Young v. Old
Transforming American Politics
Lawrence C. Dodd, Series Editor
Dramatic changes in political institutions and behavior over the past three decades have underscored the dynamic nature of American politics, confronting political scientists with a new and pressing intellectual agenda. The pioneering work of early postwar scholars, while laying a firm empirical foundation for contemporary scholarship, failed to consider how American politics might change or to recognize the forces that would make fundamental change inevitable. In reassessing the static interpretations fostered by these classic studies, political scientists are now examining the underlying dynamics that generate transformational change.
Transforming American Politics brings together texts and monographs that address four closely related aspects of change. A first concern is documenting and explaining recent changes in American politicsin institutions, processes, behavior, and policymaking. A second is reinterpreting classic studies and theories to provide a more accurate perspective on postwar politics. The series looks at historical change to identify recurring patterns of political transformation within and across the distinctive eras of American politics. Last and perhaps most importantly, the series presents new theories and interpretations that explain the dynamic processes at work and thus clarify the direction of contemporary politics. All of the books focus on the central theme of transformationtransformation in both the conduct of American politics and in the way we study and understand its many aspects.
Forthcoming Titles
Revolving Gridlock, David Brady and Craig Volden
Broken Contract? Changing Relationships Between Americans and Their Government, edited by Stephen C. Craig
Congress and the Administrative State, Second Edition, Lawrence C. Dodd and Richard L. Schott
Governing Partners: State-Local Relations in the United States, Russell L. Hanson
Midterm: The Elections of 1994 in Context, Philip A. Klinkner
The Divided Democrats: Ideological Unity, Party Reform, and Presidential Elections, William G. Mayer
Seeing Red: How the Cold War Shaped American Politics, John Kenneth White
New Media in American Politics, Richard Davis and Diana Owen
Extraordinary Politics: Dissent and Collective Action in the American System, Charles C. Euchner
The Irony of Reform: Roots of American Political Disenchantment, G. Calvin Mackenzie
The Tragic Presidency, Robert L. Lineberry
Young v. Old
Generational Combat in the 21st Century
Susan A. MacManus
with
Patricia A. Turner
To Mrs. Leila K. Cofield and Dr. Daisy Parker Flory
Their dedication to a democratic society inspires the young and the old
Transforming American Politics
First published 1996 by Westview Press
Published 2018 by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright 1996 Taylor & Francis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
MacManus, Susan A.
Young v. old: generational combat in the 21st century/Susan A.
MacManus.
p. cm.(Transforming American politics series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8133-1758-4ISBN 0-8133-1759-2
(pbk.)
1. Young adultsUnited StatesPolitical activity. 2. Aged
United StatesPolitical activity. 3. Intergenerational relations
United States. I. Title. II. Series.
HQ799.7.M23 1996
305.23'5dc20 95-4950
CIP
ISBN 13: 978-0-8133-1759-5 (pbk)
Figures are located near their callouts within the chapters. Tables are positioned at the ends of chapters.
- Tables
- Figures
Thanks are due to a great many people for their assistance and encouragement. I am particularly indebted to the Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press and its director, Andrew Kohut, for making its national survey data accessible to researchers. Carol Bowman, research director, was never too busy to help me access key data and materials.
I am also greatly appreciative of the Florida data provided by the Survey Research Laboratory in the Policy Sciences Program at Florida State University. Suzanne L. Parker, director, and her assistant, Lisette Kelly, and graduate assistant, Chris Stream, spent many hours generating tables and data from the Florida Annual Policy Surveys and expediting data collection from other survey organizations. Suzanne's insights into the topic of intergenerational politics were extremely valuable.
I am also indebted to Warren J. Mitofsky of Mitofsky International for sharing his insights and data on the 1994 midterm elections and to the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research for helping me obtain some of its data broken down by age. Helpful materials were also supplied by the Lead ... or Leave and the Third Millennium organizations, St. Petersburg Times, The Miami Herald, The Tampa Tribune, and the Associated Press.
I am deeply appreciative of the assistance of Patricia A. Turner, who spent untold hours preparing and editing the tabular and graphical materials included in this volume, developing survey instruments and taking charge of the data entry, gathering numerous other materials, and offering important recommendations on the book's content.
The University of South Florida's strong support of faculty sabbaticals created the opportunity for me to engage in this research. I am grateful to the Department of Government and International Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences for endorsing my plan of study. Graduate assistant Lesa Chihak was very helpful in tracking down key materials and coordinating the distribution and receipt of a survey of Florida's legislators. Delores Bryant, office manager, made sure that persons with important information were able to locate me in Washington, D.C., where I spent a great deal of time working on this project.
A number of professional associations and institutions helped me acquire data for this endeavor. Thanks are due to the International City/County Management Association and its survey director, Woody Talcove, for providing age data on city council members across the United States. The Legislative Reference Bureau in Tallahassee helped me access information on the age profile of Florida legislators. The National Association of School Boards provided materials highlighting the changing age profiles of school board members throughout the United States. Paul Honig, demographic consultant, was very helpful in gathering U.S. Census Bureau socioeconomic and political data broken down by age. Dr. Lynn Casper of the U.S. Census Bureau provided the 1994 registration and voter turnout data.