During the 1880s and 1890s the two-party system functioned as the electoral counterpart to the government. For all but two years during these decades the Republican Party controlled the Senate, and for twelve years the party held the White House. The Democratic Party controlled the House of Representatives for about half the period. While both parties held national conventions every four years, they operated predominantly as state and regional organizations that existed in a web of obligation and reward between the party and local citizens and businessmen. Party platforms in these years took positions on national concerns such as temperance and tariffs, but they also addressed local and regional issues of concern to specific constituencies.

The Major Parties.

Both the Democratic and Republican Parties were vast coalitions of individuals with differing viewpoints who came together for the purpose of fielding national candidates who...