- The Economy and its Effect on Politics: 1866 - 1920
- Population Growth
- Economic Growth
- Deflation From 1866 - 1896, Inflation 1896 - 1920
- Industrialization
- The Rise of Organized Labor
- The Spread of the Railroad Network
Railroads in 1890
Railroads and the Spread of Agriculture
Railroad Productivity
Railroad Mileage Increased from 35,085 Miles of Mainline Track to 166,703 Miles of Mainline Track in 1890 -- more than a 4-fold Increase
- The Complaints of the Farmers
1873: The Grangers Warn the Sleeping Public about the Consolidation Train
- Population Growth
- The Election of 1896
- Summary -- Realignment of the 1890s -- Neither Party Replaced
- Breadth and Depth of the Underlying Grievance – Not too great.
The Farmers and the Labor Unions were angry but the Bi-Metalism Issue did not have the power
that Slavery had and Inflation after 1895 negated the issue.
- Capacity to Provoke Resistance – Farmers had many successes.
- Leadership – Held firm in the Republican Party but the Democratic
Party was split internally.
- Division of Polar Forces Between the Two Parties – Affected
Mainly the Democrats.
- Strength of Existing Party Attachments – Strong, especially for
Republicans. The Silver Republicans stayed in the Party while the Gold Democrats switched
to the Republican Party.
- Breadth and Depth of the Underlying Grievance – Not too great.
The Farmers and the Labor Unions were angry but the Bi-Metalism Issue did not have the power
that Slavery had and Inflation after 1895 negated the issue.
- SUMMARY – Realignment of the 1890s -- The Realignment Scenario
Clearly Type 2 -- Realignment in which Neither Party is Replaced.
The System evolves from State A to State B/C and snaps back into State A.
- The Democrat-Republican Political Party System, 1900 - Late 1930s: Overview
- The Main Organizing Dimension was Economics -- The Degree of Government Intervention in the
Economy
- The Effect of the Depression was to Shift the Entire Distribution of Voters to the Left
on the Existing Dimension. Greater Control over the Economy and Direct Cash Payments to
Individuals Became Accepted Policy.
- The Democrats Became Overwhelmingly Dominate -- The Most Lopsided Two-Party System in
American History. Many Scholars Referred to it as a One-and-a-Half Party System.
- The Main Organizing Dimension was Economics -- The Degree of Government Intervention in the
Economy
- The Democrat-Republican Political Party System, Late 1930s - Mid-Late 1980s: Overview
- In 1937-38 Voting on the Fair Labor Standards Act (Minimum Wages) Opened a serious
Split between Northern and Southern Democrats. Southerners did not want Southern Agriculture
to be constrained by the minimum wage because many of the Laborers were Black.
- During the Second World War Voting on whether or not to Use Federal Law as Opposed to
State Law to Determine Voter Eligibility in the Armed Forces Further Exacerbated the Split
Between Northern and Southern Democrats. Southern Democrats did not want Blacks serving in
the Armed Forces to be able to vote in Southern elections.
- This conflict culminated in the Passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights
Act, and the 1967 Open Housing Act. Collectively, these laws ended legal segregation.
- The Passage of the Civil Rights Laws triggered a slow Realignment of the White South into the
Republican Party. Aided by President Richard Nixon's "Southern Strategy", the Southern states
began voting for Republican Presidential candidates. Eventually Southern States began electing
Republican Senators, then Republican Representatives, and finally state and local officials
switched to the Republican Party.
Regional Differences in Presidential Vote 1948 - 2004
House: 1879 - 2005 Percent Southern Seats Held by Republicans
Senate: 1879 - 2005 Percent Southern Seats Held by Republicans
House: 1879 - 2005 Percent Northern and Southern Seats Held by Republicans
Senate: 1879 - 2005 Percent Northern and Southern Seats Held by Republicans
Republican Percentage of Seats in State Legislatures 1948 - 2004
- By the 1990s Civil Rights related issues became indistinguishable from economic issues
in terms of the voting coalitions in Congress.
- In 1937-38 Voting on the Fair Labor Standards Act (Minimum Wages) Opened a serious
Split between Northern and Southern Democrats. Southerners did not want Southern Agriculture
to be constrained by the minimum wage because many of the Laborers were Black.
- Congressional Elections: 1898 - 2004
HOUSE SENATE Democrat Republican Other Democrat Republican Other 1898 163 185 9 26 53 11 1900 153 198 5 29 56 3 1902 178 207 32 58 1904 136 250 32 58 1906 164 222 29 61 1908 172 219 32 59 1910 228 162 1 42 49 1912 290 127 18 51 44 1 1914 231 193 8 56 39 1 1916 210 216 9 53 42 1 1918 191 237 7 47 48 1 1920 132 300 1 37 59 1922 207 225 3 43 51 2 1924 183 247 5 40 54 1 1926 195 237 3 47 48 1 1928 167 267 1 39 56 1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1930 220 214 1 47 48 1 1932 313 117 5 59 36 1 1934 322 103 10 69 25 2 1936 333 89 13 75 17 4 1938 262 169 4 69 23 4 1940 267 162 6 66 28 2 1942 222 209 4 57 38 1 1944 243 190 2 57 38 1 1946 188 246 1 45 51 1948 263 171 1 54 42 1950 234 199 2 48 47 1952 213 221 1 47 48 1 1954 232 203 48 47 1 1956 234 201 49 47 1958 283 154 64 34 1960 263 174 64 36 1962 258 176 1 67 33 1964 295 140 68 32 1966 248 187 64 36 1968 243 192 58 42 1970 255 180 55 45 1972 243 192 57 43 1974 291 144 61 38 1976 292 143 62 38 1978 277 158 59 41 1980 243 192 47 53 1982 269 166 46 54 1984 253 182 47 53 1986 258 177 55 45 1988 259 174 55 45 1990 267 167 1 56 44 1992 258 176 1 57 43 1994 204 230 1 47 53 1996 207 227 1 45 55 1998 211 223 1 45 55 2000 212 221 2 50 50 2002 205 229 1 48 51 1 2004 201 232 1 44 55 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Presidential Elections: 1900 - 2004
Democrat Republican Other ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1900 Bryan 155 6,357,698 45.5 McKinley 292 7,219,193 51.7 1904 Parker 140 5,083,501 37.6 Roosevelt 336 7,625,599 56.4 1908 Bryan 162 6,406,874 43.0 Taft 321 7,676,598 51.6 1912 Wilson 435 6,294,326 41.8 Taft 8 3,486,343 23.2 Roosevelt 88 4,120,207 27.4 1916 Wilson 277 9,126,063 49.2 Hughes 254 8,547,039 46.1 1920 Cox 127 9,134,074 34.2 Harding 404 16,151,916 60.3 1924 Davis 136 8,386,532 28.8 Coolidge 382 15,724,310 54.0 La Follette 13 4,827,184 16.6 1928 Smith 87 15,004,336 40.8 Hoover 444 21,432,823 58.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1932 Roosevelt 472 22,818,740 57.4 Hoover 59 15,760,425 39.6 1936 Roosevelt 523 27,750,866 60.8 Landon 8 16,679,683 36.5 1940 Roosevelt 449 27,343,218 54.7 Willkie 82 22,334,940 44.8 1944 Roosevelt 432 25,612,610 53.4 Dewey 99 22,021,053 45.9 1948 Truman 303 24,105,810 49.5 Dewey 189 21,970,064 45.1 Thurmond 39 1,169,114 2.4 1952 Stevenson 89 27,314,992 44.4 Eisenhower 442 33,777,945 54.9 1956 Stevenson 73 26,022,752 42.0 Eisenhower 457 35,590,472 57.4 1960 Kennedy 303 34,226,731 49.7 Nixon 219 34,108,157 49.5 1964 Johnson 486 43,129,566 61.1 Goldwater 52 27,178,188 38.5 1968 Humphrey 191 31,275,166 42.7 Nixon 301 31,785,480 43.4 Wallace 46 9,906,473 13.5 1972 McGovern 17 29,170,383 37.5 Nixon 520 47,169,911 60.7 1976 Carter 297 40,830,763 50.1 Ford 240 39,147,793 48.0 1980 Carter 49 35,483,883 41.0 Reagan 489 43,904,153 50.7 Anderson 0 5,720,060 6.6 1984 Mondale 13 37,577,185 40.6 Reagan 525 54,455,075 58.8 1988 Dukakis 111 41,809,074 45.6 Bush,HW 426 48,886,097 53.4 1992 Clinton 370 44,909,326 43.0 Bush,HW 168 39,103,882 37.4 Perot 0 19,741,657 18.9 1996 Clinton 379 47,402,357 49.2 Dole 159 39,198,755 40.7 Perot 0 8,085,402 8.4 2000 Gore 266 50,992,335 48.4 Bush 271 50,455,156 47.9 Nader 0 2,882,738 2.7 2004 Kerry 251 59,026,013 48.3 Bush 286 62,025,554 50.7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - The Economy and its Effect on Politics After 1920
- The 1920s Boom and the Stock Market Crash of 1929
- Summary of Economic Indicators during the Great Depression
- Unemployment (Yearly): 1929 - 2004
- The 1920s Boom and the Stock Market Crash of 1929