1. Unit 2 Peer Lecture By Andrew Sickenger, Sush Kudari, and Aaron Ramsay

2. ● Sources of Political Culture- American Revolution, Religion ● Political Culture- A distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political economic life ought to be carried out. ● Civic Duty- A belief that one has an obligation to participate in civic and political affairs. ● Civic Competence-A belief that one can affect government politics. American Political Culture

3. ● Liberty- Americans should be free to do as they please. ● Equality- Everybody should have an equal vote and chance to participate and succeed in government. ● Democracy- Government officials should be accountable to the people. ● Civic Duty- Feel that people ought to take community affairs seriously and help out when possible. ● Individual Responsibility- Americans are responsible for their own actions and well-being. The Political System

4. ● Civic Role of Religion- A religious revivalist movement (First Great Awakening) transformed political life in the American colonies. ● Political Tolerance- Democratic politics relies on citizens’ being reasonably tolerant of the opinions and actions of other people. ● Mistrust of the federal government is often misdirected towards federal government when it should be toward its officials. Religion, Tolerance and Mistrust

5. ● Class Consciousness-A belief that you are a member of an economic group whose interests are opposed to people in other such groups. ● The Culture War: Orthodox vs Progressive o Orthodox- Belief that morality and religion ought to be of decisive importance. o Progressive- Belief that personal freedom and solving social problems are more important than religion. The Sources of Political Culture

6. ● Political Efficacy- A belief that you can take part in politics or that the government will respond to the citizenry. ● Internal Efficacy- The ability to understand and take part in politics. ● External Efficacy- The willingness of the state to respond to the citizenry. The Efficacies

7. ● Question One: In your opinion, do you think that Americans trust their form government? Why or why not? Discussion Question

8. ● Why doesn't the government do what the people want it to? o large budget o Equal Rights Amendment o terms of Senators and Representatives ● When should policymaking directly reflect what the population wants? Public Opinion

9. ● surveys, polls ● understanding how the public thinks or feels about a particular issue ● low response rates Public Opinion

10. ● People with certain characteristics are more likely to vote the same way ● Political socialization How Opinions Differ

11. ● Family ● Religion o opinions on School Prayers o profound impact on social issues ● Schooling o college produces more liberals o more voters o college students read news more Political Socialization

12. ● division of voters into voting blocks o race o religion o region o education o income o occupation Cleavages in Public Opinion

13. ● Social Class:unskilled workers more likely to be Democratic ● Race: All Matters on the Issues we look at o African Americans and Latinos are more likely to be Democrats o Asian Americans are more likely to be Republicans The Way Some Vote

14. ● Woman have favored Democratic Candidates ● Men have favored Republican candidates ● Split on issues such as: o banning handguns o antipoverty programs o military spending Gender Gap

15. ● South o in the past less liberal than Eastern regions o accommodated business enterprises and less welcome to organized labor o South became more detached from Democratic Party and more conservative Regional Influence

16. ● a consistent set of beliefs ● measured in two ways o how frequently one uses political categories o the consistency of policy preference ● moderates (most), conservatives(middle), liberals(least) Political Ideology

17. ● “conservative” and “liberal” capture the common beliefs held ● “activists” o information o peers ● elites influence public opinion ● elite opinion vs. mass opinion Conservative and Liberal Elites

18. ● Voting-age population- Citizens who are able to vote after reaching minimum age requirement ● Registered voters- People who are registered to vote Chapter 8: Political Participation

19. ● States initially had control. ● Constitution gave Congress right to pick day for presidential election and to alter state voting regulations History of Voting

20. ● 1842 law required House representatives to be elected by districts ● 15th Amendment ● 19th Amendment ● 26th Amendment Important Voting Changes

21. ● Has been declining since late 1800s; from about 70% between 1860 and 1900 to around 55% in the 1990s ● Actual decline ● Perceived decline ● If voter turnout is in fact declining how can we increase it? Voter Turnout

22. ● Voting ● Donating ● Contacting local officials Forms of Participation/ Participants ● Inactive (22%) ● Activists (11%) ● Voting specialists ● Campaigners ● Communal ● Parochial Participants

23. ● Education ● Religious Involvement ● Race ● Socioeconomic status Causes of Participation

24. ● Vote less ● More demonstrations ● More significance to our votes Meaning of Participation Rates

25. ● http://www.ushistory.org/gov/4b.asp http://www.ushistory.org/gov/4b.asp ● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2m5QU5XUcY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2m5QU5XUcY ● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsm6zGS-nTs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsm6zGS-nTs ● http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/Americanpoliticalsystem.html http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/Americanpoliticalsystem.html ● http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post- politics/wp/2014/11/10/voter-turnout-in-2014-was-the-lowest-since- wwii/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post- politics/wp/2014/11/10/voter-turnout-in-2014-was-the-lowest-since- wwii/ ● http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-steven-friedman/voter- turnout-europe-america_b_1660271.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-steven-friedman/voter- turnout-europe-america_b_1660271.html Works Cited