The distinctive contribution of this study lies in its quantitative analysis of congressional voting. From this analysis emerges a picture, derived from multidimensional scaling, of the rise of voting coalitions. Thus one can clearly see evidence of party formation in Congress as well as the impact of issues and external alliances on these voting coalitions. makes a valuable contribution to political science and to history. Political scientists will find that insights into the emergence of the first parties in the United States shed light on the shifts in party alignments in later years and will help them to understand the forces that shaped a nation's first use of this key political institution. Historians will find here new evidence on the development of a fundamental element in America's early political history.