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THESDS

 

 

MILITARY SERVICE AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

In a Mexican-American Sample

by

"g Gilbert Peach‘

October 1969

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the
Department of Sociology of Michigan State
University in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Arts.

Thesis Advisor: Prof. Grafton Trout
Committee: Professors Kelly. Trout, and Useem

\V.

Contents
Military service experience is generally assumed to
facilitate increased political participation on the part
of minority group members. This and other hypotheses
are tested using a Mexican-American sample. Indicators
used are voting behavior and political attitudes.
Results show those with military experience to exhibit
a higher degree of political participation. higher
political awareness and a greater sense of personal

efficacy in political matters. Some suggestions toward

further research are mentioned at the end of the paper.

11

111

List of Tables

Tables 1 & 2 How much do you think Anglo politicians p. 6
. and officials know about our problems?

Tables 3 & 4 And how much do you think Anglo p. 6
politicians and officials are doing to
help solve our problems?

Tables 5 a 6 I don't think that public officials p. 6
care much what people like me think.

Tables 7 & 8 ' Sometimes politics and government p. 8
seem so complicated that a person
like me can't really understand what
is going on.

Tables 9 & 10 People like me don't have any say about p. 8
what the government does.

Tables 11 & 12 Mexican-Americans often blame other p. 10
Americans for our situation. but its
really our own fault.

Tables 13 & 14 Voting is the only way that people p. 10
. like me can have any say about how -
the government runs things.

Tables 15 & 16 Are you registered to vote? p. 11

Tables 17 & 18 Did you vote in the 196“  presidential p. II-
election? 0
. Tables 19 & 20 Have you voted for local officials? p. 11
Table 21 Sometimes politics and government p. 13

seem so complicated that a person
like me can't really understand what
is going on.

Table 22 Voting is the only way that people p. 13
like me can have any say about how
the government runs things.

'Table 23- Have you voted for local officials? p. 13

Odd numbered tables from one through nineteen are total sample
tables. Even numbered tables from two through twenty are a
breakdown of the military portion of the sample by rank. The
remaining three tables are a breakdown of the military portion
of the sample by year of service entry.

1

Introduction: Service in the armed forces is generally
assumed to facilitate minority group entry into various forms
of political participation. Three possible explanations for
this assumed relationship are put forth below. These include
influences due to wartime mobilization, status reward, and
social forces internal to the military. An hypothesis
expressing the assumed relationship is stated and then tested
using relevant indicators. '.

In wartime patriotic propaganda is disseminated from
military and government sources to promote acceptance of images
of united team effort, of common danger, and of common goals.
The immediate intent of the promotional endeavOr is the
modification of social relationships to enable united ”effort
in the national enterprise".(l) but a long range effect is
probably inherent since changes in the self-image of minority
group members and the social relationships of groups are
involved.(2) To increase support of the war effort, existing
distinctions are submerged. New working environments are
opened to minority group members and new skills and self-images
are acquired.(3)

In the present reward structure of American society,
military service may be viewed as a rite of initiation to a
. higher status position. Lack of access to alternative
"opportunities is a factor in enhancing the significance of
military service for minority group members. On this basis,

the Mexican-American minority group. faced in.part by language

O

barriers, ethnic prejudice. and disadvantageous class standing
might be expected to find military service or veteran status
attractive.(u) Military service may also have a ”manhood"
legitimating value.(5) It may be perceived as a key to a better
life both during the military experience and after. perhaps
leading to fulfillment of housing. income. or employment goals.
Given such an orientation, minority group members might
gradually internalize the goal of political participation since
political participation mayxbe seen both as a vehicle for
attainment of "the good life" and as a symbol of arrival
-- a part of the trappings of tthe good life” and of the fully
successful citizen. .

The military services themselves provide a manipulated
environment of enforced lectures. peer group and leader pressures,

and negative sanctions including physical force to channel

behavior and thought. Other factors such as initial isolation

from normal social environment, new experience in unusual settings.j'

the mechanism of shared experience in the face of common danger,
and the equality of opportunity offered in the military can

serve to develOp personally favorable orientations toward the
military(6) and may carry over to a participational orientation

in the political aspect of civilian life from a sense of patriotic
duty or civic obligation. A brief look at history yields many
-'examples of the inculcation process at work in military experience.
Sometimes this process occurs ”naturally" or unconsciously and
sometimes it is consciously directed for the manipulation of the

self-systems of individuals.

a!

I

v

Part of the carry-over from service equality, opportunity,
and in-service ideological training may be expressed through
increased political participation.

The Sam 1e: The sample was drawn for a study of
Mexican-Americans in Michigan by Professors Grafton Trout and
Harvey Choldin of Michigan State University under the auspices
-of the United States Department of Labor and Michigan State
University.. An adjusted sample size of 627 was used for this
_paper. after deleting the females and unusable interviews from
the original sample size of 695 interviewees. of these males,
175 had served in the military and 452 had not. For the purposes
of this paper, the adjusted sample size (627) will be hereafter
referred to as the sample size or "the total sample" and those
who served in the military will be referred to as "the military
service group” or the military portion of the sample. Military
.service was identified by respondents' answers to questions .
dealing with military service experience. The length of service '
ranged from under one year up to and including twenty years.
Included were service in the American.Nayy. Army. Air Force,
and in two cases in a state national guard unit. Service in
the Mexican armed forces or in the Mexican Revolution was not
included. In the breakdown of the military portion of the
a sample by rank, the higher ranking section is composed almost
vexclusively of the ranks of corporeal and sergeant. A much
fuller explication of the characteristics of the Original sample
is available in reports issued from the Mexican-American Project

Office.

t

gngtheses ang'Variable Indigators: The hypotheses of this
study are concerned with the impact of military service on the
sense of personal efficacy in political matters,(7) on political
awareness, and on political participation. Two subhypotheses. one
dealing with rank and the other with year of service entry. will
also be examined. The sense of personal efficacy in political
matters will be indicated through attitudinal items dealing with“
politicians and public officials. politics and government. attitude
toward voting, and attitude‘toward ethnic group. Political
awareness will be indicated by an attitudinal item concerned with
voting and by conditional interpretation of other efficacy items.
The indicators for political participation consist of three
voting behavior items. \ '

The indicators will be applied first to the total sample
'(627 respondents) and then to the military (175 respondents)
portion of the sample alone. Our first closer look at the military
portion of the sample will use a breakdown according to rank: n °
”pro or equivalent" vs. ”higher rank". The expectation'is that
' ”higher rank will be related to ”pfc or equivalent” in the military
portion of the sample as ”military service" is related to “no
military service" in the total sample. Social systems tend to
advance those who exhibit internalization of their ideal types
and attributes. What is expected of the military service group
will be expected even more of those who have advanced in rank.
The second close look at the military portion of the sample uses
a breakdown according to year of service entry. The median of
the year of service entry distribution occurs in the year l9h5.

Those who entered military service in "1945 and before" constitute

5
a group of older men, most of whom served in the second World War.
Those who entered after 19h5 are younger men who entered the military
after the second World War.

Results will be Judged for significance according to the Chi
Square significance test. .The arbitrary convention for this paper
will be to accept Chi Square significance levels of (0.05) or
better.(8) .

Results: Regarding the;hypothesis on efficacy. the first set
of indicators for political*efficacy is concerned with feelings about
politicians and public officials. The first item asks "How much do
you think Anglo Politicians and Officials know about our problems?"
The second asks "And how much do you think Anglo Politicians and
Officials are doing to help solve our problems?" The third asks
response to the statement ”I don't think that Public Officials care
'much what people like me think." None of the results from the use
of these three indicators are significant to the (0.05) level. Since;
these results do not fall within the required level of significance};:
the relationships shown in the tables cannot be regarded as dependable.
' However. because the level of significance chosen was somewhat
arbitrary. the directions indicated in the tables will be discussed.
The tables for the three indicators under discussion are located
on the following page. .

The response to the first two items shows the military service
group to have a lower sense of efficacy than the no-military-service
part. Contrarywise, the response to the third item would indicate
a higher sense of efficacy for the military service group. This

third item (Public Officials Don't Care) ran in the expected
direction and will not be discussed further.

How Much Do You Think Anglo Politicians and Officials Know
About Our Problems?

Table 1

Well Somewhat or

 

 

 

Informed Poorly Inf.
Military 2h.8% 75.2%
Service (39) (118) (157)
"° "5 (is? €253? om)

(166) (385) (551)
Ségnificance Level: 0.10 .

= 2.915

 

 

 

And How Much Do You Think Anglo Politicians and Officials
are Doing to Help Solve Our Problems?

Table 3

 

 

 

Quite a Little or
Bit Nothing
Military 13.7% 86.3%
Service (21) (132) (153)
No ns 19.3% 80.7%
(74) (310) (384)
(95) (#42) (537)
Significance Level: 0.20
. 20 311

 

 

Table,2
Well Somewhat or
Informed Poorly Inf.
Higher 17.0% 83.0%
Rank (9) (44) (53)
PFC 28.8% 71.2%
(30) (7“) (10h)
(39) (118) (157)
Significance Level: 0.20
X2 = 20647
-Tab1e #
Quite a Little or
Bit Nothing
Higher 7.3% 92.7%
Rank (4) (51) (55)
PFC 17.3% 82.7%
.517) (81) (98>- L
(21) (132) (153)
Significance Level: 0.10

= 3- 019

 

I Don' t Think That Public Officials Care Much What People
Like Me Think.

 

 

 

Table 5
Agree Don't Disagree
Know
'hs' 58.9% 12.1% 32.2% ’
.395) <21) (57) (173)
No as 58.1% 15 3% 26 6%
(562) (69) (120) .<u51)
(357) (90) (177) (325)
Significance Level: 0.30
- 20859 DeFo = 2

 

 

 

Table 6
Agree Don't Disagree,
Know
High 55.0% 10. 0% 35 0% A
Bank (33) (6) (21) (60)
PFC 58.9% 13.3% 31.9%
(62 (15) (36) (113)
(53) (21) (57) (173)
Significance Level: 0.80

DeFo=2

The first two items. in contrast to the main flow of data
which follows, did not register as expected. No complete
explanation for this failure to behave as expected will be given
since it is not completely understood. A conjecture, however.
is that while the military service group scores higher on most
efficacy indicators, it does not score higher on these items
because the sense of efficacy is here undermined by the develOpment
of political awareness. If‘these two items elicit feelings
.that politicians do not know or do much about Mexican-American
problems. and if the military service group were to be more
aware of this situation than the no-military-service group.
they then would have less reason to feel efficacious.

The breakdown of the military portion of the sample by
rank exhibits practically the same directional trends as above
and results were also not significant to the (0.05) level.

In the items related to attitude toward politics and
government, which are concerned with the feeling that politics ”‘-
is too complicated to understand and the feeling of inability
to have a say in what the government does, the military service
group shows a greater sense of efficacy than the no-military-service
group. These results are quite good. They are significant to
the (0.01) level. The results of the breakdown of the military
3 portion of the sample by rank ran in the expected directions but
(were not significant to the (0.05) level. Since the total
sample results ran in the expected directions and were significant
to the (0.01) level, these results tend to confirm the efficacy
portion of the hypotheses. The relevant tables are on the

following page.

t

Sometimes Politics and Government Seem So Complicated That a
Person Like Me Can't Really Understand What is Going On.

Table 7

 

 

 

Agree or Disagree
3 Don't Know

Military 61.0% 39.0%
Service

(105) (67) (172)

(352) (97) (889)

(#57) (168) (621)
Significance Level: 0.01

x2 a 19.262

 

 

 

Table 8
Agree or Disagree
Don't Know
Higher 56.7% 43-3%
Rank
(39) (26) (60)
PFC 63.8% 36.6%
(71) (81) (112)
(105) (67) (172)
Significance Level: 0.50
x2

‘ 00743

People Like Me Don't Have Any Say About What the Government

 

 

 

 

 

 

D083 0
‘ Table 9 Table 10
Agree or Disagree Agree or Disagree .
Don't Know Don't Know , ‘e .'
Military 80.8% 59.6% Higher 35.0% 65.0%
, Service 1.-, f ) Rank _ .
(69) (102) (171) (21) (39) (60)
No as 56.7% 83.3% PFC 83.2% 56.8%
(251) (192) (883) (88) (63) (111)
(320) (298). (618) (69) (102) (171)
. Significance Level: 0.01 Significance Level: 0.30
'x2 a 13.189 xz'e 1.100

With reSpect to attitude toward the Mexican-American
ethnic group. the military service group shows less self-blame
toward their ethnic group than does the no-military-service
group, but the results are not significant to the (0.05) level.
Rank data are also in the expected direction but with less
than one percentage point of difference and the results are
not significant. Tables for attitude toward ethnic group and
also for voting attitude arefon the following page.

Regarding the awareness hypothesis, the military service
Ogroup shows more awareness than the no-military-service group
by disagreeing with the voting attitude item: "Voting is the
only way that people like me can have any say about how the
government runs things." This also shows a higher degree of
efficacy since the feeling that there are other ways than voting
to influence politics indicates the feeling of a reserve of
knowledge, power, or influence. The results were in the direction
expected, and the x2 value is within the (0.05) limit. . ".

In the breakdown of the military portion of the sample
by rank, the direction is as expected but the percentage
difference is less than one point of percentage and the results
are not significant.

For the hypothesis that the military service group would
show a higher degree of political participation, the three
political participation items show sizable leads (each result
significant to the (0.01) level) in political participation of
twenty or more percentage points for the military service group.

The political participation tables follow on page eleven.

10

Mexican-Americans Often Blame Other Americans for our Situation,
but it's Really our own Fault.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 11 Table 12

Agree or Disagree Agree or Disagree

Don't Know Don't Know
Military 68.8% 31.2% Higher 68.3% 31.7%
Service Rank

(119) (5“) 1(173) (Ed) (19) (60)
No MS 78.5% 25.5% PFC 69.0% 31.0%

(336) (115) (851) (78) (35) (113)

(855) (169) ‘(628) (119) (58) (173)
Significance Level: 0.20 ' Significance Level: 0.95
x2 = 2.068 x2 = 0.009

Voting is the Only Way That People Like Me Can Have Any Say
About How the Government Runs Things.

 

 

 

 

 

Table 13 ‘Table 18
‘ 49

Agree or Disagree Agree or Disagree

Don't Know Don't Know
Military 83.8% 16.2% Higher 83.3% 16.7%
Service Rank

(185) (28) [(173) (so) (10) (60)
No ms 90.7% 9.3% PFC 88.1% 15.9%

(409) (82) (451) (95) (18) (113)

(558) (70) (628) ' (185) (28) i (173)
Significance Level: 0.02 Significance Level: 0.90

x2 = 5.929 x2 = 0.016-

Are You Registered to Vote?

 

 

Table 15
Yes No
Service (131) (88) (175)
N0 M3 50.6% 89.8%
(218) (209) (423)
(385) (253) (598)

Skgnificance Level:
X

= 29.868.

 

0.01

11

 

 

 

Table 16
Yes No
Higher 87.1% 12.9%
Rank (58) (8) (62)
(77) (36) (113)
(131) (88) (175)
0.01

Sfignificance Level:
X

= 7.683

Did You Vote in the Last Presidential Election. in 1968?

 

 

.Table 17
Yes. No
Military 76.3% 23.7%
Service (132) (81) (173)
No MS 87.1% 52-9%
(196) (220) (816)
(328) (261) (589)

Significance Level:
x

= 420176

‘ Have You Voted for Local Officials?

 

0.01

 

 

Table 19
' Yes No
Military 62.6% 37.8%
Service (109) (65) (17“)
No MS 39.3% 60.7%
(165) (255) (820)
(278) (320) (598)

8%gnificance Level:
x..—

- 27.012

 

0.01

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 18
. . Yes No
Higher 85.2% 14.8%
Rank (52) (9) (61)
PFC 71.8% 28.6%
(80) (32) (112)
(132) (81) (173)
Significance Level: 0.05 ‘
x = 8.170 '
Table 20
Yes No
Higher 75.8% 24.6%
Rank (86) (15) (61)
PFC 55.8% 88.2%
(63) (50) (113)
(109) (65) (178)
0.02

Significance Level:
x:

6.542

12

Since the three items were closely related in that two were
voting questions and one was a voting-registration item and
since persons may not vote unless registered, it was not surprising
that a strong percentage lead in one item would be carried through
to the others. The breakdown of the military portion of the
sample by rank also runs in the same directions and shows
significance levels of (0.05) and better.

The second close look at the military portion of the sample
.was concerned with the yearqof military service entry. Only
in three cases were the results of applying the indicators
to the ”year entered" data significant to the (0.05) level.
The younger group (entering service after 1985) were considerably
less likely to agree that "Sometimes politics and government
seem so complicated that a person like me can't really understand
what's going on." Though the younger group split about evenly
on this item, the difference between the older (entered service
in 1985 or before) and younger groups is approximately twenty
percentage points with a X2 level of (0.01). The younger group
were more politically aware than the older group, with a higher
percentage recognizing more possibilities than the vote for
having a say in "how the government runs things" (X2 = 0.05).
A higher percentage of the older group voted in local elections
.in 1968 (x2 = 0.01). This difference in political participation
may be due to the older men having been "settled" longer with
the deveIOpment of property tax, school. and other interests
of a local nature. Tables for the "year entered" breakdown

follow on page thirteen.

Sometimes Politics and Government Seem So Complicated That a
Person Like Me Can't Really Understand What is Going On.

'85 a
Before

After
1945

 

 

Table 21
Agree or Disagree
Don't Know
70.8% 29.2%
(63) (26) (89)
50.6% 89.8%
(82) (81) (83)
(105) (67) '1 (172)

 

Significance Level:
x2 = 7.358

Voting is the Only Way That People Like Me Can Have Any Say
' About How the Government Runs Things.

'85 a
Before

After
1985

'85 a
Before

'After
1985

 

 

 

 

 

Significance Level:
x2 = 8.983

Significance Level:
x2 = 8.805

Table 22
Agree or Disagree
Don't Know
89.9% 10.1%
(80) (9) (89)
77.8% 22.6%
(65) (19) (88)
(185) (28) (173)
Have You Voted for Local Officials?
Table 23
Yes No
73.0% 27.0%
(65) (28) (89)
51.8% 88.2%
(88) (81) (85)
(109) (65) (178)

 

13

0.01

0.05

0.01

l8

Summagy and Conclusions: This paper has been a study
of three hypotheses: Military service experience facilitates
political participation, political awareness, and a sense of
personal efficacy in political matters. Also examined were
possible relationships of rank data and of year of service
entry data. The political participation results are strongest
with both the total sample and the breakdown of the military
portion of the sample according to rank yielding data in the
expected directions, with noticible percentage point leads,
.and within the standards of significance set for this paper.
The awareness results in response to the voting attitude item
were as expected for the total sample data and were also within
the acceptable significance limit. Also, an awareness conjecture
was raised in relation to results in the items dealing with
politicians'knowlege and actions regarding Mexican-American
problems although these results did not meet the significance
criteria. The efficacy results were excellent for the total 7
sample data in the items dealing with attitude toward politics
and government. For both these items the X2 significance level
was (0.01). Also, the efficacy hypothesis was supported in
the attitude toward voting results. Except for two items
regarding feelings about the extent of politicians knowledge
and action toward Mexican-American problems, results ran in
the directions expected. These indicators did not yield data
significant to the (0.05) level. They remain unexplained,
although a conjecture was offered.

In a closer look at the military portion of the sample,

15

rank data were examined and were found significant only with
the indicators for the political participation hypothesis. In
this case they behaved as expected and tended to confirm the
hypothesis. In the breakdown of the military portion of the
sample by year of service entry, significant results were obtained
from three indicators. These were the local voting item in
the political participation hypothesis, the voting attitude
indicator of the awareness hypothesis, and the 'politics too
complicated' item of the efficacy hypothesis. In all other
cases, the results of the partials were not significant to the
criteria set.

V The political participation hypothesis is confirmed.
The voting attitude item confirms the political awareness
hypothesis. On balance, the efficacy hypothesis tends toward
confirmation with the reservation that two of its indicators
out of six did not register data within the significance
criteria. A

Suggestions £3; Further'gtugy: Additional checks might

be run on the conclusions of this paper by looking closely at
the influence of age, income, and education. For further study,
a sample with a larger military "n", who have preferably
concluded military service within the past five years would
. be valuable. It would also be interesting to compare those
with military service experience with those active in such
movements as the 'Grape strike' along the dimensions of efficacy,’
awareness, and participation. Such a study might raise questions

concerning efficacy vs. civic obligation in the political

16
participation of the military portion of the sample. It might
also deal with factors such as the effect of service equality,
status acquisition, and ideological inculcation. Radicalizing
factors such as the experience of a step from service equality
to civilian inequality, discriminatory experiences encountered
in the military, and the perception of social injustice, could
also be dealt with.

The style of political participation might be related to
a model of national political identity consisting of two ideal
types (routinized, activated) and a residual (non-involved).
Routinized national identity could be defined as a type of
self-image/worldview which is not only system-sustaining but
which lends its holder to manipulation by external forces and
power dominants. It would be a form of self-pacification
characterized by assenting inaction or, in more extreme form,
by uncritical participational assent. It would be differentiated
from activated national identity and from non-involvement due 4
to lack of identification with the host power system. Activated
national identity would be defined as a type of
self-image/worldview which while primarily system-sustaining
is critical in style with respect to the host system and with
respect to prevailing forces and power dominants, and so is
less likely to lend its holder to external manipulation. The
reSidual category would not be identified with the host system.
The finding of a relationship between military experience

and political participation is possibly due more to stimulation

17
from experience outside the ordinary rather than to the specifically
military nature of the experience. Certainly no policy implication
is intended or should be inferred.

Any results in this paper can only be regarded as tentative,
serving to point toward further study.

18
Appendix 1: Interview Items

1. How much do you think that the Anglo politicians and officials
around here know about our problems? (Well informed?,
Somewhat informed?, or Poorly informed?)

2. And how much do you think the Anglo politicians and officials
around here are doing to help solve our problems? (Quite
a bit?, A little?, or Nothing at all?)

3? I don't think that public officials care much what people
like me think. (Agree, Don't Know, Disagree)

8% Sometimes politics and gbvernment seem so complicated that
a person like me can't really understand what's going on.
(Agree, Don't Know, Disagree)

5?’ PeOple like me don't have any say about what the government
does. (Agree, Don't Know, Disagree)

6? ‘Voting is the only way that people like me can have any
say about how the government runs things. (Agree, Don't
Know, Disagree)

7. Mexican-Americans often blame other Americans for our
situation, but it's really our own fault. (Agree, Don't
Know, Disagree)

8. In talking to people about voting we find that quite‘a few
people were not able to vote because they were not
registered, or they were sick, or they just did not have
time. How about you? Are you registered to vote? (No, Yes)

9. Did you happen to vote in the last Presidential election,
in 1968? (No, Yes)

10. During the last few years have you voted for any city or
county officials? -- such as: mayor, county sheriff, city
councilmen, school board members, and so on. (No, Yes)

*Starred items are fromT he Magic n 191:: by Angus
Campbell, Phillip Converse, warren Miller, and Donald

Stokes, NY, John Wiley & Sons, 1960.

 

 

 

1.

2.

3.

19
Appendix II: Notes
An example of the thinking underlying this process is in

an early World War II edition of the American Journal 2;

Sociology in an article by Louis Wirth.

"The disadvantaged position of our minorities lends
itself readily to exploitation by foreign governments
...we are likely to get better morale by emphasizing
our common aSpirations rather than our common memories
because, if our minorities can be convinced that they
can hope to share fully in the promises of democracy
then effort in the national enterprise can be relied

upon." ‘

Wirth. Louis, "Morale and Minorit Groups," American
Journal 2; Sociology,‘Vol. 87, 19 1-82, pp. 815-33.

In The American Soldier, the expectations of another minority

group in this regard were noted.

”...some of the insistence on the part of Negro soldiers
that Negroes were doing their share or more, as well

as their concern that Negroes be given a fair chance

to help win the war, reflects not simply Negroes'
loyalty to the war on the one hand nor their alienation
from it because of their disadvantaged status in the
United States on the other, but a feeling of many
Negro soldiers that the contributions made by Negroes
to winning the war would earn for them a moral claim

to improved postwar conditions...Their was a tendency
among Negro soldiers to expect or hepe for an increase
in rights and privileges, improved treatment, and
better economic status after the war."

Stouffer, Suchman, De Vinney, Star, Williams, Studies 1_
Social Ps cholo in World War II, Vol. 1. Chap er 10,

pp. 313-1

George I. Sanchez, in his chapter on History, Culture,
and Education in Julian Samora's La Raza/ Forgotten
Americans mentions the "educative results of military

service (as a stimulus to) assimilation of Spanish

\

8.

20
Speaking People."

Sanchez, George I.. in Julian Samora, La Raza/ Forgotten
Americans, University of Notre Dame Press, 1966, p. 7.

Fernando Penalosa also describes the effects of World

War II c

"There was a major breakthrough during World War II
of forces promoting change and the solution of problems
confronting the Mexican-American community. At this
time there was a great flow of pe0ple out of the
barrio or Mexican-American neighborhood. Young
Mexican-Americans took industrial jobs in increasing
numbers, went off to war, traveled around the world,
and were treated as individuals, some for the first
time. During World War II Mexican-Americans
volunteered in greater numbers and won more
Congressional Medals of Honor per capita than any
other ethnic group. Veterans eSpecially returned

to find themselves dissatisfied with the old ways,
and many went to college under the provisions of the
G. I. bill. "

Penalosa, Fernando, "The Changing Mexican-American in
Southern California," Sociology and Social Research, Vol. 51,
July 1967, No. 8, p. 810.

The attraction of military service, in light of the _
I

institutionalized ideal of "service equality" is discussed
in Sociology and the Militagy Establishment.

"For the potential recruit, especially the volunteer,

a positive attitude is based not only on the task of
the armed forces but also on the fact that the military
offers an adequate and respectable level of personal
security...The strong regulations requiring
non-discriminatory practices -- whether they be regional
or racial-ethnic, or social class -- have had the
consequence of attracting the socially disadvantaged,
especially lower class persons with rural backgrounds,
and Negroes who develop strong career commitments

to the services."

Janowitz, Morris and Lt. Col. Roger Little, Sociology and
the Military Establishment, revised edition, Russel Sage

Foundation, 1965. p. 52.

7.

21

The armed forces promote and use this orientation by means

of recruitment slogans such as "Be a Man...be a Marine".

Sanford M. Dornbusch cites similar mechanisms with respect
to the academy experience of cadets.

"As a consequence of undergoing...very unpleasant
eXperience together, the swab class develops
remarkable unity...knowledge of common interest and
common destiny serves as a unifying force...assignment
of low status is useful in producing a correspondingly
high evaluation of an Academy career and requires

that there be a loss of identity in terms of
pre-existing statuses."

Dornbusch, Sanford M.. "The Military Academy as an
Assimilating Institution," Social Forces, University of
North Carolina Press, Vol. 33. No. 5. pp. 316-22.

Political efficacy is defined by Kenneth Prewitt in the
International Encyclopedia 9; the Social Sciences. A portion
of his description follows.

"It refers to the person's belief that political and
social change can be effected or retarded and that
his efforts, alone or in concert with others, can
produce desired behavior on the part of political
authorities...The efficacious person views his political
‘self with respect. He feels powerful, competent,

and important. He holds a corollary set of eXpectations
with reSpect to political officials: they are concerned
about his vote and heed his demands. These
self-evaluations and orientations toward political
authorities are related to a generalized set of attitudes
about the political system-~for example that leadership
circles can be influenced or even penetrated.

l

Efficacy is not the same as a sense of civic obligation.
The latter can motivate political activity whether

'or not the citizen feels that his action matters.
Involvement, interest, and concern also tap dimensions
different from efficacy. They are likely to be
Specialized or temporary, whereas efficacy involves

a generalized orientation, toward the self and toward
political objects, which remains more or less stable

22

over time.

Efficacy refers to the individual's perceptions of

his effectiveness, not his actual influence...

However, while evaluations of influence may not mirror
reality, they are probably not unrelated to objective
political conditions. It is quite likely that feelings
of efficaciousness are nurtured and reinforced in a
context in which one witnesses the translation of

one's wishes into realities."

Prewitt, Kenneth, "Political Efficacy," in David L. Shills,
ed.. International Encyclo edia g: the Social Sciences,

the Macmillan Company an the Free Press, Vol. 12, 1968,
pp. 225-27. '

The table used for the interpretation of X2 results was the
table of x2. on page 280 of the Handbook 9; Mathematical
Tables, Chemical Rubber Company, Second edition, 1968.

23
Bibliography

Articles

Dornbusch, Sanford M., "The Military Academy as an Assimilating
Institution," Social Forces, University of North Carolina Press,

V01. 33’ NO. 4, pp. 316'322, May 1955.

Penalosa, Fernando, "The Changing Mexican-American in Southern
Caliiornia," Sociology and Social Research, Vol. 51, 1967,
NO. 9

Wirth. Louis, "Morale and Minority Groups," American Journal
9; Sociology, Vol. 87, 1981-82, pp. 815-833.

1
Books

'Janowitz, Morris and Lt. Col. Roger Little, Sociology and the
Military Establishment, revised edition, Russel Sage Foundation,

1955.

Samora. Julian, La Raza/ Forgotten Americans, University of
Notre Dame Press, 19

Silberman, Charles E.. Crisis $3 Black and White, Vintage Books,
Random House, NY, NY, 19

Stillman, Richard J. (II), Integration of the Negro Ln the US
Armed Fo_rces, Prager Special Studies in— US Economic and* Social
Development, 1968.

Stouffer, Suchman, De Vinney, Star, Williams, Studies Ln Social
Psychology Ln World War LI (The American Soldier), Vol. I, 7
Chapter 10, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N. J., 1989.

D53 9

3369

 

 

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