AP US Government and Politics: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs Notes

Key Takeaways: American Political Ideologies and Beliefs

1. The core American values of individualism, equality of opportunity, free enterprise, rule of law, and limited government play a key role in shaping the political attitudes and beliefs of individuals and American political culture as a whole.
2. Other factors that influence the development of political opinions include family, school, peer groups, media, social groups, historical events, and personal experience.
3. Polls are commonly used to gauge the public’s opinion about an issue or candidate. Politicians use polls to make decisions about which policies to support and how to utilize their campaign resources.
4. To be useful, polls must be reliable. Various factors affect the reliability of polling, including the size of the sample, the way in which the sample was selected, and the format of the questions asked.
5. The three most common political ideologies in the United States are libertarianism, conservatism, and liberalism. Libertarianism and conservatism tend to advocate for individualism and limited government intervention in the private sphere, while liberalism envisions an important role for government in promoting equality and injustice.
6. The Republican Party is the more conservative of the two major parties and tends to favor limited government and protections for civil liberties and economic freedom. The Democratic Party is the more liberal of the two major parties and tends to emphasize civil rights and the role of government in improving the lives of the American people.