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

Whether political polarization is "worse than it’s been in the past" depends on how far back in history you look.

If you compare today’s political climate to the mid-to-late 20th century, yes, polarization is significantly worse. By almost every metric, the United States is more politically divided today than at any point in the last 100 years.

However, if you look at the entirety of American history, we are not at an all-time peak. The United States fought a literal Civil War in the 1860s, and the decade leading up to it featured levels of political violence and institutional breakdown that dwarf today’s crisis.

To understand where we stand today, political scientists break polarization down into three categories: ideological polarization (what we believe), affective polarization (how we feel about the other side), and historical cycles.

1. Congressional Polarization: Back to the 1870s

Political scientists measure polarization in Congress using a system called DW-NOMINATE, which analyzes roll-call voting records to place politicians on a liberal-to-conservative scale.

According to this data, legislative polarization is at its highest level since the Reconstruction Era (the late 1870s).

2. "Affective" Polarization: The Rise of Mutual Dislike

While politicians have always argued over policy, what makes the current era feel uniquely toxic is affective polarization—the phenomenon where voters don't just disagree with the opposing party, but actively dislike and distrust them.

3. Partisan "Sorting" vs. True Extremism

An important nuance is that the American public may not be as ideologically extreme as it appears. Instead, they have become highly "sorted."

In the past, a voter might have been a conservative on fiscal issues but a liberal on social issues, making them hard to pigeonhole. Today, voters have sorted themselves neatly into two camps. If you know someone’s view on gun control, you can guess their views on climate change, taxes, and immigration with high accuracy.

A 2026 study by the University of Cambridge’s Political Psychology Lab tracked polarization from the end of the Reagan era through the mid-2020s. It found that divisions on social issues had increased by 64% since 1988, with almost all of that divergence happening after 2008. Interestingly, the study noted that this shift was primarily driven by the American left moving significantly further left on social issues, while the right remained relatively stable in its core positions. This "sorting" makes the fuzzy middle of American politics disappear, even if many average citizens still hold moderate views on specific issues.

4. Is the U.S. Unique?

Polarization is happening globally, but the United States is an outlier. A landmark study by economists at Brown and Stanford universities compared affective polarization across several wealthy democracies (including Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia). They found that while polarization has risen in some of these nations, the United States has polarized far more rapidly and severely than any other comparable country over the last 40 years.

Several factors unique to the U.S. drive this, including:

Summary: Is it worse?

We are currently living through the most polarized era of modern American history, but history shows that democratic institutions have survived deep divisions before—though the road to de-escalation is historically long and difficult.