Political Ideals and Beliefs - AP Government and Politics

Political socialization is the term given to the transmission of political beliefs and ideology from one generation to the next. Specifically, it refers to the fact that young people, more often than not, adopt the beliefs and voting patterns of their parents.

The term political socialization refers to the process through which people develop their political beliefs and affiliations. Agents of political socialization can include (but are not limited to) families, the media, friends, schools, and religious communities.

Rational-choice theory states that when picking a candidate for any branch of government, the voter is most likely to pick a candidate that will best serve his or her interests. For example, a wealthy person is most likely to vote for someone who will protect the interests of the wealthy. This is in contrast to the more ideological notion that a voter should pick a candidate who will serve the greatest good for the country.

Keynesian economic theory is derived from the writings of British economist John Maynard Keynes in the 1930s. The theory primarily contends that the government should wield greater economic influence during times of recession and depression to aid the recovery of the economy. As an economic theory, it was most influential during the Great Depression, but has seen a resurgence during the recent recession of the early twenty-first century.

Libertarianism is a political philosophy that takes its name from original liberalism. Libertarians believe that the government should be very small and have limited powers. They favor a completely free and unregulated economy and believe the government should not be able to interfere in social or private life, or regulate personal liberty.

All of these social groups are correctly matched with the political party that members of that social group are considered most likely to vote for. African Americans, women, and people living in cities have recently been more likely to vote for a candidate from the Democratic Party. White men, very wealthy individuals, devout protestants, and people from rural backgrounds have recently been more likely to vote Republican.

Political socialization is the term given to the process by which an individual comes to their political opinions and feelings. It is how someone decides what they believe and who they will vote for. The most important factors are usually parents, economic background, and the media.

Political socialization is the long and complex process by which an individual citizen acquires a political identity: it includes the individuals for whom they might vote, what issues they support, and how seriously they take their political responsibilities (and the political system in general). Political socialization is primarily directed by family life, but there is a myriad of other factors, including education, the media, and affiliation with some special group, like a trade union.

Jefferson wrote about inalienable rights which were given to people by their creator. He also went on to describe that no government should have the authority to infringe on these rights. Much of the Declaration of Independence revolves around the idea of protecting the rights of individuals.

Many enlightenment writes challenges the authority of long established monarchs. Locke and Rousseau argued that government should be based on the consent of the governed, this is a fundamental idea behind a number of constitutional elements of American democracy.

Civic responsibility, also called "civic duty," refers to the idea that all eligible American citizens have a duty to vote and engage actively with the democratic political process. Individual rights refers to the idea that all individuals have certain inalienable rights that cannot be violated or impressed upon by the government. America has supposedly equal ability to compete economically, but true economic equality cannot realistically be a feature of a capitalist society.

The term “honeymoon period” is used to refer to the inflation of popularity that a president generally receives shortly after being elected. For the vast majority of presidents, their popularity reaches its peak shortly after coming into office and then declines until they are either voted out of office or their term limits expire.

Thomas Jefferson in particular argued that employees could not freely exercise democratic privileges because their bosses would inevitably force them to vote as the bosses wished. Jefferson believed that democracy must occur in public, every man aware of his neighbors' positions. While many of the other answers sound plausible, it's important to consider the philosophy of a figure as influential and ideological as Thomas Jefferson.

You can immediately eliminate the forms of government that were not advocated by the Founding Fathers: monarchy, aristocracy, and oligarchy. James Madison wrote in Federalist #10 about the dangers of many factions. He believed that these factions would arise as a result of a direct democracy. For him, the representative democracy would be the best form of government because it allowed for the expression of ideas, but for these ideas to be put through the filter of representatives in the government.

Police powers are the powers, given to the legislative branch of government, to legislate for the health, safety, welfare, and morals of the people. Police powers were commonly used by the states to take care of internal affairs. When constructing the Constitution, it was recognized that the states had lots of power through police powers; therefore, the national government needed more.

A person's political beliefs, being multifaceted and complicated, are shaped by a variety of factors, including religious background, education, employment history, and income level. In fact, almost anything, from homeownership to family size, has a direct influence on a person's voting behavior and political involvement.

The issue of gun ownership and gun rights is most likely to create a massive gender gap in the pattern of voting. Women are generally against gun ownership, whereas men are generally in favor of it; of course, this is a broad generalization. Perhaps surprisingly, there is a small, but not massive, gender gap on issues such as women’s rights and gay rights.

Followers of Judaism are by far the most likely religious group in contemporary America to have liberal opinions on issues and to vote for liberal candidates. The religious right, predominantly Southern Protestants, are the most likely group to vote conservatively on issues.

Since the 1980 election, there has been a very clear voting pattern in American general elections, where women are much more likely than men to vote for a candidate from the Democratic Party. The two largest gender discrepancies in American history have occurred during the successful elections of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Men are more likely to vote for gun ownership rights, but men are also more likely to vote for a decreased role of government. Women are more likely to support affirmative action to encourage racial and social equality.

The term, Solid South, was historically used, from the end of the Civil War until the middle of the 1960s, to refer to the fact that the South almost always voted for the Democratic Party. This was born, in part, out of the South’s response to the Republican party’s northern associations during the Civil War and its aftermath. These days, the "Solid South" could just as easily be applied to the fact that the South very consistently votes Republican.