Using a Mixed Methods Approach to Study the Evolution of Party Platforms - 1960-2016

Every four years, members of political parties convene in order to craft platforms in which they articulate the positions of the parties on a plethora of different issues. While not widely read, the importance of these platforms cannot be understated. They provide a lens for us in order to view the ideological shifts of the parties and often serve as a mechanism by which to guide the legislative agendas of the parties. This dissertation examines Republican and Democratic platforms written between 1960-2016 using a mixed methods approach in order to evaluate the value of using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. This mixed methods approach consists of using results from computer-assisted textual analysis software along with data from the Manifesto Project and a manual reading of the platforms. These analyses are performed on the overall platforms prior to being adapted to focus on a single issue in the platform – the environment. These different approaches allow us to get a big picture examination of how the parties utilize specific rhetorical tools to make their case to their party base and the general public while also giving insights as to how the parties have shifted ideologically and in the types of issues that the parties have focused on. Additionally, a manual reading of portions of the platform dealing with the environment point to shortcomings of relying solely on computer-assisted textual analysis tools as well as data from the Manifesto Project

The Use of Rhetoric in Anti-Suffrage and Anti-Feminist Publications

After decades of struggling to gain the right to vote, women were finally granted that right with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment on August 18, 1920. While it would seem that most, if not all, women would be in favor of gaining the right to vote, the women’s suffrage movement did not represent the wishes of all women within the United States. Scholarship in this area largely focuses on the historical developments of the suffrage movements, with the presence of female opponents of suffrage and anti-suffragist organizations receiving less attention.1 These anti-suffragists were vocal in their opposition to the suffragists who represented a threat to their ideal of womanhood. While female suffragists largely ignored them at that time, it is important to acknowledge their presence in American history