Do American trust the federal government?

Starters

Oct 9

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, and your knowledge of American government and politics.

According to the data from the visual above, approximately what portion of Americans currently say they trust the government to do what is right just about always/most of the time?
Between 1960 and the present describe the change in public trust of the government.
Why do you think those changes have occurred?
How does that change in the level of trust in the government impact American politics today?
Explain whether you trust the government to do what is right just about always/most of the time.
In the 1950s and 60s there were basically three news sources in America: ABC, CBS, and NBC. All three networks basically reported on the same topics. How do you think changes in the media and social media are impacting trust in America today?
When the COVID pandemic first hit the U.S. in 2020, I (wrongly) predicted that this challenge would bring American’s together. Why do you think Americans’ trust in government did not increased during this grave threat to the entire nation?
Explain the connection between an overall trust in the government and democracy.
Imagine you shared this data with an Anti-Federalist like Patrick Henry or Robert Brutus 1 Yates. What argument would they make about the Constitution and the power of the federal government and the current level of mistrust?
One student who viewed the visual above said that they didn’t trust the source of the data. They are wrong, but how does their skepticism about data illustrate the crisis in American governance today?