This analysis of the contours and social bases of mass voting
behavior in the United States over the course of the third
electoral era, from 1853 to 1892, provides a deep and rich
understanding of the ways in which ethnoreligious values shaped
party combat in the late nineteenth century. It was this uniquely
American mode of "political confessionals" that underlay the
distinctive characteristics of the era's electoral universe.
In its exploration of the the political roles of native and
immigrant ethnic and religious groups, this study bridges the gap
between political and social history. The detailed analysis of
ethnoreligious experiences, values, and beliefs is integrated into
an explanation of the relationship between group political
subcultures and partisan preferences which wil be of interest to
political sociologists, political scientists, and also political
and social historians.
Unlike other works of this genre, this book is not confined to a
single description of the voting patterns of a single state, or of
a series of states in one geographic region, but cuts across states
and regions, while remaining sensitive to the enormously
significant ways in which political and historical context
conditioned mass political behavior. The author accomplishes this
remarkable fusion by weaving the small patterns evident in detailed
case studies into a larger overview of the electoral system. The
result is a unified conceptual framework that can be used to
understand both American political behavior duing an important era
and the general preconditions of social-group political
consciousness. Challenging in major ways the liberal-rational
assumptions that have dominated political history, the book
provides the foundation for a synthesis of party tactics,
organizational practices, public rhetoric, and elite and mass
behaviors.