POS 6933: American Legislative Development
Professor Larry Dodd
Overview of Class Structure
Spring, 2015
January 6
Week One: Will Discuss Class Structure/Students’ Interests
January 13
Week Two: Studying American Legislative Development: An Overview
January 20
Week Three: The Origins of Congress: The Colonial Legacy
January 27
Week Four: The Origins of Congress: The Revolutionary Era and ConstitutionMaking
February 3
Week Five:
February 10
Week Six: The Early Evolution of Congress
February 17
Week Seven: Congress, Territorial Expansion and the Slavery Issue
February 24
Week Eight: Civil War, Reconstruction and the Compromise of 1876
NO CLASS/ write paper assignments
March 3
SPRING BREAK:
NO CLASS/write paper assignments
March 10
Week Nine: Studying the Post Civil War Congress: An Overview
March 17
Week Ten: Industrialization, the Progressive Era and the Demise of Party
Government: Cycle I: Swing One
March 24
Week Eleven: Post-Progressive ‘Normalcy,’ Depression, and the Rise of
Committee Government: Cycle I:
Swing Two
March 31
Week Twelve:
NO CLASS/write paper assignments
April 7
Week Thirteen: Congress, the Cold War and Early Post-Industrialism : Cycle II:
Stage 1
April 14
Week Fourteen: Congress, the Republican Revolution, and Stalemate:
Cycle II: Stage 2
April 21
Week Fifteen
CLASS POTLUCK at Anderson/Dodd Farm
Final Research Design Due at the End of Finals Week
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The goal of American Legislative Development is to ground students in a solid grasp of the
historical development of Congress. In doing so, it is organized into four general parts. The first
portion of the course begins in Weeks Two, Three and Four with a discussion of the general
characteristics of contemporary legislatures, their vital contributions to governance, and the
distinctive character of the Congress. This discussion will particularly highlight the ways which
the American Congress grew out of the colonial legislatures and the American Revolutionary
Era. Week Five will be devoted to the preparation of class essays focused on the topics discussed
in this first section. The second portion of the class will focus, during Weeks Six, Seven and
Eight on the early evolution of the Congress, starting with the first Congress and proceeding
through the Civil War and Reconstruction. It will be followed, during Spring Break, by student
preparation of essays covering this period. The third portion of the class will focus, in weeks
Nine, Ten and Eleven, on the emergence of a careerist and activist legislative Congress during
the transition to industrialization in the eighty years following the Civil War/Reconstruction.
Week Twelve will be devoted to preparation of essays on this period. Finally, the fourth section
of the course will focus briefly, in weeks Thirteen and Fourteen, on the Post-World War II
Congress.
“American Legislative Development” is a ‘sister course’ to Dodd’s seminar on “Congressional
Politics.” In contrast to the historical focus of “ALD,” “Congressional Politics” focuses largely
on the electoral politics, career behavior, organizational structuring, policy processes and
behavioral patterns that characterize the modern postwar Congress – with particular focus on
contrasting politics across the Textbook, Reform and Post-Reform Congresses.
American Legislative Development helps students understand the historical roots and continuing
institutional struggles of the contemporary Congress; Congressional Politics explores the
multiple outcomes – across elections, rules, organizational structure, policy process, etc. – of
those historic institutional struggles and developmental processes. Both courses draw for their
theoretical foundations on Dodd’s seminar on “Empirical Theories of Politics. As ALD covers a
broad topic, Dodd strongly encourages critical feedback designed to improve the course,
including suggested topics and readings that should be included or excluded.
With respect to class requirements, students will be expected to complete class reading
assignments, to prepare weekly email assignments, prepare the assigned essays, to participate
fully in class discussion, and to prepare a term research design paper (in consultation with
Professor Dodd). These requirements will be discussed more fully in the first class meeting.
During some weeks I will ‘star’ some or all of the reading. The stars should be interpreted as
follows:
***read closely
**read for major point
*recommended; read as time/interests dictate
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The course involves extensive reading. A number of books have been ordered at local
bookstores, to make them available for your purchase. These books and a large number of
additional books have all been placed on Reserve in Library West for your use in the class.
Books Ordered for Class Use and Placed On Reserve:
Gerhard Loewenberg, On Legislatures*
Eric Schickler, Disjointed Pluralism, Princeton*
Julian Zelizer, The American Congress, Houghton Mifflin**
Sarah Binder, Minority Rights/Majority Rule, Cambridge*
T. H. Anderson, Creating the Constitution, Penn State Press
Calvin Jillson, Constitution Making: Conflict and Consensus in the Federal Convention of 1787,
Agathon Press
Daniel Wirls and Stephen Wirls, The Invention of the U. S. Senate, Johns Hopkins*
James Sterling Young, The Washington Community, Columbia*
Elaine Swift, The Making of an American Senate, Michigan
Laura Jensen, Patriots, Settlers, and the Origins of American Social Policy, Cambridge
Michael Holt, The Political Crisis of the 1850s, Norton
Richard Bensel, Yankee Leviathan*
Robert Harrison, Congress, Progressive Reform and the New American State, Cambridge
Julian Zelizer, On Capitol Hill, Cambridge*
Sundquist, The Decline and Resurgence of Congress
Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic*
Karen Orren and Stephen Skowronek, The Search for American Political Development*
James Sundquist, The Decline and Resurgence of Congress
Peverill Squire, The Evolution of American Legislatures
James Patterson,Congressional Conservatism and the New Deal
Fergus Bordewick, America’s Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen Douglas and the
Compromise that Preserved the Unioin
Additional Books Placed on Reserve:
Lawrence Dodd, Thinking about Congress,
Lawrence Dodd and Bruce Oppenheimer, Congress Reconsidered, 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th 10th
editions
James MacGregor Burns, Congress on Trial, first (1949) edition
James MacGregor Burns, The Deadlock of Democracy
Charles Stewart III, Analyzing Congress
Scott James, Presidents, Parties and the State
Roger Davidson, et. al., Masters of the House
David Mayhew, America’s Congress
David Brady, Critical Elections and Congressional Policy Making, Stanford
David Brady and Craig Volden, Revolving Gridlock, Westview
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Ronald Peters, The American Speakership, Johns Hopkins
James L. Sundquist, The Dynamics of the Party System
Kenneth Finegold and Theda Skocpol, State and Party in America’s New Deal, 1-5, 9
Paul Pierson, Politics in Time
Joseph Cooper, The Origins of the Standing Committees and the Development of the Modern
Congress (if available)
Sarah Binder and Steven S. Smith, Politics or Principle?
James T. Patterson, Congressional Conservatism and the New Deal
David Rothman, Politics and Power
Woodrow Wilson, Congressional Government
Allen Guelzo, Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President
Calvin Jillson and Rick Wilson, Congressional Dynamics
William Lee Miller, Arguing About Slavery
Poole and Rosenthal, Congress:A Political-Economic History of Roll Call Voting
McCarty, Poole and Rosenthal, Polarized America
Brady and McCubbins, Party, Process and Political Change in Congress, 2002 (Vol 1)
Brady and McCubbins, Party, Process and Political Change In Congress, Vol 2
Richard Bensel, Sectionalism and American Political Development
Nelson Polsby, How Congress Evolves
Jami Carson and Jason Roberts, Ambition, Competition and Electoral Reform
Michael Berkman, The State Roots of National Politics
Edward Carmines and James Stimson, Issue Evolution
Bruce Ackerman, We the People: Foundations
George Galloway, Congress at the Crossroads
Paul Pierson, Politics in Time
Nancy Young’s book, Why We Fight: Congress and the Politics of World War II.
Acemoulue and Robinson, Why Nations Fail
Archibald Foord, His Majesty’s Opposition 1714-1830
All books required for this course should be available for short-term check out through at the
Reserve Desk in Library West. Many of the assigned essays/artciles also are available in books
on Library Reserve; just check the book out at library reserve and read the essay from it. Some
essays can also be accessed by ‘googling’ them. Additionally, articles should be available
through J-STOR. In most cases they can also be accessed through electronic reserve. The process
for accessing assigned articles that are available through electronic reserve is as follows:
To use Electronic Library Reserve:
1. Log into ARes using your Gatorlink username and password. You can access ARes
at http://ares.uflib.ufl.edu, or by clicking Course Reserves on the UF Libraries homepage.
2. Under the Student Tools menu on the left side of the page, select Search Courses.
3. Use the third search option: Search by Course. Search for Course Number POS 6993.
4. The results page should list only this course, POS 6993 Section 8865, US Legislativ
Develolpment. The first column should offer the option to "Add" the course for immediate
access in the future.
5. All readings should be available here, unless Professor Dodd has indicated otherwise. To sort
by author (or book editor), simply click the header in the Author column. Clicking on book titles
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will direct you to the call number information needed to obtain the book from the main desk on
the 2nd floor of Library West.
6. Clicking on article titles will link you directly to articles available via electronic databases. If
you are on campus, these links will allow you immediate full access to the articles. If you are off
campus, you must first either connect to the UF network via the VPN client (http://netservices.ufl.edu/provided_services/vpn/anyconnect/) or log in to the library site using the OffCampus Access link at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu and search for the journals and articles yourself.
Seminar Policies:
1. Do not use a cell phone, Blackberry or any other electronic device during class. Turn them off
and put them away. You can use laptops to take notes provided that you follow the no-cell
phone rule.
2. Assignments. The dates for all weekly assignments are provided in the syllabus. Please advise
me in advance if you need to discuss an extension for a paper.
3. Incompletes will not be given for this class. The only exceptions will be for dire and
unavoidable emergencies or special conditions that are discussed with Professor Dodd in
advance. Should a student fail to complete the course, any effort to complete the course
thereafter will be subject to a grade reduction to be determined by Professor Dodd in
consultation with the student.
4. Honor Code and Plagiarism: In enrolling as a UF student you have agreed to follow the UF
Honor Code, which includes neither giving nor receiving authorized aid in doing your graded
assignments and final papers. Any student who violates UF’s Honor Code will be referred
immediately to appropriate departmental and University authorities for disciplinary action.
5. Matters of accommodation: I will make every effort to provide for accommodations for
students with disabilities. Please see me at the start of the semester to alert me to issues of
accommodation and we will address them in a discrete manner according to university
guidelines.
6. Office Hours: I welcome students coming by office hours to discuss issues with the course or
with their graduate training and career preparation. I make every effort to keep office hours, and
will stay in my office beyond the scheduled hours as long as students are waiting to see me,
insofar as I can given other scheduled commitments. In addition, I will arrange meetings by
appointment at other times, when necessary. I enjoy talking with students immensely, and value
meeting with you. But do note: I will be traveling to various conferences this semester, and also
will be involved in department and university affairs at times that I cannot easily control, so that
students with pressing issues should take care to arrange with me a time-certain, during office
hours or at other times when I am available, so that I can guarantee attention to their issues. I am
also available by email: ldodd@ufl.edu, and can be reached in emergencies at my home phone:
352 485 1971.
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The Course Syllabus:
The weekly reading assignments for the class will be handed out in the week prior to the class,
and will contain detailed email assignments for specific students. The course builds on the Class
Syllabus for the 2012 version of the course, but will be distinct from that course. The current
course provides more in-depth assessment of the colonial period, draws on additional reading not
used in 2012, and is organized in four parts that are somewhat different in make-up and
assignments from the 2012 syllabus. I can nevertheless make that syllabus available to students
who wish to have access to it, as background for this course.
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Week Two: Studying American Legislative Development: An Overview
I.
General Perspectives on Legislatures
Gerhard Loewenberg, On Legislatures: all***
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, Why Nations Fail: Required: Chs 3, 4, 7,
10, 11; strongly recommended: Chs 5, 6, 8, 9; the remainder of the book is helpful
in grasping comparative and third world applications of their argument.
II.
The Emergence and Evolution of Legislatures in America: General Patterns
Peverill Squire, The Evolution of American Legislatures, Chap 1. ***
Nelson Polsby, “The Institutionalization of the U. S. House of Representatives,”
APSR, Vol 62 (1968): 144-168. ***
David Mayhew, America’s Congress, “Introduction” and Chapters 1, 2***
III.
Studying American Legislative Development: Snapshots Across Time
Zelizer, The American Congress, Chs 1, 11, 13, 18, 19, 26, 30, 35, 40 ***
IV.
Why Congress? A General Introduction to the Pre-Reconstruction Period
Dodd: Thinking about Congress (TAC): Chapter 1, “Congress as Public Mirror,”
pp. 3-15 (through the first two full paragraphs).***
Also Recommended (if you have not read previously):
Karen Orren and Stephen Skowronek, The Search for American Political
Development, Chapters Four and Five
Paul Pierson, Politics in Time, Chapter 1
Joseph Cooper and David Brady, “Toward a Diachronic Analysis of Congress,
APSR, Vol 75 (1981): 988-1006
Charles Stewart III, Analyzing Congress, Chs 1-3
David Mayhew, Congress: The Electoral Connection
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Email Assignments: After completing the reading for this week, each student will answer
both of the following questions and email them to Professor Dodd and all class members.
These are ‘thought questions’ designed to focus class discussion of the week’s reading.
Write no more than one to two single-space pages on each question.
1. What varied contributions do legislatures make to governance and societal
well-being that makes them attractive features of political life, so that they
have been foundation institutions in America for roughly 400 years now, and
what would we lose should American legislatures experience a drastic and
sustained decline in potency?
2. How do legislatures differ, externally across nations and internally across
time, and in what ways might these differences matter for the capacity of
legislatures to contribute to governance in positive ways?
Looking Forward: If you wish to read ahead:
1. Week Three will include Daniel and Stephen Wirls, Inventing the U.S. Senate, Chapters
1-5; Jillson, Constitution Making, all; Squire, The Evolution of American Legislatures,
Chapters 2, 3 and portions of chapters four and five.
2. Week Four will include T. H. Anderson, Creating the Constitution, all; and portions of
Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic.
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Week Three: The Origins of the Congress: Seeing the Broad Contours
Recommended:
Archibald S. Foord, His Majesty’s Opposition 1714-1830: Chapter One: Introduction, and
Epilogue
Charles Tilly, “Parliamentarization of Popular Contention in Great Britain, 1758-1834,” in Tilly,
Roads from the Past to the Future.
Required: (I recommend that you read the assignments in the order listed below).
Peverell Squire, The Evolution of American Legislatures: Colonies, Territories, and States, 16192009: Chs 2, 3, and pages 102-146; 157-159; 213-215. All of chapters 4 and 5 arr
recommended.
Daniel and Stephen Wirls, Inventing the United States Senate, Chs 1-6
Jillson and Wilson, 1987, “A Social Choice Model of Politics: Insights into the Demise of the U.S.
Continental Congress,” LSQ 12: 5-32; and Wilson and Jillson, 1989, “Leadership Patterns
in the Continental Congress: 1774-1789,” LSQ 14: 5-37.
Madison, Federalist #10, 48, 51, 53, 63
Calvin Jillson, Constitution Making: Conflict and Consensus in the Federal Convention of 1787,
Agathon Press
ACommon Email Assignment: Briefly identify the three aspects of the colonial, revolutionary and
constitution-making period of American history that most surprise you and briefly highlight the potential
relevance of these to our study and understanding of the Congress.
Individual Email Assignments:
1. In what ways was a logic of oppositional politics (Foord: read most or all of the book) emerging
in Britain in the era leading up to and surrounding the American revolutionary era? And what
implications would such a logic have for the Americans as they contemplated their own
circumstances?__Stephen___
2. In what ways was a logic of popular contestation (Tilly) emerging in Britain in the era leading up
to and surrounding the American revolutionary era? And what implications would such a logic
have for the Americans as they contemplated their own circumstances?__Brandon____
3. What role did legislative assemblies play in the colonial period and how did that role and the
governing processes of the assemblies evolve (Squire), leading up to and informing the
revolutionary period?__Alex___
4. What do Jillson and Wilson see as the difficulties attending leadership and decision-making in
the Continental Congress and what implications did such difficulties have for the power and
structuring of a legislature as the founders considered a new constitutional order?___Shane__
5. In what ways did classical ideas about republicanism, constitutionalism and liberalism shape the
ideas available to the founders about legislatures as they moved to create the Senate; and how
did the House of Representative manage to arise, and with what distinctive characteristics, amid
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the extensive debate over the Senate , particularly the role of a lower and upper house within a
legislative branch (Wirls and Wirls, Chs 1-5).___Bobby__
6. What is the Madisonian argument in Federalist #10 about how and why Congress plays the role
it does, and how and why other constitutional arrangements were created beyond the central
existence of a Congress?________
7. What is Jillson’s central argument in Constitution Making and how (and in what ways) does he
support this argument through empirical research?___Keith Lee___
8. As seen in Jillson, how did the debates of the founders reconceptualize the role of the Executive
in the emerging constitutional order and what were the implications of this emerging role for
the role and power of Congress?___Justin___.
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Week Four: The Origins of the Congress: Elaborating the Historical Story
1. The purpose of this week’s reading is to probe behind the broad contours of constitution-making and
understand (a) the ideas and experiences that gave rise to the new constitutional order, (2) the ways in
which experiences with legislatures and their operation were at the heart of the creation of the new
order, and (3) what was lost as well as what was gained in the effort to create the new order and
establish the role of Congress within it through the Constitution’s implementation.
The reading will demonstrate that the political/intellectual life of the nation was much more vibrant
prior to the Founding than most political scientists realize, especially with respect to legislatures. It will
also help clarify how it is that the American Revolution was in fact a revolution, and the ways in which it
helps inform our understanding of the role of ideas in politics and political change.
2. Course Reading for Week Five
In the reading for this week, all students are expected to read the Preface and Chapters 1 and 15 of
Wood, The Creation of the American Republic. A copy is on reserve in the Library, though some students
may wish to order it through Amazon.com. Aside from the required joint reading, each students is being
asked to read closely a specific part of the book and to report the central arguments of their assigned
part, so that these email assignments will inform the entire class about the overall argument of Wood’s
book. Eventually, prior to prelims, each of you is strongly advised to read Wood’s entire book.
Additionally, all students are expect to read: (a) T. H. Anderson, Creating the Constitution, Penn State
Press: all; and (b) Aldrich, Jillson and Wilson, “Why Congress? What the Failure of the Confederation
Congress and the Survival of the Federal Congress Tell Us about the New Institutionalism.” in Brady and
McCubbins, Party, Process, and Political Change in Congress, Vol 1.
Students are strongly recommended to read: The Encyclopedia of the U. S. Congress, in Reserve Room:
Read sections on “The Articles of Confederation,” “The Constitutional Convention of 1787,” “The AntiFederalists,” and “The Federalists”
3. Email Assignment 1:
Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787,
Selected Email Assignments:
Wood: Preface and Chapters 1, 15: Keith
Wood, Creation, Part I: The Ideology of the Revolution: Bobby
Wood, Creation, Part II: The Constitution of the States: Alex
Wood, Creation, Part III: The People Against the Legislatures: Brandon
Wood, Creation, Part IV, The Critical Period: Stephen
Wood, Creation, Part V, The Federal Constitution: Justin
Wood, Creation, Part VI, The Revolutionary Achievement: Shane
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4. Email Assignment 2:
4a. T. H. Anderson, Creating the Constitution, Penn State Press: all
i T.H. Anderson argues, in Creating the Constitution, that aside from the nationalists and states-rights
factions, the Constitutional Convention included an emergent state-Federalist faction that helped
greatly to shape the Constitution and move it towards a compound republic. Such a design was intended
to foster cooperative and constrained decision-making among government actors that pointed towards
collective interests and near-consensual outcomes rather than polarized interests and zero-sum politics.
ii.He concludes that this design, while flawed, held out the opportunity for a mutually-respectful and
civil politics. That opportunity was squandered when the Federalists, under the influence of a Court
Whig ideology, used their dominant control of the First Congress to impose interpretations of the
constitutional order that distorted and up-ended the logic of a compound republic. The Federalists
thereby set in motion a high-stakes and highly competitive game of American politics centered around a
polarization of perceived policy interests and a zero-sum politics characterized by narrow majoritarian
dominance, popular disenchantment and deep-structured policy stalemates.
iii.The deliberative, near-consensual and broadly cooperative decision-making experienced at the
Constitutional Convention, and that the Founders hoped to pass on to future generations by their
constitutional design, was thereby deprived to future generations, according to Anderson. Instead, their
progeny came to be governed by a perversion of the constitutional order that the Founders thought
they had put in place.
Question 4a: As delineated by Anderson, (a) how and why was the new constitutional order supposed to
generate a deliberative, collective and near-consensual politics, (b) how/why did the Federalists in the
First Congress derail such politics, and how/why has the nation been unable to get such a politics back
on track? What is your overall assessment of Anderson’s argument? Do you believe that our politics
might have been less polarized and divisive had Congress implement the new constitution in a way more
attentive to the logic of a compound republic? Are arguments in behalf of a compound republic relevant
today? Could Congress undo the damage Anderson believes was done by the First (Convention)
Congress, and would that effort be advisable?__Brandon, Bobby, Alex___
4b. Aldrich, Jillson and Wilson
What was “The Articles of Confederation” and its role in the American Founding; how are the “Articles”
linked to the Constitutional Convention of 1787: and what is the significance of this how compelling to
you find it, in reasoning and in empirical evidence?___Keith, Justin__
4c. Aldrich, Jillson and Wilson
What is the Aldrich/Jillson/Wilson thesis, around which the “Why Congress”” question revolves, and
how compelling do you find it, in reasoning and in empirical evidence? ___Stephen, Shane___
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Week Five: Assessing the Colonial, Revolutionary and Constitution-Making Era as a Prelude to Congress
Address these two questions:
I.
In what ways, and with what significance, did the colonial, revolutionary and
constitution-making period (including in this the early years of Congress) serve to create
conditions that would shape the evolution of Congress thereafter? 7 to 8 pages
II.
What topic or topics might you be interested in researching that touch on Congress,
American legislatures more generally, or legislatures in other settings; discuss ideas for
pursuing one or more of these topics; and discuss the implications that the reading and
discussion of the past several weeks could have for a research design on the topic(s). 2
to 3 pages.
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Week Six: The Early Evolution of Congress
I. Required Reading:
Gordon Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution: read Part III: Democracy
Garry Wills, Negro President: Jefferson and the Slave Power, Prologue, Introduction and
Chapters 1-8
James Sterling Young, The Washington Community, 1800-1828: read all
Sarah Binder, Minority Rights/Majority Rule, Chs. One through Four
Wirls and Wirls, The Invention of the U. S. Senate, Chs 7-8
Zelizer, The American Congress: Chs 1-7. Read ones you haven’t read; review others.
II. Strongly Recommended Reading
Ronald Peters, The American Speakership, Chs. Pages 1-44.
Elaine Swift, The Making of an American Senate, 1789-1841
Laura Jensen, Patriots, Settlers, and the Origins of American Social Policy, Chs1-4.
Jeffery Jenkins and Charles Stewart, Jr., “Order from Chaos: The Transformation of the Committee
System in the House, 1816-22, in Brady and McCubbins, Party Process and Political Change in Congress,
Chapter 8.
II. Recommended:
Elaine Swift, “The Electoral Connection Meets the Past: Lessons from Congressional History, 1789-1899.”
Political Science Quarterly, 1988, 102, p. 625+.
Joseph Cooper, “The Origins of the Standing Committees and the Development of the Modern House,
Rice University Studies, Vol 56 (Summer, 1970).
Elaine Swift, “The Start of Something New: Clay, Stevenson, Polk, and the Development of the
Speakership, 1789-1869,” in Roger Davidson, et.al., Masters of the House.
John F. Hoadly, “The Emergence of Political Parties in Congress: 1789-1803.” American Political Science
Review, 74 (1980): 757+
Allan G. Bogue and Mark P. Marlaire, “Of Mess and Men: The Boardinghouse and Congressional Voting,
1821-1842,” AJPS 19 (1975): 207+.
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Gerald Gamm and Kenneth Shepsle, “The Emergence of Legislative Institutions: Standing Committees in
the House and Senate, 1810-1825.” LSQ: 14 (1989): 39+
Email Questions:
1. According to Gordon Wood, in The Radicalism of the American Revolution, the aftermath of
Revolution and Constitution-making was a radical transformation beyond the imagination and
expectations (and desires) of the revolutionary and founding generations. What was the nature
of this radical transformation and what were its implications for the social ethos, politics and
policy concerns that would come to dominate Congress?___Justin_____
2. As seen in Chapters Two through Five of The American Congress, and in Hoadly’s APSR article,
what were the broad concerns, characteristics, political cleavages and policy orientations of
Congress in its first decade of existence, prior to the move to the District of Columbia__Shane__
3. As seen in The Washington Community, what were the broad concerns, characteristics, political
cleavages and policy orientations of Congress in its first decades in the District of Columbia, and
in what ways do the arguments in “Of Mess and Men,” by Bogue and Marlaire, quality and
amplify Young’s arguments?_____Alex____
4. As seen in The Washington Community, what was the connection between national legislators
and their local constituents, how did this shape the early development of Congress, and how
does Swift’s essay on ‘the electoral connection meets the past’ qualify and amplify Young’s
arguments about the legislator/constituency connection?____Bobby______
5. Based on your reading of the Cooper volume, in what ways did Jeffersonian ideas shape the
emergence of a committee system in Congress, what other factors may have influenced its
emergence, and what are the implications of contemporary challenges to committee
government (i.e., conditional party government) to the historic role of Congress in our political
system?_____
6. Based on the research reported by Gamm/Shepsle and Jenkins/Stewart, how are we to
understand the development and role of committees in the early decades of the
Congress?_____
7. Why do majorities tend to rule the House while minorities often call the shots in the Senate,
according to Binder, Minority Rights/Majority Rule, and how did events during the early
Congresses illustrate, qualify, and foster this contrast in governing patterns in the two
houses?___Brandon____
8. Based on the work of Ronald Peters and the essay by Swift in Masters of the House, what were
the early expectations of the Speakership and how did it evolve in the early decades of
Congressional experience? What foundations did this lay for subsequent development of the
Speakership and the operation of the House?_________
9. What does Elaine Swift mean by reconstitutive change, how did Senate engage in reconstitutive
change in the early decades of congressional experience, and with what long-terms
consequences and implications? How does she complete/amplify/qualify Wirls and Wirls (and
they her)?_________
10. Most of us think of entitlements as something that ‘liberal Democrats’ created in the New Deal,
perhaps to initiate ‘creeping socialism’ on American shores; a few of us – having read Skocpol –
even might acknowledge some late 19th century experience with entitlements; but who thinks of
the Founders as entitlement-junkies, foreshadowing such corruption of American society a good
eighty years or so earlier, during the Early Republic? And despite the fact that we all know that
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policies make politics, who among us is truly prepared to understand that the evolution of our
politics and institutions, from the beginning, was shaped by entitlement policies? The answer is
Laura Jensen.
Detail Jensen’s argument about the presence of entitlements in the first century of our
national experience, the critical and unique role Congress and legislatures played in Americanstyle state-building (as seen through entitlements), and the broad implications her story has for
our understanding of the evolution of Congress and the American state. Can you think of other
policy areas that we consider distinct to contemporary politics that might have unseen roots in
the early years of national history?____Stephen______
11. What is Garry Wills argument in the first eight chapters of Negro President and how compelling
do you find it?___Keith___
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Week Seven: Congress, Territorial Expansion, and the Slavery Issue
I. Required Reading
I.
Required:
Adam Hochschild, Bury the Chains.: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves,
Required: Introduction and Chs. 22, 23, Epilogue.
Strongly recommended: At least 7, 8, 9; 12, 13, 15, 16
William Lee Miller, Arguing About Slavery: Everyone should read Part I
and Part XIII. The remainder of the book is highly recommended.
Amy Greenberg, A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexcio.
Required: Introduction and Chapter 13.
Strongly recommended: At least Chs. 1,2,3, 11,12, 13
Fergus Bordewich, America’s Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the
Compromise that Preserved the Union.
Required: Preface, Prologue, Chs. 11 thru 23, 24, 25, 27, 28 and Epilogue: “The
Reckoning.”
Strongly Recommended: Remainder of the book
Michael E. Holt, The Political Crisis of the 1850s: All
Zelizer, The American Congress, Chs 8-11: Read and/or Review
II.
Strongly Recommended:
Roger G. Kennedy. Mr. Jefferson’s Lost Cause: Land, Farms, Slavery, and the
Louisiana Purchase. Pages 1-117; 235-244
Elaine K. Swift. “TheStart of Something New: Clay,Stevenson, Polk, and the Development of the
Speakership, 1789-1869. In Davidson, Hammond and Smock, Masters of the House.
Nolan McCarty, Keith Poole, and Howard Rosenthal, “Congress and the Territorial Expansion of
the United States,” in Brady and McCubbins, eds. Party, Process, and Political Change in
Congress
Brian Humes, Elaine Swift, Richard Valelly, Kenneth Finegold, and Evelyn
17
Fink, “Representation of the Antebellum South in the House of
Representatives: Measuring the Impact of the Three-Fifths Clause.” In
Brady/McCubbins, Party, Process, and Political Change in Congress.
Sean Theriault and Barry Weingast, “Agenda Manipulation, Strategic Voting,
And Legislative Details in the Compromise of 1850,” in Brady and
McCubbins, eds. Party, Process, and Political Change in Congress.
Timothy Nikkon, et. al., “The Institutional Origins of the Republican Party:
Spatial Voting and the House Speakership Election of 1855-56.” Legislative Studies
Quarterly. 25: 101-130.
Jensen, Patriots, Settlers, and the Origins of American Social Policy, Chs 5, 6
Peters, The American Speakership, pp. 44-51
In The Encyclopedia of the U. S. Congress, in reference section of Library West, read the
following sections, in this order of priority:
1. Henry Clay
2. Slavery: pp. 1819-1830
3. Missouri Compromise
4. Compromise of 1850
5. Kansas-Nebraska Act
6. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
7. Stephen A. Douglas
Collective Email Assignment: Discuss the three things that most surprise you from this week’s
reading, preferably on a work other than the one you discuss in your email, and discuss their
significance for the study of Congress and early political development in the United States.
Individual Email Assignments:
a. Based on the required and recommended portions of Bury the Chains, and any additional
portions of Hochschild’s book you wish to read, summarize the historical processes, timing
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b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
and arguments that led Britain to free the empire’s slaves and discuss the various linkages
and ramifications this had for the slavery issue in the United States.__Brandon___
Based on your selective reading of various chapters in Miller’s book, Arguing about Slavery,
how would you characterize the debate oveCr slavery in the early to mid-19th century in the
United States, what role did the citizens, Congress, and elite-actors such as JQ Adams play in
this debate, and what are we to learn from it about the era involved and, more generally,
about American and Congressional Politics?__Stephen____
Based on the Encyclopedia entry on Henry Clay, the discussion by Swift in “The Start of
Something New,” and the various readings from this week, who was Henry Clay, what were
his contributions to Congress and American politics, and how are we to assess him as a
historical figure and a master of legislative poiitics?__Shane____
Based on the required and recommended portions of A Wicked War, and any additional
portions of Greenberg’s book you wish to read, and also on the McCarty, Poole and
Rosenthal chapter on “Congress and the Territorial Expansion of the U.S.” in the BradyMcCubbins volume, discuss the role that the Mexican/American War played in the politics of
the 1840s, the ramifications it had for the struggle over slavery in the United States in the
mid-19th century, and the long-term precedents and implications it had for U.S. domestic
politics and foreign policy. Additionally, what assessment would you provide us of Henry
Clay?__Justin____
Based on your reading of the required and recommended portions of America’s Great
Debate, and any additional portion you wish to read, summarize the historical processes,
timing, arguments and strategems that characterized the efforts to craft and enact the
Compromise of 1850; assess the immediate significance and longer term consequences of
the Compromise; and, finally, what assessments would you provide us of Henry Clay?-Alex_
What is Therault and Weingast’s argument about how and why the Compromise of 1850
failed and then passed through the Congress. What do you think they get right and what do
they miss, overlook or get wronjg? Overall, how convincing and useful do you find this
argument, how sound is the statistical proof, and are there ways in which you might build
on, challenge, move beyond their work in explaining the failure/enactment of the
Compromise and supporting this through rigorous empirical inquiry?__Keith___
Please summarize the argument in Holt, The Political Crisis of the 1850s; assess the
implications it has for our understanding of the politics surrounding and the emergence of
the American Civil War; discuss how his argument might be more rigorously tested; and,
finally, consider the implications this book has for a Downsian perspective on Pre-Civil War
politics in the United States.__Bobby__
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Week Eight: The Civil War, Reconstruction and the Compromise of 1876
I. Required Reading
“The History of Congress: Sectionalism and Nationalism, 1840-1872,” in
The Encyclopedia of the U. S. Congress.
James Sundquist, Dynamics of the Party System, Chapters 4,5
Richard Bensel, Yankee Leviathan: The Origins of Central State Authority
In America, 1859-1877: everyone read all
Allen Guelzo, Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President, Chs. 7, 8, 9, 10, Epilogue
David Brady, Critical Elections and Congressional Policy Making, Chs 1,2
“The Electoral Commission of 1877,” “The Electoral Count Act,” and “The Electoral College,”
pages 728-733 in The Encyclopedia of the U. S. Congress
Zelizer, The American Congress, Chapters 12-14
II. Highly Recommended Reading
Ronald Peters, The American Speakership, Chapter Two
C. Vann Woodward, Reunion and Reaction: The Compromise of 1877 and the
End of Reconstruction
Collective Email Assignment: Discuss the three things that most surprise you from this week’s reading,
preferably on a work other than the one you discuss in your email, and discuss their significance for the
study of Congress during the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the long and continuing struggle with their
legacies.
Individual Email Assignments:
a. Summarize the arguments made by Sundquist with respect to the ways slavery polarized the
nation, the ways a new party alignment emerged, the implications of the new alignment for the
Congress, and the consequences thereof____Brandon___
b. Summarize the major arguments made by Bensel in your assigned chapter(s) and discuss their
relevance to understanding both congressional development and the role Congress played in
American political development during the Civil War/Reconstruction period.
Chapters Two-Three: Bobby
Chapters Four-Five: Alex
Chapters Six-Seven: Justin
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c. Summarize the arguments made by Guelzo in Chapters 7,8 and 9, with respect to how Congress
influenced the conduct of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment, and the restructuring of the
national policy agenda, and discuss their relevance to understanding both congressional
development and the role Congress played in American political development in this
era.__Stephen____
d. Summarize the argument of Brady in Chapter One of Critical Elections and Congressional
PolicyMaking and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the argument as it relates to the “Civil
War Realignment”, as seen in Chapter Two (particularly as relates to theory, method, and
empirical patterns). Finally, discuss the contribution of the argument in Chapter Two to our
understanding of Congressional and American Political Development____Keith___
e. Summarize the major arguments made by Woodward with respect to the Compromise of 1877
and discuss their relevance to understanding both congressional development and the role
Congress played in American political development during the Reconstruction
period.__Shane___
21
Spring Break Email Assignments: Due by Saturday, March 7th by 5 pm.
I.
In what ways, and with what significance, did the period of the Jefferson Presidency
through the Civil War Era serve to create conditions that would shape the evolution of
Congress thereafter? 7 to 8 pages
II.
Discuss the ways in which your topics for a research design for this course are narrowing
and coming more clearly into focus. What puzzles are you now considering, what
theories or arguments are appealing to you, what kinds of analysis might you bring
forward to address the puzzles and test the theories, and what kinds of evidence,
methods, etc., might you point towards in examining the topic? 2 to 3 pages.
Week Nine: Studying the Post Civil War Congress: Introduction and Overview
Some readings below are repeated from early in the semester. You may find that you see them
differently now that you are deeper into the course.
1. A Foundation Work:
Mandatory Reading: Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy: Chs 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8
2. Historical Patterns:
Polsby, “The Institutionalization of the U. S. House of Representatives,” APSR, 62 (1968): 144168.
Dodd, “Woodrow Wilson’s Congressional Government and the Modern Congress: The ‘Universal
Principle’ of Change,” Congress and the Presidency 14 (1) : 33-49; and “Congress as Public
Mirror,” TAC: 15-38.
Huntington, “Congressional Responses to the Twentieth Century,” In Congress and America’s
Future. Edited by David Truman, 1965 version.
James MacGregor Burns, The Deadlock of Democracy. Chs 1-4.
Cooper and Brady, “Institutional Context and Leadership Style: The House From Cannon to
Rayburn, APSR 1981; 75: 411 – 425.
David Canon and Charles Stewart III, “The Evolution of the Committee System in Congress,”
Congress Reconsidered, 7th edition (2001).
Smith and Gamm,”The Dynamics of Party Government in Congress,” Congress Reconsidered,
10th edition (2013).
Poole and Rosenthal, Congress: A Political-Economic History of Roll Call Voting, Read: Chapter
11. Strongly recommended: Chapters 1 through 4. The remainder is recommended.
Mayhew, America’s Congress, at least the first two chapters.
3. Two Theoretical Perspectives:
Dodd, “Congress in a Downsian World,” JOP, forthcoming.
22
Schickler, Disjointed Pluralism, Chapter 1
Email Assignments for all students: (no more than 12 double spaced pages in all)
1. Address the three or four things that most surprise you and/or engage you in this reading and
their implications for understanding and studying congressional or legislative change -- aside
from Downs and my take-off on him.
2. What is Downs’ argument about Two Party Politics; why does he make this argument; what is
my challenge to his argument; why do I challenge him; how might I improve my argument, if this
article were to become a book; what implications does it have for understanding the Post-Civil
War Congress; what are its implications for assessing the future of Congress (in decades). Finally,
if you have the time and energy left, how might my argument benefit from Schickler’s
theoretical perspective?
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Week Ten: Industrialization, the Progressive Era and the Demise of Party Government: Cycle 1/Swing 1
I. Required Reading
Richard Bensel, Sectionalism and American Political Development, 1880-1980, Chs. 1, 2, 3 and
pages 317-335.
“The Age of the Machine (1872-1900)”, in The Encyclopedia of the U. S. Congress
Robert Harrison, Congress, Progressive Reform, and the New American State: all.
Eric Schickler, Disjointed Pluralism, Review Ch 1; Read Ch 2
Zelizer, The American Congress, Chapters 15-21
Sarah Binder, Minority Rights/Majority Rule, Read Chs 6-10; Review Earlier Chapters
Sundquist, Dynamics, Ch 6, 7, 8
II. Highly Recommended Reading
David J. Rothman, Politics and Power: The United States Senate, 1868-1901: all
Randall Strahan, “Leadership and Institutional Change in the Nineteenth-Century
House,” in Brady and McCubbins, Party, Process and Political Change in Congress.
The essays by Randall Strahan (#2), “Thomas Brackett Reed and the Rise of Party Government;”
Scott Rager (#3), “Uncle Joe Cannon: The Brakeman of the House of Representatives, 19031911;” and James S. Fleming (#4), “Oscar W. Underwood: The First Modern House Leader, 1911191, in Roger Davidson, Susan Webb Hammond and Raymond Smock, Masters of the House.
Scott C. James and Brian L. Lawson, “The Political Economy of Voting Rights
Enforcement in America’s Gilded Age: Electoral College Competition, Partisan Commitment, and
the Federal Election Law.” APSR 93 (1) March 1999): 115-31.
Charles H. Stewart III and Barry R. Weingast, 1992. “Stacking the Senate, Changing the Nation:
Republican Rotten Boroughs, Statehood Politics, and American Political Development.” Studies
in American Political Development 6: 223-71.
Jeff Jenkins, “The First ‘Southern Strategy”: The Republican Party and Contested-Election Cases
In the Late 19th-Century House.” In Brady and McCubbins, Party, Process, and Political Change in
Congress, Volume 2.
Polsby, “Institutionalization of the U. S. House of Representatives,” APSR 62
(1968): 144-168: Read or Review.
Nelson Polsby, Miriam Gallaher, and Barry Spencer Rundquist, “The Growth of the Seniority
System in the U.S. House of Representatives,” APSR 63 (September 1969):787-807.
24
III. Also Recommended:
Sarah Binder and Steven Smith, Politics or Principle?
Ron Peters, The American Speakership, pp. 75-91 and Chapter 3
Scott James, Presidents, Parties and the State, Chs 1, 2, 5.
Kenneth Hechler, Insurgency,Chs 1-5, 13
Valeria Heitshusen and Garry Young, “Macropolitics and Changes in the U.S.
Code: Testing Competing Theories of Policy Production,1874-1946,” in
Adler and Lapinski, The Macropolitics of Congress, Ch. 5.
Charles H. Stewart, Budget Reform Politics: The Design of the Appropriations
Process in the House of Representatives, 1865-1921
Email Assignments: Each student will prepare two assignments
Assignment 1: Partisan Dynamics, Sectionalism, and Congressional Power
1. Detail Sundquist’s argument in Chapters 6, 7 and 8,; summarize as well the general perspectives
added by James and Lawson, Stewart and Weingast, and Jenkins; and then discuss the
implications these works have for how we understand the evolution of the party system and of
Congress in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. What lingering effects and insights do the
partisan conflicts and strategies of this period have that can help us understand contemporary
politics?____Bobby_______
2. As seen in the assigned readings by Strahan (both essays), Rager, and Fleming, together with the
assigned chapters by Binder, Minority Rights/Majority Rule, how did the nature and role of party
leadership change in the House of Representatives across the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
and with what significance for policy making and power in the House of that era? What
implications do your answers have for studying leadership, policymaking, and problem-solving in
other historical eras?___Alex___
3. What are Bensel’s central arguments in Sectionalism and American Political Development, as
presented in the first two chapters, how does the late 19th and early 20th century experience in
Congress illustrate the power of this argument, as seen in Chapter Three, and how do these
developments help account for the fall of Party Government in 1910, as addressed on pages
317-335, and the subsequent rise of committee government? ___Stephen____
4. Based on Polsby’s “Institutionalization” article and his article with Gallaher and Rundquist on the
“Growth of Seniority” in the House, how had Congress changed from the mid to the late 19th
century and what were the implications of these changes for the politics of the Progressive
Era?__Shane__
5. How and why did party leadership and party power change in the Senate across the nineteenth
century in Congress, and what were its characteristics by the turn of the century, as seen in the
assigned reading by Binder and Smith (Chapters 1 to 3), and Rothman (Politics and Power.
All)__Brandon___
25
6. Informed by this week’s reading, (particularly the articles in The Encyclopedia of the U.S.
Congress and Chapters 19-21 in Zelizer): summarize the broad character of the Progressive Era,
the ways in which it transformed the U. S. Congress, and the character of its aftermath in the
late 1910s and 1920s; finally, discuss the implications of this broad period for our understanding
of the evolution of Congress and its policy agenda.___Justin____
7. After briefly reviewing the theoretical discussion in Chapter One, summarize the arguments
presented by Eric Schickler in Chapter Two of Disjointed Pluralism and discuss their implications
for how we study Congress, how we explain institutional changes in the Progressive Era, and
how we understand the evolution of Congress.__Keith___.
Assignment Two: Congress, Progressivism and Public Policy
8. With the ending of the Civil War/Reconstruction, in what ways did the shift in national attention
to such concerns as the American West, Railroad policy, and Industrialization (Zelizer, America’s
Congress, Chs. 16. 17.18) highlight new policy responsibilities for Congress in the 1870s and
beyond, creating new demands on it? In answering this question, take care to provide
illustrative details. Then, with this answer as backdrop, in what ways did these new policy issues
nudge the nation toward a classical left/right politics? What factors pushed away from left/right
politics? With what significance for national and congressional politics?__Alex__
9. Based on Chapters One, Two and Nine of Congress, Progressive Reform, and the New American
State, what does Harrison mean by progressivism, how does he see it shaping the creation of an
American state at the turn of the twentieth century, what role does he see the political actors in
Congress and the White House playing in giving a progressive imprint to the American State,
WHY, and with what longer-term implications?___Justin____
10. How do Harrison’s case studies of Progressive policy on railroads and the labor issue (in
Chapters Three and Four) illustrate the broad arguments that he presents with respect to
progressivism? What are the implications of your answer for our understanding of progressivestyle reform and the statist potential of American national politics?
_____Stephen, Bobby_____
11. Compare and contrast the nature of the progressive insurgency in the Senate and the House of
Representatives (Harrison, Chapters Six and Seven) and assess the significance of the
insurgencies for each institution, for the nation’s policy agenda, and for the character of the
American state that emerged from the period.__Brandon, Shane___
12. Based on Harrison, Chapters Five and Eight, to what extent were Southern Democrats dyed in
the wool progressives, committed to a progressive national state apparatus, and to what extent
were they focused on forging a role in national politics designed to enhance their ability to
protect their regional power and their perception of regional interests? What were the
consequences of their goals and actions for public policy, the direction of statist development in
the nation, and for the longer-term development of American politics? Why? To what extent is
your answer to this informed by, or in contrast to, Jane Dailey analysis in Chapter 15 of Zelizer,
The American Congress.__Keith__
26
Week Eleven: Post-Progressive ‘Normalcy,’ Depression, and the Rise of Committee Government:
Cycle I:
Swing Two
I.
Required Reading
Bensel, Sectionalism, Chapters 4 (1910-1940); 5 (1940-1970)
Sundquist, Dynamics of the Party System, Ch 7-12, 15
Huder, Dissertation, Chapters 3, 4, 5.
Schickler, Disjointed Pluralism, Ch 1, 3, 4
Brady, Critical Elections and Congressional Policymaking, Chapter 4
Elizer, The American Congress, Chs. 26, 27, 28, 29
Patterson, Congressional Conservatism and the New Deal: Chs 1, 9, 10
II.
Recommended:
Dodd, “The Rise of the Modern State (1933-1964),” Encyclopedia of the U.S. Congress. Vol 2; p.
1023-1032 (under the History of Congress section)
Theda Skocpol, “The Origins of Social Politics in the United States,” in Dodd and
Jillson, The Dynamics of American Politics, Ch 8.
Eileen McDonagh, “Forging a New Grammar of Equality and Difference: Progressive Era Suffrage
and Reform.” In Stephen Skowronek and Matthew Glassman, Formative Acts: American
Politics in the Making. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.
Kenneth Finegold and Theda Skocpol, State and Party in America’s New Deal, 1-5, 9
James MacGregor Burns, Congress on Trial, 1st edition: 1949: all
Email Assignment 1:
1. What does Bensel see as the dominant sectional structure of the Progressive Period, how
does he see it adapting in the 1920s, what does he see as the dominant sectional structure
of the post-New Deal era, and how does he see it adapting in the 1940s and 1950s.
Reflecting on these patterns and shifts, what are the implications for partisan and political
change across this era and, stepping back a bit further, for the application of Dodd’s cyclical
theory to this period?__Justin___
2. What does Sundquist see as the dominant party system alignment that had emerged by the
turn of the twentieth century, how was it challenged, modified and eventually replaced by
the mid-1930, and then how was that new party system sustained and modified/moderated
in mid-century? How do these developments support and/or challenge the application of
Dodd’s cycle theory, particularly the patterns and politics of stages three and four, to this
period?___Alex__
27
3. How does understanding state-structure and state-capacity, as seen in Feingold and
Skocpol, help us understand why policy agendas evolve as they do, particularly once one
takes into account the existence and character of congressional parties and the importance
of political learning (Ch 9) for policy evolution? How does this argument explain labor and
agricultural policy outcomes in the New Deal? And then how do war-time shifts in demands
on state capacity/the character of congressional parties help generate reversals in existing
policy commitments and/or give ‘cover’ for new domestic commitments, with World War II
(Ch 27 in Elizer) illustrating the former and the Civil War (Guelzo, Ch 7), illustrating the later
__Bobby___
4. Describe the growing role of women’s activism in the late 19th and early 20th century,
particularly as it relates to policy, as discussed in Chapter 22 of Zelizer and in the
recommended essays by Skocpol and McDonagh. How and why were women successful in
asserting roles in the public sphere and what are the implications of this process of assertion
for our understanding of congressional politics?__ Rolda____
5. Summarize the arguments presented by Eric Schickler in Chapters Three and Four of
Disjointed Pluralism and discuss their implications for how we explain institutional changes
in the New Deal and Conservative-Coalition periods of mid-Twentieth Century. How well
does Schickler’s analysis fit with the theoretical predictions for stages 3 and 4 in Dodd’s
cyclical theory, and how might the theory be changed/improved in light of Schickler’s
arguments? How might Schickler be changed and improved in light of Dodd’s
theory?___Brandon
6. What role does David Brady see realignments playing in congressional policy-making, how
does the New Deal illustrate this, and what mechanisms allow this influence to operate in
somewhat similar ways across distinctly difference historical eras? __Shane__
7. Most Americans see President Franklin Roosevelt as the architect of the New Deal, during
his first term, and certainly his election and eloquence were important to its creation and
implementation. But Patrick Maney provides a very different and more complex perspective
on the construction of the New Deal, and the relative roles that Congress and the President
played in it (see Maney, Chapter 26 in Zelizer, The American Congress). Present Maney’s
argument, detail the broad support he points to in making it, and discuss the implications
his argument has for assessing the role that Congress plays in American politics – even or
particularly in times of crisis. Is Congress just a bit-player in American national politics, so
that the less serious scholarship devoted to Congress, the better? Or would the nation
benefit from more serious scholarship and deeper understanding of the role of Congress?
With what implications? __Keith___
8. Based on reading (preferably all of) historian James T. Patterson’s classic book,
Congressional Conservatism and the New Deal, and also reading essays 27, 28 and 29 in the
Zelizer volume, how and why did Congress and the nation move from New Deal activism to
conservative retrenchment during the late 1930s into the forties and fifties, and with what
significance and consequence – both in political terms and in terms of scholarly
interpretation and understanding of Congress and change?___Stephen___
Email Assignment 2
1. What are the core arguments Huder makes in Chapter 3 of his dissertation, how could he
improve the arguments, how compelling do you find his initial ‘quantitative’ data and
28
analysis, and how might this be improved. What surprises you, or provides ‘value added’,
from his discussion and analysis? How might he imprve the presentation of his analysis in
this chapter? Alex, Justin
2. What are the core arguments Huder makes in Chapter 4 of his dissertation, how do these
arguments broaden and enhance your understanding of the Party Era and its demise, as
garnered from the existing literature. How does his ‘newspaper data’ aid the arguments, or
fall short? How might Josh improve the presentation or credibility of this chapter? Bobby,
Brandon, Rolda
3. What are the core arguments Huder makes in Chapter 5 of his dissertation, how do these
arguments broaden and enhance your understanding of the Committee Era and its demise,
as garnered from the existing literature? How does his ‘newspaper data’ aid the arguments,
or fall short? How might Josh improve the presentation or credibility of this chapter?
Stephen, Keith, Shane’Week Twelve/Thirteen…
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Week Twelve:
NO CLASS/write paper assignments
I.
In what ways did the Congress from the Post—Reconstruction period to the mid-20th
century build on and reinforce institutional developments of the first seventy years of
national existence, to what extent did it disregard, reject or reverse previous
developments, and in what ways did it contribute distinctive new features and
conditions to congressional life and national politics? At mid 20th century, how would
you characterize the Congress, as contrasted with previous eras, in terms of its
advantages, challenges, and conundrums as a powerful contributor to national politics
and policymaking? 7 to 8 pages
II.
Discuss the ways in which your research design for this course is now coming into focus.
What puzzle are you now considering, what theories or arguments are appealing to you,
what kinds of analysis might you bring forward to address the puzzle and test the
theories, and what kinds of evidence, methods, etc., might you point towards in
examining the topic? Might there be some accessible empirical data you could gather,
now or in the next six months or so, to gauge the plausibility of your emerging ideas in
this area of interest? 2 to 3 pages.
Week Thirteen: Congress, the Cold War and Early Post-Industrialism : Cycle II:
Stage 1
I. Required Reading
Bensel, Sectionalism and American Political Development, Chs 5, 6, 7, and pages 368-388 of Ch 8
Sundquist, Party Dynamics, Chs. 15-17
Mayhew, The Electoral Connection: if you have never read this it is mandatory reading
Fenno, Congressmen in Committees, Prologue, Chapter 1
Dodd, TAC, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11
Manley, “The Conservative Coalition in Congress,” CR I.
Dodd and Schott, Congress and the Administrative State, Chapter 4, 5 (3 recommended)
30
Zelizer, On Capitol Hill, Chs 1-10
Sundquist, The Decline and Resurgence of Congress: all
Elizer, The American Congress, Chs 30-39
Schickler, Disjointed Pluralism, Ch 1, 5
Squire, American Legislative Development: Colonies, Territories and States: Chs 6, 7, 8
Brady and Bullock, “Coalition Politics in the House of Representatives,” in CR II.
II. Recommended Reading:
Dodd and Schott, Congress and the Administrative State, Chs 4,5,6,7
Wright, “The Caucus Reelection Requirement and the Transformation of House
Committee Chairs, 1959-94.” LSQ 25 (August 2000): 469-94.
Alford and Brady, “Personal and Partisan Advantage in U.S. Congressional
Elections, 1846-1986,” in CR IV.
Email Questions: PLEASE HAVE ALL ASSIGNMENTS TO ME BY 7AM TUESDAY MORNING AS I HAVE AN
APPOINTMENT AT 11 AM THAT MORNING AND SO HAVE LIMITED TIME TO READ THEM BEFORE
CLASEE
1. Detail Bensel’s perspective on the changing character and role of sectionalism during the
postwar era, discuss how these changes shaped the reform era of the 1970s, and assess the
sufficiency of his argument. How does Sundquist’s analysis in Dynamics of the Party System
reinforced or challenge Bensel’s arguments?___Keith___
2. Detail Zelizer’s argument in On Capitol Hill (2004) about the character of the early post-World
War II era, the factors propelling the rise of a Liberal Democratic Congress, and the dynamics
leading to a ‘reformed Congress.’ To what extent and in what ways do Chapters 30, 31, 32, 33,
34, 36, 37 and 39 in the Elizer edited volume reinforce and flesh out his argument in On Capitol
Hill? With what implications___ Stephen___
3. How and why does Sundquist argue that Congress was experiencing a “Decline” prior to the
reforms of the 1970s, as seen in chapters 1 through Seven, and how compelling do you find his
argument, as informed by chapters Fourteen through Sixteen? __Justin____
4. How and why does Sundquist argue that Congress experienced a “Resurgence” with the
reforms of the 1970s, as seen in chapters Eight through Thirteen, and how compelling do you
find his argument, as informed by chapters Fourteen through Sixteen?___Bobby____
5. What did Dodd, writing in the mid to late 1970s/early 1980s, see as the explanation and
significance of the reforms of the 1970s (Chs 2 and 3 in TAC), how did his understanding of the
31
cyclical nature of Congress change and mature in the 1980s and early 90s (Chs 5) and what
expectations did he hold for the reformed Democratic Congress in 1993 (Chapter 8), prior to the
Republican Revolution. From Dodd’s perspective, was that Revolution a break with and rejection
of the politics of the previous several decades, or a natural outgrowth of that politics? How so,
and with what implications for studying Congress?___Alex_____
6. How does Schickler explain the reforms and their aftermath, writing 30 years later, and how
does this mesh with, amplify, and move beyond previous perspectives?__Shane___
7. In what ways did state legislatures experience change and reform in the 19th and 20th
centuries, as seen in the readings from Squire, and how did these changes position state legislatures to
influence national policymaking, and to be influenced by it? ___Brandon_____
8. In Chapter 7 of Thinking about Congress – one of Professor Dodd’s most controversial
theoretical essays -- he lays out an alternative perspective on theory-building from the dominant
rational choice perspective that is built around an objective and recurring substantive political reality.
Present Dodd’s ‘transformational perspective’ on American politics, assess it, consider its implications
for the empirical character of politics in the United States, and discuss whether and how it might speak
to issues of social and political change dear to you own heart. In doing so you might consult Dodd’s
more extensive essay on the subject, “Political Learning and Political Change: Understanding
Development Across Time,” in The Dynamics of American Politics, edited by Dodd and Jillson.___Rolda__
Week Fourteen: Congress, the Republican Revolution, and Stalemate: Cycle II: Stage 2
1. Required Reading:
Rohde, Parties and Leaders in the PostReform Congress, Chs. 1, 4, 6
Sundquist, Party System Dynamics, Chapter 18
Bensel, Sectonialism, Chapters 8, 9
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Cox and McCubbins, Legislative Leviathan, Chapters 4, 5, 6
Polsby, How Congress Evolves: all
Elizer, On Capitol Hill, Chs 11-13
Elizer, The American Congress, Ch 40
Dodd, TAC, Chapters 6, 9, 10, 11
Theriault, Party Polarization in Congress
Theriault, The Gingrich Senators, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 7, 10; remainder highly
recommended
Schickler, Disjointed Pluralism, Ch 1, Epilogue
Huder, Dissertation, Chs 6, 7, 8
Kathryn Pearson, “Congresswomen’s Pursuit of Power in a Partisan Environment,”
Chapter Three in Congress Reconsidered, Tenth Edition.
Squire, The Evolution of American Legislatures: Chapter 7, pages 301-316, and Chapter 8.
2. Recommended:
Rodney Hero and Robert Preuhs, Black/Latino Relations in U. S. National Politics
Berkman, The State Roots of National Policymaking
1st (Joint) Email Question: everyone must answer:
As seen in chapters 2-8 in Thinking about Congress, Professor Dodd argues that
Congress changes in broadly cyclical ways. The cycles, while having some common
characteristics, are shaped and constrained by the historical social conditions and
challenges of their time and by emerging ideational and regime conflicts about how best
to address these challenges. These essays were published prior to the Republican
Revolution.
In chapter 10 he integrates his previous arguments into a ‘multi-dimensional
perspective on change’ and uses this perspective to explain the occurrence and assess
the first decade of the Republican Revolution. What do you see as Dodd’s core
arguments in his ‘multi-dimensional perspective’ on congressional change; what do you
see as its strengths and weaknesses in explaining the Revolution and its aftermath; what
do you see as its implications for the current period (twenty years following the
Revolution); and what are the more general implications of this multidimensional
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perspective for the study of American legislative development within and/or across
historical periods (with special reference to the period/s you are most interested in)?
NOTE: Chapter 10 in TAC is drawn from the 8th edition of Congress Reconsidered, which
allows it to reflect on developments during Bush-43’s first term. The original version was
published in the 7th edition and focuses in its concluding parts a bit more directly on the
Revolution itself. The multiple dimension arguments are essentially the same in both
versions but the concluding sections are different.
2nd Email Assignment: Individual Question
a. Detail Rohde’s argument in Parties and Leaders, focusing particularly on what he means by
conditional party government and how and why it appeared to emerge in the 1980s; discuss
what CPD’s longer-term prospects looked like in the early in the early 1990s, from Rohde’s
perspective, and whether he foresaw CPD as providing an opening for the Republican party in
the House; and, finally, assess how compelling and sufficient you find Rohde’s arguments and
analysis to be.__Alex___
b. To what extent and in what ways were changes in the sectional politics and the national party
system providing an opening for the rise of the Republican Revolution, based on the arguments
of Sundquist and Bensel?__Shane_
c. How does Polsby explain the shift from committee to party government in the Post World War II
era, why did the Republican Revolution emerge as a product of this shift, from his perspective,
and what do you see as Polsby’s major contributions and limits in explaining the politics of this
era?___Stephen___
d. What do you see as the special contributions to our understanding of the past quarter century
made by ); Zelizer, On Capitol Hill (Chs. 11-13); Zelizer, The American Congress (Ch 40); Schickler,
Epilogue; and Huder, Chs 6, 7, 8? Taking these works together, along with any others at hand
(leaving aside Dodd’s work), how would you best explain and assess the Republican Revolution
and its aftermath?___Justin__
e. What is Theriault’s central puzzle in Party Polarization in Congress, what arguments does he
develop to address this puzzle, and what kinds of evidence does he present in supporting this
arguments? How compelling do you find Sean’s analysis and how might you build on or
challenge it?___Brandon___
f. What is Theriault’s central puzzle in The Gingrich Senators, what arguments does he develop to
address this puzzle, and what kinds of evidence does the present in supporting his arguments?
How compelling do you find Sean’s analysis and how might you build on or challenge it?___Keith
g. Relying on Chapter 4, 5 and 6, but looking beyond them as time permits: What is Cox and
McCubbin’s argument in behalf of the dominance of party government in Congress, how does
this argument account for the apparent increase in party polarization and strong party
government in the PostWar Era (as assumed by much of the extant literature), how compelling
do you find the nature of the evidence and illustrations they use in supporting the argument,
and how satisfying and sufficient do you find their overall theory? What is missing that might
confound it or undermine its utility as a reliable perspective on Congress, institutional change,
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and legislative development? What lasting contributions does it make, sustaining its long-term
influence?__Mermer______
h. Based on the essay by Kathryn Pearson in Congress Reconsidered, Tenth Edition, and on the
book, Black/Latino Relations in U. S. National Politics, by Rodney Hero and Robert Preuhs, how
are women and ethnic/racial minorities – specifically African Americans and Latinos –
proceeding in the exercise of power and influence in Congress, and what broader implications
might their contemporary experiences have for American Legislative Development, the politics
of Madisonian Democracy, and the long-term direction of national policymaking?___Rolda___
Week Fifteen: Class Potluck at Professor Dodd’s Farm. Students will present their Research Project
Papers.
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