Unit 2 Political Culture: Study Guide
1.Read out all 10 characteristics of American political culture (A-J).
A.)Liberty
B.)Individualism
C.)Equality
D.)Democracy
E.)Civic Duty
F.)Distrust of Government
G.)Political Efficacy
H.)Political Tolerance
I.) Pragmatism
J.)Justice
2.Name the first two features related to equality.
-The first two features related to equality are equality of opportunity more than equality of result and, Political equality more than economic equality.
3.What historical event especially brought out Americans distrust for government?
-The historical event that brought Americans distrusts was the impact of the Vietnam War.
4.Why do you think “political tolerance” as a characteristic is more “abstract than concrete?” What is political tolerance?
- Political tolerance is more abstract because Americans have many points of view. Most people view themselves as tolerant while others may feel they are intolerant.
5.According to the viewpoint of classic 18th Century thinkers including our Founding Fathers, what is the role of government?
-According to the 18th century the role of government was to protect property rights.
6.Name four characteristics of modern 20th Century liberalism (read out 1 to 4)
-Expand role Government
-Corporations seen as chief threat to liberty
-Need for a strong government
- Role of government to protect the people
7.Who are the “neoliberals” and what are their beliefs?
-The neoliberals are less big on gov and they believe that are less likely to rely upon gov as a solution to problems, gov certainly has some role to play, but not the main role.
8.Under “Conservatives” read numbers 6 & 7 out loud.
Emphasis today is on the private sector to solve problems.
Strong support for large tax cuts.
9.Why do you think Obama is being called a socialist?
-His detractors see him as a proponent of large government-run programs like healthcare (called “Obamacare”).
10. What is libertarianism?
-Libertarianism is A.) There is an extreme emphasis on individual liberty. B.) Extreme cutback on the role of the government.
11. What are the 3 characteristics of “elites?”
-(1) Elites don’t believe in the class system, (2) They believe they are the most capable of setting the national agenda, (3) They believe that they should be the ones to influence the resolution of issues.
12. What are three ways in which public opinion are measured?
- Measurements are characterized as: stable, fluid, latent, salient, consensus and, polarized.
13. Next page, what is the “horse race mentality?”
-the horse race mentality is superficiality of the campaign itself. The media tends to focus on who’s winning in the campaign and other superficial matters as opposed to the actual issues. The American public prefers this “horse race” coverage, by the way.
14. How did the Election of 2000 demonstrate problems related to exit polls?
-The election of 2000 related to exit polls where the early projections in Florida for Gore and then Bush ended up winning the Presidency.
15. How well aware are Americans with its political process?
-Americans are not much aware of the political process.
16. What is “political socialization?”
-Political socialization is how you develop political viewpoints based upon influences such as family, socio-economic status, race, and other demographics…
17. What is the strongest agent of political socialization?
-The strongest agent political socialization is the correlation between a parents’ party affiliation and the child’s party affiliation.
18. How are schools agents of political socialization?
-Early school years emphasize patriotism and participation; college tends to have a “liberalizing” effect on students.
19.How is religion an agent of political socialization?
-It is often related to more Conservative political viewpoints (ie. Abortion, homosexuality, the death penalty.) The viewpoint of a church has a strong influence on participants. Some churches such as Unitarians are more liberal. The Catholic Church may also hold some moderately liberal stances on certain issues.
20. Evangelicals traditionally support the Conservative party?
-Due to their opposition to abortion and other issues with more emphasis on family traditions and etc.
21.Why have Catholics supported both Republicans and Democrats?
-Catholics support both Republicans and Democrats because young generations are more liberal but older people are more conservative. Also geographically, Cuban Catholics are far more Conservative…
22. Jews typically vote for the Democraticparty?
The Jewish faith strongly supports the Democratic Party due to their progressive positions on personal rights, anti-death penalty, belief in government involvement in people’s lives and etc.
23. Which group is the strongest supporter of the Democratic party?
- The Democratic party’s strongest supporters are African-Americans. The Civil Rights, Voting Rights Act were led by Democratic presidents. Realignment of the Southern States towards the Republican Party are another reason why African-Americans identify with the Democratic Party.
24. Persons with higher incomes support which party? With lower incomes?
-Persons with higher income support Republicans, and with lower incomes Democrats.
25. What was significant about 1992 and the “Year of the Woman” in terms of Congressional representation?
- 1992 was significant because many more women than any other time in US history were elected to Congress.
26. What are some “conflicting elements” related to one’s political socialization?
-College versus profession, Male (Republican) Female (Democrat), Economic status.
27. What are the seven historical qualifications of suffrage (letters A to G)
A.) Religion
B.) Property
C.) Race
D.) Sex
E.) Income
F.) Literacy
G.) Minimum Age
28. How was the income qualification turned back-which amendment and what was banned?
-The income qualification was turned back through the 24th Amendment which banned the poll tax.
29. How was the literacy qualification turned back?
-The literacy qualification was turned back through the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
30. Read aloud how the US voter turnout compares with foreign nations.
-The rate of voter turnout is far lower in the US (less than 50%!) compared to other industrialized countries.
31. Read aloud the six “institutional barriers” related to low US voter turnout.
-Registration, ballot fatigue, excessive numbers of elections, types of elections, general election difficulties, “voter fatigue.”
32.Which “types” of elections have the highest voter turnout in the US?
-Presidential elections in the US have the highest rate of voter turnout.
33. What age group of Americans have the lowest turnout?
-The lowest turnout are in the ages of 18-24.
34. What was the 26th Amendment? Did it help increase voter turnout?
-It gave 18 year olds the franchise. It had no appreciable affect on national voter turnout.
35. What are the four general reasons Americans from a political standpoint don’t tend to vote.
(1) The lack of political efficacy (etc. African-Americans), (2) Dissatisfaction with the candidates, (3) The lack of strong third parties-the two party system, (4) The weakness of parties.
36. What are the five characteristics of those US citizens most likely to vote?
(1) Levels of education, (2) Income, (3) Age, (4) Race, and (5) Sex.
38. Among the five, what is the greatest predictor of voting?
-Level of education.
39. What are the six other forms of political participation distinct from voting.
A.) demonstrations
B.) rallies
C.) local party meetings
D.) making campaigns contributions
40. What is the “Solid South?”
-Southern voters who have since the 1970’s, voted uniformly for the Republican Party (except for Clinton and Obama)
41. What are “realigning” elections? What are some years of these and what events influenced them?
-Long term change in political alignment (ie. Obama’s presidency).
42. What is the strongest predictor of voting behavior?
-Political Party Identification
43. Who are the “Independents?” How strong are they in politics?
-Individuals who don’t identify with either major party in US. They tend to vote more on specific issues that interest them.
44.What are “closed elections”
Only registered party members can vote for partisan offices, no crossing of party lines.
45. Reelection consideration. What is the greatest factor to influence the outcome of congressional elections?
-The greatest of influence of the outcome of a congressional candidates chances is incumbency.
46. What is the re-election average of incumbents for HOR, for the Senate?
-The re-election percentage for incumbents is 90 for Congress; 80% for Senators.
47. Read aloud 8 advantages of incumbents
-Incumbent campaigns, weak challenger campaigns, strong challenger campaigns, open seat campaigns, house of senate, mid term election.
48. What has been the trend of presidential primaries over the past 30 years?
-The beauty contest primary, delegate selection primary,and the “front loading” trend.
49. What is “balancing the ticket?”
-Balancing the ticket is selection of V.P nominee based upon the number of votes the potential VP can attract for the president. Balancing considerations include geographic location of the potential VP (ie. Johnson and the South for Kennedy).
50. What are the characteristics of voters who are likely to participate in presidential primaries?
-The characteristics of voters who vote in presidential primaries tend to be more educated and more affluent than those in general education.
51. What are the characteristics of those who participate in caucuses and conventions?
-They tend to be unrepresentative of the country as a whole, more ideological, more activist, and more educated. They also tend to be less moderate, and much wealthier.
52. Next page on The Electoral College: What is a “winner take all system?”
-Candidates with most popular votes win all of the state’s electoral votes.
53. Where do presidential candidates tend to concentrate their campaigns?
-They tend to concentrate their campaigns in large competitive states.
54. How many electoral votes are needed in order for a candidate to win the presidential election?
- 270 electoral votes are required to win the election. The first candidate who reaches this “magic number” wins the election.
55. What might influence a presidential candidate to win the election by plurality rather than majority?
-Presidents can be elected with only a plurality, Third party candidates can lead to a president winning by plurality.
56. During a presidential election, how are small states overrepresented?
-Small states proportionally over represented, e.g. Wyoming with about 500,000 people, has 3 electoral votes, or about 1 vote per 166,666 people.
57. How does a “winner take all system” discourage the chances of third party candidates?,
-A winner take a system discourages third party candidates by denying them electoral college votes. Fifty-one percent of any candidate “locks up” all electoral college votes for a state.