ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 argues that the decline and then rise of third-party activity over the twentieth century is closely related to a similar decline and then rise of partisan polarization. Polarization increases the chances of third-party success because it both reflects and breeds the type of contention that drives third-party activity and support. The chapter also demonstrates that polarization levels are closely related to third-party activity (and before the 1950s, the third-party vote) at the district level for elections to the House of Representatives.
