This thesis attempted to determine the validity of the hypothesis that the Jewish vote, as measured by the 1972 election results, was a reflection of the developing importance of economic and social status to the American Jew. By examining the political group behavior that Jews have exhibited in the past and during the 1972 election, the contention of this thesis was to depict a particular, it examined the relationship between the economic level of the Jewish voter, and a switch to the Republican Party in the 1972 election.Steadily Democratic since the 1930's, this "ethnic Jewish vote" had been unaffected by the social and economic advances made by the Jewish people. However, the 1972 election proved that this vote was not immovable. The factors that entered into this relatively large exodus from the Democratic Party were also examined, as were its implications to the present, and predictions for the future of the Jewish vote.