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Government By the People

Twenty-sixth Edition, 2018 Elections and Updates Edition

Chapter 4

The American Political Landscape

Learning Objectives

4.1 Assess the role of geography and type of community in building a national and local identity (Structure, Action, and Impact).

4.2 Analyze how such social and demographic factors as race and ethnicity, religion, gender, family structures, education, and age affect American politics (Structure, Action, and Impact).

4.3 Describe the importance of income, wealth, occupation, and social class in American politics (Structure, Action, and Impact).

4.1 Geography and National Identity (Structure, Action, and Impact)

Geography

Natural Resources

Where We Are From

Geography and Natural Resources

Large and isolated country

No powers on its borders

Size confers advantage

Manifest Destiny

Natural resources

Agriculture, mining, ranching

At a critical stage in our nation’s development, the Atlantic Ocean served as a barrier against European powers whose territorial ambitions threatened the new nation. As the nation grew to stretch to the opposite coast, its sheer size and the resources at its disposal gave the United States unique advantages.

That is not to say that the U.S. has never fought foreign invaders. The War of 1812 is an example and, more recently, terrorists have been able to get around the country’s geographic buffer.

The size of the United States has given the population space to spread out so that its considerable diversity could be absorbed with less conflict among groups.

Natural resources have led to economic growth and prosperity. They have also created a sense of entitlement to take the land from its previous inhabitants, a notion known as manifest destiny.

Where We Are From

Regional differences

Sun Belt, Bible Belt, Rust Belt

State and local identity

Urban and rural populations

Urban, suburban, rural

White flight

Regional differences have political significance, as disparate living and working environments foster different kinds of political issues and concerns.

The South has stood out as a distinct region since colonial times. Its agricultural economy and dependence upon slave labor distinguished it from the more urban North, whose economy was driven more by commerce and manufacturing.

Eleven southern states attempted to leave the Union during the Civil War, and the issue of racism gave the South a common political identity during Reconstruction and beyond. From the end of Reconstruction until the 1960s, the South was dominated by the Democratic Party and the North by the Republican Party.

After the Democratic Party embraced civil rights, the South switched to the Republican party, which dominates the region to this day. As Americans migrate to southern states for the climate, the region is losing its distinct identity.

The population of the so-called Sun Belt states of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, southern California, and Florida is growing. This benefits the Republican Party as reapportionment gives these states more seats in the House. The Bible Belt states are known for wanting to end the separation of church and state. These are the former Confederate states plus Kentucky, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. The Rust Belt states in the Midwest comprise the former manufacturing sector. States with rusting vacant factories include Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and parts of Indiana and New York.

Like regions, states have distinct political cultures. Americans often identify with their state as well as their country, and state university teams or notable residents can foster a sense of state pride. Our election system is state-centered, with the Electoral College focusing presidential elections at the state level. Differing state laws also distinguish states from one another.

One out of eight Americans lives in California, whose economic and political importance makes it unique among the 50 states.

The people in America’s various regions live in communities that are classified as urban, suburban, and rural. Recently, the most significant migration in the United States has been from cities to suburbs. Today, many large U.S. cities are increasingly poor, African American, and Democratic, surrounded by suburbs that are primarily middle class, white, and Republican.

Most Americans used to live in rural areas, the least densely populated areas, often associated with farming. Industrialization led to urbanization, as people migrated to the cities. Four out of five Americans now inhabit urban areas. The West and Northeast have the most urban areas, while the South and Midwest have the fewest.

After urbanization came a trend toward suburbanization, or leaving the inner cities for the surrounding suburbs. This trend is sometimes known as white flight because it is mainly white residents who move to the suburbs in search of better schools and a safer environment in which to raise a family. White flight has made the population of urban areas increasingly poor, African American, and Democratic.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

On March 7, 1965, police officers used clubs and tear gas against a group of civil rights demonstrators led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as they protested the denial of voting rights in Alabama. News reports of the police attack helped galvanize support for the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

FIGURE 4.1 Percentage Change in Resident Population, 2000-2010

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2012, p. 19.

Which states saw the greatest shifts in population, and how might you account for some of the changes?

Standoff Over Federal Land in Oregon

Much of the land in the western United States is owned by the Federal Government, and relations between federal agencies who manage the land like the Forrest Service or Bureau of Land Management and those who want to use the land for ranching or recreation has been the source of contention. This arose again in early 2016 when a group occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. An armed standoff between the protesters and local, state, and federal law enforcement lasted more than five weeks and received substantial media attention

4.2 Who We Are (Structure, Action, and Impact)

Race and Ethnicity

Religion

Gender

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Family and Fertility

Education

Age

Race has been and remains among the most important of the differences in our political landscape. Although we fought a civil war over freedom for African Americans, racial equality remained elusive until the past fifty years. Ethnicity, especially the rising numbers of Hispanics, continues to be a factor in politics.

The United States has many religious denominations, and these differences, including between those who are religious and those who are not, help explain public opinion and political behavior. Gender identity and sexual orientation have become important in politics. Age and education are key to understanding political participation.

Race and Ethnicity

Race versus ethnicity

Native Americans

African Americans

Hispanics

Asian Americans

Race refers to physical characteristics and ethnicity refers to national origin, religion, and language. There is a lack of agreement on whether race is a biological distinction or a social distinction like ethnicity.

Native Americans comprise only 0.2% of the U.S. population today. Many Native Americans live on reservations, most of which are plagued by poverty, although a few have generated revenue from casino gambling. Native Americans are U.S. citizens and their vote is significant in South Dakota and Alaska.

African Americans are the one immigrant group that did not come here voluntarily. Even after slavery was abolished, African Americans continued to live predominantly in the South. Some migrated north but found that urban poverty replaced rural poverty. In recent years, African Americans have been returning to southern states and their representation in southern state legislatures is increasing.

Hispanics are increasing in political importance, and they are also diverse. Cuban Americans tend to be Republicans, whereas Mexicans and Puerto Ricans tend to vote Democratic. Both parties court the Hispanic vote. Of course, noncitizen Hispanics cannot vote, nor can those under 18, so their voting power is not equal to their percentage of the population, which is highest in New York, Florida, and California.

Like Hispanics, Asian Americans are a diverse group, hailing from different countries and speaking different languages. Asian Americans have a median income above the national average.

TABLE 4.1 Changing Racial Composition of the U.S. Population, 1950-2050

Year	1950	1990	2010	2025	2050
White	89.5%	83.9%	72.4%	75.6%	70.8%
Non-Hispanic White	--	75.7	63.7	57.5	47.3
African American	10	12.2	12.6	13.5	14.4
Native American, Inuit, Aleut	0.2	0.8	0.9	1.3	1.3
Asian and Pacific Islander	0.2	3.0	5.0	6.7	9.7
Hispanic	--	9.0	16.3	20.3	28.6

FIGURE 4.2 The 2:1 Ratio

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

This figure shows unemployment by race in America over the last 40 years. Note the persistence of a roughly 2 to 1 gap during good times and bad. We explore some of the reasons for this difference in this chapter: education being among the most important factors.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor

In 2009, Sonia Sotomayor became the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. She was born in New York and is of Puerto Rican descent. She is seen here in her Bronx neighborhood after her Senate confirmation.

Religion

Religious violence

Religious liberty

No official religion

Religion of political candidates matters

Fundamentalists

Diverse, but dominated by Protestants

Globally, religious differences are often a source of violence. There is fighting between different religions, such as between Jews and Muslims, as well as fighting between different sects within the same religion, such as Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims. Sometimes members of one religion are persecuted on a large scale, as when the Nazi Holocaust killed 6 million Jews.

The U.S. is founded on the premise of religious liberty. The Framers did not sanction a church in the Constitution. But religion is extremely important in American politics. Religious views of political candidates can be an important issue in political campaigns, especially on social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion.

Religious groups, particularly fundamentalist Christians, have often been the driving force of political change. Fundamentalists are an important force in the Republican agenda.

The United States is religiously diverse, but Protestants comprise over half the population.

FIGURE 4.3 Religious Groups in the United States

Source: Pew Research, Religion & Public Life Project, http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/.

The U.S. population is religiously diverse. While predominantly Christian, there are different types of Protestants, Catholics and other Christian faiths. Jews are the largest non-Christian religion in the U.S. but there are growing numbers of Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus. Another growing category is the unaffiliated (a category different from atheists). This group is now more than one-fifth of the U.S. population.

Gender

Voting and participation

For 50 years after gaining the right to vote, women voted at lower rates than men

Women now vote at higher rates than men

Gender gap in representation

Women lean Democratic

Wage gap

Women did not gain the right to vote nationally until 1920, although some states gave women the vote earlier. American women vote at lower rates than women in other Western democracies, but they do vote at higher rates than American men in presidential elections.

There remains a large gender gap in representation, with only 5 female governors out of 50, 20 female Senators out of 100, and 77 female members of the House out of 435.

Women lean slightly Democratic in their voting habits in presidential elections. This may stem from women’s tendency to oppose violence and to care about issues related to the family, such as education, health care, maternity leave, and reproductive rights.

The wage gap between women and men is an ongoing issue, with women earning 78 cents for every dollar men earn.

Figure 4.4 Gender and the Vote for President, 2016

“Exit Polls 2012: How the Vote Has Shifted,” Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/

special/politics/2012-exit-polls/table.html and http://www.cnn.com/election/results/exit-polls.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Legal rights for LGBT

Stonewall 1969

2-10% of population

Winning elective offices

Political agenda

Ending “Don’t ask, don’t tell”

Same-sex marriage

The gay rights movement began symbolically in 1969 when police raided a Greenwich Village bar called the Stonewall Inn, provoking riots. Since then, the gay and lesbian community has become more active in calling for equal legal rights. Although their percentage of the population is unknown, with estimates ranging from 2 to 10%, gays and lesbians are a political force in cities like San Francisco, and openly gay candidates have won elective office in several states.

The political agenda for gays and lesbians has included obtaining the legal right to marry in all 50 states and overturning the military’s policy on discharging gay and lesbian soldiers who revealed their sexual orientation. This policy, known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” ended in 2010. In 2015 the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that marriage was a fundamental right, in effect legalizing same-sex marriage.

Mayor Jackie Biskupski

Salt Lake City elected Jackie Biskupski (center) mayor in 2015. She is the first openly gay mayor and the city’s second female mayor. She is seen here with her fiancé, Betty Iverson.

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