"Know-Nothings" Revisited Again

Analyses of the same NORC poll relied on by Hyman and Sheatsley and a 1994 poll for the Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press show that sizable portions of the U. S. public were "know-nothings" on both occasions. OLS regressions on both polls show that, although there are slig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Political behavior 1996-09, Vol.18 (3), p.219-233
Main Author: Bennett, Stephen Earl
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
DEMOCRATIC PROCESS AND INSTITUTIONS
Foreign Affairs
Foreign policy
Geopolitics
Intergenerational Relations
International politics
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Learning motivation
Mass media
Motivation research
Opinion Polls
Political Attitudes
Political Behavior
Polls
Public affairs
PUBLIC OPINION
PUBLIC POLICY
Research Responses
United States
United States of America
UNITED STATES, 1945 TO PRESENT
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Summary:Analyses of the same NORC poll relied on by Hyman and Sheatsley and a 1994 poll for the Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press show that sizable portions of the U. S. public were "know-nothings" on both occasions. OLS regressions on both polls show that, although there are slight differences, essentially the same factors affect knowledge of international politics in 1946 and 1994. At bottom, Americans tend to be uninformed about foreign affairs because they are inattentive to events abroad. If it is true, as some students of U. S. foreign policy claim, that public opinion has an important and growing impact on national security policy, widespread public ignorance recalls Lippmann's concern about the "democratic malady."
ISSN:0190-9320
1573-6687
DOI:10.1007/BF01498600