HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Political polarization has always been abundantly prevalent, but the topic is becoming more and more relevant in today’s political stagnation and in light of the upcoming 2024 election. Throughout history, farmers and industrial workers in inland states have been negatively affected by global trade and the automation and outsourcing of labor. Thus, workers and business owners alike have fought to protect their financial and personal interests by associating with political parties and labor unions.
Though the political ideas of each party are ever-evolving, a certain level of division between parties has remained constant. Starting in the 1700s, the debate over the ratification of the Federal Constitution of 1787 began at the Constitutional Convention, which aimed to revise the first draft of the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation. There, the first two political parties were formed: the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the Anti-Federalists, led by Thomas Jefferson. The former believed that a stronger central government would promote stability for the young country while the latter believed smaller localized governments would allow for a more even distribution of power. From then on, much of the American population took a stance on the degree of power held by the federal government, resulting in polarized political parties.
When looking at a political map, the blue Democratic states are generally more coastal, located next to the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean or other bodies of water. The correlation between a region’s proximity to water and its inhabitants’ political views is rooted in America’s history with global trade. Merchants, who wanted to sell their goods to a larger market, generally settled in port states, where large cities then formed. Farmers, however, settled further from the sea, to areas with larger access to farmland. As the population of port cities grew, the cost of living became more expensive and in turn, more financially exclusive.
Rural and urban interests have constantly been at odds with each other, displayed through the evolution of the prominent political parties throughout history. The Anti-Federalists eventually evolved into the Democratic-Republican party, which prioritized agrarian laws and thought that Federalist-supported laws favored and increased the power of the wealthy. The Democratic-Republican party represented the “average man” with the first three presidents of the party being white Southern planters. Though not a successor of the Federalists, the Whigs emerged in the 1830s to take on many of the same issues and advocated for economic laws relating to inflation and economic stability. These policies attracted the support of business owners and wealthier Americans. As the Whigs became divided over their stance on slavery, the Republican party was formed, holding a prominent anti-slavery view.
During the Civil War, the Democrats became associated with the Confederacy and supported Jim Crow Laws, policies that promoted white supremacy and denied Black people their basic rights, including their suffrage. On the other hand, the Republicans were associated with the Union army and focused on laws that favored big business owners, as opposed to agricultural interests.
Displeased with their limited access to loans and failing crops, certain Midwestern and Southern farmers created the Farmers’ Alliance, hoping to gain support via policies for “the average man.” The party soon evolved into the Populist party who began to advocate for lower taxes and an economic government that valued the middle class, with most Populists being family farmers in the rural South.
In 2024, the ideals of the Republican party are greatly intertwined with those originally rooted in the People’s party and the Democratic party is greatly aligned with the Republicans during the Civil War.
Specifically in what is known as the “Rust Belt” of America, which refers to Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, the deindustrialization of regions that used to be economic powerhouses has caused significant economic and political upheaval.
“A lot of those voters are now more open to the conservative narratives about how we’ve become too open to the world, and these places feel left behind by the coastal elites who are no longer in touch with these “heartland” values,” Debate Program Head Adam Torson said.
As American economic power has shifted away from industrial and agricultural regions in inland states and towards densely populated coastal cities, the platforms of political parties have struggled to encompass the values of America as a whole.