Book Author Profiles: John Aldrich and 'Why Parties Matter'

With “Why Parties Matter,” Aldrich, a professor of political science, and co-author John D. Griffin of the University of Colorado, Boulder, make the case that competition between political parties is an essential component of a democracy that is responsive to its citizens. Tracing the history of the parties through four eras -- the Democratic-Whig party era that preceded the Civil War; the post-Reconstruction period; the Jim Crow era, when competition between the parties virtually disappeared; and the modern era -- Aldrich and Griffin show how and when competition emerged between the parties and the conditions under which it succeeded and failed.