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The political culture of the United States has been influenced by the various European nations which colonized the Americas from the 15th century onwards. During the colonial era of
American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densel ...
, European settlers began emigrating to Colonial America, influencing the
political culture Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system is embedded in a particular political culture. Definition Gabriel Almond defines it as "the particular pattern of orientations toward political actions in whic ...
in each region they settled in. These influences continued to play a major role in the
politics of the United States The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a ...
after the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
and the establishment of the U.S. as an independent country.


Research on the political culture of the US

The political scientist
Daniel J. Elazar Daniel Judah Elazar (August 25, 1934 – December 2, 1999) was a political scientist known for his seminal studies of political culture of the US states. He was professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and Temple University ...
identified three primary political cultures, generally consistent with those of
Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wo ...
. ''Moralistic'' political culture evolved out of New England and is characterized by an emphasis of community and civic virtue over individualism. ''Individualistic'' political culture arose from Dutch influence in the Mid-Atlantic region; it regards multiculturalism as a practicality and government as a utilitarian necessity. ''Traditionalistic'' political culture arose in the South, which elevates social order and family structure to a prominent role. It accepts a natural hierarchy in society and where necessary to protect society, authoritarian leadership in the political and religious realms. The formation of traditionalistic political culture is often thought to have arisen principally out of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, the first and most populous southern colony. Virginia was also the most politically powerful state after the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
: pursuant to the first census of the United States in 1790 it held a greater percentage of congressional representatives than any other state has ever enjoyed up to the present day. Nevertheless, others argue that South Carolina had the greater influence as a result of its Grand Model enabling slaveholders from
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...
to establish a durable aristocracy. That unique convergence produced a slave society with a majority black population rigidly controlled by the plantation elite. Maintaining such a society required intense political resolve and the development of a mythology of white racial supremacy. The South Carolina hybrid model ultimately spread across the
Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the wa ...
and was unwavering in its promotion of southern culture, whereas Virginia and other
Upper South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern and lower Midwestern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, econom ...
states were less comfortable with the region’s “ peculiar institution” of
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. The political scientist Richard Ellis identified egalitarianism, individualism, and hierarchy as defining cultures in American political culture. These principal categories correspond closely with Elazar’s classification. According to Ellis, each of these cultures lays claim to the ideals of equality and liberty articulated by
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...
, but what they are claiming is an only a piece of Locke, and one that is not necessarily consistent with the whole. Popular authors have found similar divisions within American political culture. Colin Woodard identified eleven “ rival regional cultures,” while Joel Garreau identified nine. The social psychologist Peter J. Rentfrow led a research effort that generally supports Elazar's theory of political culture, while finding that psychological variables allow for a more fine-grained geographical analysis. His research on “psychological topography” was based on multiple samples of more than a million respondents. The researchers found “overwhelming evidence for regional variation across the United States on a range of key political, economic, social, and health indicators.”


Colonial origins

The American political culture is rooted in the colonial experience and the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. The colonies were unique within the European world for their vibrant political culture, which attracted ambitious young men into politics. At the time, American suffrage was the most widespread in the world, with every man who owned a certain amount of property allowed to vote. In the mother country of Britain, fewer than 1% of men could vote, but in the American colonies most white men were eligible. While the roots of democracy were apparent, deference was typically shown to social elites in colonial elections, although this declined sharply with the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. In each colony a wide range of public and private business was decided by elected bodies, especially the assemblies and county governments. Topics of public concern and debate included land grants, commercial subsidies, and taxation, as well as the oversight of roads, poor relief, taverns, and schools. Americans spent a great deal of time in court, as private lawsuits were very common. Legal affairs were overseen by local judges and juries, with a central role for trained lawyers. This promoted the rapid expansion of the legal profession, and the dominant role of lawyers in politics was apparent by the 1770s, with notable individuals including
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
and
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, among many others. The American colonies were unique in world context because of the growth of representation of different interest groups. Unlike Europe, where the royal court, aristocratic families and the established church were in control, the American political culture was open to merchants, landlords, petty farmers, artisans,
Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia ...
,
Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
,
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
, Germans, Scotch Irish, Yankees, Yorkers, and many other identifiable groups. Over 90% of the representatives elected to the legislature lived in their districts, unlike England where it was common to have a member of Parliament who lived elsewhere. Finally, and most dramatically, the Americans were fascinated by and increasingly adopted the political values of
Republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. ...
, which stressed equal rights, the need for virtuous citizens, and the evils of corruption, luxury, and aristocracy. None of the colonies had political parties of the sort that formed in the 1790s, but each had shifting factions that vied for power.


American Revolution and after


Concepts of the Founding Fathers

Two pivotal political ideas in the establishment of the United States were
Republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. ...
and
classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, e ...
. Central documents of American thought include: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Constitution (1787), the
Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...
and Anti-Federalist Papers (1787-1790s), the Bill of Rights (1791), and Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863). Among the core tenets were: *
Civic duty Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...
: citizens have the responsibility to understand and support the government, participate in elections, pay taxes, and perform military service. "Positive liberty" included moral and civic duties, or "what the Founders called 'republican virtue.'” * Opposition to
Political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, i ...
. *
Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...
: The government should be answerable to citizens, who may change the representatives through elections. *
Equality before the law Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law. The principle requires a systematic r ...
: The laws should attach no special privilege to any citizen. Government officials are subject to the law just as others are. *
Freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...
: The government should neither support nor suppress any or all religion. *
Freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
: The government should not restrict through law or action the personal, non-violent speech of a citizen; a
marketplace of ideas The marketplace of ideas is a rationale for freedom of expression based on an analogy to the economic concept of a free market. The marketplace of ideas holds that the truth will emerge from the competition of ideas in free, transparent public ...
.


Appalachian and frontier political culture

Many settlers who populated the South took to the backcountry, eventually crossing the Appalachians. Of these, the Scots-Irish originating from the Plantation areas of Ireland and the
border region The Border Region (coded IE041) is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland. The name of the region refers to its location along the Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border. It is not a cross-border region. It comprises the Irish cou ...
between
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
were among the largest and most influential. A Hessian officer reported during the American Revolution that "Call this war by whatever name you may, only call it not an American rebellion; it is nothing more or less than a Scotch Irish Presbyterian rebellion."Leyburn 1962, p. 305 While they might be considered a distinct political culture in colonial times, they eventually developed a symbiotic relationship with the Southern planter elite. As W. J. Cash wrote in ''The Mind of the South'', “the tradition of aristocracy met and married with the tradition of the backwoods.” The Frontier Thesis advanced by the historian
Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner (November 14, 1861 – March 14, 1932) was an American historian during the early 20th century, based at the University of Wisconsin until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his frontier thes ...
in 1893 argued that
American culture The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...
, including political culture, was forged as Americans expanded westward. It was violent and individualistic and yet contained a primitive form of egalitarianism. In Elazar’s view, however, it was the South that acquired these traits most and carried them west to
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, and eventually as far as
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
.


Lockean liberalism and political culture

In another unifying thesis about political culture that, like the Frontier Thesis, some have argued that Lockean
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...
is a central underlying explanation of American political culture. Notably, the political scientist Louis Hartz argued that the nation’s founding principles, which were largely drawn from Locke, created a new political culture that was unique to the United States. The nation “begins with Locke,” he wrote, and it “stays with Locke.” He found that Alexis de Tocqueville was first to recognize this when he saw that the nation was the first to create its own democratic future without having to endure revolution.


Post-World War II

At the time of the United States' founding, the economy was predominantly one of agriculture and small private businesses, and state governments left welfare issues to private or local initiative. As in the UK and other industrialized countries, laissez-faire ideology was largely discredited during
the Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Between the 1930s and 1970s, fiscal policy was characterized by the Keynesian consensus, a time during which the concepts of
modern American liberalism Modern liberalism in the United States, often simply referred to in the United States as liberalism, is a form of social liberalism found in American politics. It combines ideas of civil liberty and equality with support for social justice and ...
dominated economic policy virtually unchallenged.Weeks, J. (2007). Inequality Trends in Some Developed OECD Countries. In J. K. S. & J. Baudot (Eds.) ''Flat world, big gaps: Economic liberalization, globalization, poverty & inequality'' (159-176). New York: Zed Books. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, laissez-faire ideology has once more become a powerful force in American politics.Clark, B. (1998). ''Political economy: A comparative approach''. Westport, CT: Preager. While the American welfare state expanded more than threefold after WWII, it has been at 20% of GDP since the late 1970s.Barr, N. (2004). ''Economics of the welfare state''. New York:
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
(USA).
Today,
modern American liberalism Modern liberalism in the United States, often simply referred to in the United States as liberalism, is a form of social liberalism found in American politics. It combines ideas of civil liberty and equality with support for social justice and ...
, and modern American conservatism are engaged in a continuous political battle, characterized by what ''The Economist'' describes as "greater divisiveness ndclose, but bitterly fought elections." Since 2016, the United States has been recognized as a flawed democracy in the ''
Democracy Index The ''Democracy Index'' is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research division of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company which publishes the weekly newspaper ''The Economist''. Akin to a Human Development I ...
'' by the
Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...
, partially due to increased
political polarization Political polarization (spelled ''polarisation'' in British English) is the divergence of political attitudes away from the center, towards ideological extremes. Most discussions of polarization in political science consider polarization in the ...
. In foreign affairs, the United States generally pursued a noninterventionist policy of "avoiding foreign entanglements" before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. After the war, when America became a
superpower A superpower is a state with a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural ...
, for many decades the country embraced internationalism, seeking allies to contain
Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
and foster economic cooperation. According to at least some academics, authoritarian values have strengthened in the 21st century in the U.S. and elsewhere, with long-run economic changes from
globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
having a negative impact on the
social identity Identity is the qualities, beliefs, personality traits, appearance, and/or expressions that characterize a person or group.Compare ''Collins Dictionary of Sociology'', quoted in In sociology, emphasis is placed on collective identity, in which ...
of historically dominant groups. This increases the incentive for these groups to use authoritarianism to force minority groups to conform to social norms.


Urban-rural divide

Political culture can be seen as bifurcated by urban and rural geography. The United States was largely a rural nation until 1920. When the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
that year revealed that urban Congressional Districts would exceed those of rural areas, rural congressmen refused to approve
reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionme ...
, the only time that has happened. A cultural divide remains to the present with rural areas often associating with traditionalistic political culture, while urban areas are more often aligned with moralistic and individualistic political culture.


Re-aggregation of political cultures in metropolitan areas

Researchers Dante Chinni and James Gimpel identified twelve cultural communities found throughout the United States, with varying degrees of geographic concentration. The categories are derived from analysis of statistical data, and they offer a more realistic portrayal of the geographically discontinuous cultural fabric of the nation than blanket state and regional categories. In physical space, as in
cyberspace Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday re ...
, people increasingly sort themselves into communities of choice. That is, people chose where they will live and who they will communicate with. The opportunity to make such choices appears to reinforce political culture.Bishop, ''The Big Sort''


See also

*
Albion's Seed ''Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America'' is a 1989 book by David Hackett Fischer that details the folkways of four groups of people who moved from distinct regions of Great Britain (Albion) to the United States. The argument is that ...
*
American exceptionalism American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is inherently different from other nations.City upon a Hill


References

{{reflist


Further reading

* Bishop, Bill. ''The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008. * Cash, W. J. ''The Mind of the South''. Introduction by Betram Bertram Wyatt-Brown. 1941. New York: Vintage Books, 1991. * Chinni, Dante, and James Gimpel. ''Our Patchwork Nation: The Surprising Truth about the “Real” America''. New York: Gotham Books, 2010. * Dochuk, Darren. ''From Bible Belt to Sun Belt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism''. New York: W. W. Norton, 2011. * Elazar, Daniel J. ''The American Mosaic: The Impact of Space, Time, and Culture on American Politics''. Boulder: Westview, 1994. * Elazar, Daniel J. Cities of the Prairie: The Metropolitan Frontier and American Politics. New York: Basic Books. 1970. * Ellis, Richard J. ''American Political Cultures''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. * Fischer, David Hackett. ''Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. * Garreau, Joel. ''The Nine Nations of North America''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981. * Hartz, Louis. ''The Liberal Tradition in America: An Interpretation of American Political Thought since the Revolution''. Orlando: Harcourt, 1955. * Key, V. O., Jr. ''Southern Politics''. New York: Vintage Books, 1949. * Kincaid, John ed. Political Culture, Public Policy and the American States. Philadelphia: ISHI Press, 1982. * Leyburn, James G. Scotch-Irish: A Social History (1999; ISBN 0-8078-4259-1) * Martis, Kenneth C. and Gregory A. Elmes. ''The Historical Atlas of State Power in Congress, 1790–1990''. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1993. * Meinig, D. W. ''Continental America, 1800–1867''. Vol. 2 of The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1993. * Rentfrow, Peter J., et al. “Divided We Stand: Three Psychological Regions of the United States and Their Political, Economic, Social, and Health Correlates.” ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology'' (October 14, 2013): 996–1012. * Wilson, Thomas D. ''The Ashley Cooper Plan: The Founding of Carolina and the Origins of Southern Political Culture.'' Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2016. * Wood, Peter H. ''Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion''. New York: W. W. Norton, 1974. * Woodard, Colin. ''American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America''. New York: Viking, 2011. * Wyatt-Brown, Bertram. ''Southern Honor: Ethics and Behavior in the Old South''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.


External links


The Eleven Nations of the United States
(July 30, 2018;
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
)
.US .us is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United States. It was established in early 1985. Registrants of .us domains must be U.S. citizens, residents, or organizations, or a foreign entity with a presence in the United ...
culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...