American politics (non-partisan) from the beginning to date

by Thomas V. Cooper

Thomas V. Cooper and Hector T. Fenton compiled this large reference work on American political history, first published in the 1880s and updated in later editions. The first book traces the history of the political parties from the Whigs and Tories of colonial times through the Federalists and Republicans, the Democrats and Whigs, the Know-Nothings, whose ritual is reprinted, to the parties of the authors' own day. Later books gather party platforms, great speeches on the leading issues, presidential votes, tables of election returns and other political statistics. Encyclopedic rather than analytical, it remains a useful collection of primary documents for students of nineteenth-century American politics. It is available to read online in your browser on Vinteuil, and the first chapter is free.