Responses

Yes, by multiple key metrics, political polarization in the United States is higher now than it has been for much of the past several decades (especially since the mid-20th century bipartisan era), and in some elite-level measures it exceeds most of the post-Reconstruction period—though it is not unprecedented in American history and falls short of the existential divisions of the Civil War era.

Yes, by multiple measurable standards—especially since the mid-20th century—political polarization in the United States is worse than it has been for decades, and in some respects it approaches or exceeds post-Civil War highs. However, it is not unprecedented in American history, and the nature of today’s divisions differs from earlier peaks. Comparisons depend on the metric (elite vs. mass public

Yes, by multiple measurable standards, political polarization in the United States is worse now than it has been for most of the past century, particularly since the mid-20th century, though it is not unprecedented in American history and differs in character from earlier peaks like the Civil War era.[[1]](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/us-democrat-republican-partisan-polarizati

[[1]](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/10/the-polarization-in-todays-congress-has-roots-that-go-back-decades/)[[2]](https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/political-division-united-states)[[3]](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/31/opinion/political-violence-history-division.html)Yes, by multiple key measures—especially in the U.S.—political polarization is worse than it has been in

Yes, by multiple standard measures, political polarization in the United States is worse (higher) than it has been for much of the modern era (roughly the post-World War II period or the last 50 years), though it is not unprecedented in all of American history and comparisons depend on the exact metric and timeframe.[[1]](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/10/the-polarization-in-today