In this statement about the state of the discipline, prominent scholars address and critique the entire sweep of American political history. Exemplifying the revitalizing power of the ""new political history"" and its renewed emphasis on large ""P"" politics, these writers have combined to produce an illuminating synthesis of the most recent work in the field. Focusing upon both the major policy issues in the politics of each period (substance) and the major social forces shaping politics (structure), these essays chronicle and evaluate the evolution of American politics and society over two and a quarter centuries. In the process, they reflect their authors' collective commitment to a dynamic field of intellectual inquiry, while simultaneously highlighting key interpretive disputes within it.
State Development in the Early Republic - Substance and Structure, 1775-1840, Ronald P. Formisano; The Nationalization and Racialization of American Politics - Before, Beneath, and Between Parties, 1790-1850, David Waldstreicher; ""To one or another of these parties every man belongs"" - The American Political Experience from Andrew Jackson to the Civil War, Joel H. Silbey; Change and Continuity in the Party Period - the Substance and Structure of American politics, 1835-1885, Michael F. Holt; The Transformation of American Politics - Political Institutions and Public Policy, 1865-1910, Peter H. Argersinger; Democracy, Republicanism, and Efficiency - the Values of American Politics, 1885-1930, Richard Jensen; The Limits of Federal Power and Social Politics, 1910-1955, Anthony J. Badger; The Rise of Rights and Rights Consciousness in American Politics, 1930s and 1970s, James T. Patterson; The Two Majorities and the Puzzle of Modern American Politics - Economic Development, Issue Evolution, and Divided Government, 1955-2000, Byron E. Shafer.
