Conclusion

Summary

I conclude the book by reviewing the main findings and their broader implications for mass partisanship and violence beyond the Civil War era. The essential ingredients for partisan conflict have been present throughout most of American history: strong political identities placed in competition. Yet, the U.S. has been mostly free from partisan violence over the past half-century despite partisan animosity, electoral discontent, and even some public support for violence. What changed in the Civil War era was how partisanship aligned with other important social identities, how party leaders fueled the crisis, and then how parties explicitly organized legitimated violence via party control of government. The country is in an uncomfortably similar position today – racial-religious-partisan alignments, political demonization, rhetoric rejecting fair elections, and even language encouraging violence from prominent leaders, including the president. I draw out those implications here.