American Politics Commons^™

A Literature Review Of Intrapersonal Interventions To Reduce Partisan Affective Polarization, Katrina Powers

A with Honors Projects

This literature review examines research conducted on intrapersonal interventions for the reduction of partisan affective polarization.

S11, E05: The Department Of Justice, Nia Rodgers, John Aughenbaugh

Civil Discourse Podcast

Aughie and Nia move on to the next department in the series, the Department of Justice. They discuss the various Attorneys General, the structure of the Department of Justice, and interesting tidbits about the history, political intrigues, and the people who have served within the DoJ.

From The End Of Politics To Legitimate Opposition: Political Perceptions Of The 37th Congress Of The United States In The North 1860-1862, Lauren Dubas

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper intends to explore the political landscape of the Union during the first two years of the Civil War, specifically how the people in the North perceived what remained of the Congress from 1860-1862. I will be using a combination of primary and secondary sources to cover the 37^th Congress of the United States, whose members were elected in 1860 and legislated until the next Congressional election in 1862. My research shows several significant stages in the political landscape during this period and uses these stages of partisan politics as the foundation for understanding how the federal government, …

Setting The Stage For Representation: Women Candidates And Moderators' Impact On The Prevalence Of Women's Issues In Presidential Primary Debates, Hannah Groetsch

Senior Independent Study Theses

This Independent Study explores how women’s increased presence in presidential primary debates impacts the extent to which women’s issues are discussed in the debates. Prior research on political representation and critical mass theory indicates that women politicians can turn their identity as women (descriptive representation) into action that benefits their women constituents (substantive representation) by adding women’s voices and lived experiences into the political conversation. I capitalize on the 2020 election being the first where multiple women presidential candidates ran against each other, allowing me to see whether the increase in the number of women participating in the Democratic primary …

Digital Pulpit: A Thematic Analysis Of Evangelical Leaders’ Statements On Twitter In The Two Weeks Following The January 6 Capitol Riot, Everett Belle Kirkman

Honors Theses

White evangelicals overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. According to the Pew Research Center, 81% voted for him. That support baffled pundits at first but held up throughout his presidency. By the time the 2020 election season was ramping up, White evangelicals who supported Trump held more tightly to their beliefs, many taking to social media to convey their opinions. Since the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, over 600 outspoken Trump supporters have been arrested and charged for inciting violence in dispute of election results. This research is a thematic content analysis of the statements …

Does Fear Of Government Corruption Affect Voter Turnout?, Ryan Nahmias

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

According to the Survey of American Fears (2020-2021) fear of corrupt government officials is the number one thing Americans fear: 79.6 % of them in fact. In addition, voter turnout is one of the quintessential pillars that allows a democracy to function properly. In this paper I will examine the extent to which fear of government officials’ corruption affects voter turnout. Using the data from the Chapman Survey of American Fears and variables from the American National Election Study between 2020 and 2021, I expect to find a moderately strong relationship between fear of government corruption and voter turnout. Moreover, …

Institute For Public Policy Statewide Poll - October 2021, Institute For Public Policy

Public Policy Poll Results

The Sacred Heart University Institute for Public Policy leveraged a digital methodology quantitative research approach to address the following areas of investigation:

• Thoughts on the quality of life in Connecticut
• Governor Ned Lamont’s job approval ratings
• Sentiments and habits around volunteerism and donating to charities
• Understanding of, and beliefs around, Critical Race Theory
• Voting plans for 2021 Connecticut Municipal elections
• Thoughts on COVID-19, mask mandates and distribution of the vaccine
• Changes in marijuana attitudes and usage after legalization
• Thoughts on school policies around transgender students
• Thoughts on incentives for energy-efficient natural gas heating
• Demographic profiles of respondents.

“This Crisis Of Our History”: The Colored Conventions Movement And The Temporal Construction Of Southern Politics, Paul E. Herron

Political Science Faculty Publications

After defeat in the Civil War, the white South used time as a tool of political oppression. Myths of the “Old South” and the “Lost Cause” distorted history and public memory; vagrancy laws and labor regulations controlled the time of the newly free; grandfather clauses distributed rights based on past conditions; and attacks on education, labor, and democratic rights undermined progress in the “New South.” In this article, I show that Black southerners also recognized the political value of time. My source for their sentiments is the Colored Conventions Movement. From 1865 to 1900, dozens of conventions gathered in the …

Sermon From The Capitol Hill: Abraham Lincoln’S Usage Of The Bible In His Second Inaugural, Ben Atwood

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

While President Abraham Lincoln’s religious life evades easy explanation, his love for the Bible and its teachings cannot be denied. He frequently laced his speeches with Biblical ideas and language, capturing the attention of a Biblically-aware audience. The question of Lincoln’s attraction to the Bible removed from organized religion deserves consideration. The Bible’s distinct role in Lincoln’s speeches may have peaked with Lincoln’s Second Inaugural address. Given March 4, 1865, only six weeks before his assassination, the Second Inaugural may read as the president’s “last will and testament,” a final opportunity to preach to his nation.

Author information: Ben Atwood …

Postmodernity, Chance, And Judicial Interpretation, Tanner Love

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

This essay is about postmodern thought’s view of chance as compared to ancient and modern thought, and how this view turns judicial interpretation into a game of force.

Author information: Tanner Love graduated from Jacksonville State University with degrees in political science and English and is studying law at the University of Alabama School of Law.

Too Much Of A Good Thing?: A Review Of Overdoing Democracy, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Cultivating civic friendship doesn’t start with transforming society; it begins on an individual level."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Overdoing Democracy: Why We Must Put Politics in its Place from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/too-much-of-a-good-thing-a-review-of-overdoing-democracy/

Educational Attainment And Social Norms Of Voting, Eric Hansen, Andrew Tyner

Political Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Why does the likelihood of voting increase with education in the U.S.? Prominent theories attribute education’s effect to human capital, which affords individuals resources needed to participate, but neglect social motivations. We test a theory of internalized social norms as another contributing factor, providing evidence in three studies. First, we show that highly educated people are more likely to view voting as a civic duty, and that civic duty partially mediates the effect of education on voting. Second, we show education is associated with a higher likelihood of overreporting voting in the 2016 election. Third, we show that educated respondents …

Christian Identity Meets Identity Politics: A Lutheran Approach To Political Engagement, Michael Hanson

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Identity politics has become a frequently referenced and much maligned term used to describe a trend in political engagement in the early 21^st century. Identity politics is employed across the political spectrum and has critics on both the left and right in the United States. Christian Identity Meets Identity Politics examines the contours of identity politics to understand and consider the concerns which lead neighbors to engage in identity politics, accounts for the needs of those neighbors who are denied God’s gift of justice through the state, considers criticisms leveled against identity politics within the greater view of Western …

A League Of Their Own: A Textual Analysis Of The Spiral Of Silence, Media Representation, And The Intersection Of Gender And Race In Politics, Asya Symone Robinson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Within the past fifty years, women and women of color have become active in the USA political sphere. However, there is still a visible gender and racial gap in politics that can be associated with uneven societal progression. This gap is documented through the media representation of women in politics. Analysis of the media coverage of Geraldine Ferraro, Sarah Palin, and Kamala Harris revealed four themes: Experience, Strength, Likeability, and Appearance. These themes are used to misrepresent women in politics and influence voter evaluations. This study analyzed how the layer of the evaluations is dependent upon not only gender but …

Qanon: The Effects Of Radical Ideology On Conspiracy Belief, Sam Andrus

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The study of conspiracy theories has existed for many decades, however, a new species of conspiracy, labeled QAnon, has surfaced in recent years - QAnon theories are directly tied to current radical politics and former President Donald Trump. My research will aim to explain how the outlandish and often racist beliefs of QAnon followers have come to be not only believed but have affected so many people that a terrorist attack on the United States Capitol occurred as a result. My research will include analysis of the Chapman Survey of American Fears which includes people on both sides of the …

Presidential Rhetoric And Media's Contribution To The Subjective Nature Of Truth In American Democracy, Bianca Miccolis

English Honors Theses

This thesis examines the role of media on the subjectivity of truth in presidential rhetoric and its ethical implications. In my three case studies, I find that there is some form of deception by each president in their chosen form of media. I analyze Roosevelt’s use of the radio, which he uses to hide his disability and gain more executive power to combat the Great Depression. I examine Reagan’s use of television and how he fabricates an intimate relationship with the American people to enact tax reform. Finally, I investigate Trump’s use of Twitter to deflect negative publicity as he …

Women, Money, And Politics: Do Female Politicians Raise As Much Money As Men?, Taylor Harris

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to answer if female politicians raise as much money as male politicians. In order to answer this question, I collected data from the Harvard MIT Election Data Science Lab. It has every candidate that ran in the general election for the House of Representatives from 1976 through 2018, but, for the purpose of this project, only the Presidential election years from 1980 through 2016 are used in this data set. It also includes how much money they raised, what state they are from, and what party the candidate was affiliated with. This data set also accounts for …

Predicting And Measuring Support For Populism, Jay Rumas

Senior Honors Projects

Through reading the most recent research and case examples, I have discovered that the conventional wisdom on how political actors appeal to voters is rather obsolete. I have done my best to establish a profile of the “populist voter” and predict which parties they may be inclined to support. Cas Mudde, an expert on populist movements, labels populism as the use of a narrative that constructs the struggle of “the people (the majority) vs “the elite'' for political purposes. It has neither a positive or negative connotation. Populist movements often appeal to those among groups that feel as though they …

Perilous Place: Personal Stories Point To Possible Solutions To Widespread Flooding In The Mississippi Delta, Jared Poland

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and create journalistic stories highlighting the Yazoo Backwater Pumps Projects relationship to climate change while utilizing narrative storytelling techniques. Before explaining the methodology used for conducting research and interviews, the researcher describes the influence that innovations of mass communication channels have had on the way humans form groups and persuasively advocate for their positions. The researcher describes their historical perspective of mass media innovations that were vital considerations during their discovery and investigation of this politically divisive issue. The researcher more specifically focuses on the innovations that have occurred since the digital …

Underrepresentation Of Women In American Politics, Lindsey Crane

Master's Theses

In this project I studied why women are underrepresented in state legislatures. I conducted a data set ranging from 2000 to 2018 for forty-three US states, analyzing the percentage of women who won and the number of women who ran in the elections. Using this data, I found evidence that personal life choices have the most effect on rather women want to run for political office and successfully pursue political careers. Having this specific quantitative dataset, the study provides a better understanding to why women are still widely underrepresented on the state level. I also find that my independent variables …

A Study Of Undergraduate Major On The Youth Electorate Within The Bryant Community, Jenna Birnbohm-Kaminski

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

This thesis will carefully explore the relationship between undergraduate college major, and political participation and affiliation of young voters (ages 18-29). There has been a great deal of research in the field of voter behavior about this generation of young voters, and how they will impact the new electorate and overall political climate. An increasing commonality amongst young people is an undergraduate education of some kind. However, undergraduate students can choose their area of study, thus differentiating the exposure to information and experience of each student at a very impressionable time in their lives. A study of the political behavior …

Hate Speech Laws In Democratic Countries, Sean Lehning

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

In contrast to the United States policy of protecting hateful expression, a survey of democracy indices indicates that dozens of democracies have hate speech laws that restrict it. This challenges assumptions of debate in the United States by showing such restrictions are feasible in a free society.

Author information: Sean Lehning is currently a law student at Northern Illinois University College of Law. This research project built on his political science background and inspired him to go to law school, while he continues to research issues of free expression and hate speech.

Civil Warfare: Where U.S. And Russian Policy Meet Civil Society In Eurasia, Robert Q. Carolan

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Civil society in Eurasia is not always a friend to Washington, and is, at times, an ally to Moscow. This paper reviews select Eurasian civil society organizations and their role in Russian hybrid warfare.

Author information: Robert Quinn Carolan is a master’s student at Sciences Po’s Paris School of Public of Affairs (PSIA) and the Moscow State Institute of Foreign Affairs (MGIMO) (University) and alumnus of Northern Illinois University. He wrote this piece in coordination with the NIU Student Engagement Fund and as a US Gilman Scholar in Ukraine.

The Implications Of A National Popular Vote For President, Julia Jackman

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Defenders of the winner-take-all method of the Electoral College predict that implementing a national popular vote would cause less-densely populated cities and states to be forgotten in presidential elections. This paper takes a quantitative approach to evaluate that claim.

Author information: Julia Jackman is a senior at Barrett, the Honors College, at Arizona State University. She is majoring in Biochemistry and Global Health and minoring in Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. Julia plans to pursue graduate studies in refugee studies and global health before applying for medical school.

Individualism And Self-Interest In Atlas Shrugged, Kush Desai

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

The dystopian world portrayed in Atlas Shrugged is an example of the collectivist ideal gone awry. Rand demonstrates the victory of the “men of ability” over the looters and the triumph of self-interest over collective duty.

Author information: Kush Desai is a third-year student studying Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin.

U.S. Government And Politics In Principle And Practice: Democracy, Rights, Freedoms And Empire, Samuel Finesurrey, Gary Greaves

Open Educational Resources

This book is written for students early in college to provide a guide to the founding documents and structures of governance that form the United States political system. This book is called American Government and Politics in Principle and Practice because you will notice that what has been inscribed in law has not always been applied in practice-particularly for indigenous peoples, enslaved peoples, people of color, women, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, those formerly incarcerated, immigrants and the working class within U.S. society. In designing this book, we have two goals. First, we want you to know what the founding documents …

“Yes, My Career Would End”: How The Existence Of Illicit Digital Media May Inhibit Women From Participating In Politics, Esther Afrakoma Appiah Dwaah

Masters Theses

The challenges faced by women in their quest to be equal participants with men in politics is not hidden. This study set out to examine how women may be restrained from rising to the highest offices in politics amidst fear of their existing nude contents that exist digitally. The body and sexuality of women have countlessly been employed as a tool to keep them out of political participation. Relying on data gathered through interviews with twenty four respondents, the study confirmed that women who have their illicit digital media in existence are less likely to take lead roles in politics …

Age, Political Affiliation, And Political Polarization In The United States, Anton Glocar

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This study analyzes the relationship between voter age and party affiliation with political polarization in the form of feelings towards both one’s own party and the opposing party. Using data from the 2020 American National Election Survey, the favorability ratings of voters from both parties towards both their own party and the opposing party were analyzed and grouped based on voter age. The results of this analysis indicate that positive feelings towards one’s own party and negative feelings towards the opposing party, and therefore polarization, tend to increase as age increases.

The Political Imagination: Introduction To American Government, Peter Kolozi, James E. Freeman

Open Educational Resources

The Political Imagination: Introduction to American Government provides realistic, critical analysis as well as a hopeful, engagement-oriented narrative that encourages students to understand the important role they can play in the political system and in crafting a society in which they want to live. The Political Imagination draws on social and political theory and history offering an analytical as well as normative framework to think about the substance of politics, the procedures and institutions of government, and a dynamic, socially contingent definition of political power.

Online Or In-Person? Examining College Decisions To Reopen During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Fall 2020, Jacob Felson, Amy Adamczyk

Publications and Research

When coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a major impediment to face-to-face college instruction in spring 2020, most teaching went online. Over the summer, colleges had to make difficult decisions about whether to return to in-person instruction. Although opening campuses could pose a major health risk, keeping instruction online could dissuade students from enrolling. Taking an ecological approach, the authors use mixed modeling techniques and data from 87 percent of two- and four-year public and four-year private U.S. colleges to assess the factors that shaped decisions about fall 2020 instructional modality. Most notably, the authors find that reopening decisions about whether …