Realigning Elections
...pporting electorate of each party also changes. These shifts in party identification and party strength (or even existence) can occur either during an election or when the administrations are gathering their support. There are also two types of realignments: one in which a major party is badly defeated and disappears (elections of 1800 and 1860) and another in which voter support shifts from one party to another (elections of 1896 and 1932). However, one thing that makes realigning elections so difficult to study is that their immediate cause are usually not clear. One clear example of a realigning election is the elections of 1860. This election is a good example of a realigning election in which a party disappeared. Approaching this election, it finally started to become a reality that parties must state their positions on slavery. In 1856, the Republican Party formed on the theory that slavery should be outlawed. In response to this, the Democratic Party experienced a schism, and one faction (northern) tried to ignore the issue, while the other half (southern) supported slavery. Finally, the Whig party tried to remain silent on slavery. However, Lincoln and the Republicans won in 1860, with the southern democrats in a relatively close second, and this led to the complete disappearance of the Whig party as a major and influential political party. One recent election that is consistently argued about as being a realigning election is the election of 1980. This is because this election brought Ronald Reagan to power, and his administration was profoundly conservative. However, this election was by no means a realigning election. The election did not so much represent a shift in major party support, but rat...