Recently plagued by gridlock, huge deficits, and deep policy differences between the president and congressional majorities, Congress has often been the target of relentless and bitter criticism. In t
Much of this nation’s political life and public policy have been shaped by a handful of powerful people?the leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives. Masters of the House identifies enduring patte
Born in Germany in 1829, Schurz became involved in the Revolution of 1848 when he was a student at the University of Bonn. Participating in the revolutionary army in Baden, he managed to escape throug
The biography of Carl Schurz is a story of an amazing life. At the age of 19, Schurz, a student at the University of Bonn, became involved in the Revolution of 1848. Participating in the revolutionary
Presents petitions to the U.S. government from veterans of the Revolutionary War, their survivors or assignees, and civilians with war-related claims against the government. Petitions are divided int
This book collects the evidence for decrees through which the states of the ancient Greek world were governed and uses the evidence to study the decision-making procedures and the extent to which the
Compares Canada's 34th (1988-93) and 35th (1993-97) parliaments, questioning why the combination of new parties, members, and agendas in the 35th session did not translate into changes in the Commons.
Based on a leading scholar's firsthand observations of legislatures as well as extensive interviews with legislators, legislative staff, and lobbyists, this important new work describes and analyzes t
An important new interpretation of Daniel Webster's life by an award-winning biographer.In almost every respect, Daniel Webster was larger than life, an intellectual colossus, a statesman of the first
This book -- the most up-to-date and balanced biography of Barry Goldwater ever written -- draws on family papers and on interviews with Goldwater and with a wide range of his friends, family members,
For most bills in American legislatures, the issue of turf--or which committee has jurisdiction over a bill--can make all the difference. Turf governs the flow and fate of all legislation. In this inn
This book details the policy subsystems - links among members of Congress, interest groups, program beneficiaries, federal and subnational government agencies - that blanket the American political landscape. Robert Stein and Kenneth Bickers have constructed a database detailing federal outlays to Congressional districts for each federal program, and use it to examine four myths about the impact of policy subsystems on American government and democratic practice. These include the myth that policy subsystems are a major contributor to the federal deficit; that once created, federal programs grow inexorably and rarely die; that to garner support for their programs, subsystem actors seek to universalize the geographic scope of program benefits; and that the flow of program benefits to constituencies in congressional districts ensures the re-election of legislators.
Minority Rights, Majority Rule seeks to explain a phenomenon evident to most observers of the US Congress. In the House of Representatives, majority parties rule and minorities are seldom able to influence national policy making. In the Senate, minorities quite often call the shots, empowered by the filibuster to frustrate the majority. Why did the two chambers develop such distinctive legislative styles? Conventional wisdom suggests that differences in the size and workload of the House and Senate led the two chambers to develop very different rules of procedure. Sarah Binder offers an alternative, partisan theory to explain the creation and suppression of minority rights, showing that contests between partisan coalitions have throughout congressional history altered the distribution of procedural rights. Most importantly, new majorities inherit procedural choices made in the past. This institutional dynamic has fuelled the power of partisan majorities in the House but stopped them i
Providing a comprehensive examination of the origins, development, and status of committees and committee systems in both the House and Senate, this edition carries on the book's tradition of comprehe
Birth of the Nation is the first comprehensive treatment of the work of the critically important Congress which converted the words of the Federal Constitution of 1787 into action and brought to a clo
John Randolph of Roanoke—Roanoke being the name of his home in Charlotte County, Virginia—is unique in American political history. Only twenty-six when first elected to Congress in 1799, he readily be
John Randolph of Roanoke—Roanoke being the name of his home in Charlotte County, Virginia—is unique in American political history. Only twenty-six when first elected to Congress in 1799, he readily be
During his terms in the U.S. Senate, Bill Bradley won a national reputation for thoughtfulness, decency, and a willingness to take controversial positions on issues ranging from tax reform to the righ
