"The Social Roots of American Politics" explores how people's social backgrounds shape political conflicts in the US since World War II. The researchers focus on how social divisions like social class, race, religion, and gender influence policy preferences and party affiliations. They find that social class has a consistent impact on policy preferences over time, while racial background led to deeper but more specific policy divisions. Religious denomination became more politically significant as society changed, and gender had a varied connection to policy preferences but a strong link to party loyalty.