Era of experimentation: American political practices in the early republic

Abstract

In Era of Experimentation, Daniel Peart challenges pervasive assumption that present-day political system, organized around two competing parties, represents logical fulfilment of participatory democracy. Recent accounts of the rise of American between Revolution and Civil War applaud political parties for opening up public life to mass participation and making government responsive to people. Yet this celebratory narrative tells only half of story. By exploring American political practices during early 1820s, a period of particular flux in young republic, Peart argues that while parties could serve as vehicles for mass participation, they could also be employed to channel, control, and even curb it. Far from equating with party system, Americans freely experimented with alternative forms of political organization and resisted efforts to confine their public presence to polling place. Era of Experimentation demonstrates sheer variety of political practices that made up what subsequent scholars have labelled democracy in early United States. Peart also highlights some overlooked consequences of nationalization of competitive two-party politics during antebellum period, particularly with regard to closing of alternative avenues for popular participation.