What historical factors transformed American politics into the institution we know today? This in-depth look at America's party system traces its efficacy, sustainability, and popularity through six influential presidencies spanning 1790 to the present day. Did President Obama's election serve as the impetus to the development of a seventh political party system? This compelling text sheds light on the American political process as seen through the lens of six pivotal presidencies that shaped America's culture, politics, and society and considers how our current president may be the latest transformative leader in this lineage. Covering two centuries of politics, the work offers insight into the American political machine and reveals how and why the two-party system became so dominant in American politics. Topics include the media's focus on the horse-race aspect of elections, the declining importance of party identification, and the impact of the geographical split that results in swing-states and gerrymandered districts. The work begins by dividing 200 years of politics into 6 periods influenced by a transformative president and discussing the profile of the party system in each era. The next section presents essays contributed by activists across a myriad of political parties and profiles leading political actors and organizations. The final section includes tables, primary source documents, reference lists, a detailed glossary, and a timeline of the development of American political parties that help elucidate the text and show the role political parties have played throughout history.

From party polarization, elections, and internal party politics, to the evolution of the U.S. presidency, John S. Jackson's new book has something for everyone interested in American politics. Beginning with a discussion of the creation of the U.S. government to the formation of today's political powerhouses, Jackson provides a narrative sweep of American party history like none other. Unique to this book is a detailed breakdown of the evolution of political parties from 1832 to the current era. Jackson explains how the reform era came to be, as well as how it produced the polarized party era we have today. In doing so, he guides the reader to an appreciation of where U.S. party politics originated and the aspirations of those who helped create the current system. Jackson also examines the internal mechanisms and personalities of the Democratic and Republican parties. He compares multiple presidential elections, thus telling a broader story of the unfolding of today's party polarization and gridlock. He also explores the theoretical meaning of the changes observed in the parties from the responsible party model perspective. The themes of continuity and change are set in the context of group-think versus rational decisionmaking. Specific focus is given to political elites who are sophisticated about politics and who make strategic decisions, but are also bound by their humanity and occasionally fail to see the right deci-sion due to their own personal biases. This book will be particularly useful for those who want to explore polarization, the responsible parties model, the rational actor model, and anyone who wants to better understand elections, party politics, and the evolution of the presidency.

Examines the purposes of political parties in America's constitutional order, each major party's strongest recent manifestation and the future of the American party system.

W. D. Wright has identified and provided a provocative discussion of the existence of the Corporate Political Party and a national three-party system, comprised of the CPP and the Republican and Democratic parties. Both the CPP and the three-party system have existed unknown to the American people since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, hidden in plain sight. The Corporate Political Party promotes the politics of deception, secrecy, and corruptionin short, anti-democratic politics. The CPP has two major objectives. The first is to establish a national one-party system by gaining control over the Republican and Democratic parties, turning them into shell institutions and functioning through them; this would be done, as it is presently occurring, by helping to get Democrats and Republicans elected to office who would be that in name only, while actually being Corporate Political Party candidates and elected officials wearing two labels. The second major objective is to control the national, state, and local governments and their treasuries through the two shell parties, in order to be able to shift large amounts of taxpayers money on a continuous basis to its constituenciesrich and powerful individuals and financial, industrial, and commercial corporationsthereby seeking to create a large discrepancy of wealth on a continuous basis between its constituencies and the American population. There is an urgent need for the American people to learn about the Corporate Political Party and take action against it for the sake of their own future, wealth, prosperity, and freedom in this country.

Saxton asks why white racism remained an ideological force in America long after the need to justify slavery and Western conquest had disappeared.

Presents a complete reference guide to American political parties and elections, including an A-Z listing of presidential elections with terms, people and events involved in the process.

Gale Researcher Guide for: The American Two-Party System in the United States 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 Handbook of Party Politics is the first book to comprehensively map the state-of-the-art in contemporary party politics scholarship. This major new work brings together the world's leading party theorists to provide an unrivalled resource on the role of parties in the pressing contemporary problems of institutional design and democratic governance today.

Traditional theories of party organization have emphasized two-party electoral competition as the force behind party unity in state politics. V. O. Key first advanced this theory in Southern Politics, where he concluded that party factionalism in the South was mainly attributable to the one-party character of the region. But this traditional theory does not fit all states equally well. In the states of the West, especially, parties are competitive, but political activity is centered on candidates, not parties. The theory of candidate-centered politics allows Gimpel to explain why party factionalism has persisted in many regions of the United States in spite of fierce two-party competition. Using interviews, polling data, elections returns, and demographic information, Gimpel contends that major upheavals in the two-party balance of presidential voting may leave lower offices untouched.

An Essential Guide to American Politics and the American Political System by Kenneth Hill clarifies many of the trends influencing American politics today. You will find in this book a clear analysis of the underlying structure of the American political system, emerging trends, and enduring problems. The book analyzes both continuity and change in American politics and the interaction between the two. Voters, to take one example, now have multiple sources to gather and evaluate political information. The result is often confusion rather than better understanding. Policies adopted by nations around the world now impact the American voter in both positive and negative ways. The policies of other nations now in part determine rates of employment in the United States. The question of equality and equal opportunity has become increasingly controversial as the gap between social classes continues to widen. Much more than in the past, more Americans are now questioning the ability of the American political system to successfully deal with current challenges. Americans are losing confidence in their leaders and institutions. The optimism that has long been a characteristic of the American people is vanishing as problems go unsolved often because of petty political differences. Our two political parties no longer produce the leaders they once did. Kenneth Hills book is an essential guide to better understand the challenges confronting the American political system---and the possibility of success or failure.