"American Political Parties is a core textbook on political parties in the United States. The book places the American party system into a framework designed around the disagreements between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. It argues that the two-party system in the United States began with a common agreement on the key values of freedom, individual rights, and equality of opportunity, but they disagreed-often vehemently-over how to implement these ideals into a form of governance. Hamilton wanted to marry freedom to a strong, active federal government with an energetic President who would act on behalf of all citizens. Jefferson believed that freedom should be married to local civic virtue with governmental responsibilities placed primarily at the local level. Today, Hamiltonian Nationalism finds its home in the Democratic Party, while Republicans have espoused Jeffersonian Localism since 1964. In addition to this historical framework, American Political Parties examines a range of topics, including marketing and social media, campaign finance, reforms in the presidential nominating process, political demography, and third parties. In this new edition (previously published as Party On!), the authors reflect on the future of the parties in the wake of the 2020 election"-- Provided by publisher.