The decline of the American automotive industry illustrates the influence of structural factors on American politics. Rapid increases in the price of petroleum, first in 1973 and then again in 1979, turned the automotive world on its head. As the price of gasoline rose, consumer interest in purchasing low-mileage, high-priced American cares waned and Japanese and European auto makers stepped in to fill the gap.

Even though energy and automobile analysts had been warning American auto makers of an impending problem for years, the auto manufacturers failed to retool in order to produce less expensive, more fuel efficient cars. They believed that change was expensive and risky, so they continued to make the same types of cars they always had. As a result, America's Big Three auto makers lost sales to foreign competition and have yet to regain their former position in the market. By 1991, imports made up nearly 40 percent of the U.S. car market, with the Japanese accounting for roughly three out of four imports.

The decline of the U.S. automobile industry has had a wide- ranging impact not only on the car companies themselves, but also on the industries that supply the automotive industry with parts and raw materials. Moreover, many people who lost their jobs in the rust belt region have migrated to the Sun Belt to find work. The decline of the U.S. automotive industry is part of the general decline of the United States as the world's leading manufacturer.

As this illustration shows, developments that occur in the  economy and in society--well away from the White House, the  halls of Congress, and the chambers of the Supreme Court--can affect the quality of our lives, the kinds of problems we have to grapple with, the issues that eventually become part of the American political agenda, and the distribution of political power. 

The economy, the Constitution, and basic characteristics of the nation's people are major structural influences on  government and politics in America. Structural factors provide the context or environment within which politics and governing take place. If we want to understand politics and governing, we first need to know what kinds of individuals, groups, and classes populate the United States. This chapter concerns the characteristics of the American people, the economy, and the political culture, as well as the U.S. position in the world.

The American People

The first U.S. census which was conducted in 1790 showed that the population of the 13 states was about 3.9 million people, of whom 80 percent were white and 20 percent were black (Native Americans were not counted). Most of the population live in rural areas (only 5 percent lived in cities), had come from western and northern Europe, and were Protestant. The black population had been brought to the U.S. from West Africa. The total Native American population was estimated at about 1.5 million.

Many population changes have taken place in the U.S. since  that first census. Between 1790 and 1990, the U.S. population increased by about 250 million people. This enormous population increase was fueled not only by high birth rates, but also by successive waves of immigration. Immigration has come at different times from many areas of the world. Such influxes of people have contributed to the diverse nature of our society in terms of ethnicity, religion, and race.

The arrival of immigrants who are very different from the native majority has sometimes sparked anti-immigration agitation. For example, nativist reactions to Catholic migrants were common throughout the nineteenth century as were anti-Chinese agitations which swept the western states in the 1870s and 1880s. These reactions led to the passage of national laws to restrict immigration. The diversity of the U.S. seems to be an important factor explaining the relatively low level of class consciousness and unionization in the U.S. Diversity multiplies interests and makes it difficult for people from different backgrounds to organize coalitions, parties, or unions along class lines.

Although the U.S. began as a country made up of rural and small-town people, it has rapidly become an urban nation. The process of urbanization resulted primarily from the industrialization of the nation. The rise of large manufacturing firms required many industrial workers, while at the same time, the mechanization of farming meant that fewer agricultural workers were needed. Urbanization continued unabated until the mid-1940s.

After World War II, massive federal and state road building programs and government-guaranteed home loans for veterans (the G.I. bill) started the process by which the U.S. became an overwhelmingly suburban nation. This shift in location of the population from rural areas to cities, and from cities to suburbs, had important ramifications.  First, migration to cities and suburbs sapped the vitality of small-town life. Second, central cities suffered shrinking tax bases because many wealthy residents moved to the suburbs, leaving behind those who needed government help the most. Finally, population shifts had the political consequence of making central-city populations more liberal and more Democratic while making suburbs more conservative and more Republican.

After 1790, the U.S. population steadily moved West and South. The acceleration of this movement since World War II was due, in one way or another, to the changing location of employment. Heavy manufacturing, traditionally located in the East and upper Midwest, suffered serious setbacks and people looking for work had to go elsewhere. Many companies shifted their activities to the anti-union and low-tax Sun Belt. Moreover, heavy flows of federal government defense dollars and associated jobs shifted to the South, Southwest, and West. Population movements have important political consequences, not the least of which has been a shift in political power between the states.

In 1790, about three-quarters of all Americans were engaged in agriculture. This way of life, however, was drastically changed by the industrial revolution which brought large mass production industries, characterized by the assembly line, semiskilled labor, and the weekly paycheck. By 1910, the proportion of the nation's labor force engaged in agriculture dropped to only 32 percent.

In 1950, America became the first nation in the world in which white-collar workers (clerical, technical, professional, managerial, service, and sales) were in the majority. The decline of certain manufacturing industries, the disappearance of the small family farm, and the rapid rise of the high technology and information sector, accelerated the shift of employment from factory and farm to office.

Changes in the American occupational structure produced changes in politics. The shift from manufacturing to service occupations, for example, affected the fortunes of labor unions, which, in turn, affected the balance between the political parties. The depletion of jobs in manufacturing produced lower numbers of union workers, thus weakening an important support group for the Democratic Party. The decline in union strength diminished support for the Democratic Party in national elections and for a liberal policy agenda in the nation.

Meanwhile, the expansion of service, clerical, technical, and other kinds of white-collar jobs coincided with an increase in female employment. The entry of women into the job market will continue to have a major impact on support for government programs affecting child care and comparable
worth.

Another significant trend in the United States and in other industrialized countries is the aging of the population. The proportion of the population over the age of 65 continues to expand. More than 10 percent of the nation's population today is over 65 and that proportion is expected to reach 20 percent by the year 2030.

The political consequences associated with this trend are likely to be continued attention to such issues as social security and health care. A large elderly population, which is characterized by a relatively high voting turnout in elections at all levels, is likely to press political decision-makers to transfer public expenditures from programs that serve the young to those that serve the old.

The United States enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the world and has done so almost from the nation's birth. By the mid-1960s, the United States was the world's richest nation by far with a higher gross national product per capita than any other country. By the late 1970s, however, the American standard of living began to stagnate with GNP per capita rankings slipping to tenth among the nations of the world. Furthermore, median family incomes also stagnated throughout most of the 1970s and 1980s.

Inequality in income and wealth among Americans has been high for a long time and is becoming more pronounced. During the postwar era, the wealthiest fifth of all families consistently received about eight times more income than the poorest fifth. During the 1980s, inequality became more pronounced as the gap between the richest and poorest families widened. Compared to the countries of Western Europe, income inequality in the U.S. is relatively high. Moreover, the trend is toward increasing rather than decreasing inequality.

No discussion of inequality is complete without a discussion of poverty. In 1955, almost 25 percent of Americans fell below the government's official poverty line. By 1973, however, the figure fell to 11.6 percent. Beginning in the late 1970s this percentage began to inch upward again, and after receding a bit in the mid-1980s, began to rise once more. Poverty is concentrated among racial minorities, female-headed households, and children. There is more poverty in the U.S. than in other Western democratic nations.

What effect does poverty have on politics? First, inequalities in living standards help determine the nature of social problems in the United States and eventually demand the attention of government. A society with significant levels of inequality and widespread poverty must pay attention to the discontents and disruption that are its natural consequence.

Second, inequality is also important for how democracy works. Extensive material inequality may undermine the possibility for political equality, one of the foundations of democracy. Those with access to financial resources can use those resources to enhance their political voice and their ease of access to public officials. Those with less money vote less often than others, usually because of such overriding concerns as the need to put food on the table. This is one of the reasons why Thomas Jefferson feared that democracy couldn't survive in a society with a high level of income inequality.

The American Economy

The U.S. economy plays a large part in shaping the nation's political environment. A capitalist economy is defined by two characteristics: private ownership and the existence of markets to coordinate economic activity. These characteristics play an important part in the political and social development of our nation.

The nature of the U.S. economy has changed a great deal since the country's inception. Up until the Civil War (except the slave South), American capitalism was defined by numerous small competitive enterprises. Initially, most of these small enterprises were tied to agriculture;  n later years, the number of small industrial enterprises grew. After the Civil War, the economy became increasingly industrialized and concentrated in giant enterprises.

The Civil War helped spur the Industrial Revolution as the Union geared up for war and manufacturing became an important part of national security. During the Civil War, the national government enacted policies that were favorable to the development of free enterprise. By the turn of the century, the U.S. was the world's leading industrial power, accounting for almost 24 percent of the world's total manufacturing output. Technology made industrial enterprises grow even more and a wave of mergers between 1896 and 1904 fashioned the corporate-dominated economy familiar to us
today.

The steady growth in the size of corporations, their consolidation into ever larger units, and their increasing importance in the economy continued virtually unabated until the early 1970s. By 1973, the largest corporations accounted for 42 percent of total U.S. assets and over 35 percent of total U.S. revenues. Many economists and politicians worried that the sheer size and domination of markets by these large companies would make the economy less competitive than it ought to be. Others observers worried that the concentration of economic power can be, and often is, translated into political power.

After World War II, the largest American corporations became overwhelmingly multinational in character. Although corporations remained American owned and controlled, their activities became worldwide in scope. Multi-nationalization inevitably affected U.S. foreign policy because American political leaders had no choice but to be attentive to developments and events in the far corners of the world.

A transformation of the American economy is now underway that is producing problems and opportunities that will affect American politics. During the 1980s, business consolidation accelerated, fueled by developments in the international economic environment and by the Reagan Administration's hands-off stance toward corporate mergers. American corporations also became more closely entwined with corporations from other countries, either through outright purchase of stock or joint ventures.

The U.S. is undergoing a relative decline from its lofty position as the world's foremost economic power, particularly in the area of manufacturing. Moreover, the U.S. is no longer the preeminent power in world finance. Although the U.S. became the leading creditor nation in the world at the end of World War I, by 1987 it had become the world's largest debtor nation.

Because of the relative decline of the U.S. economy, the American standard of living has stagnated, workers' wages are falling or barely holding their own, American companies are vulnerable to takeover, foreign central banks and companies are making decisions that affect the overall health of the American economy, and the status of the U.S. as a world superpower is eroding.

The United States in the World System

Historian Paul Kennedy believes that the military and diplomatic power of a nation is based on its relative economic standing in the world. Kennedy asserts that it is not how much wealth a nation has that is important but how much it has compared to its rivals. If Kennedy is correct, the rise of the United States as a world political and military power in this century is entirely expected, given the growth to dominance of its economy.

Until the late nineteenth century, the attention of the United States was focused mainly inward, on the task of filling in the continent. Although the U.S. purchased a great deal of territory from other countries, conquest played a role as well. The movement west required the removal of Native American populations from the lines of advance. Military pressure on Mexico supported Texas's bid for independence and the Mexican War led to the addition of vast territories, including California and much of the American Southwest.

The war with Spain in 1898 first launched the United States onto the superpower stage. With its easy victory, the United States gained the former Spanish colonies of Cuba and the Philippines. World War I confirmed America's status as a superpower. America's great industrial capacity and financial leverage along with its military might proved to be decisive in winning the war for the Allies. After World War I, however, America turned inward again, taken over by strong isolationist sentiments among elites and masses alike.

World War II propelled the United States into a leadership position in the world again. As the industrial infrastructure of the U.S. expanded during the war, the infrastructures of the other leading nations, particularly Great Britain, France, Germany, and Japan, were devastated.

By the end of World War II, the U.S. was responsible for one- half of the total manufacturing, shipping, and exporting of the entire world. The war also solidified the position of the U.S. as the leading creditor nation of the world. By the end of the war, the U.S. held two-thirds of the gold reserves of the world in its vaults, and the American dollar became the principle reserve currency in world trade.

Finally, at war's end the U.S. had a large military establishment and military superiority in most areas. Within a decade of the end of World War II, then, the U.S. stood as the unchallenged economic, political, and military power among the Western nations. For the first time, the U.S. was both willing and able to exercise leadership on the world level.

Although badly crippled by the war, the Soviet Union entered the postwar era with the world's largest land army, superpower ambitions of its own, and a strong desire to keep the nations on its periphery in eastern Europe and Asia in hands it considered friendly. During the ensuing Cold War, the U.S. and Soviet Union came to face each other as leaders of conflicting political , economic, and ideological alliances.

America's superpower status with its forces arrayed against the Soviet empire had implications for its foreign policy. Superpower status required that large amounts of resources be spent on maintaining a military presence around the world. Superpower status also enhanced the role of the president in policymaking and diminished the role for Congress in foreign affairs.

The 1980s and 1990s saw major changes in the world economic, military, and political systems. The collapse of the Soviet empire seemed to indicate the emergence of the United States as the world's single greatest military power. In contrast, the U.S. is no longer dominant economically.

Whether this diminished dominance will lead to reduced international policymaking influence and military decline remains to be seen. What can be said is that the bipolar world of the post-World War II years has given way to a world with multiple centers of power--a pluralistic world with the U.S. as the most powerful nation.

The American Political Culture

The kinds of choices America makes in meeting the challenges and opportunities in the world will depend a great deal on the fundamental beliefs that Americans hold about human nature, society, economic relations, and the role of government. These fundamental beliefs that have political consequences make up the American political culture.

Observers of the American scene have always been struck by the degree to which a broad consensus seems to exist on many of the fundamental beliefs that shape our political life. The foundation of our political culture is classical liberalism. This term does not refer specifically to the liberalism we associate with the Democratic Party which favors an expanded role for government in society and greater controls on business.

It is important to recognize that both modern liberals and modern conservatives are part of the same classical liberal tradition; they are two tendencies within a single tradition. Thus, although modern liberals and conservatives disagree on most issues of public policy, they share certain fundamental beliefs.

At the heart of classical liberalism is the belief that people are self-interested and competitive. Most Americans believe that an individual's fate is, and should be, tied to his or her own efforts. This belief is called individualism and means that people are naturally competitive, always striving to better themselves in relation to others. The belief in individualism affects the way we think about many politically relevant issues, including inequality. Americans overwhelmingly endorse the idea of equality of opportunity but reject the notion that people should have equal rewards.

The American view of equality can be contrasted with political attitudes found in Sweden, where citizens generally believe that equality of condition is an important value and support government policies to redistribute income. The strong sense of individualism so central to the American political culture is not found in most other modern capitalist nations.

Another important component of classical liberalism is the idea that human begins have a natural right to accumulate, enjoy, and transfer private property as they please. By mixing their labor with the naturally occurring abundance of the earth, people are justified in taking the product of that effort for their own private use. Because people are different in their abilities and their willingness to work, this process will always result in inequality because some people will inevitably end up with more property than others.

Limited government is another component of classical liberalism. The nation's Founders believed that the main purpose of having a government is to protect rights, particularly property rights. The proponents of classical liberalism believed that when government does more than merely protect rights, it almost invariably interferes with rights.

When government does interfere with rights, people have a right to dissolve their government and to form a new one. This belief is not widely shared by people in most other democracies where government has always been powerful and has played an important role in directing society and the economy.

Classical liberals also believe that if the market were left alone to operate in its natural fashion, it would coordinate the multitudes of complex exchanges and interaction of the economy in a nearly perfect fashion following the laws of supply and demand. The market works best when people pursue their individual interests and government does not interfere.

Though few Americans today accept the pure free market ideal, most Americans today believe that the private sector (the markets) are usually more effective and efficient than the public sector.  An indicator of the general high regard in which the economic system is held by Americans is the almost complete lack of support for movements in favor of alternatives to it. Although socialism and communism have enjoyed substantial support in most European countries, these movement have had almost no following in the U.S.

The nation's founders had strong reservations about democracy. During our history, however, the practice of democracy was enriched and expanded, and the term democracy is now honored. Democracy first became widely popular at the time of the presidency of Andrew Jackson. It was further popularized by Abraham Lincoln's praise of majoritarian democracy. The Populist movement championed the peoples' right to regulate and control government. Later, the progressive movement advocated the direct election of senators, the direct primary for nominating candidates, and the right of the people to recall their elected representatives and to legislate through the referendum. Today, democracy is a bedrock of the American belief system.

Freedom and liberty are values that are at the top of the list of American beliefs that have an effect on the type of political order present in the U.S. From the very beginning, what attracted most people to the United States was the promise of freedom. The majority of those who came to this country from overseas seem to have done so in order to taste freedom, to speak and think as they choose, to worship as they please, to read what they wish, and to assemble and petition the government if they have a mind to do so.

Populism is another prominent value in American political culture. The term populism refers to the hostility of the common person to power and the powerful. One of the targets of populist sentiments over the years has been concentrated economic power and those who exercise it. Contemporary public opinion polls show that although Americans express strong support for free  enterprise, they often hold negative feelings about corporations and corporate leaders.

By any measure, the United States is a strikingly religious society. Polls conducted over the decades show that around 40 percent of the American people claim to have a personal experience with the Lord. The American people are clearly more religious than people in any other western society. The U.S. is an outlier in that it does not fit the normal pattern in which the more developed a society becomes, the more secular it tends to become.

Piety affects politics. While churches and religious believers often find themselves on the liberal side of the political divide, the overall effect of religion on politics is probably conservative. This is another reason why socialists and social democratic parties have little success in America. The highest levels of piety found in the United States are among nonwhites, people with the least amount of education, and individuals with lower incomes--precisely the population groups that are the strongest supporters of leftist political parties in Europe.

Structural Influences on American Politics

The Constitution, the nature of the American population, the economy, the political culture, and the government's place in the world are all structural factors which influence important aspects of politics and government in the United States. Each of these structural factors is interrelated and helps define the others in important ways. One of the major recurring themes that appears throughout this text is the substantial growth in the size, reach, and responsibilities of the federal government. As we shall see, much of this growth is because of changes in the structural factors described in this chapter.