The political culture of the United States has been influenced by the various European nations which colonized the Americas from the 15th century onwards. During the colonial era of American history, European settlers began emigrating to Colonial America, influencing the political culture in each region they settled in. These influences continued to play a major role in the politics of the United States after the American Revolution and the establishment of the U.S. as an independent country.
Research on the political culture of the US The political scientist Daniel J. Elazar identified three primary political cultures, generally consistent with those of Alexis de Tocqueville. Moralistic political culture evolved out of New England and is characterized by an emphasis of community and civic virtue over individualism. Individualistic political culture arose from Dutch influence in the Mid-Atlantic region; it regards multiculturalism as a practicality and government as a utilitarian necessity. Traditionalistic political culture arose in the South, which elevates social order and family structure to a prominent role. It accepts a natural hierarchy in society and where necessary to protect society, authoritarian leadership in the political and religious realms.Elazar, American Federalism, pp. 93–102.
The formation of traditionalistic political culture is often thought to have arisen principally out of Virginia, the first and most populous southern colony. Virginia was also the most politically powerful state after the American Revolution: pursuant to the first census of the United States in 1790 it held a greater percentage of congressional representatives than any other state has ever enjoyed up to the present day. Nevertheless, others argue that South Carolina had the greater influence as a result of its Grand Model enabling slaveholders from Barbados to establish a durable aristocracy. That unique convergence produced a slave society with a majority black population rigidly controlled by the plantation elite. Maintaining such a society required intense political resolve and the development of a mythology of white racial supremacy. The South Carolina hybrid model ultimately spread across the Deep South and was unwavering in its promotion of southern culture, whereas Virginia and other Upper South states were less comfortable with the region's “peculiar institution” of slavery.Wilson, The Ashley Cooper Plan, pp. 142–81.
The political scientist Richard Ellis identified egalitarianism, individualism, and hierarchy as defining cultures in American political culture. These principal categories correspond closely with Elazar's classification. According to Ellis, each of these cultures lays claim to the ideals of equality and liberty articulated by John Locke, but what they are claiming is an only a piece of Locke, and one that is not necessarily consistent with the whole.Ellis, American Political Cultures, pp. 1–3, 28–29, 42–44.
Popular authors have found similar divisions within American political culture. Colin Woodard identified eleven “rival regional cultures,” while Joel Garreau identified nine.Woodard, American nationsGarreau, Nine Nations.
The social psychologist Peter J. Rentfrow led a research effort that generally supports Elazar's theory of political culture, while finding that psychological variables allow for a more fine-grained geographical analysis. His research on “psychological topography” was based on multiple samples of more than a million respondents. The researchers found “overwhelming evidence for regional variation across the United States on a range of key political, economic, social, and health indicators.”Rentfrow, et al., “Divided We Stand,” pp. 996–1009.
When compared to Europe, America's political culture is more conservative and religious. Gallup has found that self-identification as conservative or liberal among Americans since 1992 has remained relatively consistent. In 2025, it found "an average of 35% describing their political views as 'very conservative' or 'conservative,' 33% as 'moderate,' and 28% as 'very liberal' or 'liberal.'" It described the amount of people identifying as moderate decreasing from an average of 43% in 1992 to 33% in 2025, and those identifying as liberal increasing from 17% in 1992 to 25% in 2016, where they have since remained steady. On religion, Gallup found in 2018 that U.S. Christians (the largest religious group in the U.S.) and non-Christians were much more likely to state that they regularly pray, attend church services, and believe in God and it's power compared to Western Europeans.
Colonial origins
The American political culture is rooted in the colonial experience and the American Revolution. The colonies were unique within the European world for their vibrant political culture, which attracted ambitious young men into politics.Patricia U. Bonomi, A Factious People: Politics and Society in Colonial New York (Columbia U.P., 1971) p 281 At the time, American suffrage was the most widespread in the world, with every man who owned a certain amount of property allowed to vote. In the mother country of Britain, fewer than 1% of men could vote, but in the American colonies most white men were eligible. While the roots of democracy were apparent, deference was typically shown to social elites in colonial elections, although this declined sharply with the American Revolution. In each colony a wide range of public and private business was decided by elected bodies, especially the assemblies and county governments.Patricia U. Bonomi, A Factious People: Politics and Society in Colonial New York (Columbia U.P., 1971) pp 281-2 Topics of public concern and debate included land grants, commercial subsidies, and taxation, as well as the oversight of roads, poor relief, taverns, and schools. Americans spent a great deal of time in court, as private lawsuits were very common. Legal affairs were overseen by local judges and juries, with a central role for trained lawyers. This promoted the rapid expansion of the legal profession, and the dominant role of lawyers in politics was apparent by the 1770s, with notable individuals including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, among many others.Anton-Hermann, The Rise of the legal profession in America (2 vol 1965), vol 1.
The American colonies were unique in world context because of the growth of representation of different interest groups. Unlike Europe, where the royal court, aristocratic families and the established church were in control, the American political culture was open to merchants, landlords, petty farmers, artisans, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Quakers, Germans, Scotch Irish, Yankees, Yorkers, and many other identifiable groups. Over 90% of the representatives elected to the legislature lived in their districts, unlike England where it was common to have a member of Parliament who lived elsewhere. Finally, and most dramatically, the Americans were fascinated by and increasingly adopted the political values of Republicanism, which stressed equal rights, the need for virtuous citizens, and the evils of corruption, luxury, and aristocracy.Bonomi, A Factious People, pp 281-286 None of the colonies had political parties of the sort that formed in the 1790s, but each had shifting factions that vied for power.
American Revolution and after Concepts of the Founding Fathers
Two pivotal political ideas in the establishment of the United States were Republicanism and classical liberalism. Central documents of American thought include: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Constitution (1787), the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers (1787-1790s), the Bill of Rights (1791), and Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863).
Among the core tenets were: Civic duty: citizens have the responsibility to understand and support the government, participate in elections, pay taxes, and perform military service. "Positive liberty" included moral and civic duties, or "what the Founders called 'republican virtue.'” Opposition to Political corruption. Democracy: The government should be answerable to citizens, who may change the representatives through elections. Equality before the law: The laws should attach no special privilege to any citizen. Government officials are subject to the law just as others are. Freedom of religion: The government should neither support nor suppress any or all religion. Freedom of speech: The government should not restrict through law or action the personal, non-violent speech of a citizen; a marketplace of ideas.
Appalachian and frontier political culture
Many settlers who populated the South took to the backcountry, eventually crossing the Appalachians. Of these, the Scots-Irish originating from the Plantation areas of Ireland and the border region between England and Scotland were among the largest and most influential. A Hessian officer reported during the American Revolution that "Call this war by whatever name you may, only call it not an American rebellion; it is nothing more or less than a Scotch Irish Presbyterian rebellion."Leyburn 1962, p. 305 While they might be considered a distinct political culture in colonial times, they eventually developed a symbiotic relationship with the Southern planter elite. As W. J. Cash wrote in The Mind of the South, “the tradition of aristocracy met and married with the tradition of the backwoods.”Cash, The Mind of the South, p. 72.
The Frontier Thesis advanced by the historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893 argued that American culture, including political culture, was forged as Americans expanded westward. It was violent and individualistic and yet contained a primitive form of egalitarianism. In Elazar's view, however, it was the South that acquired these traits most and carried them west to Missouri, Texas, and eventually as far as Southern California.Dochuk, From Bible Belt to Sun Belt, pp. xv–xvi
Lockean liberalism and political culture
In another unifying thesis about political culture that, like the Frontier Thesis, some have argued that Lockean liberalism is a central underlying explanation of American political culture. Notably, the political scientist Louis Hartz argued that the nation's founding principles, which were largely drawn from Locke, created a new political culture that was unique to the United States. The nation “begins with Locke,” he wrote, and it “stays with Locke.” He found that Alexis de Tocqueville was first to recognize this when he saw that the nation was the first to create its own democratic future without having to endure revolution.Hartz, The Liberal Tradition in America, pp. 6, 35.
Post-World War II