Battling Racism: Race, Deservingness and the Effect of “Saying Their Name”
Introduction Any understanding of American history is fundamentally incomplete without careful attention towards race and racism. Since the first slaves were forced into servitude on the American continent by Europeans, the Black experience has been cast in the shadow of white hegemony. Sociologist and race scholar Joe Feagin developed the concept of the White Racial […]
Nativism, Discrimination, and the Operationalization of Equality
Introduction What does it mean to be an American? Since the nation’s founding, Americans have believed that the nation’s core guiding principles are centered in ideals of freedom, liberty, and equality. This values-based conception of American national identity is termed ‘civic identity.’ Citrin and Sears argue, “Americanism is a civil religion,” and under the civic […]
Who is Suffering Economically from COVID-19?
Introduction Shopping malls, restaurants, factories and offices around the United States are closed and 30 million citizens have filed for unemployment to date. Many are either furloughed or laid off, and only those deemed “essential,” or who have the capacity to perform their duties remotely, are resistant to Covid-19’s financially corrosive effects. Using the April […]
American National Identity and Attitudes Towards President Trump
Introduction The study of American national identity has taken on renewed relevance with the election of President Donald Trump. The president’s surprise win in 2016 followed a campaign in which he engaged in frequent anti-immigrant rhetoric, called for a ban on admitting Muslims to the United States, and pledged to put “America First.” Subsequent studies […]
Measuring Interviewer Effects in the November 2018 Grinnell Poll
Overview of Findings In this post, we investigate whether or not responses to the Grinnell College National Poll (GCNP) are affected by the interviewer conducting the poll. The poll is conducted over the phone, through live interviews by professional staff working from a call center. Past research has demonstrated that the preceived air of authority, […]
The Demographic Profiles of Democrats and Republicans
The Democratic and Republican parties are sometimes thought of as mirror images of each other on the right and left, but the coalitions of voters that make up each party are quite different. In this post, we compare the demographic profiles of those who identify with each party drawing on data from the Grinnell College […]
Analyzing Support for Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential Race
Introduction Is President Donald Trump likely to be reelected in November of 2020? In this post, we evaluate the president’s reelection prospects and the structure of his support among voters with an analysis of data from the November 2018 and October 2019 editions of the Grinnell College National Poll (GCNP). Our findings indicate that the […]
Living Side-by-Side: The Relationship Between Contact with Immigrants and Pro-Immigrant Sentiments
Introduction America’s immigration policy has been a contentious and divisive issue in contemporary American politics. From debates over the detention of migrant children at the southern border, to the President’s recent proclamation requiring immigrants to prove their ability to afford health care before receiving visas, to the administration’s decision to bar travelers from seven Muslim […]
Women’s Political Activism in the 2018 Midterm Elections
Introduction A “Blue Wave” swept through the United States in the 2018 midterm elections as the Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives and races for governor in seven states that had been controlled by Republicans. One of the more compelling media narratives of the 2018 election cycle explained this victory as the […]