US Public Opinion since the 1930s: Galluping through History

Description

This is both a history book and a book on public opinion. George Gallup, who pioneered survey sampling methods and whose name in fact became synonymous with public opinion polls, conducted his first survey in 1936. The main part of this book starts there as well. Dedicating a chapter to each decade from the 1930s to the present, Seltzer discusses historical events of the period and what the U.S. public thought of those events according to Gallup polls and other public opinion surveys. Each chapter is divided into the following categories: world events; U.S. politics; race; sex and gender; the economy; science, technology and the environment; and popular trends. Within each chapter, approximately 40 survey questions were chosen for more extended analysis: breaking down the results by race, age, gender, education, region, and political party. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgments Introduction George Gallup and the Inception of Survey Research Features and Limitations of Gallup’s Surveys Crosstabular Analysis Historical Analysis of Roper Questions Sources of Survey Data Problems with the Data Organization of the Book Other Readings Theoretical Questions Notes Chapter 1: The 1930s: The Great Depression and the Start of World War II World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends of the Decade Concluding Comments Notes Chapter 2: The 1940s: World War II and the Onset of the Cold War World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends Concluding Comments Notes Chapter 3: The 1950s: Anticommunism, Relative Economic Prosperity at Home, and a Growing Cold War Abroad World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends Concluding Comments Notes Chapter 4: The 1960s: Era of Protest: Civil Rights, Vietnam, and Counterculture The Great Society and THE MOON LANDING World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends Concluding Comments Notes Chapter 5: The 1970s: Watergate, Normalization of Relations with China, Continuing Social and Political Protest, the Growth of International Terrorism, and Stagflation World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends Concluding Comments Notes Chapter 6: The 1980s: Ronald Reagan, the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and AIDS World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends Concluding Comments Notes Chapter 7: The 1990s: The Collapse of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the First Gulf War, the Genocide in Rwanda, Bill Clinton, and the Rise of the Internet World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends Concluding Comments Notes Chapter 8: The 2000s: Decade of 9/11, the Iraqi War, the Great Recession, and the Election of Barack Obama World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends Concluding Comments Notes Chapter 9: The 2010s: War against ISIS, the Tea Party, Black Lives Matter, Brexit, and the Election of Donald Trump World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends Concluding Comments Notes Chapter 10: 2020: Covid-19, the Killing of George Floyd and Protests, an Attempt to Overthrow an Election Covid-19 Racial Protests 2020 Election, Conspiracy Theories, and Insurrection Concluding Comments Notes Conclusion World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends Problems in Analysis Concluding Comments Notes Appendix 1 World Events US Politics Race Sex and Gender The Economy Science, Technology, and the Environment Popular Trends Notes References Electronic References Index About the Author