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10
Public Opinion and Political
Socialization
 Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Who is considered the founder of modern-day polling?

a. George Gallup
b. Alfred M. Landon
c. Walter Lippmann
d. John Zogby

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.1
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 282
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Unscientific surveys used to gauge public opinion on a variety of issues are known as
what?

a. deliberative polls
b. exit polls
c. push polls
d. straw polls

Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.2
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Since 1952, researchers have conducted and analyzed the __________ to assess the
political attitudes and behavior of the American electorate.

a. American Electorate Studies


b. General Social Studies
c. Harris Interactive Studies
d. American National Election Studies

Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.3
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 284 – 285
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

4. What are push polls designed to do?

a. provide unbiased information that helps voters make an informed judgment


b. encourage young citizens to register to vote
c. push people into voting for the frontrunner
d. present negative information that might cause voters to vote against a candidate

Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.4
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 287
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

5. Tracking polls help candidates __________.

a. encourage voter turnout


b. win support among undecided voters
c. measure the impact of their campaign
d. find campaign volunteers

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.5
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 290
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

6. Researchers refer to the unintended influence of the questioner on respondents


during in-person interviews as __________.

a. question bias
b. the margin of error
c. interviewer bias
d. self-selection

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.6
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 290
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

7. Which of the following is a shortcoming of public opinion polls?

a. Polls measure only elite opinion.


b. Polls are unable to measure the intensity of feelings about issues.
c. Polls have no scientific credibility.
d. Polls are undemocratic.

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.7
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 291 – 293
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

8. The __________ is a measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll.

a. margin of error
b. modal response
c. sample size
d. standard deviation

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.8
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 291
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

9. “Feeling thermometer” questions ask respondents how they feel about a particular
issue by __________.

a. signaling their approval or disapproval


b. answering with a simple yes or no
c. using a 0-to-100 scale
d. computing degree-of-affinity statistics

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.9
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 292
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

10. What do Americans often have difficulty forming opinions about?

a. policies that involve issues of morality


b. policies that do not affect them personally
c. policies related to their occupation
d. policies related to their property taxes

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.10
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 293
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

11. Of the following, which is a demographic characteristic that often affects a citizen’s
political opinions?

a. employability
b. gender
c. candidates’ policy positions
d. partisanship

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.11
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 293
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

12. The value of hard work and personal responsibility are rooted in America’s
__________.

a. emphasis on economic and social equality


b. communitarian instincts
c. two-party system
d. Protestant heritage

Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.12
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 294
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

13. When is a child’s peer group most politically influential?

a. before preschool
b. during preschool
c. during elementary school
d. during middle and high school

Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.13
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 295
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

14. Which amendment removed the election of U.S. senators from the hands of state
legislators and placed it in the hands of citizens?

a. the Sixteenth Amendment


b. the Seventeenth Amendment
c. the Eighteenth Amendment
d. the Twentieth Amendment

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.5.14
Topic: Toward Reform: The Effects of Public Opinion on Politics
Learning Objective: LO 10.5: Evaluate the effects of public opinion on politics.
Page Reference: 299
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

15. According to Andrew Kohut, founding director of the Pew Research Center, why
has the public played a more important role in national and international politics
over the last three decades?

a. the sophistication of modern polling techniques


b. the rise in the number of public opinion polls
c. the advent of the Internet
d. the speed with which computers can process election data

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.5.15
Topic: Toward Reform: The Effects of Public Opinion on Politics
Learning Objective: LO 10.5: Evaluate the effects of public opinion on politics.
Page Reference: 299
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

16. Why is Walter Lippmann credited with spurring the growth of public opinion
polling?

a. Lippmann tried to predict the winner of the presidential contest between Andrew
Jackson and John Quincy Adams.
b. Lippmann was a pioneer in the use of the straw poll.
c. Lippmann wrote a book in which he observed that research on public opinion was
far too limited, especially in light of its importance
d. Lippmann discovered three fatal errors in the Literary Digest poll that wrongly
predicted that Republican Alfred M. Landon would beat incumbent President
Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.16
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

17. George Gallup undoubtedly had a vested interest in fostering reliance on public
opinion polls. Why?
a. He was a politician.
b. He was a pollster.
c. He was a political consultant.
d. He was an officeholder.

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.17
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

18. Which of the following statements about the 1936 Literary Digest poll that predicted
Roosevelt’s reelection defeat is true?

a. The poll oversampled the upper middle class and the wealthy.
b. The poll oversampled groups heavily Democratic in orientation.
c. The poll excluded owners of automobiles and telephones.
d. The poll undersampled middle-class voters who owned telephones.

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.18
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

19. In the context of public opinion polls, what is self-selection?

a. a reference to the timing of public opinion polls that may skew survey results
b. a reference to the ability of respondents to decide whether to participate in surveys
c. a reference to long-term studies of the electorate invalidated by short-term biases
d. a reference to short-term studies of the electorate invalidated by long-term biases

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.19
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

20. What is the purpose of a “name recognition survey”?


a. to discover how a better-known candidate contemplating a run for office might
fare against an incumbent
b. to discover how a local officeholder has affected the electoral climate
c. to discover how many people have heard of a potential candidate
d. to gauge how negatively the public views a potential third-party candidate

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.20
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 285
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

21. Which of the following is a disadvantage of surveying the public using traditional
telephone polls?

a. Many people do not have landlines.


b. Pollsters are no longer exempt from federal do-not-call lists.
c. Pollsters are no longer exempt from state do-not-call lists.
d. Polling is a form of constitutionally protected speech.

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.21
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 288
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

22. How are exit polls conducted?

a. over the telephone


b. on the Internet
c. through the mail
d. in person

Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.22
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 290
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
23. Of the following topics, which is more likely than the others to be subject to a
screening procedure in a public opinion poll?

a. crime prevention
b. illegal drug use
c. the federal budget
d. health care

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.23
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 293
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

24. What is political socialization?

a. the process through which individuals self-select themselves to participate in


public opinion polls
b. the process through which individuals acquire status as opinion leaders
c. the process through which individuals seek out the beliefs and values of those in
office
d. the process through which individuals acquire their political beliefs and values

Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.24
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 293
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

25. What is the relationship between partisanship and views on whether the government
should guarantee every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep?

a. There is little partisan variation in the belief that the government should guarantee
that every citizen has enough to eat and a place to sleep.
b. Within each group, fewer than half of all Democrats, Republicans, and
independents believe that the government should guarantee that every citizen has
enough to eat and a place to sleep.
c. More Republicans than independents believe that the government should
guarantee that every citizen has enough to eat and a place to sleep.
d. More than three-fourths of Democrats believe that the government should
guarantee that every citizen has enough to eat and a place to sleep.
Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.25
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 296
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

26. At what age do parents exercise the greatest influence on the political socialization of
their children?

a. from birth to age five


b. from birth to age ten
c. from age ten to age fourteen
d. at age fourteen and older

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.26
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 295
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

27. Which of the following statements best describes the interaction between public
opinion and public policy in the United States?

a. Public opinion can affect policy.


b. Public opinion can only affect short-term policy.
c. Public opinion only affects policy during national crises.
d. Public opinion has no discernible effect on policy.

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.5.27
Topic: Toward Reform: The Effects of Public Opinion on Politics
Learning Objective: LO 10.5: Evaluate the effects of public opinion on politics.
Page Reference: 299 – 300
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

28. In 1948, the Chicago Daily Tribune wrongly predicted that Republican Thomas E.
Dewey would beat incumbent President Harry S. Truman. Knowing what you know
about the accuracy of various polls, what kind of poll would most likely have led the
Tribune to make this erroneous prediction?

a. an exit poll
b. a push poll
c. a random-digit dialing poll
d. a straw poll

Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.28
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283 – 284
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Difficult

29. When have Gallup’s predictions been the least accurate?

a. when there has been a female candidate


b. when there is a prominent third-party candidate
c. during economic crises
d. when the incumbent is seeking reelection

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.29
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 285
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

30. A polling firm has been commissioned by the New York Times to assess public
opinion about the performance of FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management
Agency) during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. What should the firm do first?

a. determine the population


b. determine the method of poll selection
c. contact respondents
d. select the sample

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.30
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 287
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate
31. Which of the following is the clearest example of a question that might be found on
a push poll?

a. Are you familiar with Rosemary Austin’s voting record on tax subsidies for energy
producers?
b. Would you approve or disapprove of the job that Rosemary Austin is doing if you
knew that she never even reads the legislation before voting to spend your tax
dollars?
c. Do you plan to vote for Rosemary Austin for the House of Representatives this
November?
d. Do you approve or disapprove of the job that Rosemary Austin is doing?

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.31
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 287
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Difficult

32. To determine if families with children would use school vouchers to send their
children to charter schools, from which of the following populations should you
select a sample?

a. women with children


b. citizens in the school district
c. parents
d. parents of children under age 18

Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.32
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 287
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Difficult

33. In a random sample of 1,000 high school students, 29 percent indicated that they had
read the Declaration of Independence at least once, with a margin of error of 4
percent. Which of the following statements is true?

a. It is likely that more than 33 percent of the population have read the Declaration
of Independence.
b. It is likely that fewer than 25 percent of the population have read the Declaration
of Independence.
c. It is likely that between 25 and 33 percent of the population have read the
Declaration of Independence.
d. It is likely that 29 percent of the population has read the Declaration of
Independence between zero and five times.

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.33
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 290 – 291
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

34. As a pollster for Smart Polling, you are concerned about gauging the public’s
attitudes about arms-control policy. You believe that the public not only has little
information on this complex topic, but also has thought little about it. What
procedure might you implement to increase the accuracy of your polling data?

a. a screening procedure
b. a grading procedure
c. a tracking procedure
d. a deliberative procedure

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.34
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 292
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Difficult

35. Which of the following accurately describes a difference in public opinion between
men and women?

a. Men are more likely to think that labor unions are necessary to protect the rights
of workers.
b. Men are more likely to favor military intervention.
c. Women are more likely to believe that school boards have a right to fire teachers
who are homosexual.
d. Women are more likely to believe that we should tighten restrictions on people
coming to the United States.

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.35
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 293
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

36. A decrease in political knowledge will likely cause __________.

a. a decrease in taxes
b. a decrease in political participation
c. an increase in the likelihood that someone will participate in a political campaign
d. an increase in the likelihood that someone will vote

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.36
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 298
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

37. During his campaign for reelection in 2012, Barack Obama deemphasized his work
on health care reform. Which of the following reasons is the most plausible
explanation for this decision, given what you know about the interaction between
public opinion and policy and politics?

a. His campaign did not want to focus on an issue that had deep divisions in public
opinion.
b. His campaign wanted to focus on the improvements in unemployment instead.
c. The public is generally much less concerned about domestic issues than they are
about foreign policy issues.
d. Very few Americans held opinions about health care reform because it did not
directly affect them.

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.5.37
Topic: Toward Reform: The Effects of Public Opinion on Politics
Learning Objective: LO 10.5: Evaluate the effects of public opinion on politics.
Page Reference: 300
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

38. George Gallup believed that __________. This belief continues to be common
today.

a. the public should be surveyed only when the relative importance of an issue is high
b. leaders should have an appraisal of public opinion and consider it in reaching their
decisions
c. straw polls should be used to gauge public opinion
d. pollsters should expect a high degree of consistency in citizens’ day-to-day political
views

Answer: b
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.38
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

39. Which of the following surveys is more likely than the others to generate self-
selection error?

a. a mail-in survey of retirement community members about the privatization of


Medicare
b. a phone survey of randomly selected voters about the job performance of local
council members
c. a yes-or-no phone survey that asks, “Will you vote in the upcoming presidential
election?”
d. a door-to-door survey about home energy use

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.39
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

40. Why have American National Election Studies (ANES) researchers conducted
surveys before and after every mid-term and presidential election since 1952?

a. to compile long-term studies of the electorate


b. to increase voter participation
c. to safeguard elections from manipulation by political consultants
d. to clarify options for undecided voters

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.40
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 284 – 285
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult
41. What is the difference between random sampling and stratified sampling?

a. Stratified sampling combines random selection with predetermined weighting of a


population’s demographic characteristics.
b. Stratified sampling gives each member of a targeted population the same
probability of being polled, whereas simple random sampling does not.
c. Random sampling incorporates random selection into the polling procedure,
whereas stratified sampling allows for self-selection.
d. Stratified sampling relies on techniques to minimize bias, whereas simple random
sampling does not.

Answer: a
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.41
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 287
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

42. Web polls that allow anyone to weigh in on a topic are a type of __________ poll.

a. exit
b. deliberative
c. tracking
d. straw

Answer: d
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.42
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 291
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

43. Which type of survey question is best suited to addressing concerns about public
opinion polls that contain a limited number of response options?

a. yes-or-no questions
b. approve-or-disapprove questions
c. “feeling thermometer” questions
d. tracking questions

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.43
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 292
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

44. Americans are likely to have the most difficulty forming opinions on which of the
following topics?

a. topics involving jobs and unemployment


b. topics involving tax deductions for home mortgages
c. topics involving the European Central Bank and creditor nations
d. topics involving single-payer health care mandates

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.44
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 292 – 293
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

45. What opinion of a Democratic president would you expect an eleven-year-old child
raised in a politically active Republican household to have?

a. indifference toward the president


b. approval of the president
c. skepticism of the president
d. trust of the president

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.45
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 294 – 295
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

46. Which of the following statements best reflects the Framers’ attitudes about public
opinion?

a. Public opinion is the best measure of the soundness of government policy.


b. Public opinion is potentially divisive and should, therefore, be encouraged.
c. Public opinion might have a negative effect on politics.
d. Public opinion should be monitored closely in election years.

Answer: c
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.5.46
Topic: Toward Reform: The Effects of Public Opinion on Politics
Learning Objective: LO 10.5: Evaluate the effects of public opinion on politics.
Page Reference: 299
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

 True-False Questions

47. Since the 1930s, governmental decision makers have relied heavily on public opinion
polls.

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.47
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 282
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

48. How a question is worded on a public opinion poll can intentionally or


unintentionally skew results.

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.48
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 287
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

49. George Gallup incorrectly predicted the results of the 1936 election between
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Alf Landon.

Answer: FALSE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.49
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283 – 284
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy
50. Simple random samples are not very useful for predicting voting outcomes because
they may undersample or oversample key populations not likely to vote.

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.50
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 287
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Difficult

51. The most common form of the telephone poll is the random-digit dialing survey.

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.51
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 288
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

52. Typically, the margin of error in a sample of 1,000 will be about 10 percent.

Answer: FALSE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.52
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 291
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

53. Public opinion polls confirm that women have more liberal attitudes than men about
social issues.

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.53
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 293
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

54. College has a liberalizing effect on students.

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.54
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 297
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

55. The Federalist Papers note that “all government rests on public opinion.”

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.5.55
Topic: Toward Reform: The Effects of Public Opinion on Politics
Learning Objective: LO 10.5: Evaluate the effects of public opinion on politics.
Page Reference:
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

56. A sample is a subset of the entire population selected to be questioned for the
purposes of prediction or gauging opinion.

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.56
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 299
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

57. A population is a subset of the entire group of people whose attitudes a researcher
wishes to measure.

Answer: FALSE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.57
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 287
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

58. Demographic characteristics that influence public opinion include family, school,
peers, the mass media, and political leaders.

Answer: FALSE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.58
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 293
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

59. A majority of first-year college students are liberal or far left.

Answer: FALSE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.59
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference:
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

60. Internet surveys that allow anyone to participate are accurate means of predicting
election outcomes.

Answer: FALSE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.60
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 297
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

61. Polling organizations that seek quick answers to survey questions should employ
“feeling thermometer” questions.

Answer: FALSE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.61
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 292
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

62. Cable and Internet news sources are often skewed. This can affect these citizens’
opinions about politics.

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.62
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 297
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

63. Telephone polls are the most frequently used mechanism by which to gauge the
mood of the electorate.

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.63
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 288
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

64. Political knowledge and political participation have a reciprocal effect on one
another.

Answer: TRUE
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.64
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 298
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

 Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

65. The __________, a popular magazine that first began national presidential polling in
1916, was a pioneer in the use of the straw poll.

Answer: Literary Digest


Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.65
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

66. The unintended influence of the questioner or pollster may lead to __________.

Answer: interviewer bias


Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.66
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 290
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

67. Many American ideals, including hard work and personal responsibility, are rooted in
our nation’s __________ heritage.

Answer: Protestant
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.67
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 294
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

68. On the campaign trail in 2012, President Barack Obama deemphasized his work on
__________, in part due to the deep divisions in public opinion on the issue.

Answer: health care reform


Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.5.68
Topic: Toward Reform: The Effects of Public Opinion on Politics
Learning Objective: LO 10.5: Evaluate the effects of public opinion on politics.
Page Reference: 300
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

69. __________ is defined as what the public thinks about a particular issue or set of
issues at any point in time.

Answer: Public opinion


Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.69
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 282
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

70. “If you knew that Candidate X cheated on her taxes, would you vote for her?” is a
question typical of __________.

Answer: push polls


Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.70
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 287
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

71. The process through which individuals acquire their beliefs about politics is known
as __________.

Answer: political socialization


Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.71
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 293
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Difficulty Level: Easy

72. From the time of the earliest public opinion polls, women have held more liberal
attitudes than men about __________ issues, such as education, poverty, capital
punishment, and the environment.

Answer: social
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.72
Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 293
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

73. In July 2012, CNN conducted an online poll asking visitors to its Web site to offer
their opinions about the appropriate punishment for a well-known celebrity who had
violated the terms of her probation. Like the 1936 Literary Digest straw poll, this poll
violated a well-known cardinal rule of survey sampling by allowing for __________.

Answer: self-selection
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.73
Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

74. __________ are conducted as voters leave the polling place and are used by the
media to predict the outcome of the election.
Answer: Exit polls
Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.74
Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 290
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

75. Suppose a scientific poll determines that 60 percent of respondents support


relaxation of gun-control laws. If the _________ were 4 percent, the actual
percentage of people in the population who support relaxation would likely be
between 56 and 64 percent.

Answer: margin of error


Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.75
Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 290 – 291
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

 Short Answer Questions

76. Who is George Gallup, and what event launched his career in measuring public
opinion?

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Identify George Gallup (1901–1983) as the founder of the Gallup
Organization and modern-day polling.
2. Discuss the importance of George Gallup’s accurate prediction of the
1936 election, in contrast to the Literary Digest’s miscalculation, for launching
his career and for helping to advance the use of polling and survey research
to monitor trends in public opinion.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.76


Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 282 – 283
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate
77. What is the most frequently used polling mechanism by which the mood of the
electorate is gauged? Name two problems associated with it.

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Indicate that telephone polls are the most frequently used mechanism for
gauging the mood of the electorate, typically using random-digit dialing
surveys.
2. Identify two problems associated with telephone polling, which may
include a reluctance to participate and the decreased use of landlines.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.77


Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 288, 290
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

78. Why is intensity of feeling an important factor to take into consideration when
assessing the shortcomings of polling?

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Define intensity of feeling in relation to public opinion.
2. Explain why measuring intensity is important for understanding public
opinion, but that it is difficult to measure.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.78


Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 292 – 293
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

79. Define political socialization and explain the role of family, peers, and schools in the
process.

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Define political socialization as the process through which individuals
acquire their political beliefs.
2. Explain how family, peers, and schools act as agents of political
socialization.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.79


Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 293 – 296
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

80. How does the president attempt to mold public opinion?

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Explain how presidents are in a good position to mold public opinion
because of their visibility and access to the media.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.80


Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 298
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Difficulty Level: Moderate

81. What type of research error would you expect from a public opinion poll about
support for women in combat roles that sought responses only from female college
students who described themselves as feminists?

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Explain how the quality of the sample, or its representation of the
population universe, is crucial for setting up accurate public opinion polls.
2. Evaluate this example of a public opinion poll as having sampling error
because it does not account for other population groups besides this small
group of feminist female college students.
3. Identify this as a flawed straw poll.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.81


Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 282 – 285
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

82. Consider this question on a public opinion poll: “Would you be more or less likely to
support Mitch McConnell’s reelection if you learned that he has a history of drunk
driving and spousal abuse?” Evaluate whether this question is typical of the types of
questions found on push polls.

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Define a push poll as polls taken for the purpose of providing information
on an opponent that would lead respondents to vote against that candidate.
2. Analyze specific sections of this poll question and discuss why it is or is
not an example of a push poll.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.82


Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 287 – 288, 290 – 291
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Difficult

83. Assess the challenges of conducting a public opinion poll about political tensions in
Southeast Asia.

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Explain that Americans generally lack adequate information for making
informed public opinions about political tensions in Southeast Asia. Note
that Americans are best equipped to give responses about domestic issues
that affect them personally.
2. Discuss the significance of problems with lack of information for public
opinion pollsters and the significance of screening procedures to help reduce
these problems.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.3.83


Topic: Shortcomings of Polling
Learning Objective: LO 10.3: Assess the potential shortcomings of polling.
Page Reference: 291 – 293
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

84. Kids Voting for Texas is an optional part of the civics curriculum in Texas designed
to let students between the ages of ten and fourteen have an authentic voting
experience at the polls throughout the state. Discuss this program in the context of
political socialization.

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Note that schools are one of the main socializing agents for children.
2. Explain how the Kids Voting for Texas program can function as an agent
for political socialization that may have a positive influence on the future
voting habits of Texas students and lead to higher rates of voter turnout.
3. Discuss the specific types of beliefs about politics and voting that children
in the program may adopt.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.84


Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 294 – 295, 297
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate
85. In what ways are those who answer mail or Internet surveys different from the
general electorate?

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Distinguish people who answer mail surveys from the general electorate,
including the distinction that people answering mail surveys are more likely
to be wealthier, more educated, and care more about issues than the general
electorate.
2. Discuss the significance of self-selection and voluntary participation on the
outcomes of public opinion polling.
3. Note that mail and Internet surveys are straw polls.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.1.85


Topic: Roots of Public Opinion Research
Learning Objective: LO 10.1: Trace the development of modern public opinion
research.
Page Reference: 283
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

86. How knowledgeable are Americans about politics? What sorts of questions might a
public opinion survey include to ascertain political knowledge? Provide two or three
examples.

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Note that Americans’ knowledge of politics is fairly low.
2. Provide two or three question examples that are specific about the political
process, political facts, or political opinions.
3. Briefly explain why each question ascertains what the public knows about
politics, highlighting key words or phrases from the question to build this
connection.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.86


Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 298
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Difficult

 Essay Questions

87. Why did the Framers provide for the selection of senators by state legislatures? What
electoral reform did the Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bring
about? As a result of its adoption, do you think U.S. senators are more or less likely
to closely monitor their constituents’ opinions on a range of political issues?

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Explain that the Framers were concerned that the Senate would be
negatively influenced by the whims of the public and sought to isolate the
Senate from the influence of public opinion by have state legislatures select
senators.
2. Explain the change provided by the Seventeenth Amendment: Senators
are no longer appointed by state legislators, but instead are voted in by
citizens in state elections.
3. Assess whether this makes senators more or less likely to heed public
opinion.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.5.87


Topic: Toward Reform: The Effects of Public Opinion on Politics
Learning Objective: LO 10.5: Evaluate the effects of public opinion on politics.
Page Reference: 299 – 300
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

88. What kind of demographic voting blocs would you expect to emerge in elections
about delayed eligibility for Social Security retirement benefits and in elections to
increase taxes to fund cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients? Why?

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Identify senior citizens as the relevant voting bloc for this issue.
2. Explain why senior citizens would have strong feelings about this
particular issue compared to other demographic-related voting blocs, such as
college students.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.88


Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 293 – 298
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
Difficulty Level: Moderate

89. Describe three scientific methods commonly used by public opinion researchers to
contact survey respondents. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. List three methods to contact survey respondents: telephone polls, in-
person interviews, and Internet polls.
2. Compare their strengths and weaknesses, discussing time commitment,
financial costs, accuracy, and limited respondents, among other relevant
features.
3. Note that some Internet polls are not scientific, but that reputable polling
firms have developed scientific methods for conducting Internet surveys.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.2.89


Topic: Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls
Learning Objective: LO 10.2: Describe the methods for conducting and analyzing
different types of public opinion polls.
Page Reference: 285, 287 – 288, 290 – 291
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult

90. Describe how public opinion about whether the government should guarantee every
citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep varies by gender, race, age, party, and
religion. How would you explain these differences in political attitudes?

Answer: An ideal response will:


1. Describe how gender, race, age, partisanship, and religious differences
impact public opinion about whether the government should guarantee
adequate food and shelter.
2. Explain the important role of political socialization for differences in
political attitudes.
3. Describe how socialization by family, peers, and schools might affect
attitudes about the government guarantee of adequate food and shelter.

Test Bank Item Title: TB_Q10.4.90


Topic: Forming Political Opinions
Learning Objective: LO 10.4: Analyze the process by which people form political
opinions.
Page Reference: 296
Skill Level: Analyze It
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Spirit of
Chambers's Journal
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: Spirit of Chambers's Journal


Original tales, essays, and sketches, selected from that
work

Author: William Chambers


Robert Chambers

Release date: January 12, 2024 [eBook #72693]

Language: English

Original publication: Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, 1834

Credits: Bob Taylor, Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed


Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book
was produced from images made available by the
HathiTrust Digital Library.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPIRIT OF


CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL ***
SPIRIT
OF
CHAMBERS’S JOURNAL.
SPIRIT

OF

CHAMBERS’S JOURNAL:

ORIGINAL TALES, ESSAYS, AND SKETCHES,

SELECTED FROM THAT WORK.

BY

WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS.

EDINBURGH:
W. & R. CHAMBERS, WATERLOO PLACE; AND
ORR & SMITH, LONDON.
1834.
PRINTED BY W. & R. CHAMBERS, 19, WATERLOO PLACE, EDINBURGH.
NOTICE.

By the recommendation of a number of their friends and agents,


Messrs Chambers have been induced to reprint a selection of the
principal original articles of their Journal; in order that such
individuals as might desire to possess those articles in a portable
shape, distinct from the mass of compilations and extracts with
which they were accompanied in the numbers, might be gratified in
their wish; and in order that this new series of Essays, in which an
attempt has been made, almost for the first time, to delineate the
maxims and manners of the middle ranks of society, might have an
opportunity, in the shape of a book, of attracting the attention of
those by whom it might be overlooked in its original form and
progressive mode of publication.
The articles embodied in the present volume are chiefly selected
from the forty earliest numbers of the Journal. Should it be
favourably received, the authors will probably, from time to time,
throw further selections into the same form.

Edinburgh, February 12, 1834.


CONTENTS.

Page
Lady Jean, a Tale, 1
Fallacies of the Young.—“Fathers have Flinty Hearts,” 27
Bruntfield, a Tale of the Sixteenth Century, 32
The Passing Crowd, 41
A Tale of the Forty-Five, 44
Removals, 61
Victims, 71
Fallacies of the Young.—“Acquaintances,” 83
Subjects of Conversation, 86
Secure Ones, 89
To Scotland, 98
Story of Mrs Macfarlane, 100
The Downdraught, 118
Tale of the Silver Heart, 134
Cultivations, 152
Fits of Thrift, 157
Susan Hamilton, a Tale of Village Life, 163
Flitting Day, 182
Fallacies of the Young.—“Debtors and Creditors,” 193
General Invitations, 197
Confessors, 205
A Chapter of Political Economy, 209
The Drama, 214
Recognitions, 218
The Ladye that I Love, 226
Pay your Debt! 227
Children, 238
Tea-Drinking, 246
Husbands and Wives, 249
They, 255
Relations, 258
The Strangers’ Nook, 261
Nobody to be Despised, 265
Trust to Yourself, 270
Leisure, 275
My Native Bay, 278
Advancement in Life, 279
Controllers-General, 286
A Turn for Business, 291
Setting up, 296
Consuls, 303
Country and Town Acquaintances, 309
Where is my Trunk? 314
SPIRIT
OF

CHAMBERS’S JOURNAL.

LADY JEAN.—A Tale.

The Yerl o’ Wigton had three dauchters,


Oh, braw walie! they were bonnie!
The youngest o’ them, and the bonniest too,
Has fallen in love wi’ Richie Storie.
Old Ballad.

The Earl of Wigton, whose name figures in Scottish annals of the


reign of Charles the Second, had three daughters, named Lady
Frances, Lady Grizel, and Lady Jean—the last being by several
years the youngest, and by many degrees the most beautiful. All the
three usually resided with their mother at the chief seat of the family,
Cumbernauld House, in Stirlingshire; but the two eldest were
occasionally permitted to attend their father at Edinburgh, in order
that they might have some chance of obtaining lovers at the court
held there by the Duke of Lauderdale, while Lady Jean was kept
constantly at home, and debarred from the society of the capital, lest
her superior beauty might interfere with, and foil, the attractions of
her sisters, who, according to the notion of that age, had a sort of
right of primogeniture in matrimony, as well as in what was called
heirship.
It may be easily imagined that while the two marriageable ladies
were enjoying all the delights of a third flat in one of the closes of the
Canongate, spending their days in seeing beaux, and their nights in
dreaming of them, Lady Jean led no pleasant life amidst the remote
and solitary splendours of Cumbernauld, where her chief
employment was the disagreeable one of attending her mother, a
very infirm and querulous old dame, much given (it was said) to
strong waters. At the period when our tale opens, Lady Jean’s
charms, though never seen in the capital, had begun to make some
noise there; and the curiosity excited respecting them amongst the
juvenile party of the vice-regal court, had induced Lord Wigton to
confine her ladyship even more strictly than heretofore, lest,
perchance, some gallant might make a pilgrimage to his country-seat
in order to behold her, and, from less to more, induce her to quit her
retirement, in such a way as would effectually discomfit his schemes
for the pre-advancement of his elder daughters. He had been at
pains to send an express to Cumbernauld, ordering Lady Jean to be
confined to the precincts of the house and the terrace-garden, and to
be closely attended in all her movements by a trusty domestic. The
consequence was, that the young lady complained most piteously to
her deaf old lady-mother of the tedium and listlessness of her life,
and wished with all her heart that she were as ugly, old, and happy
as her sisters.
Lord Wigton was not insensible to the cruelty of his policy,
however well he might be convinced of its advantage and necessity;
he loved his youngest daughter more than the rest; and it was only in
obedience to what he conceived to be the commands of duty, that he
subjected her to this restraint. His lordship, therefore, felt anxious to
alleviate in some measure the desagremens of her solitary
confinement; and knowing her to be fond of music, he had sent to
her by the last messenger a theorbo lute, with which he thought she
would be able to amuse herself in a way very much to her mind—not
considering that, as she could not play upon the instrument, it would
be little better to her than an unmeaning toy. By the return of his
messenger, he received a letter from Lady Jean, thanking him for the
theorbo, but making him aware of his oversight, and begging him to
send some person who could teach her to play.
The earl, whose acquirements in the philosophy of politics had
never been questioned, felt ashamed of having committed such a
solecism in so trivial a matter; and, like all men anxious to repair or
conceal an error in judgment, immediately ran into another of ten
times greater consequence and magnitude: he gratified his daughter
in her wish.
The gentry of Scotland were at that time in the custom of
occasionally employing a species of servants, whose
accomplishments and duties would now appear of a very anomalous
character, though at that time naturally arising from the peculiar
situation of this country, in respect to its southern neighbour. They
were, in general, humble men who had travelled a good deal, and
acquired many foreign accomplishments; who, returning to their
native country after an absence of a few years, usually entered into
the service of the higher class of families, partly as ordinary livery-
men, and partly with the purpose of instructing the youth of both
sexes, as they grew up and required such exercises, in dancing,
music, writing, &c., besides a vast variety of other arts,
comprehended in the general phrase of breeding. Though these men
received much higher wages, and were a thousand times more
unmanageable than common serving-men, they served a good
purpose in those days, when young people had scarcely any other
opportunities of acquiring the ornamental branches of education,
except by going abroad. It so happened, that not many days after
Lord Wigton received his daughter’s letter, he was applied to for
employment by one of these useful personages, a tall and
handsome youth, apparently five-and-twenty, with dark Italian-
looking features, a slight moustache, and as much foreign peculiarity
in his dress as indicated that he was just returned from his travels.
After putting a few questions, his lordship discovered that the youth
was possessed of many agreeable accomplishments; was, in
particular, perfectly well qualified to teach the theorbo, and had no
objection to entering the service of a young lady of quality—only,
with the proviso that he was to be spared the disgrace of a livery.
Lord Wigton then made no scruple in engaging him for a certain
period; and next day saw the youth on the way to Cumbernauld, with
a letter from his lordship to Lady Jean, setting forth all his good
qualities, and containing among other endearing expressions, a
hope that she would both benefit by his instructions, and be in the
meantime content on their account with her present residence.
Any occurrence at Cumbernauld, of higher import than the
breaking of a needle in embroidering, or the miscarriage of a brewing
of currant wine, would have been quite an incident in the eyes of
Lady Jean; and even to have given alms at the castle-gate to an
extraordinary beggar, or to see so much as a stranger in the candle,
might have supplied her with amusement infinite, and speculation
boundless. What, then, must have been her delight, when the goodly
and youthful figure of Richard Storie alighted one dull summer
afternoon at the gate, and when the credentials he presented
disclosed to her the agreeable purpose of his mission! Her joy knew
no bounds; nor did she know in what terms to welcome the stranger:
she ran from one end of the house to the other, up stairs and down
stairs, in search of she knew not what; and finally, in her transports,
she shook her mother out of a drunken slumber, which the old lady
was enjoying as usual in her large chair in the parlour.
Master Richard, as he was commonly designated, soon found
himself comfortably established in the good graces of the whole
household of Cumbernauld, and not less so in the particular favour
of his young mistress. Even the sour old lady of the large chair was
pleased with his handsome appearance, and was occasionally seen
to give a preternatural nod and smile at some of his musical
exhibitions, as much as to say she knew when he performed well,
and was willing to encourage humble merit. As for Lady Jean, whose
disposition was equally lively and generous, she could not express in
sufficiently warm terms her admiration of his performances, or the
delight she experienced from them. Nor was she ever content
without having Master Richard in her presence, either to play
himself, or to teach her the enchanting art. She was a most apt
scholar—so apt, that in a few days she was able to accompany him
with the theorbo and voice, while he played upon an ancient
harpsichord belonging to the old lady, which he had rescued from a
lumber room, and been at some pains to repair. The exclusive
preference thus given to music, for the time, threw his other
accomplishments into the shade, while it, moreover, occasioned his
more constant presence in the apartments of the ladies than he
would have been otherwise entitled to. The consequence was, that
in a short time he almost ceased to be looked upon as a servant,
and began gradually to assume the more interesting character of a
friend and equal.
It was Lady Jean’s practice to take a walk prescribed by her father,
every day in the garden, on which occasions the countess conceived
herself as acting up to the letter of her husband’s commands, when
she ordered Master Richard to attend his pupil. This arrangement
was exceedingly agreeable to Lady Jean, as they sometimes took
out the theorbo, and added music to the other pleasures of the walk.
Another out-of-doors amusement, in which music formed a chief
part, was suggested to them by the appropriate frontispiece of a
book of instruction for the theorbo, which Master Richard had
brought with him from Edinburgh. This engraving represented a
beautiful young shepherdess, dressed in the fashionable costume of
that period—a stupendous tower of hair hung round with diamonds,
and a voluminous silk gown with a jewel-adorned stomacher, a
theorbo in her arms and a crook by her side—sitting on a flowery
bank under a tree, with sheep planted at regular distances around
her. At a little distance appeared a shepherd with dressed hair, long-
skirted coat, and silk stockings, who seemed to survey his mistress
with a languishing air of admiration, that appeared singularly
ridiculous, as contrasted with the coquettish and contemptuous
aspect of the lady. The plate referred to a particular song in a book,
entitled “A Dialogue betwixt Strephon and Lydia, or the Proud
Shepherdess’s Courtship,” the music of which was exceedingly
beautiful, while the verses were the tamest and most affected trash
imaginable. It occurred to Lady Jean’s lively fancy, that if she and her
teacher were to personify the shepherdess and shepherd, and thus,
as it were, to transform the song to a sort of opera, making the
terrace-garden the scene, not a little amusement might be added to
the pleasure she experienced from the mere music alone. This fancy
was easily reduced to execution; for, by seating herself under a tree,
in her ordinary dress, with the horticultural implement called a rake
by her side, she looked the very Lydia of the copper-plate; while
Richard, standing at his customary respectful distance, with his
handsome person, and somewhat foreign apparel, was a sufficiently
good representation of Strephon. After arranging themselves thus,
Master Richard opened the drama by addressing Lady Jean in the
first verse of the song, which contained, besides some description of
sunrise, a comparison between the beauties of nature at that
delightful period, and the charms of Lydia, the superiority being of
course awarded to the latter. Lady Jean, with the help of the theorbo,
replied to this in a very disdainful style, affecting to hold the
compliments of lovers very cheap, and asseverating that she had no
regard for any being on earth besides her father and mother, and no
care but for these dear innocent sheep (here she looked kindly aside
upon a neighbouring bed of cabbages), which they had entrusted to
her charge. Other verses of similar nonsense succeeded, during
which the representative of the fair Lydia could not help feeling
rather more emotion at hearing the ardent addresses of Strephon
than was strictly consistent with her part. At the last it was her duty to
rise and walk softly away from her swain, declaring herself utterly
insensible to both his praises and his passion, and her resolution
never again to see or speak to him. This she did in admirable style,
though, perhaps, rather with the dignified gait and sweeping majesty
of tragedy-queen, than with any thing like the pettish or sullen strut of
a disdainful rustic; meanwhile Strephon was supposed to be left
inconsolable. Her ladyship continued to support her assumed
character for a few yards, till a turn of the walk concealed her from
Master Richard; when, resuming her natural manner, she turned
back, with sparkling eyes, in order to ask his opinion of her
performances; and it was with some confusion, and no little surprise,
that on bursting again into his sight, she discovered that Richard had
not yet thrown off his character. He was standing still, as she had left
him, fixed immovably upon the spot, in an attitude expressive of
sorrow for her departure, and bending forwards as if imploring her
return. It was the expression of his face that astonished her most; for
it was not at all an expression appropriate to either his own character
or to that which he had assumed. It was an expression of earnest
and impassioned admiration; his whole soul seemed thrown into his
face, which was directed towards her, or rather the place where she
had disappeared; and his eyes were projected in the same direction,
with such a look as that perhaps of an enraptured saint of old at the
moment when a divinity parted from his presence. This lasted,
however, but for a moment; for scarcely had that minute space of
time elapsed, before Richard, startled from his reverie by Lady
Jean’s sudden return, dismissed from his face all trace of any
extraordinary expression, and stood before her (endeavouring to
appear) just what he was, her ladyship’s respectful servant and
teacher. Nevertheless, this transformation did not take place so
quickly as to prevent her ladyship from observing the present
expression, nor was it accomplished with such address as to leave
her room for passing it over as unobserved. She was surprised—she
hesitated—she seemed, in spite of herself, conscious of something
awkward—and finally she blushed slightly. Richard caught the
contagion of her confusion in a double degree; and Lady Jean,
again, became more confused on observing that he was aware of
her confusion. Richard was the first to recover himself and speak. He
made some remarks upon her singing and her acting—not, however,
upon her admirable performance of the latter part of the drama; this
encouraged her also to speak, and both soon became somewhat
composed. Shortly afterwards they returned to the house; but from
that moment a chain of the most delicate yet indissoluble sympathies
began to connect the hearts of these youthful beings, so alike in all
natural qualities, and so dissimilar in every extraneous thing which
the world is accustomed to value.
After this interview there took place a slight estrangement between
Master Richard and Lady Jean, that lasted a few days, during which
they had much less of both conversation and music than for some
time before. Both observed this circumstance; but each ascribed it to
accident, while it was in reality occasioned by mutual reserve.
Master Richard was afraid that Lady Jean might be offended were
he to propose any thing like a repetition of the garden drama; and
Lady Jean, on her part, could not, consistently with the rules of
maidenly modesty, utter even a hint at such a thing, however she
might secretly wish or long for it. The very consciousness,
reciprocally felt, of having something on their minds, of which neither
durst speak, was sufficient to produce the said reserve, though the
emotions of “the tender passion” had not come in, as they did, for a
large share of the cause.
At length, however, this reserve was so far softened down, that
they began to resume their former practice of walking together in the
garden; but though the theorbo continued to make one of the party,
no more operatic performances took place. Nevertheless, the mutual
affection which had taken root in their hearts experienced on this
account no abatement, but, on the contrary, continued to increase.
As for Master Richard, it was no wonder that he should be deeply
smitten with the charms of his mistress; for ever as he stole a long,
furtive glance at her graceful form, he thought he had never seen, in
Spain or in Italy, any such specimens of female loveliness; and (if we
may let the reader as far into the secret) he had indeed come to
Cumbernauld with the very purpose of falling in love. Different
causes had operated upon Lady Jean. Richard being the first love-
worthy object she had seen since the period when the female heart
becomes most susceptible—the admiration with which she knew he
beheld her—his musical accomplishments, which had tended so
much to her gratification—all conspired to render him precious in her
sight. In the words of a beautiful modern ballad, “all impulses of soul
and sense had thrilled” her gentle and guileless heart—

——hopes, and fears that kindled hope,


An undistinguishable throng,
And gentle wishes, long subdued,
Subdued and cherished long,

had exercised their tender and delightful influence over her; like a
flower thrown upon one of the streams of her own native land, whose
course was through the beauties, the splendours, and the terrors of
nature, she was borne away in a dream, the magic scenery of which
was alternately pleasing, fearful, and glorious, and from which she
could no more wake than could the flower restrain its course on the
gliding waters. The habit of contemplating her lover every day, and
that in the dignified character of an instructor, gradually blinded her
in a great measure to his humbler quality, and to the probable
sentiments of her father and the world upon the subject of her
passion. If by any chance such a consideration was forced upon her
notice, and she found occasion to tremble lest the sentiments in
which she was so luxuriously indulging should end in disgrace and
disaster, she soon quieted her fears, by reverting to an idea which
had lately occurred to her—namely, that Richard was not what he
seemed. She had heard and read of love assuming strange
disguises. A Lord Belhaven, in the immediately preceding period of
the civil war, had taken refuge from the fury of Cromwell in the
service of an English nobleman, whose daughter’s heart he won
under the humble disguise of a gardener, and whom, on the
recurrence of better times, he carried home to Scotland as his lady.
This story was then quite popular, and at least one of the parties still
survived to attest its truth. But even in nursery tales Lady Jean could
find examples which justified her own passion. The vilest animals,
she knew, on finding some beautiful dame, who was so disinterested
as to fall in love with them, usually turned out to be the most
beautiful princes that ever were seen, and invariably married and
made happy the ladies whose affection had restored them to their
natural form and just inheritance. Who knows, she thought, but
Richard may some day, in a transport of passion, throw open his
coat, exhibit the star of nobility glittering on his breast, and ask me to
become a countess?
Such are the excuses which love suggests to reason, and which
the reason of lovers easily accepts; while those who are neither
youthful nor in love wonder at the hallucination of their impassioned
juniors. Experience soon teaches us that this world is not one of
romance, and that few incidents in life ever occur out of the ordinary
way. But before we acquire this experience by actual observation,
we all of us regard things in a very different light. The truth seems to
be, that, in the eyes of youth, “the days of chivalry” do not appear to
be “gone;” our ideas are then contemporary, or upon a par with the
early romantic ages of the world; and it is only by mingling with
mature men, and looking at things as they are, that we at length
advance towards, and ultimately settle down in, the real era of our
existence. Was there ever yet youth who did not feel some
chivalrous impulses—some thirst for more glorious scenes than
those around him—some aspirations after lofty passion and supreme
excellence—or who did not cherish some pure first-love, that could
not prudentially be gratified?
The greater part of the rest of the summer passed away before the
lovers came to an eclaircissement; and such, indeed, was their
mutual reserve upon the subject, that, had it not been for the
occurrence of a singular and deciding circumstance, there appeared
little probability of this ever otherwise taking place. The Earl of
Home, a gay and somewhat foolish young nobleman, one morning
after attending a convivial party where the charms of Lady Jean
Fleming formed the principal topic of discourse, left Edinburgh and
took the way to Cumbernauld, on the very pilgrimage, and with the
very purpose which Lord Wigton had before anticipated. Resolved
first to see, then to love, and lastly to run away with the young lady,
his lordship skulked about for a few days, and at last had the
pleasure of seeing the hidden beauty over the garden wall, as she
was walking with Master Richard. He thought he had never seen any
lady who could be at all compared to Lady Jean, and, as a matter of
course, resolved to make her his own, and surprise all his
companions at Edinburgh with his success and her beauty. He
watched again next day, and happening to meet Master Richard out
of the bounds of Cumbernauld policy, accosted him, with the
intention of securing his services in making his way towards Lady
Jean. After a few words of course, he proposed the subject to
Richard, and offered a considerable bribe, to induce him to work for
his interest. Richard at first rejected the offer, but immediately after,
on bethinking himself, saw fit to accept it. He was to mention his
lordship’s purpose to Lady Jean, and to prepare the way for a private
interview with her. On the afternoon of the succeeding day, he was to
meet Lord Home at the same place, and tell him how Lady Jean had
received his proposals. With this they parted—Richard to muse on
this unexpected circumstance, which he saw might blast all his
hopes unless he should resolve upon prompt and active measures,
and the Earl of Home to enjoy himself at the humble inn of the village
of Cumbernauld, where he had for the last few days enacted the
character of “the daft lad frae Edinburch, that seemed to ha’e mair
siller than sense.”
On the morning of the tenth day after Master Richard’s first
interview with Lord Home, that faithful serving-man found himself
jogging swiftly along the road to Edinburgh, mounted on a stout nag,

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