The American public's level of hostility toward government became a major issue in the 1990s. In this edited volume, first published in 2001, 24 of the country's leading students of public attitudes toward government in the United States address the reasons for this hostility. In 14 original articles, the authors explain why people's approval of government dropped so precipitously in the late 1960s, why some parts of the government (such as the Supreme Court) are better liked than others (such as the Congress), and why certain actions by political elites are particularly upsetting to much of the American public. Uniting several of the contributions is the theme that dissatisfaction with government occurs not just when people dislike governmental policies but also when they dislike the manner in which those policies are made. Another unifying theme is the potential danger of a public with nothing but its own disdain for its own political system.
Introduction: studying the American people's attitudes toward government John R. Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse; Part I. When Do Americans Tend to Be Dissatisfied with Government?: 1. Political trust revisited: déjà vu all over again? Jack Citrin and Samantha Luks; 2. We're all in this together: the decline in trust in government, 1958-96 John R. Alford; 3. Were the halcyon days really golden? Attitudes toward the political system, 1945-65 Stephen Earl Bennett; 4. The origins and consequences of public views about government Virginia Chanley, Wendy Rahn and Thomas Rudolph; Part II. With Which Government Institutions Do American Tend to Be Satisfied?: 5. Public confidence in the leaders of American governmental institutions Lilliard E. Richardson Jr., David Houston and Chris Sissie Hadjiharalambous; 6. Linking presidential and congressional approval during unified and divided government Jeffrey L. Bernstein; 7. Is Washington really the problem? Eric M. Uslaner; 8. Explaining public support for devolution: the role of political trust Marc J. Hetherington and John D. Nugent; Part III. Do Actions on the Part of Politicians Cause Americans to Be Dissatisfied with Government?: 9. On red capes and charging bulls: how and why conservative politicians and interest groups promoted political anger Amy Fried and Douglas B. Harris; 10. A reassessment of who's to blame: a positive case for the public evaluation of Congress David W. Brady and Sean M. Theriault; 11. Sr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: public views of debate in the political system Carolyn M. Funk; Part IV. How Is Dissatisfaction with Government Measured and Incorporated into Theory?: 12. Trust in federal government: the phenomenon and its antecedents Diana Owen and Jack Dennis; 13. The psychology of public dissatisfaction with government Tom R. Tyler; 14. The means is the end John R. Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse.
