Professional Affiliation

Associate Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh

Wilson Center Project

"Money and Interests: Campaign Finance, Campaign Workers, and Interest Groups in American Politics"

Project Summary

This study explores the history of campaign finance in America from the beginning of mass political parties in the 1830s and 1840s to the 1970s. Especially for the years before reporting requirements, it does this through the examination of the party workforce and the people who ran campaigns. In doing this the study provides a new account of the history of American political parties (one not concerned with the question of party decline) and citizens' engagement with electoral politics. It also will provide new insights into the experiences of women in party politics and the connections between parties and interest groups.