In the forty-year span between 1968 and 2008, the United States underwent great change in nearly every avenue of life--economics, social mores, demographics, technology, and, of course, politics. The way Americans chose Richard Nixon as their president was very different from the way they chose Barack Obama. The process of selecting Obama was more open and inclusive in a number of ways. In "Grant Park," Candice J. Nelson examines the democratization of the presidential election process over four turbulent decades.

Nelson examines her topic through the metaphor of Chicago's famous Grant...