Party Spirit in a Frontier Republic: Democratic Politics in Ohio, 1793-1821

The formative years of the early republic are commonly seen as a period of general aversion to organized political parties, especially in frontier areas, where politics were dominated by an elite of land speculators, merchants, and office holders. In this close study of Ohio's experience at the state and local levels, Donald J. Ratcliffe presents an alternative view.

Ratcliffe argues that although the traditional picture accurately represents politics under the territorial regime, the statehoo…