U.S. political history is often told through certain perspectives. Whether that is of certain personalities, presidential elections, or political crises, the history of American politics around administrations, ideological conflicts, and pivotal moments, treating each era as distinct. But often these histories fail to compare causes and consequences across time, confusing correlation with causation, mistaking anecdotes for drivers. 

This book provides an analytic history of American politics from 1763 to 2024. Focused on conscious efforts to shape public policy, Byron Shafer and Regina Wagner guide their readers through 260 years by relying on four analytical categories that span across the timeline of this narrative. Leveraging analyses of social cleavages, intermediary organizations, governmental institutions, and the policymaking process, the authors are thus able to compare and contrast the efforts to effect policy in different eras and within different contexts. With this new perspecting on American politics, Shafer and Wagner help us better understand our past and contextualize our present.