This one-volume reference presents the major conceptual approaches to the study of U.S. political parties and the national party system, describing the organization and behavior of U.S. political parties in thematic, narrative chapters that help undergraduate students better understand party origins, historical development, and current operations. Further, it provides researchers with in-depth analysis of important subtopics and connections to other aspects of politics. Key Features: Thematic, narrative chapters, organized into six major parts, provide the context, as well as in-depth analysis of the unique system of party politics in the United States. Top analysts of party politics provide insightful chapters that explore how and why the U.S. parties have changed over time, including major organizational transformations by the parties, behavioral changes among candidates and party activists, and attitudinal changes among their partisans in the electorate. The authors discuss the way the traditional concept of formal party organizations gave way over time to a candidate-centered model, fueled in part by changes in campaign finance, the rise of new communication technologies, and fragmentation of the electorate. This book is an ideal reference for students and researchers who want to develop a deeper understanding of the current challenges faced by citizens of republican government in the United States.

The CQ Press Guide to U.S. Elections is a comprehensive, two-volume reference providing information on the U.S. electoral process, in-depth analysis on specific political eras and issues, and everything in between. Thoroughly revised and infused with new data, analysis, and discussion of issues relating to elections through 2014, the Guide will include chapters on: Analysis of the campaigns for presidency, from the primaries through the general election Data on the candidates, winners/losers, and election returns Details on congressional and gubernatorial contests supplemented with vast historical data. Key Features include: Tables, boxes and figures interspersed throughout each chapter Data on campaigns, election methods, and results Complete lists of House and Senate leaders Links to election-related websites A guide to party abbreviations

Gale Researcher Guide for: How American Political Parties Operate is selected from Gale's academic platform Gale Researcher. These study guides provide peer-reviewed articles that allow students early success in finding scholarly materials and to gain the confidence and vocabulary needed to pursue deeper research.

The constitution that establishes the institutional framework for American national government makes no mention of political parties. Yet for over two centuries, political parties have competed in encouraging, organizing, and directing political activity in the United States. This volume compiles entries of concepts, terms, labels, and individuals central to identifying and comprehending these key roles political parties have played in American political life. The second edition of Historical Dictionary of United States Political Parties addresses the historical development, organization, operation, and leadership of the parties, as well as their broader environment. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, a bibliography, and over 800 cross-referenced dictionary entries addressing individuals, institutions, and terms.

Revised and updated, this compendium helps readers identify and understand the scope of key government reference sources-traditional books (including publications catalogs and telephone directories); information clearinghouses; and materials in new formats, such as CD-ROMs, datafiles, and Internet sites. The authors focus on free information and depository materials-both readily available through toll-free phone numbers, mail or e-mail requests to agencies, or federal depository library collections. Materials are fully described in annotations that differentiate between similar materials, identify typical citation formats, and note common abbreviations

The Guide to the Presidency is an extensive study of the most important office of the U.S. political system. Its two volumes describe the history, workings and people involved in this office from Washington to Clinton. The thirty-seven chapters of the Guide, arranged into seven distinct subject areas (ranging from the origins of the office to the powers of the presidency to selection and removal) cover every aspect of the presidency. Initially dealing with the constitutional evolution of the presidency and its development, the book goes on to expand on the history of the office, how the presidency operates alongside the numerous departments and agents of the federal bureaucracy, and how the selection procedure works in ordinary and special cicumstances. Of special interest to the reader will be the illustrated biographies of every president from Washington to the present day, and the detailed overview of the vice-presidents and first ladies of each particular office. Also included are two special appendices, one of which gathers together important addresses and speeches from the Declaration of Independence to Clinton's Inaugural Address, and another which provides results from elections and polls and statistics from each office.

American Political Parties is a core textbook on political parties in the United States that places the US party system into a framework designed around the disagreements between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. White and Kerbel argue that the two-party system in the United States began with a common agreement on the key values of freedom, individual rights, and equality of opportunity but that Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed—often vehemently—over how to translate these ideals into an acceptable form of governance. This text develops a unique historical perspective of US party development using the disagreements between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson as a framework for analysis. While Hamilton wanted to marry freedom to a strong, active federal government with an energetic president who would act on behalf of all citizens, Jefferson believed that freedom should be allied to local civic virtue, with governmental responsibilities placed primarily at the local level. Today, Hamiltonian nationalism finds its home in the Democratic Party, while Republicans have espoused Jeffersonian localism since 1964. Using this historical framework, American Political Parties examines a range of topics including marketing and social media, campaign finance, reforms in the presidential nominating process, political demography, and third parties. In this new edition (previously published as Party On!), the authors describe four possible futures in the wake of the 2020 election and why Americans believed it was “the most important” election in their lifetimes. The unique history of US political parties as set forth by the disagreements between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson is at an inflection point. Republicans have become an insurgent party fully under the control of Donald Trump while Democrats have an opportunity to create a new majority coalition. This juncture poses unique challenges to our democracy and constitutional framework, and the book describes four possible outcomes, postulating where American political parties are headed in this decade.

In this comprehensive introduction to political parties, two of the country's foremost scholars combine the traditional PIE, PIG, PO approach with unique chapters on such issues as race and campaign finance. Throughout the book, the authors argue strongly in favor of the continued relevance of parties in the American political system and provide strong evidence that parties have adapted to the changing American political scene.