I agree with Sailor Steve if you read up on how they really where(and not the mythology) even in the early days they where pretty polarized back then and would do some pretty nasty smear campaigns against each other as well.
Thomas Jefferson for example his opponents would spread manner of foul things related to the fact that he had had children with one of his slaves.Funny as when black relatives of Jefferson claimed their relation to him in more recent time it was somewhat doubted at first.Even though it at one time had been public knowledge and Jefferson never denied the fact in his time.
Also look at the issue of slavery it was known for years before what happened in Kansas and Missouri and caused the Civil War that slavery(and to an extent states rights but really the right that they wanted was slavery to be legal so the Civil War was over slavery no matter how some wish to sugar coat it as not having been) was going to be a huge issue but they never effectively did anything about it until a war settled the issue.That times span was over 20 years never really effectively settling the issue,So we have been this polarized for a very long time before.
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