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A Comparison of Small and Large Market Television Coverage of Political Campaigns

Author: Rouen Noah J.
Publication venue
Publication date: 19/01/2026
Field of study

Because the modern campaign has become so media centered candidates on all levels have become more skilled at using the media to their advantage. But, has the media increased its skill in adequately and accurately covering the candidates, so that they can do a good job of, as Patterson argues guiding the voters’ decisions? This study tries to examine that question by taking a critical look at the coverage of local media.A Comparision of Small and Large Market Television Coverage of Political Campaigns Prepared By Noah J. Rauen Senior Political Science Thesis December 18, 1996 Gustavus Student Repository Gustavus Student Repository Introduction Making decisions about who will serve in government is perhaps the biggest responsibility facing citizens of this country. But, citizens are not all Aristotles who can fill their days studying politics. People have full lives to lead, jobs to perform, children to raise, and leisure activities to pursue. 1 Yet, as government continues to expand, the demand placed on the average voter becomes heavier, as he or she is faced with making more and more decisions regarding more and more candidates. This makes informed decision making about all of the candidates increasingly difficult. But, as the difficulty increases for citizens to stay informed, so does the difficulty of keeping them informed, for many local television news stations. The media's role in this chaotic election system is ever increasing. Media critic Thomas Patterson writes: When the parties established a nominating process that is essentially a free-for-all between self-generated candidacies, the task of brining the candidates and the voters together in a common effort was superimposed on a media system that was built for another purpose. The press was no longer asked only to keep an eye out for wrongdoing and to provide a conduit for candidates to convey their messages to the voters. It was also expected to guide the voters' decisions.2 Although Patterson focuses his comments on the national media many of the p oints he raises are applicable at the local level as well. In fact, in many cases the role the local media plays in campaigns may be even more difficult. They have to cover a greater number of candidates and governmental bodies. Because the modern campaign has become so media centered candidates on all levels have become more skilled at using the media to 1Thomas E. Patterson, Out of Order, (New York: Vintage Books, 1994) 45. 2Ibid. 34. Gustavus Student Repository their advantage. But, has the media increased its skill in adequately and accurately covering the candidates, so that they can do a good job of, as Patterson argues guiding the voters decisions? This study tries to examine that question by taking a critical look at the coverage of local media. For years readership of newspapers has been rapidly declining in the US. The drop in the number of newspaper readers is significant because it creates a void that must be filled by some new information source. It comes as no surprise that television is largely responsible for filling this void. In many respects local television news has taken the place of the newspaper. Local television news reaches millions of viewers nightly, and for many it is their primary as well as most trusted source for news and information. 3 The number of television stations providing local news has dramatically increased over the years. This is partly due to technological advances, but it is mostly due to demand. In the beginning, local news consisted of the "rip and read" method, whereby, someone at the station would literally rip the stories of the wire and read them.4 There were no reporters, no large newsrooms, the news was short and to the point. Stations eventually discovered that a large market existed for local news. This demand increased, not only the number of stations providing local news, but also the amount of time stations dedicated to the news. The average time for a news broadcast was fifteen minutes; today local news programs run any where from thirty minutes to an hour. 5 3Phyllis Kaniss, Making Local News, (University of Chicago Press, 1991) 101. 4Ibid. 116. 5Providing local news was also attractive to stations managers because it was relatively cheap to produce, at least in comparison to entertainment programs. Gustavus Student Repository One problem facing local TV news is expanding domain. Technology and the decline in the number of newspapers had lead to an expanded area of coverage for many local television stations. While stations are expected provide coverage of all of the communities in the region, studies suggest the focus for political stories still remains in the central cities. 6 Most of the other news however focuses on the entire market area. Stations move away from "local problems" and coverage of more substantive issues to soft news like sports and human interest stories. 7 The question is, "With this increase in domain, are these local television news stations doing an adequate job of keeping the public informed in more "hard" news categories like government and politics?" As was stated earlier local television stations are faced with a difficult challenge when it comes to covering elections. It is not uncommon for stations in large regions to serve 50 communities, often inc'luding more than 1,300 governmental units. Covering all of these governmental bodies in-depth is nearly impossible. This leads to the problem of what Graber calls, "highly selective" and often "superficial" reporting. 8 This problem is not unique to large market stations however. Small market stations often cover many governmental bodies as well, often times, in more rural communities where the governmental units are spread over a greater area. Several studies have found a difference in news coverage between small and large market stations.9 The purpose of this study is to examine an 6Doris Graber, Mass Media and American Politics, (Congressional Quarterly Press 1997) 313. 7Ibid. 314. 8Ibid. 313 9Ibid. Graber's book provides an excellent summary of many of the prominent studies on the topic, as well as, providing some new research. Kaniss's previous cited work also contains important summaries and new research. Gustavus Student Repository One problem facing local TV news is expanding domain. Technology and the decline in the number of newspapers had lead to an expanded area of coverage for many local television stations. While stations are expected provide coverage of all of the communities in the region, studies suggest the focus for political stories still remains in the central cities.6 Most of the other news however focuses on the entire market area. Stations move away from "local problems" and coverage of more substantive issues to soft news like sports and human interest stories. 7 The question is, "With this increase in domain, are these local television news stations doing an adequate job of keeping the public informed in more "hard" news categories like government and politics?" As was stated earlier local television stations are faced with a difficult challenge when it comes to covering elections. It is not uncommon for stations in large regions to serve 50 communities, often including more than 1,300 governmental units. Covering all of these governmental bodies in-depth is nearly impossible. This leads to the problem of what Graber calls, "highly selective" and often "superficial" reporting. 8 This problem is not unique to large market stations however. Small market stations often cover many governmental bodies as well, often times, in more rural communities where the governmental units are spread over a greater area. Several studies have found a difference in news coverage between small and large market stations.9 The purpose of this study is to examine an 6Doris Graber, Mass Media and American Politics, (Congressional Quarterly Press 1997) 313. 7Ibid. 314. 8Ibid. 313 9Ibid. Graber's book provides an excellent summary of many of the prominent studies on the topic, as well as, providing some new research. Kaniss's previous cited work also contains important summaries and new research. Gustavus Student Repository area that has largely been ignored by researchers: the difference between small and large market television coverage of political campaigns. The study looks at how the coverage varies across the markets, paying close attention to the number of stories aired and the focus of the campaign coverage. It is an axiom of American politics that "all politics is local," that is why it is important to analyze the amount, and content of coverage the local media gives to elections especially in the wake of increased concentration of the newspaper industry. 10 Studies have shown that small media markets in particular have very few independent newspapers, making the reliance on local television news all the more important. 11 The concern is not only with how local television stations cover local elections, but also, how local stations cover national races. The increase in technology, such as Newsfeed and other satellite technology gives stations instantaneous access to national and world news. This allows local stations to place a local spin on national and world events. Thus, local television media can play an influential role in both local and national elections. Media critic Doris Graber, in the latest addition of Mass Media and American Politics, wrote: " If lack of information is a disease that plagues national elections it apparently occurs a far more virulent strain at the 10 Jatnes M. Bernstein and Stephen Lacy, "Contextual Coverage of Government by Local Television News" Journalism Quarterly 69 (Summer 1992) 329-340. 11Ibid. According to the study in 1990 , 1,5 00 cities had daily newspapers, of these only 36 markets had independently owned and operated or joint operating newspapers. Only six of the 36 had populations less than 2 00,000. While the newspaper industry has become more concentrated the television news industry has become less so. The increase in the number of cable stations and public access has increased the number of forums concerned with local issues. Gustavus Student Repository subnational level. " 12 Finally, the study seeks to explore whether local television news is doing anything to cure this disease. Literature Review: Local television news is often the main source of news for the average voter. In many cases it is there only source of local news.13 The assumption then, is that local television news provides an invaluable public service by providing voters with the necessary information they need to make informed decisions. Graber writes: The entire American electoral system is organized to reflect local and statewide politics. All national officials-the president, senators, and representatives-are selected from state-based electoral districts, as are state officials, and the half million local officials who occupy legislative, executive, judicial, and administrative positions throughout the states. Graber continues by pointing out the difficulty many of these officials have in attracting any national attention. So, Graber concludes: "{Candidates} political fate-and that of the areas that they serve-therefore depends to a major degree on the kind of coverage provided by local media." 14 The literature is mixed on whether or not the local media is doing an adequate of providing suffiencent coverage of local concerns. Some evidence suggest that the local television news industry is "failing in its role 12Doris Graber, Mass Media and American Politics, (Congressional Quarterly Press, 1997) 330. 13"Some 170 local television markets of a total 209 have only one paper published in the ADI central city." Bernstein and Lacy, 331. 14Graber, 329. Gustavus Student Repository of public servant," and that there is a lack of depth of local television coverage of politics. 15 There are many possible explanations for the lack of coverage. One is a small amount of economic resources at many local television stations. Small market stations are especially burdened by insufficient resources. Lack of reporters or equipment may prevent many stations from covering certain stories. Author Phyliss Kaniss argues, another possibility is the lack of entertainment value in many local government stories. A board meeting or allocation of funds for a building project, may have significant implications for the community, but may not receive adequate coverage because the story cannot be neatly packaged into a video news format. She writes: The need to appeal to a mass audience, the cult of personality, the limited number of reporters and their reliance on routine channels of information, the importance of dramatic video and sound bites, and the element of timeliness, all lead to a distinctive definition of what is "local news." 16 It is that definition Kaniss argues that leads to local news that is more sensationalistic than substantive especially when it comes to coverage of government. The problem is not simply making the local government stories interesting, it also becomes a problem of making stories relevant to the whole region. Kaniss continues: While a particularly gory crime can be interesting to anyone in the region, local government news has a much narrower sphere of interest. As a result, government news comes to be balanced or even submerged by other more sensational topics. 17 15Bernstein and Lacy, 332. 16Kaniss, 113. 17Ibid. 118. Gustavus Student Repository In a study comparing content of local news coverage over a two week period Kaniss found that "occurrences" received a greater percentage of coverage than did stories focused on govemment. 18 Other literature also suggests that the local television news industry honors the FCC's "localism" doctrine more with lip-service than with actual performance.19 One content analysis of 12 local stations, in small and large markets, found that only 3.4 percent of state and regional government stories received in-depth coverage. 20 This is interesting because a recent survey of local television watchers found that, when combing the survey categories of "very important" and "important," local news was rated as the most important issue for viewers. State legislative news was somewhat lower on the list but it was still seen as important by two-thirds of respondents. 21 Another study compared national and Chicago-area local television news stories. It shows that while 85 percent to 93 percent of national television news dealt with government affairs only 62 percent to 69 percent of local news dealt with "substantive matters. "22 This apparent lack of substantive coverage has raised questions as to whether the local television media can adequately perform its important watchdog role. As Graber notes: 18Ibid. 114. Kaniss defines "occurrences" as "crimes and trials, accidents, disasters, and fires." 19As part of a mandate to ensure the electronic media serve the public interest, the FCC urged local stations to provide programming aimed at local concerns, including coverage of local government (Graber 326). 2"Bemstein and Lacy, 337. 21The chart appears in Graber but is taken from Caroyln A. Lin, "Audience Selectivity of Local Television Newscasts," Journalism Quarterly 69 (Summer 1992). 22Graber, 326. Similar results are also found in a study of Philadelphia stations. That study was done by Phyllis C. Kaniss as part of the book Making Local News, (University of Chicago Press) 1991. Gustavus Student Repository The difficulties in maintaining high-quality news have serious consequences at the local level because there are few competing information sources for local politics National problems and national politicians are widely scrutinized by a multitude of media, governmental investigating bodies, interest groups, and academicians. That rarely happens at the local level. Reporting by the local media may be the sole source of information available to interested citizens as well as government officials.23 This lack of scrutiny is verified by a study conducted by Lacy and Bernstein in which they found that for small market stations, only about five percent of stories with commentary or analysis address local issues in the ADl.24 Large market stations faired somewhat better with about 38 percent of their commentaries focusing on the ADI. 25 Some studies have found however, that local media is superior to the national media. A study of the 1989 Virginia gubernatorial campaign found the local coverage was superior to the national news media's coverage. The<study says: "It appears that a different kind of press coverage occurs at theilower levels' of government-one in which more serious, substantive reporting is taking place. 1126 It is difficult however, to group all local television into one category for the sake of analysis. There is much diversity from station to station. Some of the difference may be a function of resources, another may be the location of the station. Lack of resources may cause stations to pursue what Graber calls an "economic model of news selection." She writes: 23Graber, 333. 24An Area of Dominant Influence or ADI is defined by the Broadcasting/Cable Yearbook, as "all counties in which the home market stations receive a reponderance of viewing." (Kaniss p.102) . 5Bemstein and Lacy, 339. 26The study was done by Mark J. Rozell, "Campaign Coverage in the 'New Dominion': The 1991 Fairfax County (Virginia) Board of Supervisors Chairman Election" The study is summarized in Doris Graber Mass Media and American Politics, 330. Gustavus Student Repository "Rather than originating stories on their own and investigating them, they go after the cheapest stories. "27 A study done by Dan Berkowitz concluded that more than half of local media stories originate form news-sources, rather than springing from questions first asked by journalists. Government officials at all levels were largely responsible for what Berkowitz termed "new-subsidies. "28 Location is also significant, because in some market areas there is not a lot of news to cover, so a content analysis of a "slow" news region would not reflect a stations ability to cover local stories, but simply reflect a lack of stories. It has been emphasized that there are differences among all stations, but a major difference between local television stations occurs when one compares stations of different sizes. There have been many studies done that indicate that there is a difference between small and large market coverage of issues. Large market stations devote more time to political coverage generally, but also tend to focus more on national and world events.29 The research concerning how different size markets cover political campaigns is spotty at best. The studies which group all local news stations together as a whole are often contradictory. This suggests the need for further study, but also may suggest the difficulty of gaining significant results. The difficulty is created because all stations are different and serve different functions. Stations in small markets serve different functions than large market stations and stations may even differ in the same market. A 27Graber, 332. 28Dan Berkowitz, "Information Subsidy and Agenda-Building," Journalism Quarterly (Winter 1990). 29Bernstein and Lacy 337. Gustavus Student Repository small market station, for example may provide solely local coverage. Another small market station may serve as a satellite station for a nearby large market station. It is therefore hard to evaluate stations with differing missions. That is, the quality and quantity of news coverage may be determined by other factors than the desire to cover what is news worthy. For stations responsible for covering most or all of their own stories resources constraints (lack of reporters, equipment, time) may limit their ability to cover certain stories.30 Satellite stations may be limited in what they can cover, because of agreements with there parent station. While some of these constraints especially resources apply universally to all stations, others, such as freedom to chose coverage makes it hard to compare coverage across markets. Another limiting factor to this type of research is the inability to control the news environment. Television news is spontaneous, a natural disaster, a major crime, a fire, any or all of these stories could dominate an 'entire news broadcast. Walter Lippman described the press as II a restless beacon. 11 Its concern is the new, the unusual, and the sensational. Its agenda shifts abruptly when a new development breaks. 31 The problem is that while these events may occur in one market they may not occur in others creating problems for researches attempting to measure coverage across markets. This phenomenon may help explain the huge discrepancy between the tremendous amount of literature written about the national media and the relatively sparse literature written about the local media. The national media shares the same market making it easier for researchers to draw meaningful comparisons. Comparing news broadcasts across 3"For a thorough discussion of this topic read, John McManus, " How Local Television Learns What is News," Journalism Quarterly 67 (Winter 1990). 31Thomas E. Patterson, Out of Order. (New York: Vintage Books, 1994), 37. Gustavus Student Repository markets especially between small and large markets, is often like comparing apples to oranges. Unfortunately researchers have little choice. Although problems exist, research still needs to be pursued especially as it relates to elections coverage. Patterson argues, that the media is an essential part of American politics. They are the key to helping average citizens make

The Christian Right_ What Does Age Have To Do With It} Young Voters Concerning the Christian Right and their Voting Patterns

Author: Buhse Jill
Publication venue
Publication date: 23/01/2026
Field of study

The Christian Right is slowly starting to speak to young adults today who are going to become a strong voting bloc in the future. The question at hand is whether or not it is making a visible difference in the voting patterns of young voters of this generation. The youth of today are ready for a change and are waiting for that someone or something to eventually reach out to them and speak to them, but will it end up being the Christian Right? My prediction is that it will be the Christian Right and young voters are going to respond to this appeal, if it is presented in a way that will attract their attention.The Christian Right: What Does Age Have To Do With It? Young Voters Concerning the Christian Right and their Voting Patterns Political Science Senior Thesis Written by: Jill Buhse Advised by: Professor Christopher P. Gilbert May 22, 1997 Gustavus Student Repository Table of Contents Introduction 1 Literature and Definitions of the Christian Right 4 Young Voters 9 Rock the Vote 14 Analysis of Findings 16 Age and the Christian Right in voting patterns in 1994 18 Mini-case study of Gustavus Adolphus College voting patterns 24 Conclusion 34 Appendix 38 Bibliography 40 Gustavus Student Repository Figures and Tables Figure 1 31 Figure 2 33 Table 1 19 Table 2 21 Table 3 23 Table 4 26 Table 5 28 Table 6 30 Gustavus Student Repository Introduction Voting patterns have been studied throughout history by many scholars in a myriad of ways. Analysts of political science search to find these patterns to see what exactly causes people to vote in the unique ways that they do. Exit polls are completed by voters year after year to compile new data of the choices people made for that particular election. Political scientists then take this data and analyze it to find these recurring patterns in how people make their choices. Many analyses have shown throughout history that a number of social factors matter significantly such as: race, sex, income level, region, as well as religion. In recent years, religion has been shown to make a substantial difference in voting patterns, especially when looking at the increased growth of the Christian Right in the last two decades. Many political scientists have been conducting research concerning the Christian Right, but the studies are often limited in scope because they tend to focus on issues such as race, sex, and religious denomination. These factors have all been proven to make a difference in how one votes who is a member of the Christian Right when looking at exit polls, but has been researched about the age factor when looking at the Christian Right's voting patterns? It seems like common knowledge to voters that most all of the voters aged over 65 are more likely to vote in elections in comparison to those in the 18-25 year old category, but have any empirical studies been done to measure just how much age affects voting patterns? Candidates running for a position in office usually appeal 'to issues that concern elderly voters because they know these voters will turn out at the polls, but what do these candidates know about the young voters and whether or not they will turn out at the polls? Does the Christian Right appeal to young voters or does it only appeal to those voters over 40 who are more accountable for their political opinion in the election polls? Young voters are a key group 1 Gustavus Student Repository that could be appealed to by all candidates running for office in which they would see there is more to this group of voters than meets the eye. "Young voters have been overlooked because only 28 per cent of them are likely to vote, compared with 68 per cent of senior citizens," (Fitzpatrick 46). Few scholars have concentrated on the issue of age and how that can make a difference in voting choices when focusing on the Christian Right as well as concerning young voters in general. I would like to hypothesize that young voters beginning now and continuing into the near future will begin to vote more morally and religiously through mediums such as the Christian Right. I think young voters are more aware of their personal beliefs and they want to connect those beliefs into their political voice. I believe that this trend has began with the 1994 national general elections as well as the 1996 Presidential elections and will continue to grow in elections to come. Young voters have been plagued with the term "Generation X" which is supposed to describe what this next generation of voters is stereotypically to be like: lazy, uninformed, educated with little interest, and generally lacking enthusiasm to become an "adult". Yet there seems to be some kind of revival beginning in the youth of today towards a more spiritual life that is concerned with religion and Christian issues. As the religious groups grow in size and popularity, it seems that more youth are becoming involved as well. Yet as religion gains more popularity in the youth of today, is it appropriate that they take their new faith into the political realm? Some say no. A quote in the January issue of the Christian Century said, "For other Christian Right leaders, however, the time has come to withdraw from political engagement. While some advocate such withdrawal because they view politics as a relatively ineffective means to accomplish needed social change, others think political activity distracts believers from their highest priority, evangelism," (Penning and Smidt 37). There are opinions on both sides of the issue, some voters are for more religion in politics and some are against bringing something so personal and sacred into the 2 Gustavus Student Repository political realm. Despite the opposition that sometimes comes with keeping religion in politics, most recently the Christian Right showed that it believes it belongs in politics when members tended to "support the GOP in the 1996 election" (Penning and Smidt 37). "[D]espite a general drop in voter turnout, religious conservatives voted in record numbers: 29 per cent of all voters in 1996 were born-again Christians who frequently attended church," (Penning and Smidt 37). This shows that not only are some people still fighting to keep their faith in their political voice, but they also are the few who are still coming to the polls. Many of America's voters have become apathetic in recent elections because of they feel very little political efficacy in the nation and its chosen leaders. They feel there is a lack of choice in the candidates who are running for office who are pursuing issues which interest their well-being which results in lower voter turnouts. Even some of the Christian Right voters are getting weary, "[S]ome leaders of the Christian Right are questioning the moral legitimacy of the U.S. government," (Penning and Smidt 38). Some voters are tiring from the debates about keeping religion in politics or keeping the two realms completely separate including members of the Christian Right. Many argue that religion is personal issue that should be kept out of the political realm, especially because it is quite diverse in the U.S. due to many immigrants. But others believe that our country was founded on Christianity through the Constitution as well as through the founding fathers and we should keep that moral element in our political decisionmaking. Looking at the most recent controversies about what role the Christian Right should have in politics leaves the bigger question of who exactly is debating the issue? Is it middleclass, white Protestant men and women who represent the "American dream"? Or is it families who have children who are of age to vote or who have a general concern for the future of our country when it comes to religion in politics? It encompasses all voters of all ages, all sexes, and all races. 3 Gustavus Student Repository The Christian Right is slowly starting to speak to young adults today who are going to become a strong voting bloc in the future. The question at hand is whether or not it is making a visible difference in the voting patterns of young voters of this generation. The youth of today are ready for a change and are waiting for that someone or something to eventually reach out to them and speak to them, but will it end up being the Christian Right? My prediction is that it will be the Christian Right and young voters are going to respond to this appeal, if it is presented in a way that will attract their attention. ******* Literature and Terminology of the Christian Right What exactly is the Christian Right and what does it stand for? As I surveyed Gustavus Adolphus College on voting issues, there were surveys which read, "I'm not sure whanhis [Christian Right] is, but I don't think I'm a part of it." Another quote on a particular survey said, "What do you mean by Christian Right?" Many others who answered the survey had no idea what the term Christian Right meant to them as voters. Most thought is had something to do with religion, but they were not confident of what the term actually referred to. A definition taken from the book, God at the Grassroots, by Mark J. Rozell and Clyde Wilcox states the Christian Right as, "[A] movement that seeks to restore 'traditional values' in public policy by means of mobilizing evangelical Protestants, many of whom self-consciously identify themselves as 'Christians' in the sectarian use of the term," (2). The Christian Right dates its existence back into the late 1970s, but it took some time before it actually emerged as a viable movement into the political scene. The late 1970s were a period of religious awakenings and the Christian Right capitalized on this and actually mobilized evangelical Protestants together to form not only a social, but a political 4 Gustavus Student Repository movement. "In late 1979, a Gallup poll showed as many as one out of every three adults questioned had experienced a religious conversion, almost half believed the Bible was inerrant, and more than 80% thought Jesus Christ was divine," (Lienesch 1). This was a key time for the Christian Right because people were confident about where they stood on personal faith issues and were strong enough to begin bringing those beliefs into the political realm. Toe Christian Right' s history dates back to decades that have experienced intense religious activism. There have been three waves of activism concerning religion in politics: the 1920s, 1950s, and the 1980s (Lienesch 4). Most periods of religious activism in politics has resulted in many religious groups, but most without strong foundations and charismatic leaders have tended to fade out or become less visible to the public. Toe Christian Right started out as a small and somewhat unorganized group, but has since evolved to become a very organized and productive mass movement among voters of today. Toe 1990s could possibly even be categorized as another decade of religious activism in politics as we approach the end of the century, but that is yet to be determined by the results from the national general election which will be in 1998 which could change the assumptions that have already been made about this decade. Some believe that the Christian Right evolved into its full state of existence in the late 1970s, whereas some historians believe that it dates as far back as the 1920s when "the fundamentalists led the drive to ban the theory of evolution from public schools and joined broader efforts to censor films, confiscate pornography, and to keep Al Smith from the White House," (Lienesch 4). Some other historians as well as politicians believe that the roots of the Christian Right are drawn all the way back through conservative Puritans and the postrevolutionary Federalists. Toe Christian Right draws some of its growth to the decade of the 1980s when religion was taking a stronger hold in politics. Beginning in the 1980s, there were appearances of large numbers of Bible-carrying political activists at party caucases, rallies, 5 Gustavus Student Repository and conventions (Lienesch 1 ). This trend of political activity in the name of religion led to the building of more grass-roots organizations by the mid-1980s that served as "umbrella" networks. It was within these networks in which people could mobilize their votes as well as their beliefs on account of their religion. Religious groups which fell under the term "Christian Right" gave the movement a place to start through television as well as radio publicity. The founding of the Moral Majority by the televangelist Reverend Jerry Falwell in 1979 is one example and its firm support of Ronald Reagan in the presidential election of 1980 was what gave the Christian Right its first national attention. The media played a large role in how the Christian Right first received publicity in the national public scene. They were unsure of whether or not to give it recognition as a national movement or to consider it a social trend that would soon pass. "The Christian Right was discovered and dismissed in the press at least four times since it emerged on the national scene with the Moral Majority in 1979," (Rozell and Wilcox 1). 'The Christian Right's principal strengths derive from the size and vitality of white Evangelical Protestantism, one of the major religious traditions in the United States," (Green 5). As with most political movements, there are always strengths and weaknesses. The Christian Right has always had an advantage over other movements because of the rapid success it had had in the mass mobilization of voters it has attracted, but this advantage also results in many disputes between the masses who are members as far as theological issues and religious particularism is concerned (Green 5). "It is the strength of this religious-based mobilization--zealous activists, sophisticated leaders, and dedicated voters--that routinely bring the Christian Right to public notice," (Green 5). The strengths lie in the power that it holds through its sheer numerical strength in elections, but the task of appealing to more people in more diverse ways has proved difficult for many within the Christian Right. 6 Gustavus Student Repository ''The Christian Right can be usefully described by different strata of activity, with leaders and movement organizers at the 'top,' sets of activists in the 'middle,' and a group of potential voters at the 'bottom,'" (Rozell and Wilcox 2). This is the structure that most all social or political movements take in attempting to mobilize supporters when working at a grass-roots level. It gives the a movement more power and validity to have a mass group of volunteers not only leading, but following. The Christian Right has capitalized on the fact that it has voters who are willing to work at various levels either leading the Christian Right and its subgroups, being active volunteers for candidates, or being a voter who is willing to stay committed to the movement. This makes the movement dynamic because there is a three-tier level of workers who support one another at every stage of political activity. The Christian Right is often confused with the term the Religious Right when discussing religion and politics. The label Religious Right specifically refers to "an alliance of religious conservatives from many different backgrounds, including evangelical Protestants, conservative mainline Protestants, traditionalist Catholics, orthodox Jews, and so forth" (Rozell and Wilcox 5). The term Christian Right developed as a means to focus this movement's organization because it was becoming too broad to be an effective group. It was losing its potential as a strong alliance with focused goals. The Christian Right centers mainly on evangelical Protestants which is more limiting, yet without becoming so closed as to narrow the focus to only the "pro-family" movement. "The Christian Right can influence candidacies in at least three ways: through recruiting candidates, providing campaign resources to them, and directly mobilizing voters on their behalf," (Green 6). The Christian Right can make a more significant impact on the political system than it has already if it attempts to appeal to more voters in the future. If the movement grows large enough, candidates will feel more accountable to it and will run for office on issues that affect the movement's potential voters. The Christian Right holds a. lot 7 Gustavus Student Repository of power in the amount of potential votes that it could supply for a candidate, especially if their platform was already catered to encompass religious issues in politics. "[f]he Christian Right specializes in the direct mobilization of voters on behalf of candidates, activities that play most directly to the movement's strengths. The tactic of choice is to produce and distribute nonpartisan 'voter guides,"' (Green 7). Voter guides are usually distributed a few months before an election in local communities through the church. They explain the issues and the candidates and what it all means to the Christian Right as a political movement and how voters can vote to support these issues that concern the movement. Voter guides educate voters on what they night not know about the Christian Right and what it stands for as well as it educates voters on who is running for office and what issues they are pursuing in their campaign. The movement has made significant impacts on many candidates' campaigns through the process of providing campaign workers who participate in activities that educate voters on the candidates running for office and what issues they support that the movement is concerned with for that particular election. Smaller political groups support the Christian Right and mobilize voters nationally in their specific political movements that deal with morality and personal faith issues. In 1994, "[f]he 'big three' Christian Right organizations were quite active: the Christian Coalition, Concerned Women for America, and Focus on the Family," (Rozell and Wilcox 7). The Christian Right is supported by many of these movements that have grown to sizes in the millions (Christian Coalition). Through these groups comes specialization of issues that affect the choices voters make such as grassroots organizing, women, and family. Some of these groups are appealing to more liberal and moderate voters because they are discussing issues that are less stereotypically conservative. "The Christian Right' s goals extend beyond concern for families, and such concerns are common to a wide range of groups, including many on the left," (Rozell and Wilcox 5). Voters are realizing most recently that the Christian Right does not solely direct its attention to conservative voters, but 8 Gustavus Student Repository to moderate and liberal voters as well who may want to include the Christian faith in their political decisions. This quote from Rozell and Wilcox is a key part of why I believe the message directed to young voters in the future will be that the Christian Right is not only for older, more conservative voters, but can also appeal to young voters as well that may have more liberal views when voting in future elections. ******* Young Voters Young voters have developed into an enormous voting bloc which ironically has gone unnoticed by political groups and candidates throughout history, but today that number of young voters is growing larger and larger and no one is taking advantage of this. "Young Americans, after all, proved to be a powerful segment of the electorate in 1992: A record 37 per cent turned out at the polls, which was the largest voter turnout among 18-to- 24 year-olds in 20 years," (Reitman 120). As well as appealing to groups of voters who tend to be more on the left, the Christian Right will also begin to appeal to young voters who are becoming more conservative. "The youngest voters in America have become both more conservative and less loyal to the two major parties than elders. Ideologically, 37 per cent of 18-to-24-yearolds and 44 per cent of 25-to-29-year olds consider themselves conservative in their general social and economic outlook," (Fitzpatrick 46). Young voters seem to be focusing more on moral issues that deal with family and education which often tend to be issues that appeal to Christian Right voters. Although young voters are often stereotyped as being uninformed and lazy in their voting patterns, the youth of today are much more aware of future issues and are much more informed about issues that concern their generation. This is seen 9 Gustavus Student Repository through looking at their dedication to the environment, their concerns with education, as well as international peace issues. Young voters are somewhat ready to take individual responsibility in the political realm due to their generation's experiences with divorce as well as single-parent households. This is not to stereotype families of today or minimize the effects divorce has on a child, but it has been shown through studies that these situations produce children who are much more independent as well as self-reliant. This also may play a key role in why some young voters of today are more concerned with the Christian Right with its focus on family issues because they have dealt with divorce and separation first-hand. When young voters were polled about what the "American Dream" entailed in an issue of Swing published in April 1996 it said, "[f]wenty-six per cent cited 'a happy home life' and 12 per cent, 'spiritual fulfillment,"' (Fitzpatrick 46). The Christian Right fulfills both of these ''concerns of young voters through their appeal to evangelical Christians to vote for issues • that candidates stand for that will increase further family stability as well as religious issues • -in soci

Taking The Power Back: Social Struggles and Social Movements in Latin America

Author: Plotz Mark J.
Publication venue
Publication date: 23/01/2026
Field of study

Change on the macro level cannot be accomplished by a small number of people and the identification of a common foe must take place. In nearly every case this foe becomes the government and is often broaden beyond this to include specific countries, specific international actors, or economic systems in general. By broadening the scope and causes of the problem, these groups appeal to new sections of the population. A broadening of the movement gives it the power, the resources and the legitimacy to counter the established order. The reasons that the three following case studies have not met with greater success in their goals is because they have not made the transition from social struggle to social movement. In order to prove this thesis I will consider the case studies of the Landless Workers Movement of Brazil; the Shining Path of Peru; and the Zapatistas of Chiapas, Mexico. The case studies will then be evaluated by six criteria that Charles Stewart, Craig Smith and Robert E. Denton Jr., provide in the book Persuasion and Social Movements. These three cases were purposefully chosen because among contemporary struggles in Latin America they are among the best documented.Taking The Power Back: Social Struggles and Social Movements in Latin America Mark J. Plotz P099 May 12, 1997 Gustavus Student Repository Social unrest arises out of the tension between the state and society. Social struggle and social movements represent the crystallization of this tension. The relationship between the state and the society is never a constant one and is continually being redefined by a number of actors on the national and the international level. The tension between society and the state occurs when either actor does not properly respond to external or internal change. The actor may fail to respond to the change by redefining its role to suit the new condition, or the redefinition may be improper or fail to recognize that change took place at all. Despite influence from other actors the state remains the nexus for all relations, social and economic. It is the mediator between the interests of businesses, the people, the army, the economic and social classes, and the rest of the world. It follows then, that whenever society perceives a problem, the place that they look to for a solution is the state. The terms 'state' and 'society' are necessarily ambiguous and used to encompass a broad heterogeneous mixture of actors and interests. The state may be defined more usefully as the established order. 1 The first prong of the established order includes specific agencies such as legislative bodies, the courts, the police, the military and the communication media. Agents are the second prong of the established order and it includes: legislators, presidents, governors, soldiers and others in positions of power. The third prong includes many of those defined as agents and adds those considered 'beneficiaries' of the established order's action--corporations, businesses, churches, and the 'silent majorities.' The 'established order' is a better term than 'state' because it is 1 For an in-depth explanation see Charles Stewart, Craig Smith and Robert E. Denton Jr., Persuasion and Social Movement (Illinois: Waveland Press, 1984) pp. 1-14. 1 Gustavus Student Repository broad enough to encompasses those would campaign against the change that the social movements seek. Those seeking to renovate society will encounter opposition from the established order. Society may be more usefully thought of as those who exist outside the established order. Depending on the struggle or movement, the scope of this group is constantly changing. In addition to the established order, the society may be narrowed to include groups within society and exclude others. Typically this cleavage occurs along economic or social class lines. As the scope of the term society narrows the scope of the established order will. The danger of doing this is to split the particular struggle into 'us' against 'them' when in reality the complexity of the situation is much greater than that. What remains the fact that the state or the established order serves as the nexus upon which these struggles and movements are focused. What these movements are demanding is a certain level of autonomy or space to operate in. 2 Social movements are instigated by groups who are fighting for its own interests. Local and national governments are often reluctant to grant these demands because it usurps the power of the nation-state to control what happens within its borders. Sovereignty--the name given to this concept is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity due to globalization. This is already evident in the expansion of free trade to the rest of the world and the establishment of the multinational corporation. The nationstates are increasingly losing control over their economy and international corporations are increasingly gaining economic and political influence within the nation-states borders. 2 For an expanded explanation of this idea see Richard K. Ashley and R. B. J. Walker's article "Speaking the Language of Exile: Dissident Thought in International Studies" International Studies Quarterly 34 (1990): pp. 259-266. 2 Gustavus Student Repository Businesses like social movements are seeking autonomy from the state. Businesses ask to with a certain level of autonomy and have circumvented the control of the state to some extent. Foreign debt and currency problems combined to persuade governments to open their borders and their economies to the international market. State-makers who might have been reluctant to do so found their hand forced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to incorporate into the world economy and stabilize their debt by accepting austerity measures. Sovereignty has become a thing of the past and granting specific groups within the population their demands would continue the drain on regulatory power of the state. Granting autonomy to these groups could also tear a country apart by fragmenting social groups. The state serves as the nexus for these demands because it is the only actor with the power to grant the autonomy these movements are looking for. Change can be brought about through the use of officially sanctioned channels or be accomplished through non-conventional means. The three case studies that I examine here use a mix of official and unofficial channels. Official refers to the legislative and judicial process--channels for change provided by the established order. Actors who seek to modify the established order this way often meet with great frustration because of opposition to change. Actors may then resort to unofficial channels for change such as violent and non-violent protests, occupations of public buildings and media campaigns. Actors who adopt this approach might meet with greater resistance from the established order and will also face criticism for not using official channels. Movements that seek change through existing channels may be incorporated into the established order to some 3 Gustavus Student Repository extent. If this happens the actors risk losing their base of support and cease being a social movements. There is no right answer or correct combination. The landless workers of Brazil, the Zapatistas of Mexico have chosen the middle ground and met with varying degrees of success. The forces influencing the operation of the state are now greater and more complex than ever. Demands may be international, nation-wide or local in origin. They may be political, social or economic in nature. Causes may be local, but problems are often international in origin. In all three of these case-studies attempts to see a particular problem in a global context have been made. The larger in scope a problem is made, the larger the number of interested actors grows. Neo-Iiberalism is a good example. If opposition to neo-Iiberalism can transcend national borders, the stronger the opposition will become. This can be countered by the same thing happening in support of neoliberalism. It becomes a battle of time and resources for the control over the nation-state. The nation-state continues to be the most powerful actor in international relations. At their current level of organization social movements have not become the irresistible force for change that allowed the forces of economic globalization to partially prevail over the nation-state. Until this occurs social movements, social struggles and unrest will not accomplish the change they seek. Latin America has historically been a hot-bed of revolution and counter-revolution. It is often said that while the rest of the world has elections, Latin America has revolutions. Latin America is this way because official channels for change that are spoken about above are very restricted in Lain America. Explanations for this occurrence usually 4 Gustavus Student Repository focus on the Latin America's 500 year legacy of colonialism. Colonialism concentrated wealth and subsequently power into the hands of few and subordinated the needs of the rest of the population to that of the ruling elite. Little has changed. Many of the struggles in Latin America are in the name of recognition of constitutionally guaranteed rights. In this situation implementation is the problem. Either a government is unwilling to enforce change or it is unable. Change must then originate from outside the established order and from alternative channels of communication. Change threatens the established order and will be met each time with opposition that is often violent. There is a war being waged over the soul and future Latin America. If social change is sought, organizing a social movement around these concerns is the most effective way for change to be realized. Social movements in Latin America, or any other part of the world, begin on the micro level by embodying specific concerns of people on a local level. However, many of the problems that might be observed on the local level are usually the result of austerity measures enacted on the national level, or pressure from the IMF or World Bank, then the problem assumes a much bigger dimension. As the link between local problems and national problems is forged the focus begins to shift from the micro to the macro level. Change on the macro level cannot be accomplished by a small number of people and the identification of a common foe must take place. In nearly every case this foe becomes the government and is often broaden beyond this to include specific countries, specific international actors, or economic systems in general. By broadening the scope and causes of the problem, these groups appeal to new sections of the population. A 5 Gustavus Student Repository broadening of the movement gives it the power, the resources and the legitimacy to counter the established order. The reasons that the three following case studies have not met with greater success in their goals is because they have not made the transition from social struggle to social movement. In order to prove this thesis I will consider the case studies of the Landless Workers Movement of Brazil; the Shining Path of Peru; and the Zapatistas of Chiapas, Mexico. The case studies will then be evaluated by six criteria that Charles Stewart, Craig Smith and Robert E. Denton Jr., provide in the book Persuasion and Social Movements. These three cases were purposefully chosen because among contemporary struggles in Latin America they are among the best documented. Landless Workers Movement of Brazil In 1986 over twenty years of military dictatorship came to an end as a new civilian government was installed. Two years later, in October, a new constitution was adopted. The Constitution was extremely progressive--even by contemporary standards and signaled a new era of hope for Amazonian Indians, peasants and urban poor--groups specifically targeted for consideration. Land reform was considered a top priority by the new democratic government, and many promises were made to reform the current system. Political reality and campaign rhetoric failed to coincide and land redistribution assumed a glacial pace. President Cardoso's election, made possible by the support of wealthy landowners from the North, threatened to further stagnate any progress toward land reform that had been made. The administration eventually bowed under public pressure and 6 Gustavus Student Repository Cardoso promised to settle three hundred thousand families during his four year term. Little progress has been made beyond token efforts. Tired of waiting for reforms, the pace of land invasions increased. The visibility of the Landless Workers Movement also increased. "It is necessary to occupy, because this is the only way to achieve agrarian reform in Brazil."3 On April 17, 1995, 19 landless protesters were killed and another 50 wounded by police suspected of being on the landowner's payroll. The protesters had peacefully occupied an uncultivated parcel of land and were waiting to negotiate with government officials. The officers arrived to disperse the crowd. They shot tear gas into the crowd and began shooting. A reporter and cameraman who happened to be stuck in the traffic jam created by the police caught the whole thing on tape. This was the Rodondan massacre. No charges have been filed against the police, four protesters were arrested. Ideology Their name in Portuguese, Movement Sem Terra (worker's movement for land), is evidence of their simple demands and effective tactics. The MST does not operate though a declared ideology. They demand for the government to carry out constitutional guarantees of land reform and redistribute the huge amount of currently idle agricultural land in Brazil. Their slogan is: "Occupy, resist, and produce. Agrarian reform is everybody's struggle." Factions within the Landless movement also add "defend" to 3 Fabio L.S. Petrarolha, "Brazil: The Meek Want the Earth Now" Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Nov.Dec. 1996 p.2 6. 7 Gustavus Student Repository signify a willingness to resort to armed struggle. If the MST operates through any type of ideology it is that of empowerment on the grass roots level. Identifying who the enemy of the Landless Movement is, is a subject of some confusion. Objectively, the fault does not rest with the government. Agrarian reform is enshrined in the new constitution and land reform is the stated goal of the government. The problem is implementation. The government lacks the executive will to enact the badly needed reforms. The Brazilian government finds itself in an unfortunate, but necessary mediator position between the landowners and the peasants as capital squares off against enpowerment. Too often blood is shed. The Landless Movement is a unique organization created specifically to carry out direct action through occupation of idle agricultural land. Frustrated by lack of political change and totally denied representation in the political system, the landless moved to correct their situation. The Landless Workers Movement began in 1984 in response to the rapidly deteriorating social conditions of Brazil. Their first action was taken in the three most southern states: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Parana. Social and Historical Context Brazil has one of the severest land distribution problems in the world. Roughly half of the land suitable for agriculture is held by fewer than one percent of the landowners and roughly 62 percent of all land lies idle.4 Many of Brazil's problems can be traced to its severely skewed land distribution. The liberalizing of economic policy encouraged increased mechanization on the farms and estates where many of the landless found work. 4 Ibid., p. 23. 8 Gustavus Student Repository Soon they were out of jobs and unable to make ends meet with what they produced on their small plot of land they moved to the cities in search of work. High rates of unemployment and poverty quickly followed this mass migration .. Tactics and Organization The MST has taken the direct approach to land reform through the occupation of uncultivated land. The tactic of occupation is most often employed in regions with long histories of land disputes. In a typical occupation, several hundred workers and their families move onto a parcel of uncultivated land. They set up a temporary tent city and begin to cultivate the land for the food they need to survive. If they are lucky enough to remain there, the government will recognize their occupation and purchase the land for the peasants in accordance with the 1988 constitution. However, in the majority of occupations that occurred in 1995 and 1996, the peasants were either thrown off the land or threatened by private thugs. The MST is a model of a democratic organization. The decision to occupy a parcel of land is made at the local level by a rural union--a group of landless peasants. They then apply for assistance in their occupation to the MST who will provide the peasants with buses to transport people to the occupation site, tents to live in, tools for cultivation, and seeds to plant. Once the decision to occupy land is made the poor flock from all corners of the country to participate. They come with the hope they will be able to secure a piece of land for themselves and escape urban or rural poverty. Local encampment coordinators 9 Gustavus Student Repository are charged with taldng care of education, nutrition, health, production, conflict negotiation and press. Overseeing the operation of the MST is not a leader, but 65 members of a board of coordinators. The function of the board is to make policy decisions and then pass these on to a group of 15 representatives for implementation. The representatives are drawn from the pool of professional militants and are usually politically trustworthy and esteemed members of the movement who have proven themselves in past campaigns. Finally, all peasants who have been helped by the MST are asked to donate one percent of everything produced at their settlements to the operating budget of the organization. The leadership of the MST emphasizes that contributions are voluntary, but those who have been helped by the MST are more than willing to support it financially. As the MST has grown bigger it has diversified. Cooperatives have been established to help the peasants market their surplus merchandise and still compete with the larger farms. In Sarandi, the Landless Movement produces 30,000 liters of milk daily. In another city it operates a cooperative factory that produces 1,200 pairs of jeans a month. A project has also been undertaken with the Ministry of Education to teach cooperative techniques. Use of the media has also recently been employed in the cause of the landless. Occupations--land invasions as some in the media refer to them, were previously organized in great secrecy. Now occupations are announced and even used as open threats against the government in order to cajole them into action. Occupiers have taken to the streets and the public eye to stir up support for their fight. So far it has worked. 10 Gustavus Student Repository Current Situation: The Landless Workers Movement employs the use of land occupation as a way to exert political pressure for legitimate change. Acting through the government is still the best way to accomplish political change as the government still is recognized by all as a legitimate authority. A major turning point in the movement occurred after the media exposed the massacre at Eldorado dos Carajas (Rodonda). Land occupations may not pay off immediately, but the media exposure that they generate during an occupation is of immeasurable benefit. The MST has been modifying its tactics in order to protect against violent backlash from government forces and landowners. Tactics include squatting and then just leaving once the thugs show up, or the occupation of one public building after another by the group. The MST is destined to be around for awhile. Popular support for the movement grows everyday as does membership and the success stories that result. Diversification in the form of 55 cooperatives ensures that the MST will live beyond the end of land reform. Media coverage that has been crucial to the achievement of their objectives continues to grow and has caught the attention of the media in Brazil as well as the international media. Recently, links to the Zapatistas have been established by the MST.5 Agrarian reform was enshrined in the 1988 constitution. Standing in the way of true reform are the interests of landowners, politicians, and military leaders. While the poor struggle for existence in the slums of the cities, the rich continue to consolidate their power. Patience has not produced change, but the activities of the Landless Workers 5 Ibid., p. 28 11 Gustavus Student Repository Movement has. The de facto occupation of land by this group is driving the agrarian reform that the Brazilian government has paid little more than lip service to. Zapatistas On January 1, 1994 as the Mexican, Canadian and American governments and corporate America waited for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFT A) to take effect, the Indians of Chiapas, Mexico stole the whole show with a spectacular armed uprising which captured the attention of the world. The Emiliano Zapata Liberacion N acional (EZLN) or the Zapatistas as the rest of the world refers to them as, launched the uprising by occupying public buildings in the tourist town of San de Cristobal. The first battle in the Zapatista' s self-proclaimed "war on capitalism" claimed a total of 145 lives-most of those killed were poorly armed Indian teenagers and innocent civilians. To the world,

Politics and the New Age Movement

Author: Palm Fred
Publication venue
Publication date: 27/01/2026
Field of study

New Age spiritualism as we know it today has gone through many phases and has been baptized many different names: anything from the Aquarian Conspiracy to what we refer today as the New Age movement. Fundamentally these different labels are trying to define a movement that is innately aloof at its core. The New Age movement is difficult to define since it is such a conglomeration of different types of spirituality. Anything from transcendental meditation to communication with dolphins can and has been labeled as forms of New Age spirituality. This is one of the reasons it is difficult to assign a standard textbook definition to the movement.Fred Palm Politics and the New Age Movement Dr. Paul Djupe May 25, 1998 Gustavus Student Repository New Age spiritualism is not a new type of spirituality but rather a new way of looking at life. The New Age is not a time period or an age in classical terms but rather a redo or start over for life and the way in which we look at life. New Age spirituality has a long history, one that stretches back to the mid to late nineteenth century with the work of Carl G. Jung and his ideas about conscious awakening. In Carl G. Jung's writings he often refers to the unconscious and the power that it has in our everyday lives. Jung believes there are different levels of the unconscious and we should work to gain an understanding of this unconscious. The reason an understanding of the unconscious is important is because it seems to have implications in how we interact with the world around us. These levels, according to Jung, are difficult to understand but they exist, and at the core of these levels is something that he refers to as the "collective unconscious." It is this collective unconscious that is particularly interesting for the New Age movement since it implies an idea of a common ideology. The elements in the collective unconscious manifest themselves in the same way as other unconscious elements, that is by causing ideas, attitudes and behavior which do not fit in with the normal life of the person concerned; but the Gustavus Student Repository -'11 manifestations of the collective unconscious are rather different from those of the personal unconscious. Manifestation of the collective unconscious are, in a way, more odd than the effects of other unconscious elements, and they often have an outre quality about them. The result of their greater oddness is that there more resistance to them in the conscious psyche, so that they are less likely to crop up in the course of actual living than are the effects of other unconscious things: they turn up only when one is relaxed and off guard in dreams or day-dreams, or special circumstances (meditation) ... (Cox Pg. 81) This collective unconscious becomes important late in understanding some of the ties that the New Age movement has to Politics. The teachings of Jung are fundamental in the New Age movement in that they give some legitimacy to the claims that change can occur through the power of thought. This collective unconscious according to Jung and proponents of the New Age movement is an innate property that surpasses gender, nation-state, religious, and economic borders and therefore is reachable through self-analyzation. New Age spiritualism as we know it today has gone through many phases and has been baptized many different names: anything from the Aquarian Conspiracy to what we refer today as the New Age movement. Fundamentally these different labels are trying to define a movement that is innately aloof at its core. The New Age movement is difficult to define since it is such a conglomeration of different types of spirituality. Anything from Gustavus Student Repository transcendental meditation to communication with dolphins can and has been labeled as forms of New Age spirituality. This is one of the reasons it is difficult to assign a standard textbook definition to the movement. The New Age way is also a multivolume encyclopedia of metaphysical notions, esoteric techniques, crosscultural religious themes, and some degree "scientific" maps of the universe. The present-day "guide for the perplexed" -which can be envisaged metaphysically as the entire range of subject titles in a New Age bookstore-entails astrology, yoga, divination, shamanism, Wicca or white witchcraft, worship of the earth goddess, ecology, human potential psychology, community activism, animal rights, geomancy, ceremonial magic, Buddhist meditation, "planetary politics", Jewish cabala, the ethics of Christian monasticism, the Hindu belief in karma, and reincarnation, channeling of spirit guides, communication with dolphins and extraterrestrials, "psychotronics, " Tibetan Pilgrimages, the search for the earth's ancient "sacred sights, " holistic health, herbs, psychic methods such as clairvoyance and telekinesis, out-of-body travel, "win/win" business strategies, message, energy vortices, Indian sweat lodges, hypnosis and so on. ( Ferguson Pg. 108-109) Even within the New Age movement there are differing opinions on what is and is not part of the New Age movement. Many groups that are lumped into this category do not feel as if this label adequately defines them. This lack of adherence or identification to the New Age movement is one of the reasons that it is difficult to assess how many people are actually involved in the movement. This problem partly comes from the attitude found in the New Age Gustavus Student Repository movement, which allows people and groups to remain aligned with their particular traditions while still being a part of the movement. This phenomenon is not only applied to the different bodies of the movement but also the individual people who make up these organizations. The New Age embraces all religions and spiritual disciplines. There are many paths to God, and each person has the right to find the one that is appropriate for him or her. It is not necessary to abandon the beliefs or the religion one was raised in. (Kelly Pg. 21) " The different organizations that are a part of the New Age movement have helped shape the character and attitude that the New Age movement has. This is most apparent in the focus on personal growth and enlightenment. Although the New Age movement encompasses a wide variety of organizations, there is a common theme that seems to flow through all of these different groups: personal growth and enlightenment. One of the fundamental aspects of New Age is the focus on the growth of the individual and healing of the inner being. Later in this essay we will see that it is this inner healing or growth that is the link to the world at large and the political systems that govern it. The ambiguity that is involved in the definition makes the job of measuring adherence troublesome. The question what Gustavus Student Repository qualifies a person as a New Age spiritualist is often asked when seeking an answer to how many people are involved in the movement. Does listening to New Age music qualify or is it the ownership of a rain-stick? The estimates of the number of people involved range from the millions to a mere 30, 000 ( Corbett Pg. 293) . This discrepancy in numbers adds to the confusion of the new age movement since it is now questionable as to how many people take part in influencing the world through this New Age consciousness, but as stated before it is possible to be a New Age Spiritualist without having to relinquish ties to western religions. The growth of New Age books sales and conferences focusing on New Age in resent years seems to indicate that there is a larger following then a mere 30, 000. "An entire industry was spawned with big trade shows and expos such as the famous 'Whole Life expo' held in Los Angeles, Sam Francisco, and New York every year. Mind, body, spirit festivals have become very popular and are excellent place to purchase crystals, oracles devices, and musical instruments ranging from imported 'Tibetan Temple Bells' to 'Crystal Singing Bowls." (Kelly Pg. 26) Not only is this a good place to pick up a new bell or shrine but also a good place to network and find out what is going on in the community. The exhibitors are free to Gustavus Student Repository spread their pamphlits to whomever is looking for inner peace or just interested in non-traditional methods of liberation from their aliments. Gustavus Student Repository The New Age movement has been evolving in recent decades out o f the spiritual world in order to fill a void that has been created due years of unfulfilled emotional and spiritual needs. The New Age movement has focused on the inner being and allowing the Inner-Light or spirit within, to shine so that personal peace and worth can be retrieved. The fears that have kept people from realizing their InnerLight may be a variety of issues. Many of these fears or issues may stem from the pressures society places on all people. These pressures may be to fit into a mold that society has established as the correct way to look, act, feel, and think. The pressures may not all be deliberate but rather firmly rooted in institutions that society maintains. Many of these institutions stem from patriarchal values, which have shaped society in such a way that it no longer values the feminine spirit. This rejection of the feminine in many religions has caused a vacuum in spiritual fulfillment in some people. This denial o f the sacred feminine is a key point in understanding how New Age spirituality has filled this vacuum and help people realize the duality of the universe. Although no one man actually created the patriarchy, all bear responsibility for sustaining it. We cannot undo this system of dominance until we understand how it dominates and diminishes the men who run it and the women who live under it. As long as men Gustavus Student Repository accept male superiority as normal, they will also be forced to accept its perverting effects. In maintaining a privileged position in the patriarchy, men cooperate in an ironic subjugation of themselves. " (Absher Pg. Xiii) Society places tremendous amounts of pressure on people to live within the boundaries that have been set over years. Like Absher says, we are not consciously aware that we perpetuate these values unless we look into ourselves and realize the implications of our actions. It is this core, or collective unconscious system that the New Age movement is trying to liberate itself from. As stated before this comes through self-analyzation and later projection of positive energy on to the rest of society. This liberation movement could be referred to as American liberation theology, although Americans are not being liberated from a dictatorship they are being liberated from the societal pressure to fit the patriarchal mold and adhere to its values. Liberation theology started as a movement in Latin America mainly from within the Catholic Church protesting oppressive regimes. The struggle in Latin America has been well documented in many books and journals and the nature of the struggle has been well defined. Although liberation theology in its classic form is not applicable to the United Gustavus Student Repository States, the essence of the movement can be applied to struggles that are going on in American society. The United States is a nation filled with images of beauty and normalcy, the standard to which people have been held have been and continue to be too high. The by-products of this pressure are a high rate of low self-esteem and cosmetic surgery. Society has made many of these outward appearances impossible due to unrealistic standards. Most people in our society do not fit the mold that has been produced by the patriarchal society whether it is physical appearance or social behavior. Not only has physical appearance been judged by the patriarchal society but also gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons. These groups have had some success in liberation through the gay rights movement. However, in religion very few changes have taken place to ensure equality of all people. The church has not opened its doors of opportunity to those who are gay. This exclusion from teaching or preaching has caused resentment for established religion. The New Age movement provides some of the support for religious liberation through an understanding of a common subjugation to the patriarchal world. The New Age movement utilizes knowledge from many different religions and theologies to gain insight on issues Gustavus Student Repository that are prevalent in society and applies them in hopes of eliminating some of these problems. Today and forever, each of us has more to learn than to teach. Yet teach we must insofar as we are called forth, by our people, to contribute our particular part to the magnificent and complex, troubled puzzling, configuration of human experience. Hayward Pg. 8) " It is this connection between people that has made the New Age movement successful, the common misery and unhappiness with the world that has brought people together. The New Age movement is committed to the common goal of liberating people from labels and allowing people to experience all aspects of the human life without fearing damnation. This liberation happens though an awakening of the unconscious, which can occur through many different forms of inter-spection or combination of many different religious methods, i.e. meditation, prayer, yoga. The liberation that people are seeking is not only freedom to behave, as they want but also the insurance that their way of life is not grounds for discrimination. The insurance of human dignity is also a part of the liberation that is sought by people in the New Age movement. Through spiritual means these rights and freedoms can be achieved Gustavus Student Repository which is why the New Age movement uses the collective unconscious to bring about this change in society. Jesus as the liberator means liberation now, in this world, in terms of voting rights, jobs, equal access to good education, and adequate housing. The liberation that Jesus offers certainly includes freedom from the eternal punishment of unforgiven sins. It certainly includes a hope-for future in which oppression and pain of every kind shall cease. But first and foremost, Jesus means liberation now, sociopolitical and economic liberation. He means full humanity for people who have never had full humanity. (Corbett Pg. 226) Jesus is only one tool to achieve the goal of liberation; Jesus may be substituted with any other god that seems to have dominion over the world. This is where it becomes clear that liberation theology can be applied to the New Age movement and establishes that it is not exclusive to the struggles of Latin America. Just like many of the religious teachings of New Age spirituality that have been manipulated and distorted to fit the American culture, liberation theology has gone through the same transformation in the United States. The movement uses the liberation theology in a sense that, through personal pain and suffering a realization can be deduced that full humanity can be reached through self-evaluation and love. The New Age movement has often been likened to the (very subjective) world of self-help, which takes an Gustavus Student Repository introspective view of enlightenment and can be very selfserving. QLike organized religions, twelve-step and other self-help programs offer their followers something from each of the four dimensions of religion. Perhaps the most important belief is that human beings can transform their lives. Even when the situation appears hopeless-or most of all when it appears hopeless- people have the capacity to make a better life for themselves." (Religion in America Pg. 301) It is therefore understandable that surrendering some of the pain to a higher power, through meditation or prayer could relieve the struggle of these groups. Although surrendering the pain is an aspect of liberation, it does not always solve all the problems and does not give immediate results that can be measured. Therefore some sort of mantra which empowers and reaffirms the validity of the persons pain is important. This is where the link between the New Age movement and the selfhelp phenomenon occurs, the healing of the self is an important and empowering part of liberation and an aspect which can not be over looked due to it prevalence in the movement. The self-evaluation element of the New Age is vital since only the individual has the insight to their situation. The ownership can be reliquished to the universe Gustavus Student Repository after it has first been dealt with on an inner-personal level. The shared experience can then be dealt with and lifted to new levels by all, not just the afflicted. "You cannot understand me, much less know me, unless you are open to understanding the world that shapes us both. Similarly, what is 'outside' me is not really, entirely, outside me. The world is the crucible of my personal life. I am touched by, and touch others (Hayward Pg. 12-13) ." The understanding of the self is as important as having an understanding of the world around that self. It is vital to understand the self before being able to express the reasons for the oppression or to liberate oneself from the oppressive force. Once one has gained insight into the self it .is easier to introduce change in the society as a whole, and in turn liberate the society from its prejudice and the patriarchal influence. It is through a societal awakening that change can occur and is the factor that allows the New Age movement to be tied to the political world. Through self-analization and actualization the self becomes empowered and mobile to action. It is the power and control factor that has helped the New Age movement attract its following. The lack of power and control over what happens in our society has left many people feeling as though they are dissonant to society. Gustavus Student Repository The New Age movement helps people feel as though they are taking part in the improvement of society at large. Through meditation, prayer, and an awakening of the feminine and mystical, many groups have been able to unite and have some impact on society. The New Age movement has been successful in uniting and opening the minds of many people to the power of the feminine spirit and has provoked people to think critically about what the role of the archetypes play in their daily life. The reason that the New Age movement has been successful in doing this is because of its openness to all experiences and inclusive nature. Although the New Age movement has helped liberate many groups through consciousness building and selfactualization, it has not been one hundred percent effective. The movement has many opponents who feel that it is not pursuing change in a logical way. Also, because of its ties to the self-help world many do not seem to take it seriously. However, it is clear that through awakening of the collective unconscious the New Age movement will change the face of society and lift the inhabitants of this nation out of oppression and into the light of empowerment. Gustavus Student Repository As we have seen the New Age movement has helped people liberate themselves from societal pressures and assisted people in realizing their potential. These realizations have certain societal implications, which need to be explored to have an understanding of how the New Age movement a ffects the political climate of the US. The ties that the New Age movement has to society are not limited to voting; rather they are much more involved in the awareness and enlightenment aspects of government. Although this awareness campaign may not be a message that is deliberately sent, it is never the less going be distributed by all who carry the mindset of the New Age movement. I f there is propaganda being spread for some sort o f change then there needs to be a n identifiable platform that the New Age movement is supporting. This platform could be looked at as being the human rights campaign, world hunger, population growth, ecological issues, world peace, and world literacy. These are some of the issues that the New Age Movement is trying to have and e f fect on. Through self-analyzation and healing, the light o f tolerance will grow and problems will be relinquished through the use o f positive thinking. It is through enlightenment and selfunderstanding that we can connect with those people who are Gustavus Student Repository hurting and this connectedness will be the motivation for spreading the positive energy of change. The apprehension of cosmic unity seems to carry with it a notion of a higher or supraindivdual self, an inclusive reality within which one's apparent or phenomenal self participates. When we connect with our own souls, we connect with the souls of every human being-that is, with the world soul. (Peters, Pg. 64) This connectedness is a fundamental part of how the New Age movement effects the world. The process of self-analyzation and lifting up of the unconscious to a new plain is the idea that makes the New Age different from other movements, it is the inner, rather than outer, peace that is sought so that global peace can be realized not the other way around. As it was stated before, it is the concept of the collective unconscious that becomes important here since we are dealing with change on the global level and a tapping into the "world soul. " Jung would say that the collective unconscious can only be tapped when not realizing that its power was in motion. It is this that makes the tie to politics so vague. There are legions of conspirators (people in the New Age movement) . They are in corporations, universities and hospit

The Two-Party System of American Politics: Problems and Solutions

Author: Wetherbee James
Publication venue
Publication date: 30/01/2026
Field of study

Are you a Republican or a Democrat? This is a common question that is asked of many people, from elementary school children to well educated adults. This question is simple enough on the surface, but on another level, it is very telling of an aspect of American political culture. Notice this question was not "Are you a Republican, Democrat, or a Socialist?" or even "What is your political association?" This question assumes that a given person identifies with one of these two ideologies. When an eighteen year old returns from the voting booth for the first time, a common reaction is to be surprised at the number of candidates running for a given office. The major reason for this is since the inception of the American political system, the majority of elections have been between two major parties, so Americans are conditioned to think about political competition dichotomously. The two major parties changed a few times in the early goings of the American republic, but since 1854, no party has been able to win the White House away from the Republicans or Democrats. This system of two-party politics seems very American. Let the two strongest kids on the block fight it out, winner take all. But is this really what is best for America? America has long taken pride in its system of free elections, one man, one vote, and the fact that everyone over the voting age has the opportunity to express their political opinions. However, in recent years, the percentage of people voting has been on the decline. Is this because there aren't as many important issues today as there used to be? Certainly not. The U.S. has many troops scattered across the globe at all times on peace keeping missions, poised to act aggressively at the President's command. There are many instances of gross human rights violations throughout the world, which seem to warrant attention from the American populous. Domestically, there are the ongoing problems of poverty, crime, and racism. And just a few years ago, a major health care reform bill, which would have drastically affected every person in America, was narrowly defeated. Still, in general, the American electorate has taken a hands-off approach to politics. It is unfortunate that a country founded on the principles of Democracy and free elections now sees less than half of its voting age population vote in even its largest elections (In the l 996 presidential election, 49% of the voting age population voted). Why has the American public become so bored with politics? After all, decisions made by our elected officials have a significant effect on our daily life.The Two-Party System of American Politics: Problems and Solutions James Wetherbee Political Science, Thesis Project December 16, 1999 Chris Gilbert Gustavus Student Repository Section I: Introduction Important Definitions Goals Structure Section II: History of and Challenges to the Two-Party System Third Party Threats in the History of the Two-Party System Bull Moose Progressive Progressive Party: LaFollette American Independent: George Wallace Conclusions Section ill: Difficulties of Third Parties in American Politics Structural Constraints Cultural Constraints Section IV: Can the Reform Party Become a Major Party? Perot in 1992 Section V: Specific Problems of the Two-Party System Section VI: How to Encourage a Multi-Party System Section VII: Conclusion 2 3 4 6 6 7 9 10 11 13 14 16 16 19 22 22 27 32 36 Gustavus Student Repository Section I: Introduction Are you a Republican or a Democrat? This is a common question that is asked of many people, from elementary school children to well educated adults. This question is simple enough on the surface, but on another level, it is very telling of an aspect of American political culture. Notice this question was not "Are you a Republican, Democrat, or a Socialist?" or even "What is your political association?" This question assumes that a given person identifies with one of these two ideologies. When an eighteen year old returns from the voting booth for the first time, a common reaction is to be surprised at the number of candidates running for a given office. The major reason for this is since the inception of the American political system, the majority of elections have been between two major parties, so Americans are conditioned to think about political competition dichotomously. The two major parties changed a few times in the early goings of the American republic, but since 1854, no party has been able to win the White House away from the Republicans or Democrats. This system of two-party politics seems very American. Let the two strongest kids on the block fight it out, winner take all. But is this really what is best for America? America has long taken pride in its system of free elections, one man, one vote, and the fact that everyone over the voting age has the opportunity to express their political opinions. However, in recent years, the percentage of people voting has been on the decline. Is this because there aren't as many important issues today as there used to be? 3 Gustavus Student Repository Certainly not. The U.S. has many troops scattered across the globe at all times on peace keeping missions, poised to act aggressively at the President's command. There are many instances of gross human rights violations throughout the world, which seem to warrant attention from the American populous. Domestically, there are the ongoing problems of poverty, crime, and racism. And just a few years ago, a major health care reform bill, which would have drastically affected every person in America, was narrowly defeated. Still, in general, the American electorate has taken a hands-off approach to politics. It is unfortunate that a country founded on the principles of Democracy and free elections now sees less than half of its voting age population vote in even its largest elections (In the l 996 presidential election, 49% of the voting age population voted). Why has the American public become so bored with politics? After all, decisions made by our elected officials have a significant effect on our daily life. In 1992, H. Ross Perot ran as a third party candidate for the office of the Presidency. Although he did not win a single electoral vote, his campaign did have a legitimate effect on the way the two major party candidates operated their own campaign. When the votes were tallied, Perot received 19 percent of the popular vote, more than any third party candidate since Teddy Roosevelt received 27.5 percent in 1912. His campaign served to raise awareness among the American electorate that the two-party system in American politics is not written in stone, and there are other candidates from which to choose. Important Definitions So far this paper has discussed the two-party system, the major political parties, and third parties in American politics. Before this investigation progresses, it is necessary to 4 Gustavus Student Repository define some of the terms that will be used throughout the remainder of the discussion. A political party, for the purposes of this paper, is "a group of officeholders, candidates, activists, and voters who identify with a group label and seek to elect individuals to public office who run under that label" (Sabato 26). This definition is intentionally broad and inclusive, and makes no distinction as to how well organized or loosely structured the group is. Because the subject matter of this paper is largely focused on the current twoparty system of American politics, the term "major party" refers to the Republican and Democratic parties unless otherwise indicated. Since 1860, these have been the only two parties to both hold the Presidency, and to run candidates in every Presidential election. A more specific definition of what actually constitutes a major party could be given, but for the purposes of this paper, "major party" refers specifically to Republicans and Democrats. The definition of the "two-party system" is the tradition of near exclusive competition between the two major parties and their candidates for publicly elected political offices. It is important to note that this is a general term, and there have been non-major party candidates to win political offices; however, the tradition of two-party competition is the norm, and these are notable exceptions to a general rule. A "minor party" and a "third party," for our purposes, have the same meaning. Any party other than the two major parties will be referred to by one of these terms, and the candidates who run for these parties will be called "minor candidates" or "third party candidates" interchangeably. (Rosenstone 9) It is important to note that the terms "third party" and "third party candidate" are not meant to imply that the candidate or party represent the only alternative to the major parties and their candidates. These terms can refer to any number of parties, even if they are competing for the same office. For example, sixteen 5 Gustavus Student Repository non-major parties were on the ballot in the 1996 Presidential Election. All sixteen of these can be referred to as third parties. Goals The purposes of this paper are first to prove that the traditional two-party system of American politics is no longer a good representation of the American electorate, and is thus detrimental to the best interests of America. And secondly to offer a solution that could help third parties break the two-party domination. The American public has largely become apathetic regarding domestic politics largely because of the two-party system. However, minor parties face many obstacles that must be overcome if they hope to challenge this system Structure Section Two of this paper is a brief history of how the two-party system has become so engrained into American political culture, focusing especially on the Presidential election. This section will also include examples of notable third party challenges to the Presidency. The third section is an extensive investigation of the restraints and difficulties third parties have in all aspects of the political process, from attempting to get on the ballot, to the difficulties involved in actually winning the election. Section Four is a brief case study of the Reform Party, its roots, and whether or not it poses a serious threat to the traditional two-party system. The fifth section is an in-depth look at the problems of the two-party system, and why America would be well served to move away from this system. Section Six outlines the steps that need to be taken in order to make 6 Gustavus Student Repository government more accessible to third parties and their candidates, and offers a possible solution to help third parties overcome the obstacles they face. The final section is a conclusion that sums up the research presented in the paper. Section II: History of and Challenges to the Two-Party System History "To the American voter, the two parties are as legitimate as any institution formally prescribed in the U.S. Constitution. Children grow up learning about the President, the Congress, and the Democrats and Republicans" (Rosenstone 3). As soon as the Constitution was ratified and free elections were to take place, it was inevitable that people with different visions of America's future would compete with each other to gain influence and push their agenda into policy. Considering how engrained the two-party system has become in American culture, one may think that this system was planned from the beginning. In fact, the opposite is true. The framers of the Constitution were worried that the establishment of political parties would lead to division, and would undermine the public interest (Bibby 2 1). In George Washington's Farewell Address of 1796, he had this to say about the spirit of political parties: "(It) serves always to distract the Public Councils and enfeeble the Public administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one party against another, foments occasional riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and 7 Gustavus Student Repository corruption, which find a facilitated access to government itself through the channels of party passions" (Bibby 2 1 ). This statement was a response to the first semblances of political parties, which began to form during his term as President. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton can be considered the pioneers of the twoparty system. The two had differing policy concerns and looked to their followers for support. Hamilton was concerned with the formation of a strong central government, hence he and his followers were dubbed "Federalists." Jefferson was the first to look to the state and local levels of government for support and to endorse candidates for specific political offices at the national and state level. From this action, he and his followers easily won the Presidential election of 1800 (Bibby 22). The name of the party that eventually emerged from Jefferson's victory was the Democrats. From 1836 to 1852, the Democrats and the Whigs were the two major parties of the time, and as far as Presidential politics were concerned, they were really the only two parties. It was probably around this time that America started to get into the habit of accepting the two-party system. These two groups campaigned vigorously across the nation in order to gain support and win over voters. Americans eventually began to drift towards one or the other of these parties, and thus the polarization of the American electorate was underway. "In this atmosphere of partisan mobilization, voters began to see themselves as either Whigs or Democrats" (Bibby 24). However, the Whigs reign at the top ended when in 1854, the Republican Party captured a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives (Rosenstone 10). From this time on, while the ideologies may have evolved, the two major parties have been the Democrats and 8 Gustavus Student Repository Republicans, with these two finishing in the top two spots in every Presidential election since. The two-party system was established and remains intact to this day. Third Party Threats in the History of the Two-Party System For a century and a half, the two major parties of the U.S. have remained the same. No other party has broken their stranglehold on the Presidency, nor have any other parties been able to win a significant number of seats in either the House or the Senate. A few minor party candidates have been elected to both the House and the Senate, but all of these instances were short-lived exceptions to the longstanding two-party tradition. No party has posed a significant threat to the system of two-party politics since its inception. However, there have been notable third party candidates in many Presidential elections that are worth studying for the purposes of this paper. Generally, a third party is a response to some dissatisfaction with the two major parties. They are a reaction to certain group's feelings that either their agenda is being ignored (single issue parties) or that the two major parties are doing a poor job of handling their agenda and enacting it into policy. In other instances, a candidate who loses one of the major party's primaries does not give up their dream, and tries to get elected under the banner of a minor party or as an independent. The following section is a description of third parties of the twentieth century in Presidential elections that managed to gain at least significant attention, if not a significant percentage of the vote. 9 Gustavus Student Repository Bull Moose Progressive The Bull Moose Progressive party of 1912 represents the most successful attempt made to date by a third party to gain the Presidency. Theodore Roosevelt won 88 electoral votes, and 27 percent of the popular vote, finishing second to the Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Although he was able to win over a quarter of the popular vote, this case needs to viewed as a special instance in the history of third party politics. Roosevelt was elected to the office of Vice President in 1900, but took over as President after McKinley was assassinated in 1901. He was subsequently re-elected in 1904, and in the next election, he observed the tradition of only serving two terms as President and did not seek re-election. Instead, he picked William Howard Taft to be his successor, confident that Taft would "continue down his progressive path" (Rosenstone 82). Taft was subsequently elected, however, during Taft's term as President, the ideologies of the two men diverged, and Roosevelt took it personally. As a progressive, Roosevelt was the first President to take the side of labor instead of management, and was the first to enforce the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. When Taft began supporting policies that undermined the "progressive" ideology, Roosevelt decided to run for re-election as a Republican (This was of course previous to the ratification of the 22nd Amendment, limiting a President to two terms) (Gillespie 85). He did not win the nomination of the party, and quickly formed his own. This election marks the last time a third party candidate was able to defeat even one of their major party opponents. However, this campaign clearly had advantages that other third parties do not. Teddy Roosevelt was a popular two-term President, so he had no Gustavus Student Repository problem garnering name recognition or media attention, two major hurdles facing most third party candidates Progressive Party: LaFollette In 1924, Robert Lafollette managed to attract sixteen percent of the vote, but only won the thirteen electoral votes of Wisconsin, his home state. Although he officially ran under the same party as Roosevelt, their platform was not exceedingly similar. Roosevelt's campaign was largely a personal vendetta carried out on his former friend, Taft (Rosenstone 82). Lafollette's platform was so far to the left, that he gained the endorsement of the Socialist Party. In fact, he even ran on the Socialist ticket in states that he was unable to get his name on ballot. His major reason for running was to limit the power of monopolies. He demanded public ownership of water power and railroads ( explaining his backing by the Socialist Party), protection of collective bargaining, direct primaries and elections, the approval of wars by referendum, and the end to the use of injunctions to resolve labor disputes (Rosenstone 96). Dedication to this platform earned him the backing of the American Federation of Labor, which was the first time this organization endorsed a Presidential candidate (Rosenstone 96). He was a dedicated politician, and he greatly benefited from the Socialist Party's experience and expertise about running a campaign. However, he was extremely under funded, not to mention running against a very popular incumbent, Calvin Coolidge. He was also hurt by his alleged ties to the Communist Party (which he denied) and was generally considered too radical by most of the electorate (Gillespie 89). 11 Gustavus Student Repository States' Rights Democrats (Dixiecrats) This party, headed by South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond, is one of the most interesting cases in the history of third party politics. This party was formed almost exclusively in protest the Democrats support of the civil rights movement. The members of this party believed themselves to be "true Democrats," and a mechanism to correct the national party, not a long-term third party (Gillespie 92). This party never had a chance of actually winning because they only managed to appear on the ballots of seventeen states (eleven of which were part of the Confederacy during the Civil War). Running on a platform of segregation, white supremacy, and states rights, this party only received 2.4 percent of the popular vote. However, even with such a small share of the vote, Thurmond received 39 electoral votes. Significant to the study of third parties is the effect this campaign had on the two major parties in this election. In this election, Harry Truman defeated Dewey by an electoral tally of 303 to 189 (the popular vote total was much closer than this figure would seem to indicate). Thurmond' s 39 votes would certainly have gone to Truman, changing the results of this election from a fairly close contest into a landslide. Although these 39 votes would not have changed the outcome of this election, it is worth mentioning as a significant power that third parties can exert on the two major parties. Even when a third party does not have a chance of winning itself, they do have a chance to affect the outcome of the election by changing the distribution of votes. This is a legitimate power, because it sometimes forces the major parties to pander to the wishes of a would-be third party in order to prevent them from running at all. 12 Gustavus Student Repository American Independent: George Wallace George Wallace, the then Governor of Alabama, won 13.5 percent of the popular vote and 46 electoral votes. He is probably most recognized for "standing in the doorway" to prevent the first black students from entering the University of Alabama. Much like Thurmond, the fact Wallace's overtly racist ideology only made him an attractive candidate to Southern voters, he had no real chance of winning the election. However, the two major candidates, Nixon and Humphrey, could not ignore his presence in the election. At one point, nearly twenty percent of the electorate said they would vote for Wallace in November. This was a very large percentage of the vote that both of these candidates considered "up for grabs." In an effort to entice these voters, Nixon softened his stance on integration, and publicl

Proposition 209: California Civil Rights Initiative

Author: Brix Joshua J.
Publication venue
Publication date: 30/01/2026
Field of study

Proposition 209 is newly enacted legislation that asserts: "The state of California shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting" (Hill). Proposition 209, which is also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative, was voted into law on November 5, 1996 by a vote of 54% to 46%. There are some direct benefits that have come as a result of this enactment, but there are also some tremendous downfalls. Consequently, Proposition 209 effects Californian citizens in a variety of ways. There was a great deal of evidence that supported both sides of the argument. However, through research and statistical analysis, it will be shown that Proposition 209 impedes women and minorities progress towards equality."Proposition 209-Cal.ifornia Civil. Rights Initiative" Political Science 399 Senior Thesis Joshua J. Brix Professor Gilbert December 16, 1999 Gustavus Student Repository Table of Contents Chapter 1. Description of Proposition 209 (3) Chapter 2. A Brief History of Affirmative Action (7) Chapter 3. Positive Aspects of Proposition 209 (11) Chapter 4. Negative Aspects of Proposition 209 (17) Chapter 5. Statistical Analysis of Proposition 209 (21) Chapter 6. Conclusion (29) 2 Gustavus Student Repository Chapter One: A Description of Proposition 209 Proposition 209 is newly enacted legislation that asserts: "The state of California shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting" (Hill). Proposition 209, which is also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative, was voted into law on November 5, 1996 by a vote of 54% to 46%. There are some direct benefits that have come as a result of this enactment, but there are also some tremendous downfalls. Consequently, Proposition 209 effects Californian citizens in a variety of ways. There was a great deal of evidence that supported both sides of the argument. However, through research and statistical analysis, it will be shown that Proposition 209 impedes women and minorities progress towards equality. Affirmative action programs have existed in the United States for many years. These programs have targeted minority citizens in an effort to restore equality among all races. People tend to view affirmative action in many different ways. Some people believe that these programs are needed to rectify past wrongs, while others consider affirmative action to be a debatable issue that gives 3 Gustavus Student Repository preferences in an unfair and unjust manner. As a result of the dissent that has formed because of affirmative action programs, there was a movement in California that was aimed to combat the preferential treatment that affirmative action apparently provides. The California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) formed as a political movement to try and end the use of affirmative action in state funded programs. The initiative's goal was: "To end the regime of race and sexbased quotas, preferences and set-asides now governing state employment, contracting and education due to years of court decisions and bureaucratic regulations" (Prohibition Against Discrimination). They believe the goal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been twisted into government-sanctioned discrimination. They stipulate that affirmative action violates the fundamental principle of equal protection of the law against discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity and national origin. Some Californian's believe Proposition 209 is needed "to end this wasteful and divisive system and restore whites to positions of power in California law and government" (Hill). Proposition 209 is extremely important to politics for a number of reasons. First, it calls for a complete end to affirmative action programs within the state of California. This is an issue that holds an extreme amount of political pertinence. Affirmative action has been used as a tool in American society to help minorities and women receive an equal opportunity. With the elimination of it, politics in 4 Gustavus Student Repository California will forever be changed. Secondly, a chasm forms between people who oppose and favor this decision. As a result, it California. can have a dividing affect on the citizens of Either way, political ramifications will result, based on political leaders diverse ideologies. As a result of Proposition 209, people do not understand how it directly affects them. The division that has formed because of the new legisl ation has led many people to be unsure of what specific boundaries the proposition established. People concede the fact that affirmative action, in most situations, is now banned. However, why is the state of California the first state in the union to enact such legislation? This is a question that many people have difficulty understanding. It can be difficult to understand, because of the overall population distribution in California. California has been known to be a state with a lot of diversity. diversity, affirmative action plays Californian's daily l ives. However, As a result of an integral role people tend to the in be confused about the overall merits of affirmative action. It might seem to counter constitutional guarantees, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Equal Protection Clause of the 14'" Amendment. This is a reason why some of the citizens of California ever permitted in the wonder why affirmative action was first place. However, there is another side to this vast debate. California citizens have been raised in a society that has supported affirmative 5 Gustavus Student Repository action and have questioned why the proposition has been implemented. The minority population of California still believes that inequalities are prevalent in today's society. As a result, the debate continues about whether or not affirmative California. action legislation 6 is still needed in Gustavus Student Repository Chapter Two: A Brief History of Affirmative Action Affirmative action programs have existed in the United States ever since civil rights legislation was enacted in the mid 1960' s. The design of these programs has been directly focused on aiding people that have been oppressed by unequal societal standards. Throughout America's history, women and minorities have been treated as second class citizens. Oppression has been prevalent in many different ways, from a lack of voting privileges for women and minorities to the enslavement of African Americans. In the present day, affirmative action programs have been used as a tool to help many disadvantaged minorities and women receive an equal opportunity. However, in many people's opinions, affirmative action is no longer needed in America's free, equal society. As a result, there are states attempting to make laws to eliminate affirmative action programs. In a specific case, elimination of such programs has passed voter legislation. Proposition 209 is a law that went into effect in 1996 and has been instituted in California in order to ban the use of affirmative action programs in all situations. There are some positive aspects that have come as a result of proposition 209, but there are also numerous downfalls. 7 Gustavus Student Repository The historical context of affirmative action can be dated back to the instrumental case of Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka. Kansas in 1956. This case brought the issue of segregation to the forefront and deemed it to be unconstitutional. As a result, the "Jim Crow" system was now illegal. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 directly enacted legislation, which stipulated that it is a violation of the constitution "to discriminate on the basis on race, sex, religious affiliation, or ethnicity" (Schwalbe) . "In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued executive order number 11246 that required federal contractors to undertake affirmative action and to increase the number of minorities that they employ" (Schwalbe) . ensure that minorities were recruited He wanted to to have real opportunities in the workforce. Johnson also wanted these jobs to contain a genuine possibility for promotion. This was one of the first real steps toward affirmative action legislation. In 1969, the Department of Labor exposed widespread racial discrimination of the construction department. As a result of this finding, "President Richard Nixon decided to incorporate a system of 'goals and timetables' to evaluate federal construction companies according to affirmative action" (Robinson) . This idea of "goals and timetables" provided guidelines for companies to follow and comply with affirmative action regulations. 8 Gustavus Student Repository During the presidency of Gerald R. Ford, he extended affirmative action to people with disabilities and Vietnam veterans, but there were no goals or timetables for these two groups. "This type of affirmative action required recruitment reviews of (Schwalbe) . efforts, physical accessibility, and mental accommodation and job qualifications" "President Jimmy Carter consolidated all federal agencies that were required by law to follow affirmative action regulations into the Department of Labor" (Robinson). Before Carter did this, each agency handled affirmative action in its own individual way; some were not as consistent as others were. This provision was very instrumental for Carter and it mandated that affirmative actions programs be used in every agency equally. He then created the office of Federal Contract Compliance in 1978 to ensure that people foll owed through with affirmative action policies. During the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George Bush, affirmative action programs were not thoroughly supported by either president. Both presidents believed that other issues were more important than affirmative action. Nonetheless, both presidents would not eliminate such programs for fear of voter retaliation. However, among this loss of interest in affirmative action came one positive aspect, the passage of Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. "This act granted persons with disabilities 9 Gustavus Student Repository the right to obtain employment at an equal level as people without disabilities" (Robinson). It also granted people greater access to buildings where mobility was hindered. Currently, President Bill Clinton has not made any tremendous strides for or against affirmative action programs. His belief is simple, keep affirmative action programs running how they currently are. He believes that "there is relatively no need to amend any of the programs that are currently in existence" (Schwalbe). As a result, little has been done, but affirmative action remains an integral, national policy that helps many disadvantaged Americans. 10 Gustavus Student Repository Chapter Three: Positive Aspects of Proposition 209 Proposition 209 ends government sponsored discrimination by rejecting quotas, preferences and setasides. It increases California's commitment to fighting sex and race discrimination. Without Proposition 209, it would seem as though affirmative action programs would counter constitutional guarantees. Politically, this can be looked at in a favorable manner because of the initiative's stipulation that it does not discriminate based on sex, race or ethnicity. In many people's opinions Proposition 209, the California Civil Right's Initiative, was the correct choice to make. It ends government-sponsored discrimination by rejecting quotas, preferences and set-asides. Proposition 209 increases California's commitment to fighting sex and race discrimination. It is called the California Civil Rights Initiative because it restates the historic Civil Rights Act and proclaims "The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, an individual or group, on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting" (Browne 1). Reverse discrimination wrong. Today, students based are on race rejected or gender is from public universities because of their race. This happens in situations where certain quotas need to be met. The use of 1 1 Gustavus Student Repository a quota system is wrong in and of itself. Quotas take specific preferences based on race and gender. There are certain instances where a more qualified individual is denied entrance into a university because of his/her race or gender. The edge given to minority applicants to college and graduate school is not a nod in their favor in the case of a close call, but an extremely large advantage that puts black and Latino candidates in a separate admissions competition. At the University of California at San Diego "34. 8 percent of Caucasian students had both math and verbal SAT scores equal to or higher than the median scores of African- Americans enrolled there" ( Idea House) . "Of Asian Americans, 64. 9 percent, or 1, 909 applicants, were rejected even though their math SAT scores were equal to or higher than the median of enrolled African-Americans" (Idea House). This is a governmental malady that should not exist in affirmative action programs, 209 but does in many situations. effectively eliminates this Fortunately, Proposition type of scenario and functionally ends preferential treatment on the basis of skin color. Apart from the unfairness of using non-merit-based criteria in the selection process, these preferences actually hurt the people they are intended to help, because they are not academically prepared to attend the university to which they were admitted. "University of California at San Diego graduation rates show that the student groups with 12 Gustavus Student Repository lower SAT scores are less likely to have earned a degree five years later" (Idea House) "The graduation rate of African Americans entering the University of California at San Diego in 1989 was 41 percent, compared to 72 percent of Asian-Americans and 76 percent of Caucasians" (Idea House). Analysts state "that African American students with lower scores on admission tests would be better off at institutions with lower admission requirements" (Idea House) . They would benefit more from institutions where they are more likely to graduate within five years. When governmental agencies or other institutions establish racial and gender preferences in hiring, the goal is often "proportional representation. " The backbone of this idea is to increase the number of women and minority employees so that the demographics of the workforce mirror those of a society as a whole. However, with the over-use of affirmative action programs within California's public sector an overrepresentation has occurred. "Today African- Americans represent 7. 8 percent of California's population, but 11. 6 percent of state employees" (Americans Against Discrimination and Preferences). As a result, true proportional representation would cost African Americans more than 7, 300 jobs. Accordingly, some of the opponents of Proposition 209 may have to take another look at proportional representation. In this situation, people must thoroughly analyze its effectiveness for affirmative action programs. 13 Gustavus Student Repository Employers want to hire the best workers and employment tests are one of the best and cheapest solutions at their disposal. However, as a result of affirmative action legislation, employers have been tightly constrained in their ability to make and utilize these instruments. In the case of Griggs versus Duke Power Company the supreme court ruled that: "If an employer uses a test in the employment process and the results of that test lead to different results for different protected groups, than that employer faces the prospect of lawsuits, fines and damages" (Herrnstein 482) . Congress and the Supreme Court have stated that they believe the tests are unfair and biased against blacks and other minorities. However, it has become increasingly difficult to determine who has the most qualifications for employment. Proposition 209 doesn't directly offer a solution to this situation, but does allow for a broader interpretation of the test rule. Proposition 209 states that no preferential treatment will be given to any race or gender, in any circumstance. As a result, if the test is determined to be fair to all races and genders, it is admissible to perform these types of examinations. Have job discrimination regulations worked? "The scholarly consensus is that they had some impact during the 1960' s and into the 1970's, but have not had the decisive impact that is commonly asserted in political rhetoric" (Herrnstein 483) . The gap has become closer, but analysts say that even without affirmative action, 14 women and Gustavus Student Repository minorities would be approximately as far along as they are now. Thus, if affirmative action legislation has not made much of a difference, why have it? Government cannot work against discrimination if government itself discriminates. Proposition 209 stops the programs that divide and tear people apart. People naturally feel a sense of resentment towards individuals who have had preferential treatment based on insignificant physical characteristics. In effect, this new initiative does not allow this to happen, and a greater sense of racial equality has been instituted. Proposition 209 does not prohibit consideration of economic disadvantage. Under the former affirmative action rules, a wealthy doctor's son may receive a preference for college admission over a dishwasher's daughter simply because he is from an underrepresented race. Proposition 209 adds new protection against sex discrimination on top of existing ones that remain in full force and effect. It does not promote anything that goes against constitutional provisions. Within the United States, everyone is considered to be his/her own individual person. Not every white person is advantaged, Affirmative that does opportunity. and not every minority is disadvantaged. action was originally instituted as a program not discriminate and sought to provide That is why "Proposition 209 prohibits discrimination and preferences and allows any program that 1 5 Gustavus Student Repository does not discriminate, or prefer, because of race or sex, to continue" (Hill 19) . The elimination of affirmative action programs in California would result in savings to the state and local governments. These savings would occur for two reasons. First, government agencies would no longer incur costs to administer the program. Second, the prices paid on some government contracts would decrease. "This would happen because bidders on contracts would no longer need to show 'good faith efforts' to use minority-owned or women-owned subcontractors" ( Tharp 2 4) . As a result, the state would support the lowest bidder based on who will do the work for the cheapest amount of money and not based on a "good faith effort" to support women and minorities. "Based on the available information, estimates indicate that the result of the savings in employment and contracting programs could total tens of millions of dollars each year" (Tharp 26). Finally, the implementation of Proposition 209 has recently been upheld in the California State courts. Pacific Legal Foundation sued on behalf of a white contractor whose firm was denied a city contract despite being the lowest bidder. "San Jose's continued recognition of race and gender in the award of millions of dollars worth of construction contracts violates Proposition 209" (Browne 1) . The decision is the first trial court ruling in California that applies to Proposition 209. The ruling was pivotal, as it was the first major test to the initiative's validity. 16 Gustavus Student Repository Chapter Four: Negative Aspects of Proposition 209 Currently, there are many substantiated arguments in favor of Proposition 209. Although these arguments pinpoint many valid points, the reality is that Californian's need affirmative action. It is simply too soon to enact legislation that gets rid of these vital programs. Affirmative action programs are still needed in California and the rest of America. the United States will No one is certain how much longer need these programs. Presently, minorities are still treated poorly and not equally. The time to end affirmative action is when people are equally paid, promoted and hired. The time is not now, but hopefully soon. Proposition 209 goes too far in eliminating equal opportunity affirmative action programs for qualified women and minorities. It permits gender discrimination by state and local governments through a legal loophole. The entire issue of Proposition 209 exudes political conflict. The philosophy behind the initiative creates an abundance of disputes within the political domain of the United States. Before the initiative passed in California, women had one of the strongest state constitutional protections against sex discrimination in the country. Proposition 209's loophole will undo this vital state constitutional protection. Politicians exploit 209 for their own political opportunism. Eliminating affirmative action programs only 17 Gustavus Student Repository sets the United States back a step towards the goal of social equality. California law currently allows tutoring, mentoring, outreach, recruitment and counseling to help ensure equal opportunity for women and minorities. Proposition 209 will el iminate affirmative action programs like these th

Political Influence on a Macro Economy: The Case of Minnesota

Author: Ashbach Chris
Publication venue
Publication date: 09/02/2026
Field of study

The purpose for writing this thesis is to have an understanding of the development of an economy and to what degree political policy and behavior affects the fundamentals of that economy. I have chosen Minnesota's economy as the unit of analysis because of its historical importance to the continent and because of its current diversity and strength due in part to its location. I want to explore how, and to what extent a governing body or political actors affect the makeup of an economy. I will begin by searching the historical economic and political growth of the state with the French explorers who first came to Minnesota over 300 years ago. I will follow with an explanation of major economic and relevant political changes up through the present. Major events that have changed the state and its economy will be broken down into categories of interest groups, state, national, and international politics. An analysis of those events will be made explaining the total impact and importance of them on Minnesota's economy.Political Influence on a Macro Economy: The Case of Minnesota Chris Ashbach Senior thesis Gustavus Student Repository Intro The purpose for writing this thesis i s to have an understanding of the development of an economy and to what degree political policy and behavior affects the fundamentals of that economy. I have chosen Minnesota's economy as the unit of analysis because of its historical importance to the continent and because of its current diversity and strength due in part to its location. I want to explore how, and to what extent a governing body or political actors affect the makeup of an economy. I will begin by searching the historical economic and political growth of the state with the French explorers who first came to Minnesota over 300 years ago. I wiH follow with an explanation of major economic and relevant political changes up through the present. Major events that have changed the state and its economy will be broken down into categories of interest groups, state, national, and international politics. An analysis of those events will be made explaining the total impact and importance of them on Minnesota's economy. The growth of Minnesota's economy and population has brought both environmental and social problems to the state. With no sign that growth is s]owing, pressure on the environment and social structure of Minnesota has become a hot political issue. As history has progressed, interest groups, including unions, have become more and more powerful in Minnesota's economy. Their unique ability to recognize externalities caused by finns has given them special status among legislators and firms that they wane to change. Usually, this change is inconsistent with maximizing profits because the change intemalizes extra costs that are usually not paid for. The extra 2 Gustavus Student Repository stresses of increased regulation and social stewardships are making it increasingly harder for businesses to be profitable. The underlying problem Minnesota is facing today is how to make its businesses socially and environmentally conscious. The key to this is a combination of prohibitive legislation and internalization of costs to firms producing externalities. In the long run, by not internalizing externalities, the state or society is subsidizing firms that produce those societal harms. However, the shift of responsibility to the firms must be in a gentle manner so as not to bankrupt the aggregate industry. The Historical Presence 1 The information from this section is from Deborah L. Gelbach' s book From This Land. I found that while researching the history of the states economy, there are very few and then only insignificant differences between sources to tttis thesis. The plurality of the research is an indicator the accuracy of Gelbach's book and of how little importance there is with citing other resources because they all say the same thing. The important part of this section to the thesis is its explanation of the factual history of ?vlinnesota' s economic and related political influences. I believe that was done with Gelbach' s book alone. The history of the state is very important because it sets a context for current issues and explains why the economy has become what it is today. It is an example of how a colony or economically immature region can, even under the influence of foreign states become very successful on its own. 1 All factual information in this section is from Deborah L. Gelbach. For a more inclusive history see her book From This Land. 3 Gustavus Student Repository When speaking of Minnesota's economy and evolution, it is impossible to leave out the geological effects that have had such an intimate relationship with the people living on it for hundreds of years. The Native Americans were solely dependent on the pristine lakes and forests that spackled and enriched the state, while the next migration of people had a similar tie to the land that had so much to give. Although the Minnesota economy today has become more technologically focused and has adopted many service industries, the tie to the land is still a major aspect of its survival. Geologists have discovered rock formations around Lake Superior that told of a Minnesota with a much different environment than today. About 2.7 billion years ago, Minnesota was mountainous and volcanic. Over time, the region cooled and when the ice age left, great glacial deposits and a network of lakes and rivers remained. This was of great importance to the early economy of Minnesota because these deposits Jed to the ever-important border chain of Jakes that allowed fur traders to reach inland and northward. Although it may not feel like it in January, the earth came out of the ice age and about 11,000 years ago the glaciers in Minnesota melted. No matter who would have claimed this land, the glaciers were responsible for its political history and industrial growth well into the twentieth century. The variety of soils and landforms gave Minnesota an assortment of resources from which to use. Coniferous forests for the lumber industry eventually pumped money and labor into the state while in the south and west parts of the state, rich farmland was to be used for crops. Between the two areas was a zone of hardwood forest that benefited industry. The latest major resource to be exploited was the iron ore deep beneath the surface. 4 Gustavus Student Repository Less than two decades after the Pilgrims had reached America, Frenchmen were arriving as far west as Green Bay. This land was not China as the French had hoped, but they found the land rich with beaver and muskrat that could be traded back in Europe. In 1634, Britain had imposed the first taxes on New England colonists. It was now almost 150 years before the American Revolution. Further north in New France, near present-day Montreal, French explorers ventured the area in search of trade routs to China and for people to convert to Christianity. A belief that France was on the verge of a lucrative trade rout pushed Nicolet, a French explorer, to push further west. Nicolet managed to get to the northern shores of Lake Michigan but his most important historical impact to Minnesota were the stories he brought back to Quebec. Not until 1655 did the French finally make it to Minnesota. It is believed that the first explorers to Minnesota, Pierre Esprit Radisson and Medard Chouart, in this year made it to the south shores of Lake Superior and had possibly gone inland as far as Prairie Island. Noting the fertility and beauty of the new land, Radisson believed there was great opportunity for New France. After returning to Quebec, the French discovered that the two men were not licensed as French explorers and all the beaver pelts they had carried back were taken from them. Distraught, the two explorers made their way back to New England where they chartered the Hudson Bay Company that became so powerful it would leave its mark on two centuries of economic growth in America. By 1660, a large push was made by New France to explore, map and trade the new land. On June 14, 1671, France claimed the Great Lakes and their tributaries as their own. In the same decade, Daniel Greysolon , Sieur Duluth, led another expedition 5 Gustavus Student Repository Gustavus Student Repository claim by the British that the Ohio River Valley was theirs. France would not tolerate British expansion west of the Appalachian Mountains. By the end of the war in 1763, the Treaty of Paris gave all land east of the Mississippi to the British. It was at this point in history that part of Minnesota was claimed and acknow !edged by two developed nations. Soon after the war, the British began exploring west of their territory. Carver, a British explorer, made peace with the Indians even though they were still loyal to the French and proceeded westward. Tensions in the thirteen American colonies were rising and a rush of fur traders, mainly Scottish and British, hurried to the area of Minnesota to trade furs. Although much of the theory of supply and demand was not thought of by anyone of the time, those microeconomic principals had taken affect and with the rising competition in the area forced prices down profits were harder and harder to make. Beyond that, the Hudson Bay Company of Montreal had monopoly powers to dictate terms that perhaps today would be considered predatory. To protect themselves, many Scottish and British formed a cooperative in 1783 called the North West Company. This was the company that made the border lakes famous worldwide. With the strategic control of the Grand Portage and other posts across Minnesota, the North West Company did very well for about thirty years until the it fell apart because of fierce competition that led to attacks on people and property. To make matters worse for the company, the fairly young American government's congress passed an act forbidding the North West Company to trade south of the Canadian 7 Gustavus Student Repository boarder. Then under pressure from the British, the North West Company was forced to merge with the Hudson's Bay Company. By the late l 700's the fur trade was conducted on a credit system. Basically, what happened was the fur traders stayed at the Grand Portage and gave things like kettles, cloth, beads, guns, tobacco, and spirits to the Indians. The Indians, now accustomed to European products, had a great need for them and had to pay a great premium for those items. A tin kettle worth about

2.50 would be traded for about sixty muskrats worth about

12.00.4 All in all the American Revolution was just a management shift in the fur trading business. Just like the French before them, the British did not want to leave. Before the Treaty of Paris was signed, Benjamin Franklin negotiated border terms with Britain. Britain wanted a border west from Montreal along the 45 parallel, strait to the Mississippi River. Everything south was the US while everything north was British. Franklin did not accept that plan and managed to get the border moved north to go to an unknown Long Lake to Lake of the Woods then West from there. With more boarder disputes, the treaty of 1818 finalized the border, placing it on the Pigeon River and drew the remainder of the boundary line where it is today. The American government was not very attentive to anything other than the original 13 colonies until Napoleon sold the Louisiana Territory to the US for about

15 million in 1863. The US had just moved west and north of the Mississippi. In 1804, President Jefferson sent Louis and Clark to explore the continent and seek the Pacific Ocean. The next year Zebulon Pike was commanded to explore the upper Mississippi River to its source. His trip was three-fold, to make sure there were no British staying in 4 Gelbach, 18 8 Gustavus Student Repository Gustavus Student Repository Further gaining influence and control in Minnesota, the US government sent Josiah Snelling to the Minnesota wilderness to build a fort that was named after him. Fort Snelling became a forefront for Western settlement. The importance of this fort was that it allowed for further expansion. Indians and traders met there but more importantly, the steamboats that trekked to the fort were a means of communication. Soon settlers, investment money, household goods, and mail came north too. The fort was the epicenter of the area. It was a place for companionship between traders, and a place to fall back onto during hard times. There was even a small migration of people who had settled in the Canadian Red River Valley, known as the Selkirk Colony to the fort. As more and more people settled in the area, land was needed. The problem was the Indians owned all the land around the fort. Land speculators, lumbermen, and settlers pressured the government to negotiate treaties with the Sioux to obtain land to build permanent buildings. The Selkirk Colony was moved down the Mississippi after a treaty was signed in 1838 and established what is now St. Paul. In the 1830's fur fell out of fashion in Europe and was replaced with silk. This collapse of the European market for fur was felt immediately. American fur traders were threatened by lack of demand and the advancement of other industries like farming and lumbering, as well as simply settlement of their trapping territory. As the fur industry went under, the struggling frontier economy was gradually replaced by logging, milling and farming. By the early 1840's logging was a booming success helped along by the expanding logging industry nation wide. 10 Gustavus Student Repository Settlement only increased and the national government was set on making sense of it. Becoming a territory meant that the national government helped with road building, and schools as well as mail delivery and a court system. With this wave of thinking in the government, Henry Sibley, a negotiator who used to work with the American Fur Company, went to Congress to promote the American Fur Companies cause. A bill was passed in the House that allowed the creation of a new territory directly in response to Sibley's promotion. However in Congress it had a tougher time because there was argument over how this would affect slavery. In 1848, it became a hot political issue. On the 4 th of July in Stillwater, there was a protest to demonstrate the seriousness of future Minnesotans' intent to become a territory. Six weeks later, Sibley was once again asked to go to Washington on behalf of the Minnesota territory but this time he had help from a Senator and an official delegation from sixty-two representatives. The bill was passed on April 3, 1849 and the new Minnesota territory now included 25,000 Sioux and Chippewa, and only 5,000 settlers. America was thriving through the 1850's. At the Worlds Fair in New York in 1853, the Minnesota territorial government took the opportunity to promote the four­year- old territory. There was a huge campaign by the territorial government during the decade to promote immigration into Minnesota. There was even a full-time immigration commissioner whose job was to meet every incoming ship in New York and to hand out pamphlets about the opportunities in the wonderful Minnesota. The campaign proved successful. Minnesota's population exploded from 5,000 in 1849 to 172,000 in 1860. This migration also helped the Mississippi steamboat industry succeed. St. Cloud, Saulk Rapids, St. Anthony and Minneapolis began to thrive as the 11 Gustavus Student Repository logging industry stretched into the white pines of northern Minnesota. At the same time, Shakopee, St. Peter, Mankato and New Ulm were developing from migrants looking to plow the fields of southern Minnesota. Between 1855 and 1857, over 700 towns were laid out in the new Minnesota territory. Minnesotans came to the reality that it was much more economical for them to grow their own food instead of importing it via steamboat. Two treaties were signed with the Sioux giving Minnesotans about 24 million acres of farmland. During that time it was thought that farming was Minnesota's long-term economic key. Transportation became much easier thus bringing more diversity to the farmland including flour milling and Ii vestock. Farming was not the only economic incentive for Minnesotans. With all the new growth in the state a large demand for the lumber growing to the north evolved. There was a problem; Chippewa Indians still had most of the land. The national government stepped in and paid them for the land or gave them credit on the system that was established between them. By the end of 1854, the Indians throughout Minnesota had signed away most of their land. A huge hurdle was overcome for travelers nationwide when the first railroad hit the Mississippi River in Illinois. Now Minnesota was connected to the east coast. This improved transportation system brought a national debate closer to Minnesota: slavery. In 1855 the more dominant Republican Party interests overran the Whig party. Republicans strongly supporting free western land for settlers and a transcontinental railroad, but opposing slavery dominated the southern part of the territory. The 12 Gustavus Student Repository Democrats, rather indifferent about slavery, had territorial strongholds in the more urban areas of St. Paul, St. Anthony, and Stillwater. Politics became even more overbearing in Minnesota life when the issue of statehood arose. Disagreements about the size and shape of the potential state, location of its capital and the issue of slavery moved the state into a new era. The main problem was that the pro and anti slavery states were balanced. Certifying Minnesota as a state would create an imbalance. After failing for the first time in Congress to become a state, the Minnesota Enabling Act was passed in 1857 allowing for a draft of a state constitution. Both the Democrats and the Republicans wrote one. After a very close election (sound familiar?) and charges of fraud, the Democrats won. They added a few Republican changes to the constitution and sent it to Congress. By May 1858, Minnesota was admitted to the Union. By the time the good news returned to Minnesota politics were less an issue than the economy. Mimicking the fur trade collapse in 1837, the Panic of 1857 led the state into a depression. This time, however, it was not just Minnesota but the whole nation. What happened was that a credit system had been inflated by land speculation. Minnesotans had used this system for years to buy goods on the east coast. When creditors called in their loans, Minnesotans could not pay them or even refinance debt and the money and prosperity in the new state went to about nothing. The on! y businesses seeming to do anything were the lawyers and civil authorities that were busy dealing with land foreclosures. 13 Gustavus Student Repository Just before the tenitory became a state, the tenitorial government granted tax breaks to four railroad companies to build tracks connecting the towns in the tenitory. For every twenty miles of track made, the company received another 120 sections of land until all of the towns were connected. However the plan did not work as well as had been hoped. The financial distress that came from the call of loans left the railroads with no cash and no way to raise capital. The railroad companies knew they had a great deal with the land and tax breaks and wanted to take advantage of it. At the same time the tenitorial government was really pushing statehood and had strong public support. As Gelbach explained, having a rail system was patriotic and had the ability to pull a tenitory together. The strong support and potential gains of a rail system led the tenitorial government to provide

5 million in bonds for the expansion of the railways. The bill as written stated that when ever ten miles of railroad were finished, the company would receive secured bonds in $100,000 increments for which the company would pay back plus interest when due. Unfortunately, by 1 859 the financial disaster of the state caught up to the railroad industry. Interestingly, a political cartoonist drew a picture of gophers pulling a group of legislators down a railroad track that led to the state being known as the "Gopher State." In 1 860 the Republicans won the governorship of the state and their domination lasted about forty years. The new administration looked to help the economy by cutting the states expenditures by 36 percent and also to show state support for the union by marching against secessionists and pro-slavery support. In spring 1 86 1 the governor went to Washington D.C. to ask for national assistance in Minnesota. It was here the governor heard that Fort Sumter had fallen and he pledged 1000 troops to support the 1 4 Gustavus Student Repository Gustavus Student Repository industry. No matter what the significance of the harm, the remedy must be to find equilibrium where the benefits of logging outweigh the costs, whatever they may be. Lincoln passed the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862 that connected land locked cities in the Midwest with ports to Europe and the Orient. As time went on after the war, the railroads had a monopoly power over the farmers; able to charge about any rate they wanted to ship wheat and also gave some farmers favorable rates. Oliver H. Kelly formed the National Grange, which through the end of the 1860's and 1870's attempted to influence public opinion on the railroad situation. Eventually legislative action was sought in response to the Grangers and Minnesota state law established railroads as national highways and set maximum levels for shipping rates. The Grange led to other movements that protected farmers and laborers against big busine

The Real Influence in Congress, Corporate Lobbyists

Author: Gibson Ryan
Publication venue
Publication date: 11/02/2026
Field of study

There are many influences that weigh heavily on the minds of Senators and Representatives when they cast their votes for new legislation, but the most influential are corporate lobbyists. In today's Congress the name of the game is survival. It is about being elected to several terms and increasing power within Congress. The way to do this is by collecting enough money to win a congressional election. It takes money to win a national election, a lot of money, with the presidential candidates spending a record amount on the presidential election of 2000. Where does all of this money come from? It comes from special interest groups that have a lot at stake in congressional politics. The group that benefits most from these politics is corporations. They supply what seems like an endless amount of money that keeps Senators and Representatives winning come election time. When these Senators and Representatives keep winning their seats back, they remain more and more dependent on the money that these special interests provide them. This creates a dependent cycle that makes lawmakers more dependent on these special interests than on their constituents. The effect of corporate lobbying has negative effects on Congress and creates a cycle that is deadly to our democracy.The Real Influence in Congress, Corporate Lobbyists By Ryan Gibson Thesis Professor Chris Gilbert Spring Semester 2001 Gustavus Student Repository Chapter 1 The Real Influence In Congress, Corporate Lobbyists Introduction There are many influences that weigh heavily on the minds of Senators and Representatives when they cast their votes for new legislation, but the most influential are corporate lobbyists. In today's Congress the name of the game is survival. It is about being elected to several terms and increasing power within Congress. The way to do this is by collecting enough money to win a congressional election. It takes money to win a national election, a lot of money, with the presidential candidates spending a record amount on the presidential election of 2000. Where does all of this money come from? It comes from special interest groups that have a lot at stake in congressional politics. The group that benefits most from these politics is corporations. They supply what seems like an endless amount of money that keeps Senators and Representatives winning come election time. When these Senators and Gustavus Student Repository Representatives keep winning their seats back, they remain more and more dependant on the money that these special interests provide them. This creates a dependant cycle that makes lawmakers more dependant on these special interests than on their constituents. The effect of corporate lobbying has negative effects on Congress and creates a cycle that is deadly to our democracy. In order to study this phenomenon there are four things that must be brought out: an overview of how much it costs to win a federal congressional election and the four basic ways that congressional candidates receive campaign funds; next, the history of corporate influence on Congressional politics and specific examples of how corporations or corporate PACs directly influence Senators or Representatives; also, an overview of what I like to call "the cycle of influence and reelection", or the direct relationship between a congressman's influence in Congress, which allows them to receive more corporate money, and therefore have an added advantage in winning their next election. The last thing that needs to be touched on is how this affects the overall legislation within Congress. These four things are the keys to knowing who really runs the U. S. Congress. 2 Gustavus Student Repository There are other lobbyists that exert power in Congress through the use of constituents and not money, but with the cost it takes to run a successful campaign these days these voices are not heard as much. There are other influences too; such as if a Senator or Representative is caught in a scandal or the party they are affiliated with is involved in corruption. Even with these other added things, hands down money is still the number one priority in running a winning campaign. Corporations have the money in this country, and their motivation is to get profit, even if it is at times at the expense of our democracy in this country. 3 Gustavus Student Repository Chapter 2 The Overall Effect of Corporate Money on Elections Running for U.S. Congressional office is no longer about having good character and the right stance on issues, it is also about having the financial means necessary to get your views to the entire constituency one wishes to represent. The amount of people that vote in this country is very low. The ones that do vote get the majority of their information from media sources. It costs a lot of money to purchase airtime from these media sources. Four television stations in New York and Philadelphia ran 4,500 U.S. Senate race ads during the New Jersey primaries for

13.6 million dollars in June 2000.1 The average cost of each ad was

3022, and the average amount of airtime of each ad was 13 seconds. This is not just a trend in the East, it is happening all over the United States. How these candidates get the money to pay for these huge expenses, which are needed in order to win a Congressional election, is the question that arises. 4 Candidates get the money they need for their campaigns from four different areas. Individual contributions are Gustavus Student Repository one of the sources of capital for candidates to run their campaigns. Lobbyists supply money to candidates in the form of campaign contributions. PACs (or political action committees) are another way in which candidates receive funds. Soft money is another way in which candidates raise money. Soft money's definition is basically individual contributions, labor union contributions or corporate contributions that do not supposedly affect the actual election, but individuals that have very strong special interests deliver this money in large amounts indirectly to candidates. 2 Some candidates pay for their campaigns by using individual wealth or family inheritances, but these sources of funding do not come from an outside source that is trying to influence legislation. For example, parents don't give their children large inheritances; in hopes that someday their children will run for political office and pass legislation that would be beneficial to the parents. 5 In this chapter each source of campaign financing will be discussed, as well as the percentage of each that is used in overall congressional campaigns. The overall need for money in elections will also be derived. Both of these are important topics in the quest to finding out the important role of corporate money in congressional elections. Gustavus Student Repository Individual Contributions, Hand Shaking Your Way Into Congress Political candidates all raise money for their campaigns by getting individual contributions. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 was the first piece of legislation that tried to enact reform on how lobbying was practiced. The main section that set these standards was title three. It set up the definition of the term 6 "contribution" as, "a gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value". It set up the rules for showing proof of donors and of all campaign expenditures. Each candidate had to supply the name and address of each contributor who gave more than

200. They also had to show exactly how all the money was spent. All of this information had to be given to the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, who organizes it and sends it to the FEC (Federal Election Commission). The final thing that the act did was outline penalties for not complying with the law. The first offense is a misdemeanor with a penalty of one-year imprisonment and/or a fine of

5, 000, and for three years that person shall not be able to influence in any way legislation before committees or on Gustavus Student Repository the floor. If this provision is broken the person upon conviction will be imprisoned for no more than five years and/or fined

10, 000. Finally in 1974, the FECA acts set up limitations on the amount of money an individual could contribute. It became illegal for any individual to contribute more than

1, 000 in the primaries and

1, 000 in the actual federal election to each federal candidate; it also set limits on the amount of contributions that an individual could give to a national party at

20, 000. 3 Even with these regulations, it is easy for a candidate to get several hundred thousand dollars in one night from individual contributors at a fund-raising 7 dinner. The majority of money raised for campaigns that is reported comes from individual contributors. Even though lobbyists and special interests do not give as much "hard money" (money that has been reported) as individual contributors, they find loopholes to get around this. Lobbyists, the Real Voice of the People Lobbying is a way that any special interest group can try to influence the way a Congressmen will vote on certain Gustavus Student Repository legislation. There are two types of lobbyists; those that use money in the form of campaign contributions and activities, and those that lobby with the influence of constituent votes. At the U.S. congressional level it is the first of these two that are winning. These interest groups spent

697,000,000 lobbying Congress and other federal agencies in the first six months of 1999.4 Taking this figure into account, as well as the average amount spent by each candidate, an overall percentage of special interest money can be found. In 1998, the average House winner spent

673,000 and the average Senate winner spent

4.9 million.5 This means that in the House the amount spent on average for all 145 candidates to win would be

97,585,000 and the average 8 spent in the Senate for all 33 candidates would be

161,700,000. This means that on average during election years, the Senate and House winners would spend

259,285,000. By looking at the amount it takes each election cycle to win, a conclusion can be drawn to the overall magnitude of how much of a role

697 million plays in the amount of money special interests dump into the system. It is very important to stress that these statistics show money coming into Congress and federal agencies, but these two work together hand in hand together Gustavus Student Repository in Washington. At the same time, not every Congressmen follows this pattern (some candidates get more special interest money than others and not every candidate spent the exact average that winners did) , but this statistic does show the overwhelming importance that special interests play in campaign finance. PACs A Way To Get More Hard Money To Candidates PACs, or political action committees, are ways that special interest groups can come together in order to get more money to candidates that share their beliefs. Union members that wanted to reelect President Roosevelt started the first PAC in 1944, called the Congress of 9 Industrialized Organizations (CIO) . They were considered a PAC because the money that they raised was put into a separate account and was not from their union's treasury. PACs can give up to

5,000 for each candidate per election and up to

15,000 per year to any national party. These committees are groups of individuals with very specific interests in legislation that are able to contribute five times the amount that individuals can. Individuals can Gustavus Student Repository only contribute

5, 000 each year to a PAC, but these individuals can contribute this money and the

2, 000 that an individual can contribute to a candidate during the primaries and the actual election. There are PACs that are solely established to advance corporate interests. Individuals within the corporations themselves form these PACs, but these PACs are not allowed to be funded directly by the corporations. Some of the walthiest PACs are those that represent industries. From 1999 to 2000 major oil PACs contributed over

1. 9 million 10 in campaign contributions. Citizens For Better Medicare is a PAC that is friendly to the drug companies. It is also has friends in the government to which it gave nearly

8. 5 million from July through September 2000. These are just the tip of the iceberg, there are thousands of registered PACs just like the two mentioned above. These groups are able to give more money to candidates than individual contributors, and because of this they are able to have more influence in the Congress than individual citizens. Gustavus Student Repository The following table is a list of major PACs that have contributed money toward federal elections in 1998. Insurance PACs:

10,259,867 Pharmaceuticals:

3,926,213 casinos/Gambling:

960,722 Gun Rights:

1,897,422 Tobacco:

2,340,000 TV/Movies/Music: 2949,446 Oil & Gas: 6,542,204 6 Soft Money, the Way Around Restrictions on Lobbyists and Individuals 11 Soft money, as explained briefly before, is money that is given by individuals, corporations or unions for uses that do not influence federal elections. These contributions hide under the cover of party building. There is such a fine line drawn between what is and isn't influential in federal elections. The fact that this money does not have to be claimed is why there is so much controversy surrounding its use in politics. Individuals, corporations and union groups can contribute millions of dollars in the form of soft money, and it does not ever have to be reported to any federal agency. What makes this Gustavus Student Repository 12 form of campaign contributions corrupt is the assumption that these donors make these large contributions and do not expect to have anything in return. This assumption is not even close to being true. Federal candidates and officeholders solicit these funds in order for them to be used to affect federal elections. The use of soft money has been on a very sharp rise from

262 million in 1996 to over

487 million in 2000.7 This rate of growth is frightening because it puts more emphasis on candidates to raise this money. Since there is no regulation on the amount of money that can be donated, the amount of soft money contributions will rise as long as the price of running winning campaigns rises. This puts pressure on Congressman to raise this money in order to keep their seats in Congress, and in order to receive this money the "investors" have interests in what legislation needs to be passed or defeated. The overall affect of soft money, and the need for it by Congressional candidates to have it in order to win elections, is that it puts the official's attention on the issues that are important to a few individuals and not to their constituents. This is why soft money is such a danger to our democracy. These forms of funding have come about because of the high cost of running and winning a campaign. So many Gustavus Student Repository 13 voters get their information about candidates by watching television ads compared to actually finding out what a candidate's stance on issues is, that elections are won based on who has the better sound bite in their television ads. Since television ads are such a crucial aspect of winning elections, the corporations that control these are able to charge whatever they want and candidates will pay the costs. As mentioned before, in 1998 the average winner in the House spent

673, 000 on their campaign and the average winner in the Senate spent

4.9 million. The following table shows the amount of soft money contributed to candidates in the 1998 election. Insurance: Pharmaceuticals: Casinos/Gambling: Gun Rights: Tobacco: TV/Movies/Music: Oil & Gas:

10,643,747

6,249,986*

4,155,350

350,000

5,470,542

5,901,319

8,762,013 *This figure jumped to

15,716,967 in the 2000 elections. 8 This amount of money is not gotten shaking hands and getting

1, 000 donations from individuals; it's from moneys solicited from special interest groups. Until this cycle of dependence by candidates on special interest groups is Gustavus Student Repository broken, Congress will not be of the people for the people, but instead of the special interests for the special interests. In the chapter that follows, a greater understanding of just how influential these corporate groups are will be explained. 14 Gustavus Student Repository 1 Political Ads Rule the Air; For Major Campaigns, TV Commercials Are Key. http://www.bergen.com/editorials/tvads200007 l l .html 2 Soft Money: What Is It and Why Is It a Problem? http://www.commoncause.org/laundromat/softmoney.html 3 U.S. Government Publications. United States, Congress, Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Title III of the Legislative Reorganization Act. P. 610. 1988. 4 Interest Groups Spent Nearly $700 Million Lobbying Washington. http://www.cnn.com/2000/ ALL ... S/stories/01/06/lobbying.bill/index.html 5 Total Raised and Spent. http://www.opensecrets.org/l998elect/dist_total/98IDS8total.html 6 http://www.opensecrets.org. Industry Profiles. (Entire Table) The Center for Responsive Politics. 7 CRS Issue Brief for Congress. IB87020: Campaign Financing. Joseph E. Cantor. http://www.cnie.org/nle/rsk-36.html 15 Gustavus Student Repository Chapter 3 Corporate Influence in Congress The use of lobbying to influence legislative actions has become a mainstream in congressional politics. When a politician has been elected to Congress, it becomes vital 16 to stay a part of the system by being elected to several terms. In order to do this, campaign money must be brought in so that a successful campaign can be run in the next election. The money given to elected officials by private organizations come with expectations concerning what legislation is made, passed or defeated. The more money a Senator or Congressmen is able to acquire, the better ability they have in securing another term. The more terms that a Congressman has, the more chances they have at securing more influential and prestigious committee appointments. Since specific legislation is handled in committees before it is brought to the House or Senate floor, being a high-ranking member of a specific committee offers a lot of power. When new Senators or Representatives are elected this cycle begins again. This Gustavus Student Repository cycle of influence and re-election is how Congress works and legislation is passed. In order to understand this cycle, it is important to look at how it came about, why it has persisted, and the actual instances in which this cycle is in practice in Congress today. In what is about to follow, these objectives will be found and analyzed. Following these, there will be reasons why this cycle is bad for Congress and what must be done to stop this cycle altogether. How the Cycle of Influence and Re-Election Came About and Persisted The need for money in order to run for political office has always been a factor in American government. The better educated tended to be those who were the wealthier members of society. As time moved on in the republic the use of corporations grew in the north when industrialization came to America. When the federal 17 Gustavus Student Repository 18 government tightened its grip on the number of corporations it would allow, companies bought state legislatures so that they would begin giving out corporate certification. The first of these states was New Jersey, and after that others around it began to fall. In the 1900s, corporations began forming strong monopolies that were protected because of corporate control over the politicians. After the assassination of President McKinley in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt took over the presidency and began busting the monopolies. He extended the power of the executive branch to the fullest powers that the Constitution would allow. After World War II, corporations were given government funding to change their war supply production back to peacetime production. The government gave them this funding, even though they made millions from the war. Some corporations found it more profitable to keep producing wartime goods, which set up President Eisenhower's catch phrase "the military-industrial complex". This was a dependence on corporations that made military supplies, in any form, on contracts supplied by the U. S. government. There also was a need for war in order for these corporations to make profits. Gustavus Student Repository With this came the worst ideology created, the Cold War. The Cold War lasted from the end of World War II until 1996. In 1996, the Berlin Wall came down and one after another satellite country fell from the Soviet 19 Union's grasp until the Soviet Union itself dissolved Communism. During this time, the United States built the best-equipped and trained army in the world. Although an actual shot was never officially fired between the two main enemies, the U. S. and Soviet Union, there were various wars that both were involved in throughout these years. These years saw the biggest military build-up in American history, and it is because of the military-industrial complex's role in government and the American ideology of democracy over Communism. At the end of the Cold War, the United States had four times the amount of intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles than the Soviet Union. The United States had several thousand more chemical and biological weapons than the Soviet Union. The ideology of the time was that these were needed in order for the United States to win the Cold War, but examination into the Soviet Union's infrastructure and economic history is showing that it would have fallen o

Translanguaging, creativity and the arts

Author: Bradley J.
Publication venue: Wiley-Blackwell
Publication date: 08/01/2026
Field of study

Translanguaging, as one of multiple approaches to conceptualising dynamic multilingualism, has really ‘captured people’s imaginations’ (Li Wei, 2018: 10). And it is not just the imaginations of linguists researching language and multilingualism in classrooms: translanguaging has also started to be explored more and more in creative arts contexts, for example with visual arts and performance. This exploration can also be defined as creative in itself. Examples include translanguaging as a lens for exploring multilingual practices in the arts and as a conceptual starting point for multidisciplinary artistic practice. In this chapter I bring translanguaging into dialogue with a move in recent years to conceptualise applied linguistics research in collaboration with artists, within creative practice contexts, and which brings in creative methodologies. I critically examine the relationship between translanguaging and creative inquiry, using examples from a diverse range of research projects. These examples will offer insights into how translanguaging has been used as a theoretical lens for research with, into and through the arts and how arts practice and creative contexts can enrich and deepen our understandings of translanguaging

Principles Behind an Environmental Constitution

Author: Hasse K. Ryan
Publication venue
Publication date: 23/01/2026
Field of study

In developing the principles for the Environmental Constitution, this paper is divided into three chapters. The first chapter is on environmental problems we face with specific focus on the six human activities that have the biggest environmental impact. The second chapter deals with the systemic problems inherent in a highly industrialized economy as it pertains to environmental protection. Aspects of the consumer are also discussed in order to assess consumer responsibility for environmental protection. Finally, as an overall conclusion to this paper, the third chapter deals with models for environmental principles, the Goods Production Archetype, the Energy and Resource Conservation Archetype, and the Environmental Debt Archetype. These archetypes combine to form the principle behind the Environmental Constitution.Principles Behind an Environmental Constitution K. Ryan Hasse Undergraduate Political Science Thesis May, 19, 1997 Gustavus Student Repository Nothing in this country happens until something is sold. Whether that statement refers to product or the customer is debatable. Not debatable is the prowess of the U.S. economy's ability to produce both goods and services. This economy is huge and out of control and that's how it was intended to be, without controls. So what of the extensive environmental damage caused by this runaway economy? America is at a crossroads. The environment is taking a brutal beating while our Laisse Faire economic philosophy prevents our people and our politicians from doing much about it. It is a clear conflict of interests. 220 years ago, the Forefathers of the U.S. Constitution also faced a crossroads, to surrender to the powers that be or to fight for liberty, justice, equality and truth, to fight for what they thought was right. Though they were radical notions at the time, 220 years later, those principles for which they fought, and upon which the Constitution was drafted still stand fast. A new constitution is needed. Not for our government, but for our industry and for our economy which have developed not with the guidance of a system of checks and balances but rather, with the guidance of technology. Today, this technology has created within us the ability to destroy the human race, if not quickly by war's fury, then Gustavus Student Repository slowly by pollution's subtlety. This new Environmental Constitution will encompass every aspect of .the economic apparatus, not by its incredible sophistication and detail, but by its simplicity and principle. Its soul purpose is to outline the principles needed to ensure environmental protection now and forever. Forged in the concept of our own U.S. constitution, it shall endure. In developing the principles for the Environmental Constitution, this paper is divided into three chapters. The first chapter is on environmental problems we face with specific focus on the six human activities that have the biggest environmental impact. The second chapter deals with the systemic problems inherent in a highly industrialized economy as it pertains to environmental protection. Aspects of the consumer are also discussed in order to assess consumer responsibility for environmental protection. Finally, as an overall conclusion to this paper, the third chapter deals with models for environmental principles, the Goods Production Archetype, the Energy and Resource Conservation Archetype, and the Environmental Debt Archetype. These archetypes combine to form the principle behind the Environmental Constitution. Gustavus Student Repository THE PLIGHT Ecology is a science which warns people who won't listen about ways they won't follow of saving about saving an environment they don't appreciate. A great many papers on the environment and -L.G. Heller environmental degradation succeed in painting a pretty bleak picture of the future. This is fairly easily accomplished through the presentation of overwhelming and emotionally powerful facts and figures on natural resource consumption, population growth, species extinction, toxic substances, etc. Then, the next step is to speculate the future which is usually an undesirable one. This is a typical approach used by environmentalists and pro-environmental lobbyists as reading a number of their publications will no doubt prove. So far, in the development of sound, sustainable, economically and politically viable environmental policy, this scare tactic has not worked as well as may have been expected. The weakness of this strategy may lie in the unknown speculation of the future, the "what if?" or the "ought to be" scenario may not be convincing enough. Rather than presenting more specific statistics on environmental catastrophes of all kinds, and then speculating, or rather extrapolating from the data to arrive at a possible future Gustavus Student Repository scenario, this first segment will focus on what we do know. That is, what do we know of the man made chemicals and substances that we create during the production, consumption, and disposal of products? What are the proven affects of these chemicals and substances on the air, water, land, and most importantly, people. According to Frances Cairncross, in his book Costing the Earth, there are some 62,000 estimated foreign chemicals and substances introduced by human activity into various ecosystems throughout the world. These pollutants range from rather harmless gases, such as carbon dioxide or oxygen, to far more dangerous materials such as spent uranium or man made viruses used for germ warfare. The size of this section of this paper does not allow, nor does it warrant, discussion of all the chemicals Cairncross identifies, thus the discussion will be organized into chemical or substance categories. The categorization of the major pollutants follow a format outlined by Barry Commoner in his paper The Environmental Costs of Economic Growth. Before discussion of major pollutants continues, the definition of the term ecosystem should be outlined so that a greater understanding of how pollutants affect an ecosystem can be achieved. Simply put, the term ecosystem refers a self sustaining life cycle that contains plant and animal organisms which Gustavus Student Repository depend on each other in many different capacities for life. For example, a bird eats berries which seeds are spread by the bird's excrement. The berries grow in new locations which are then consumed by deer (after which the seeds are again spread to yet another location). The deer is eaten by a wolf. The wolf dies eventually and is decomposed by bacteria. The nutrients from the wolf's carcass assists the growth of more berry bushes which are then eaten. This is a very brief, simplified ecosystem example. However, one sees that this cycle is continuous, unless something, usually an external influence, affects the cycle. Remove the berries, no .. deer, no wolf, no ecosystem. Again, this is extremely simplified definition of ecosystem. The important fact to remember is that ecosystems are interdependent, removal or extinction of one element may be catastrophic. From the very brief discussion of ecosystems above, it is easily possible to disrupt an ecosystem to the point of collapse (just remove the berries). It also reasonable and prudent to state that humans should attempt to live their lives in such a manner as to not disrupt the environment to the point of non-sustainability, especially if we do not yet know of our complete affect on earth's complex ecosystems. Isn't it ironic then that many facts and figures suggest humans are the environment's biggest enemy? Isn't it also ironic that the active members of organizations such as Gustavus Student Repository Green Peace are considered political radicals? It is this irony that prompts the question "are not those who are advocates of environmental protection, those who are fine stewards of the Earth, and those who are proponents of natures' own status quo, truly conservative in their belief?" Environmental protectors are people who want to keep things as they are, or as they once were before human intervention, and that is conservatism. But because ecosystems are interdependent, it is difficult to know exactly how a particular pollutant will affect each of the ecosystems components. Consequently, humans proceed with activities not knowing how their actions affect the environment. Accidental environmental degradation is understandable given the complexity of ecosystems. However, that which we do know about humanities' affect on the environment is growing. Thus, knowingly disrupting an ecosystem to the point of irreparability is inexcusable, morally and logically. If we as a race do not adopt that ideal as a guiding principle, we may create problems which are beyond our ability to cope. This entire paper relies on the reader's acceptance of the premise that "irreparable damage to our environment, especially the ecosystem of which we are a part and upon which we depend, represents a fundamental risk to the Gustavus Student Repository quality of life for humans, and possibly an end to human life. " In categorizing the major pollutants introduced into our environment by the activity of humans, one must think in broad terms. According to Commoner, the major human activities which create the largest environmental impact are: agricultural production, textile production, use of detergents, secondary affects of technological displacement, use of non-biodegradable packaging and automobiles. Each of these six activities has a common aspect, they are all linked directly to the American consumer. This is important bsicause many people believe that pollution is a problem that is out of their control, or that is someone else's concern. The second segment of this paper will address the American consumer in detail. Of the six most environmentally harmful human activities outlined by Commoner, agriculture is the oldest. People have been farming for hundreds of years. Yet, it isn"t until recently in history of farming that serious environmental damage has occurred as a result. The damage is wide spread and multifaceted. Environmental damage such as nitrogen depletion, chemical and pesticide runoff, land erosion, and animal waste runoff rank among the top concerns as a result of modern day agricultural activities. The negative environmental affects of each activity are proven Gustavus Student Repository and documented by many different organizations. The following paragraphs will be a brief summary of how modern farming methods contribute to environmental problems. According to Commoner, the increase in environmental damage in the recent history of agriculture begins with nitrogen levels in the soils. When the levels of nitrogen in the soil drops, the land is no longer as fertile. Corn Belt soils have lost about one half of the original organic nitrogen since studies began in 1880 (342). Why have nitrogen levels been falling? The complete answer to that question is multifaceted and too complex for the purpose of this paper. Commoner does specify two major contributors to falling nitrogen levels, the method of deep plowing fields and the reduction of open livestock grazing. Deep plowing is a procedure in which the soil is overturned to a depth two to three feet below ground and is the leading cause of accelerated land erosion. Land erosion is a term that refers to loss of top soil which is the dirt, or growing medium, that is richest in nitrogen necessary to grow plants. The natural processes of decay and composting over many thousands of years have created the fertile top soil layer. Because farmers are involved in deep plowing methods, they loosen the top soil which, as a result, more easily runs into rivers and lakes while raining. This method has lowered nitrogen levels in the top soil because Gustavus Student Repository the soil itself has eroded; it has left the ecosystem. Once the top soil has eroded away, it is gone. Ironically, deep plowing is used to replenish nitrogen levels because it is usually used in conjunction with chemical fertilizers. The other reason for the depletion of nitrogen in top soil is the reduction of open animal grazing in favor of large livestock "factories. " Open field grazing as a principle feeding method for livestock maintains nitrogen levels. The animal eats the nitrogen rich vegetation and replaces the nitrogen as manure. This old method of feeding livestock completes the ecosystem: grass-cow-manure-grass etc. However, most animal food products in this country come form huge farms, or factories. These animals are fed with processed food from granaries (due to that foods high c.aloric content per dollar) . This method of animal feeding is cost effective because of its comparatively low ratio of animal per acre. These two methods of farming have reduced the levels of nitrogen in the soil, but that is only there primary environmental affect. Because the natural level of nitrogen in the top soil layer is decreasing, nitrogen rich chemical fertilizers are applied to the field to compensate. These chemicals runoff into rivers and lakes which stimulates the growth of aquatic plant life. The hyper-active plant growth Gustavus Student Repository starves the water bodies of oxygen and the fish suffocate and die (343) . Factory livestock raising verses traditional grazing also has a secondary environmental impact. Because of the significantly higher ratio of livestock per acre when compared to traditional grazing, the waste amount per acre is also much greater. This manure runs into surface waters which creates a much more concentrated solution of water to manure. The natural process of decomposition begins breaking down the manure from a more complex chemical structure to a less complex chemical structure. This is called anaerobic digestion which ultimately produces carbon dioxide while starving the water of oxygen, thus killing the fish (343) . Many specific reasons exist which compel farmers to employ these modern farming techniques. The big reason economics; crop output per acre and crop output per hour of labor are increased. The same economic benefits are attained by factory farms. Unfortunately, as the reader can see, the environmental affect of these modern agricultural methods are widespread and catastrophic. The textile industry has undergone significant changes over the last 50 years. It is the difference between what the industry used to produce verses what it now predominantly produces that is causing the environmental Gustavus Student Repository problems. That is, the shift from natural fibers (mainly cotton and wool) to synthetic ones has significantly increased the environmental impact of fiber production and use. In terms of synthetic fiber production, the first environmental problem lies in the raw material required to make it: petroleum, which is a non-renewable resource. Wool and cotton are renewable fibers. The second environmental problem is amount of energy required to produce the synthetic fiber, usually a linear polymer (nylon), as compared to a natural fiber. Nylon production involves many steps, each requiring large amounts of heat and electricity to bond the chemicals (energy is always required to create more complex molecular structures from less complex mole.cular structures), and to operate the machinery required to accomplish the chemical reaction. The operation of this machinery and the off-gassing of polymer synthesis is also environmentally detrimental. In contrast, the energy required for the synthesis of cotton and wool is provided by the sun. These natural fibers can be processed without combustion and the resultant air pollution. Hence, the environmental impact of synthetic fiber production is well beyond that of natural fiber production, pound for pound ( 3 44) Gustavus Student Repository The natural polymers in cotton and wool are cellulose and keratin. Through the process of natural decay, cellulose and keratin are a valuable element to the formation of humus (top soil}. Therefore, natural fibers are an important contributor to the soil's ecosystem. As synthetic fiber production displaces natural fiber production, less cotton and sheep are produced by farmers. Thus, less of these humus producing natural polymers are produced. Furthermore, the waste material from synthetic fibers have a greater impact on the environment because they are unnatural and do not biodegrade. Every bit of synthetic fiber that has ever been produced, or will ever be produced must be burnt, thereby polluting the air with carcinogenic smoke, or placed in a dump to remain for all time. (344-45) Domestic and industrial cleaners have undergone much the same change as clothing fibers have, a transition from natural materials (soap} to unnatural materials (detergents}. Detergents have displaced soaps as the primary domestic and industrial cleaners. In the years between 1946 and 1968, detergent use increased by 1845 percent. Soap is made from a renewable organic substance, fat, which is ultimately removed from a land based ecosystem to be redistributed to an aquatic ecosystem. The fatty residue of soap waste is readily biodegradable by bacteria within Gustavus Student Repository confines of a sewage treatment plant. The end result of the decomposition of soap is carbon dioxide and water. (345) Artificial detergents have a far more serious affect on the environment than a comparable amount of soap. Once used and released into the environment as waste, detergents never fully degrade. The newest detergents are regarded as degradable because the paraffin chain of molecules within them are broken down bacterial action. However, broken down detergents leave a residue of phenol which does not degrade. Phenol accumulates in surface waters and is toxic to the fragile aquatic ecosystem. (345) Furthermore, phosphates are commonly added to detergents to enhance their cleaning ability. Phosphates do not readily breakdown in nature and thus accumulate in .surface waters. Aquatic algae and plant life are stimulated by the presence of phosphates which overwhelms the aqueous ecosystem. Nearly all of the phosphorus content in the surface waters of the United States, and within the sewage treatment facilities, can be accounted for by the phosphorus content of detergents. Soap does not contain phosphorus. Thus, the overall effect of soap on the environment is less then that of detergents. (345-46) The secondary environmental effect of technological displacement is very difficult to define and very difficult to quantify. Basically, this refers to the systematic Gustavus Student Repository replacement of natural or organic materials with that which is either synthetic or that which requires heavy refining. For example, the displacement of steel and lumber by aluminum. Though it has considerable weight and corrosion advantages, aluminum refining requires considerably more energy to produce than a comparable amount of wood or steel. The refinement also releases pollutants into the air and water, at the refinery and at the power plant supplying the refinery. The production of aluminum, chemicals and cement account for 28 percent of the total industrial use in the United States. (346) Another example of technological displacement is the increased production of synthetic organic chemicals. This industry has extremely heavy power requirements raising pollutants emitted by power plants. Furthermore, organic synthesis {the process of combining organic materials or chemicals) releases into the environment a multitude of reagents and intermediates (chemicals that act as catalysts to chemical reactions that would otherwise not naturally occur). The impact of these pollutants to ecosystems are often unseen, uncatalogued, under-estimated, and often controversial. The possibility of the "greenhouse" affect or the depletion of the ozone layer provides adequate examples of subtle pollution related changes. Other environmental impacts of chemical pollutants, reagents or Gustavus Student Repository intermediates are obvious such as massive fish kills, plant damage from the release of toxic waste, herbicides and insecticides, and acid rain damage to buildings and surface waters. ( 346) Mercury in surface waters represents the most serious environmental impact of organic chemical production. Most of the mercury in lakes and rivers results from chlorine production which is carried out in electrolytic mercury cells. Chlorine is used because it is a vital reagent in organic synthesis. In fact, nearly 80 percent of chlorine production finds its end use in the synthetic organic c.hemical industry. Mercury is not filtered out by sewage treatment plants. The waste water is integrated with surface waters and fish and other marine life absorb the mercury. They become inedible by man or animal which disrupts the natural ecosystem (bears and raccoons eat fish too! ) America has seen a drastic change in packaging technology over the post W.W.II years. The displacement of older forms of packaging by disposable containers has created a measurable environmental impact. The impact matches that of the textile industry. In general, the production of disposable containers (such as styrofoam or glass bottles) is extremely power consumptive which releases pollutants at the power plant. Furthermore, the production Gustavus Student Repository or refining releases chemicals into the air or water which are not natural to surrounding ecosystems. Finally, many types of disposable containers are non-biodegradable, nonrecyclable, or non-returnable. (347) Perhaps the most publicized source of environmental impact is the automobile. However, since the publication of Commoner's paper, automobile emission te

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