Throughout the history of the United States there has been many different types of political conflict in the United States. There are different time periods that each contained political controversy. Each of these periods has a name for their distinct culture, geography and politics. These periods are referred to as, the progressive era, industrialization, the new deal and the farmer's movement. These conflicts led to disputes such as the Civil War and have shaped the way the United States political system is today.
Early in the history of the United States there were three distinctive political economies. They were divided among the three major areas in the colonies known as New England, Middle Atlantic and the Southern region. By the time of the American Revolution there would be differences emerging in political culture. The three major political cultures of the U.S. were traditionalistic political culture, which was concentrated mainly in the South. The moralistic political culture which originated in New England and individualistic political culture, located in the Middle Atlantic states. The traditionalistic political culture believes the purpose of politics and government is the preservation of the traditional social order. This social order implied that the government and politics were to be dominated by the elite and that political participation by persons of lower social standing was discouraged or suppressed. The moralistic political culture said that politics and government's purpose the promotion of the common good. Political activities are viewed to benefit to whole of the community. Under this idea, political parties are weak, and voters tend to respond to issues rather than to party labels. Individualistic political culture emphasizes the relationship between politics and the private good. Government activity emphasizes economic development and regulation and pays less attention to non-economic considerations.
