AMERICAN SOCIETYThe existence of an ‘‘interest-group’’ polity
was clearly indicated. The political system readily
expressed particular interests but found difficul-
ties in articulating and integrating partly incom-
patible demands into long-term national programs.
As the century drew to a close, many commen-
tators expressed concerns about the increasing
expense of political campaigns, the increasing im-
portance of very large contributions through Po-
litical Action Committees, the potential influence
upon voters of ‘‘vivid soundbites’’ on television,
and the increasing centralization of control of the
mass media. At the same time, the conspicuous
behavior of so-called independent counsels (spe-
cial prosecutors) raised the fears that a ‘‘Fourth
Branch’’ of government had arisen that would be
relatively free of the checks and balances, tradi-
tional in the tripartite system of governance. Pub-
lic opinion polls showed increased disaffection
with political institutions and processes, and lower
voting turnouts indicated much apathy in the elec-
torate. As investigations, prosecutions, and litiga-
tion have escalated and have been rendered omni-
present by the media, erosion of trust in government
has likewise increased greatly (Lipset 1995).
Yet detailed analysis of data from national
public opinion surveys in the last decade of the
century failed to find the alleged extreme polariza-
tion that had been suggested by acrimonious parti-
sanship between the political parties and in the
Congress. Thus, a major study (DiMaggio, Evans,
and Bryson 1996) found little evidence of extreme
cleavages in social opinions between 1974 and
1994, with two exceptions: attitudes toward abor-
tion diverged sharply, and the attitudes of those
who identify with the Democratic and Republican
parties have become more polarized. Instead of
moderating dissension, the party system between
1970 and the 1990s appears to have sharpened
cleavages. There is a possibility that some political
leaders have been pulled away from centrist posi-
tions by militant factions within their own party.
The total picture seemed to be that of extreme
contentiousness within the central government
while the wider society showed much greater toler-
ance, consensus, and stability.
Education. In addition to diffuse processes of
socialization found in family and community, spe-
cialized educational institutions now directly in-
volve one-fifth of the American people as teachers,
students, and other participants. In the twentieth
century, an unparalleled expansion of mass educa-
tion occurred. Nearly 80 percent of the appropri-
ate age group graduate from secondary school and
62 percent of these attend college; in 1993, 21.3
percent had completed four years of college or more.Historically, the educational system was radi-
cally decentralized, with thousands of school dis-
tricts and separate educational authorities for each
state (Williams 1970, chap. 8). In contrast to coun-
tries with strong central control of education and
elitist systems of secondary and higher education,
the United States for most of its history has had a
weak central state and a mass education system.
Education was driven by demands for it rather
than by state control of standards, facilities, tests,
curricula, and so on (cf. Garnier, Hage, and Full-
er 1989).These characteristics partly derive from wide-
spread faith in education as a means of social
advancement as well as from commitments to
equality of opportunity and to civic unity. Inequali-
ties of access were long enforced by involuntary
racial segregation, now somewhat reduced since
1954, when the Supreme Court declared such
segregation unconstitutional. Inequalities of ac-
cess due to social class and related factors, of
course, continue (Jencks et al. 1979). Formal edu-
cational attainments have come to be so strongly
emphasized as a requirement for employment and
advancement that some observers speak of the
development of a ‘‘credential society’’ (Collins
1979). Meanwhile the slow but steady decline in
students’ test scores has aroused much concern
but little agreement as to remedial measures.Religious Institutions. Major characteristics
of institutionalized religion include: formal sepa-
ration of church and state, freedom of religious
expression and practice, diversity of faiths and
organizations, voluntary support, evangelism, high
rates of membership and participation, widespread
approval of religion and acceptance of religious
beliefs, complex patterns of partial secularization,
frequent emergence of new religious groupings,
and important linkages between religious affilia-
tions and social class and ethnicity (cf. Williams
1970, chap. 9; Wilson 1978).Many of these characteristics are causally in-
terrelated. For example, earlier sectarian diversity