The Four Americas: Government and Social Policy Through the Eyes of America’s Multi-racial and Multi-ethnic Society
The Four Americas: Government and Social Policy Through the Eyes of America’s Multi-racial and Multi-ethnic Society
This report is the first of a series of surveys conducted jointly by The Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard University examining public knowledge, values and beliefs on major issues and challenges facing our nation, such as race, poverty, reducing the deficit, the role of government in our society, and our nation’s obligations in the world. The hope is that this initiative will contribute to a better understanding of public knowledge and perspectives on these important issues, and to more effective efforts by the media to educate, inform, and engage citizens in national debates.
This first survey focused on how the perspectives of different racial and ethnic groups shaped their attitudes toward social policy and the role of government in America. A reprint of the series as it appeared in The Washington Post October 8-11, 1995 is also available (#1098), and also is included in this report.