The Rise of Political Action Committees

Political Action Committees (PACs) are a much-noted aspect of modern American election campaigns. Yet there has been no major book exploring their origins, development, and impact over time. In The Rise of Political Action Committees, Emily J. Charnock addresses this gap, telling a story with much deeper roots than many contemporary commentators would expect, since the first PAC was created back in 1943. The book explores why major interest groups chose tocreate PACs in the mid-20th Century, and how they used these PACs to promote ideological change in the major parties—helping to foster the polarization of American politics we see today.