2
Schattschneider’s claim that “the heavenly chorus sings with an upper-class
accent” (1960, 35) has been well documented by subsequent empirical evidence.
Americans who join voluntary associations are likely to come from backgrounds of
privilege (Hyman and Wright 1971; Schlozman 1984; Schlozman and Tierney 1986;
Verba, Schlozman and Brady 1995). They tend to be male, white, older, married, own
their own homes, earn higher incomes, and boast higher levels of education. On nearly
every dimension of status, “joiners” demonstrate privilege (Miller 2003). Joiners are also
more likely to participate in democratic politics. They are more likely to vote, contribute
time and money to campaigns, contact government officials, and take part in local
political activities (Milbrath 1965; Verba and Nie 1972; Verba, Nie and Kim 1978;
Wolfinger and Rosenstone 1980; Conway 1991; Rosenstone and Hansen 1993; Verba,
Schlozman and Brady 1995; Miller 2003).
Determining the exact temporal ordering of these two forms of political behavior
is a difficult task. It could be that individuals who become active in politics are
subsequently more likely to join voluntary groups. Alternatively, those who join
voluntary groups may be more likely to subsequently participate in politics. A third
possibility is that a “joiner mentality” is manifest among certain outgoing individuals
who are both more likely to join voluntary groups and participate in democratic politics.
Untangling this sequence of events is a decidedly difficult task and one left for
others. What can be tested is the question of whether certain properties of voluntary
group activity are associated with political participation, and whether these properties are
Convention