Daniel Elazar, Bogus or Brilliant: A Study of Political Culture Across the American States American states each have individual political cultures which are important to our understanding of their political environments, behavior, and responses to particular issues. While voters probably do not consciously think about political culture and conform to that culture on election day, they seem to form cohesive clusters in different areas of the state, creating similar group political ideologies. Because of these similarities, it is possible to measure the dominant political culture within states or areas of a state, gaining insight into the mind-set of state residents. Whatever the state culture, whether liberal or conservative, participatory or exclusive, political culture identifies dominant, state-wide trends. The question remains whether there is an accurate way to measure this political culture phenomenon in the United States. Many studies try to measure political culture within states, but some political scientists are wary of assigning state political cultures because such measurements may be of dubious empirical grounding. While the process may not be entirely empirically sound, different state political cultures seem to exist and demand further analysis. In 1966, Daniel Elazar published his now famous assessment of United States’ political cultures. His evaluation of state cultures has been the focus of much study and criticism over the past three decades. Elazar proposes that the political culture in the United States developed in different regions due to east to west migratory patterns moving across the continent. Patterns of political culture were established during the Western frontier migration, as individuals followed “lines of least resistance which generally led them due west from the immediately previous area of settlement” (Elazar, 1966: 99). As a result, like-minded individuals migrated together and stayed together, causing similar political ideology to transform into a dominant political culture (Elazar, 1994). Political cultures are dominant in certain areas of the country due to westward expansion. Moralism characterizes communitarian-agrarian New England and the far northern states, while the agrarianism of the middle states is individualistic. Traditionalism dominates the South and its plantation agrarianism structure. Typically, moralistic political cultures focus on agrarianism, individualism on commerce, and traditionalism on aristocratic legitimacy. These differing foci help to categorize Elazar’s political cultures in the United States (Elazar 1984: 119, 122). Elazar’s political culture typology divides state political culture into three dominant categories: moralist, individualist, and traditionalist. Moralists measure government by its commitment to the public good and concern for public welfare.
"The Broken Spears" by Miguel Leon-Portilla gives a different perspective on the defeat of the Aztecs. Through reasons such as religion and culture beliefs, the Spanish technological advancement, and their strategy of gaining alliances in the new land contributed to the defeat of the Aztecs. The two factors that played the biggest roles were the poor leadership of Motechuhzoma and the timing of the plague. Those two factors were indeed what brought down this great Empire.
9. Palmer, Colin A. Slaves of the White God: Blacks in Mexico, 1570-1650. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1976.
Explaining Policy Differences Using Political Culture. "West Texas A&M University. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. http://www.wtamu.edu/~jrausch/polcul.html "THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MILIEU OF TEXAS POLITICS."
A Democratic Party long ruled by moderates and conservatives succeeded in stunting what seemed like the natural growth of a successful Republican Party until the 1990s. Since then, various forces have contributed to the growth of the Republicans, and in the end, to an altering of the core membership of each party. Most recently, the state has seen the development of a dominant Republican Party that doesn't yet hold quite the dominion the Democrats enjoyed through most of the twentieth century. The Republican Party has certainly benefited from the defection of former Democrats, the arrival of Republicans and independents from out of state, and organizational difficulties in the Democratic Party. Thus, Republican officials dominate state government, and Democrats find themselves reduced, for the present, to the status of an embattled minority party seeking to recreate themselves among their voting and financial constituencies. This is showing that the newfound Republican dominance can be the beginning of a new strong party system, or if we are in a state of transition in which the terms of political competition are still in change. If it is a new party system, I don’t think it will be very durable or last too long for that matter. Now, it seems that Republican dominance of state government will
The Spanish defeat of the Aztecs has been extensively criticized for many years. Religion was a motive for discovery, enabled the Spanish to enter the heart of the empire, and was used as justification for torture of the natives. The centrality of religion as a force in Spanish conquest is undeniable. Virtually all of Aztec culture was destroyed and the Spanish victory has had lasting effects for both natives and Europeans up to and including the present-day.
In the United States, for the last four decades, from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan through the two Bush Presidencies, the Republican Party won the White House by amassing large margins among white voters (Lizza.) The state of Texas has been reliably Republican since the 1970s and there are various elements to Texas political culture that can be narrowed down to three essential ideological trends: economic liberalism, or faith in the free market economy, social conservatism, or favoring traditional values and moralism, and populism, or promoting the rights and worthiness of ordinary people (Texas Political Culture.) As a result, the dominant political mood in Texas favors low taxes, minimal government services, and policies that are pro-business. This phenomenon is not static, however, since changing demographics in the state are causing changes in the profile of Texas in reference to electoral politics, among other major issues. This paper will explore different perspectives about the changing demographics of Texas, and where they might lead the state politically, and will present a variety of viewpoints regarding this complex subject.
Prohibition was designed to rid the country of businesses that manufactured, sold, and or distributed alcoholic beverages. The eighteenth amendment made it a violation of the constitution to do and of the before mentioned. This was a crime punishable up to the Supreme Court. The original idea was that Americans as a whole were unhealthy, there was too much crime and corruption, and that people were being burdened by excess taxes that poorhouses and prisons were creating. What happened? The cheap alcohol being illegally produced killed more Americans, crime and corruption went up, taxes were raised to fund the law enforcement needed to enforce prohibition, and the prisons became overcrowded.
The United States of America has engaged in the battle known as political polarization since before its foundation in 1776. From the uprising against the powerful British nation to the political issues of today, Americans continue to debate about proper ideology and attempt to choose a side that closely aligns with their personal beliefs. From decade to decade, Americans struggle to determine a proper course of action regarding the country as a whole and will often become divided on important issues. Conflicts between supporters of slavery and abolitionists, between agriculturalists and industrialists, and between industrial workers and capitalists have fueled the divide. At the Congressional level there tends to be a more prevalent display of polarization and is often the blame of Congress’ inefficiency. James Madison intentionally designed Congress to be inefficient by instating a bicameral legislation. Ambition would counter ambition and prevent majority tyranny. George Washington advised against political parties that would contribute to polarization and misrepresentation in his Farewell Address of 1796. Washington warns, “One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.” Today, the struggle to increase power between political parties results in techniques to gain even the smallest marginal gains. To truly understand political polarization, we must examine data collected through a variety of means, the effects of rapidly changing technology, and observe what techniques are used to create such a polarized political system.
Prohibition originated in the nineteenth century but fully gained recognition in the twentieth century. The Prohibition was originally known as the Temperance Movement. In the 1820s and 1830s, a wave of religious revivalism developed in the United States, leading to increased calls for temperance, as well as other reform movements such as the abolition of slavery (“Prohibition”). These reforms were often led by middle class women. The abolition of slavery became a more important topic of debate until after the Civil War. By the turn of the century, temperance societies were a common thing throughout the communities in the United States (“Prohibition”). Women advocated the unity of the family, and they believed alcohol prevented such a thing. Drunken husbands only brought about negativity to the home, and women could not support that behavior. Suffragists, in their pursuit for voting rights, also sought to eliminate alcohol from the home. Small-scale legislation had been passed in several states, but no national laws had been enacted. On January 29, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified by Congress; it banned t...
In Daniel Elizar's subcultures traditional, moralistic and individualistic have different meaning and roles in the political system. Daniel Elizar’s divided the states in subculture to show how the states are divided in the different government system. In the individualistic political culture the politicians and the citizens are concerned with the private problems within the society. It is based services on patronage and constituent services. The goal in the individualistic political is to hand out payoffs to the supporters. This can be a corruption in the individualistic culture. Also, individualistic political culture can be a dirty business, which cans persuade citizens on whether or not to participate in any government activities besides
Graham, TE. (1998) Effects of Caffeine on Metabolism, Exercise Endurance and Catecholamine Responses and Withdrawl. London
The idea of political culture is found within the state’s history. The history of the state is impacted by the people settled in the region, religious backgrounds, and geography. The history of the state influences the attitudes and beliefs that people hold regarding their political system. Daniel Elazar theorized a connection between the states’ history and attitude towards government by explaining differences in government between states. Every state is different with some common ground. Elazar’s theory divides states into three types: moralistic, traditionalistic and individualistic. The state’s constitution defines the powers of government with political culture bias. Because of the state constitution, the political culture influences the power and limitations of governors, legislative, and judiciaries.
The repeal of prohibition is the 21st Amendment, to make alcohol legal in the states. Some people did not was the repeal to happen they thought prohibition was a good thing; it could make the world a better place. The repeal of prohibition was agreed. A lot of people wanted to make alcohol legal in the states. Some people did not like the repeal because alcohol could kill a lot of people. The Temperance Movement group planned to extend prohibition all over the world. (Rodney Web)
The history of the Western hemisphere is full of war and conquest. One of the most significant and defining of those conquests is the downfall of the Mexica/Aztec Empire. While there are many other events to choose from, this one stands out since it was one over one of the largest empires in Central America. It is also important to look at because of the immense cultural impact it had. The story of this takeover reads like a movie script, a small band of Spaniards single handedly takes down the most powerful empire in Central America. It was an epic battle, which unfortunately led to the destruction of a magnificent culture. As in any major historical event there are many underlying themes and storylines that come together to make the event happen. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec is no different. Three major themes are seen in this struggle. One of them is the incredible advantage that the Spaniards technology gave them over the Aztecs. A second major theme is the greed that fueled the conquests in the New World. The last major theme was the effect of the political divisions and rivalries within Montezuma’s Central American Kingdom. As this historical event progressed each one of these themes began to intertwine until they became an almost unstoppable force.
Overall, the Prohibition was an experimental and learning period of time for the United States of America. The government was convinced that it could possibly solve many of the societal problems in the U.S. This resulted in them passing the 18th Amendment and The Volstead Act, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and distribution of liquor. Due to this, gangsters and mobsters ruled the Alcohol Industry. When citizens and government realized this Prohibition was not having the positive benefits they expected, the 21st Amendment was passed, repealing the prohibition and returning America’s favorite pass time to them.