1. Political Culture and the American Political Landscape

2. Liberalism and Conservatism

5. A Land of Diversity Political Socialization The process by which parents and others teach children about political values, beliefs and attitudes Reinforcing Cleavages Divisions within society that reinforce one another, making groups more homogeneous /similar Ex.) Race + income Cross-Cutting Cleavages Divisions within society that cut across demographic categories to produce groups that are more heterogeneous /different Ex.) Gender

6. Sectional Differences The most distinct section of the United States remains the South –Very conservative region, where religious right tends to be very strong

7. Voting Patterns in the 11 Former Confederate States

8. Where We Live 80% of Americans now live in central cities and their suburbs

10. Who We Are: Race and Ethnicity 37 million African Americans in US = 13% of pop. Asian Americans = 4% Native Americans = 1% 41 million American Hispanics = 14% Race is often an important demographic in voting because it is frequently reinforced by other factors such as income and education –Reinforcing Cleavage

11. Who We Are: Race and Ethnicity Wealth Distribution in the United States by Race

12. Who are the Poor?

14. The Gender Gap Men have become increasingly Republican since the mid-1960s Women have tended to identify with the Democratic Party since the early 1950s Reflects differences between beliefs about the size of government, gun control, social programs, and gay rights

15. Who We Are: Gender Gender and the Vote for President, 2004

16. Who We Are: Religion

17. Who We Are: Wealth and Income What are the implications of an unequal distribution of income for a society’s democratic stability?

18. Inequality of Income and Wealth Shares of Total Household Income Received by Highest and Lowest Income Groups

19. Americans believe in equality of opportunity but not equality of results Aside from race, income may be single most important factor in explaining views on issues, partisanship, and ideology –Most rich people are Republicans, most poor people are Democrats

20. Tax Equity Should the wealthy be taxed at a higher rate--a more progressive rate--in order to provide more services for the poor?

21. Who We Are: Occupation

22. Who We Are: Age Percent of Population Over the Age of 65, 1900-2000

23. Generational Gaps on the Issues Survey by Washington Post/Henry J. Kaiser Foundation/Harvard University, August 2-September 1, 2002, as reported in Elizabeth Hamel et al., "Younger Voters," Public Perspective, May/June 2003, p. 11.

24. Educational Attainment in the United States

25. Public Opinion: Beliefs About Fairness Q. Some people say there’s not much opportunity in America today--that the average person doesn’t have much chance to really get ahead. Others say there’s plenty of opportunity and anyone who works hard can go as far as they want. How do you feel about this? –Plenty of opportunity81% –Not much opportunity17% –Don’t know2% (Responses to a Gallup Poll)

26. Changes in the Sense of Political Efficacy, 1952-2000 University of Michigan, The National Election Studies.