ABSTRACT
While the phrase “public opinion” was not formally coined until the eighteenth century, the concept has been with us since biblical times and the ancient Greek democracies. It seems that understanding the sentiment of common people is a chronic desire of leaders and citizens alike, no matter the form of government, nation in question, or moment in history. In our day, the definition of public opinion seems more complex than ever before due to the intensity of global communication: Changes in communication have upset all of our apple carts, making us question the value of opinion surveys, demonstrations, letters to the editor, punditry, and all of the other conventional vehicles for opinion expression and measurement we have become accustomed to. I will close this historical overview with a few reflections about the future of public opinion meaning and measures, based on the recent evolution of media like the Internet. But my central focus will be on the past, taking time to underscore pivotal eras and events, when the meaning of public opinion changed in significant ways. The chapter is organized into four sections, reflecting my own periodization-designed for this volume-of public opinion history. First, however, a few notes of preface. This is a Western history of public opinion with a focus on America, in part because of my own training, but primarily because we have little documentation of public opinion expression and assessment from Africa and Asia. This is not to say that popular sentiment was not important or interesting on those continents, but simply that we are challenged by the lack of a written historical record focused on public opinion before the twentieth century. Second, this chapter is most akin to intellectual history, due to the deficit of historical data that might better represent the perspectives of lower or middle class Europeans and Americans in a systematic way. Finally, my tour through hundreds of years is by nature a superficial one, and those wishing to explore different periods in more depth might begin with the bibliographic sources provided.
