| Why Parties Matter: Political Competition and Democracy in the American South Contributor(s): Aldrich, John H. (Author), Griffin, John D. (Author) |
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ISBN: 022649537X ISBN-13: 9780226495378 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $37.62 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2018 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Political Process - Political Parties - Political Science | American Government - General - History | United States - State & Local - South (al,ar,fl,ga,ky,la,ms,nc,sc,tn,va,wv) |
| Dewey: 324.273 |
| LCCN: 2017022086 |
| Series: Chicago Studies in American Politics |
| Physical Information: 0.8" H x 6" W x 8.9" (0.95 lbs) 304 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 19th Century - Chronological Period - 20th Century - Chronological Period - 21st Century - Cultural Region - South |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Since the founding of the American Republic, the North and South have followed remarkably different paths of political development. Among the factors that have led to their divergence throughout much of history are differences in the levels of competition among the political parties. While the North has generally enjoyed a well-defined two-party system, the South has tended to have only weakly developed political parties--and at times no system of parties to speak of. With Why Parties Matter, John H. Aldrich and John D. Griffin make a compelling case that competition between political parties is an essential component of a democracy that is responsive to its citizens and thus able to address their concerns. Tracing the history of the parties through four eras--the Democratic-Whig party era that preceded the Civil War; the post-Reconstruction period; the Jim Crow era, when competition between the parties virtually disappeared; and the modern era--Aldrich and Griffin show how and when competition emerged between the parties and the conditions under which it succeeded and failed. In the modern era, as party competition in the South has come to be widely regarded as matching that of the North, the authors conclude by exploring the question of whether the South is poised to become a one-party system once again with the Republican party now dominant. |
Contributor Bio(s): Aldrich, John H.: - John H. Aldrich is the Pfizer-Pratt University Professor of Political Science at Duke University. He is the author or coauthor of numerous books and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Griffin, John D.: - John D. Griffin is associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and coauthor of Minority Report. |