Is polarization really at a historic high? I'll pull the latest research to compare today with the past.
Is political polarization worse than in the past depends on what time period you compare it to: by measures of the last 50-80 years, yes. By measures of the entire 250-year history of the US, no.
Yes - Worse Than The Recent Past
Most scholars and polling organizations say polarization today is at modern historic highs:
•A Pew Research Center analysis finds that, on average, Democrats and Republicans are farther apart ideologically today than at any time in the past 50 years.
•As of 2025, polarization was higher than any point in current history, causing less collaboration and mutual understanding between Democrats and Republicans.
•Pew found across 48 questions covering values about government, foreign policy, social and economic issues, the average difference between Republicans and Democrats now stands at 18 percentage points…nearly twice the size of the gap in surveys conducted from 1987-2002.
•Polarization has increased since the 1970s, with rapid increases in polarization during the 2000s onwards.
•According to the Pew Research Center, members of both parties who have unfavorable opinions of the opposing party doubled between 1994 and 2014, while those who have very unfavorable opinions of the opposing party are at record highs as of 2022.
The trend is especially strong for affective polarization - dislike and distrust of the out-party, not just disagreement on issues:
•Scholars distinguish between ideological polarization (differences between the policy positions) and affective polarization (a dislike and distrust of political out-groups), both of which are apparent in the United States.
•In 1978, the average American rated the members of their own political party 27 points higher than members of the other major party. By 2016, Americans were rating their own party 45.9 points higher than the other.
•Affective polarization has increased more dramatically since the late 1970s than in the eight other countries they examined — the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden.
•In the late 20th and early 21st century, the U.S. has experienced a greater surge in ideological polarization and affective polarization than comparable democracies.
Other indicators:
•From 1994 to 2014, the share of Americans who expressed either "consistently liberal" or "consistently conservative" opinions doubled from 10% to 21%.
•According to Gallup, in 2025 the percentage of Americans self-identifying as politically moderate reached a record low of 34%.
•Research shows polarization among U.S. legislators is asymmetric, as it has primarily been driven by a rightward shift among Republicans in Congress.
A Brown University study released in 2020 found that the U.S. was polarizing faster compared to other democratic countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia.
No - Not Worse Than The Most Extreme Periods In U.S. History
Historians note that the current period is not the most polarized ever:
•The Gilded Age of the late 19th century (c. 1870 – 1900) is considered to be one of the most politically polarized periods in American history, with open political violence and highly polarized political discourse.
•The 1850s leading up to the Civil War saw physical violence in Congress itself. In 1856, Rep. Preston Brooks beat Sen. Charles Sumner over the head with a cane because of the issue of slavery. That attack illustrated how political disagreements were morphing into personal violence.
•Some political scientists have pointed out that — viewed within the context of data from the last two centuries — today’s levels of polarization are not such an alarming anomaly compared to those occurring during the time of slavery and similar points along the historical continuum.
•For all the hype about the ruptures and partisan rancor in contemporary American society, the strife pales in comparison with much of the nation's past.
In contrast, the 1950s and 1960s were marked by high levels of political bipartisanship, the results of a post-World War II "consensus" in American politics. Compared to that low-polarization era, today looks very divided. Compared to the 1850s or 1890s, it does not.
Perception vs. Reality
Several researchers argue polarization feels worse than it measures:
•Other research suggests that Americans are less polarized than they think, and that there is "significant ideological overlap and agreement on policies."
•Although Americans are less ideologically polarized than they believe, they are very emotionally polarized (also known as affective polarization).
•As one researcher argues, polarization in the US can feel much worse than it is. "Political groups have moved further apart in recent years, but these divisions are still fuzzy, and Americans are not split into entirely opposing tribes when it comes to the issues."
> In short: If you mean the last 50-70 years - since the bipartisan 1950s-1960s and the relatively less sorted 1970s-1990s - polarization is measurably worse than ever. If you mean all of American history, the Civil War era and the Gilded Age saw more extreme institutional breakdown and political violence.