The American Party Battle Vol. 1-2

Election Campaign Pamphlets, Vol. I. 1828-1854, Vol. II. 1854-1876. Edited and with an introduction by Joel H. Silbey. Paperback, Very Good. The nineteenth century was the heyday of furious contention between American political parties, and Joel Silbey has recaptured the drama and substance of those battles in a representative sampling of party pamphlets. Political parties mapped the landscape of electoral and ideological warfare, constructing images of themselves and of their adversaries that resonate and echo the basic characteristics of America’s then reigning sets of ideas. The nature of political controversy, as well as the substance of politics, is embedded in these party documents which both united and divided Americans. Unlike today’s party platforms, these pamphlets explicated real issues and gave insight into the society at large.