communists were disliked by most people in the United States.

Political Tolerance U.S. political culture fosters civic duty, upholds constitutional protections and supports civil liberties Political equality most important value Adversarial political system Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.