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Wars and the Party System at the Turn of the Century: Reassessing the 'System of 1896' |
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Abstract:
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Realignment theory has long offered the primary framework for understanding American political history, particularly as it relates to the party system. The 1896 election has played a particularly prominent role in the realignment literature since the theory’s inception, and the period of American politics stretching from William McKinley’s first victory to Franklin Roosevelt’s ascension to the White House is often referred to as the “System of 1896.” However, Mayhew’s (2002) recent critique of realignment theory has called its key assumptions into serious question. At the same time, leading scholars have noted the failure of the American politics literature to adequately explore the manner in which international forces have shaped domestic politics (Mayhew 2005; Katznelson 2002).
This paper builds on Mayhew’s realignment critique and heeds suggestions to explore international events as causal variables in explaining domestic politics by examining the role the Spanish-American War and World War I played in the 1898, 1900, 1918, and 1920 elections. I argue here that realignment theory has led to two faulty assumptions concerning these contests that obscure the wars’ electoral influences. In the first two cases, it has led to the conclusion that continued Republican dominance was somehow inevitable. But in fact, it was Republican success in prosecuting the war that clearly accounted for their ensuing electoral triumphs. As both the rhetoric and the focus of the 1898 midterm and 1900 presidential elections demonstrate, the war propelled a new set of issues onto the campaign agenda and altered the course of these contests. Imperialism was elevated from a non-issue to a pivotal matter of constant dispute in the political and electoral realms. At the same time, the major issue cleavages that realignment theory claims emanated from the supposedly pivotal 1896 election (such as monetary policy or “free silver”), and allegedly invested American politics for a generation, largely disappeared from the political agenda in the face of more compelling international concerns. In the later two cases—1918 and 1920—political scientists have generally viewed the Woodrow Wilson years as an anomaly within the “System of 1896,” leading them to minimize the importance of the 1920 Republican victory. They argue the Republican party, dating back to McKinley’s “realigning” 1896 victory, was still dominant and constituted the day’s reigning political order. This connection is important because it suggests the return to Republican rule in 1918 and 1920 was natural and predictable given the dominant 1896-based political system. I argue that contrary to this standard view, the 1920 results were far from inevitable and were heavily influenced by World War I. |
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elect (171), war (167), republican (129), parti (123), democrat (111), american (95), polit (90), presid (66), 1896 (63), new (60), mckinley (58), issu (56), 1920 (53), 1898 (52), system (45), wilson (44), year (44), time (44), york (42), campaign (41), hous (40), |
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Association:
Name: American Political Science Association
URL: http://www.apsanet.org
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Citation:
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MLA Citation:
| Saldin, Robert. "Wars and the Party System at the Turn of the Century: Reassessing the 'System of 1896'" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, Chicago, IL, Aug 30, 2007 <Not Available>. 2011-06-08 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p210803_index.html> |
APA Citation:
| Saldin, R. P. , 2007-08-30 "Wars and the Party System at the Turn of the Century: Reassessing the 'System of 1896'" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, Chicago, IL Online <PDF>. 2011-06-08 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p210803_index.html |
Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Realignment theory has long offered the primary framework for understanding American political history, particularly as it relates to the party system. The 1896 election has played a particularly prominent role in the realignment literature since the theory’s inception, and the period of American politics stretching from William McKinley’s first victory to Franklin Roosevelt’s ascension to the White House is often referred to as the “System of 1896.” However, Mayhew’s (2002) recent critique of realignment theory has called its key assumptions into serious question. At the same time, leading scholars have noted the failure of the American politics literature to adequately explore the manner in which international forces have shaped domestic politics (Mayhew 2005; Katznelson 2002).
This paper builds on Mayhew’s realignment critique and heeds suggestions to explore international events as causal variables in explaining domestic politics by examining the role the Spanish-American War and World War I played in the 1898, 1900, 1918, and 1920 elections. I argue here that realignment theory has led to two faulty assumptions concerning these contests that obscure the wars’ electoral influences. In the first two cases, it has led to the conclusion that continued Republican dominance was somehow inevitable. But in fact, it was Republican success in prosecuting the war that clearly accounted for their ensuing electoral triumphs. As both the rhetoric and the focus of the 1898 midterm and 1900 presidential elections demonstrate, the war propelled a new set of issues onto the campaign agenda and altered the course of these contests. Imperialism was elevated from a non-issue to a pivotal matter of constant dispute in the political and electoral realms. At the same time, the major issue cleavages that realignment theory claims emanated from the supposedly pivotal 1896 election (such as monetary policy or “free silver”), and allegedly invested American politics for a generation, largely disappeared from the political agenda in the face of more compelling international concerns. In the later two cases—1918 and 1920—political scientists have generally viewed the Woodrow Wilson years as an anomaly within the “System of 1896,” leading them to minimize the importance of the 1920 Republican victory. They argue the Republican party, dating back to McKinley’s “realigning” 1896 victory, was still dominant and constituted the day’s reigning political order. This connection is important because it suggests the return to Republican rule in 1918 and 1920 was natural and predictable given the dominant 1896-based political system. I argue that contrary to this standard view, the 1920 results were far from inevitable and were heavily influenced by World War I. |
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| Page count: |
28 |
| Word count: |
15111 |
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| Wars and the Party System at the Turn of the Century: Reassessing the “Systemof 1896” Robert P. Saldin Johns Hopkins University Prepared for delivery at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association August 30th – September 2nd 2007 Realignment theory has long offered the primary framework for understanding American political history particularly as it relates to the party sys 1 It suggests that important tem. “realigning” or “critical elections” produce massive shifts in the parties’ relative |
| by bringing new and previously unforeseen issues onto the agenda or casting old issues in a new light. To the extent scholars of American politics recognize that international factors might play arole in domestic politics they seem to view them as side issues that temporarily help or hurt arigid preexisting domestic agenda. Lost is the possibility that international influences might upset 112 This claim is most associated with Burnham. Burnham Critical Elections. 27 domestic politics in a meaningful and |
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