American Political Culture - Notes

Government Definitions

  • Government: Institutions and procedures through which a territory and its people are ruled.

  • Politics: Conflict over leadership, structure, and policies of governments.

Is Government Needed?

  • Americans harbor suspicion of government, yet government is needed.

  • Government provides “public goods.”

  • Public goods: benefit everyone but no individual/group can afford to supply.

    • Examples: defense, public order, property rights, social justice.

Forms of Government: Structure, Size, and Operation

  • Governments vary based on who governs:

    • Autocracy: government by a single, nonelected individual (e.g., king, queen, dictator).

    • Oligarchy: government by a small group not accountable to citizens (e.g., military officers, landowners).

    • Democracy: system where citizens play a significant part via election of key public officials.

Forms of Government: Limiting Government

  • Governments also vary in how they govern:

    • Constitutional government: limited in what it can do (substantive limits) and methods employed (procedural limits).

    • Authoritarian government: recognizes no limits on its authority but is constrained by other institutions like business or church.

    • Totalitarian government: recognizes no limits and seeks to eliminate other institutions that might challenge it.

Limiting Government

  • The rise of the bourgeoisie was a key force behind limits on government power.

    • Bourgeoisie: French word for “freeman of the city,” or the middle class.

  • Embraced limits on government, advanced principles of:

    • Individual liberty

    • Freedom of speech

    • Freedom of assembly

    • Freedom of conscience

    • Freedom from arbitrary search and seizure

Access to Government: The Expansion of Participation

  • Political participation expanded via:

    • The Crown or aristocracy (ironically, seeing common people as political allies against the bourgeoisie).

    • Competing segments of the bourgeoisie (seeking advantage by mobilizing the working and lower classes).

Influencing the Government through Participation: Politics

  • Political participation gradually spread, making politics increasingly relevant.

  • Politics: conflict over leadership, structure, and policies of any organization to which people belong.

  • Politics involves power: influence over a government’s leadership, organization, or policies.

Politics and Democracy

  • In democracies, politics is shaped by how people participate.

    • Representative democracy (republic): populace selects representatives who make decisions.

    • Direct democracy: citizens vote directly on laws and policies.

Politics and Interest Groups

  • Groups and organized interests participate in politics:

    • Providing funds for candidates

    • Lobbying government officials

    • Trying to influence public opinion

Politics and Pluralism

  • Group politics/pluralism: struggles among interests.

    • Pluralism: all interests are/should be free to compete for influence, resulting in compromise and moderation.

Politics and Direct Action

  • Politics can occur beyond formal channels.

    • Direct action: violent action, nonviolent civil disobedience.

    • Can be revolutionary politics, rejecting the system entirely.

    • Peaceful direct action is protected by the Constitution.

Citizenship: Participation, Knowledge, and Efficacy

  • Political knowledge is key for political participation.

    • Political knowledge: information about institutions, actors, and issues.

    • Democracy functions best when citizens are informed.

Citizenship and Political Knowledge

  • Citizenship derives from the Greek ideal: “enlightened political engagement.”

  • Political knowledge involves:

    • Knowing the rules and strategies of institutions.

    • Knowing the principles that govern institutions related to one’s interests.

Knowledge and Participation: Digital Citizenship

  • Internet facilitates political knowledge acquisition.

    • Digital citizenship: using the internet, social media, etc., to engage in society and government.

    • Digital citizens are more likely to be interested in/discuss politics.

Americans’ Political Knowledge

  • Most Americans know little about current issues or government basics.

    • 2017: 26% could identify all three branches of the federal government.

    • 54% knew Congress can declare war.

    • 83% knew Congress can raise taxes.

Political Participation and Political Efficacy

  • Political efficacy: belief in the ability to influence government.

    • 1960: 25% said officials didn't care what citizens thought.

    • 2015: 74% felt the same way.

Who Are Americans? Today’s Population and Immigration

  • Population increased from 3.9 million in 1790 to 327 million in 2018, with increasing diversity.

    • 1790: 81% traced roots to England/Northern Europe.

    • 1900: increasing number from Southern/Eastern Europe.

    • After WWI, Congress limited immigration (National Origins quota system).

Who Are Americans? Immigration and Race

  • U.S. citizenship:

    • First census didn't count Native Americans (citizenship in 1924).

    • African descent: citizenship conferred by the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.

Who Are Americans? Immigration and Race, Part 2

  • Immigration policy biased against nonwhites historically.

    • Until 1870, only free whites could become naturalized citizens.

    • Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 outlawed entry of Chinese laborers.

Who Are Americans? The Twenty-First Century

  • By 1965, Congress lifted strict immigration limits, new waves from Asia/Latin America.

  • Current population (U.S. Census):

    • White: ~61%

    • Asian: 5%

    • Black/African American: 13%

    • Latino/Hispanic: 18%

Who Are Americans? Immigration and Religion

  • Immigration diversified nation by religion.

    • 1900: 80% Protestant; today: 47%.

    • Catholics: 21%, Jews: 2%, Muslims: 1%.

    • Growing percentage with no church affiliation (23%).

Who Are Americans? Diversity’s Impact on Politics

  • Age, geography, socioeconomic status impact politics.

    • Different age groups need different public services.

    • Increasing numbers live in urban areas with different concerns than rural areas.

    • Economic inequality is rising, middle-class incomes stagnated.

American Political Culture

  • Americans don't share a common heritage; what unites the nation is:

    • Political culture: shared values, beliefs, and attitudes about how government should function.

    • Values: Liberty, Equality, Democracy.

American Political Culture: Liberty

  • Liberty: Freedom from government control, personal and economic freedom.

  • Linked to limited government.

  • Laissez-faire capitalism: free-market system with minimal government interference.

American Political Culture: Equality

  • Declaration of Independence: “all men are created equal.”

    • Equality of opportunity: freedom to use talents to reach potential.

    • Political equality: right to participate equally, “one person, one vote.”

American Political Culture: Democracy

  • People choose rulers and have say over what rulers do.

  • Popular sovereignty: political authority rests in the hands of the people.

  • Government follows majority preference but protects minority rights (majority rule, minority rights).

What Americans Think about Government

  • Conservative in theory, liberal in practice

    • More Americans consider themselves politically conservative than liberal.

    • A majority said the federal government has too much power.

    • Overwhelming majorities want Social Security spending to be kept the same or increased.

What Americans Think about Government: Trust

  • Trust in government has been low recently.

    • Early 1960s: 75% trusted government most of the time.

    • Spiked after 9/11, fell back to low levels within three years.

    • 2015: 19% trusted the government.

Importance of Trust to Government

  • Without trust, government can't function effectively.

    • Public may refuse to pay taxes.

    • Government may be unable to attract workers.

    • More difficult to defend national interests, economy and national security may be jeopardized.