1. Chapter 6- Political Beliefs and Behaviors
Objective – Students will be able to answer questions regarding the development of political beliefs and behaviors.
SECTION
© 2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.

2. Who REALLY participates?
American Government
Different factors can tell us who votes
Education – MOST IMPORTANT, more education=more voting
Religious involvement
Race and Ethnicity – Whites higher than minorities (might be economic based)
Age – is the lowest, and 45 and up is the highest

3. Who REALLY participates?
American Government
Gender – men traditionally voted more, now it is more equal
Two-party competition – more competitive elections have higher turnout

4. Expanding Suffrage
American Government
Lifting of property restrictions (1830) – “universal manhood suffrage” gave voting rights to all white males
Suffrage for African-Americans ( )
th Amendment – Voting Rights to all
Brown v. Board – separate but equal is illegal, killed Jim Crow laws
th Amendment – banned poll tax
1965 – Voting Rights Act of 1965 – federal law prohibited (no literacy tests, fair elections etc.)

5. Expanding Suffrage
American Government
Women’s Suffrage (1920) – 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote
18-21 year-olds (1971) – 26th Amendment, sparked by Vietnam

6. Voter Turnout Registered Voter turnout Eligible Voter turnout
American Government
Registered Voter turnout
Eligible Voter turnout
Voter Registration – blamed as one of the causes of low turnout

7. Other reasons for low turnout
American Government
Difficulty of Absentee Voting
Number of Offices to Elect too high
Weekday, non-holiday voting
Weak political parties – less “get-out-the-vote campaigns

8. Public Opinion
American Government
The distribution of individual attitudes about a particular issue, candidate, political institution, etc.

9. George Gallup Developed “Gallup Polls” Started in 1932 1st “pollster”
American Government
Developed “Gallup Polls”
Started in 1932
1st “pollster”
Since 1936, agency has picked one general election result incorrect

10. Sampling Representative – must mirror population you want answer about
American Government
Representative – must mirror population you want answer about
Random – give everyone an equal possibility of being sampled
Wording – questions can’t be leading
Straw poll – poor polling technique

11. Political Socialization
American Government
Factors that influence a person’s opinion
People in different social “groups” tend to share certain opinions: group identification

12. Family #1 influence of political attitude
American Government
#1 influence of political attitude
Very strong correlation for Political Party support

13. Gender Examples More men support military
American Government
Examples
More men support military
More women consider sexual harassment a serious problem
Since ’60s, women vote Dem more than men, and vice versa
Not as significant of an indicator as marriage (married vs. unmarried)

14. Religion
American Government
Example
Protestants are more conservative on economic matters than Catholics or Jewish people.
Jewish people tend to be liberal on economic and social issues than Catholics or Protestants
Catholics tend to be more liberal on economic issues than they are on social issues.

15. Education Example College education = liberal views
American Government
Example
College education = liberal views
Conflicting results, not always a correlation

16. Social Class “Blue collar” (Laborer) typically Democrat
American Government
“Blue collar” (Laborer) typically Democrat
“White collar” (Businessmen) typically Republican
Relationship is becoming less clear

17. Race and Ethnicity Examples African Americans – 90% Democrats
American Government
Examples
African Americans – 90% Democrats
Hispanic Americans – tend to affiliate with Democrats, but less likely than African Americans
Asian Americans – less liberal than Hispanic Americans or African Americans, but still consistently vote Democrat
White, more divided, fluctuates by election

18. Geographic Region Example East and West Coasts – more liberal
American Government
Example
East and West Coasts – more liberal
Mid-West – more conservative
Urban - liberal
South – s - Democrat “Solid South” but today they are primarily social conservatives
White Southerner always less liberal

19. Political Ideology
American Government
Coherent set of values and beliefs about public policy
Changes over time for all people
Liberal and conservative mean different things at different time periods

20. Section 1 Assessment
Describe the factors that effect political socialization. What factor do you think most effects your political views?
2. Describe the groups that tend to vote the most. Why do you think these types of people tend to vote?

21. Summary: In a paragraph, describe what you have learned today.