Congressional nominations and party emergence, 1788–1808

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveWe study the development of nomination procedures for congressional elections by the Democratic‐Republican and Federalist parties in the first party era (1788–1808).MethodsOur study rests on primary source evidence from congressional elections contested in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.ResultsWe demonstrate that in these states, party nominations drew popular involvement, a wide pool of potential nominees, selected among them according to well‐understood rules and norms, and subsequently focused electoral supporters on the nominated candidates.ConclusionThe existence of structured nominations has significant implications for U.S. party development. Most importantly, it suggests the Democratic‐Republican and Federalist parties were more institutionalized than previously thought. To the extent that organization capacity is a key marker in party development, this suggests that the early American parties were more developed than is generally recognized.