Party system

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Party Systems refers to the political system of elections, parties, issues, voters and rules-of-the-game as it operated over long periods of time in the U.S. Party systems are separated by Realigning elections which destroy the old system and create a new one. The term "party system" is also used in Canadian politics and occasionally for other nations.

U.S. Models

The concept of party system was introduced by English scholar James Bryce in American Commonwealth (1885).

American Party Systems was a major textbook by Charles Merriam in the 1920s. In 1967 the most important single breakthrough appeared, The American Party Systems. Stages of Political Development, edited by William Nisbet Chambers and Walter Dean Burnham. It brought together historians and political scientists who agreed on a common framework and numbering system. Thus Chambers published the book The First Party System in 1972. Burnham published numerous articles and books. The model appears in most political science textbooks and many history textbooks, and is included in the AP tests in history and government that 300,000 high school students take every year.

Closely related is the concept of critical elections (introduced by V. O. Key in 1955), and "realignments."

U.S. History

First Party System

In American history, the First Party System saw the creation of the world's first popular parties.[1] All Americans were committed to the same set of republican values, but gtheir interpretation varies. Alexander Hamilton started them with the creation of a party that was (later) called the Federalist Party in 1790-92, as he created a nationwide network of supporters to stand up for his policies. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison opposed Hamilton's policies and created what they called the Republican party about 1792-93 (historians a century later called it the "Democratic-Republican Party"). Soon the political system in each state was polarized along the same lines. The new parties created the "rules of the game"[2] involving techniques to arouse and maintain the interest of citizens and their permanent loyalty to the party. The Federalists took the lead in creating party newspapers in every major city. State and local organizations were created. The Republicans selected their candidates for national office by a caucus of Congressman (the last time it worked was 1816). The Federalists had the first national convention, but lagged far behind in organizing skills. The peaceful transfer of power from Federalists to Republicans in 1800 set the standard. In terms of issues, the Federalists stood for a strong financial system (headed by a national bank), folding state debts into the national debt (so that bondholders would be onterested in the success of the national government), and a strong army and navy. The Republicans opposed all these points, and instead emphasized state's rights and a weak federal government. Foreign policy was a central concern. With Britain and France at war from 1793 to 1815, the Federalists favored Britain and denounced the French Revolution. The Republicans favored the French until Napoleon became dictator in 1799; they always opposed and feared the British. The Fedralists collapsed after 1816 and the Republicans lost their cohesion, breaking into four facgtions in 1824.

Second Party System

The Second Party System (1828-1854) revolved around the Democratic party founded by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, opposing the Whig Party founded and led by Henry Clay. Major issues included Jacksonian opposition to banks and modernization. New rules of the game included the extension of the franchise to nearly all white men (including many immigrants), the spoils system (the winning party gets the offices), and more democracy in state and local government, such as election of judges and local officials.


Bibliography: US

  • Numan V. Bartley, "Voters and Party Systems: A Review of the Recent Literature," The History Teacher, Vol. 8, No. 3 (May, 1975), pp. 452-469. online at JSTOR
  • Beck, Paul Allen. "Micropolitics in Macro Perspective: the Political History of Walter Dean Burnham." Social Science History 1986 10(3): 221-245. Issn: 0145-5532 Fulltext in Jstor
  • David Brady and Joseph Stewart, Jr. "Congressional Party Realignment and Transformations of Public Policy in Three Realignment Eras," American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 26, No. 2 (May, 1982), pp. 333-360 online at JSTOR Looks at links among cross-cutting issues, electoral realignments, the U.S. House and public policy changes during the Civil War, 1890's and New Deal realignments. In each case the policy changes are voted through by a partisan "new" majority party. The Civil War and 1890's realignments were more polarized than was the New Deal realignment, and the extent of party structuring of issue dimensions was greater.
  • William Nisbet Chambers and Walter Dean Burnham, eds. The American Party Systems. Stages of Political Development, (1967)
  • Chambers, William Nisbet. Political Parties in a New Nation: The American Experience, 1776–1809 (1963)
  • Hofstadter, Richard. The Idea of a Party System: The Rise of Legitimate Opposition in the United States, 1780-1840 (1970)
  • James, Scott C. Presidents, Parties, and the State: A Party System Perspective on Democratic Regulatory Choice, 1884-1936 (2000)
  • Jensen, Richard. "American Election Analysis: A Case History of Methodological Innovation and Diffusion," in S. M. Lipset, ed, Politics and the Social Sciences (Oxford University Press, 1969), 226-43.
  • Jensen, Richard. "History and the Political Scientist," in S. M. Lipset, ed, Politics and the Social Sciences (Oxford University Press, 1969), , 1-28.
  • Jensen, Richard. "Historiography of Political History," in Jack Greene ed., Encyclopedia of American Political History (Scribners, 1984), 1:1-25. online
  • Jensen, Richard. "The Changing Shape of Burnham`s Political Universe," Social Science History 10 (1986) 209-19 Issn: 0145-5532 Fulltext in Jstor
  • Kleppner, Paul ed. The Evolution of American Electoral Systems (1981)
  • Renda, Lex. "Richard P. McCormick and the Second American Party System." Reviews in American History (1995) 23(2): 378-389. Issn: 0048-7511 Fulltext in Project Muse.
  • Sundquist, James L. Dynamics of the Party System: Alignment and Realignment of Political Parties in the United States], (1983) online edition

Bibliography: World

  • Lauri Karvonen and Stein Kuhnle. Party Systems and Voter Alignments Revisited (2000)
  • Paul G. Lewis and Paul Webb, eds. Pan-European Perspectives on Party Politics (2003)
  • Seymour M. Lipset and Stein Rokkan, eds. Party Systems And Voter Alignments (1967)
  • Sartori, Giovanni . Parties and Party Systems: A framework for analysis (1976; reprint 2005)
  • James Walch. Faction and Front: Party Systems in South India (1976)

See for the U.S.:


  1. ↑ There were "parties" or groupings in the British Parliament, which had little connection to voters.
  2. ↑ A term coined by Frank Kent in the 1920s.
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