Is political polarization worse than it's been in the past?

Whether political polarization is "worse" than it has been in the past depends entirely on how polarization is measured.

If measured by congressional gridlock, ideological sorting, and mutual partisan hatred (affective polarization), the United States is more polarized than it has been in roughly 150 years. However, if measured by political violence, civil unrest, and systemic breakdown, American history has seen several eras—most notably the Civil War—that were far more severe.

1. Where Polarization is at Historic Highs

Political scientists distinguish between different types of polarization, and in several key areas, today's divisions are indeed at or near record levels.

•Congressional/Elite Polarization: Political scientists track congressional voting patterns using a metric called NOMINATE scores. This data reveals that the ideological overlap between Democrats and Republicans in Congress has virtually disappeared. Today, the average Republican is more conservative than almost all Democrats, and vice versa. By this metric, Congress is more polarized than at any time since the Reconstruction Era (the late 1870s).

•Affective Polarization (Partisan Hatred): Affective polarization refers to how much citizens dislike and distrust the opposing political party. Research from Brown University shows that affective polarization in the U.S. has increased significantly faster over the last four decades than in other comparable democracies (such as Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia). Pew Research Center polling shows that in 2022, 72% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats viewed the opposing party as "more immoral" than other Americans—a massive jump from 47% and 35% respectively in 2016.

•The "Sorting" of the Electorate: In the mid-20th century, the political parties were ideologically diverse. There were liberal "Rockefeller Republicans" and conservative "Dixiecrats" (Southern Democrats). Today, the parties have fully "sorted". A landmark 2026 study by the University of Cambridge tracked U.S. polarization from 1988 to 2024 and found that partisan sorting surged by 64% after 2008. Because partisan identity now aligns perfectly with ideological, cultural, and religious identities, political disagreements have shifted from policy debates to existential culture clashes.

2. Historical Eras That Were More Polarized

While today's rhetorical and legislative divisions are severe, they do not yet match the physical violence and institutional collapse of several past eras:

•The Civil War (1861–1865): The ultimate failure of American political compromise. Polarization over slavery, state sovereignty, and economics led to the physical secession of 11 states, a four-year war, and the deaths of an estimated 620,000 to 750,000 Americans.

•Reconstruction and the Gilded Age (1870s–1890s): This era was marked by immense political violence. In the South, white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the Red Shirts launched violent insurgencies to strip Black Americans of their newly won voting rights. Nationwide, there were bloody clashes between striking workers and corporate-hired militias (like the Pinkertons), alongside the assassinations of two U.S. presidents (James A. Garfield and William McKinley).

•The 1960s and Early 1970s: The divisions over the Vietnam War, civil rights, and the sexual revolution were highly volatile. This era saw the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, widespread urban riots, the National Guard firing on student protesters at Kent State, and thousands of domestic bombings carried out by radical political groups.

3. Why Today's Polarization Feels Worse

Even if the U.S. is not experiencing the level of physical violence seen in the 1960s or 1860s, contemporary polarization feels uniquely intense to many Americans for several reasons:

•The Media Environment: In the mid-to-late 20th century, Americans largely consumed the same news from three major television networks. Today, the fragmentation of media—partisan cable news, social media algorithms, and online echo chambers—allows people to live in entirely different informational universes, disagreeing not just on opinions but on basic, objective facts.

•A Lack of "Cross-Cutting Cleavages": In the past, a person might have been a Democrat but also a devout churchgoer, a union member, and a gun owner. These overlapping identities forced people to interact with political opponents in non-political spaces. Today, geographic, religious, and cultural identities have aligned almost perfectly with political parties, leaving very few shared civic spaces.

•Misperception of the "Other Side": Research indicates that much of modern polarization is driven by "false polarization"—the belief that everyday members of the opposing party hold the most extreme views of their party's loudest elites. While most average Americans actually hold relatively moderate or centrist views on many issues, they harbor deep animosity toward the other side based on caricatures amplified by partisan media.

Summary

If you define "worse" as congressional dysfunction, partisan hostility, and cultural sorting, political polarization in the U.S. is at its highest level in over a century. However, if you define "worse" as violence, bloodshed, and the actual splintering of the nation, the U.S. remains significantly less polarized than it was during the Civil War, Reconstruction, or the turbulent 1960s.

Citations (10)

1brookings.eduNonprofits and think tanks
brookings.edu
Backs: “Whether political polarization is "worse" than it has been in the past depends entirely on how polarization is measured.”
2usc.eduAcademic
usc.edu
Backs: “If measured by congressional gridlock, ideological sorting, and mutual partisan hatred (affective polarization), the United States is more polarized than it has been in roughly 150 years.”
3brown.eduAcademic
brown.edu
Backs: “If measured by congressional gridlock, ideological sorting, and mutual partisan hatred (affective polarization), the United States is more polarized than it has been in roughly 150 years.”
4democracyproject.orgNonprofits and think tanks
democracyproject.org
Backs: “If measured by congressional gridlock, ideological sorting, and mutual partisan hatred (affective polarization), the United States is more polarized than it has been in roughly 150 years.”
5wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
wikipedia.org
Backs: “Today, the average Republican is more conservative than almost all Democrats, and vice versa. By this metric, Congress is more polarized than at any time since the Reconstruction Era (the late 1870s).”
6wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
wikipedia.org
Backs: “Affective Polarization (Partisan Hatred): Affective polarization refers to how much citizens dislike and distrust the opposing political party. Research from Brown University shows that affective polarization in the U.S.”
7syr.eduAcademic
syr.edu
Backs: “Pew Research Center polling shows that in 2022, 72% of Republicans and 63% of Democrats viewed the opposing party as "more immoral" than other Americans—a massive jump from 47% and 35% respectively in 2016. The "Sorting" of the Electorate: In the mid-20th century, the political parties were ideologically diverse.”
8cam.ac.ukAcademic
cam.ac.uk
Backs: “A landmark 2026 study by the University of Cambridge tracked U.S. polarization from 1988 to 2024 and found that partisan sorting surged by 64% after 2008. Because partisan identity now aligns perfectly with ideological, cultural, and religious identities, political disagreements have shifted from policy debates to…”
9reddit.comForums and Q&A
reddit.com
Backs: “Reconstruction and the Gilded Age (1870s–1890s): This era was marked by immense political violence. In the South, white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the Red Shirts launched violent insurgencies to strip Black Americans of their newly won voting rights.”
10facinghistory.orgNonprofits and think tanks
facinghistory.org
Backs: “While most average Americans actually hold relatively moderate or centrist views on many issues, they harbor deep animosity toward the other side based on caricatures amplified by partisan media. Summary. If you define "worse" as congressional dysfunction, partisan hostility, and cultural sorting, political…”