American Politics Commons^™

American Voter Attitudes Towards Divided Government, Tyler Ferrari

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Divided government has been a major part of American politics for decades, and it has made governing often difficult at times. Recently, this type of government has proven to be especially frustrating for many voters, so why do they vote to keep this government? Are there partisan reasons for voting for a split ticket, or is the answer more fundamental? This paper highlights the facts and reasons for polarization, ranging from ideology to trust in the federal government as a whole. This paper utilizes the ANES 2012 Study to illustrate that it is not just political ideology that plays a …

Resistance., Empire Resistance, Risd Archives

Politics

Advertisement for strategic planning session for 2016 post-election resistance.

Post Campaign Artists And Designers In Action, Risd Research, Risd Archives

Politics

Advertisement for a RISD Community meeting to contemplate the meaning of the 2016 Presidential Election and next steps for political and cultural engagement.

This Isn't Us, Nick Unknown, Risd Archives

Politics

Political protest poster. Anti-Trump poster post 2016 presidential election.

No! Signs Of Protest, S. Smith, Risd Archives

Politics

Advertisement asking for posters and images related to post-election protests.

Can Gianforte’S Millions Buy Montana’S Governorship?, Evan Barrett

Highlands College

A newspaper column by Evan Barrett.

Published newspaper columns written by Evan Barrett on this topic, which vary somewhat in content from this commentary, appeared in the following publications:

Montana Standard, October 24, 2016

Drake, Kentucky - Precinct Directory (Sc 3054), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscript Small Collection 3054. Precinct Directory and Voting List for Drake Precinct, Warren County, Kentucky. Contains voters’ names, post office, occupation, party affiliation, race and sex. The list appears to have been compiled for an election to be held on 8 November 1927.

How Civility Works, Keith Bybee

Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media at Syracuse University

Is civility dead? Americans ask this question every election season, but their concern is hardly limited to political campaigns. Doubts about civility regularly arise in just about every aspect of American public life. Rudeness runs rampant. Our news media is saturated with aggressive bluster and vitriol. Our digital platforms teem with expressions of disrespect and trolls. Reflecting these conditions, surveys show that a significant majority of Americans believe we are living in an age of unusual anger and discord. Everywhere we look, there seems to be conflict and hostility, with shared respect and consideration nowhere to be found. In a …

Election Districts - Warren County, Kentucky (Sc 3050), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3050. Class action complaint filed by five voters in U.S. District Court, Bowling Green, Kentucky, alleging malapportionment of election districts. The complaint seeks declarative and injunctive relief against the current apportionment and against holding a primary election for justices of the peace and constables. Details of the previous and current apportionments are included.

Litigation Reform: An Institutional Approach, Stephen B. Burbank, Sean Farhang

Sean Farhang

The program of regulation through private litigation that Democratic Congresses purposefully created starting in the late 1960s soon met opposition emanating primarily from the Republican party. In the long campaign for retrenchment that began in the Reagan administration, consequential reform proved difficult and ultimately failed in Congress. Litigation reformers turned to the courts and, in marked contrast to their legislative failure, were well-rewarded, achieving growing rates of voting support from an increasingly conservative Supreme Court on issues curtailing private enforcement under individual statutes. We also demonstrate that the judiciary’s control of procedure has been central to the campaign to retrench …

How The City Of Indianapolis Came To Have African American Policemen And Firemen 80 Years Before The Modern Civil Rights Movement., Leon E. Bates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores a series of events that occurred in the spring of 1876. The relationship between the Indianapolis city government, the Marion County Courts, the Indianapolis Police Department, and the African American community came together to usher in changes never before envisioned. The Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) was formed in 1855, then disbanded 12 months later in a political dispute. From 1857-to-1876, the IPD was all white. These changes took place as the Reconstruction era was coming to a close. The first Ku Klux Klan was at its apex, terrorizing black communities, and Jim Crow was coming into its …

American Popular Culture, Politics, And Comedy: How Saturday Nigh Live Delivers The "News", Jillian Callanan

Honors Theses

Saturday Night Live has delved into the realm of politics throughout its forty-one seasons as a means of generating humor through satirical and parodical representations of politicians. This thesis explores Saturday Night Live during election years in particular, when the show generates a great deal of its content from the surrounding political atmosphere to comment on the issues at hand in a way that most often contrasts the style of reporting done by traditional hard news programs. The increasing role of entertainment in news delivery sheds light on the blurred lines between news and entertainment news, and this thesis will …

Defending A Mixed Economy, Herbert J. Hovenkamp

All Faculty Scholarship

This essay reviews Jacob S. Hacker's and Paul Pierson's very engaging book, American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us to Forget what Made America Prosper (2016).

Newspaper Coverage Of U.S. Senate Debates, William L. Benoit, Corey Davis

Speaker & Gavel

Political debates are important message forms, capable of informing and in-fluencing voters. However, news coverage of debates informs and influences both those who watch, and those who do not watch, the debates. This study compared the content (functions and topics) of 10 U.S. Senate debates from 1998-2004 with the content of newspaper articles about those particular debates. Newspaper coverage of debates was significantly more negative than the debates themselves, reporting a higher percentage of attacks and a smaller percentage of acclaims than the candidates employed. The newspaper articles also stressed character more, and policy less, than the candidates. This journalistic …

Politics Between And Within Us: Authenticity And Theatricality In Modern Political Thought, Daniel J. Mccool

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation details the ways in which two distinct models of politics — the politics of authenticity and the politics of theatricality — have influenced political rhetoric and activity in America and beyond. The focus on authenticity in politics goes back to the ancients, yet it has taken on greater political significance in the modern era. Morally-charged language of “telling the truth”, or “being oneself” in politics has meant that public judgment and analysis has increasingly focused on the interiority of the speaker: one’s intentions, feelings and consistency, rather than on the persuasive case one is attempting to communicate. In …

Campaign Announcement Analysis: Carly Fiorina, Kelly M. Wingerson

Rhetorical Analyses of the Announcement Speeches of Presidential Hopefuls

An application of Medhurst’s (2005) conceptual overview of presidential campaign on Carly Fiorina's announcement for her presidential run.

Ben Carson, Zacary W. Jaconetti

Rhetorical Analyses of the Announcement Speeches of Presidential Hopefuls

No abstract provided.

Phrases, Politics, And Paul, Kathryn E. Krajewski Ms.

Rhetorical Analyses of the Announcement Speeches of Presidential Hopefuls

This paper is an analysis of the language used in presidential candidate Rand Paul's 2015 Announcement Speech. After reading this paper, the reader should have a better understanding in general about how politicians use language to try to obtain more supporters and to get more people to vote for them.

The Records & Papers Of The New York State Women’S Political Caucus, Brooklyn College

Finding Aids

The New York State Women’s Political Caucus is a thriving branch of the national organization. Adele Cohen, the creator of this collection, was highly involved with the organization on the state and national level and served as the president of the New York State caucus from 1992-1994. She began her association with NWPC in the 1980s and remained actively involved after her presidency.

The documents in this collection range in date from the late 1980s to the early 2000s and include information on the governance and activities of the organization as well as correspondence, newsletters, and endorsements.

The Papers Of Peter James Mcguinness, Brooklyn College

Finding Aids

The Papers of Peter J. McGuinness profiles the political career of Peter McGuinness, his power in the local Brooklyn Democratic party and in city government, as well as his civic dedication to the place he called “The Garden Spot of the World,” his neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. McGuiness held was an elected official from 1919 to 1948.

The bulk of this collection is in the form of large scrapbooks containing news clippings collected by McGuiness. The eleventh box contains correspondence, speeches, photographs and personal memorabilia.

Remaking American Greatness, Aubrey M. Waddick

Op-Ed Pieces

Op Eds, or opinion editorials, are typically published in daily newspapers and can raise awareness about a particular topic or aim to persuade others. For this project each student wrote an op-ed in which they presented their opinion or thoughts about the issue of islamophobic discourse coming from Republican candidates, especially Donald Trump.

Beware Twitter: Trump's Mouth Lies, 2econd Amendment, Risd Archives

Politics

Anti-Trump poster.

Down With Trumpets, Risd Archives

Politics

Letterpress anti-Trump poster.

Trump As A Chicken, Students Of Risd

Politics

Political protest poster. Anti-Trump poster caricature of Trump as a chicken.

Exposed, Students Of Risd

Politics

Political protest poster. Anti-Trump, anti-Ted Cruz, anti-Republican poster. Test reads: "You're not homophobic. You're just a republican. Exposed. The political use of homophobia has become a ubiquitous part of the contemporary political landscape and political gain."

Trump As A Beaver, Students Of Risd

Politics

Political protest poster. Anti-Trump poster caricature of Trump as a beaver.

Who Supports Donald J. Trump?: A Narrative-Based Analysis Of His Supporters And Of The Candidate Himself, Mitchell A. Carlson 7886304

Summer Research

The rise of Donald J. Trump in the 2016 presidential election cycle has astounded the media, the Washington political establishment, and the general public. A former reality TV star, tabloid subject, and creator of a global luxury brand, Trump is by no means what many would have expected from the Republican Party, with its establishment ready for a complete repudiation of Democratic control of the executive branch. This project sought to understand what accounts for mobilization behind Trump, to recognize the political identity of the Trump voter, and to challenge the notion that Trump supporters are “crazy,” racist, uneducated, or …

Voting, Politics, And Gender: Has America Paved The Way For A Female President?, Hannah Bower

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of candidate gender on voting behavior in presidential elections in the United States. By delving into the vice presidential nominations of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and Sarah Palin in 2008, I provided the baseline for the experiences of Carly Fiorina and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns in 2016. Ultimately, I present the argument that the United States is ready for a female president, either this year or in the near future.

Forces Of Change: Silicon Valley's Developing Relationship With American Government, Marissa C. Mirbach

CMC Senior Theses

Silicon Valley has increased its political engagement over the past decade, and is becoming an increasingly powerful force in government. It defies traditional affiliation labels, and behaves differently than other industries. It embodies a blend of altruism and self-interest, which guides its interactions with government and its intentions in affecting policy changes. In order to better understand Silicon Valley's political life, this thesis outlines a brief history of its development, and then delves into three policy issues: education reform, immigration reform and encryption and security. This focus allows for an up-close, detailed look at the multi-faceted relationship between Silicon Valley …

The Role Of Religiously Affiliated Law Schools In The Renewal Of American Democracy, Bruce Ledewitz

Bruce Ledewitz