1 6 0 I Introduction 2 6 1 The American People I Introduction a It would be hard to find a statement about the American people that is entirely right or entirely wrong b Public Opinion the distribution of the population s beliefs about politics and policy issues i ii Aims to understand this distribution Measuring public opinion involves painstaking interviewing procedures and carefully worded questions a Demography the science of population changes b Census An actual enumeration of the population which the Constitution requires that the government conduct every 10 years i ii iii iv the most valuable tool for understanding demographic changes in America Required by the Constitution must be done every 10 years by the government Started in 1790 Information the census collects helps to determine have the federal government spends money each year Communities that are undercounted usually minority and low income groups end up getting less from the federal government than they should v Changes in the U S population impact our culture and political system II The Immigrant Society c a b c d e f Today federal law allows for about 1 million new immigrants each year and in recent years about 500 000 illegal immigrants a year have also entered the United States i Currently 12 percent of the nation s population and immigrants and 41 percent of this groups have already become U S citizens Northwestern Europeans Southern and Eastern Europeans who came through Ellis Island Hispanics and Asians There have been three great waves of immigration i ii iii The first restrictions that were imposed on immigration came in 1875 and limited criminals and prostitutes from entering and staying i First geographic restriction came in 1882 on the Chinese i Johnson Reid Immigration Act was passed in 1924 which established official quotas for immigrants based on national origin i Hart Celler Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished this quota and made family integration the prevailing goal for the U S immigration policy Soon lunatics and diseases people were kept out as well Chinese Exclusion Act Some politicians believe that America s competitiveness in the globalized economy would be better served by reducing the emphasis on family unification in our immigration policy and reallocating a substantial percentage of immigrant visas to people with special talents III The American Melting Pot a Melting Pot a term often used to characterize the United States with its history of immigration and mixing of cultures ideas and people b Minority Majority The situation likely beginning in the mid twenty first century in which the non Hispanic whites will represent a minority of the U S population and minority groups together will represent a majority i The projected increases are based on two trends Immigration into the U S 1 2 Birth rates are higher among minorities ii Illegal Immigration c In 2000 it was the first time there were more Hispanics in the U S than Americans i ii i ii No significant reform since the 1986 Simpson Mazzoli Act 1 Required employers to document the citizenship of their employees Civil and criminal penalties can be assessed against employers who knowingly employ undocumented immigrants d Political Culture an overall set of values widely shared within a society The longer one s family has had to integrate into American Society the greater the likelihood that one will identify oneself as an American The emergence of the minority majority is just one of several major demographic changes that are altering the face of American Politics IV The Regional Shift a Demographic changes are associated with political changes i States gain or lose power from population shifts b Reapportionment the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census V The Graying of America a Nationwide citizens over 65 are the fastest growing age group b A result of medical advances and the drop in fertility rate from 3 6 to 2 1 i Social Security is a pay as you go system so today s workers are paying for today s retirees Social Security is exceeded only by national defense as America s most costly public i policy 6 2 Political Socialization I Introduction 3 a Political Socialization the process through which individuals in a society acquire political attitudes views and knowledge based on inputs from family schools the media and others i As people grow older their views grow firmer b Government s aim their socialization efforts largely at the young II The Process of Political Socialization a Only a small portion of Americans political learning is formal i Civics or Government classes in high school teach citizens some of the nuts and bolts of government but most American do most of their political learning without teachers or classes b c Informal learning is much more important than formal in class learning about politics i ii The family media and the schools all serve as important agents of political socialization Informal socialization is almost accidental Best described by picked up or absorbed III The Family a The family s role in socialization is crucial because kids normally form their opinion based on their parents Its role is a monopoly because of its control of time and emotional resources Children often pick up their political leanings from the attitudes of their parents b c d Most students in an American government class think of themselves as independent e Recent research has demonstrated that one of the reasons for the long lasting impact of parental influence is genetic IV The Mass Media V School a b c a c The mass media is the new parent Television displaces parents as the chief source of information children get as they age Today s generation is much less likely to watch the news Political Socialization is important to a government because it promotes national loyalty and support of basic democratic values b Any democracy has a vested interest in children learning the positive features of their political system Schooling is an obvious intrusion into one s life by the government d The payoffs of schooling extend beyond better jobs and better pay VI Political Learning over a Lifetime a Aging increases political participation as well as strength of party attachment b Political participation rises with age until one is too old to participate c Politics is a learned behavior 4 6 3 Measuring Public Opinion I Introduction II How Polls Are
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