Dynamics of the party system;: Alignment and realignment of political parties in the United States

by James L. Sundquist

Book by Sundquist, James L

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, American History

388 pages, Paperback

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.