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A number of scholars have noted that in recent decades the traditionally decentralized American party has been replaced by a more nationalized organization. In the Democratic party this nationalization was associated with the establishment of national standards in the selection of convention delegates, and growing issue-oriented activism. In this study, state and national Democratic party platforms between 1956 and 1980 were content analyzed to determine the extent, if any, of ideological nationalization in the Democratic party. The data show a modest movement toward intra-party integration, but give little hint of the development of a highly ideological and nationalized party.