The Emergence of American Values After 1980

Wonk that I am, I find this fascinating. Jefferson spoke of liberty. Lincoln spoke of union. FDR spoke of jobs and security. Yet presidents rarely spoke of "American values" as an explicit concept until the 1980s. Since then, references have exploded. One possible explanation is that as politics moved from farms and factories to television and media, debates over culture and identity became increasingly central. And maybe, just maybe, you can get more agreement about the importance of American values if you don't specify which values.

Data from the University of California, Santa Barbara's presidential communications database.