Grant Park: The Democratization of Presidential Elections, 1968-2008

by Candice J. Nelson

In the forty-year span between 1968 and 2008, the United States underwent great change in nearly every avenue of life's economics, social mores, demographics, technology, and of course politics. The way Americans chose Richard Nixon as their president was very different from the way they chose Barack Obama. The process of selecting Obama was more open and inclusive in a number of ways. In Grant Park, Candice Nelson examines the democratization of the presidential election process over four turbulent decades.

Nelson examines her topic through the metaphor of Chicago's famous Grant Park. During the tumultuous Democratic Party convention of 1968, thousands of young people and African Americans rioted in Grant Park after being excluded from the nomination process. In 2008, on the other hand, thousands again jammed the park, but this time they were celebrating the convincing victory of the first African American president. A lot had to happen in U.S. politics during that forty-year period before Obama could emerge victoriously from the Windy City.

Nelson explains how changes in technology, finance laws, party rules, political institutions, and the electorate itself produced this stunning turnaround, and how the presidential selection process might change again in the run-up to 2012.

Contents

1. Campaign Finance

2. The Nomination Process

3. Conventions

4. The General Election

5. The Role of Technology

6. Changes in Election Law

7. The Changing Electorate

8. Looking toward 2012

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149 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2011