American Political History: A Very Short Introduction captures the richness of American political history, focusing primarily on national politics. The book explores the nature of the two-party system, key turning points in American political history and explains representative presidential and congressional elections. It also highlights the struggles to expand the electorate, critical social protest and third-party movements.

• List of illustrations


• Chapter 1 The Politics of the Constitution, 1787-89


• Chapter 2 Contentious People and Factious Parties in the Early Republic, 1789-1824


• Chapter 3 The Age of Democracy, 1816-1844


• Chapter 4 The Politics of Slavery: Prelude to the Civil War, 1844-1860


• Chapter 5 Politics in War and Reconstruction, 1861-1876


• Chapter 6 Gilded Age Frustration and the Progressive Response, 1877-1918


• Chapter 7 Affluence, Depression, and World War, 1920-1945


• Chapter 8 Early Cold War Politics, 1946-74


• Chapter 9 America Divided, 1974-present


• References


• Further reading


• Index

Donald T. Critchlow is Professor of History at Arizona State University. He is the author of When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Moguls, Film Stars, and Big Business Remade American Politics to be published by Cambridge University Press. In addition, he has authored and edited many other books including The Conservative Ascendancy: How the GOP Made Political History (Harvard, 2007; revised 2011, Kansas); Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism (Princeton, 2005; paper 2007); and Intended Consequences: Birth Control, Abortion, and the Federal Government (Oxford, 1999, pap. 2001). He is currently working on a book American Democracy Now and Its Future, a data-driven book. He is editor of the Journal of Policy History, an interdisciplinary quarterly published by Cambridge University Press.