ABSTRACT
All the peculiarities of party government in the United States are due to the too literal application of Whig doctrine, to the infinite multiplication of elective offices. "The peculiarities of American party government are all due to the separation of party management from direct and immediate responsibility for the administration of the government". The satisfactions of power must be very great to attract so many men of unusual gifts to attempt the hazardous and little honored business of party management. The machinery of party rule is nominally representative. The several assemblies and conventions through which the parties operate are supposed to be made up of delegates chosen by the voters of the party, to speak for them with a certain knowledge of what they want and expect. Constitutional government can be vital only when it is refreshed at every turn of affairs by a new and cordial and easily attained, understanding between those who govern and those who are governed.
