This is a valuable book for anyone interested in learning about American public opinion and political behavior. Matthew Bergbower concisely discusses scholarly theories and empirical research on voter turnout, vote choice, political knowledge, and polarization in a way that is inviting and accessible for students and non-experts. After reviewing what we know about the American electorate, the final section of the book presents a helpful series of policy recommendations aimed at enhancing citizens political engagement that could serve as a foundation for class discussion and debate.
Patrick Flavin, Baylor University
Unlike much work in this area, this book does not just focus on public opinion or political participation; it focuses on both. Each chapter explains the major theories to help the reader understand why people think and behave the way they do. Including lots of graphs and tables to provide a clear picture of the American electorate, this book is a must for any course that examines voters.
Drew Seib, Murray State University
This book expertly illustrates the changes that have taken place in electoral politics over the past 75 years. Bergbowers discussions of party identification, voter decision-making, and citizen engagement are accessible for both those inside and outside academia, and offer smart policy recommendations to produce a better informed, tolerant, and active electorate.
Heather Evans, Sam Houston State University
Bergbower offers an expansive analysis of both stability and shifts in electoral behavior in the United States, drawing from rich and varied sources of data to answer questions related to political socialization, partisan identification, political knowledge, turnout, and more. In addressing these themes, Bergbower reflects on the importance of citizen participation in politics and offers insights on fostering engagement. This accessible volume will be of value to students exploring voting and elections, public opinion, and political participation especially.
Philip Habel, University of South Alabama
A Profile of the American Electorate
A Profile of the American Electorate takes an extensive look at the political foundations and behaviors of citizens, yesterday and today. Presenting decades of data on voter choice, voter turnout, and public opinion in a way that is clear and accessible for students of political science, the book uniquely emphasizes the importance of voting, socialization, and reform measures to enhance good citizenship. It explores how Americans become conservative or liberal, why some vote and others stay home, their knowledge of politics, how polarized the public has become, and the complex motivations behind their vote choices.
Matthew L. Bergbower is Associate Professor of Political Science at Indiana State University.
A Profile of the American Electorate
Partisan Behavior and the Need for Reform
Matthew L. Bergbower
Published 2019
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2019 Taylor & Francis
The right of Matthew L. Bergbower to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-95611-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-95619-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-66581-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
For C. S. and S. B.
Love, M. B.Contents
My consideration of American electoral behavior took shape in graduate school. My professors at Southern Illinois UniversityCarbondale, particularly Scott McClurg, Tobin Grant, and Scott Comparato, influenced me greatly. My departmental and College of Arts and Sciences colleagues at Indiana State University (ISU) supported me in this research endeavor, which included a sabbatical. As for research assistance, I am grateful for the help from Levi Allen, Dan Hardesty, Brandon Reed, David Reed, and Abigail Walker. Technical assistance was provided by Daryl Herring along with Catherine Kennedy and Pilias Maloba from the ISU Center for Multimedia Services. Jennifer Knerr served as a knowledgeable and helpful editor during my book writing process. I thank her editorial team, especially Zeev Sudry, and the two blind reviewers for their helpful feedback on this book. Finally, Carly Schmitt welcomed many conversations on my research for this book. She listened to me, discussed voters and elections with me, and helped me resolve problems. She provides emotional and logistical support as I grow in academia. I can only hope that I provide some measure of support equal to hers.
This book addresses some of the fundamental tenets and changes in American electoral behavior from the 20th century to the 21st century. It profiles American voters as political scientists understood them before and as we understand them now. The objective of this book is to educate the reader on some of the constant observations of American electoral behavior that have not changed over the past 75 years and on other areas where dramatic change has occurred. American politics has gone through unprecedented events in the past few decades, and I discuss these politics through the perspective of voters. Even though a series of tumultuous eventssuch as the Civil Rights Movement, foreign wars, or even the election of Donald J. Trumpcan dramatically change the fabric of American society, voting trends can eerily cycle back to the same relationships that existed historically. This book views elections as natural political experiments that teach us many things about people. At their basic level, elections tell us the preferences of the masses and the political direction in which the U.S. is headed, which makes the understanding of voters a vital component to the understanding of the nation.
From an academic standpoint, American politics research was in its infancy during the mid-20th century. As for election research, the behavioralism movement was beginninga movement that emphasized the scientific inquiry of human political behavior.1 Although this scientific approach began in the 1920s and 1930s, widespread scholarly recognition corresponds with a few seminal books from the 1940s (e.g., The Peoples Choice; Politics, Parties, and Pressure Groups; and Southern Politics in State and Nation). Soon thereafter, two of the most widely cited books in American electoral politics, Voting
