The Gallup Organization takes polls on a regular basis to determine public opinion on discrimination, affirmative action, civil rights, and the progress that has been made by minorities in American society. Polls consistently reveal differences in the...

The nature of American democracy has created an inextricable link between public opinion and foreign policy. From the earliest days of the republic, the makers of foreign policy have found their ability to make war constrained by public opinion, and...

A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion....

Public opinion is characterized, on the one hand, by its form as elementary collective behavior (Blumer 1972) and, on the other, by its functions as a means of social control (Ross 1901). It comes into play in situations that are problematical or...

Public Opinion is a 1922 book on media and democracy by Walter Lippmann. Among other things, it argues that twentieth century advances in the technology of "the manufacture of consent" amounts to "a revolution" in "the practice of democracy" because...

Glynn, Carroll J.; Herbst, Susan; O'Keefe, Garrett J.; & Shapiro, Robert Y. (1999). Public Opinion. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. 471pp. Paperback $25. Hardcover $69. With the proliferation of partisan and non-partisan opinion polls during election campaigns, it seems appropriate that a book would...

Byline: Derek Maul TAMPA, FLA. -- I have been intrigued by some of the fanatical responses offered in response to the acquittal of a former priest in a recent child molestation trial. The angry mob scene made me think I was...

The Senate today narrowly turned back a Democratic proposal mandating troop withdrawals from Iraq. Fifty-two Senators voted for the proposal while 47 voted against. Senate rules required 60 votes for the final measure to be voted upon. The Senate vote closely reflected public opinion on...

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R) has set in motion what may be the final legislative action on immigration reform this year—a Senate vote on whether to build a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border. Frist is calling for a Senate vote on the Secure...

This essay is about public opinion in context of the three theories of US government: pluralist, democratic and elitist. The depiction of public opinion is presented for each theory, and is also tied into the manipulations of public opinion by the government and the media.