Imagining the American People: Strategies for Building Political Community

• Published in: Journal of communication Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 138 - 154
• Main Authors: Hart, Roderick P., Jennings, William P., Dixson, Mary J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2003; Blackwell
• Subjects: Americans; Communication; Community; Elections; Electorate; Mass media; Media; Narratives; Political behaviour; Political sociology; Politics; Portrayal; Self-perception; Sociology; U.S.A; USA; Values; Voters; United States Of America; Political strategy; Collective Identity; Electoral campaign; Social construction; Comparison; Voter; Voters; Representation; Mass media; Self-representation; Community
• ISSN: 0021-9916; 1460-2466
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2003.tb03010.x

This study examined how the American electorate has been described by political campaigners, the mass media, and voters themselves between 1948 and 2000. Using a large (digitized) database of campaign addresses, news stories, and letters to the editor, the authors isolated 2,924 uses of the phrase, “the American people.” By examining these phrases for descriptions of the roles, actions, qualities, and circumstances of the people, and by noting their time orientation and the forces aligned against the electorate, the authors present a picture of the people as described by three different political voices. The article concludes by arguing that examining a people's self‐conception provides a fresh way of understanding their most basic thoughts and values.