Washington's Nightmare: A Brief History of American Political Parties

by B. Scott Christmas

With a modern political landscape thoroughly dominated by two seemingly all-powerful political parties, it might be hard to imagine that it hasn't always been this way - that American politics hasn't always been controlled by Republicans and Democrats. In this survey of America's rich political party history, author and historian B. Scott Christmas demonstrates that nothing could be farther from the truth. Beginning at America's founding in the 1790's, Christmas reviews each of the major political parties and coalitions that have played a role in national politics. From the Whigs to the Socialists, and the Know Nothings to the Dixiecrats, Christmas provides an overview of each party's history, platform, and place in American politics. Engaging, poignant, and chock full of historical tidbits and anecdotes, this volume offers an absorbing introduction to America's political history. Well researched with a complete bibliography at the end, along with statistical summaries following each chapter, this brief but engaging volume is a perfect resource for students and teachers, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the fascinating history of politics in America.

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 22, 2014

Reviews

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something I've been wanting for a while--a brief rundown of U.S. political parties and their history. It introduced me to several historical parties I didn't know about, gave context for the others, and most significantly, made some compelling contributions to my understanding of the current political landscape by detailing the history of the Republican and Democratic parties. A book and a history basically every American should know.

[Debbie Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book feels like a present for anyone who wants a concise look at the evolution of US political parties. Interest, brief and to the point, the author includes a chart at the end of each chapter that shows major candidates and presents from evolving political parties.

[Brandon Creel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been looking for a book that provides a broad overview of the political parties throughout the history of the United States. Most existing books seem to focus only on certain periods, are more academic than a narrative history, and/or are often are very dated. This is the only book I can find that fills that void, although it is a tad shorter than I was hoping for. I’m still keeping my eye out for a contemporary, narrative history with some good depth.

That said, I did enjoy the book and find it a good reference for the parties throughout history, although there was one glaring flaw that unfortunately I felt detracted from the rest of the book. In the chapter discussing the Democratic-Republican Party, the author states, without reservation, that John Quincy Adams promised Henry Clay a prominent cabinet position if Clay could secure the House vote for JQA (popularly known as The Corrupt Bargain). The author states again that Jackson “accused Clay and Adams of corruption and backroom dealing (which was true)”. Well, not exactly, according to every historian I have ever read. While the inference is certainly justified, there has never been any evidence uncovered to support that this is factually true. Historians have even discussed the distinct possibility that several House members actually did vote for their own interests, in that a JQA presidency would have been more politically desirable for their constituencies than Jackson. I just felt that this was a bit irresponsible and it caused me to view the rest of the book with a suspicious eye, detracting just a bit from the experience.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading about the founding of the county, I was intrigued to learn more about the early political parties. I was especially interested in the learning about how the early Republican Party (founded by Jefferson) related to the Republican Party in the 19th and 20th Centuries - and I learned - not at all! Christmas calls the early Republican Party the Democratic-Republican Party to avoid confusion. So, I suppose I could have read a short wiki on this subject, but this book was a nice quick read and I did find it interesting to read about the life and death of the early political parties and the evolution of our current two-party system.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that cleanly and succinctly gives the history, platforms, and influence of all the major and minor political parties in the United States. Very quick read and I also appreciated the one page view that summarizes each party. As you’d expect, the political parties are constantly evolving, and this book explains that clearly. This is a good book to keep on the shelf for reference.

[Natalie V · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really solid book on the history of US political parties. It doesn’t get too complex but gives the reader enough detail to understand the different factions and developments emerging throughout US history. Not overly long but an unbiased nice read.

[Stephen Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great non-partisan overview of American political parties.

[Noah Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, if brief.

[Tommie C Sisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

How we became polarized.

Excellent book! The author takes you through the changing landscape of our political system. He shows you the ebb and flow of changing philosophies and how they changed or party system. You get the feeling of deja vu with current election cycle. If you really have an interest in our political system, you will enjoy this synopsis.