Summer Research Series: putting political polarization into historic context

Emmanuel College’s summer research program offers students and faculty alike the distinct opportunity to collaborate on scholarly work. This summer, 56 students across 11 disciplines and all five Academic Schools are conducting research with faculty. Through this series, we will highlight student and faculty research going on throughout the summer, which will conclude with a special poster session in the fall.

Political polarization is often discussed as if it’s a relatively recent phenomena, but the summer research of two political science majors is helping to put that conventional wisdom to the test. 

Joshua Luedke ’26  and Sameeha Syed ’27 spent much of the summer analyzing party platforms of the 19th century, as part of a research collaboration with Associate Professor of Political Science Adam Silver.

The finished product will assess the degree of polarization in platforms across the 19th century, and compare those trends with modern times. Having already published a book and two academic papers about party platforms, Silver said they are a valuable resource for studying the policies and positions of election season.  

“Platforms represent the official statement of a party in an election,” said Silver. “They serve as a medium through which to observe the connection between political elites and the general electorate.”

In practice, the students are reviewing state and national platforms, compiling keywords to track which topics are emphasized and the tone in which they are discussed. The “coding” of issues is key. For example, an issue like immigration can be coded under a wide range of headings—from “pathway to citizenship” to “mass deportation.”

While the analysis is still a work in progress, Luedke said some parallels are already apparent. 

“In the news, you always hear that polarization is a modern issue, and there’s this idea we can go back to the good old days, when things weren’t as polarized,” he said. “But in reality, there’s always been a level of polarization...the 19th century was a very polarized time.”

The students also found common themes with their research and the 2024 Republican Party platform.  In the 19th century, platforms were relatively short, crafted as direct appeals to voters that would run in local newspapers. They eventually evolved into larger and denser documents, with extensive focus on policy. No longer published in newspapers, they were experienced by most voters through summaries from news organizations and analysts. 

The 2024 Republican platform is something of a throwback, in that it’s relatively short and directed at voters. Syed said it represents significant shifts in emphasis for the party, and reflects the tone of the nominee, Donald Trump. The students will also evaluate the Democratic platform in the near future and present their findings as a whole for the Emmanuel community this fall.

This was Luedke’s second faculty research project at Emmanuel, and he said its been a great opportunity.  

“It’s a really cool academic experience to have a professor who is knowledgeable in this subject matter trust you to help them advance their work,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed the whole process.”

Syed, who is voting in her first presidential election this fall, said the project has been fascinating and given her a deeper understanding of political communications. 

“I've learned that polarization is not just about differing opinions, but about how political parties frame issues to rally their base,” she said. “It’s amazing to see how every word and phrase in a political platform is so carefully chosen to shape perceptions and rally support.”