In the 19th and early 20th centuries, political parties in the U.S. enjoyed their heyday of mass loyalties and wielded unprecedented power over government affairs. These boldly argued essays describe and analyze some of the key developments in American politics and government during an important chapter of U.S. history. Following the mass political parties from their emergence in the 1820s and 1830s to their transformation almost a century later, each essay also discusses the nature of governance and clarifies the economic policies of promotion, distribution, and later, regulation that characterized government functions at every level. Incisive and well written, this book helps to sort out the complex relationships between politics and policy during a time that Richard L. McCormick has aptly dubbed the "party period" in American history.