Synopses & Reviews
At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the framers created a Senate that was nothing short of an American House of Lords. Until the early 1800s, it remained the insulated, legislatively reactive, and executive-friendly upper chamber the Framers intended. By 1841, however, it had become the distinctly American Senate we recognize today: popularly oriented, legislatively proactive, and often independent of executive influence.
The Making of an American Senate uses this story to explain how Congress is at times capable of dramatic and enduring institutional change.
To explain this upheaval that reshaped every major aspect of the Senate, the author introduces the concept of reconstitutive change, a theory based on the "garbage can" model of organization choice. Reconstitution, she argues, is produced by the confluence of two streams, the first creating pressures and opportunities, and the second supplying direction and mobilizing support. The first stream is composed of major changes in national political parties, the national electorate, and the national governmental agenda. The second is composed of institutional vision, or prevailing beliefs about what governmental role the institution should play, and institutional catalysts, or members of Congress who bring about change.
This book will engage political scientists concerned with Congressional history, institutional change, and the founding of new institutions. It will also interest historians of the Founding Era and the early American Republic.
"Elaine Swift has plumbed and assembled a rich variety of source materials to trace the early 'reconstitution' of the U.S. Senate from the anglophilic House of Lords into a recognizably American governing institution. The result is a detailed, thoughtful, and persuasive explanation of a major institutional change. It is, equally, a shining example--substantive and theoretical--of the relevance of political history for the pursuit of political science." --Richard F. Fenno, University of Rochester
"This is a fascinating work on a long-neglected subject--the shaping of the U.S. Senate during its early decades." --David Mayhew, Yale University
Elaine K. Swift is Associate Professor of Government, Eastern Washington University.
Review
andquot;Research on legislatures typically has been more concerned with national than sub-national assemblies. This book shows that study of subordinate assemblies can also contribute to our knowledge of institutional evolution.andquot;
andmdash;Journal of Legislative Studies
Review
andquot;This is a well-researched and carefully documented addition to the field of legislative studies, but just as important, Squireandrsquo;s book is highly readable and filled with great stories of legislative life and lore.andquot;
andmdash;APSA Legislative Studies Section
Review
andquot;Historians, political scientists and serious legislative junkies will love this book.andnbsp;... There is no other comparable scholarly work that looks at institutional change in American legislatures on such a grand scale. It is impressive in both its broad brush strokes and its convincing detail.andquot;
andmdash;Karl Kurtz, The Thicket at State Legislatures
Synopsis
How institutional change occurred in the early American Senate
Synopsis
Squire offers a comprehensive history of legislatures, core institutions in American political development
Synopsis
The institutional development of American legislatures, beginning with the first colonial assembly of 1619, has been marked by continuity as well as change. Peverill Squire draws upon a wealth of primary sources to document this institutional history. Beginning with the ways in which colonial assemblies followed the precedents of British institutions, Squire traces the fundamental ways they evolved to become distinct. He next charts the formation of the first state legislatures and the Constitutional Congress, describes the creation of territorial and new state legislatures, and examines the institutionalization of state legislatures in the nineteenth century and their professionalization since 1900.
With his conclusion, Squire discusses the historical trajectory of American legislatures and suggests how they might further develop over the coming decades. While Squire's approach will appeal to historians, his focus on the evolution of rules, procedures, and standing committee systems, as well as member salaries, legislative sessions, staff, and facilities, will be valuable to political scientists and legislative scholars.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-237) and index.
About the Author
Peverill Squire holds the Hicks and Martha Griffiths Chair in American Political Institutions at the University of Missouri.