3
and methodology utilized in this study. Part IV specifically defines the variables used to
explain the decisions of survey participants to be tolerant or intolerant. Part V details
several regression models useful in understanding the relationship between information
and tolerance decisions. Finally, Part VI presents conclusions, outlining the findings of
the research and the results of the regression models.
II.
Summary of the Prevailing Literature
Published in 1955, the seminal work in the field of political tolerance remains
Samuel A. Stouffer’s Communism, Conformity, and Civil Liberties.
2
Utilizing data from
two national public opinion samples, Stouffer measured Americans’ attitudes towards
those who did not ‘conform’ to society, most frequently referencing communists,
socialists, and atheists.
3
According to Stouffer, although large numbers of Americans
endorsed the ideal of political tolerance in the abstract, the citizenry exhibited resistance
to these principles with respect to their application to actual situations and
nonconforming groups.
4
Despite the limited application of the Stouffer study to leftist groups, the sheer
prevalence of intolerance present in Stouffer’s data has forced political scientists to
question the extent to which Americans actually support the free exercise of civil
liberties. Indeed, other scholars have confirmed Stouffer’s findings, rendering the study
of tolerance a persistent dilemma in the context of American democracy.
5
Yet,
2
See Stouffer, S. Communism, Conformity, and Civil Liberties (New York, Doubleday, 1955).
3
See id., Appendix C.
4
See id.
5
See Prothro, James W. and Charles M. Grigg. 1963. “Fundamental Principles of Democracy: Bases of
Agreement and Disagreement.” Journal of Politics 22:276-94; Sullivan, John L., James E. Piereson, and
Convention