Minority Rights, Majority Rule: Partisanship and the Development of Congress

Minority Rights, Majority Rule seeks to explain why majority parties have consistently been so powerful in the U.S. House of Representatives while minorities often prevail in the Senate. Dr. Binder charts the history of minority rights in both chambers and explains how partisan battles--fought under rules inherited from the past--have shaped the creation and suppression of minority rights. Dr. Binder's statistical analysis and historical work provide the first comprehensive account of the development of minority rights in Congress and contribute to literature on the historical development of Congress.

"This is an extremely interesting book and one in which the author makes a convincing case for her various positions. It will I am sure, be accepted for a long time as an important contribution to the history of the U.S. Congress, to the study of American Congressional Politics, and to our understanding of institutionalization processes in the United States." Allen G. Bogue, H-Net Reviews"Binder's use of history makes the development of minority party rights come alive." Alison D. Howard, LSS Newsletter"In an age when partisan politics and congressional gridlock are under attack, Sarah A. Binder's stufy of procedural change in the House of Representatives and the Senate is most timely. Political historians will find this succinct, never overstated study valuable. Scrupulously documented, it is based on a thorough study of congressional sources such as the Congressional Globe and the Congressional Record, as well as works in political science." Donald B. Cole, The Journal of American History

Minority Rights, Majority Rules seeks to explain why congressional majorities parties are so powerful in the US House of Representatives and minorities so often dominant in the Senate. Dr Binder explains how partisan battles - fought under rules inherited from the past - have throughout congressional history shaped the creation and suppression of minority rights.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 225-232) and index.

1. The partisan basis of procedural choice; 2. The evolving concepts of house and Senate minority rights; 3. Procedural choice in the early congress: the case of the Previous Question; 4. Allocating minority rights in the house, 1789-1990; 5. Institutionalizing party in the nineteenth century house; 6. Stacking the partisan decks in the twentieth century house; 7. Inherited rules and procedural choice in the Senate; 8. Assessing the partisan theory; Appendices; References.