Chapter 5: Opinion and Participation: Thinking and Acting in Politics Flashcards
Edmund Burke
Democratic representatives should serve the interests of the people, but not necessarily conform to their will, in deciding questions of public policy
While the president and Congress generally respond to
General public preferences, public opinion is often weak, unstable, ill-formed, or non-existent on specific policy issues
Dangers of an ill-formed public
1) Allows public officials considerable flexibility when formulating public policy
2) Allows lobbyists, interest groups, commentators, and reporters to have increased influence
3) Allows interests groups and the media the opportunity to influence policy indirectly by shaping popular opinion
A poll is
An instrument for measuring public opinion
The following can influence the poll’s accuracy
- The random sample may not be representative of the universe of people
- The question may be leading
- The question may not be clear, concise, and neutral
Political socialization is the learning of
Political values, beliefs, and opinions
Agent of political socialization
Those things that teach us about politics
Family
The first agent of political socialization
Today political battles rage over
Textbook, teaching methods, and other manifestations of politics in the classroom
In high school, students become more distrustful and cynical about
Government
College appears to produce a “Liberalizing” effect
College seniors tend to be more liberal than entering freshmen. In the years following graduation, liberal views tend to moderate
The church: Religion shapes political attitudes on
A variety of issues, including abortion, drugs, the death penalty, homosexuality, and religious expression in public
How important religion is
In one’s own life as well as the religion one identifies with affects one’s political ideology
Media influence
Television is the major source of political information for most Americans
Political participation appears to be
The essential link between opinion and policy
Suffrage
The legal right to vote
Elimination of Property Qualifications (1800-40)
The U.S Constitution left it to the states to determine voter qualifications
By 1840, most states had
Abolished their property qualification, allowing virtually all white males over twenty-one the right to vote
The Fifteenth Amendment (1870) gave
Black men had the right to vote
It is the first significant limitation on
State powers over voting
Denial of Voting Rights
1870-1964
Literacy test
Examination of a person’s ability to read and write as a prerequisite to voter registration. Outlawed by the Voting Rights Act (1965) as discriminatory
Poll tax
A tax imposed on all voters as a prerequisite to voting
The 24th Amendment (1964) made poll taxes
Unconstitutional in national elections
In 1966, the U.S Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional in
State and local elections
The Voting Right Act (1965) made it illegal to
Interfere with anyone’s right to vote based on race, outlawed the use of literacy tests, and allowed the attorney general to send federal voter registrars into counties where less than 50% of the voting age population was registered to vote
The Nineteenth Amendment (1920)
Provides women the right to vote in all elections
The Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971)
Provides eighteen-years-olds the right to vote in all elections
Voter participation increases with
Education, age, and income
Education appears to be the
Most important determinant of voter turnout
Political alienation
The belief that politics is irrelevant to one’s life and that one cannot personally affect public affairs
Political efficacy
The feeling that one can have an impact on public affairs. The more educated one is, the higher their sense of political efficacy is likely to be
