 Set of widely held beliefs, values, and norms concerning how political and economic life are carried out  Defines relationship of people and government  De Tocqueville  America is…  Abundant in fertile land  Has countless opportunities to get land and make living  Independent spirit

 Shared  Enlightenment theory  Core  Liberty – life liberty and pursuit of happiness  Equality – “All men are created equal”  Individualism – dignity of individuals  Democracy – people rule; consent of governed  Rule of law – law is supreme to all people  Civic duty – sense of community and responsibility

 Changing Values  Industrial revolution – inequality of wealth  Capitalism and Free Enterprise  Different from equality of earlier times  Values since 1930s  “Promote general welfare” is purpose of government  “Second Bill of Rights” – economic security and independence (Civil Rights, Great Society, Health Care)

 Americans must be tolerant of opinions and actions of others  Most Americans…  Agree with free speech, religion, petition

 1950s and 1960 high trust  End of 1960s – today  Significant decline in trust  Vietnam, Watergate  Political Efficacy – dropping recently  Citizens understanding and influence political events  Internal Efficacy – understand and take part in political affairs  External Efficacy – belief government will respond to needs and beliefs

 Explosive issues – abortion, gay rights, drugs, school prayer, terrorism, US role in world affairs

 Distribution of individual attitudes about a particular issue, candidate, or political institution.  Measuring  Gallup – Polls  Answer a political question

 Measuring cont’  Representative Sample – representative of the population  Random sampling – each person has equal probability of being selected – polled  Respondent knowledge – need some knowledge, can’t answer “I don’t know”  Careful and objective wording – no loaded questions  Cost efficiency v. accuracy  Variances between samples  Sampling errors – same poll conducted with different random samples will produce slightly different results

 Political Socialization – lifelong process through which an individual acquires opinions through contact with others or media  Determines how we participate, vote, parties to support

 Family – most important, especially for party identification  Gender – men = military, women = sexual harassment; since 1960s women vote democrat  Married v. Unmarried – singles = democrat, married = republican  Religion – Protestant = conservative, Jews = liberal, Catholics= liberal on economics, but not social

 Education – In general higher education = conservative political views, yet college education = more liberal social and economic attitudes. Overall the more education the more liberal attitudes  Social Class – less clear

 Race – Blacks = democrats (Civil Rights); Hispanics = Liberal, Democrat; Asians more conservative in thought but supported Kerry and Obama  Geographic Region – East and west Coasts are a bit more conservative, but major cities on each support liberal, Democrats  Age – under 30 =democrat

 Political Ideology – coherent set of beliefs about political policy

IssueLiberalConservative Health careAvailable to all, national health system Private ins companies CrimeCure economic and social causes Punishment Business RegulationGovernment regulationFree market Military SpendingSpend lessSpend more TaxesTax rich, government should reduce economic inequality Low taxes Welfare StateGovt helps poorRugged individualism Civil rightsPro civil rightsLimited govt role AbortionPro choicePro-life ReligionSeparation of church and state Faith based political initiatives Same Sex marriageLegalize itBan it, no civil unions Offshore DrillingPrevent it; environmental costs Prefer it

 Some people may have a combination of both especially between economic and social issues  Neo-Con – Conservative movement after 9/11; counter global terrorism, affiliate as Republicans – Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld

 # identifying as Democrats increased slightly  But…Liberal 28%  Conservative 38%  Moderate 36%  People under 30  liberal 27%  People over 65  45%

 Various activities citizens employ in their efforts to influence policy making and selecting leaders  In general, comparatively active in politics  Low voter turn out

 Types of participation  Follow presidential campaigns, voting in presidential elections  Who participates  Education – more education=more likely to vote  Religious Involvement – increase of religious involvement=higher political activity  Race/Ethnicity – depends on education and wealth  Age – 45 and above vote!

 Gender – since 1992, women exceeded men in voting  2 party competition – more competitive=higher turnouts

 Expanding suffrage (in order)  States decide qualifications of voters; white, male, over 21, own property  Lift Property restrictions – Universal Manhood Suffrage (voting for all white males)  Suffrage for Black Men – 15 th amendment  Jim crow, Literacy tests, Poll taxes – Federal Voting Rights Act 1965, 24 th Amendment – no Poll taxes  Women’s Suffrage – 19 th Amendment  18+ can vote – 26 the Amendment

 Registered voters  # that actually vote in an election v. eligible voters  75 to 80% of Registered voters vote  But…. Only 50% of Eligible voters vote

 Motor Voter Act (National Voter Registration Act)  Register while applying for or renewing a driver’s license  Help America Vote Act- improve state voting systems; in response to Florida election fiasco in 2000

 Difficulty of absentee voting  Number of offices to elect  Weekday voting  Weak political parties  Impact of 2000 election  Help America Vote Act  Election Assistance Commission

 Provisional Voting  Used when it is not clear if the voter is registered  Early Voting  Vote before election day in person or by mail  Same day voter registration  Register and vote on same day  On-line voting  Scanning, uploading submitting the ballot on computer