Campaigning in America A History of Election Practice

9780313261671

0313261679

Since the middle of the eighteenth century, elections for public office in the United States have generated significant popular interest. Many accounts from that time to the present have documented the widespread participation and enthusiasm generated by the quest for voter approval. But until now, no one has attempted a comprehensive, comparative history of American electioneering. Historian Robert J. Dinkin does just this in a pathbreaking study that shows how campaigning evolved from the simple forms of earlier days to the complex, expensive races of the present day. Dinkin discusses the changing nature of vote-getting techniques during the past 250 years. He covers state and local elections as well as national campaigns and the different practices common to each type of election. He demonstrates how a changing social structure influenced American politics, and, as a result, changed elections, candidates, and campaign techniques. Among the influences Dinkin considers are increased competition, the role of political factions and parties, the use of souvenir paraphernalia, and the impact of technology and the media. As the first book of its kind, this new work will be welcomed by scholars and students of American history and politics.