Political Science

Faculty & Staff - Amy Fried

Amy Fried is Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine. Fried is also the ADVANCE-Rising Tide Policy Advocate and oversees the Maine Policy Scholar Program at the University of Maine. Fried’s research largely focuses on the history and political uses of public opinion in the United States.

Professor Fried’s recent book, “Pathways to Polling: Crisis, Cooperation, and the Making of Public Opinion Professions,” (2012, Routledge Press), explains the rise of polling in America as connected to the growth of government, business, and the
mass media. In the 1930s and 1940s, public opinion research enterprises were built by networks linking market researchers, political pollsters, media audience analysts, government officials, academics and journalists. The growth of the modern
American state was furthered by the federal government’s development of survey research capacities focused on understanding opinions related to worker morale, agricultural programs, racial tension, rationing, and German and Japanese-Americans. After Dewey did not beat Truman in 1948 and polling faced a crisis of legitimacy, these linkages helped pollsters recover. While increasingly each sector went its own way, initial investments created lasting opinion research infrastructures and shaped how polls are used today.

Other works by Fried – various articles co-authored with UMaine colleague Timothy Cole – and the book “Muffled Echoes: Oliver North and the Politics of Public Opinion” – look at public opinion as a political resource and discuss how public opinionis interpreted, often in self-serving ways.

In addition to her research about public opinion, Professor Fried has written about the media and politics, women in politics, American political thought, Maine and American political culture, political activism, and archival research for political scientists.  She is currently conducting research on states’ efforts to limit voting.

Professor Fried is a past recipient of the John C. Donovan award from the New England Political Science Association for her work on Alexis de Tocqueville and social capital. Fried provides analysis to a wide range of media outlets and writes a biweekly column for the Bangor Daily News.

Selected Publications:

• Pathways to Polling: Crisis, Cooperation, and the Making of Public Opinion Professions
• Muffled Echoes: Oliver North and the Politics of Public Opinion
• University of Maine ADVANCE-Rising Tide Center

Amy Fried | 581-1797, 581-3583 | amy.fried@umit.maine.edu

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