Volume 1 -- Tables, figures, and boxes -- Editor's note -- Part 1: -- Elections In America -- Chapter 1: Evolution of American elections -- Challenging the two parties -- Basic layout -- Republicans start fast -- Democrats take charge -- Postwar politics: Kennedy and Nixon -- Split-level realignment -- Era of closeness -- Tale of two nations -- Historic milestones in US elections -- Chapter 2: Elections: an expanding franchise -- More voters, changing voter patterns -- Black vote: a long, painful struggle -- Women's vote: a victory in stages -- Eighteen-year old vote -- Removing obstacles to voting -- Part 2: -- Political Parties -- Chapter 3: Campaign finance -- Controversy surrounds financing system -- Financing campaigns: historical development -- Campaign finance reform in the 1970s and 1980s -- Comprehensive reform efforts in the 1980s and 1990s -- New laws in the 2000s -- Candidates' fund-raising and spending -- Chapter 4: Politics and issues, 1945-2008 -- Post-World War II years -- Vietnam War years -- Years of uneasy peace -- Post-Cold War era -- Partisan era -- Chapter 5: Political party development -- Political issues and the emergence of parties -- Internal party politics -- Third parties -- Chapter 6: Historical profiles of American political parties -- American Independent Party and American Party -- Anti-Federalists -- Anti-Masonic Party -- Breckinridge (southern) Democrats -- Citizens party -- Communist party -- Conservative party -- Constitutional Union Party -- Democratic Party -- Democratic-Republican Party -- Dixiecrats (States' Rights Party) -- Federalists -- Free soil party -- Green Party -- Greenback Party -- Know nothing (American) Party -- Liberal Party -- Liberal Republican Party -- Libertarian Party -- Liberty Party -- National Democratic Party -- National Republican Party -- National Unity Party (Independent John B Anderson) -- Natural Law Party -- New Alliance Party -- Peace and Freedom Party -- People's Party -- Populist (People's) Party -- Progressive (Bull Moose) Party -- Progressive Party (La Follette) -- Progressive Party (Wallace) -- Prohibition Party -- Reform Party (Independent Ross Perot) Republican Party -- Socialist Party -- Socialist Labor Party -- Socialist Workers Party -- Union Party -- US Labor Party (Independent Lyndon LaRouche) -- US Taxpayers Party and Constitution Party -- Whig Party -- Workers World Party -- Chapter 7: Southern Electoral Experience -- Historical role of primaries -- Preferential primaries -- County unit system: Georgia -- Special elections -- Racial discrimination -- Part 3: -- Presidential Elections -- Chapter 8: Introduction -- Who runs for President -- Exploratory stage -- Primary and caucus schedule -- Presidential nomination -- General election campaign -- Electoral college -- Term of Office -- Roads to the White House -- Chapter 9: Chronology of Presidential elections -- Emergence of the electoral process -- Age of Jackson -- Idea of a party system -- Slavery divides the nation -- Postwar radicalism -- Age of Republicanism -- Age of reform -- Return to normalcy and the roaring twenties -- New deal coalition -- Breakup of consensus -- New conservative discourse -- Clinton Era -- New century, old partisanship -- Chapter 10: Presidential primaries -- Front-loaded process -- Evolutionary process -- Nominations reform reversal of fortune -- Nominations today -- Chapter 11: Presidential primary returns, 1912-2008 -- Chapter 12: Nominating conventions -- Convention sites -- Delegate selection -- Controversial rules -- Convention officers -- Party platforms -- Filling vacancies -- Communications and the media -- Chapter 13: Political party nominees, 1831-2008 -- Chapter 14: Convention chronology, 1831-2008 -- Chapter 15: Key convention ballots -- Chapter 16: Popular vote returns for President -- Presidential popular vote returns: minor candidates and parties, 1824-2008 -- Chapter 17: Electoral college -- Constitutional background -- Methods of choosing electors -- Historical anomalies -- Election by Congress -- Counting the electoral vote -- Reform proposals -- Presidential disability -- Chapter 18: Electoral votes for President, 1789-2008 -- Electoral votes for Vice President, 1804-2008 -- Chapter 19: Biographical directory of presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates -- Indexes, following page 904 -- Presidential candidates index -- General index --

Volume 2 -- Part 4: -- Congressional Elections -- Chapter 20: Introduction -- Characteristics of members -- Women in Congress -- Blacks in Congress -- Hispanics in Congress -- Turnover in membership -- Shifts between chambers -- Chapter 21: House elections -- People's branch -- Special elections -- Disputed house elections -- Party control shifts -- Chapter 22: Reapportionment and redistricting -- Early history of reapportionment -- Reapportionment: the number of seats -- Redistricting: drawing the lines -- Major Supreme Court cases on redistricting -- Practical results of court's rulings -- Mid-decade redistricting and partisan gerrymandering -- Chapter 23: House general election returns, 1824-2008 -- Chapter 24: Senate elections -- Election by State Legislatures -- Changing election procedures -- Demands for popular elections -- Senate's three classes -- Sessions and terms -- Modern senate -- Chapter 25: US Senators, 1789-2009 -- Chapter 26: Senate general election returns, 1913-2008 -- Chapter 27: Senate primary election returns, 1920-2008 -- Part 5: Gubernatorial Elections -- Chapter 28: Introduction -- Length of terms -- Elections in nonpresidential years -- Methods of election -- Number of terms -- Majority vote requirement -- Hotbed of volatility -- Chapter 29: Governors of the states, 1776-2009 -- Chapter 30: Gubernatorial general election returns, 1776-2008 -- Chapter 31: Gubernatorial primary election returns, 1919-2008 -- Reference materials -- Constitutional provisions and amendments on elections -- Population of the United States and Puerto Rico, 1790-2000 -- Changing methods of electing Presidential electors, 1788-1836 -- Presidential nominating campaign lengths, 1968-2008 -- Victorious party in Presidential races, 1860-2008 -- Distribution of House seats and electoral votes -- Election results, Congress and the presidency, 1860-2008 -- Results of House elections, 1928-2008 -- Sessions of the US Congress, 1789-2009 -- Speakers of the House of Representatives, 1789-2009 -- House floor leaders, 1899-2009 -- Senate floor leaders, 1911-2009 -- Election-related web sites -- Political party abbreviations -- Selected bibliography -- Illustration credits and acknowledgments -- Indexes, following page 1790 -- House candidates index -- Senate general election Senate primary candidates index -- Gubernatorial general election candidates index -- Gubernatorial primary candidates index -- General index --

Tables, Figures, And Boxes -- Tables -- 1-1: Growing franchise in the United States, 1930-2008 -- 2-1: Nation's voters, 1980-2006 -- 2-2: Eligible voter turnout rates -- 3-1: Contribution limits for 2009-2010 election cycle -- 3-2: Campaign spending by candidates for Federal Office: 1976-2008 -- 7-1: Preference and runoff primaries -- 8-1: US Presidents and Vice Presidents -- 8-2: Campaign lengths for Presidential candidates, 2008 -- 8-3: Minority Presidents -- 10-1: Votes cast and delegates selected in Presidential primaries, 1912-2008 -- 12-1: Democratic conventions, 1832-2008 -- 12-2: Chief Officers and Keynote Speakers at Democratic National Conventions, 1832-2008 -- 12-3 Republican Conventions, 1856-2008 -- 12-4: Chief Officers and Keynote Speakers at Republican National Conventions, 1856-2008 -- 12-5 National party chairs, 1848-2009 -- 12-6: Chief Officers at other National Party Conventions, 1831-1892 -- 20-1: Age structure of Congress, 1949-2009 -- 20-2: Women in Congress, 1947-2009 -- 20-3: Blacks in Congress, 1947-2009 -- 20-4: Hispanics in congress, 1947-2009 -- 20-5: Longest service in Congress -- 22-1: Congressional apportionment, 1789-2000 -- 22-2: State population totals and House seat changes after the 2000 census -- 22-3: Interstate transfer of House seats by census and Senate, 1960-2000 -- 28-1: Party lineup of Governors -- 28-2: Length of Governor terms -- 28-3: Limitations on Governor terms -- Figures: -- 2-1: Voter turnout rates, Presidential and midterm elections, 1789-2008 -- 2-2: Partisan identification, national election studies, 1952-2008 --3-1: National soft money receipts -- 3-2: Congressional campaign spending by election year -- 5-1: American political parties, 1789-2008 -- 12-1: Republican and Democratic convention delegates, 1932-2008 -- 22-1: Reapportionment gainers and losers in 2000 -- 22-2: Redistricting in North Carolina -- 22-3: Redistricting in Illinois -- Boxes: -- Part 1: Elections In America-- Electoral anomalies -- Measuring voter turnout -- Constitutional provisions for House and Senate elections -- Part 2: -- Political Parties -- Campaign finance glossary -- Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) -- Campaign finance history in a nutshell -- Actions of the :do-nothing" eightieth Congress -- Members of Congress who became President -- Governors who became President -- Term limits -- Party systems -- Why two parties? -- Part 3: Presidential Elections -- What they did before they became president -- President of the Confederacy -- Countdown in Florida -- Types of primaries and procedures -- Selection by caucus -- Choosing a running mate: the balancing act -- President's reelection chances -- Vice Presidents who have become President -- Growth of Presidential primaries: more and more, earlier and earlier -- Sites of major party conventions, 1832-2008 -- Changes in Democrats' Nominating rules -- Political Party organization and rules -- GOP primary rules -- Democrats' two-thirds rule -- Notable credentials fights -- Major platform fights -- Third parties usually fade rapidly -- Highlights of National Party Conventions, 1831-2008 -- Splitting of States' Electoral Votes: Factionalism and "Faithless Electors" -- Electoral college chronology -- Presidential election by the House -- Law for counting electoral votes in Congress -- Part 4: -- Congressional Elections -- Limiting terms -- Congressional characteristics and public opinion -- Incumbency -- Funding for competitive races -- Constitutional provisions -- Congress and redistricting -- How should the census count the population? -- Origins of the gerrymander -- Gerrymandering: the shape of the House -- Drawing districts -- Geographical patterns in reapportionment, 1790-2000 -- Senate appointments and special elections -- Appointed Senators after 1913 -- Part 5: -- Gubernatorial Elections -- Removal of a Governor from office.