This monograph, written in 1960, examines the part prejudice played in politics throughout our national history. Part I of the monograph discusses "The Colonial Era." The immigrants that populated the new nation brought with them varied cultural heritages and different religious faiths. Soon the colonial pattern of religious prejudice reflected the bias prevalent in mother England. Catholics were severely disqualified in almost every colony. Jews received rights in some places and were debarred in others. The period from "The Revolution to the Civil War" was examined in Part II. The first organized effort to rally religious prejudice in an election campaign occurred in 1800 when the Federalists published a pamphlet addressed to "Religious Republicans" which suggested that Jefferson was anti-religious. During this time two anti-Catholic groups--the Native American Party and the Know-Nothings became quite active. Part III examines the "Civil War to World War I." In the Presidential campaign of 1860, Lincoln was subject to some of the worst vilification that has ever been heaped on any American politician. The Ku Klux Klan was formed in 1866. The next religious group to come under the guns of intolerance was the Mormons. "World War I to the Rise of Hitler" is the topic of Part IV. The World War effectively halted immigration to the United States, and never was it resumed on a pre-war scale. The crudest form of anti-Catholic bigotry played a major part against Smith in the 1928 Presidential campaign. The period from "The Rise of Hitler to the President" is examined in Part V. After 1930 the pattern of anti-Semitism in the United States changed. After Hitler came to power, the United States denounced his action toward the Jews with conviction. Bigotry continued to appear in politics. One example is the anti-Catholic campaign against Kennedy in 1960. (Author/RM)