Editing Politics of the United States (section)

===American political culture===
{{Main|Political culture of the United States}}

====Colonial origins====
{{Main|Colonial history of the United States|Thirteen Colonies}}

The American political culture is rooted in the [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial experience]] and the [[American Revolution]]. The colonies were unique within the European world for their  [[Voting rights in the United States|(relatively) widespread suffrage]]  which was granted to white male   [[Property qualification|property owners]], and the relative power and activity of the elected bodies which they could vote for.<ref>Patricia U. Bonomi, ''A Factious People: Politics and Society in Colonial New York'' (Columbia U.P., 1971) pp 281-2</ref> These dealt with land grants, commercial subsidies,  taxation,  the oversight of roads, poor relief, taverns, and schools.  Courts, (private lawsuits were very common) also provided Americans with experience in public affairs and law,<ref>Anton-Hermann, ''The Rise of the legal profession in America'' (2 vol 1965), vol 1.</ref> and gave interest groups such as
merchants, landlords, petty farmers, artisans, [[Anglicanism|Anglicans]], [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]], [[Quakers]], Germans, [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scotch Irish]], Yankees, Yorkers, etc. control over matters left to  the royal court, aristocratic families and the established church in Great Britain.  Finally,  Americans were interested in the political values of [[Republicanism in the United States|Republicanism]], which celebrated equal rights, civic virtue, and abhorred  corruption, luxury, and aristocracy.<ref>Bonomi, ''A Factious People'', pp. 281-286</ref>

====Concepts of the Founding Fathers====
[[File:Statue of Liberty 7.jpg|thumb|The [[Statue of Liberty]], a symbol of American freedom and openness to [[Immigration to the United States|immigration]]]]

Two pivotal political ideas in the establishment of the United States were [[Republicanism in the United States|Republicanism]] and [[classical liberalism]]. Central documents of American thought include: the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence (1776)]], the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution (1787)]], the [[Federalist Papers|Federalist]] and [[Anti-Federalist Papers]] (1787–1790s), [[United States Bill of Rights|the Bill of Rights]] (1791), and [[Gettysburg Address|Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"]] (1863).

Among the core tenets were:

* [[Consent of the governed]]: the authority and legitimacy of the government is dependent upon the assent of the people as expressed in free and fair elections
* [[Civic duty]]/"Positive liberty"/"republican virtue": the responsibility to understand and support the government, participate in elections, pay taxes, oppose [[political corruption]], and perform military service.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://isi.org/modern-age/the-american-founders-and-their-relevance-today/|title= THE AMERICAN FOUNDERS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TODAY |author=Robert P. Kraynak |publisher=Intercollegiate Studies Institute |date=2015}}</ref>
* [[Democracy]]: government answerable to citizens, who may change who represents them through elections.
* [[Equality before the law]]: laws that attach no special privilege to any citizen and hold government officials subject  just as any other person.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/creating-the-united-states/founded-on-a-set-of-beliefs.html#:~:text=Among%20them%20was%20the%20idea,revolutionaries%20openly%20discussed%20these%20concepts. |publisher=Library of Congress |title=Creating the United States|date=April 12, 2008 }}</ref>
* [[Freedom of religion]]: [[Separation of church and state|government that neither supports nor suppresses any or all religion]].
* [[Freedom of speech]]: government that restricts neither through law nor action the non-violent speech of a citizen; a [[marketplace of ideas]].

====Post–World War II====
At the time of the United States' founding, the economy was predominantly one of agriculture and small private businesses, and state governments left welfare issues to private or local initiative. As in the UK and other industrialized countries, [[Laissez-faire|laissez-faire ideology]] was largely discredited during [[Great Depression|the Great Depression]]. Between the 1930s and 1970s, fiscal policy was characterized by the [[Keynesian consensus]].<ref name="Weeks">Weeks, J. (2007). Inequality Trends in Some Developed OECD Countries. In J. K. S. & J. Baudot (Eds.) ''Flat world, big gaps: Economic liberalization, globalization, poverty & inequality'' (159-176). New York: Zed Books.</ref><ref name="Thomas">{{cite news |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/117854/page/1 |last=Thomas |first=E. |date=March 10, 2008|title=He knew he was right|magazine=Newsweek|access-date=2008-04-19|archive-date=2008-04-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405101829/http://www.newsweek.com/id/117854/page/1}}</ref> After the "[[Reaganomics|Reagan revolution]]" in the early 1980s, laissez-faire ideology once more became a powerful force in American politics.<ref name="Clark">Clark, B. (1998). ''Political economy: A comparative approach''. Westport, CT: Preager.</ref> While the American [[welfare state]] expanded more than threefold after WWII, it held   at 20% of GDP from the late 1970s to late 1980s.<ref name="Alber">{{Cite journal|doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.esr.a036484|title=Is there a crisis of the welfare state? Crossnational evidence from Europe, North America, and Japan|year=1988|last1=Alber|first1=Jens|journal=European Sociological Review|volume=4|issue=3|pages=181–205}}</ref><ref name="Barr">Barr, N. (2004). ''Economics of the welfare state''. New York: [[Oxford University Press]] (US).</ref> In the 21st century, [[Modern liberalism in the United States|modern American liberalism]], and [[Conservatism in the United States|modern American conservatism]] are engaged in a [[Bipartisan coalition in Congress|continuous political battle]], characterized by what ''The Economist'' describes as "greater divisiveness [and] close, but bitterly fought elections."<ref name="Economist">{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/Countries/USA/profile.cfm?folder=Profile%2DPolitical%20Forces|title=Economist Intelligence Unit. (July 11, 2007). ''United States: Political Forces''.|access-date=2008-06-03 |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> Since 2016, the United States has been recognized as a [[Illiberal democracy|flawed democracy]] in the ''[[Democracy Index]]'' by the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]], partially due to increased [[political polarization]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Francis|first=Ellen|date=February 10, 2021|title=Global freedoms have hit a 'dismal' record low, with pandemic restrictions making things worse, report says|language=en-US|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/10/global-democracy-index-2021-pandemic/|access-date=2022-02-16|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Democracy Index 2021: the China challenge|url=https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2021/|access-date=2022-02-16|website=[[Economist Intelligence Unit]]|language=en-GB|archive-date=November 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108091515/https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2021/|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the [[V-Dem Democracy indices]] the United States were 2023 the 27th most electoral democratic country and 3rd most participatory democracy in the world.<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref>

In foreign affairs, the United States generally  pursued a [[nonintervention]]ist policy of "avoiding foreign entanglements" before [[World War II]]. After the war, when America became a [[superpower]], for many decades the country embraced [[Internationalism (politics)|internationalism]], seeking allies to contain [[Communism]] and foster economic cooperation.