VI - Public Opinions & Political Actions Flashcards
US is a very
diverse nation
Diversity makes study of American public opinion
complex
Widely held political ideologies shape
policy debates & choices in American politics
Census
Allows us to understand demographic changes in America
1st census was conducted in
1790
Actual enumeration
Constitutional requirement that gov’t conduct census of the American population every 10 years
Why is the census important?
Determines distribution of federal funds
Determines number of representatives each state gets
US is a nation of
immigrants
Immigration creates a
multicultural & multilingual society
Different groups have ———– many basic American values.
assimilated
Melting pot
different cultures blend into one
Contrast “salad bowl”
Different phases of immigration
Old immigrants
New immigrants
Post 1965
Old immigrants
Northern & western Europe
England, Ireland, & Germany
New immigrants
Southern & Eastern Europe
Italy, Russia, Poland
Post 1965
Latin American & Asia
Historically, the largest minority group in the Us has been
African Americans
However 2000 census revealed that
Latino population outnumbered the African Americans
Minority majority
American will soon no longer have a white majority
Open immigration policy
Occurred until about the 1870s
Restrictions on immigration
Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
National Origins Act (1924)
US immigration has occurred in waves with
peaks followed by troughs
Immigration & Nationality Act (1965)
Terminated the quotas previously set and allowing immigrants from different nations to come to America
Reapportionament
Reallocating House of Representatives seats after each census
Regional shift since WWII
Move from “rust belt” (NE) states to “sunbelt” (South & West)
Which demographic is the fastest growing?
Citizens over age of 65 - Baby Boomers (born between 1945-1960s)
What is causing this?
Advances in medicine
Lower fertility rate
What is the consequence of this demographic change?
Social Security is the 2nd most costly public program
Political socialization
How individuals learn or develop their political beliefs
Process of political socialization
Family
School/Peers
Mass Media
Social Env’ts
Family
Oftentimes a major influencer of political socialization
School/Peers
Attending schools plays a major role in political socialization
Mass Media
Influence of traditional media and social media on political beliefs
Social env’t
Civic, employment, religious organizations
Political socialization in older generations
More involved in politics
More attached to their political beliefs they become
Public opinion
What people believe or think they know about politics & policy issues
Polls
Used to measure public opinion
Gallup polls
Relies on taking a sample of the population
Sample
Small proportion of people are chosen as representatives of the whole
Random sampling
Everyone should have an equal probability of being selected
Pros of polls
Politicians can know opinions on issues
Cons of polls
Politicians can become more concerned about following than leading
Bandwagon effect
A population may tend to vote one way or another when a tendency arises in one candidate
Wording of poll questions can
Influence results through wording bias
Exit polls
Voters are asked questions just after they have voted
Average American has a
Lower level of political knowledge than citizens of many other countries
General core values the nation should uphold
individualism
free enterprise
Rule of law
limited gov’t
Core values can be interpreted
differently by each demographic
Since the 1960’s there has been a
Decline of trust in the gov’t
Reasons for decline of trust
Vietnam War, Gulf of Tonkin, Tet Offensive, Pentagon Papers
Watergate
Iran Hostage Crisis
Political idelogy
Coherent set of values & beliefs about public policy
Conservatives
Tend to favor a small national gov’t
Tend to support less regulation of marketplace
Demographics in conservatives
Older voters
Wealthier voters
More religious voters
Liberals
Tend to favor a larger national gov’t to address social & economic problems
Tend to support gov’tal regulation of market
Demographics in liberals
Under 30 years old
Minorities
Women
Libertarians
Little to no gov’t regulation
Many voters do not vote along
ideological lines
Political participation
Activities citizen use to influence the selection of political leaders or policies they pursue
Political participation examples
Voting Protesting Writing letters Starting petitions Filing lawsuits Rallies
Conventional participation
Many widely accepted ways of influencing gov’t such as voting, running for office, door to door campaigning, signing petitions, etc.
Unconventional participation
Actions such as protesting, boycotts, civil disobedience, etc.
Protesting seeks to achieve policy change through
dramatoc action
Civil disobedience
Act of deliberately breaking a law that an individual thinks is unjust
Letter from a Birminghamd Jail
Written by MLK during nonviolent civil disobedience and influenced by Henry David Thoreau (1840’s)
Individuals of higher socioeconomic status tend to be more
Politically active
Minority groups typically are
Below average in terms of political participation
When minorities and white voters of equal incomes & educations are compared
people of color participate more in politics
Voting means politicians
Pay attention to the needs of a particular group
People often have
contradictory positions about role of gov’t
There is a general belie that gov’t is
too big
But many Americans support
increased spending on programs for education, healthcare, crime prevention, en’t, and other issues
Americans are known as
ideological conservatives but operational liberals
Protest in America is typically aimed at
getting the attention of gov’t not at attempting to overthrow it
