2 The nature of American politics
In attempting to describe and explain the operation of a political system, it is
necessary to arrange a vast amount of detailed information into a recognis-
able pattern that will give meaning and shape to the activities of those who
live in it and make it work. In the case of the United States, the problem of
identifying the major determinants of political behaviour is complicated by
the enormous diversity of American life, and by the way in which constitu-
tional structures and the patterns of political action are continually acting
and reacting upon each other. Before we plunge into the detail of American
politics, therefore, it is necessary to reflect for a moment upon the theo-
ries that have been proposed to explain the motive forces behind political
systems, and the implications of these differing explanations for our under-
standing of the American system. These ‘models’ of political life will help us
through the complexities of American politics at all levels of activity, in the
electorate at large, in the structures of party and pressure groups, and in the
workings of congressional and presidential politics.
Models of politics
One of the most powerful sources of political loyalty and action has always
been the sense of attachment to a region or community. When this identifica-
tion becomes so closely interwoven with the interests of a particular area or
a particular group of people to the point where life ceases to have any real
importance other than within that context, then people may be prepared
if necessary to die to defend those interests. In countries with a very highly
developed national consciousness it is the nation itself that becomes the sole
focus for this sort of loyalty, but on the way to the realisation of such national
solidarity there are many stages. Local and regional loyalties can be as im-
portant as the attachment to the country as a whole. The United States grew
out of distinct colonial communities, extending gradually across the conti-
nent, in a way that tended to emphasise local loyalties. The constitutional
structure of federalism that was evolved in 1787 gave opportunities for the
continued expression of regional loyalties through the governments of the