ABSTRACT
Th e political process is a mechanism that we hope creates representation and response to the concerns of voters. Parties are central to this process. Th ey seek to bring together groups with some commonality of interests to forge coalitions. Th is task is never easy for politicians because social change is ongoing in American society. Th at change creates new constituencies, new concerns, and new confl icts to deal with. Representatives are continually faced with a society in fl ux. In the late 1800s a rural small-town society was being transformed into an urban one. Farming was being steadily displaced by manufacturing and there was considerable anxiety about the impact of change on rural communities. A largely Protestant society was struggling with steady immigration of Catholics from Europe, economic inequality was high, and there were numerous confl icts between labor and management.
