ABSTRACT
The germs of American political extra-constitutional organization are to be found in the clubs of the colonial period, which flourished mostly in Boston. These clubs represented groups of men generally bound by professional or friendship ties. The club had such a recognized authority with the public that it addressed open appeals to the electorate signed with its title of "The Caucus." It was to the initiative of the members of the Caucus, especially Samuel Adams that was due the creation of the "corresponding committees," of that formidable organization of the patriotic party which paved the way for the Revolution and independence. For the first time, a permanent party organization is introduced nestling under the wing of the Legislatures and composed of their very elements. The authority of the Congressional Caucus which got its recommendations accepted with this remarkable alacrity and made the "nomination" equivalent to the election, rested on two facts.
