Eras

Twelve long arcs across two centuries.

Eras group cycles by the party system, the dominant coalition, and the political question of the moment.

First Party System

Federalists vs Democratic-Republicans

Era of Good Feelings

One-party rule and the Corrupt Bargain

Second Party System

Jackson, Whigs, and the rise of mass politics

Antebellum Crisis

Slavery splits the parties

Lincoln, war, and Reconstruction begins

Republican rule and contested returns

Industrialization, narrow margins, and patronage politics

Progressive Era

Trust-busting, suffrage, and World War I

Roaring Twenties

Republican dominance to the Great Depression

New Deal Coalition

FDR, civil rights, and the long Democratic majority

Cold War Realignment

Nixon, Reagan, and the Republican South

Modern Polarization

Close elections in a divided country