1. Chapter 1
American Political
Culture

2. Key Terms
Government- institutions and procedures through which a territory and its people are ruled
Politics- conflict over the leadership, structure, and policies of governments

3. What Americans Think About Government
Do you trust government to do the right thing?
FIGURE 1.1 Trust in Government, 1958–2011
Survey respondents were asked if they trusted the government to “do the right thing” always, most of the time, or only some of the time. Since the 1960s, public trust in government has declined.
What factors might help to account for changes in the public’s trust in government?
Why has confidence in government dropped again since September 11, 2001?
SOURCES: The National Election Studies, 1958–2004, and CBS News/New York Times Poll, October 2010 and October 2011, iPoll Databank, (accessed 6/8/12).
The chapter begins with trust and is heavily focused on the present day. It might be helpful for you to start with the text, but then have the students look at the time frame in Figure 1.1 and ask them what they think caused the decline in trust in government in the late 1960s. It wasn’t Vietnam; rather, it was that the federal government started lying about the success of the war efforts in Vietnam, followed closely by the Watergate scandal. This led to a change in the way journalists reported on government affairs, especially with the rise of investigative journalism.

4. What Americans Think About Government
Americans expect a lot from their government.
Keep us safe and yet protect individual liberty and privacy.
Support the weakest and yet keep taxes low.
Sustain a healthy environment and still promote business growth.
Keep government small, yet handle each crisis quickly and effectively.
Most Americans share the core political values of liberty, equality, and democracy and want their government and its policies to reflect these values. However, people often disagree on the meaning of these values and what government should do to protect them.

5. Trust in Government
Public approval of government hit a record low in 2011, when Republicans and Democrats came into sharp conflict over the federal debt limit. While House Speaker John Boehner (a Republican) and President Barack Obama (a Democrat) struggled to find a compromise, many Americans worried that the delay in settling on a solution was harming the economy.

6. What Americans Think About Government
Does it matter if Americans trust their government?
Yes
American government is predicated on a citizenry that:
is informed and active,
keeps leaders aware of their preferences, and
holds elected officials accountable at elections.
Trust is a prerequisite to engaged democracy.
People who do not trust government are unlikely to be informed, active, engage their elected officials or participate in elections.
Trust is essential to a robust democratic society.

7. What Americans Think About Government
Efficacy: perception that one has the ability to influence government and politics
1960: 25 percent of those polled said elected officials didn’t care what citizens like themselves thought
2009: 59 percent thought the same
You may want to flesh out the discussion of efficacy a bit more for the students.
A key point to stress is that what is important is that citizens believe that they have efficacy, not whether a particular person actually does.
This is so because if people do not believe they have efficacy, they will not get involved. Getting involved may in turn lead to a given individual having more efficacy over time as she learns the ins and outs and what forms of communication are more effective than others.
One place to start the conversation is to note that when pollsters attempt to measure efficacy, they sometimes ask if the respondent believes that writing a letter to a member of Congress makes a difference, and then the same for making a donation, working on a campaign, or attending a rally.
You might also note that having a sense of personal efficacy is closely correlated to levels of education, with college-educated individuals having significantly higher levels of personal efficacy. You could ask students why that might be.

8. Political Efficacy
In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Americans rallied around government officials and offered unprecedented support. Is support for the government during times of crisis at odds with Americans’ distrust of government at other times?

9. Citizenship: Knowledge and Participation
Political Knowledge
People will not believe they can affect government if they don’t know much about it.
Americans are not very knowledgeable about their government.
Just 48 percent know that only U.S. citizens can vote in a national election.
This is a good time in the semester to draw the distinction between strongly held views and facts/matters of record.
Some people may have strong opinions, but that is not a substitute for facts and information.
For example, it is a matter of fact that only U.S. citizens can vote in national elections.

10. Citizenship: Knowledge and Participation
Citizenship: in theory, refers to “enlightened political engagement”
Citizens must be aware of the facts and what can be done about a situation.
Citizens must be willing to take action to solve community problems.
Not to be confused with formal definitions (native born, naturalized)
These are theoretical ideas about what being ‘a productive citizen’ references; obviously, not the formal definition (who carries an American passport, etc.)
Note that the sidebar in the text defines citizenship as “informed and active membership in a political community.”
You might start a quick discussion by asking students what kinds of activities this might entail besides voting, and what kinds of knowledge are needed for those activities.

11. Citizenship: Knowledge and Participation
Necessity of Political Knowledge
Citizens must understand how politics works if they are to shape outcomes.
Knowledge of process required extends far beyond names and dates
Citizens need political knowledge to understand what they can expect of their government.
People must know the rules of the game in order to engage or influence the outcome.

12. Citizenship: Knowledge and Participation
Following the 2003 Iraq War and the ongoing fighting in Afghanistan, Americans’ trust in government declined sharply. Why do you think so many Americans were critical of the government’s handling of these conflicts?

13. What Americans Know about Government
What are the reasons people have limited information about government?
What are realistic expectations of political knowledge? If most do not know about these topics, are there other topics they know more about?
TABLE 1.2 What Americans Know about Government
SOURCES: Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, (accessed
2/4/08); and Pew Research Center for People and the Press, (accessed 2/4/08).
*Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, “What the Public Knows—in Words and Pictures,” November 7,
2011, (accessed 6/8/12)

14. Government
Government: institutions and procedures through which a territory and its people are ruled
Two defining features of government:
1. Who governs?
2. How much power is granted to the government?

15. Government Types Autocracy: government by a single, nonelected leader.
Oligarchy: government by a small group that is not accountable to the citizens.
Democracy: a system that allows the citizens to select their leaders.

16. Government Types
Totalitarian governments recognize no limits on their authority.
Authoritarian governments recognize no limits on their authority, but they are constrained by other institutions, such as business or a church.
Constitutional governments are limited both in what they can do (substantive limits) and the methods they can employ (procedural limits).

17. Forms of Government
America’s founders were influenced by the English thinker John Locke (1632–1704). Locke argued that governments need the consent of the people.

18. Forms of Government
John Stuart Mill (1806–73) presented a ringing defense of individual freedom in his famous treatise On Liberty. Mill’s work influenced Americans’ evolving ideas about the relationship between government and the individual.

19. Politics
Politics: conflict over the leadership, structure, and policies of governments.
Representative democracy (republic)
Governments are run by elected officials who represent the interests of their constituents.
Direct democracy
Citizens themselves vote on all legislation.
town meetings, referenda
Politics is not just conflict, it is also cooperation, negotiation, compromise, and choices related to leadership, structure, policies, and institutions.

20. Politics
Pluralism
Although we vote and engage in many other activities as individuals, much of American politics involves groups.
Groups help disparate individuals link together and pool resources to express common interests.
Many of the ways Americans connect to their government is through groups.
Political parties, professional associations, etc.
Ask students what groups they and/or their families belong to: parties, religious groups, PTA, AARP, etc.

21. Who Are Americans?
America is an immigrant nation, which means that the government sets policy to determine whom it allows in and who is eligible for citizenship.
This decision is highly political.
Has changed many times over the course of American history
This section of the text deals extensively with the history of immigration.
The point you may want to begin with is that this is a question the government has to grapple with, as all governments do.
You may also want to touch on Federalist 1, in which Publius notes that the new government will not be based on a common ethnic heritage, nor will it be formed on the basis of conquest after a war; rather, it will exist due to the consent of the people.

22. An Increasingly Diverse Nation
CHAPTER 1

23. Race
1790*
1900*
2010
TOTAL POPULATION =
3,929,214
75,994,575
308,745,538
White 88%
Black 12%
Other 0.5%
Native American
Other
2 or more races 1% 2%
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
64%
13%
16% 5%
White 81%
Black 19%
Since the Founding, the American people have become increasingly diverse. This diversity and the changes in the population have frequently raised challenging questions in American politics.
= 1 million people
* The 1790 census does not accurately reflect the population because it only counted blacks and whites. It did not include Native American or other groups. The 1900 census did not count Hispanic Americans.
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, (accessed 8/16/12).

24. Geography 1790* 1900* 2010 Northeast South 50% Northeast South Midwest
28%
33%
35% 6%
36%
Northeast
South
Midwest
West
18%
37%
22%
23%
27%
Since the Founding, the American people have become increasingly diverse. This diversity and the changes in the population have frequently raised challenging questions in American politics.
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, (accessed 8/16/12).

25. Age
1900*
2010
0 – 19
20 – 44
45 – 64
65 +
27%
34%
26%
13%
0 – 19
20 – 44
45 – 64
65 +
44%
38%
14% 4%
Since the Founding, the American people have become increasingly diverse. This diversity and the changes in the population have frequently raised challenging questions in American politics.
Questions for Classroom Discussion:
The 2010 census showed that the populations of the South and the West continued to grow more rapidly than the Northeast and Midwest. What are some of the political implications of this trend?
2. Today, Americans over age 37 outnumber Americans under 37—and older adults are more likely to participate in the political process. What do you think this means for the kinds of issues and policies taken up by the government?
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, (accessed 8/16/12).

26. Immigration and Ethnic Diversity
Millions of immigrants from Europe came to the United States in the early 1900s. Most passed through New York’s Ellis Island, where they were checked for diseases before being admitted. Today, many Americans trace their ancestry to immigrants who passed through Ellis Island.

27. Who Are Americans? The first census did not count Native Americans.
Until World War II, Americans saw biological distinctions between people of different ethnicities.
Immigration policy was shaped to admit “desirable” races.
Until 1870, nonwhites could not naturalize.
Chinese Exclusion Act 1882–1943
The notion that ethnic and racial groups are national threats is not a new phenomenon. America has grappled with, and embraced at times, these ideas since its inception.

28. Who Are Americans?
Native American societies, with their own forms of government, had existed for thousands of years before the first European settlers arrived. By the time this photo of Red Cloud and other Sioux warriors was taken around 1870, Native Americans made up about 1 percent of the American population.

29. Who Are Americans? Twenty-First Century Americans
1965, Congress lifted limitations on immigration set in place in the 1920s
Resulted in new waves of immigration from Asia and Latin America
2010 Population (U.S. Census)
White: 64%
Asian: 5%
Black: 13%
Latino: 16%
It may be worth pointing out that a population shifts not only due to immigration but also due to differences in birthrates between various groups and, of course, differences in mortality rates as well.

30. Twenty-First Century Americans
In 1965, Congress loosened restrictions on immigration, allowing millions of people from Latin America and Asia to enter the country in the decades that followed. By 2002, Hispanics were the largest minority group in the United States. Here, Antonio Villaraigosa campaigns to become the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles in 130 years.

31. Who Are Americans? Immigration by Continent of Origin (1900–2008)
Many students will not know how to read a table like this, so the first step is to walk them through it. One way to do this is to have them explain out loud what the first column means, and then explore when groups from other parts of the world began to emigrate to the United States.
FIGURE 1.2 Immigration by Continent of Origin
Where did most immigrants come from at the start of the twentieth century? How does that compare with immigration in the twenty-first century?
SOURCE: Department of Homeland Security, “Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, 2008: Persons Obtaining Legal Permanent Resident Status by State of Residence: Fiscal Years 1999 to 2008,” (accessed 9/28/09).

32. Who Are Americans?
Age distribution of the population can have a profound impact on politics.
Different age groups have very different needs for public services.
Different age groups vote differently.
The textbook notes that the percentage of people under age 18 has decreased while those over 65 have increased.
You may want to ask students why this matters. What policies are impacted?
In 2011, the median age of Latinos was 27 while the median age of white nonLatinos was 41,

33. American Political Culture
If Americans do not share a common blood line, or religious or ethnic heritage, what unites the nation?
Liberty
Equality
Democracy

34. American Political Culture
Liberty: freedom from governmental control
Personal freedom
Economic freedom
This may be a nice opportunity to introduce students to the Bill of Rights. It may also be the time to explain that the liberties American citizens enjoy today did not exist for the vast majority of the nation’s history, but instead developed over time as the nation’s governing elite became more tolerant of those different from themselves. You might also ask students what kinds of considerations should be used to limit liberty. In other words, what kinds of goods might liberty conflict with, and while the goal is not necessarily to get them to resolve the question, it is useful to help them see that the conflict exists.
Liberty has been part of the public discourse related to privacy; see if students make the link between personal liberty and privacy.
Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech demanded freedom at any cost and has resonated with Americans throughout the nation’s history.

35. American Political Culture
Equality
Equality of outcome
Equality of opportunity
Political equality
These are different notions about equality; and there is great debate around the topics. But the broader point is that Americans place a high value on equality. One person–one vote remains a very good example for skeptics in the class who may not follow the point about shared ethos.
Depending on how historical you want to make this portion, it may be at least worth mentioning that when the Declaration of Independence was written, declaring that all men are created equal, women, nonwhites, and those who did not meet rather high wealth requirements could not vote.

36. American Political Culture
Democracy
People choose their rulers and have some say over what those rulers do.
When ultimate power rests with the citizenry, this is called “popular sovereignty.”
In America, the people are sovereign, and majority rules, but the individual rights of the minority are still protected.

37. Liberty, Equality, and Democracy in Practice
People are typically not free to harm others.
Should they be free to harm themselves?
What about protecting minors?
Or protecting natural resources for future generations?
What values need to be protected, even at the expense of freedom of speech or religion?
You may have already handled these issues in talking about liberty the first time around, in which case, simply end the slides before reaching these.

38. Liberty, Equality, and Democracy in Practice
Equality of access to public institutions
Equality of opportunity in private life
How do we rectify past official discrimination?
Equality of outcomes
The discussion of these topics is pretty self-evident, but do bear in mind that students may be exposed to these topics for the very first time. So it may be worth exploring them in depth.

39. Liberty, Equality, and Democracy in Practice
America’s history has been one of increasing suffrage for more and more groups.
This has meant large swaths of the polity did not have the right to participate for most of the nation’s history.
Even today, participation in American democratic institutions is low.

40. Equality and Public Opinion
TABLE 1.3 Equality and Public Opinion
Americans believe in some forms of equality more than others. How do these survey results reflect disagreement about what equality means in practice?
SOURCES: Pew Global Attitudes Project Poll, April Retrieved June 9, 2012 from the iPOLL Databank, The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Connecticut. Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and for the Public, “Trends in American Values, 1987–2012, Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years,” June 4, 2012, p Princeton Survey Research Associates International/Newsweek Poll, December Retrieved June 9, 2012 from the iPOLL Databank, The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Connecticut, Polling Report.com, Gallup, May 3–June 12, 2012, pollingreport.com/civil.htm. Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and for the Public, “It’s Not about Class Warfare, but Fairness Poll Analysis,” March 2, 2012, accessed 6/9/12.)

41. Public Opinion Poll How much would you say the work and decisions of
the federal government affects what happens in your
life?
Not at all
A little
A moderate amount
A lot
A great deal 41

42. Public Opinion Poll Do you believe our government should do more, the
same, or less for the citizens of our country?
More
About the same
Less
No opinion 42

43. Public Opinion Poll
How much of the time do you think you can trust the federal government to do what is right and fair?
Just about always
Most of the time
Only some of the time
Never 43

44. Public Opinion Poll
How much do you feel public officials care what people like you think?
A great deal
A lot
A moderate amount
A little
Not at all 44

45. Public Opinion Poll
How much do you feel people like you can affect what the government does?
A great deal
A lot
A moderate amount
A little
Not at all 45

46. Public Opinion Poll How interested are you in information about what's
going on in government and politics?
Extremely interested
Very interested
Moderately interested
Slightly interested
Not interested at all 46

47. Public Opinion Poll
How often do you pay attention to what's going on in government and politics?
Never
Once in a while
About half the time
Most of the time
All the time 47

48. Chapter 1: American Political Culture
Quizzes
Flashcards
Outlines
Exercises
wwnorton.com/we-the-people 48

49. Following this slide, you will find additional images, figures, and tables from the textbook.

50. Presence of Government in Life of a Student at “State University”
BOX 1.1 The Presence of Government in the Daily Life of a Student at “State University”
From the textbook: “Citizens are so dependent on government today that much of what they have come to take for granted—as, somehow, part of the natural environment—is in fact created by government. Take the example of a typical college student’s day. Throughout the day, every student relies on a host of services and activities organized by national, state, and local government agencies. The extent of this dependence on government is illustrated [by this box].”

51. Presence of Government in Life of a Student at “State University” (cont’d)
BOX 1.1 The Presence of Government in the Daily Life of a Student at “State University” (cont’d)
From the textbook: “Citizens are so dependent on government today that much of what they have come to take for granted—as somehow part of the natural environment—is in fact created by government. Take the example of a typical college student’s day. Throughout the day, every student relies on a host of services and activities organized by national, state, and local government agencies. The extent of this dependence on government is illustrated [by this box].”

52. Digital Citizens

53. Immigration and Race
Although the number of immigrants from Asia increased sharply in the 1970s, the number of Asian Americans who hold elected office is relatively small. When Nikki Haley was elected governor of South Carolina in 2010, she became the second Indian American governor in the United States.

54. Equality
Opponents of gay marriage have proposed amending the Constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Several states have passed amendments to their state constitutions banning gay marriage. Should marriage become a federal matter and be addressed through constitutional amendment?

55. Equality
Beginning in 2011, the Occupy movement drew attention to increasing inequality in the United States, arguing that the gap between the top 1 percent of earners and the other 99 percent was unfair.

56. Should America Export Democracy?

57. Democracy Update percentage in notes with Nov. election
Although most barriers to voting have been removed for Americans aged 18 and up, many people do not vote. In the 2012 election only __ percent of eligible citizens turned out at the polls.