Why parties?: a second look

Political parties and democracy

Politics and parties in America

Why parties form

Party formation in America, 1790-1860

Prologue

Founding the first parties: institutions and social choice

Jacksonian democracy: the mass party and collective action

Whigs and republicans: institutions, issue agendas, and ambition

The new political party in contemporary America

Prologue

Party activists and partisan cleavages in contemporary elections

Political parties and governance

The critical era of the 1960s

Conclusions

Political parties, historical dynamics, and democratic politics.