A Crisis In the Republic: The Shifting American Political System

Abstract

The American Political System has undergone several changes throughout the two-hundred-plus years the country has been alive. One of those transformations has been the continuous development of party systems. The goal of this thesis is to determine if the United States is undergoing a transformation into its seventh-party system and if this transformation was triggered by the election of Donald Trump in 2016. An exploration of party platforms, poll numbers, and public statements by party leaders will be used to ascertain whether a shift is occurring, or even on the horizon.

In order to understand the existing political landscape, a historical examination of previous party systems will be done to see if there are any indicators during the aforementioned shifts that can be applied presently to determine if the United States is currently undergoing a shift. An assessment of modifications in the party platforms to help uncover political ideology within each political party will be accomplished.

Public opinion of both the voting populace and leadership will be evaluated to track transformations occurring on both fronts. To evaluate changes in the general population, an examination of polling numbers associated to party affiliation as well as demographic information will be utilized. Public statements by party leaders will be used for evaluation to also track changes. Statements could come from speeches, interviews or other writings that illustrate leadership ideology on issues that are important in holding political parties together.