American Political Culture: Introduction

Political Science is a discipline that is always changing. People, parties, events, and media influence the public policy decisions a society chooses. Consequently, you will need to use a variety of resources to gather information and remain current. In this section you will explore some of the resources you will use to study American government and politics as well as some of the unique characteristics of the American political culture.

Political culture is the commonly held set of attitudes and beliefs about government and politics shared by people in a society. Americans have a unique set of such beliefs. Some say the American political culture is changing, and others resist such changes, thus the term "culture wars." As you learn more about America’s political culture decide if you believe it is changing, and if so, what are the causes?