Dynamics of the Party System: Alignment and Realignment of Political Parties in the United States

by James L. Sundquist

Since the original edition of "Dynamics of the Party System" was published in 1973, American politics have continued on a tumultuous course. In the vacuum left by the decline of the Democratic and Republican parties, single-interest groups have risen and flourished. Protest movements on the left and the New Right at the opposite pole have challenged and divided the major parties, and the Reagan Revolution--in reversing a fifty-year trend toward governmental expansion--may turn out to have revolutionized the party system too.

In this edition, as in the first, current political trends and events are placed in a historical and theoretical context. Focusing upon three major realignments of the past--those of the 1850s, the 1890s, and the 1930s--Sundquist traces the processes by which basic transformations of the country's two-party system occur. From the historical case studies, he fashions a theory as to the why and how of party realignment, then applies it to current and recent developments, through the first two years of the Reagan presidency and the midterm election of 1982.

The theoretical sections of the first edition are refined in this one, the historical sections are revised to take account of recent scholarship, and the chapters dealing with the postwar period are almost wholly rewritten. The conclusion of the original work is, in general, confirmed: the existing party system is likely to be strengthened as public attention is again riveted on domestic economic issues, and the headlong trend of recent decades toward political independence and party disintegration reversed, at least for a time.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, American History

466 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

The son of Swedish immigrants, James Sundquist grew up outside of Salt Lake City. After graduating from the University of Utah, he earned a master's in public administration from Syracuse University, and worked as a reporter before taking a position with the Bureau of the Budget in 1941. He worked as a speechwriter for Harry Truman, an assistant to Governor Averell Harriman, and as deputy undersecretary of agriculture in the Lyndon Johnson administration.

Reviews

[Mark Bowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: This is an analysis of the 2-party system. He explores the major transformations of this system (since its creation in the 1830s) through the realignments of the 1850s, 1890s, and 1930s. The first realignment occurred when a 3rd party, the Republicans, supplanted an existing party, the Whigs. The second was marked by the absorption of an important 3rd party, the Populists, by one of the existing parties. The third, realigned the 2 major parties. The Progressive era was one when a major party realignment was averted. He identifies other minor realignments and constructs a theory of the realignment process. The theory is that the future will reinforce the existing party systems, but labels like Democrat and Republican will take on new meanings.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An examination of realignments in the American party system over time. One of the standard works on change in the party system over time. . . .

[sologdin · Rating 2 out of 5]

probably standard political science 101 fare. was eye-opening for me at 17.