Unit 2 Mastery Project

Ellie Kjar Period 6 Silver

LO 3.A.1: Explain the core American beliefs, values, and

norms that define the relationship between citizens and
government and citizens with each other.
Socioeconomic status, religion, education, race/ethnicity, and gender all
play a role in defining how citizens form political opinions. They may be
pressured to advocate a cause in order to conform to their peers, share
similar opinions with their peers due to similar experiences coming from
similar backgrounds, or have different opinions on issues because of
different problems they observe specifically in their environment.

LO 3.A.2: Evaluate the influence of various factors in

political attitudes and socialization.
Political socialization is the process through which individuals become
aware of politics. People acquire such political values through
socialization, as it commonly applies strong pressures for conformity.
Education, however, is the strongest predictor of political knowledge,
because it is known to increase awareness and understanding of issues.
Regardless of how people learn, they gain perspective on government as
they grow older and their values change reflecting their self-interests.
Self-interest principle, which is the idea that people form opinions based
on what benefits them personally, plays an obvious role in their views on
political policies.

LO 4.A.1: Evaluate the impact that public opinion and

scientific polling have on elections and policy debates.
The government has to pay attention to the distribution of public opinion
among the responses to a given issue in order to understand and act on
the differing beliefs of the people. Public opinion often places boundaries
on allowable types of public policy, which results in issue framing. Issue
framing is when politicians define the way that issues are presented by
selectively invoking values or recalling history in their presentation to
appeal to and influence public opinion.

LO 3.A.3: Analyze the relationship between 21st century

globalization and American political, social, and cultural
values.
As an influx of immigrants arrived in America due to 21st century
globalization, American political, social, and cultural values adapted in
order to accommodate them. While some changed their political views in
order to appeal to the welfare of the foreigners, others became annoying
racists whose beliefs bettered only their social classes. Many foreign
cultures, however, have interwoven into American society and are
recognized and appreciated.

LO 3.B.1: Analyze how political culture influences the

formation, goals, and implementation of public policy.
The three motives for political participation are showing allegiance to the
nation, obtaining particularized benefits, and influencing broad policy, all
of which can be satisfied by voting, a low-initiative form of participation.
However, the voter turnout in America is ever-declining. This led to the
establishment of the 26th amendment, lowering the age of eligibility to
18, which in fact only further decreased the voter turnout rate.

LO 3.C.1: Compare how political ideologies vary on the

role of government in regulating the marketplace.
Although the Democratic and Republican parties have very different
ideological orientations, they both support capitalism. Republicans
consistently oppose increased government activity on the economic
issues of ownership of the means of production, the governments role in
economic planning, redistribution of wealth, and providing for social
welfare, although both tend to be more conservative on economic
matters than are arties in other two-party systems.

LO 3.C.2: Compare how political ideologies vary with

regard to the role of government in addressing social
issues.
The Republican and Democratic platforms reflect similar concerns with
freedom, order, and equality, in which Republicans tend to favor the
words moral and morality and Democrats commonly use equal and
equality. However, they definitely differ on big issues such as abortion, as
Republicans tend to have a more conservative opinion. Even though
they have genuinely different ideological beliefs, they address some
social issues similarly.

LO 4.D.1: Summarize the voting rights protections in the

Constitution and in legislation.
The government recognizes that each citizens ability to influence
government should be equal to that of every other citizen so that
differences in personal resources do not work against the poor or
otherwise disadvantaged. This is the cause of the establishment of the
various acts granting suffrage to women and minorities and outlawing
literacy tests and all other restrictive techniques.

LO 4.D.2: Analyze the roles that individual choice and state

laws play in voter turnout in elections.
The government also recognizes that individuals should be free to
participate (or not participate) in government how and as often as they
want. However, there are restrictions in place on voting registration and
limitations on campaign expenditures, which is a contributing factor to
the current low voter turnout in elections.

LO 4.D.3: Analyze US voter turnout and compare it with

that in other democracies.
In almost every other democratic country, the burden of registration is
placed on the government rather than on the individual voter, causing the
voter turnout of the US to be significantly less in comparison. In a few
countries, voter turnout is extremely high because voting is compulsory.
In others, election days are declared public holidays. Voting in the US is
a two-stage process, which requires more initiative on the voter and
therefore decreases the amount of people willing to participate.

LO 4.D.4: Explain the factors that influence voter choices.

Voter choices are often influenced by public opinion, party identification,

opinions on political issues and policies, attributes of the candidates, and
the strength of the campaigns of the candidates. What people observe
from media coverage about the candidates may also affect who they
choose.

LO 4.D.5: Compare different models of voting behavior.

Different models of voting behavior include open and closed primaries,

in which voters either must register their party affiliation in order to vote
or may choose either ballot, as well as modified open and closed
primaries where pre-existing conditions determine what is allowed.
Additionally, voters may either utilize a straight ticket, choosing
candidates from the same party for all offices, or a split ticket, choosing
different candidates from different parties for each office.