The Life of the Parties

by A. James Reichley

Election year 2000 is an appropriate season to reprise the first major history of American political parties in nearly forty years. In this classic work, James Reichley traces the decline of political parties resulting in divided government and an ineffectual political process―but he also shows us what it will take to restore the party system and how it could work to revitalize our democracy. For the first time in paperback, The Life of the Parties includes updates on third party movements, political cycles and realignments, campaign finance reform, and other recent electoral trends. Citizens disillusioned by years of political disarray will find much to reflect upon in Reichley's monumental analysis of the lessons of party history and our contemporary political predicament.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Political Science

412 pages, Paperback

First published August 9, 2000

Reviews

[Michelle Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grad school read.

A great history of all the political parties in US History and how they related to each other as well as how they were affected by realignment.

[Chuck Kollars · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very deep and thorough history of political parties in the U.S. that reads rather easily. First time ever any _one_ book has told me both something I didn't know about our Founding Fathers _and_ something I didn't know about Ronald Reagan's campaign. The author invested both his lifetime of experience and several years of non-trivial research in this book, some research to get all the names and dates right, and some to interview all the relevant people in such depth he can even make intelligent predictions about the future of political parties. Fairly extensive notes make it clear he's not just "making stuff up" or shooting from the hip (but the notes probably won't provide many useful pointers for further research).

(NOTE This review is of the original edition of 1992, not the updated edition of 2000.)

His historical descriptions make it very clear that our politics being a "blood sport" that's usually more about competition than about doing what's best for the country is nothing new. In fact our politics has largely been that way from the very beginning. They also (inadvertently?) illustrate that any political system which is _really_close_ to "the people" is also _really_ corrupt.

Most of the book is "just the facts, ma'am". All his analyses and prognostications and suggestions are isolated to the last chapter. His opinions clearly have a whole lot of thought behind them. On the other hand I found the case for his very strong point that "political parties are necessary" so sketchy it was unconvincing.

Although actually written over a quarter century ago, the book's list of concerns is decidedly current: government gridlock, campaign finance reform, unfair elections, voter apathy, lack of clarity of the definition and the role of political parties, increasing irrelevance of the party conventions. I found it depressing to realize how long ago problems in our political system had been clearly identified, yet nothing has ever happened.

He calls out in particular the well-intentioned "primary election" reforms initiated by the McGovern-Fraser commission of the Democratic party, and extending over several years and other commissions, as having such severe unintended negative consequences it's imperative the system be re-revised somehow. My guess is back when the book was written the company of those who saw those primary election reforms as a disaster was fairly small; now the same opinion is so widely shared the urgency has been drained out of it.

He also points out that "patronage" used to be what politics and elections and political parties were all about. And that the Supreme Court decisions that effectively made patronage illegal were made by people with no experience in electoral politics who had no inkling what the real ramifications of their decision would be.

I rated the book very high partly because it seems to be the _only_ readily available coverage of political parties. Perhaps not many are interested in the subject. More likely he did such a good job nobody else is interested in producing another book for which this one will inevitably be the competition.

[Dann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Life of the Parties: A History of American Political Parties is a comprehensive look at the history of political parties in America from its founding to the modern day. Author James Reichley chronicles America’s party system from its beginnings as a loose coalition of society clubs to a highly structured and regimented system of interconnected city, state, and national party machines. He also discusses the political changes and realignments that have occurred throughout different regions and voting groups as various parties have risen and fallen. Though the founders initially warned against the evils of political parties, Reichley reveals that, despite their reservations, they created a uniquely American party system that has served the county well and is rooted in the republican and liberal democratic principles. And, that the system has strengthened America’s democracy by offering another level of checks and balances, and has provided an avenue for political opposition to organize and bring about reform. Remarkably detailed, Reichley provides a plethora of names, dates, graphs, and statistics for every major election and political shift (which can be a little too much information to absorb on a first read). While it can be a difficult read at times, The Life of the Parties: A History of American Political Parties is an informative and revelatory look at American politics.