Chapter 1: Political Culture

A. The Concept of Political Culture

POLTICAL CULTURE: shared values, beliefs and behaviors regarding gov and pol
that develop over time through the process of political socialization
refers to how we view a few particular aspects of pol, gov, and society:
o relationship between the gov and the people
o rights and responsibilities of the people
o shared identity among members of a pol comm
o gov obligations
o limits on the gov authority
elected leaders use elements of pol culture to assist them in their efforts
pol culture takes shape from the process of pol socialization, from ideas that
originate in pol ideology, and from historical experience

1. Political Socialization

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION: process by which people acquire beliefs, values, and

habits of though and action related to gov, pol, and society
o beyond how the world actually operates; instead how people and institutions
should operate

a. Agents of Socialization

people and institutions responsible for teaching us the dominant values of the
society were raised in
o parents, family, friends, the media; experiences with education, employment,
gov, etc.
agents of social may teach us ideas regarding pol rights (life, liberty, and pursuit
of happiness) or the ideal pol structure (gov of the people, by the people, and for
the people)

b. Home Life

b/c parents are usually the closest and most influential authority figures around,
children tend to internalize their parents views with relatively little questioning
parents also usually react to the first political forays of their children
as we mature, we expand our circle of influencers all of whom are agents of
social
indiv views tend to gradually diverge with increasing exposure to a wider set of
influences

c. Grade School

public schools are conservative in the literal sense; job to conserve and
reproduce the dominant values in society
mission is to give students a sense of citizenship
at school, kids spend time outside their own immediate circle of friends, which
means wider social exposure and new experiences

d. Higher Education

large public schools tend to impart a variety of political influences

attending college also provides the first impetus to become more engaged with
politics

e. Religious Agents of Socialization

religion, especially a dom one, tends to reproduce societys core values

within some faiths, disagreements over both doctrine and politics can occur

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main Protestant churches in the US were split in the 1960s over the issue of
racial equality
since then have been further divide by tension over tights of women and
homosexuals

B. Political Ideology

political culture of TX expresses the influence of 3 main currents of political

ideology:
o classical liberalism
o social conservatism
o populism
when talking about political culture, pol ideology refers to the deep, broad
influence of pol philosophies on a comm
talking about public opinion, refers to how indiv self-identify their views along a
spectrum

1. Classical Liberalism

CLASSICAL LIBERALISM: values pol arrangements that permit the fullest exercise
of indiv liberty w/o restricting the liberties of others
o often root of opposition to the use of gov to attain social obj; stress a reliance
on private initiatives or the free market to achieve the best outcomes
in TX fostered support for entrepreneurship and the market econ
fuels support for religious tolerance and civil liberties, for both indiv and
entrepreneurship; admires people who go against the grain
differs from liberalism:
o that refers to the notion that gov should actively intervene in society to foster
socially and econ just outcomes
o refers to the belief that changes in traditional practices should be greeted
with an open mind

2. Social Conservatism

derives from classical conservatism that views liberalism with suspicion,

embraces hierarchal social relations, and often interprets social change as a
threat to established practices
support gov involvement in reinforcing trad social relations
value established customs, especially Judeo-Christian religious beliefs and
practices, and respect authority figures such as business, military and religious
leaders
associated primarily with Rep Party; dominated the TX Dem party throughout
much of history
classical liberalism and social conservatism exert contradictory pressures

3. Populism
POPULISM-concerned primarily with the well-being of ordinary people and
emphasize the popular will
has both political and social dimensions
o political: support for gov involvement in regulating society and the econ has
a populist tone b/c they are part of an effort to establish a baseline of
wellbeing for all members of society
o social: can inform socially conservative proposals, such as cutting taxes and
shrinking gov in order to let all people enjoy liberty

populist words like the people might be used to high the substance of what
political leaders are advocating, which may benefit a narrow group of people
serves as a means to defuse or ignore tensions between the influence of
classical liberalism on one hand and social conservatism
populist often refers to the use of such broad public appeals to ground political
language that is otherwise hard to reduce to an clear set of policy goals and
preferences

C. Political History and Texas Political Culture

RECONSTRUCTION- period between 1865 and 1877 when confed states were
occupied by federal troops to rewrite their constitutions, rebuilding from war,
and reentering the US
100 years following this, Demo Party dominated elections at all levels in TX
o led by conservative while political elite that promoted econ develop and
resisted social reforms like improved race relations
Rep party wasnt completely silent; successes were in pres election
TX size and unique history, as well as cont political and cultural variety caused
TX to be called a pragmatic center
Texans as a group are generally more conservative than the rest of the nation
characteristics that have remained since after the civil rights mvt:
o comparatively low level of state funded social services, which are kept min by
a general hostility toward progressive taxation
o polices that support econ growth led by the private sector, such as a
generally anti-union work environ and limited environ regulation
o culturally conservative social policies in areas such as education, religion, and
civil rights
social consensus has been challenged and modified over the decades, its never
been substantially dismantled

D. People and Cultures in Texas History

TX has long been a land of immigrants

even many of the indigenous peoples migrated over time to the area from other
parts of the continent
from slaves who were freed after the Civil War, they and their descendants found
themselves free in a land not of their choosing ; affected their political rights

1. Indigenous Groups

not all the groups could be described as tribes

o many of them were large clusters of families, bands, or other groups with
distinct customs, organ, and behaviors
large # of indigenous groups resulted in a great variety of social structures,
values, and practices
o Apache and Comanche were very aggressive and warlike
o Caddos were primarily engaged in agriculture
o Wichita did hunting, trade, and warfare
expansion of Anglo American settlements in the eastern part of the continent led
to new waves of Native Americans moving into areas like TX
o some moved naturally in search of fresh hunting grounds b/c land had been
taken
o some pushed for econ or political reasons by white settlers or the US gov

like Spanish and Anglo settlers, Native Americans found life on the frontier to be
harsh, intensely competitive, sometimes violent \
culture of the indigenous groups has been largely extinguished or marginalized
in contemporary TX; just 3 reservations left in TX
cultural traits of indigenous groups (competitiveness and self-reliance) were
characteristics that the frontier also instilled in the pol culture among Texans of
European descent

2. Spanish and Mexican Americans

Spanish influence at all levels of contemporary TX is large; out of prop to the #s

of Spaniards who ever set foot in TX
o places have Spanish names
o legal customs gov things like family relations and dispersion of land and
water still in law
influence of the original Spanish whose presence was much more limited than
the eventual influence of Texans of Mexican descent who helped find TX
Spanish began exploring TX in 1500s, had cont occupation for about a century
btwn 1716 and 1821
focused mainly on establishing isolated missions aimed at converting the Native
Americans to Christianity and to more settled town based form of social
organization
o also wanted to halt French encroachment from the LA territory by
establishing Spanish control over remote areas
by 1821, year of Mexican independence from Spain, very few Spaniards lived in
the territory of TX
o found it difficult and dangerous to defend from aggressive American Indians
in the area
Spanish culture would be primarily based on Mexican culture
many of those descended from Spaniards were mestizo or mixed blood
b/c relatively few Spanish women came to the Americas, Spanish males mixed
with indigenous females
o by 1821, mestizo pop in Mexico had become almost as large as both the
indigenous and Iberian born pop combined
small number of Mexican Americans in TX in early 1800s would grow steadily
over the rest of the century
historical events like WW2 and econ factors prompted the cont migration of
Mexicans to TX as well as other parts of the US

3. Anglo Americans

Anglos and Anglo Americans had explored parts of the territory during Spanish
colonial times; only began staying in larger numbers after the Spanish were
ousted
territory came under the rule of an indep Mexico ; 1821-1836
primary attraction for Anglo Americans was the Mexican gov EMPRESARIO policy
(awarded land grants)
within less than a decade after Mexicos indep from Spain, the Anglo American
presence had come to dominate the pol and cultural development of the
territory

an indep mvt led by Anglo Americans and the territorys subsequent ascension
to US statehood in 1845 solidified the Anglo traditions
o this meant that TX culture would comprise a unique mix of liberal and
conservative orientations
frontier attitude toward min gov and max freedom to pursue the accumulation of
wealth and prop infused this culture
unique form of AA culture also had a considerable conservative streak that
emphasized social class stability and order (Spanish culture as well)
o many of the settlers came to the state with slaves, and they preserved the
institution until the Confeds defeat in the Civil War
o after the war, state law and AA social norms still sought to maintain a rigid
race based class system that brought down African Americans, Mexican
Americans, and other nonwhite groups

4. African Americans

rep a significant portion of the early settlers in the region

as AA and settlers of European ethnicities cont to pour into the territory, the
numbers of AA dropped as a percentage but still remained substantial in
absolute terms
regardless of their numbers, it was difficult for African Americans to shape the
dom culture from the position of enslavement or from the social underclass they
belonged to
were able to participate in some key events in the pol development of TX during
the 1800s
o fought in segregated regiments in the Union army during the Civil War
number of AA held public office in TX during the Reconstruction period and late
19th century
constitutional convention of 1868-1869 included 10 black delegates
6 AA participated in the constitutional convention of 1875 which produced the
current TX constitution

E. Population Growth in Texas Today

TX his recently seen a dramatic inc in pop, driven primarily by a rapidly growing
Latino pop
growing share of the pip made up by ethnic minorities, especially the rapidly
increasing Latino pop, looms large in both the cultural identity of TX and politics
of the state
inclusion of Mexican Americans in pol process has been marked by a
segregation, denial of voting rights

1. Texass Surge in Population

between 2000 and 2010, TXs pop grew at a rate of 20.6%, addition 4.29 mill
people; 5th fastest rate in the nation; largest # of any state
rapid growth of Latino pop main source of pop increase
slowest rate of growth was among the non-Hispanic white pop; grew 4.2% over
the decade
o account for 52% in 2000 but 45.3% in 2010

2. Demographic Change and Political Change

both inc in # of people and the states shift in racial comp that make it a
majority-minority state (non-Hispanic whites are outnumbered by ethnic and
racial minorities) will have implications for TX pol
beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that constitute pol culture are rooted in the past
but acted out in the present
underlying attitudes that make up its pol culture might be shifting as a result of
the changes in pop
o major division between the states young and old pop on gay marriage
deeply seated beliefs like TXs distinctive embrace of classical liberalism, social
conservatism, and populism arent going to change overnight

F. Texas Public Opinion and Politics

public opinion reflects TXs pol culture and provides a running tally of how that
culture might change over time
o provides a window into what Texans seem to want from the pol system
observe tensions and sources of potential change
immediately, info about public attitudes on pol and policy helps us to assess how
public opinion shapes the behavior of elected officials and leaders who follow
PUBLIC OPINION POLLS- scientifically designed surveys to measure public
opinion
underlying public opinion are attitudes about an attitude object, which could be
a politician, a policy, an institution

1. Public Opinion and the Texas Model

much of TXs modern pol history, balance between classical liberalism, social
conservatism, and populism has translated into low taxes, low services
approach to gov
o phrase raising taxes equals political suicide in TX
If fiscal crisis, try to raise users fees aka drivers license, hunting licenses, etc.
think that other states should follow what TX does in terms of taxes; most Rep,
few Demo

2. Public Opinion and Shifts in Political Culture

frequent measures of pub opinion provide us with 2 sources of insight:

o means to track changes in some of specific attitudes that both reflect and
constitute pol culture
o ability to see potential signs of how the changing comp of the public as a
result of demo shifts might be updating TXs pol culture

G. Conclusion

beliefs, values, and attitudes that make up pol culture in TX provide the
backdrop for policy and politics in TX
indiv form beliefs through a process of socialization at home and in public
history has shaped a pol culture that is conservative, especially when it comes to
limiting taxes and size of the gov
changes in size and the comp of the pop are imp mech of potential change in
TXs pol culture