ABSTRACT
The national committee members have very little collective identity, little patterned interaction, and only rudimentary common values and goals. This chapter provides report on some of the politically relevant facts in the lives of 682 members of the two national committees from 1948 to 1963. Quantitative studies of the biographical data of political decision-makers tell us some things of value about the systems and processes of politics. The composite picture of national party committee members from 1948 to 1963 is one of moderate to high social status, income, party influence; of middle age; and of a group representative of the sections and states from which they come. In every study of formal educational levels of Democratic and Republican Party activists, the Republicans turn out to be better educated. As with education and occupation, our findings on the religious affiliations of national committee members were unexceptional. The context for judging importance of individual political leaders is that of state-wide party activities.
