The 2016 presidential campaign and the surprising election of Republican Donald Trump highlighted the conflicts deeply embedded in American political life. Issues surrounding race, ethnicity, gender, geography, education, income level, and sexual orientation all seemed to further divide an already polarized country. Now the questions emerge: How will Trump govern? Will the divisions in American politics only become deeper, or will President Trump fulfill his election-night pledge to represent all Americans and work to unite the country?
Conflicts within the government—say, over immigration policy—often reflect real divisions among American citizens about what government should do about certain issues. Groups on all sides of controversial issues pressure the government to enact their preferred policies.
Regarding the argumentative nature of politics, we should remember that debate means that multiple points of view are represented on controversial and important issues. Would it really be better if only a single perspective carried the day? What if government didn’t have to offer any justification at all for its actions? In our constitutional democracy, debate is necessary to resolve conflict.
The media create maps of the country on election night with red states where Republicans win and blue states where Democrats win (see the very first pages of this book). But what do we see if we look beyond the state level to the county level? And what if we look not just at who won and who lost, but which party was stronger relative to the other? This is what this map, created by Robert Vanderbei at Princeton University, shows. The simple view of two Americas—Republican versus Democrat, red versus blue—starts to look a lot more purple.
Source: Provided by Robert J. Vanderbei, Princeton University, “2016 Presidential Election, Purple America,” www.princeton.edu/~rvdb/JAVA/election 2016 (accessed 11/14/16).
Two important government functions described in the Constitution are to “provide for the common defense” and “insure domestic Tranquility.” The military and local police are two of the most commonly used forces the government maintains to fulfill those roles.
Two important government functions described in the Constitution are to “provide for the common defense” and “insure domestic Tranquility.” The military and local police are two of the most commonly used forces the government maintains to fulfill those roles.
Three Big Ideas
Politics Is Conflictual: many of our conflicts as a society are reflected in our politics and its familiar coalitions: liberal versus conservative; Republican versus Democrat. The controversy is unavoidable: politics determines our share of burdens versus benefits (e.g., who pays how much in taxes and what that money is spent on), and it also regulates almost every aspect of our daily lives in ways that are visible and invisible. People often dislike conflict. But it is critical to resolve differences through politics.
Political Process Matters: in American politics, power is derived from the people and governmental actions are the result of conscious decisions made by elected officials and bureaucrats. The interaction of institutional rules and procedures structures our mechanism for resolving conflicts and plays a big part in determining who wins and who loses.
Politics Is Everywhere: from regulating food safety to air and water quality to performing road maintenance and traffic safety, and also including more hot-button issues such as abortion, gun control, affirmative action, and decisions on war and peace, political decisions are omnipresent. Some decisions can be resolved by compromise (e.g., choosing a tax rate in between the highest and lowest proposals) but others (such as choosing whether to make English the official language) are not as well suited for compromise. Many decisions involve trade-offs: if you have one good, you can’t have another. For example, if you have a limited amount of money and decide to spend it on one thing (e.g., schools), you can’t spend it on something else (e.g., prisons).
Conflict is inherent in American politics. Here, supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage argue in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington on the day the Court heard arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case that legalized same-sex marriage throughout the nation. #Obergefell #SCOTUS
The political process mattered in the 2016 presidential election, from determining who the candidates were, to affecting which states received the most attention from the campaigns. Here, Hillary Clinton is shown debating Donald Trump.
On a typical day, the government plays a critical role in a student’s daily life through federal programs, regulation, and spending. In addition to what is listed here, in what other aspects of your life does government play a part?
The debate over income inequality in America and what should be done about it (raising the minimum wage, for example) was one of the important issues that divided Republicans and Democrats in the 2016 elections. #WageAction #FightFor15
While Americans typically share the same perspectives on the economy, Democrats and Republicans typically disagree on the extent to which the government should rely on redistributive tax policies, and disproportionately tax the wealthy to help fund social programs for the poor.
Civil and voting rights contributed to the realignment of the South in the second half of the twentieth century, as more whites began supporting the Republican Party and the Democratic Party came to be seen as the champion of minority rights. Here, blacks and whites in Alabama wait in line together to vote at a city hall after enactment of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Only about 62 percent of Americans describe themselves as white. Moreover, the proportion of Hispanics and Latinos in the population is about 18 percent and rising, although this category contains many distinct subgroups. What changes would you expect in American politics and federal policy if the actual population in 2060 matches the projections?
Political scientists typically use a left-to-right “political spectrum” to map public opinion. While most Americans do not consider themselves on the extreme “left” (liberal) or extreme “right” (conservative), these terms provide a useful shorthand for describing different outlooks. Sometimes people decide on their specific beliefs based on what they think others in their “ideological camp” (e.g., liberal, conservative, green) think about a given issue.
Ideology: a cohesive set of ideals and beliefs used to organize and evaluate the political world
Conservative: one side of the ideological spectrum, defined by support for lower taxes, a free market, and more limited government; generally associated with Republicans
Liberal: one side of the ideological spectrum, defined by support for stronger government programs and more market regulation; generally associated with Democrats
Libertarians: those who prefer very limited government and therefore tend to be quite conservative on issues such as welfare policy, environmental policy, and public support for education, but very liberal on issues of personal liberty such as free speech, abortion, legalization of drugs, prostitution, and gambling
But be careful: personal ideologies are not always consistent. A person may be liberal on some types of issues and conservative on others. Or people may consider themselves to have a certain ideology but then have beliefs that are consistent with a different one.
Democracy: government by the people; in most contexts, this means representative democracy, in which the people elect leaders to enact policies. Democracies must have fair elections with at least two alternatives.
Equality: in the context of American politics, equality means equality before the law, political equality (one person, one vote), and equality of opportunity (the equal chance for everyone to realize their potential), but not material equality (equal income or wealth).
Liberty: political freedom, such as freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and religion; these and other liberties protecting individuals from government control are outlined in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.
Libertarians, including those in the Tea Party, believe in very limited government. These Tea Party activists at the Utah state capitol in Salt Lake City hold a flag with the libertarian motto “Don’t Tread on Me” while protesting against high taxes and government programs. #TeaParty #Libertarian #LibertyForAll
When everyone (or almost everyone) agrees about a policy or problem, the issue is generally dealt with quickly and without much conflict. In a rare example of compromise and cooperation, Republican and Democratic members of Congress along with students, teachers, and administrators applaud as President Obama signs the Every Student Succeeds Act in December 2015, which reduced the federal government’s authority over state education standards. #EveryStudentSucceeds
The idea that “politics is everywhere” means that government actions touch virtually all aspects of our lives, from requiring drone owners to register with the Federal Aviation Administration to mandating equal funding for men’s and women’s sports in high schools and colleges. Moreover, everyday life often helps us to make sense of politics and politicians, such as Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz’s claim that Star Trek’s Captain Picard was a Democrat while Captain Kirk was a Republican. #FAADrones #TitleIX #StarTrek
In democracies like the United States, voting is one of the most visible ways citizens use the political process to express their opinions and resolve conflict.
