Americans feel a strong sense of personal empowerment and have long valued the benefits of hard work. If anything, those sentiments are shared even more widely today than when the Center’s values surveys began in 1987. By more than two-to-one (67%-30%), the public rejects the idea that “Success in life is pretty much determined by […]
The issue of race continues to divide Americans and play an important role in politics, as it has since the nation’s founding. Since 1987, Americans, both black and white, have become much more personally tolerant. The idea of blacks and whites dating, once highly divisive, is now broadly accepted. There also has been a […]
Parity in partisan affiliation is a relatively new phenomenon in American politics. For most of the period between the late 1930s through the beginning of the 21st century, the Democratic party held an advantage often sizable over the Republicans in party identification. The Democratic lead in party identification was modest through the 1940s […]
Summary of Findings The public holds more positive opinions of President Bush and the decision to go to war in Iraq in response to the capture of Saddam Hussein. Bush has made significant gains with the public, and more importantly with voters. In historical terms, the president’s job approval gain (from 50% in November to […]
The public has long had conflicted attitudes toward the nation’s corporations. There is broad agreement that America’s strength is largely attributable to the success of business. Yet most people also believe corporations are too powerful and more interested in making a profit than in serving the public interest. These attitudes also have remained fairly stable […]
Overview Over the past four years, the American electorate has been dealt a series of body blows, each capable of altering the political landscape. The voting system broke down in a presidential election. A booming economy faltered, punctuated by revelations of one of the worst business scandals in U.S. history. And the country endured a […]
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks profoundly affected the way Americans view national security threats and their own sense of personal safety. But for the most part, the public’s views about global engagement and the role of military power have stayed fairly stable since the Center began its values surveys 16 years ago. The public is […]