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Estimating the Degree of Mobilization and Conversion in the 1890s: An Inquiry into the Nature of Electoral Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 1982

John Wanat  and
Karen Burke
John Wanat
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago Circle
Karen Burke
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago Circle
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Abstract

The prime voting dynamic in the critical presidential election of 1896 was, according to the literature, the conversion of Democrats to the Republican banner. Unfortunately, mobilization of new voters has not been given much attention. To assess the role of mobilization, the vote shift possibilities from 1892 to 1896 were formalized, and all possible scenarios conforming to the aggregate data that characterized the electoral shift were analyzed by computer. Solutions to the tables representing the changes in voting from 1892 to 1896 show that in the Midwest more voters were mobilized in the 1896 election than were converted. In the Northeast, the conventional wisdom was not challenged. The findings illustrate the importance of mobilization as an explanation of large-scale electoral change.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 76 , Issue 2 , June 1982 , pp. 360 - 370
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1982

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